AP Psychology UNIT 4 Practice Test 2026

Last Updated on March 13, 2026

AP Psychology UNIT 4 Practice Test 2026. The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exam Psychology UNIT 4 (Social Psychology, Personality, Motivation, and Emotion) Questions and Answers. Try our free AP Psychology review practice test for free.

This unit examines the main factors that shape human behavior. Social psychologists emphasize the role of the situation in shaping behavior, while the study of personality focuses more on thoughts and behaviors that develop over time and become enduring aspects of people.

The study of motivation explores what drives people to do what they do, while the topic of emotion examines how people experience and express their feelings. This unit describes and discusses some of the most well-known and influential psychological research studies and theories. You will find content from this unit in the social psychology, personality, motivation, and emotion chapters in the textbook you use for your AP Psychology class.

AP Psychology UNIT 4 Practice Test 2026

Test Name	Advanced Placement Exam
Subject	AP Psychology Practice Test
Unit 4	Social Psychology, Personality, Motivation, and Emotion
Section 1	Multiple Choice Question
Total Items	15 Sample MCQs
Time Limit	NA
AP EXAM WEIGHTING	15 to 25%

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AP Psychology UNIT 4 Practice Test
Unit 4: Social Psychology, Personality, Motivation, and Emotion
Total Items - 15
Time Limit - Untimed

1) Which value is larger in the distribution of free throws taken during practices than during games?

Median

Range

Mean

Mode

2) Coach Price believes her varsity basketball team isn’t trying hard enough at its practices. As evidence, she shows them the table below that includes the free throw percentages for the starting five players across the last few practices as opposed to the last few games.

What might explain the phenomenon noticed by Coach Price (players perform better during games than practice)?

Social facilitation

Groupthink

Conformity

Group polarization

3) On the first day of class, Mr. Simpson divides his class into four competing groups. Later, Jody kicks members of the other groups. Mr. Simpson encouraged the creation of

group polarization.

deindividuation.

out-group bias.

superordinate goals.

4) On their second date, Megan confides in Francisco that she still loves to watch Aladdin. He tells her he still cries when watching Bambi. These two young lovers will be brought closer together through

self-disclosure.

deindividuation.

in-group bias.

open communication.

5) Which of the following is the best example of prejudice?

Billy will not let girls play on his hockey team.

Santiago dislikes cheerleaders.

Athena says she can run faster than anybody on the playground.

Mr. Tamp calls on boys more often than girls.

6) After your school’s football team has a big win, students say “We are awesome.” After a loss, they say “They were terrible.” This illustrates

the fundamental attribution error.

self-serving bias.

the self-fulfilling prophecy effect.

the false consensus effect.

7) Janine has always hated the color orange. However, once she became a student at Princeton, she began to wear a lot of orange Princeton Tiger clothing. The discomfort caused by her long-standing dislike of the color orange and her current ownership of so much orange clothing is known as

cognitive dissonance.

contradictory concepts.

conflicting motives.

opposing cognitions.

8) Your new neighbor seems to know everything about ancient Greece that your social studies teacher says during the first week of school. You conclude that she is brilliant. You do not consider that she might already have learned about ancient Greece in her old school. You are evidencing

the self-fulfilling prophecy effect.

pluralistic ignorance.

confirmation bias.

the fundamental attribution error.

9) On Monday, Tanya asked her teacher to postpone Tuesday’s test until Friday. After her teacher refused, Tanya asked the teacher to push the test back one day, to Wednesday. Tanya is using the compliance strategy known as

door-in-the-face.

norms of reciprocity.

compromise.

strategic bargaining.

10) Which of the following suggestions is most likely to reduce the hostility felt between antagonistic groups?

Force the groups to spend a lot of time together

Encourage the groups to avoid each other as much as possible

Give the groups a task that cannot be solved unless they work together

Set up a program with speakers persuading the groups to get along

11) Juan has a huge crush on Sally, but he never admits it. Instead, he tells all who will listen that Sally is really “into him.” Psychoanalysts would see Juan’s bragging as an example of

displacement.

projection.

sublimation.

denial.

12) Cettina fills out a personality inventory several times over the course of one year. The results of each administration of the test are extremely different. Cettina’s situation suggests that this personality inventory may not be

reliable.

standardized.

normed.

projective.

13) Which of the following are reasons why intrinsic motivation might be more advantageous than extrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation might be more enduring since extrinsic motivations are usually temporary.

Intrinsic motivations are easier and more convenient to provide.

Intrinsic motivations are higher on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Intrinsic motivations are more likely to be primary drives.

14) What is the principal difference between how achievement motivation theory and arousal theory explain human motivation?

Achievement motivation is a specific example of arousal motivation.

Arousal theory describes the optimum level of general arousal an individual seeks, while achievement motivation describes what type of goals the individual is motivated to achieve.

Arousal theory describes motivation by referring to stages in our responses to stress, while achievement motivation is not used to describe motivation due to stress.

A person with a low optimum level of arousal according to arousal theory would have a high achievement motivation.

15) How would the drive reduction theory explain a person accepting a new job with a higher salary but that requires more work and responsibility?

Money is a more powerful incentive for this individual than free time.

This person seeks a higher activity level and takes the job in order to satisfy this drive.

For this person, money is a higher-level need than free time.

The person takes the job to satisfy the secondary drive of increased salary.

Your score is

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