AP Psychology UNIT 3 Practice Test 2025 (Sensation and Perception)

Last Updated on March 25, 2025

AP Psychology UNIT 3 Practice Test 2025. The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exam Psychology UNIT 3 (Sensation and Perception) Questions and Answers. Try our free AP Psychology review practice test.

UNIT 3 Sensation and Perception: TOPICS

3.1 Principles of Sensation
3.2 Principles of Perception
3.3 Visual Anatomy
3.4 Visual Perception
3.5 Auditory Sensation and Perception
3.6 Chemical Senses
3.7 Body Senses

AP Psychology UNIT 3 Practice Test 2025

Test Name	Advanced Placement Exam
Subject	AP Psychology Practice Test 2025
Unit 3	Sensation and Perception
Section 1	Multiple Choice Question
Total Items	30 Sample MCQs
Time Limit	35 Minutes
AP EXAM WEIGHTING	6 –8%

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AP Psychology UNIT 3 Practice Test

AP Psychology Practice Test
UNIT 3: Sensation and Perception
Total MCQs: 30
Time Limit: 35 Minutes

1 / 30

Neural impulses go directly to the cortex without passing through the thalamus from receptors in the

(A) retina

(B) joints

(D) olfactory epithelium

(E) taste buds

2 / 30

On its way to the cones and rods of the eye (in order), light passes through the

(A) cornea, vitreous humor, lens, iris, aqueous humor

(B) sclera, lens, pupil, iris, vitreous humor

(D) sclera, aqueous humor, lens, pupil, vitreous humor

(E) retina, vitreous humor, lens, iris, aqueous humor, fovea

3 / 30

When food supplies may be unsafe, which of the following would have an adaptive advantage over most other people?

I. Supertasters
II. Average Tasters
III. Nontasters

(A) I only

(B) II only

(D) I and III only

(E) I, II, III

4 / 30

Of the following, which bend incoming light rays to focus an image on the retina?

I. cornea
II. iris
III. lens

(A) I only

(B) II only

(D) I and III only

(E) I, II, III

5 / 30

Mechanical energy of vibrations is transduced to the electrochemical energy of neural impulses at the

(A) retina

(B) lens

(D) olfactory mucosa

(E) taste buds

6 / 30

Which of the following sentences best describes the relationship between culture and perception?

(A) Our perceptual rules are inborn and not affected by culture.

(B) Perceptual rules are culturally based, so rules that apply to one culture rarely apply to another.

(D) Slight variations in sensory apparatuses among cultures create slight differences in perception.

(E) The processes involved in perception are genetically based, so genetic differences among cultures affect perception

7 / 30

What behavior would be difficult without our vestibular sense?

(A) integrating what we see and hear

(B) writing our name

(D) walking a straight line with our eyes closed

(E) reporting to a researcher the exact position and orientation of our limbs

8 / 30

You are shown a picture of your grandfather’s face, but the eyes and mouth are blocked out. You still recognize it as a picture of your grandfather. Which type of processing best explains this example of perception?

(A) bottom-up processing

(B) signal detection theory

(D) opponent-process theory

(E) gestalt replacement theory

9 / 30

Color blindness and color afterimages are best explained by what theory of color vision?

(A) trichromatic theory

(B) visible hue theory

(D) dichromatic theory

(E) binocular disparity theory

10 / 30

What function does the retina serve?

(A) The retina contains the visual receptor cells.

(B) The retina focuses light coming in the eye through the lens.

(D) The retina determines which rods and cones will be activated by incoming light.

(E) The retina connects the two optic nerves and sends impulses to the left and right visual cortices.

11 / 30

Which of the following sentences best describes the relationship between sensation and perception?

(A) Sensation is a strictly mechanical process, whereas perception is a cognitive process.

(B) Perception is an advanced form of sensation.

(D) Sensation is detecting stimuli, perception is interpreting stimuli detected.

(E) Sensation involves learning and expectations, and perception does not.

12 / 30

If you had sight in only one eye, which of the following depth cues could you NOT use?

(A) texture gradient

(B) convergence

(D) interposition

(E) shading

13 / 30

Gate-control theory refers to

(A) which sensory impulses are transmitted first from each sense.

(B) which pain messages are perceived.

(D) the gate at the optic chiasm controlling the destination hemisphere for visual information from each eye.

(E) how our minds choose to use either bottom-up or top-down processing.

14 / 30

Weber’s law determines

(A) absolute threshold.

(B) focal length of the eye.

(D) amplitude of sound waves.

(E) just-noticeable difference.

15 / 30

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

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

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

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

(D) 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.

(E) Frequency is a measure for light waves, whereas amplitude is a measure for sound waves.

16 / 30

Smell and taste are called __________ because __________

(A) energy senses; they send impulses to the brain in the form of electric energy.

(B) chemical senses; they detect chemicals in what we taste and smell.

(D) chemical senses; they send impulses to the brain in the form of chemicals.

(E) memory senses; they both have powerful connections to memory.

17 / 30

The blind spot in our eye results from

(A) the lack of receptors at the spot where the optic nerve connects to the retina.

(B) the shadow the pupil makes on the retina.

(D) floating debris in the space between the lens and the retina.

(E) retinal damage from bright light.

18 / 30

In a perception research lab, you are asked to describe the shape of the top of a box as the box is slowly rotated. Which concept are the researchers most likely investigating?

(A) feature detectors in the retina

(B) feature detectors in the occipital lobe

(D) binocular depth cues

(E) shape constancy

19 / 30

The cochlea is responsible for

(A) protecting the surface of the eye.

(B) transmitting vibrations received by the eardrum to the hammer, anvil, and stirrup.

(D) coordinating impulses from the rods and cones in the retina.

(E) sending messages to the brain about orientation of the head and body.

20 / 30

Our sense of smell may be a powerful trigger for memories because

we are conditioned from birth to make strong connections between smells and events.

the nerve connecting the olfactory bulb sends impulses directly to the limbic system.

the receptors at the top of each nostril connect with the cortex.

smell is a powerful cue for encoding memories into long-term memory.

strong smells encourage us to process events deeply so they will most likely be remembered.

21 / 30

When a fortune teller claims to have the ability to see the person you will meet and marry 10 years from now will look like, the person is professing to possess the ability of

(A) telepathy

(B) clairvoyance

(D) telekinesis

(E) top-down processing

22 / 30

A landscape painting shows boats on a lake in the foreground and mountains farther away. Of the following, which cue would not contribute to your perception that the mountains are farther away than the boats in the picture?

(A) texture gradient

(B) linear perspective

(D) retinal disparity

(E) interposition

23 / 30

Your tendency to see the words “went” and “ties,” rather than the word “twenties” when you look at T WENT TIES is best explained by the organizing principle of

(A) bottom-up processing

(B) closure

(D) figure–ground

(E) proximity

24 / 30

Although sound comes from speakers on the sides of the room, viewers watching a movie perceive the sound to be coming from the screen. This phenomenon is best accounted for by

(A) visual capture

(B) proximity

(D) opponent-processes

(E) feature-detection

25 / 30

Which sense is least involved in enabling you to maintain your balance when you stand on one foot?

(A) kinesthesis

(B) olfaction

(D) vestibular sense

(E) somatosensation

26 / 30

The theory that best accounts for the experience of pain is

(A) the opponent-process theory

(B) Weber’s law

(D) the direct perception theory

(E) the gate-control theory

27 / 30

Conventional hearing aids may restore hearing by

(A) restoring functionality to a badly punctured eardrum

(B) amplifying vibrations conducted by facial bones to the cochlea

(D) stimulating the semicircular canals to transduce sound waves

(E) converting sound waves to radio waves

28 / 30

Carlos was just able to perceive a difference in weight when Maria removed two of the 50 jelly beans from his plastic bag. It is most likely that if Carlos had the jumbo bag of 100 jelly beans, the smallest number of jelly beans he could notice removed would be

29 / 30

Receptors for kinesthesis are located in the

(A) retina

(B) joints

(D) olfactory epithelium

(E) taste buds

30 / 30

Of the following, which is NOT a basic taste?

(A) sweet

(B) salty

(D) bitter

(E) sour

Your score is

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