PSYCH EXAM 2 EXAM with Questions and
Answers/Plus a Rationale Updated 2026 A+/Instant
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EXAM COVERAGE - 1. Sensation and Perception - 2. States of
Consciousness - 3. Learning and Conditioning - 4. Memory and
Information Processing - 5. Cognition, Language, and Intelligence - 6.
Lifespan Human Development - 7. Motivation and Emotion
1. A neuroscientist presents a visual stimulus to a participant while measuring single-unit electrical
activity in the primary visual cortex (V1). The targeted neuron fires maximally when a line of a
specific orientation moves across a precise region of the visual field in a specific direction.
Which type of visual cortex cell is being recorded?
A. Simple cell
B. Complex cell
C. Hypercomplex (end-stopped) cell
D. Ganglion cell
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Complex cells in V1 respond to orientation and movement across a receptive field
without strict spatial localization constraints, unlike simple cells which require fixed spatial
positions. Hypercomplex cells respond to lines of specific length with end-inhibition, while
ganglion cells reside in the retina, not V1.
2. A patient with stroke-induced brain damage can accurately reach out and grasp objects in her
peripheral field, yet she firmly denies being able to see those same objects. Which visual
pathway remains functional in this condition?
A. Parvocellular pathway to the temporal lobe
B. Ventral stream ("what" pathway) to the inferior temporal cortex
C. Dorsal stream ("where/how" pathway) via the superior colliculus
D. Geniculostriate pathway to the occipital pole
CORRECT ANSWER : C
, Rationale: Blindsight occurs when damage to primary visual cortex (striate cortex) disrupts
conscious awareness (ventral stream), while tectopulvinar and dorsal projections through the
superior colliculus remain intact to mediate non-conscious, localized spatial actions. Options A,
B, and D all rely on conscious ventral stream pathways.
3. During an auditory psychophysics experiment, a researcher gradually increases the intensity of a
1000 Hz tone from absolute threshold. According to Weber's Law, if the initial baseline tone
intensity is doubled, what happens to the Difference Threshold ($\Delta I$)?
A. It remains constant regardless of baseline intensity.
B. It decreases by half to maintain a constant baseline ratio.
C. It doubles in size to maintain a constant Weber fraction.
D. It increases exponentially as a function of power law dynamics.
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Weber's Law states that $\Delta I / I = k$, meaning the just noticeable difference
($\Delta I$) is directly proportional to the baseline stimulus intensity ($I$). Doubling the
baseline intensity ($I$) requires a doubling of $\Delta I$ to maintain the constant ratio ($k$).
Options A, B, and D misrepresent the linear proportion defined by Weber's Law.
4. A clinical study evaluates patients suffering from severe motion sickness during virtual reality
exposure. Which sensory interaction mechanism best accounts for their nausea and
disorientation?
A. Otolith organ displacement failure
B. Signal detection criterion shift
C. Sensory conflict theory between vestibular and visual input
D. Gate-control mechanism inhibition in the brainstem
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Sensory conflict theory posits that motion sickness arises when visual information
(indicating movement in VR) conflicts with vestibular signals (indicating stillness). Otolith
failure (A) causes equilibrium loss rather than conflict-induced motion sickness, and signal
detection (B) and gate-control (D) pertain to perception thresholds and pain gating, respectively.
5. A researcher conditions a dog by pairing a $1000\text{ Hz}$ tone with food delivery until a
strong conditional response (salivation) is established. Subsequently, tones of $900\text{ Hz}$
, and $1100\text{ Hz}$ evoke salivation, but a $500\text{ Hz}$ tone does not. What learning
principle explains this outcome?
A. Latent inhibition
B. Stimulus generalization gradient
C. Spontaneous recovery
D. Higher-order conditioning
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The stimulus generalization gradient demonstrates that stimuli structurally similar to
the conditioned stimulus ($1000\text{ Hz}$) elicit the conditioned response, whereas distinctly
different stimuli ($500\text{ Hz}$) fail to trigger it. Latent inhibition (A) involves pre-exposure,
spontaneous recovery (C) occurs post-extinction, and higher-order conditioning (D) involves
pairing new stimuli with a CS.
6. In a clinical trial for addiction treatment, a patient receiving cocaine is administered an
pharmacological agent that blocks dopamine reuptake inhibitors. Simultaneously, the patient
undergoes extinction training where drug paraphernalia is presented without drug administration.
Which behavioral outcome is expected if extinction occurs in a novel environment?
A. Universal extinction across all future contexts
B. Contextual renewal of the conditioned response when returning to the original
environment
C. Permanent erasure of the conditioned drug cravings
D. Immediate instinctive drift away from drug cues
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Extinction forms a new context-dependent inhibitory association rather than
unlearning the original association; returning to the original context leads to the renewal effect.
Options A and C incorrectly assume extinction erases memory permanently. Instinctive drift (D)
refers to biological constraints on operant behavior.
7. A trainer reinforces a rat with a food pellet after the first lever press that occurs after an average
interval of 45 seconds has elapsed, though the exact time between available reinforcers varies
randomly. Which schedule of reinforcement is being utilized?
A. Fixed-Ratio (FR)
, B. Fixed-Interval (FI)
C. Variable-Interval (VI)
D. Variable-Ratio (VR)
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Variable-Interval (VI) schedules deliver reinforcement for the first target response
after unpredictable time intervals centering around an average. Fixed schedules (A, B) use
predictable ratios or times, while Variable-Ratio (D) depends on the number of responses rather
than elapsed time.
8. A patient with bilateral hippocampal damage due to anoxic brain injury exhibits intact
performance on a mirror-tracing task and shows steady day-over-day speed improvements, yet
consistently claims never to have seen the task before. This outcome demonstrates a double
dissociation between which memory systems?
A. Short-term memory and working memory
B. Semantic memory and episodic memory
C. Explicit declarative memory and implicit procedural memory
D. Sensory memory and long-term memory
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Impaired conscious recall of practice episodes paired with preserved motor skill
acquisition (mirror tracing) demonstrates that procedural memory functions independently of
hippocampal-dependent explicit/declarative memory. Options A, B, and D do not reflect the
specific dissociation between procedural skill learning and explicit episodic recall.
9. An individual trying to remember a 10-digit phone number ($6175550192$) groups the digits
into three clusters ($617-555-0192$). Which capacity-expanding memory strategy is being
executed?
A. Maintenance rehearsal
B. Chunking
C. Method of loci
D. Dual-coding
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Answers/Plus a Rationale Updated 2026 A+/Instant
Download PDF
EXAM COVERAGE - 1. Sensation and Perception - 2. States of
Consciousness - 3. Learning and Conditioning - 4. Memory and
Information Processing - 5. Cognition, Language, and Intelligence - 6.
Lifespan Human Development - 7. Motivation and Emotion
1. A neuroscientist presents a visual stimulus to a participant while measuring single-unit electrical
activity in the primary visual cortex (V1). The targeted neuron fires maximally when a line of a
specific orientation moves across a precise region of the visual field in a specific direction.
Which type of visual cortex cell is being recorded?
A. Simple cell
B. Complex cell
C. Hypercomplex (end-stopped) cell
D. Ganglion cell
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Complex cells in V1 respond to orientation and movement across a receptive field
without strict spatial localization constraints, unlike simple cells which require fixed spatial
positions. Hypercomplex cells respond to lines of specific length with end-inhibition, while
ganglion cells reside in the retina, not V1.
2. A patient with stroke-induced brain damage can accurately reach out and grasp objects in her
peripheral field, yet she firmly denies being able to see those same objects. Which visual
pathway remains functional in this condition?
A. Parvocellular pathway to the temporal lobe
B. Ventral stream ("what" pathway) to the inferior temporal cortex
C. Dorsal stream ("where/how" pathway) via the superior colliculus
D. Geniculostriate pathway to the occipital pole
CORRECT ANSWER : C
, Rationale: Blindsight occurs when damage to primary visual cortex (striate cortex) disrupts
conscious awareness (ventral stream), while tectopulvinar and dorsal projections through the
superior colliculus remain intact to mediate non-conscious, localized spatial actions. Options A,
B, and D all rely on conscious ventral stream pathways.
3. During an auditory psychophysics experiment, a researcher gradually increases the intensity of a
1000 Hz tone from absolute threshold. According to Weber's Law, if the initial baseline tone
intensity is doubled, what happens to the Difference Threshold ($\Delta I$)?
A. It remains constant regardless of baseline intensity.
B. It decreases by half to maintain a constant baseline ratio.
C. It doubles in size to maintain a constant Weber fraction.
D. It increases exponentially as a function of power law dynamics.
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Weber's Law states that $\Delta I / I = k$, meaning the just noticeable difference
($\Delta I$) is directly proportional to the baseline stimulus intensity ($I$). Doubling the
baseline intensity ($I$) requires a doubling of $\Delta I$ to maintain the constant ratio ($k$).
Options A, B, and D misrepresent the linear proportion defined by Weber's Law.
4. A clinical study evaluates patients suffering from severe motion sickness during virtual reality
exposure. Which sensory interaction mechanism best accounts for their nausea and
disorientation?
A. Otolith organ displacement failure
B. Signal detection criterion shift
C. Sensory conflict theory between vestibular and visual input
D. Gate-control mechanism inhibition in the brainstem
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Sensory conflict theory posits that motion sickness arises when visual information
(indicating movement in VR) conflicts with vestibular signals (indicating stillness). Otolith
failure (A) causes equilibrium loss rather than conflict-induced motion sickness, and signal
detection (B) and gate-control (D) pertain to perception thresholds and pain gating, respectively.
5. A researcher conditions a dog by pairing a $1000\text{ Hz}$ tone with food delivery until a
strong conditional response (salivation) is established. Subsequently, tones of $900\text{ Hz}$
, and $1100\text{ Hz}$ evoke salivation, but a $500\text{ Hz}$ tone does not. What learning
principle explains this outcome?
A. Latent inhibition
B. Stimulus generalization gradient
C. Spontaneous recovery
D. Higher-order conditioning
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The stimulus generalization gradient demonstrates that stimuli structurally similar to
the conditioned stimulus ($1000\text{ Hz}$) elicit the conditioned response, whereas distinctly
different stimuli ($500\text{ Hz}$) fail to trigger it. Latent inhibition (A) involves pre-exposure,
spontaneous recovery (C) occurs post-extinction, and higher-order conditioning (D) involves
pairing new stimuli with a CS.
6. In a clinical trial for addiction treatment, a patient receiving cocaine is administered an
pharmacological agent that blocks dopamine reuptake inhibitors. Simultaneously, the patient
undergoes extinction training where drug paraphernalia is presented without drug administration.
Which behavioral outcome is expected if extinction occurs in a novel environment?
A. Universal extinction across all future contexts
B. Contextual renewal of the conditioned response when returning to the original
environment
C. Permanent erasure of the conditioned drug cravings
D. Immediate instinctive drift away from drug cues
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Extinction forms a new context-dependent inhibitory association rather than
unlearning the original association; returning to the original context leads to the renewal effect.
Options A and C incorrectly assume extinction erases memory permanently. Instinctive drift (D)
refers to biological constraints on operant behavior.
7. A trainer reinforces a rat with a food pellet after the first lever press that occurs after an average
interval of 45 seconds has elapsed, though the exact time between available reinforcers varies
randomly. Which schedule of reinforcement is being utilized?
A. Fixed-Ratio (FR)
, B. Fixed-Interval (FI)
C. Variable-Interval (VI)
D. Variable-Ratio (VR)
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Variable-Interval (VI) schedules deliver reinforcement for the first target response
after unpredictable time intervals centering around an average. Fixed schedules (A, B) use
predictable ratios or times, while Variable-Ratio (D) depends on the number of responses rather
than elapsed time.
8. A patient with bilateral hippocampal damage due to anoxic brain injury exhibits intact
performance on a mirror-tracing task and shows steady day-over-day speed improvements, yet
consistently claims never to have seen the task before. This outcome demonstrates a double
dissociation between which memory systems?
A. Short-term memory and working memory
B. Semantic memory and episodic memory
C. Explicit declarative memory and implicit procedural memory
D. Sensory memory and long-term memory
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Impaired conscious recall of practice episodes paired with preserved motor skill
acquisition (mirror tracing) demonstrates that procedural memory functions independently of
hippocampal-dependent explicit/declarative memory. Options A, B, and D do not reflect the
specific dissociation between procedural skill learning and explicit episodic recall.
9. An individual trying to remember a 10-digit phone number ($6175550192$) groups the digits
into three clusters ($617-555-0192$). Which capacity-expanding memory strategy is being
executed?
A. Maintenance rehearsal
B. Chunking
C. Method of loci
D. Dual-coding
CORRECT ANSWER : B
