PSYCHOLOGY 101 FINAL EXAM STUDY
GUIDE 2026 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
NOTES PRACTICE QUESTIONS ANSWER
KEY AND EXPLANATIONS
classical conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER-also called "respondent
conditioning" or "Pavlovian conditioning," a subject comes to respond to a
neutral stimulus as he would to another, nonneutral stimulus by learning to
associate the two stimuli.
Extinction - CORRECT ANSWER-is the gradual weakening and
disappearance of a conditioned response.
Spontaneous recovery - CORRECT ANSWER-the reappearance of an
extinguished conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus returns
after a period of absence.
stimulus generalization - CORRECT ANSWER-the tendency to respond
to a new stimulus as if it were the original conditioned stimulus
stimulus discrimination - CORRECT ANSWER-the tendency to lack a
conditioned response to a new stimulus that resembles the original
conditioned stimulus.
,higher-order conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER-the process by which a
neutral stimulus comes to act as a conditioned stimulus by being paired
with another stimulus that already evokes a conditioned response.
Operant conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of learning in which
responses come to be controlled by their consequences. Operant responses
are often new responses.
Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER-delivery of a consequence that
increases the likelihood that a response will occur
Positive reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER-the presentation of a
stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often
Negative reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER-the removal of a stimulus
after a response so that the response will occur more often.
Punishment - CORRECT ANSWER-the delivery of a consequence that
decreases the likelihood that a response will occur
Positive punishment - CORRECT ANSWER-the presentation of a
stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often
Negative punishment - CORRECT ANSWER-is the removal of a stimulus
after a response so that the response will occur less often.
, fixed-ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement happens after
a set number of responses, such as when a car salesman earns a bonus after
every three cars he sells.
variable-ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement happens
after a particular average number of responses.
fixed-interval schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement happens
after a set amount of time
variable-interval schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement
happens after a particular average amount of time.
Observational learning - CORRECT ANSWER-the process of learning to
respond in a particular way by watching others, who are called models.
encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-Processing information into memory
Structural encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-focuses on what words look
like. For instance, one might note whether words are long or short, in
uppercase or lowercase, or handwritten or typed.
Phonemic encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-focuses on how words sound.
Semantic encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-focuses on the meaning of
words.
GUIDE 2026 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
NOTES PRACTICE QUESTIONS ANSWER
KEY AND EXPLANATIONS
classical conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER-also called "respondent
conditioning" or "Pavlovian conditioning," a subject comes to respond to a
neutral stimulus as he would to another, nonneutral stimulus by learning to
associate the two stimuli.
Extinction - CORRECT ANSWER-is the gradual weakening and
disappearance of a conditioned response.
Spontaneous recovery - CORRECT ANSWER-the reappearance of an
extinguished conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus returns
after a period of absence.
stimulus generalization - CORRECT ANSWER-the tendency to respond
to a new stimulus as if it were the original conditioned stimulus
stimulus discrimination - CORRECT ANSWER-the tendency to lack a
conditioned response to a new stimulus that resembles the original
conditioned stimulus.
,higher-order conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER-the process by which a
neutral stimulus comes to act as a conditioned stimulus by being paired
with another stimulus that already evokes a conditioned response.
Operant conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of learning in which
responses come to be controlled by their consequences. Operant responses
are often new responses.
Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER-delivery of a consequence that
increases the likelihood that a response will occur
Positive reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER-the presentation of a
stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often
Negative reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER-the removal of a stimulus
after a response so that the response will occur more often.
Punishment - CORRECT ANSWER-the delivery of a consequence that
decreases the likelihood that a response will occur
Positive punishment - CORRECT ANSWER-the presentation of a
stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often
Negative punishment - CORRECT ANSWER-is the removal of a stimulus
after a response so that the response will occur less often.
, fixed-ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement happens after
a set number of responses, such as when a car salesman earns a bonus after
every three cars he sells.
variable-ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement happens
after a particular average number of responses.
fixed-interval schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement happens
after a set amount of time
variable-interval schedule - CORRECT ANSWER-reinforcement
happens after a particular average amount of time.
Observational learning - CORRECT ANSWER-the process of learning to
respond in a particular way by watching others, who are called models.
encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-Processing information into memory
Structural encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-focuses on what words look
like. For instance, one might note whether words are long or short, in
uppercase or lowercase, or handwritten or typed.
Phonemic encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-focuses on how words sound.
Semantic encoding - CORRECT ANSWER-focuses on the meaning of
words.
