• 63 questions

AP Psychology Unit 4 Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Unit 4 of AP Psychology, Social Psychology and Personality.

A driver cuts in front of Maria. She decides at once that he is a selfish person and never considers that he might be rushing to an emergency. Which error is she making?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board. Bank checked October 8, 2026.

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All 63 questions

Topic 4.1: Attribution and person perception 9

  • A classmate fails a test. Which explanation is a situational attribution? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "situational attribution" and "dispositional attribution"; course topic 4.1
  • A driver cuts in front of Maria. She decides at once that he is a selfish person and never considers that he might be rushing to an emergency. Which error is she making? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "fundamental attribution error"; course topic 4.1
  • A teacher expects one student to struggle, calls on him less and gives him less feedback, and by spring his grades have fallen. What is this an example of? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "self-fulfilling prophecy"; course topic 4.1
  • A tennis player credits her wins to her own skill and blames her losses on bad line calls. Which bias is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "self-serving bias"; course topic 4.1
  • After a poor race, a runner cheers himself up by noting that he still finished ahead of several others. What kind of comparison is he making? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "social comparison theory"; course topic 4.1
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Topic 4.1: Attribution and person perception, continued

  • Ana was pleased with her bonus until she learned that coworkers doing the same job got twice as much. What is her new dissatisfaction called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "relative deprivation"; course topic 4.1
  • When Jon is late he blames the traffic. When his coworker is late he says she is disorganized. Which bias does this show? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "actor-observer effect"; course topic 4.1
  • "Whether I get the job depends on how well I prepare for the interview." What does this statement reflect? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "locus of control"; course topic 4.1
  • Zoe had no opinion of a song when she first heard it. After hearing it on the bus every morning for a month, she finds she likes it. What explains the change? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "mere-exposure effect"; course topic 4.1

Topic 4.2: Attitudes 8

  • A man formed a belief after reading one study. Shown that the study was withdrawn for errors, he holds the belief just as firmly. What is this called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "belief perseverance"; course topic 4.2
  • A manager believes that older workers cannot learn new software, feels uneasy around them, and refuses to interview anyone over 55. Which part is discrimination? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "discrimination" and "stereotype" and "prejudice"; course topic 4.2
  • A student who prides himself on honesty copies a friend's homework. He feels uneasy, then tells himself that homework hardly counts anyway. What is he reducing? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "cognitive dissonance"; course topic 4.2
  • A voter reads only the articles that back her favorite candidate and skips any that criticize him. Which tendency is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "confirmation bias"; course topic 4.2
  • Campers are sorted at random into a red team and a blue team. By evening each team rates its own posters as better than the other team's. Which bias is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "ingroup bias"; course topic 4.2
  • Hearing that a neighbor's house was broken into, a man says, "They must have been careless about locking up." Which belief does his remark reflect? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "just-world hypothesis"; course topic 4.2
  • Students at one school say that students at the rival school "are all the same," while describing their own classmates as a varied bunch. Which bias is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "outgroup homogeneity bias"; course topic 4.2
  • What makes an attitude an implicit attitude? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "implicit attitude"; course topic 4.2

Topic 4.3: Social situations 19

  • A charity asks residents to sign a short petition. A week later it asks the signers for a donation, and most give. Which technique is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "foot-in-the-door technique"; course topic 4.3
  • A close-knit committee, eager to stay in agreement, approves a risky plan while the members who have doubts keep quiet. What is this pattern called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "groupthink"; course topic 4.3
  • A lab assistant carries on with a procedure that troubles him because the senior scientist tells him to continue. What is this behavior called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "obedience"; course topic 4.3
  • A pianist plays a piece she has practiced for years better in front of an audience than alone at home. What is this effect called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "social facilitation"; course topic 4.3
  • A shopper drops a bag of groceries on a crowded sidewalk and no one stops. On a quiet street, the one passerby helps at once. Which effect does the contrast show? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "bystander effect"; course topic 4.3
  • A student who loves pineapple on pizza is sure that most of his classmates do too. A class poll shows that few of them do. Which effect misled him? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "false-consensus effect"; course topic 4.3
  • A teenager asks to stay out until 2 a.m. and is refused. She then asks for 11 p.m., and her parents agree. Which technique did she use? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "door-in-the-face technique"; course topic 4.3
  • After a neighbor mows her lawn while she is away, Dee feels that she ought to do something for him in return. Which norm is at work? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "reciprocity norm" and "social responsibility norm"; course topic 4.3
  • At her first formal dinner, Kim is unsure which fork to use, so she copies the other guests on the assumption that they know what is correct. Which kind of social influence is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "informational influence"; course topic 4.3
  • Before buying a laptop, a shopper compares battery life, repair records and prices in detail and is convinced by the strongest case. Which route to persuasion is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "central route to persuasion"; course topic 4.3
  • Club members who each mildly favor a later school start time discuss it for an hour and come out strongly in favor. What does this shift show? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "group polarization"; course topic 4.3
  • Each boat on a lake takes as many fish as it can today, and within a few years the stock collapses for everyone. What is this situation called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "social trap"; course topic 4.3
  • Five friends say that a film was great. Eli found it dull, but when his turn comes he says it was great too. What is his behavior called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "conformity"; course topic 4.3
  • In a study, an actor drops a stack of papers while either one other person or five other people are nearby, and researchers record whether anyone helps. What is the dependent variable? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "dependent variable"; course topic 4.3
  • In a tug-of-war, each person pulls less hard as part of a team of eight than when pulling alone. What is this drop in effort called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "social loafing"; course topic 4.3
  • Sam laughs at a joke he does not find funny because he wants the group at his new school to accept him. Which kind of social influence is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "normative influence"; course topic 4.3
  • Two rival cabins at a summer camp grow friendlier after both must pool their effort to repair the camp's only water line. What brought them together? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "superordinate goal"; course topic 4.3
  • Voters who find a candidate likable also rate her as more intelligent and more honest, with no evidence on either. What is this an example of? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "halo effect"; course topic 4.3
  • Wearing identical face paint in a crowd of thousands, fans shout things they would never say on their own. Which state does this illustrate? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "deindividuation"; course topic 4.3

Topic 4.4: Psychodynamic and humanistic theories 9

  • A counselor shows the same caring and acceptance toward a client whatever the client says or has done. What did Carl Rogers call this attitude? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "unconditional positive regard"; course topic 4.4
  • A psychologist asks a client to say what she sees in a series of ambiguous inkblots. What is this kind of personality test called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "projective technique"; course topic 4.4
  • A student who strongly dislikes a classmate insists that it is the classmate who dislikes her. Which defense mechanism is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "projection"; course topic 4.4
  • According to psychoanalytic theory, a person with strong aggressive urges who becomes a determined football player is using which defense mechanism? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "sublimation"; course topic 4.4
  • After being cut from the team, Omar says, "I never wanted to give up my weekends for practice anyway." Which defense mechanism is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "rationalization"; course topic 4.4
  • After his family moves to a new city, an 8-year-old starts sucking his thumb again, as he did when he was a toddler. Which defense mechanism is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "regression"; course topic 4.4
  • Criticized by his coach in front of the team, a player says nothing, then goes home and shouts at his younger brother. Which defense mechanism is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "displacement"; course topic 4.4
  • Humanistic psychologists hold that people strive to realize everything they are capable of becoming. What is this striving called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "self-actualization"; course topic 4.4
  • Someone who unconsciously resents a rival treats that rival with exaggerated warmth and praise. Which defense mechanism is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "reaction formation"; course topic 4.4

Topic 4.5: Social-cognitive and trait theories 6

  • A coworker is organized, dependable and hardworking, and never misses a deadline. On which Big Five trait would she score high? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "conscientiousness"; course topic 4.5
  • A test presents 200 statements such as "I enjoy large parties," each answered true or false and scored against standardized norms. What kind of test is it? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "personality inventory"; course topic 4.5
  • A traveler seeks out unfamiliar foods, new kinds of art and ideas that challenge his own. On which Big Five trait would he score high? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "openness to experience"; course topic 4.5
  • An outgoing student joins several clubs. The clubs make her still more confident, and she then seeks out even more social settings. Which idea describes this loop? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "reciprocal determinism"; course topic 4.5
  • Before a chemistry lab, Priya feels sure that she can carry out the procedure correctly. What does this belief about a specific task reflect? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "self-efficacy" and "self-esteem"; course topic 4.5
  • Researchers give hundreds of personality items to a large sample and use a statistical method that reduces the correlated answers to a few underlying dimensions. Which method is it? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "factor analysis"; course topic 4.5

Topic 4.6: Motivation 8

  • A climber takes up skydiving and then cave diving because calmer hobbies leave her bored. Which theory of motivation fits best? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "sensation seeking"; course topic 4.6
  • A fourth grader who does not like reading finishes ten books in a month only to earn a pizza coupon. What kind of motivation is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "extrinsic motivation"; course topic 4.6
  • A retired engineer paints every morning purely because he enjoys painting, and he never shows or sells the pictures. What kind of motivation is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "intrinsic motivation"; course topic 4.6
  • A student does her best on exams when she is moderately keyed up, and worse when she is either sleepy or panicking. Which principle describes this pattern? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "Yerkes-Dodson law"; course topic 4.6
  • A student wants the lead in the school play for the applause but dreads the months of late rehearsals that come with it. Which kind of conflict is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "approach-avoidance conflict"; course topic 4.6
  • After a long run on a hot day, a runner feels thirsty and drinks until the feeling goes away. Which theory of motivation fits best? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "drive-reduction theory"; course topic 4.6
  • On Saturday a teenager must either clean out the garage or weed the whole garden, and he dislikes both jobs equally. Which kind of conflict is this? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "avoidance-avoidance conflict" and "approach-approach conflict"; course topic 4.6
  • Which hormone is secreted by fat cells and, by acting on receptors in the hypothalamus, reduces food intake? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "leptin" and "ghrelin"; course topic 4.6

Topic 4.7: Emotion 4

  • Fear, anger, sadness, disgust and surprise often appear together on psychologists' lists of emotions. What are the emotions on such lists said to share? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "primary emotion"; course topic 4.7
  • In one family's culture, showing anger in public is frowned upon, and in another's it is accepted. What are such learned standards for expressing emotion called? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "display rule"; course topic 4.7
  • What does the facial-feedback hypothesis claim? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "facial feedback hypothesis"; course topic 4.7
  • Which description of an emotion matches the one psychologists use? APA Dictionary of Psychology, "emotion"; course topic 4.7

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 4 (Social Psychology and Personality) of the College Board's AP Psychology Course and Exam Description, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-psychology-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-08. Each fact was read on 2026-10-08 in the entry of the APA Dictionary of Psychology (American Psychological Association, https://dictionary.apa.org) named under its question. Licence: Own work.

How it works

This AP Psychology Unit 4 practice test has 63 questions of our own on Social Psychology and Personality. The test is unofficial and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board, which owns the AP exams.

Read the full guide

What Unit 4 covers

By the College Board's course description, read October 8, 2026, Unit 4 has seven topics. The questions here are spread over them by our own judgment: attribution and person perception 9, attitudes 8, social situations 19, psychodynamic and humanistic theories 9, social-cognitive and trait theories 6, motivation 8 and emotion 4.

Sources you can open

Every answer cites its entry in the APA Dictionary of Psychology, linked under the explanation.

Why so many terms look alike

Unit 4 is full of near twins: conformity and obedience, group polarization and groupthink, foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face. Many wrong choices here are the twin, on purpose.

  • For an attribution question, ask first whose behavior is being explained and whether the cause given is the person or the situation.
  • Each defense mechanism has one move: displacement shifts the target, projection shifts the owner, reaction formation flips the feeling.
  • Name a motivational conflict by counting goals: one goal with a good side and a bad side is approach-avoidance.

Questions and answers

What is Unit 4 in AP Psych?

Social Psychology and Personality: attribution, attitudes, the psychology of social situations, four families of personality theory, motivation and emotion.

How much of the AP Psychology exam is Unit 4?

The College Board's course page gives Unit 4 a weighting of 15 to 25% of the multiple-choice section, which has 75 questions in 90 minutes.

Is the hierarchy of needs on the AP Psychology exam?

No. The course description places the hierarchy of needs outside the scope of the exam, along with the psychosexual stages and the specific names of the theories of emotion. This test leaves all three out.

Is this the AP Psychology Unit 4 Progress Check MCQ?

No. The Progress Check belongs to the College Board, runs in AP Classroom and has about 10 multiple-choice questions for Unit 4. This is separate practice written for this site, with different questions.

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