AP® Psychology 2025 Scoring Commentary - Sample Student Responses - Question 1

Sep 20, 2026

AP® Psychology 2025 Scoring Commentary presents scored sample student responses for Question 1 (AAQ), aligned to the 2024-2025 Course and Exam Description. For Samples A, B, and C, it breaks down points across research method, operational definition of research variables, statistic interpretation, ethical guidelines, generalizability, and argumentation. The commentary explains why each sample earned or did not earn specific points, including how the multivitamin versus placebo results relate to improved memory and slowed cognitive decline, and how participant characteristics affect generalizability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Question 1 (AAQ)

Sample A

Sample B

Sample C

2024 AP® Psychology Sample Student Responsesand Commentaries Aligned to the 2024-2025 Course and Exam Description Free-Response Questions © 2024 College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of College Board. Visit College Board on the web: [collegeboard.org](collegeboard.org). AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: [apcentral.collegeboard.org](apcentral.collegeboard.org). AP® Psychology 2025 Scoring Commentary Question 1: AAQ Note: Student samples are quoted verbatim and may contain spelling and grammatical errors. Sample: A Research Method: 1 Research Variable: 1 Statistic Interpretation: 1 Ethical Guidelines: 1 Generalizability: 1 Argumentation: 2 Total Score: 7 Part A: Research Method (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it identifies the research method as an experiment. Part B: Research Variable (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it correctly states the operational definition of executive functioning (“participants quickly identified whether the items were the same on both lists”) . Part C: Statistic Interpretation (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it explains that the multivitamin group has a higher mean than the placebo group, which indicates that the multivitamin group had better recall than the placebo group (“multivitamin group had a higher mean than the placebo group meaning they had more of an improvement in their memory”) . Part D: Ethical Guidelines (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it identifies an ethical guideline applied by researchers in the study (“yearly consent”) . Part E: Generalizability (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it proposes a claim (“The research findings are not generalizable”) and uses specific and relevant evidence derived from participant information from the study (“more women than men”) . Part F: Argumentation (0-2 points): 2 The response earned 2 points because it uses a specific result from the study (“The group taking the multivitamins had an improved immediate recall”) and explains how the results support the researcher’s hypothesis (“meaning the group with the multivitamin had a slowed cognitive decline”) . The results of the study are accurately interpreted. © 2024 College Board. Visit College Board on the web: [collegeboard.org](collegeboard.org). AP® Psychology 2025 Scoring Commentary Sample: B Research Method: 1 Research Variable: 0 Statistic Interpretation: 1 Ethical Guidelines: 1 Generalizability: 1 Argumentation: 1 Total Score: 6 Part A: Research Method (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it identifies the research method as an experiment. Part B: Research Variable (0-1 points): 0 The response did not earn the point because it does not accurately state the operational definition of executive functioning as whether the participant correctly identifies the second set of objects being shown as being the same or different more quickly. Part C: Statistic Interpretation (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it explains that the multivitamin group has a higher mean than the placebo group, which indicates that the multivitamin group had better recall than the placebo group (“multivitamin group had a higher mean improvement on immediate recall versus baseline compared to the placebo group”) . Part D: Ethical Guidelines (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it identifies an ethical guideline applied by researchers in the study. Part E: Generalizability (0-1 points): 1 The response earned the point because it proposes a claim (“The research findings can not be generalized”) and uses specific and relevant evidence derived from participant information from the study (“a lot more women than men”) . Part F: Argumentation (0-2 points): 2 The response earned 2 poin

FAQs

What research method did Sample A identify for Question 1 (AAQ)?

Sample A earned the point because it identifies the research method as an experiment.

How did the commentary evaluate Sample B’s operational definition of executive functioning?

Sample B did not earn the point because it failed to accurately state the operational definition as whether participants correctly identify the second set of objects as the same or different more quickly.

Why is generalizability different across the samples?

The commentary notes Sample A’s claim is supported by participant evidence (e.g., more women than men), limiting generalizability, while other samples are scored based on whether their evidence and claims fit the participant information from the study.

Sep 20, 2026

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