ap psychology unit 6 practice test

3 min read 23-11-2024

Meta Description: Ace your AP Psychology Unit 6 exam! This comprehensive practice test covers social psychology topics like attitudes, conformity, obedience, and group behavior, complete with detailed explanations. Prepare effectively with this in-depth resource. Sharpen your understanding of social influence, prejudice, and aggression. Check your knowledge on bystander intervention and altruism.

Introduction: Mastering Social Psychology

Unit 6 of AP Psychology delves into the fascinating world of social psychology – how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. This practice test will help you solidify your understanding of key concepts and prepare for the AP exam. Understanding social psychology is crucial to understanding human behavior. Let's dive in!

Attitudes and Attitude Change

1. What is the difference between the central and peripheral routes to persuasion?

Central Route: This involves careful and thoughtful consideration of the content of a message. It's more likely to lead to lasting attitude change.
Peripheral Route: This focuses on superficial cues such as the speaker's attractiveness or the length of the message. It's less likely to create lasting change.

2. Explain the cognitive dissonance theory.

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. This discomfort motivates individuals to reduce the dissonance by changing their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. For example, someone who smokes despite knowing it's harmful might reduce dissonance by downplaying the health risks or quitting smoking.

3. Describe the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.

The foot-in-the-door technique is a compliance tactic that involves getting a person to agree to a small request first, making them more likely to agree to a larger, related request later. This works because initial compliance creates a sense of commitment.

Conformity and Obedience

4. Describe Asch's conformity experiments and their findings.

Asch's experiments demonstrated the powerful influence of group pressure on individual judgment. Participants were asked to judge the length of lines, but confederates intentionally gave incorrect answers. A significant portion of participants conformed to the incorrect group response, even when it was clearly wrong. This highlights the power of normative social influence – the desire to fit in.

5. Explain Milgram's obedience experiments and their implications.

Milgram's studies explored the extent to which individuals would obey authority figures, even if it meant harming another person. Participants were instructed to administer increasingly strong electric shocks to a "learner" (a confederate) for incorrect answers. A surprising number of participants obeyed orders to deliver potentially lethal shocks. This revealed the power of situational factors in influencing obedience.

6. What factors influence conformity and obedience?

Several factors influence conformity and obedience, including:

Group size: Larger groups tend to exert more pressure.
Group unanimity: Conformity decreases if even one person disagrees with the group.
Authority figure's legitimacy: Obedience is higher when the authority figure is perceived as legitimate.
Proximity to the victim: Obedience decreases when the victim is closer to the participant.

Group Dynamics

7. Define social facilitation and social loafing.

Social facilitation: The improved performance of simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
Social loafing: The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

8. Explain group polarization and groupthink.

Group polarization: The tendency for group discussion to strengthen the dominant viewpoint of the group members.
Groupthink: The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

9. What are some strategies to prevent groupthink?

Strategies to prevent groupthink include encouraging critical evaluation, assigning a devil's advocate, and seeking outside opinions.

Prejudice, Discrimination, and Aggression

10. Define prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes.

Prejudice: A negative attitude toward a group and its members.
Discrimination: Unjustified negative behavior toward a group and its members.
Stereotype: A generalized belief about a group of people.

11. What are some causes of prejudice?

Causes of prejudice include social inequalities, in-group bias, scapegoating, and categorization.

12. Explain the bystander effect and altruism.

Bystander effect: The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.
Altruism: Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

13. What factors influence helping behavior?

Factors influencing helping behavior include noticing the event, interpreting it as an emergency, assuming responsibility, knowing how to help, and deciding to help.

Conclusion: Putting it All Together

This practice test covered major concepts in AP Psychology Unit 6. Remember, understanding social psychology isn't just about memorizing definitions; it's about applying these concepts to real-world situations. Reviewing your notes, textbook, and engaging in further practice will solidify your understanding and boost your confidence for the AP exam. Good luck!