PSY 101 EXAM 2 UB QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026 UPDATE WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTION.
1. A student begins studying for an exam several weeks before the test and
gradually changes the amount of material remembered as a result of
repeated study and practice. Which psychological concept best describes
the relatively permanent change produced by this experience?
A. Maturation
B. Habituation
C. Learning
D. Reflexive behavior
Answer: C
2. A professor observes that students who receive repeated practice on a
difficult task become faster and more accurate even when no additional
instruction is provided. Which principle most directly explains this
improvement?
A. Learning through experience
B. Genetic maturation
C. Sensory adaptation
D. Biological reflexes
Answer: A
3. During a conditioning experiment, a neutral tone is repeatedly paired with
food until the tone alone produces salivation. Before conditioning occurs,
what role does the tone initially play?
A. Conditioned stimulus
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Conditioned response
D. Neutral stimulus
Answer: D
4. Pavlov repeatedly presented food to dogs and observed that the dogs
naturally salivated when the food was placed in their mouths. In this
pg. 1
, original arrangement, what is the food?
A. Conditioned stimulus
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Conditioned response
D. Neutral stimulus
Answer: B
5. A dog automatically begins salivating when food is placed in its mouth,
without requiring any previous training. Which term describes the salivation
produced naturally by the food?
A. Conditioned response
B. Conditioned stimulus
C. Unconditioned response
D. Discriminative response
Answer: C
6. After a tone has been repeatedly paired with food, a dog begins salivating
whenever the tone sounds even though no food is presented. What is the
dog's salivation to the tone called?
A. Conditioned response
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Neutral response
D. Unconditioned response
Answer: A
7. A child becomes frightened whenever a particular doctor's office comes
into view after previously experiencing a painful injection there. The office
originally had no fear-producing properties. What learning process best
explains this change?
A. Operant conditioning
B. Classical conditioning
C. Observational learning
D. Latent learning
Answer: B
pg. 2
, 8. A researcher repeatedly pairs a flashing light with an unpleasant loud noise.
Eventually, the participant becomes tense when seeing the light alone. In
this example, the flashing light has become what?
A. Unconditioned response
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Conditioned stimulus
D. Primary reinforcer
Answer: C
9. A student feels anxious whenever hearing the notification sound associated
with an online testing system because previous notifications have been
followed by difficult exams. What process is most directly responsible for
the learned anxiety?
A. Classical conditioning
B. Shaping
C. Negative reinforcement
D. Spontaneous recovery
Answer: A
10. A child who was once bitten by a large dog later becomes afraid of many
different dogs, even though only one specific dog caused the original
frightening experience. Which classical-conditioning phenomenon is
illustrated?
A. Stimulus discrimination
B. Extinction
C. Spontaneous recovery
D. Stimulus generalization
Answer: D
11. A student has learned to feel anxious only when hearing the particular
alarm used for an emergency drill and remains calm when hearing other
similar sounds. Which process allows the student to distinguish between
the different stimuli?
A. Stimulus generalization
pg. 3
, B. Stimulus discrimination
C. Extinction
D. Acquisition
Answer: B
12. A conditioned response gradually disappears after a previously conditioned
stimulus is repeatedly presented without the original unconditioned
stimulus. What is this process called?
A. Acquisition
B. Generalization
C. Extinction
D. Shaping
Answer: C
13. Several days after a conditioned response has disappeared through
extinction, the conditioned stimulus is presented again and the response
briefly returns. Which phenomenon does this demonstrate?
A. Spontaneous recovery
B. Stimulus discrimination
C. Higher-order conditioning
D. Negative reinforcement
Answer: A
14. A student initially develops a fear response after repeatedly hearing a
particular sound before an unpleasant event. Later, the sound is repeatedly
presented without the unpleasant event until the fear disappears. Which
conclusion is most accurate?
A. The original learning was completely erased from memory
B. Extinction can suppress a conditioned response without necessarily
eliminating the original association
C. The sound has become an unconditioned stimulus
D. The student has demonstrated operant conditioning
Answer: B
pg. 4
COMPLETE SOLUTION.
1. A student begins studying for an exam several weeks before the test and
gradually changes the amount of material remembered as a result of
repeated study and practice. Which psychological concept best describes
the relatively permanent change produced by this experience?
A. Maturation
B. Habituation
C. Learning
D. Reflexive behavior
Answer: C
2. A professor observes that students who receive repeated practice on a
difficult task become faster and more accurate even when no additional
instruction is provided. Which principle most directly explains this
improvement?
A. Learning through experience
B. Genetic maturation
C. Sensory adaptation
D. Biological reflexes
Answer: A
3. During a conditioning experiment, a neutral tone is repeatedly paired with
food until the tone alone produces salivation. Before conditioning occurs,
what role does the tone initially play?
A. Conditioned stimulus
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Conditioned response
D. Neutral stimulus
Answer: D
4. Pavlov repeatedly presented food to dogs and observed that the dogs
naturally salivated when the food was placed in their mouths. In this
pg. 1
, original arrangement, what is the food?
A. Conditioned stimulus
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Conditioned response
D. Neutral stimulus
Answer: B
5. A dog automatically begins salivating when food is placed in its mouth,
without requiring any previous training. Which term describes the salivation
produced naturally by the food?
A. Conditioned response
B. Conditioned stimulus
C. Unconditioned response
D. Discriminative response
Answer: C
6. After a tone has been repeatedly paired with food, a dog begins salivating
whenever the tone sounds even though no food is presented. What is the
dog's salivation to the tone called?
A. Conditioned response
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Neutral response
D. Unconditioned response
Answer: A
7. A child becomes frightened whenever a particular doctor's office comes
into view after previously experiencing a painful injection there. The office
originally had no fear-producing properties. What learning process best
explains this change?
A. Operant conditioning
B. Classical conditioning
C. Observational learning
D. Latent learning
Answer: B
pg. 2
, 8. A researcher repeatedly pairs a flashing light with an unpleasant loud noise.
Eventually, the participant becomes tense when seeing the light alone. In
this example, the flashing light has become what?
A. Unconditioned response
B. Unconditioned stimulus
C. Conditioned stimulus
D. Primary reinforcer
Answer: C
9. A student feels anxious whenever hearing the notification sound associated
with an online testing system because previous notifications have been
followed by difficult exams. What process is most directly responsible for
the learned anxiety?
A. Classical conditioning
B. Shaping
C. Negative reinforcement
D. Spontaneous recovery
Answer: A
10. A child who was once bitten by a large dog later becomes afraid of many
different dogs, even though only one specific dog caused the original
frightening experience. Which classical-conditioning phenomenon is
illustrated?
A. Stimulus discrimination
B. Extinction
C. Spontaneous recovery
D. Stimulus generalization
Answer: D
11. A student has learned to feel anxious only when hearing the particular
alarm used for an emergency drill and remains calm when hearing other
similar sounds. Which process allows the student to distinguish between
the different stimuli?
A. Stimulus generalization
pg. 3
, B. Stimulus discrimination
C. Extinction
D. Acquisition
Answer: B
12. A conditioned response gradually disappears after a previously conditioned
stimulus is repeatedly presented without the original unconditioned
stimulus. What is this process called?
A. Acquisition
B. Generalization
C. Extinction
D. Shaping
Answer: C
13. Several days after a conditioned response has disappeared through
extinction, the conditioned stimulus is presented again and the response
briefly returns. Which phenomenon does this demonstrate?
A. Spontaneous recovery
B. Stimulus discrimination
C. Higher-order conditioning
D. Negative reinforcement
Answer: A
14. A student initially develops a fear response after repeatedly hearing a
particular sound before an unpleasant event. Later, the sound is repeatedly
presented without the unpleasant event until the fear disappears. Which
conclusion is most accurate?
A. The original learning was completely erased from memory
B. Extinction can suppress a conditioned response without necessarily
eliminating the original association
C. The sound has become an unconditioned stimulus
D. The student has demonstrated operant conditioning
Answer: B
pg. 4
