AP Psychology Multiple-Choice Question Strategies
Two-thirds of your AP Psychology score depends on your performance on the multiple-choice questions. During the test, you will have 90 minutes to answer the 75 multiple-choice questions. The AP Psychology exam can be challenging, but with the right strategic mindset, you can get yourself on track for earning the 3, 4, or 5 that you need to qualify for college credit or advanced placement. Review our best multiple-choice question strategies for the AP Psychology exam below.
AP PSYCHOLOGY MULTIPLE-CHOICE STRATEGIES:
- Strategy #1: Answer multiple-choice questions BEFORE you look at the choices.
- Strategy #2: Read all the answer choices.
- Strategy #3: Don’t get bogged down.
- Strategy #4: Budget your time.
[ READ NEXT: AP Psychology Free Response Strategies ]
AP Psychology Strategy #1: Answer multiple-choice questions BEFORE you look at the choices.
Sometimes You Don’t Even Need the Answer Choices! Once you’ve prepared for this test, you’ll see that to answer many of the questions, you don’t even need to look at the answer choices. In fact, it’s a good test-taking strategy to try to answer multiple-choice questions BEFORE you look at the choices. That way, once you look at the answer choices, you have a good sense of what you are looking for.
For example, consider the following question:
AP Psychology Strategy #2: Read all the answer choices.
Always read all the answer choices before making your final selection. Even though it is helpful to imagine what the answer might be without reading the answer choices, it is essential that you read and carefully consider all the choices presented. Occasionally, particularly on the more difficult questions, one of the answer choices will seem like the correct answer but another answer will be more correct. Remember, you are choosing the BEST answer on the AP Psychology multiple-choice questions.
AP Psychology Strategy #3: Don’t get bogged down.
If you come to a question you find difficult, do not spend an inordinate amount of time on it. Remember that this is a timed test; there is no point in spending a long time worrying about one question if that will prevent you from spending time on the questions at the end of the test. After you read a question and look at the answer choices, make your best guess and move on. If you doubt your answer, mark the question as one that you want to review later so that you can come back and think about it again if you have time left.
In addition, don’t let any thoughts about having missed a question get in the way of your doing well on subsequent questions. Rather than dwell on negative thoughts about a few difficult questions, focus on all the information you know. Don’t “psych” yourself out!
AP Psychology Strategy #4: Budget your time.
While most students find that they have enough time on the multiple-choice section of the exam, you should make sure not to spend an undue amount of time on any of the questions. Make sure to note when the section begins and when it is scheduled to end. Since you have 90 minutes to answer 75 questions, you have just over a minute for each question. Read each question and use the techniques we have suggested. If you find yourself confused, skip the question and plan to come back to it once you have completed the section. If you are debating among several answer choices, choose one temporarily, but mark the question so that you will remember to review it once you have finished the other questions.
Each AP Psychology exam is slightly different regarding the number of multiple-choice questions you need to pass. Assuming that your free-response question answers are average (remember that they determine one-third of your grade), if you get about 50 of the 75 multiple-choice items correct, you set yourself up to receive most likely a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP Psychology exam.
