2025 AP Exam Review Cognition

A psychology student is trying to solve a complex problem. She tries multiple approaches before realizing she can break the problem into smaller parts and solve using a step-by-step procedure (formula). Which problem-solving approach is she utilizing?

• Heuristic

• Algorithm

• Mental set

• Framing

After watching a crime drama, Sophia begins to believe that violent crimes are much more common than they actually are because examples come easily to mind. This illustrates:

• Representativeness heuristic

• Availability heuristic

• Framing

• Functional fixedness

Riley stops at a coffee shop displaying posters of people smiling while drinking iced coffee, with slogans about "refreshing your day." The shop plays upbeat music and has strong air conditioning. Riley, who usually orders hot coffee, unexpectedly chooses an iced coffee instead. When asked later about this decision, Riley says, "I just felt like something cold today," unaware of any external influences.

• Priming

• Mental set

• Functional fixedness

• Algorithmic thinking

Carlos continues to invest money in a failing business venture because he's already invested so much time and resources. This exemplifies:

• Gambler's fallacy

• Sunk-cost fallacy

• Framing effect

• Representativeness heuristic

A researcher presents participants with two identical scenarios about a disease outbreak. In one scenario, the solution is described as "saving 200 out of 600 people," while in the other it's described as "400 people will die." Participants prefer the first option, demonstrating:

• Availability heuristic

• Representativeness heuristic

• Framing effect

• Gambler's fallacy

After losing five consecutive coin tosses that landed on heads, Juan is convinced the next toss will be tails because "tails is due." This illustrates:

• Availability heuristic

• Gambler's fallacy

• Representativeness heuristic

• Framing effect

Dr. Rivera studies how people organize knowledge about restaurants, including expectations about menus, service, and dining experiences. Dr. Rivera is studying:

• Prototypes

• Schemas

• Mental sets

• Algorithms

When three-year-old Emma sees a zebra for the first time and calls it a "horse with stripes," she is demonstrating:

• Assimilation

• Accommodation

• Convergent thinking

• Heuristic reasoning

After learning that whales are mammals and not fish, a student revises her understanding of mammal characteristics. This process is called:

• Assimilation

• Accommodation

• Priming

• Convergent thinking

A company brainstorming session encourages employees to generate as many possible solutions as they can without evaluating them. This approach employs:

• Convergent thinking

• Divergent thinking

• Algorithmic thinking

• Mental set