AP®PsychologyCollege BoardExam QuestionsResearch MethodsEvaluating & Improving Psychological Research

Evaluating & Improving Psychological Research (College Board AP® Psychology): Exam Questions

4 mins4 questions
1
1 mark

A researcher administers the same anxiety questionnaire to 50 participants on two occasions, two weeks apart. She finds that participants' scores are very similar across both testing sessions.

Which of the following methods does this finding most directly demonstrate?

  • Internal consistency

  • Test-retest reliability

  • Construct validity

  • Inter-rater reliability

Choose your answer

2
1 mark

A researcher develops a new test designed to measure creativity. She finds that scores on her new test correlate highly with scores on an established, well-validated creativity measure.

Which of the following types of validity does this evidence most directly support?

  • Face validity

  • Predictive validity

  • Concurrent validity

  • Ecological validity

Choose your answer

3
1 mark

A university uses an admissions test to select students, arguing that applicants who score highly on the test will perform better academically during their degree.

Five years of data confirm that students who scored in the top quartile on the admissions test do indeed achieve significantly higher degree classifications than those who scored in the bottom quartile.

Which type of validity does this evidence best demonstrate?

  • Construct validity

  • Face validity

  • Predictive validity

  • Test-retest reliability

Choose your answer

4
1 mark

A test developer is creating a new intelligence assessment. She administers the test to 500 students from a single private school in one city to establish the scoring norms. A colleague argues that the norms will not be valid for the general population.

Which of the following changes would most directly address the colleague's concern?

  • Increasing the number of test items to improve internal consistency

  • Administering the test to a sample that reflects the diversity of the broader population

  • Reducing the difficulty of the test items so that more students can complete them

  • Calculating a test-retest reliability coefficient to confirm scores are stable over time

Choose your answer