CLEP Introductory Psychology Practice Test Questions

Use these CLEP Introductory Psychology sample questions to review research methods, biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, sleep, learning, cognition, development, psychological disorders, social psychology, and psychological measurement.

Topics Covered

  • Experimental variables and research design
  • Brain structures and memory
  • Sensory thresholds and Weber’s law
  • REM sleep and muscle atonia
  • Operant conditioning
  • Memory strategies
  • Cognitive development
  • Psychological disorders
  • Social attribution
  • Reliability and validity

Sample Questions

1. A researcher assigns participants at random to study in either a quiet room or a room with background conversation, then compares their scores on a memory test. What is the independent variable?

  • A. The participants’ memory-test scores
  • B. The amount of material remembered
  • C. The sound condition in which participants study
  • D. The number of participants in the experiment
  • E. The participants’ prior knowledge
Show Answer for Question 1
Answer: C. The sound condition in which participants study

The independent variable is the factor the researcher manipulates.

Here, the researcher changes the study environment by assigning participants to either a quiet room or a room with background conversation. The memory-test score is the dependent variable.

2. Damage to which brain structure would most directly interfere with forming new explicit memories?

  • A. Medulla
  • B. Hippocampus
  • C. Occipital lobe
  • D. Cerebellum
  • E. Hypothalamus
Show Answer for Question 2
Answer: B. Hippocampus

The hippocampus plays a central role in forming and consolidating new explicit memories.

Damage to it can produce severe difficulty creating new memories for facts and events, even when older memories and some forms of skill learning remain available.

3. A person can detect a 1-pound difference when comparing two 10-pound weights but needs a larger difference when comparing two 100-pound weights. Which principle best explains this?

  • A. The opponent-process theory
  • B. Weber’s law
  • C. The availability heuristic
  • D. The law of effect
  • E. The phi phenomenon
Show Answer for Question 3
Answer: B. Weber’s law

Weber’s law states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to the original stimulus intensity.

As the starting weight increases, a larger absolute change is generally needed for the difference to be noticed.

4. During normal REM sleep, most skeletal muscles are temporarily inhibited. What is this condition called?

  • A. REM atonia
  • B. Sensory adaptation
  • C. Sleep apnea
  • D. Circadian entrainment
  • E. Hypnagogic imagery
Show Answer for Question 4
Answer: A. REM atonia

REM atonia is the temporary suppression of most skeletal-muscle activity during REM sleep.

Brainstem mechanisms inhibit motor output to the body, which usually prevents a sleeper from physically acting out vivid dreams.

5. A driver fastens her seat belt to stop the car’s warning sound. The increase in seat-belt use is an example of:

  • A. Positive punishment
  • B. Negative punishment
  • C. Positive reinforcement
  • D. Negative reinforcement
  • E. Classical extinction
Show Answer for Question 5
Answer: D. Negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement strengthens a behavior because the behavior removes or prevents an unpleasant stimulus.

Fastening the seat belt increases because it stops the warning sound. The term negative refers to removing a stimulus, not to punishment.

6. After seeing the letters HOMES, a student remembers the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. HOMES is functioning as a:

  • A. Mnemonic device
  • B. Prototype
  • C. Fixed interval
  • D. Projective test
  • E. Perceptual set
Show Answer for Question 6
Answer: A. Mnemonic device

A mnemonic device is a strategy that organizes information into a form that is easier to encode and retrieve.

The word HOMES uses the first letters of the five lake names as a retrieval cue.

7. An infant searches for a toy after watching an adult hide it under a blanket. According to Piaget, this behavior provides evidence that the infant has developed:

  • A. Conservation
  • B. Object permanence
  • C. Formal operational thought
  • D. Egocentrism
  • E. Moral reasoning
Show Answer for Question 7
Answer: B. Object permanence

Object permanence is the understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot be seen.

Searching for the hidden toy indicates that the infant represents the toy mentally despite its disappearance from view.

8. A person experiences persistent, excessive fear of elevators and avoids jobs that require using them, even though the elevators are routinely inspected. Which diagnosis best fits this pattern?

  • A. Specific phobia
  • B. Bipolar disorder
  • C. Dissociative identity disorder
  • D. Schizophrenia
  • E. Somatic symptom disorder
Show Answer for Question 8
Answer: A. Specific phobia

A specific phobia involves marked fear or anxiety about a particular object or situation, along with avoidance and significant distress or impairment.

The fear is focused on elevators rather than on broad social evaluation, recurring unexpected panic attacks, or psychotic symptoms.

9. While driving, Priya is cut off by another motorist and immediately concludes that the driver is selfish. She does not consider that the driver may be rushing to an emergency. Priya’s judgment best illustrates:

  • A. The bystander effect
  • B. Group polarization
  • C. The fundamental attribution error
  • D. Cognitive dissonance
  • E. Social facilitation
Show Answer for Question 9
Answer: C. The fundamental attribution error

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize personal traits when explaining another person’s behavior and underestimate situational influences.

Priya attributes the behavior to selfishness without considering a possible emergency or other situational explanation.

10. A personality test produces very similar scores when the same people take it two weeks apart, but the scores do not meaningfully predict or measure the traits the test claims to assess. Which statement best describes the test?

  • A. It has strong validity but weak reliability.
  • B. It appears reliable but has weak validity.
  • C. It is both valid and reliable.
  • D. It is neither standardized nor normed because the scores are consistent.
  • E. It has strong predictive validity because the scores repeat.
Show Answer for Question 10
Answer: B. It appears reliable but has weak validity.

Consistent scores across repeated administrations provide evidence of test-retest reliability.

A test can be reliable without being valid. If it does not measure or predict what it claims to measure, its validity is weak.

How to Use These Questions

Identify the psychological concept being tested before evaluating the scenario. Distinguish closely related terms such as independent and dependent variables, reinforcement and punishment, reliability and validity, and trait-based versus situational explanations.

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Last Updated: July 28, 2026