AP Psychology UNIT 1 Practice Test 2026

Last Updated on March 13, 2026

AP Psychology UNIT 1 Practice Test 2026: The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exam Psychology UNIT 1 (Biological Bases of Behavior) Questions and Answers. Try our free AP Psychology review practice test.

This unit summarizes the structure and function of different parts of the brain (including neural anatomy and processes). The unit includes a brief overview of how the biological systems of genetics and the endocrine system influence thinking and behavior. The unit discusses the application of biological psychology research to states of consciousness and sensation.

The influence of biology (sometimes called the neuroscience or biopsychological perspective) is growing. An understanding of the biological principles relevant to psychology is needed not only for the AP exam but also for any understanding of current psychological thinking.

AP Psychology UNIT 1 Practice Test 2026

Test Name	Advanced Placement Exam
Subject	AP Psychology Practice Test 2026
Unit 1	Biological Bases of Behavior
Section 1	Multiple Choice Question
Total Items	15 Sample MCQs
Topics	→ Genetics → Neuroanatomy → Nervous system → Endocrine system
AP EXAM WEIGHTING	15–25%

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AP Psychology UNIT 1 Practice Test
UNIT 1- Biological Bases of Behavior
Total Items - 15
Time Limit - Untimed

1) Dr. Dahab, a brain researcher, is investigating the connection between certain environmental stimuli and brain processes. Which types of brain scans is he most likely to use?

MRI and CAT

CAT and EKG

PET and EEG

EKG and CAT

2) Split-brain patients are unable to

coordinate movements between their major and minor muscle groups.

speak about information received exclusively in their right hemisphere.

speak about information received exclusively in their left hemisphere.

solve abstract problems involving integrating logical (left-hemisphere) and spatial (right-hemisphere) information.

3) Mr. Spam is a 39-year-old male who has been brought into your neurology clinic by his wife. She has become increasingly alarmed by her husband's behavior over the last four months. You recommend a CAT scan to look for tumors in the brain. Which two parts of the brain would you predict are being affected by the tumors? List of symptoms: vastly increased appetite, body temperature fluctuations, decreased sexual desire, jerky movements, poor balance when walking and standing, inability to throw objects, and exaggerated efforts to coordinate movements in a task

Motor cortex and emotion cortex

Somatosensory cortex and hypothalamus

Hypothalamus and cerebellum

Cerebellum and medulla

4) A deer runs into the road while Harry is driving, and he has to swerve and hit the brakes. As he slows to a stop, Harry's heart is pounding and his breathing rate is elevated. Harry's reaction is controlled by the

peripheral nervous system.

central nervous system.

parasympathetic nervous system.

sympathetic nervous system.

5) What is the principal difference between amplitude and frequency in the context of sound waves?

Amplitude is the tone or timbre of a sound, whereas frequency is the pitch.

Amplitude is detected in the cochlea, whereas frequency is detected in the auditory cortex.

Amplitude is the height of the sound wave, whereas frequency is a measure of how frequently the sound waves pass a given point.

Both measure qualities of sound, but frequency is a more accurate measure since it measures the shapes of the waves rather than the strength of the waves.

6) What behavior would be difficult without our vestibular sense?

Integrating what we see and hear

Writing our name

Repeating a list of digits

Walking a straight line with our eyes closed

7) After being in a car accident, Suzy is having difficulty with her vision. Which part of her brain is most likely to have been affected?

Cerebellum

Thalamus

Parietal lobe

Amygdala

8) Bertrand falls asleep at unusual times, including in the middle of arguments. With which disorder is he most likely to be diagnosed?

Sleep apnea

Insomnia

Narcolepsy

Somnambulism

9) Which of the following provides the best evidence for the influence of heredity as opposed to environment?

Fraternal twins have more similar interests than typical siblings.

Identical twins raised together score less similarly on intelligence tests than identical twins raised separately.

Fraternal twins raised together score more similarly on intelligence tests than fraternal twins raised separately.

Identical twins raised separately tend to resemble their birth parents more than their adoptive parents.

10) How do chemical senses differ from energy senses?

People need to interact more closely with a chemical stimulus sense.

The chemical senses are more important to most people than the energy senses.

More research has focused on chemical senses than on energy senses.

More of the brain is devoted to processing chemical sensation than energy sensation.

11) Eli plays percussion in a band. He's been urged to wear earplugs in order to protect his hearing. Which part of the ear is most likely to be protected by earplugs?

Hair cells

Ossicles

Pinna

Tympanic membrane

12) A drug that blocks the perception of pain is most likely to be

an acetylcholine agonist.

an endorphin agonist.

a serotonin antagonist.

a glutamate antagonist.

13) Dr. Webb is studying what happens when people are deprived of REM sleep. In his university lab, 40 students from his Introduction to Psychology class are randomly assigned either to a control condition in which they are left to sleep without disruption or to a REM deprivation condition in which they are awakened every time an EEG indicates that they are entering REM. The students report to the lab directly after Dr. Webb's class on Monday, and at the next class meeting, they take a quiz on the material taught Monday. The graph below shows the results of the study.

The results provide the strongest support for the argument that sleep has a

biological purpose.

cognitive purpose.

social purpose.

psychodynamic purpose.

14) The biggest ethical concern associated with Dr. Webb's study would be

deception.

privacy.

long-lasting harm.

consent.

15) If Dr. Webb wants to generalize his findings beyond his sample, it would be most valuable for him to

test these students again later in the semester.

test students from a class he will teach the following semester.

test students of different ages from a variety of schools.

test students from a variety of colleges and classes.

Your score is

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