AP Psychology 5.5.D: Psychological Therapy Techniques

Point 6

The response must indicate that reinterpreting one's negative thoughts in a positive way leads to better physical

or psychological health.

- Score: "When Rik gets a bad grade on his physics test, he is sad. But he tells himself that at least now he

has lots of room to improve before the next test and starts to feel better about himself."

- Score: "Liz is overwhelmed by her pile of homework, but when she decides that it is a challenge that she

can conquer, her headache goes away."

- Score: "Elliot changes his negative thoughts to more positive thoughts, which leads to better

psychological health."

- Do NOT Score "Andi has been dwelling on negative thoughts about school, so she decides instead to

start thinking about more positive things like summer vacation, which reduces her stress level."

Point 7

The response must include an external stimulus that pulls someone towards a behavior that contributes to good

physical or psychological health.

- Score: "When Barney saw an ad for a free t-shirt for joining the gym, he signed up for a membership."

- Score: "Kristin meditates for 15 minutes a day so that she will receive extra credit in her health class."

- Do NOT score references to wants and desires without an external stimulus that pulls someone toward a

behavior.

- Do NOT score "extrinsic motivation" without description or explicit mention of an external stimulus.

Note: The response may earn a point by using an example of either positive or negative reinforcement as the

external incentive.

Note: If the response discusses a behavior that does not obviously contribute to good physical or psychological

health, then it must specify how the behavior contributes to good physical or psychological health.