AP Psych: Mid-semester FRQ Format Practice

DIRECTIONS: Imagine this is the FRQ on your chapter or AP Psych exam, then complete
PART ONE and PART TWO. Drop it into the “1/29 DLD FRQ” Dropbox before 11:59 pm.

PART ONE: Read the question, then answer the questions (about the question) on the bottom of
the page.
• Mike is a 15-year-old high school student who is considering what classes to take in his
sophomore year of high school. Discuss how each of the following aspects of
development would impact his decision about which classes to take:
• Emergence of formal operational thought
• Identity vs. Role Confusion status
• Secure attachment as an infant
• Early physical maturation
• Fluid vs. crystallized intelligence
• Emergence of conventional morality
How many points is this FRQ worth? 6 because 6 bullet points
What should be the absolute minimum 6 sentences minimum
number of sentences you use to answer this
entire FRQ?
If you contain all information necessary, what 2 sentences
is the ideal number of sentences per bullet
point?
“BONUS:” If this were one of the two FRQs 25 minutes
on the AP Psych exam, approximately how
many minutes should you spend answering it?

PART TWO: Choose four of the bullet points from the FRQ and answer them. For your
convenience, the FRQ is reprinted below.
• Mike is a 15-year-old high school student who is considering what classes to take in
his sophomore year of high school. Discuss how each of the following aspects of
development would impact his decision about which classes to take:
• Emergence of formal operational thought
• Identity vs. Role Confusion status
• Secure attachment as an infant
• Early physical maturation
 • Fluid vs. crystallized intelligence
• Emergence of conventional morality
Emerg. of formal The emergence of formal operational thinking is related to Mike's ability
operational to think abstractly. Mike learns how to process logically and to solve
systems methodically. This aspect of development would allow Mike to
take on harder, more conceptual classes such as Calculus because he has
increased his capacity to break down information and to think critically.
I vs. RC The identity versus role confusion as described by Erikson plays a role in
Mike's ability to separate from the crowd and from his friends. If Mike has
not resolved this conflict, he may end up deciding to take classes which
his friends are taking because he is experiencing role confusion. If he has
formed his own identity, he may decide to follow his passions in the arts
or in the hard sciences.
Secure attachment Mike's secure attachment as an infant means that his parents were
known to be readily accessible, and thus, Mike has built his confidence
and is more ready to explore the world than an insecurely attached child
might be. Mike's secure attachment will lead to himself possibly exploring
new classes such as photography, which he might not have explored if he
was insecurely attached and did not know that the safety net of his
parents' affection was present.
Early physical Mike's early physical maturation may mean that he enters puberty before
maturation his classmates do. This may mean that he is taller and stronger, possibly
driving his choices of which classes to take to reflect physical classes such
as weightbuilding or physical education. Mike is likely to pick classes in
which he will succeed in, and his early physical maturation skewers his
perspective towards athletic performance.
Fluid vs. Crystallized
Emerg. of conv. mor.