PSYC 1010 Final Exam Questions with
Complete Solutions 2026 Updated.
In Watson's classic studies with a baby, rats became conditioned stimuli for - Answer fear
A psychologist wants to see how much caffeine benefits students who have not slept well. She
gives some students strong coffee and other students decaffeinated coffee (but doesn't tell
them which they get!). After a 5 minute break, she has them take a short quiz. In terms of the
study design, type of drink (caffeinated or non-caffeinated) would be called the
_________variable, and the students' quiz performance would be called ________ variable. -
Answer Indepedent, Dependent
Some rats were given no food rewards in a maze during their first 10 times, but after finding
food on the 11th time, in their 12th time they were just as fast reaching the food spot as were
rats that had been rewarded at that spot every time.
Tolman called this evidence of __________? - Answer Latent Learning
As outlined in your textbook and in lecture, there are three fundamental ideas about our
behavior and mental experiences--conceived before psychology was recognized as a scientific
discipline—that are still psychology's foundation. List the three ideas in any order. - Answer
Have physical causes and can be studied scientifically, are modified by environmental
experience, are products of evolution by natural selection
Write your own illustration of negative reinforcement - Answer Danny took out the trash
without being asked, so his dad let him skip doing the dishes. (desired behavior results in
removal of aversive stimulus)
Descartes considered the soul's main function to be - Answer thought
Why does classical conditioning make it dangerous for a drug addict to take their drug in an
unfamiliar environment? - Answer Because the body is used to counteracting the effect of
the drug based on stimulus in the environment so if the drug addict ups the dosage without the
body counteracting the drug then it will overwhelm their body
Hobbes attributed conscious thought to the physical processes of the brain. His general
philosophy is known as - Answer Materialism
Which 17th century philosopher is known for conceptualizing a child's mind as white paper
(tabula rasa or blank slate) that is "furnished" solely by environmental interaction? - Answer
John Locke
,_________ study designs allow you to make causal inferences - Answer experimental
Religion does not fall within the realm of science because the hypotheses proposed by religion
are neither __________ nor ___________ - Answer testable, falsifiable
WEIRD - Answer Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic
Biologists and psychologists who think in evolutionary terms find it useful to distinguish
between two kinds of explanations of behavior: _________ and ___________ - Answer distal
and proximate
A foolish biker riding down the street without a helmet crashes and suffers damage to Broca's
area. What deficit in function will he most likely have? - Answer He will be unable to
comprehend the elementary grammar of a sentence
An experimenter runs a study similar to the one demonstrated in class to make a rough
estimate of neuronal speed of transmission. She has a group of 10 students sit in a circle and
squeeze each other's ankles in succession. She times how long it takes for the squeezing "signal"
to return to the starting participant. A second group of 10 students does the same procedure,
except they squeeze each other's shoulders. What kind of research design is this? - Answer
Between-groups, experimental
What's the best "take-home message" from findings such as Clark's nutcrackers' extraordinary
ability to find seeds they have hidden in thousands of different sites and Pacific salmons' ability
to find their way home to their birth stream after years in the ocean? - Answer Diverse innate
specialized learning abilities result from natural selection
If punishment is used to modify behavior, it needs which of the following characteristics in order
to be effective and avoid unintended negative consequences: - Answer Come quickly and
consistently after the undesired behavior, and be aversive but not abusive.
We installed a standard "electric fence" for dogs (an invisible electric perimeter) and fitted him
with the special collar that beeps when he gets close to the perimeter and shocks him if he
crosses. We walked with him a few times to teach him the contingency between the sound and
getting shocked. It didn't take many trials to stop his behavior of walking out of the yard!
What kind of conditioning is involved? - Answer operant, classical
If you want to foster a rapid rate of responding, but also have the responding be relatively slow
to extinguish once reinforcements end, which of these partial reinforcement schedules should
you choose? - Answer variable ratio
, You are a musician who goes to play for a class of blind children. If the children have been blind
since birth, and your music is making them happy, which of the following would you expect to
see? - Answer movements in their facial muscles similar to those you would expect from
sighted children
A person falls prey to the naturalistic fallacy by mistakenly equating what is "natural" with what
is: - Answer right
Wolves, killer whales, and army ants all live and hunt in packs. This is an example of: - Answer
an analogy
On September 8, 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a summary of a recent
research article on the relationship between action video gaming experience and driving skills.
Here is an excerpt from their summary:
"Researchers performed multiple experiments comparing action gamers who had played an
average of five hours a week over the past six months and non-action gamers. They studied the
performance of the two groups in a driving simulation and found the action gamers did a better
job staying in their lane."
Based on this excerpt, how would you classify this research in terms of the definitions we have
studied? - Answer Correlational
Rhesus monkeys raised in captivity are not afraid when first introduced to novel toys. According
to research described in your text, which of the following will they quickly learn to fear if they
see video of other monkeys reacting to it fearfully? - Answer toy snake
A more meaningfully descriptive name for classical conditioning would be _____________
conditioning. - Answer reflexive
A major objection to Skinner's radical psychological theory is that it - Answer did not take
into account thoughts and beliefs
Which of the following are accurate associations? (just name two) - Answer Dualism and
Descartes, Puzzle-boxes and Thorndike
According to your textbook author, amoebas are as evolved as - Answer humans
Complete Solutions 2026 Updated.
In Watson's classic studies with a baby, rats became conditioned stimuli for - Answer fear
A psychologist wants to see how much caffeine benefits students who have not slept well. She
gives some students strong coffee and other students decaffeinated coffee (but doesn't tell
them which they get!). After a 5 minute break, she has them take a short quiz. In terms of the
study design, type of drink (caffeinated or non-caffeinated) would be called the
_________variable, and the students' quiz performance would be called ________ variable. -
Answer Indepedent, Dependent
Some rats were given no food rewards in a maze during their first 10 times, but after finding
food on the 11th time, in their 12th time they were just as fast reaching the food spot as were
rats that had been rewarded at that spot every time.
Tolman called this evidence of __________? - Answer Latent Learning
As outlined in your textbook and in lecture, there are three fundamental ideas about our
behavior and mental experiences--conceived before psychology was recognized as a scientific
discipline—that are still psychology's foundation. List the three ideas in any order. - Answer
Have physical causes and can be studied scientifically, are modified by environmental
experience, are products of evolution by natural selection
Write your own illustration of negative reinforcement - Answer Danny took out the trash
without being asked, so his dad let him skip doing the dishes. (desired behavior results in
removal of aversive stimulus)
Descartes considered the soul's main function to be - Answer thought
Why does classical conditioning make it dangerous for a drug addict to take their drug in an
unfamiliar environment? - Answer Because the body is used to counteracting the effect of
the drug based on stimulus in the environment so if the drug addict ups the dosage without the
body counteracting the drug then it will overwhelm their body
Hobbes attributed conscious thought to the physical processes of the brain. His general
philosophy is known as - Answer Materialism
Which 17th century philosopher is known for conceptualizing a child's mind as white paper
(tabula rasa or blank slate) that is "furnished" solely by environmental interaction? - Answer
John Locke
,_________ study designs allow you to make causal inferences - Answer experimental
Religion does not fall within the realm of science because the hypotheses proposed by religion
are neither __________ nor ___________ - Answer testable, falsifiable
WEIRD - Answer Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic
Biologists and psychologists who think in evolutionary terms find it useful to distinguish
between two kinds of explanations of behavior: _________ and ___________ - Answer distal
and proximate
A foolish biker riding down the street without a helmet crashes and suffers damage to Broca's
area. What deficit in function will he most likely have? - Answer He will be unable to
comprehend the elementary grammar of a sentence
An experimenter runs a study similar to the one demonstrated in class to make a rough
estimate of neuronal speed of transmission. She has a group of 10 students sit in a circle and
squeeze each other's ankles in succession. She times how long it takes for the squeezing "signal"
to return to the starting participant. A second group of 10 students does the same procedure,
except they squeeze each other's shoulders. What kind of research design is this? - Answer
Between-groups, experimental
What's the best "take-home message" from findings such as Clark's nutcrackers' extraordinary
ability to find seeds they have hidden in thousands of different sites and Pacific salmons' ability
to find their way home to their birth stream after years in the ocean? - Answer Diverse innate
specialized learning abilities result from natural selection
If punishment is used to modify behavior, it needs which of the following characteristics in order
to be effective and avoid unintended negative consequences: - Answer Come quickly and
consistently after the undesired behavior, and be aversive but not abusive.
We installed a standard "electric fence" for dogs (an invisible electric perimeter) and fitted him
with the special collar that beeps when he gets close to the perimeter and shocks him if he
crosses. We walked with him a few times to teach him the contingency between the sound and
getting shocked. It didn't take many trials to stop his behavior of walking out of the yard!
What kind of conditioning is involved? - Answer operant, classical
If you want to foster a rapid rate of responding, but also have the responding be relatively slow
to extinguish once reinforcements end, which of these partial reinforcement schedules should
you choose? - Answer variable ratio
, You are a musician who goes to play for a class of blind children. If the children have been blind
since birth, and your music is making them happy, which of the following would you expect to
see? - Answer movements in their facial muscles similar to those you would expect from
sighted children
A person falls prey to the naturalistic fallacy by mistakenly equating what is "natural" with what
is: - Answer right
Wolves, killer whales, and army ants all live and hunt in packs. This is an example of: - Answer
an analogy
On September 8, 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a summary of a recent
research article on the relationship between action video gaming experience and driving skills.
Here is an excerpt from their summary:
"Researchers performed multiple experiments comparing action gamers who had played an
average of five hours a week over the past six months and non-action gamers. They studied the
performance of the two groups in a driving simulation and found the action gamers did a better
job staying in their lane."
Based on this excerpt, how would you classify this research in terms of the definitions we have
studied? - Answer Correlational
Rhesus monkeys raised in captivity are not afraid when first introduced to novel toys. According
to research described in your text, which of the following will they quickly learn to fear if they
see video of other monkeys reacting to it fearfully? - Answer toy snake
A more meaningfully descriptive name for classical conditioning would be _____________
conditioning. - Answer reflexive
A major objection to Skinner's radical psychological theory is that it - Answer did not take
into account thoughts and beliefs
Which of the following are accurate associations? (just name two) - Answer Dualism and
Descartes, Puzzle-boxes and Thorndike
According to your textbook author, amoebas are as evolved as - Answer humans
