CLEP Psychology · Mock Exam 1
CLEP Psychology

CLEP Introductory Psychology — Mock Exam

Exam Overview

This mock exam mirrors the real CLEP Introductory Psychology exam: 95 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, delivered by computer. Every question has five options (A–E) with exactly one correct answer. The exam is 100% multiple choice — there is no essay, no numeric entry, and no calculator is needed or allowed (the few quantitative items use round numbers you can reason through mentally).

Scores are reported on the CLEP 20–80 scaled-score range. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends granting credit at a scaled score of 50, which corresponds to roughly 50% correct on this practice set (see the Scaled Score Estimator at the end).

Blueprint — this mock reproduces the official College Board content weighting. Points were placed within each official range so the 95 items sum to 100%:

# Topic area Official weight Questions
1 History, Approaches, and Methods 12% 11
2 Biological Bases of Behavior 9% 9
3 Sensation and Perception 7% 7
4 States of Consciousness 5% 5
5 Learning 8% 8
6 Cognition 8% 8
7 Motivation and Emotion 6% 6
8 Developmental Psychology 9% 8
9 Personality 7% 7
10 Psychological Disorders and Health 9% 8
11 Treatment of Psychological Disorders 6% 5
12 Social Psychology 9% 9
13 Statistics, Tests, and Measurement 4% 4
Total 100% 95

The 13 topic areas are interleaved across the 95 items — they are not grouped — so the sequence feels like a real mixed CLEP exam.

Bloom's target: Apply + Analyze + Evaluate ≥ 60% of items (this mock: ~79%). Answer-distribution target: each letter A–E appears in 15–25% of the keys (this mock: 20% each).

Questions

Question 1
The formal beginning of psychology as a science is usually dated to 1879 because in that year Wilhelm Wundt
Question 2
A driver cuts you off in traffic and you immediately conclude the person is rude and selfish, without considering that they might be rushing to an emergency. Your snap judgment best illustrates
Question 3
A person takes a drug that blocks the reuptake of serotonin, so more serotonin remains in the synaptic gap. The most direct consequence is that
Question 4
A dog that has learned to salivate to a bell is then exposed to many trials in which the bell sounds but no food ever follows, and its salivation gradually declines to nothing. This decline illustrates
Question 5
Six-year-old Priya watches an experimenter pour water from a wide beaker into a tall, thin glass and insists the thin glass now holds more water. Priya has not yet mastered
Question 6
Asked whether more English words begin with the letter K or have K as their third letter, most people wrongly say more begin with K — simply because such words come to mind faster. This error is best explained by
Question 7
A man avoids leaving his apartment for weeks because he fears having a panic attack in a public place where escape would be difficult or embarrassing. This pattern is most consistent with
Question 8
Walking from bright sunlight into a dim theater, a moviegoer can see almost nothing at first but gradually makes out the seats over several minutes. This gradual improvement in dim light is called
Question 9
A supervisor who is furious at his own boss comes home and yells at his children instead. In Freudian terms, this defense mechanism is
Question 10
A child who already enjoyed painting for its own sake is offered cash for each picture; soon she paints only when paid and reports enjoying it less. This drop in intrinsic interest illustrates
Question 11
A sleep researcher observes a participant whose eyes are darting rapidly, whose brain waves resemble those of waking, whose large muscles are effectively paralyzed, and who reports vivid dreaming when awakened. The participant is in
Question 12
A researcher wants to determine whether a new tutoring program causes higher test scores. Which approach can actually establish cause and effect?
Question 13
A therapist helps a client identify and challenge the automatic thought "If I'm not perfect, I'm worthless," then test it against evidence. This technique is central to
Question 14
In a small company most employees earn about $40,000, but the founder earns $5 million. Which measure best represents the typical employee's salary?
Question 15
In a classic study, participants continued to deliver what they believed were increasingly painful shocks to another person simply because an experimenter in a lab coat told them to continue. This demonstration of obedience to authority was conducted by
Question 16
After a stroke, a patient can no longer form new long-term memories, though memories from before the stroke remain intact. Damage most likely occurred to the
Question 17
A slot machine pays out after an unpredictable number of plays, producing very high, steady gambling with few pauses. This reflects which reinforcement schedule?
Question 18
A 68-year-old reviews her life and feels deep satisfaction and acceptance about the choices she made. In Erikson's theory she has favorably resolved
Question 19
Studying for an exam in the same quiet room where the test will be given tends to improve recall. This benefit is best explained by
Question 20
Over several weeks a woman swings between periods of little sleep, racing thoughts, grandiose plans, and reckless spending and periods of deep depression. This pattern most strongly suggests
Question 21
Standing on straight railroad tracks, you notice the two rails appear to converge at a point in the distance. Your visual system uses this as a monocular depth cue known as
Question 22
Marcus believes his own effort and choices — not luck or fate — determine what happens in his life. In Rotter's terms, Marcus has
Question 23
A psychologist explains a person's fear of dogs entirely by a past event in which a dog bit them, insisting that only the observable stimulus and response should be studied. This reflects the
Question 24
According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, a hiker who meets a bear feels afraid because
Question 25
A substance slows neural activity, reduces anxiety, impairs coordination, and at high doses can suppress breathing. Alcohol and barbiturates belong to which drug category?
Question 26
After buying an expensive phone, a shopper reads a negative review, feels uneasy, and then focuses only on the phone's good features to feel better about the purchase. This reduction of mental discomfort illustrates
Question 27
A hiker suddenly sees a snake; within a second his heart pounds, his pupils dilate, and he is primed to run. This rapid mobilization is produced mainly by activation of the
Question 28
Children who watched an adult punch and kick an inflatable Bobo doll later imitated that aggression themselves. Bandura used this study to demonstrate
Question 29
In Ainsworth's strange situation, an infant explores freely while the caregiver is present, is upset when the caregiver leaves, and is quickly comforted at reunion. This infant is classified as
Question 30
A woman needs to pound in a nail but has no hammer; a heavy wrench sits on the table, yet she never thinks to use it because she sees it only as a tool for bolts. Her difficulty best illustrates
Question 31
A young man hears voices that no one else hears and believes the government has implanted a chip in his brain. These two experiences are, respectively, examples of
Question 32
To treat a spider phobia, a therapist teaches relaxation and then gradually exposes the client to spiders — from photos up to holding one — pairing each step with a calm state. This technique is
Question 33
A study finds a correlation of −0.85 between hours of weekly exercise and reported anxiety. This means that
Question 34
In a trial of a new drug, neither the patients nor the staff handing out the pills know who is receiving the drug and who is receiving a placebo. This design, which controls for the expectations of both parties, is called
Question 35
The theory that we perceive different colors because light of different wavelengths stimulates three types of cones (roughly red, green, and blue) is the
Question 36
A clinician shows a client a series of inkblots and asks what each might be, then interprets the answers as clues to unconscious conflicts. The clinician is using the
Question 37
After acing an exam a student says "I'm brilliant," but after failing one says "the test was unfair." Taking credit for success while blaming outside forces for failure is
Question 38
A patient can understand speech and knows what she wants to say, but her own speech is slow, effortful, and telegraphic. Damage most likely occurred to
Question 39
According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a person who lacks food and physical safety will typically be least concerned, at that moment, with
Question 40
A child says stealing is wrong "because you might get caught and punished." In Kohlberg's theory this reasoning is
Question 41
A teenager loses phone privileges whenever she misses curfew, and she begins coming home on time. Removing the phone to reduce curfew-breaking is an example of
Question 42
A two-year-old says "goed" instead of "went" and "foots" instead of "feet." These errors, in which the child applies grammatical rules too broadly, are called
Question 43
A woman is tormented by intrusive thoughts that her hands are contaminated and washes them 40 times a day to relieve the anxiety. The repeated washing is best described as a
Question 44
A researcher tests whether caffeine improves memory: participants receive either caffeine or a placebo and then take a memory test. In this study the amount of caffeine is the
Question 45
A man repeatedly stops breathing for short stretches during the night, wakes briefly gasping, and feels exhausted all day without knowing why. This best describes
Question 46
A passenger collapses on a crowded subway platform, but each onlooker assumes someone else will step in, so no one does. This failure to help is best explained by
Question 47
On a personality inventory, Dev scores very high on imagination, curiosity, and willingness to try new things. In the Big Five model he is high in
Question 48
The "all-or-none" law of neural firing means that
Question 49
Although a door casts very different shapes on your retina as it swings open, you keep perceiving it as a rectangular door. This illustrates
Question 50
Harlow's infant monkeys spent most of their time clinging to a soft cloth surrogate that gave no food rather than a wire surrogate that dispensed milk. This showed that attachment depends heavily on
Question 51
In Pavlov's experiment, food naturally made the dogs salivate before any training took place. The food is the
Question 52
Given a long list of words to memorize, people typically recall the first few and the last few best. Superior recall of the last items just presented reflects the
Question 53
A psychologist argues that depression is best understood as the joint product of genetic vulnerability, negative thought patterns, and social isolation. This integrative view reflects the
Question 54
A patient with severe, treatment-resistant depression receives brief electrical currents to the brain under anesthesia, deliberately inducing a controlled seizure. This treatment is
Question 55
Following a severe trauma, a woman suddenly cannot recall important personal information — her name, her history — far beyond ordinary forgetting and with no physical cause. This best fits
Question 56
Performance on a task is usually best at a moderate level of arousal and worse when arousal is very low or very high. This relationship is described by
Question 57
IQ scores are standardized to a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Approximately what percentage of people score between 85 and 115?
Question 58
In Asch's line-judgment studies, many participants gave an obviously wrong answer simply because everyone else in the group had given that answer first. This demonstrates
Question 59
A neurotransmitter that is deficient in Parkinson's disease and is heavily involved in movement, reward, and pleasure is
Question 60
Carl Rogers argued that healthy personality development requires being accepted and valued no matter what — an attitude he called
Question 61
A news report claims, "People who drink diet soda weigh more, so diet soda causes weight gain." The most important flaw in this reasoning is that
Question 62
A child cannot solve a puzzle alone but succeeds when a parent offers just enough hints. Vygotsky would say the parent is providing support within the child's
Question 63
A man becomes violently ill hours after eating oysters and afterward feels nauseated at the mere smell of them, even though he got sick only once. This rapid, one-trial learning illustrates
Question 64
After witnessing a car crash, people who were asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" into each other later recalled seeing broken glass that was never there. This illustrates the
Question 65
After months of use, a person needs steadily larger doses of a drug to feel the same effect a small dose once produced. This is called
Question 66
For the past year a man has felt persistently tense and worried about many things — work, health, money — most days, with no single focus, along with restlessness and trouble sleeping. This best fits
Question 67
You can just barely tell that one speaker is louder than another only when their volumes differ by a certain proportion. The smallest difference you can reliably detect is the
Question 68
A charity first asks people to sign a small petition; a week later, those who signed are far more likely to agree to a large donation. This escalation technique is
Question 69
A well-fed person walks past a bakery and suddenly wants a pastry, though not at all hungry. The pull of the pastry is best described as
Question 70
Which early school of psychology, associated with William James and influenced by Darwin, focused on the purpose or function of consciousness in helping organisms adapt?
Question 71
Bandura argued that behavior, personal factors (such as beliefs), and the environment all continuously influence one another. He called this mutual influence
Question 72
Researchers compare identical twins raised apart and find they are highly similar on a trait despite growing up in different homes. This finding suggests the trait has
Question 73
A 7-month-old acts as though a toy has ceased to exist the instant it is hidden under a blanket. This infant has not yet developed
Question 74
Told only that "Linda is quiet and enjoys reading," people judge her more likely to be a librarian than a salesperson, ignoring that salespeople vastly outnumber librarians. This error reflects the
Question 75
A driver buckles the seatbelt to stop the car's annoying beeping and, over time, buckles up automatically. Stopping the beep to increase buckling is an example of
Question 76
Months after surviving a house fire, a woman has recurring nightmares and flashbacks of the fire, avoids anything that reminds her of it, and startles violently at loud noises. This best fits
Question 77
A therapist offers genuine warmth, empathy, and unconditional acceptance and reflects the client's feelings back so the client can find their own solutions. This nondirective approach is
Question 78
A researcher watches and records children's playground behavior in its natural setting without intervening in any way. This method is
Question 79
A study reports that its result is "statistically significant at p < .05." This means that
Question 80
After a group of like-minded people discuss an issue they already lean toward, their shared position becomes even more extreme. This strengthening of the group's initial leaning is
Question 81
Rubbing a stubbed toe often eases the pain, as though the rubbing "closes a gate" on pain signals in the spinal cord. This is explained by the
Question 82
A traveler who flies from New York to Tokyo feels sleepy during the day and wide awake at night for several days. This disruption of the body's roughly 24-hour biological clock reflects a disturbed
Question 83
Damage to the occipital lobe would most directly impair a person's
Question 84
Schachter and Singer's two-factor theory holds that a full emotion requires both
Question 85
Research on cognitive aging finds that, as adults grow older, their accumulated vocabulary and general knowledge tend to
Question 86
A student struggles with paper-and-pencil tests but reads other people brilliantly and navigates social situations with ease. In Gardner's theory she is high in which intelligence?
Question 87
Before running a study on "aggression," a researcher decides to define it precisely as "the number of times a child hits a doll in ten minutes." This specific, measurable definition is called
Question 88
A person under chronic stress passes through the stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion first described by Hans Selye. Selye named this three-stage bodily stress response the
Question 89
In Freud's model, the part of personality that runs on the "pleasure principle," demanding immediate gratification of basic urges, is the
Question 90
In Zimbardo's prison study, college students randomly assigned to be "guards" quickly turned cruel while "prisoners" became passive. The study is most often cited to show the power of
Question 91
To teach a rat to press a lever, a trainer first rewards it for facing the lever, then for approaching it, then for touching it, and finally for pressing it. Reinforcing these successive approximations is called
Question 92
A therapist who focuses on uncovering repressed childhood conflicts and unconscious motives is working from which perspective?
Question 93
The fatty insulating layer that wraps an axon and speeds the transmission of neural impulses is the
Question 94
A psychiatrist prescribes a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as fluoxetine. This class of drug is used mainly to treat
Question 95
Looking at a photograph, you automatically see a person as a single object standing out against the scenery behind them. Organizing a scene into object and background illustrates the Gestalt principle of
Show answer key & explanations

Answer Key

1. (A) Opened the first psychology laboratory and began measuring mental processes. Wundt's 1879 Leipzig lab marks psychology's shift from philosophy to science because he measured mental processes. Distractors: B) describes William James's functionalism, not Wundt; C) is Skinner/behaviorism, decades later; D) is Freud's unconscious; E) the first intelligence test was Binet's, in the 1900s. Fix: Anchor Wundt to three things — first lab, 1879, "psychology becomes a science." [Understand]

2. (B) The fundamental attribution error. Explaining another person's behavior by their character while ignoring the situation is the textbook definition. Distractors: A) the self-serving bias is about explaining your own outcomes; C) mere exposure is liking through repeated contact; D) deindividuation is loss of self in a crowd; E) foot-in-the-door is a compliance tactic. Fix: Judging another's action as "that's who they are" while ignoring the situation = fundamental attribution error. [Analyze]

3. (C) Serotonin keeps stimulating the receiving neuron's receptors for longer. Reuptake normally reabsorbs the neurotransmitter; blocking it leaves serotonin in the synapse to act longer — the basis of SSRIs. Distractors: A) reuptake blockade does not reduce firing capacity; B) myelin is unrelated to reuptake; D) resting potential is not made permanently positive; E) no compensatory acetylcholine release occurs. Fix: Block reuptake → more transmitter lingers in the synapse → longer/stronger signal at the receptor. [Apply]

4. (D) Extinction. Presenting the conditioned stimulus (bell) repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus (food) weakens the conditioned response — that is extinction. Distractors: A) spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of the response after a rest; B) generalization is responding to similar stimuli; C) shaping is an operant procedure; E) discrimination is responding to one stimulus but not another. Fix: CS without the US, response fades = extinction. [Apply]

5. (E) Conservation. Believing quantity changed just because the container's shape changed is the classic conservation failure of Piaget's preoperational stage. Distractors: A) object permanence (hidden objects still exist) develops in infancy — the common mix-up; B) theory of mind concerns others' beliefs; C) accommodation is a schema process, not a quantity concept; D) attachment is a social bond. Fix: "Taller glass = more" = conservation failure (preoperational); hidden-object task = object permanence (infancy). [Apply]

6. (B) The availability heuristic. Judging frequency by how easily examples come to mind is the availability heuristic. Distractors: A) representativeness judges by resemblance to a prototype; C) belief perseverance is clinging to disproven beliefs; D) functional fixedness is a problem-solving block; E) framing concerns how options are worded. Fix: "Comes to mind easily → seems more common" = availability. [Evaluate]

7. (C) Agoraphobia. Fear of places where escape would be hard or help unavailable — leading to housebound avoidance — is agoraphobia. Distractors: A) social anxiety centers on being judged by others, not escape; B) OCD involves obsessions and compulsions; D) GAD is diffuse, free-floating worry; E) a specific phobia targets one object or situation, not open/public places generally. Fix: Avoiding public places for fear of being trapped during panic = agoraphobia. [Analyze]

8. (D) Dark adaptation. The gradual recovery of visual sensitivity in dim light (rods regaining sensitivity) is dark adaptation. Distractors: A) sensory adaptation is reduced response to a constant stimulus, the opposite direction; B) accommodation is the lens changing shape to focus; C) transduction is converting stimulus energy to neural signals; E) feature detection is cortical processing of edges/lines. Fix: Eyes slowly gaining sensitivity in the dark = dark adaptation. [Understand]

9. (E) Displacement. Redirecting an impulse from a threatening target (the boss) to a safer one (the children) is displacement. Distractors: A) projection attributes your own feelings to others; B) reaction formation expresses the opposite of a feeling; C) regression retreats to childish behavior; D) rationalization invents acceptable reasons. Fix: Same feeling, safer target = displacement. [Analyze]

10. (A) The overjustification effect. Rewarding an already-intrinsically-enjoyed activity can make it feel like work, undermining intrinsic motivation. Distractors: B) Yerkes-Dodson relates arousal to performance; C) drive-reduction concerns biological needs; D) James-Lange is an emotion theory; E) homeostasis is physiological balance. Fix: Paying for something already loved for its own sake → interest drops = overjustification. [Apply]

11. (C) REM sleep. Rapid eye movements, waking-like brain waves, muscle atonia, and vivid dreaming define REM. Distractors: A) NREM-1 is light drowsiness with slow eye rolls; B) NREM-2 shows sleep spindles, no vivid dreaming; D) NREM-3 is deep slow-wave sleep with delta waves; E) a hypnagogic state is the transition into sleep. Fix: Vivid dreams + paralyzed muscles + active, awake-like brain = REM. [Apply]

12. (D) A randomized experiment assigning students to tutoring or no tutoring. Only random assignment plus a manipulated variable can establish cause and effect. Distractors: A), B), C), and E) are all non-experimental (observation, survey, case study, correlation) and cannot isolate cause. Fix: Cause-and-effect claim requires an experiment with manipulation and random assignment. [Evaluate]

13. (E) Cognitive therapy. Identifying, challenging, and testing distorted automatic thoughts is the core of cognitive therapy. Distractors: A) psychoanalysis explores the unconscious past; B) client-centered therapy is nondirective and emotion-focused; C) systematic desensitization treats phobias with graded exposure; D) biomedical therapy uses drugs or physical treatments. Fix: Challenging irrational thoughts against evidence = cognitive therapy. [Apply]

14. (A) The median. With one extreme outlier (the founder), the median resists distortion and reflects the typical worker. Distractors: B) the mean is dragged upward by the $5M salary; C) "mode of the highest salaries" is not a real central-tendency measure; D) range and E) standard deviation measure spread, not central tendency. Fix: Skewed data with outliers → report the median, not the mean. [Evaluate]

15. (B) Stanley Milgram. Milgram's shock-obedience experiments studied compliance with authority. Distractors: A) Asch studied conformity via line judgments; C) Zimbardo ran the prison/roles study; D) Festinger studied cognitive dissonance; E) Sherif studied group conflict (Robbers Cave). Fix: "Shocks + lab-coat authority = obedience = Milgram." [Remember]

16. (D) Hippocampus. The hippocampus is essential for forming new long-term (explicit) memories; damage yields anterograde amnesia with old memories spared. Distractors: A) the amygdala handles fear/emotion; B) the cerebellum handles balance and procedural learning; C) the hypothalamus regulates drives; E) the medulla controls vital reflexes. Fix: Can't form NEW memories, old ones intact = hippocampus. [Apply]

17. (E) Variable-ratio. Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses produces high, steady rates and strong resistance to extinction — the slot-machine schedule. Distractors: A) fixed-ratio reinforces after a set number, with post-reward pauses; B) fixed-interval reinforces the first response after a set time; C) variable-interval is time-based, yielding slow steady rates; D) continuous reinforces every response. Fix: Unpredictable count of responses (gambling) = variable-ratio, the most addictive schedule. [Apply]

18. (A) Integrity versus despair. Late adulthood's task is looking back with either satisfaction (integrity) or regret (despair). Distractors: B) generativity vs. stagnation is midlife; C) intimacy vs. isolation is young adulthood; D) identity vs. role confusion is adolescence; E) industry vs. inferiority is school age. Fix: Old-age life review with acceptance = integrity vs. despair. [Apply]

19. (B) Context-dependent memory. Retrieval improves when the environment at recall matches the environment at encoding. Distractors: A) the serial position effect concerns list order; C) the misinformation effect distorts memory with false details; D) proactive interference is old learning blocking new; E) chunking is an encoding strategy. Fix: Same place/surroundings aiding recall = context-dependent memory. [Apply]

20. (C) Bipolar disorder. Alternating manic episodes (little sleep, grandiosity, reckless spending) and depressive episodes define bipolar disorder. Distractors: A) major depression has no manic phase; B) dysthymia is chronic low-grade depression without mania; D) GAD is chronic worry; E) schizophrenia centers on psychosis, not mood cycling. Fix: Mania + depression cycling = bipolar; depression alone ≠ bipolar. [Analyze]

21. (E) Linear perspective. Parallel lines appearing to converge with distance is the monocular depth cue of linear perspective. Distractors: A) retinal disparity is a binocular cue; B) interposition is one object blocking another; C) convergence is a binocular muscular cue; D) accommodation is lens focusing. Fix: Parallel lines converging toward a vanishing point = linear perspective (monocular). [Apply]

22. (A) An internal locus of control. Believing your own effort and choices control outcomes is an internal locus of control. Distractors: B) external locus credits luck/fate — the opposite; C) self-efficacy is belief in one's competence at a task, a related but distinct idea; D) unconditional positive regard is Rogers's concept; E) Type A is a stress-prone behavior pattern. Fix: "I control my outcomes" = internal locus; "luck/fate controls them" = external. [Apply]

23. (B) The behavioral approach. Restricting the explanation to observable stimulus-and-response learning is behaviorism. Distractors: A) psychoanalytic invokes the unconscious; C) humanistic emphasizes growth; D) cognitive would cite thoughts/appraisals; E) evolutionary would cite ancestral survival value. Fix: "Observable stimulus → response, ignore inner states" = behavioral. [Apply]

24. (C) He first notices his body's response and then feels fear. James-Lange says bodily arousal comes first and the emotion is our perception of it. Distractors: A) is Cannon-Bard (simultaneous); B) and E) are cognitive-appraisal/two-factor theories; D) contradicts James-Lange, which requires a bodily change. Fix: James-Lange: body first ("I tremble, therefore I'm afraid"). [Analyze]

25. (D) Depressants. Depressants (alcohol, barbiturates) slow neural activity, reduce anxiety, and can suppress breathing at high doses. Distractors: A) stimulants speed activity; B) hallucinogens distort perception; C) opiates relieve pain and mimic endorphins (a different class); E) antipsychotics treat psychosis. Fix: Slows the CNS, calms, risks respiratory arrest = depressant. [Understand]

26. (A) Cognitive-dissonance reduction. Feeling discomfort from a decision that clashes with new information and then adjusting one's thoughts to restore consistency is dissonance reduction. Distractors: B) the bystander effect is failing to help in groups; C) social facilitation is improved performance before others; D) the just-world phenomenon blames victims; E) group polarization intensifies group opinions. Fix: Uneasy after a choice → change your thoughts to feel consistent = dissonance reduction. [Apply]

27. (B) Sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic branch mobilizes fight-or-flight: pounding heart, dilated pupils, readiness to act. Distractors: A) the parasympathetic branch calms and conserves ("rest and digest"); C) the somatic system controls voluntary muscles, not this automatic surge; D) the hippocampus is for memory; E) the corpus callosum links the hemispheres. Fix: Instant arousal for danger = sympathetic; calming afterward = parasympathetic. [Apply]

28. (C) Observational learning. Learning aggression by watching and imitating a model is observational (social) learning. Distractors: A) classical conditioning pairs stimuli; B) negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus; D) latent learning is unshown-until-needed learning; E) partial reinforcement concerns schedules. Fix: Watch a model, then imitate = observational learning (Bandura, Bobo doll). [Apply]

29. (D) Securely attached. Using the caregiver as a secure base, showing distress at departure, and being quickly soothed at reunion defines secure attachment. Distractors: A) avoidant infants ignore the caregiver; B) resistant infants cling and angrily resist comfort; C) disorganized infants show no coherent strategy; E) "authoritatively attached" is not a real category (it confuses attachment with a parenting style). Fix: Classify by the reunion — quickly comforted = secure. [Analyze]

30. (E) Functional fixedness. Failing to use an object in a novel way because you see it only in its usual role is functional fixedness. Distractors: A) confirmation bias is seeking confirming evidence; B) availability is a frequency-estimation shortcut; C) a "mental set toward tidiness" is a nonsense distractor; D) belief perseverance is clinging to disproven beliefs. Fix: Can't see a wrench as a hammer because "wrenches are for bolts" = functional fixedness. [Evaluate]

31. (B) Hallucinations and delusions. Hearing voices is a hallucination (false perception); believing in an implanted chip is a delusion (false belief). Distractors: A) obsessions/compulsions belong to OCD; C) reverses the two terms — the classic trap; D) flat affect/catatonia are negative/motor symptoms, not these; E) mania/depression are mood states. Fix: Hallucination = false perception; delusion = false belief. Keep the order straight. [Analyze]

32. (C) Systematic desensitization. Pairing deep relaxation with a gradual exposure hierarchy is systematic desensitization. Distractors: A) flooding uses immediate, intense exposure without the gradual build-up; B) aversive conditioning pairs an unwanted behavior with discomfort; D) free association is psychoanalytic; E) a token economy uses operant rewards. Fix: Relaxation + gradual exposure hierarchy = systematic desensitization; all-at-once = flooding. [Apply]

33. (D) More exercise is strongly associated with less anxiety. A correlation of −0.85 is strong and negative: as one variable rises, the other falls. Distractors: A) correlation alone can't prove causation; B) −0.85 is far from "no relationship"; C) misreads the direction and strength; E) calls a negative correlation positive. Fix: Negative sign = inverse direction; magnitude near 1 = strong. [Evaluate]

34. (E) A double-blind procedure. When neither participants nor those administering treatment know the assignments, both parties' expectations are controlled. Distractors: A) random sampling concerns who is chosen, not who knows; B) correlational designs don't manipulate anything; C) counterbalancing varies order of conditions; D) naturalistic observation involves no manipulation. Fix: Both sides blind to condition = double-blind (kills placebo and experimenter expectancy). [Evaluate]

35. (A) Trichromatic (Young-Helmholtz) theory. Three cone types tuned to different wavelengths explain color vision at the receptor level. Distractors: B) opponent-process explains afterimages via opposing color pairs (a later stage); C) place theory and D) frequency theory are about pitch, not color; E) gate-control is about pain. Fix: Three cones (R/G/B) = trichromatic; red-green/blue-yellow opposites = opponent-process. [Remember]

36. (C) Rorschach test. Interpreting responses to inkblots for unconscious material is the Rorschach, a projective test. Distractors: A) the MMPI is an objective true/false inventory; B) the Big Five is a trait questionnaire; D) the TAT uses ambiguous pictures/stories, not inkblots — the close trap; E) a self-efficacy scale measures task confidence. Fix: Inkblots = Rorschach; ambiguous story pictures = TAT (both projective). [Apply]

37. (D) The self-serving bias. Crediting the self for success and blaming outside forces for failure protects self-esteem. Distractors: A) the fundamental attribution error is about explaining others' behavior; B) mere exposure is liking through familiarity; C) deindividuation is losing self in a group; E) false consensus is overestimating how many share your views. Fix: "Win = me, lose = the situation," about yourself = self-serving bias. [Analyze]

38. (E) Broca's area. Broca's area (frontal lobe) governs speech production; damage yields effortful, telegraphic speech with intact comprehension. Distractors: A) Wernicke's area damage impairs comprehension with fluent but meaningless speech — the opposite; B) the occipital lobe is vision; C) the cerebellum is coordination; D) the amygdala is emotion. Fix: Broca = broken/effortful speech, understanding intact; Wernicke = fluent nonsense, poor understanding. [Apply]

39. (A) Achieving self-actualization. Maslow's hierarchy says lower needs (food, safety) dominate until met, so an unfed, unsafe person is least focused on the top-tier growth need. Distractors: B) food and D) water are unmet physiological needs (high priority now); C) safety and E) escaping danger are also pressing lower needs. Fix: Bottom of the pyramid must be met first; self-actualization waits at the top. [Evaluate]

40. (B) Preconventional. Reasoning from punishment and self-interest ("you'll get caught") is Kohlberg's preconventional level. Distractors: A) postconventional appeals to abstract principles above the law; C) conventional cites law and social approval; D) and E) name Piaget's cognitive stages, not moral levels. Fix: Punishment/reward reasoning = preconventional; law-and-order = conventional; principle = postconventional. [Apply]

41. (D) Negative punishment. Removing a pleasant stimulus (the phone) to decrease a behavior (missing curfew) is negative punishment. Distractors: A) negative reinforcement removes something aversive to increase behavior; B) positive reinforcement adds a reward; C) primary reinforcement involves innate rewards; E) positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus. Fix: "Negative" = take away; "punishment" = behavior decreases. Take away a good thing to reduce behavior = negative punishment. [Apply]

42. (E) Overregularization. Applying a grammar rule too broadly ("goed," "foots") is overregularization — evidence the child learned the rule, not just memorized words. Distractors: A) telegraphic speech is two-word content-only phrases; B) babbling is prelinguistic sounds; C) fast mapping is rapid new-word learning; D) phonemic restoration is filling in missing speech sounds. Fix: Over-applying "-ed"/"-s" rules = overregularization (a sign of rule learning). [Apply]

43. (A) A compulsion. A repetitive behavior performed to relieve anxiety (hand-washing) is a compulsion. Distractors: B) the intrusive contamination thought is the obsession — the distinction being tested; C) a delusion is a false belief; D) a hallucination is a false perception; E) a phobia is an intense fear of a specific object. Fix: Obsession = the intrusive thought; compulsion = the repeated act that relieves it. [Analyze]

44. (B) Independent variable. The variable the researcher manipulates (amount of caffeine) is the independent variable. Distractors: A) the dependent variable is the measured outcome (memory score); C) a confound is an uncontrolled third variable; D) the control condition is the placebo group; E) an operational definition specifies how a concept is measured. Fix: Manipulated cause = independent; measured effect = dependent. [Apply]

45. (C) Sleep apnea. Repeated pauses in breathing with brief awakenings and daytime exhaustion define sleep apnea. Distractors: A) narcolepsy is sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks; B) insomnia is difficulty falling/staying asleep; D) night terrors are episodes of panic during deep NREM sleep; E) sleepwalking is motor activity during deep sleep. Fix: Breathing stops-and-starts at night + daytime fatigue = sleep apnea. [Analyze]

46. (E) The bystander effect (diffusion of responsibility). In a crowd, each person assumes another will act, so responsibility diffuses and no one helps. Distractors: A) social loafing is reduced effort on group tasks; B) deindividuation is loss of self-restraint in crowds; C) the just-world hypothesis blames victims; D) group polarization intensifies group views. Fix: More onlookers, less individual responsibility to help = bystander effect. [Analyze]

47. (A) Openness to experience. Imagination, curiosity, and willingness to try new things define the Big Five trait of openness. Distractors: B) conscientiousness is organization/discipline; C) extraversion is sociability; D) agreeableness is warmth/cooperation; E) neuroticism is emotional instability. Fix: Curious, imaginative, novelty-seeking = openness (OCEAN's "O"). [Apply]

48. (B) A neuron either fires at full strength or does not fire at all. The all-or-none law means action-potential strength is constant regardless of stimulus intensity above threshold. Distractors: A) contradicts the law (strength is not graded); C) neurons don't fire continuously once triggered; D) transmitter release follows an action potential; E) resting and action potentials differ sharply. Fix: Above threshold, every action potential is the same size — all-or-none. [Understand]

49. (C) Shape constancy. Perceiving an object as having a stable shape despite changing retinal images is shape constancy. Distractors: A) linear perspective is a depth cue; B) sensory adaptation is fading response to a constant stimulus; D) retinal disparity is a binocular depth cue; E) the phi phenomenon is illusory motion from blinking lights. Fix: Stable perceived shape despite a changing retinal image = shape constancy. [Apply]

50. (D) Contact comfort. Harlow's monkeys preferred the soft, foodless cloth mother, showing attachment grows from comforting touch, not feeding. Distractors: A) nourishment is the refuted "cupboard theory"; B) imprinting is Lorenz's finding in birds; C) operant conditioning restates the food account; E) both surrogates were equally unrelated, so relatedness explains nothing. Fix: Harlow: attachment = contact comfort, not the one who feeds you. [Analyze]

51. (A) Unconditioned stimulus. Food triggers salivation without learning, so it is the unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus. Distractors: B) the conditioned stimulus is the once-neutral bell after pairing; C) the conditioned response is salivation to the bell; D) a neutral stimulus produces no relevant response before conditioning; E) the unconditioned response is the salivation the food causes, not the food itself. Fix: Naturally triggers the reflex, no learning needed = unconditioned stimulus. [Apply]

52. (B) Recency effect. Better recall of the last items in a list (still in short-term memory) is the recency effect. Distractors: A) the primacy effect is better recall of the first items; C) the spacing effect favors distributed practice; D) tip-of-the-tongue is a retrieval-block feeling; E) the von Restorff effect favors a distinctive item. Fix: Last items = recency (still in short-term store); first items = primacy (rehearsed into long-term). [Apply]

53. (C) Biopsychosocial model. Explaining a disorder as the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors is the biopsychosocial model. Distractors: A) a strictly behavioral model would cite only learning; B) psychoanalytic would cite unconscious conflict; D) structuralism analyzes consciousness into elements; E) the trichromatic model is about color vision. Fix: Three interacting levels — bio + psycho + social = biopsychosocial. [Evaluate]

54. (D) Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Inducing a brief, controlled seizure under anesthesia for severe, treatment-resistant depression is ECT. Distractors: A) a lobotomy severs frontal connections (obsolete surgery); B) TMS uses magnetic pulses and does not induce a seizure — the close trap; C) psychosurgery is any brain surgery for mental disorder; E) deep brain stimulation implants electrodes for chronic stimulation. Fix: Deliberate brief seizure under anesthesia for severe depression = ECT (TMS = no seizure). [Apply]

55. (E) Dissociative amnesia. A sudden inability to recall important personal information after trauma, with no physical cause, is dissociative amnesia. Distractors: A) retrograde amnesia and C) anterograde amnesia stem from physical brain injury; B) Alzheimer's is a progressive dementia; D) schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder. Fix: Psychological (trauma-triggered) memory loss, no brain damage = dissociative amnesia. [Analyze]

56. (B) The Yerkes-Dodson law. Performance peaks at moderate arousal and drops when arousal is too low or too high — an inverted-U. Distractors: A) drive-reduction concerns biological needs; C) Maslow's hierarchy ranks needs; D) opponent-process explains emotion/color aftereffects; E) Cannon-Bard is an emotion theory. Fix: Inverted-U of arousal and performance = Yerkes-Dodson. [Understand]

57. (C) 68%. By the normal-curve rule, about 68% of scores fall within one standard deviation of the mean; 85 and 115 are exactly ±1 SD (15 points) from 100. Distractors: A) 34% is half of ±1 SD (one side only); B) 50% is one side of the mean; D) 95% covers ±2 SD (70–130); E) 99% covers roughly ±3 SD. Fix: ±1 SD ≈ 68%, ±2 SD ≈ 95%, ±3 SD ≈ 99.7% (the 68-95-99.7 rule). [Apply]

58. (D) Conformity to group pressure. Yielding to a unanimous majority's obviously wrong answer is conformity, as in Asch's studies. Distractors: A) obedience is following an authority's order (Milgram); B) social facilitation is improved performance before others; C) groupthink is faulty group decision-making for harmony; E) foot-in-the-door is a compliance tactic. Fix: Going along with peers' wrong answer = conformity; obeying an authority = obedience. [Apply]

59. (E) Dopamine. Dopamine, tied to movement and reward, is depleted in Parkinson's disease. Distractors: A) serotonin regulates mood/sleep; B) GABA is the main inhibitory transmitter; C) acetylcholine drives muscle action and memory; D) endorphins reduce pain. Fix: Movement + reward + Parkinson's deficiency = dopamine. [Remember]

60. (A) Unconditional positive regard. Rogers held that full acceptance regardless of behavior fosters healthy self-development. Distractors: B) self-efficacy is Bandura's competence belief; C) reciprocal determinism is also Bandura's; D) the ideal self is who one wishes to be; E) individuation is Jung's self-integration process. Fix: Accept the person no matter what = unconditional positive regard (Rogers). [Understand]

61. (C) A correlation does not by itself establish causation. Diet-soda drinkers may already weigh more (reverse causation) or share a third factor; correlation alone can't prove soda causes weight gain. Distractors: A) a large sample is a strength, not a flaw; B) the study did not use random assignment (it's correlational); D) the outcome (weight) was measured; E) placebos apply to experiments, not this correlation. Fix: Correlation ≠ causation — watch for reverse causation and third variables. [Evaluate]

62. (D) Zone of proximal development. The gap between what a learner can do alone and with skilled help is Vygotsky's ZPD; the parent's hints are scaffolding within it. Distractors: A) formal operational is a Piagetian stage; B) a critical period is a biological learning window; C) object permanence is an infant milestone; E) a secure base is an attachment concept. Fix: "Can't alone, can with help" = zone of proximal development; the help itself = scaffolding. [Apply]

63. (E) Conditioned taste aversion. One pairing of a food with later nausea can create a lasting aversion — biologically prepared, one-trial learning. Distractors: A) higher-order conditioning chains conditioned stimuli; B) latent learning is hidden until needed; C) shaping rewards successive approximations; D) negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus. Fix: One food + later nausea → lasting disgust = conditioned taste aversion (Garcia effect). [Apply]

64. (A) The misinformation effect. Post-event wording ("smashed") reshapes the memory, adding details (broken glass) that were never seen. Distractors: B) the recency effect is about list position; C) the spacing effect is a study strategy; D) tip-of-the-tongue is a retrieval block; E) state-dependent memory ties recall to internal states. Fix: Misleading post-event information distorts the memory = misinformation effect (Loftus). [Evaluate]

65. (B) Tolerance. Needing larger doses for the same effect is drug tolerance. Distractors: A) withdrawal is the discomfort when stopping; C) addiction is compulsive use despite harm; D) dependence is needing the drug to function normally; E) potentiation is one drug amplifying another. Fix: Same dose does less, so you need more = tolerance. [Understand]

66. (D) Generalized anxiety disorder. Persistent, free-floating worry across many domains most days, with restlessness and sleep trouble, defines GAD. Distractors: A) a specific phobia targets one object; B) panic disorder features sudden panic attacks; C) OCD involves obsessions/compulsions; E) bipolar disorder cycles mood. Fix: Chronic, unfocused, "worry about everything" = generalized anxiety disorder. [Analyze]

67. (E) Difference threshold (just-noticeable difference). The minimum change needed to detect a difference between two stimuli is the difference threshold; that it is a proportion reflects Weber's law. Distractors: A) the absolute threshold is the minimum to detect a stimulus at all; B) sensory adaptation is fading response; C) perceptual set is expectation-driven perception; D) signal-detection bias concerns decision criteria. Fix: Smallest detectable difference between two stimuli = difference threshold (jnd); smallest detectable stimulus = absolute threshold. [Understand]

68. (A) The foot-in-the-door phenomenon. Agreeing to a small request increases later compliance with a larger one. Distractors: B) door-in-the-face starts with a large request that is refused; C) the reciprocity norm is repaying favors; D) mere exposure is liking through familiarity; E) central-route persuasion works through strong arguments. Fix: Small "yes" first, then a big request = foot-in-the-door. [Apply]

69. (B) An incentive. An external stimulus that pulls behavior (the appealing pastry) is an incentive, distinct from an internal push. Distractors: A) a primary drive arises from a biological need (real hunger), absent here; C) homeostasis is internal balance; D) a set point is a regulated target weight; E) intrinsic motivation is doing something for its own reward. Fix: External object pulling you (even without a need) = incentive; internal push from a need = drive. [Apply]

70. (C) Functionalism. James's Darwin-influenced focus on the adaptive purpose of consciousness is functionalism. Distractors: A) structuralism analyzed consciousness into elements (Titchener); B) behaviorism studies observable behavior; D) psychoanalysis focuses on the unconscious; E) humanism emphasizes growth. Fix: "What is consciousness for?" = functionalism (James); "what are its parts?" = structuralism. [Understand]

71. (E) Reciprocal determinism. Bandura's model in which behavior, personal factors, and environment continuously interact is reciprocal determinism. Distractors: A) id-ego-superego is Freud; B) unconditional positive regard is Rogers; C) locus of control is Rotter; D) the collective unconscious is Jung. Fix: Behavior ⇄ person ⇄ environment, all interacting = reciprocal determinism (Bandura). [Understand]

72. (A) High heritability. Twins raised apart who remain similar point to strong genetic influence — high heritability of the trait. Distractors: B) and C) are contradicted by the similarity despite different environments; D) a critical period is a developmental window, not a similarity measure; E) reliability concerns measurement consistency, not genetics. Fix: Similar despite different environments (twins reared apart) → high heritability. [Analyze]

73. (B) Object permanence. Acting as if a hidden object no longer exists shows the infant lacks object permanence (a sensorimotor achievement). Distractors: A) conservation develops much later (concrete operational); C) egocentrism is a preoperational trait; D) theory of mind concerns others' minds; E) stranger anxiety is a social fear. Fix: "Out of sight, out of existence" = no object permanence yet. [Apply]

74. (C) Representativeness heuristic. Judging Linda by how well she matches a librarian stereotype while ignoring base rates is the representativeness heuristic. Distractors: A) availability judges by ease of recall; B) framing concerns wording of options; D) confirmation bias seeks confirming evidence; E) anchoring fixates on an initial number. Fix: Matching to a stereotype/prototype and ignoring base rates = representativeness. [Analyze]

75. (D) Negative reinforcement. Removing an aversive stimulus (the beep) to increase a behavior (buckling) is negative reinforcement. Distractors: A) positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus; B) negative punishment removes a pleasant one to reduce behavior; C) positive reinforcement adds a reward; E) extinction is the fading of a response. Fix: "Negative" = remove; "reinforcement" = behavior increases. Take away the annoyance to boost behavior = negative reinforcement. [Apply]

76. (A) Post-traumatic stress disorder. Re-experiencing (flashbacks/nightmares), avoidance of reminders, and hyperarousal (exaggerated startle) after a trauma define PTSD. Distractors: B) GAD is diffuse worry without a specific trauma memory; C) panic disorder centers on panic attacks; D) dissociative identity disorder involves distinct identities; E) major depression centers on mood. Fix: Trauma + flashbacks + avoidance + hyperarousal = PTSD. [Analyze]

77. (B) Client-centered (person-centered) therapy. Rogers's nondirective therapy uses warmth, empathy, and unconditional positive regard so clients find their own answers. Distractors: A) REBT actively disputes irrational beliefs (directive); C) psychoanalysis interprets the unconscious; D) systematic desensitization treats phobias; E) a token economy uses operant rewards. Fix: Warm, empathic, nondirective, client leads = client-centered therapy. [Apply]

78. (C) Naturalistic observation. Watching and recording behavior in its natural setting without intervening is naturalistic observation. Distractors: A) an experiment manipulates variables; B) a survey asks questions; D) a case study examines one individual in depth; E) a double-blind study is an experimental control. Fix: Observe in the wild, no interference = naturalistic observation. [Apply]

79. (D) A result this extreme is unlikely (less than 5% probability) if only chance were operating. That is the meaning of statistical significance at p < .05. Distractors: A) significance is about probability, not effect size/importance; B) it never "proves" a hypothesis; C) it does not guarantee replication; E) it is not the percentage of participants who improved. Fix: p < .05 = "unlikely by chance alone," not "large" or "certain." [Evaluate]

80. (E) Group polarization. Discussion among like-minded people pushes the group's shared view to a more extreme position. Distractors: A) social loafing is reduced individual effort; B) deindividuation is loss of self-awareness in crowds; C) the bystander effect is failure to help; D) simple conformity is matching others without the intensification. Fix: Like-minded discussion → stronger, more extreme shared view = group polarization. [Apply]

81. (B) Gate-control theory. Non-painful input (rubbing) can "close the gate" in the spinal cord and block pain signals. Distractors: A) opponent-process theory concerns color/emotion aftereffects; C) place theory and D) trichromatic theory concern hearing and color; E) signal-detection theory concerns detecting faint stimuli. Fix: Rubbing eases pain by closing a spinal "gate" = gate-control theory. [Understand]

82. (C) Circadian rhythm. The roughly 24-hour biological clock, disrupted by crossing time zones (jet lag), is the circadian rhythm. Distractors: A) the REM cycle is a within-night pattern; B) a sleep spindle is a brief NREM-2 brain-wave burst; D) a hypnagogic state is the onset of sleep; E) a hunger set point regulates weight, not sleep timing. Fix: ~24-hour day/night body clock, thrown off by jet lag = circadian rhythm. [Apply]

83. (D) Vision. The occipital lobe houses the primary visual cortex, so its damage impairs sight. Distractors: A) hearing is temporal-lobe (auditory cortex); B) balance is the cerebellum/vestibular system; C) memory formation is the hippocampus; E) language comprehension is Wernicke's area (temporal). Fix: Occipital lobe = vision (it's at the back, where visual cortex sits). [Apply]

84. (E) Physiological arousal and a cognitive label for that arousal. The two-factor (Schachter-Singer) theory says emotion = bodily arousal plus a cognitive interpretation of it. Distractors: A)–D) omit one or both required factors, or invoke unrelated concepts (instincts, memories, set points, unconscious wishes). Fix: Two-factor = arousal + a cognitive label naming the emotion. [Understand]

85. (A) Remain stable or even increase. Crystallized intelligence (vocabulary, accumulated knowledge) tends to hold or grow with age, unlike fluid abilities. Distractors: B) reverses crystallized intelligence's trajectory; C) reverses the fluid/crystallized contrast; D) is false — knowledge does not vanish; E) "fluctuate randomly" misdescribes the steady pattern. Fix: Crystallized (stored knowledge) stays or grows; fluid (novel speed) declines. [Understand]

86. (C) Interpersonal. In Gardner's multiple intelligences, sensitivity to and skill with other people is interpersonal intelligence. Distractors: A) linguistic is word skill; B) logical-mathematical is reasoning with numbers; D) spatial is visualizing space; E) intrapersonal is understanding oneself — the close trap. Fix: Reading others = interpersonal; understanding yourself = intrapersonal. [Apply]

87. (D) An operational definition. Defining a concept by the exact, measurable procedure used to assess it (hits per ten minutes) is an operational definition. Distractors: A) a hypothesis is a testable prediction; B) a confounding variable is an uncontrolled influence; C) random assignment sorts participants into groups; E) a theory is a broad explanatory framework. Fix: "Define it by how you measure it" = operational definition. [Apply]

88. (E) General adaptation syndrome. Selye's alarm → resistance → exhaustion sequence is the general adaptation syndrome. Distractors: A) fight-or-flight is the immediate arousal response, not the three-stage model; B) Type A is a behavior pattern; C) tend-and-befriend is an alternative stress response (Taylor); D) approach-avoidance is a conflict type. Fix: Alarm–resistance–exhaustion (Selye) = general adaptation syndrome. [Understand]

89. (A) Id. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. Distractors: B) the ego follows the reality principle, mediating demands; C) the superego is the moral conscience; D) the preconscious is a level of awareness, not a personality structure; E) the collective unconscious is Jung's, not Freud's id. Fix: Pleasure principle, "I want it now" = id; reality principle = ego; conscience = superego. [Understand]

90. (B) Social roles to shape behavior. The Stanford prison study is classically cited to show how assigned social roles can drive behavior. Distractors: A) obedience to a direct authority is Milgram's focus; C) the bystander effect is a helping phenomenon; D) cognitive dissonance is attitude-behavior tension; E) the fundamental attribution error is an attribution bias. Fix: Assigned roles (guard/prisoner) reshaping behavior = Zimbardo's roles study. (See Human-QC note: the study's methods and conclusions are now widely disputed; treat as the textbook interpretation.) [Apply]

91. (D) Shaping. Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior is shaping. Distractors: A) chaining links separate learned responses into a sequence; B) generalization is responding to similar stimuli; C) latent learning is hidden until reinforced; E) extinction is the fading of a response. Fix: Reward closer-and-closer approximations to the goal behavior = shaping. [Apply]

92. (E) Psychoanalytic (psychodynamic). Focusing on repressed childhood conflict and unconscious motives is the psychoanalytic perspective. Distractors: A) behavioral studies observable learning; B) humanistic emphasizes growth; C) cognitive targets thoughts; D) biological targets brain/chemistry. Fix: "Repressed," "unconscious," "childhood conflict" = psychoanalytic. [Understand]

93. (A) Myelin sheath. The fatty myelin sheath insulates the axon and speeds neural transmission. Distractors: B) the synapse is the gap between neurons; C) dendrites receive incoming signals; D) the soma is the cell body; E) terminal buttons release neurotransmitters. Fix: Fatty insulation on the axon that speeds signals = myelin sheath. [Remember]

94. (B) Depression and anxiety. SSRIs (e.g., fluoxetine) raise available serotonin and are first-line for depression and many anxiety disorders. Distractors: A) schizophrenia is treated with antipsychotics; C) bipolar mania is treated with mood stabilizers (SSRIs can even trigger mania); D) Parkinson's involves dopamine, not SSRIs; E) "insomnia only" is far too narrow. Fix: SSRI = antidepressant, also front-line for anxiety. [Apply]

95. (C) Figure-ground. Organizing a scene into a main object (figure) and its background (ground) is the Gestalt figure-ground principle. Distractors: A) closure fills in gaps to see a whole; B) proximity groups nearby elements; D) similarity groups like elements; E) continuity favors smooth, continuous lines. Fix: Object vs. background split = figure-ground. [Apply]

Scaled Score Estimator

Count your number correct out of 95 and read across to the approximate CLEP scaled score. CLEP reports on a 20–80 scale; ACE recommends credit at 50.

Raw correct (of 95) Approx. scaled score (20–80)
0–4 20–22
5–9 23–25
10–14 26–28
15–19 29–32
20–24 33–35
25–29 36–39
30–34 40–42
35–39 43–45
40–43 46–48
44–47 49
48–50 50 ← ACE credit threshold (~50% correct)
51–53 52–54
54–57 55–57
58–62 58–60
63–66 61–63
67–70 64–66
71–74 67–69
75–79 70–72
80–84 73–75
85–89 76–78
90–95 79–80

Disclaimer: CLEP's exact raw-to-scaled conversion is proprietary and is equated across forms; this table is an approximation for self-assessment only. Reaching about 50% correct (≈48/95) on this mock corresponds to the credit-granting score of 50. Treat anything near the threshold as "keep studying."

Score summary

Your running multiple-choice score appears in the bar below. Self-score the free-response section with the rubrics in the answer key, then use the diagnostic table to target review.

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