Each question is worth 1 point. Write your response in the box, then click Show Answer to reveal the key points for full credit. Check each bullet against your response before moving on. Pay close attention to the action word — identify, describe, explain, and propose each require different response types.
✍ FRQ Practice · Research method + operational definition
Researchers wanted to know whether positive reinforcement increases preschoolers' willingness to share toys. They recruited 60 four-year-olds and randomly assigned half to a 'reinforcement' group, in which a teacher gave a sticker every time the child shared a toy, and half to a 'no reinforcement' group, in which the teacher gave no response when sharing occurred. After two weeks, observers counted the number of times each child shared a toy with a peer during a 30-minute free-play period. The reinforcement group shared an average of 8.4 times; the no-reinforcement group shared an average of 3.1 times.
Adapted study, Unit 3: Operant conditioning
Identify the research method used in this study and state the operational definition of sharing as used by the researchers.
Key Points for Full Credit
Identifies the method as an experiment (random assignment to reinforcement vs. no reinforcement)
Operational definition of sharing = number of times a child shared a toy with a peer during the 30-minute free-play period
Must be specific and measurable
Rubric note: Award the point only if the response (1) identifies the method as an experiment (random assignment to two conditions confirms this), AND (2) gives a measurable definition of sharing referencing the number of times a child shared a toy with a peer during the 30-minute free-play period. A vague answer like 'how often they shared' does NOT earn the point.
✍ FRQ Practice · Interpret a statistic
Researchers tested classical conditioning in dogs by pairing a tone with food for several weeks. After conditioning, they measured how much each dog salivated to the tone alone. The conditioned dogs salivated an average of 4.8 mL when they heard the tone, while a control group of dogs that had not been conditioned salivated an average of 0.6 mL when they heard the same tone. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001).
Adapted study, Unit 3: Classical conditioning
Describe what the difference in mean salivation between the conditioned and control groups indicates in relation to the study.
Key Points for Full Credit
Conditioned dogs salivated more (4.8 mL) than control dogs (0.6 mL)
Indicates the tone had become a conditioned stimulus — it triggered salivation through pairing with food
Must interpret — not just list the numbers
Rubric note: Award the point only if the response interprets the means in context. A correct response describes that the conditioned dogs salivated MORE to the tone (4.8 mL) than the control group (0.6 mL), indicating that the tone had become a conditioned stimulus. Simply listing the numbers without interpretation does NOT earn the point.
✍ FRQ Practice · Identify ethical guideline
Researchers wanted to study attachment styles in 12-month-olds using a brief separation-and-reunion procedure. Before the study, parents received a written description of the procedure, including the possibility that their infant might cry briefly during separation. Parents signed a form indicating they agreed to participate, and they were told they could end the session at any time if their child became too distressed. Sessions were stopped early in three cases at parents' request, and infants were comforted by their parents immediately after each session ended.
Adapted study, Unit 3: Attachment
Identify at least one ethical guideline applied by the researchers in this study.
Key Points for Full Credit
Identifies right to withdraw (parents could end session at any time; three did)
OR informed consent (written description + signed form before the study)
OR protection from harm (sessions stopped if infants distressed; comforted afterward)
Must connect to a specific feature of THIS study
Rubric note: Award the point if the response correctly identifies an ethical guideline applied in the study. Acceptable: informed consent (written description + signed form), right to withdraw (parents could end the session; three did), or protection from harm (sessions stopped if infants became too distressed; infants comforted afterward). Must connect to a specific feature of THIS study.
✍ FRQ Practice · Generalizability
Researchers tested whether Piaget's stage of conservation is reached around age 7. They worked with 80 children aged 6 to 8 from three private elementary schools in a wealthy suburb of Chicago. Each child completed a standard liquid-conservation task. Results showed that 78% of 7-year-olds correctly answered the conservation question, compared to only 22% of 6-year-olds.
Adapted study, Unit 3: Cognitive development
Explain the extent to which the findings of this study can be generalized, using specific evidence about the participants.
Key Points for Full Credit
Makes a claim that findings cannot be generalized to all children
Cites specific evidence: private schools, wealthy suburb of Chicago, ages 6–8 only
Explains why: children from different socioeconomic backgrounds or cultures might reach conservation at different ages
Rubric note: Award the point if the response makes a claim about generalizability AND backs it up with specific participant evidence from the stimulus. Acceptable evidence: all from three private elementary schools, all from a wealthy suburb of Chicago. A vague answer like 'the study is generalizable because it had 80 children' does NOT earn the point.
✍ FRQ Practice · Argumentation: support/refute
Researchers tested whether children imitate aggressive behavior they observe in adults. Sixty preschoolers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: watching an adult act aggressively toward an inflatable doll, watching an adult play calmly with the doll, or watching no model at all. The children were then placed alone in a room with the same doll. Children in the aggressive-model condition committed an average of 21.3 aggressive acts toward the doll; the calm-model group committed 1.8; the no-model group committed 5.2.
Adapted study, Unit 3: Observational learning
Explain how the research findings support or refute Bandura's concept of observational learning.
Key Points for Full Credit
Uses specific finding: aggressive-model group committed 21.3 aggressive acts vs. 1.8 (calm model) and 5.2 (no model)
Connects it to observational learning — children imitated the adult model they observed
Must link the finding to Bandura's concept
Rubric note: Award the point only if the response (1) uses a specific finding (mean of 21.3 aggressive acts in the aggressive-model group vs. much lower means in other groups), AND (2) accurately connects it to observational learning (learning by watching and imitating others). Mentioning only the finding OR only the concept without linking them does NOT earn the point.
✍ FRQ Practice · Propose a defensible claim
A youth coach wants to advise parents on the most effective way to encourage children to practice a new skill like playing a musical instrument. Studies show that (1) children whose practice is followed by occasional praise practice longer over time than children given no feedback, and (2) children who are paid for every practice session often stop practicing once payment ends, while children praised intermittently continue practicing.
Unit 3: Reinforcement and motivation
Propose a specific and defensible claim, based in psychological science, about how parents should reinforce their child's practice.
Key Points for Full Credit
Takes a specific, defensible position grounded in psychological science
Recommends intermittent praise rather than constant tangible rewards
Grounds it in reinforcement research: variable schedules build persistence; tangible rewards undermine intrinsic motivation
Rubric note: Award the point only if the response proposes a SPECIFIC, defensible claim taking a position grounded in psychological science. Acceptable: 'Parents should use intermittent praise rather than constant tangible rewards to keep children practicing.' NOT acceptable: 'Reinforcement is important.' / 'Different children respond differently.' / Restating the question without taking a position.
✍ FRQ Practice · Research method + statistic interpretation
A developmental psychologist surveyed 250 parents of teenagers about their parenting style (authoritative, authoritarian, or permissive) and asked each parent to report their teenager's GPA. Teenagers of authoritative parents had a mean GPA of 3.4, teenagers of authoritarian parents had a mean GPA of 3.1, and teenagers of permissive parents had a mean GPA of 2.9.
Adapted study, Unit 3: Parenting styles
Identify the research method used in this study and describe what the differences in mean GPA across parenting styles indicate in the context of the study.
Key Points for Full Credit
Identifies the method as correlational / survey (parenting style cannot be ethically manipulated)
Interprets the differences as a small positive association between authoritative parenting and GPA — not causation
Must NOT call this an experiment
Rubric note: Award the point only if the response (1) correctly identifies this as a correlational or survey study (NOT an experiment — parenting style cannot ethically be manipulated), AND (2) interprets the differences as a small association between parenting style and GPA. Should not claim causation. Identifying the method as 'experiment' does NOT earn the point.
✍ FRQ Practice ·
Key Points for Full Credit
Uses specific finding: children adopted before age 2 reached milestones typically; those adopted after age 7 had persistent grammar difficulties
Connects it to the critical/sensitive period — a window when the brain is especially open to language acquisition