AP Psychology Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health

Unit 5 covers mental and physical health: stress, psychological disorders and their treatment. Diagnostic questions describe symptoms and ask for the category, and treatment questions ask which approach follows from which theory of cause.

Practise this unit free All Psychology units

288 questions5 CED topics100% with a figure

How this unit behaves

What 288 questions on it look like

This is the largest unit in AP Psychology by practice volume — 288 questions against the subject's other units. Weight your revision accordingly.

100% of the questions come with a figure — a graph, diagram or data display. Reading the figure correctly is most of the work before any content knowledge applies.

Treatment of Psychological Disorders99

Introduction to Health and Positive Psychology73

Selection of Categories of Psychological Disorders63

Positive Psychology31

Explaining and Classifying Psychological Disorders22

Questions per CED topic.

From the bank

Three real mental and physical health questions

Drawn from the practice pool, not from the mock papers.

Introduction to Health and Positive Psychology · Research Methods and Design · with figure

A school wellness team wants to test whether a brief planning message changes follow-through on an exercise goal. Students are randomly assigned to hear either the planning message or a neutral announcement. For the next week, students log how many days they complete a 20-minute walk. What is the dependent variable?

AThe message condition assigned before the week begins.
BThe number of days each student completes the walking goal.correct
CThe research team's prediction about the message.
DThe fact that walking is related to physical health.

Why B is correct

The measured follow-through after the assigned message is the dependent variable.

"A school wellness team wants to test whether a brief planning message changes follow-through on an exercise..." details toward stress appraisal, not just a familiar Mental and Physical Health label. The credited option, "The number of days each student completes the walking goal", is supported because The logged walking days are the measured outcome, so they are the dependent variable. "The fact that walking is related to physical health" is a real-looking alternative, but A topic connection is not a variable in the design; "The message condition assigned before the week begins" also fails because The message condition is the independent variable. The aim is to connect the concrete evidence to the psychological mechanism, then reject choices that shift the process, time frame, or research logic away from the scenario pattern.

Common mistakes. The tempting shortcut is to grab fact; that misses the item because a topic connection is not a variable in the design. A second shortcut, message condition assigned, fails because the message condition is the independent variable.

Explaining and Classifying Psychological Disorders · Concept Application · with figure

A clinician does not diagnose a disorder simply because a person is sad for one afternoon. The clinician asks whether symptoms are persistent, impair daily functioning, and fit a recognized pattern. Which principle is being applied?

AEvery uncomfortable emotion is a disorder if another person notices it.
BDiagnosis considers duration, impairment, and symptom pattern, not one emotion.correct
CDiagnosis is unnecessary when behavior has a biological component.
DA personality trait is always caused by a single childhood event.

Why B is correct

The clinician is using impairment, persistence, and pattern rather than labeling ordinary sadness.

"A clinician does not diagnose a disorder simply because a person is sad for one afternoon." details toward disorder classification, not just a familiar Mental and Physical Health label. The credited option, "Classification should consider duration, impairment, and symptom pattern rather than one...", is supported because Clinical classification requires more than a brief ordinary emotion. "Every uncomfortable emotion is a disorder if another person notices it" is a real-looking alternative, but That pathologizes normal experience; "Diagnosis is unnecessary when behavior has a biological component" also fails because Biological influences do not remove the need for careful classification. The aim is to connect the concrete evidence to the psychological mechanism, then reject choices that shift the process, time frame, or research logic away from the scenario pattern.

Common mistakes. every uncomfortable emotion is and diagnosis is unnecessary are not interchangeable with disorder classification. One fails because that pathologizes normal experience; the other fails because biological influences do not remove the need for careful classification.

Selection of Categories of Psychological Disorders · Concept Application · with figure

A person avoids elevators after being trapped in one for several minutes. Months later, the person takes stairs to avoid intense fear even in safe buildings. Which category best fits this pattern?

ADissociative identity disorder, because two or more identities control behavior.
BMajor depressive disorder, because mood is elevated for at least a week.
CSpecific phobia, because fear and avoidance center on a particular object or situation.correct
DAntisocial personality disorder, because empathy is unusually high.

Why C is correct

The pattern centers on persistent situational fear and avoidance.

specific phobia is the mechanism that makes "A person avoids elevators after being trapped in one for several minutes." coherent. The credited option, "Specific phobia, because fear and avoidance center on a particular object or situation", is supported because The fear is tied to a specific situation and leads to avoidance. "Major depressive disorder, because mood is elevated for at least a week" is a real-looking alternative, but Elevated mood is not depression, and no depressive episode is described; "Antisocial personality disorder, because empathy is unusually high" also fails because Antisocial personality disorder is not defined by high empathy. The aim is to connect the concrete evidence to the psychological mechanism, then reject choices that shift the process, time frame, or research logic away from the scenario pattern.

Common mistakes. "Major depressive disorder, because mood is elevated for at least a week" answers a different issue from the one being tested. "Antisocial personality disorder, because empathy is unusually high" also drifts, since antisocial personality disorder is not defined by high empathy.

288 questions on this unit, free to start.

Ten a day at no cost. One account covers SAT, ACT and AP.

Start free

FAQ

Mental and Physical Health questions

How are disorders tested?

By scenario. Symptoms are described and you identify the disorder or the category, rather than being asked for criteria lists.

How do I match a therapy to a perspective?

The therapy follows from what the perspective believes causes the problem — cognitive therapy targets thought patterns, behavioural therapy targets learned responses.

Last reviewed 2026-08-28. Unit and topic names follow the College Board course framework. Question counts describe the PrepScore practice bank, not the exam.

Topic by topic

Worked questions by topic

5 of this unit’s topics have enough practice questions for a page of their own.

Same course

Practise mental and physical health until the reasoning is automatic.

Real AP questions with a full explanation on every answer, and a mistake bank that only clears when you get it right.

Start free See pricing