Psychology Exam Questions and Answers: Complete Q&A Guide for the PLE
A well-organized set of psychology exam questions and answers is one of the most practical study tools available for PLE preparation. Whether you prefer studying from a printed PDF or an interactive online format, having access to realistic exam questions with detailed explanations helps you identify gaps, build application skills, and develop confidence before the actual board exam.
This guide provides 20+ Q&A pairs across all four PLE subjects — Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Psychological Assessment, and Industrial Psychology — with explanations that go beyond the answer letter to explain the underlying concept. At the end, you'll find guidance on how to save these as PDF for offline study and how to access unlimited additional questions.
How to Use This Q&A Guide Effectively
The most common mistake when using a Q&A guide is reading straight through it — question, then answer, question, then answer — without attempting any retrieval. This passive approach feels productive but produces minimal retention.
For maximum benefit:
- Cover the answer before reading the question fully. After reading the question stem, attempt to answer from memory before looking at the options.
- Eliminate before selecting. Rule out the two most clearly wrong options before comparing the remaining two.
- Read every explanation regardless of whether you were right. Correct answers often contain context for related questions you'll encounter later.
- Mark items where you were uncertain — even if you got them right. Uncertainty reveals partial knowledge that might fail under exam pressure.
- Revisit marked items 48 hours later without the explanation — this spaced retrieval practice is the most effective memory consolidation technique available.
Developmental Psychology Q&A
Q1: According to Bronfenbrenner, the interaction between two microsystems — such as the relationship between a child's home environment and school — is called the:
- A. Microsystem
- B. Mesosystem
- C. Exosystem
- D. Macrosystem
✓ The mesosystem captures the linkages and interactions between microsystems. A child whose parents are involved in school (strong home-school mesosystem connection) tends to have better academic outcomes than one whose home and school operate in isolation.
Q2: Which theorist proposed that moral development proceeds through three levels: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional?
- A. Piaget
- B. Erikson
- C. Kohlberg
- D. Gilligan
✓ Lawrence Kohlberg expanded Piaget's two-stage moral model into six stages across three levels. Carol Gilligan later critiqued this framework for androcentrism, proposing an ethics of care that emphasized relationships over justice principles.
Q3: A 15-year-old is actively exploring various career options and life values without having committed to any particular identity. According to Marcia, she is in the:
- A. Identity diffusion status
- B. Identity foreclosure status
- C. Identity moratorium status
- D. Identity achievement status
✓ Identity moratorium — active exploration without commitment. Diffusion = no exploration and no commitment. Foreclosure = commitment without exploration (adopted others' values). Achievement = exploration followed by commitment. Marcia expanded Erikson's Stage 5.
Q4: The phenomenon where infants prefer to look at their mother's face rather than a stranger's demonstrates:
- A. Conservation
- B. Object permanence
- C. Perceptual preference and early social recognition
- D. Animism
✓ Infants as young as a few days old show preference for their mother's face — evidence of early perceptual and social recognition driven by prenatal exposure to the mother's voice and visual imprinting after birth. This forms the foundation for attachment formation.
Abnormal Psychology Q&A
Q5: A client alternates between elevated mood (not requiring hospitalization, lasting 4 days) and major depressive episodes. The most appropriate DSM-5-TR diagnosis is:
- A. Bipolar I Disorder
- B. Bipolar II Disorder
- C. Cyclothymic Disorder
- D. Major Depressive Disorder with mixed features
✓ Bipolar II: at least one hypomanic episode (≥4 days, not requiring hospitalization) + at least one MDE. Cyclothymia requires 2+ years of hypomanic and depressive symptoms that don't meet full criteria. Bipolar I requires at least one full manic episode (≥7 days or requiring hospitalization).
Q6: The "two-hit model" of schizophrenia etiology proposes that:
- A. Two separate traumatic experiences cause schizophrenia
- B. A genetic predisposition (first hit) combined with an environmental stressor (second hit) triggers onset
- C. Two neurotransmitter imbalances must coexist
- D. Both parents must carry the gene for expression
✓ The two-hit model integrates the diathesis-stress framework: the first hit is biological vulnerability (genetic predisposition, prenatal insult); the second hit is a psychosocial stressor (trauma, cannabis use, migration stress) that activates the latent predisposition.
Q7: Persistent, intrusive thoughts about contamination that the person recognizes as their own thoughts (not inserted from outside) and tries to suppress, accompanied by repetitive handwashing, is best diagnosed as:
- A. Schizophrenia
- B. Illness Anxiety Disorder
- C. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- D. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
✓ OCD: ego-dystonic obsessions (recognized as one's own, distressing) + compulsions (ritualistic behaviors to reduce anxiety). The recognition that the thoughts are one's own (not externally inserted) rules out psychosis. GAD involves worry about real-life concerns, not contamination obsessions.
Q8: A person who is charming, lacks empathy, repeatedly violates others' rights, and shows no remorse is most likely to be diagnosed with:
- A. Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- B. Histrionic Personality Disorder
- C. Antisocial Personality Disorder
- D. Borderline Personality Disorder
✓ ASPD is characterized by persistent violation of others' rights, deceitfulness, impulsivity, and lack of remorse — typically preceded by Conduct Disorder before age 15. NPD shares charm and lack of empathy but is defined by grandiosity and entitlement, not rule-breaking and exploitation.
Psychological Assessment Q&A
Q9: A psychologist is asked whether a new depression scale measures depression as defined by DSM-5-TR criteria. The psychologist is evaluating:
- A. Criterion validity
- B. Construct validity
- C. Content validity
- D. Face validity
✓ Construct validity evaluates whether a test measures the theoretical construct it claims to measure. Since "depression as defined by DSM-5-TR" is a theoretical construct, the question of whether the scale captures it is a construct validity question.
Q10: A raw score of 85 on a test with mean = 100 and SD = 15 corresponds to a z-score of:
- A. +1.0
- B. −1.0
- C. −0.85
- D. +0.15
✓ z = (X − M) / SD = (85 − 100) / 15 = −15 / 15 = −1.0. This score falls 1 standard deviation below the mean — approximately the 16th percentile.
Q11: Which personality assessment instrument measures 16 primary personality factors using a forced-choice format?
- A. MMPI-2
- B. NEO-PI-R
- C. 16PF (Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire)
- D. Rorschach Inkblot Test
✓ The 16PF (Cattell) measures 16 primary factors (e.g., Warmth, Reasoning, Emotional Stability, Dominance) and five global factors corresponding to the Big Five. MMPI-2 focuses on psychopathology; NEO-PI-R measures the Big Five directly.
Q12: In the HTP (House-Tree-Person) test, the tree drawing is believed to reflect the examinee's:
- A. Family relationships and home environment
- B. Unconscious feelings about the self and psychological growth
- C. Interpersonal relationships and social self
- D. Intellectual functioning and cognitive style
✓ In HTP interpretation: the house reflects home life and family relationships; the tree reflects unconscious self-concept, psychological development, and growth; the person reflects the interpersonal self and social relationships.
Industrial Psychology Q&A
Q13: According to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which of the following would REDUCE dissatisfaction but NOT increase motivation?
- A. Giving an employee more responsibility
- B. Providing opportunities for advancement
- C. Improving the physical work environment
- D. Recognizing an employee's achievement publicly
✓ Physical work environment is a hygiene factor. Its absence causes dissatisfaction (people work poorly in unpleasant environments) but its presence does not actively motivate. Responsibility, advancement, and recognition are motivator factors that increase actual job satisfaction and performance.
Q14: A company uses Kirkpatrick's model to evaluate whether employees who completed a customer service training actually serve customers better on the job. This is Level:
- A. Level 1 (Reaction)
- B. Level 2 (Learning)
- C. Level 3 (Behavior)
- D. Level 4 (Results)
✓ Level 3 (Behavior) measures whether trainees transfer knowledge to on-the-job performance. Level 2 (Learning) would measure knowledge acquisition through a post-training test. Level 4 (Results) would measure business outcomes (e.g., customer satisfaction scores, sales revenue).
Q15: A structured interview differs from an unstructured interview primarily in that:
- A. It is always conducted in writing
- B. All candidates are asked the same questions evaluated with a standardized scoring rubric
- C. Only HR personnel can conduct it
- D. It uses only behavioral questions, not situational ones
✓ Structured interviews use predetermined questions and anchored scoring rubrics applied consistently across all candidates. This dramatically increases reliability and validity compared to unstructured interviews, which rely on interviewer discretion and are subject to significant bias.
Saving This Guide as PDF
To save this Q&A guide as a PDF for offline study:
- Desktop: Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac), then select "Save as PDF" as the destination
- Mobile (Chrome): Tap the menu (⋮), select "Share," then "Print," and choose "Save as PDF"
- Mobile (Safari): Tap Share → "Print" → pinch-to-zoom → tap the share icon again → "Save to Files"
Alternatively, PsychBoard PH allows you to bookmark your most challenging questions within the app and export your personal bookmark collection as a PDF — giving you a curated, personalized Q&A document focused specifically on your weak areas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find psychology exam questions and answers PDF for the Philippines?
This page provides free Q&A for all four PLE subjects — print it as PDF using your browser. PsychBoard PH also lets you export bookmarked questions as PDF. Free PDF reviewers are shared in Filipino psychology Facebook groups and Telegram channels, though quality varies.
What format are Philippine psychology board exam questions?
All PLE questions are four-option multiple choice (A, B, C, D) with one best answer. Questions test recall (30–40%), application to scenarios (40–50%), and analysis/evaluation (15–25%).
How do I save these questions as PDF?
Use your browser's print function (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P) and select "Save as PDF." On PsychBoard PH, the bookmark export feature generates a personalized PDF of your saved questions.