PSYCH 1101 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED WITH
SUPPORTIVE RATIONALES
1. Many children learn to fear lightning because it is often paired with loud
thunder (which, like most sudden, loud sounds is naturally frightening). In
this case lightning is the _____, thunder is the _____, and fear is the _____.
A. CS; CR; US
B. US; CS; UR
C. CS; US; CR
D. US; CS; CR
Answer: C. CS; US; CR
Rationale: Lightning is the conditioned stimulus (CS) because it initially does
not cause fear but becomes associated with thunder. Thunder is the unconditioned
stimulus (US) because it naturally elicits fear. Fear is the conditioned response
(CR) because it is learned in response to the CS.
2. What is one way to speed up the acquisition of a classically conditioned
response?
A. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus very
rapidly.
B. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus
intermittently.
C. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus at moderate
intervals.
D. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus randomly.
Answer: A. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus very
rapidly
Rationale: Rapid, massed pairings of the CS and US speed up acquisition,
though spaced pairings may lead to stronger long-term retention.
3. Gloria, the star in the school play, must cry when her father "tells her to
leave home." During rehearsal, Gloria holds an onion near her face when her
"father" tells her to leave. The onion serves as the ______, while being told
, to "leave home" is the ______.
A. US; UR
B. CS; US
C. US; CS
D. CS; UR
Answer: C. US; CS
Rationale: The onion naturally causes crying (unconditioned stimulus – US).
Being told to leave home is a neutral stimulus that becomes the conditioned
stimulus (CS) after pairing with the onion.
4. Operant behavior is:
A. voluntary
B. reflexive
C. involuntary
D. innate
Answer: A. voluntary
Rationale: Operant behavior is voluntary and controlled by its consequences
(reinforcement or punishment), unlike reflexive or involuntary behavior.
5. A young girl is just beginning to dress herself. At first, the parents call her a
"big girl" just for putting on her shirt "frontwards," even if it is not buttoned.
Then they call her a "big girl" only if she tries to button her shirt, even if the
buttons are in the wrong holes. Finally, they call her a "big girl" only if she
buttons her shirt correctly. They are using ______ to change her behavior.
A. discrimination training
B. shaping
C. primary reinforcement
D. higher-order conditioning
Answer: B. shaping
Rationale: Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations toward a
target behavior. The parents gradually raise the criteria for praise.
6. A child who practices the piano because it earns him praise is receiving:
A. a conditioned response
B. an unconditioned response
C. negative reinforcement
D. positive reinforcement
,Answer: D. positive reinforcement
Rationale: Praise is a positive reinforcer added after the behavior (practicing) to
increase the likelihood of that behavior occurring again.
7. When physical punishment is used to try to get children to change a
behavior, a problem is that:
A. it always works immediately and permanently
B. it may suppress behavior only temporarily and can lead to aggression
C. it is a form of positive reinforcement
D. it strengthens the parent-child bond
Answer: B. it may suppress behavior only temporarily and can lead to
aggression
Rationale: Physical punishment often causes temporary suppression, models
aggression, and does not teach alternative appropriate behaviors.
8. In Pavlov’s original experiment, the sound of the metronome was the
______ and salivation to the sound was the ______.
A. US; UR
B. CS; CR
C. US; CR
D. CS; UR
Answer: B. CS; CR
Rationale: The metronome was the conditioned stimulus (CS), and salivation to
the metronome was the conditioned response (CR).
9. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
A. Giving a child a timeout for hitting
B. Giving a child a candy for cleaning their room
C. Turning off a loud alarm by buckling your seatbelt
D. Spanking a child for running into the street
Answer: C. Turning off a loud alarm by buckling your seatbelt
Rationale: Negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus (loud alarm) to
increase the behavior (buckling seatbelt).
10.A fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement delivers reinforcement:
A. after a varying number of responses
B. after a fixed number of responses
, C. after a fixed amount of time
D. after a varying amount of time
Answer: B. after a fixed number of responses
Rationale: Fixed-ratio schedules provide reinforcement after a set number of
responses (e.g., every 10th response).
11.Who is known for the "Little Albert" experiment demonstrating conditioned
fear?
A. B.F. Skinner
B. Ivan Pavlov
C. John B. Watson
D. Edward Thorndike
Answer: C. John B. Watson
Rationale: John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conditioned fear of a white rat in
Little Albert.
12.In operant conditioning, a reinforcer is any consequence that:
A. decreases the likelihood of a behavior
B. increases the likelihood of a behavior
C. is always a reward
D. is always punishment
Answer: B. increases the likelihood of a behavior
Rationale: By definition, a reinforcer increases the future probability of the
behavior it follows.
13.Spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning refers to:
A. the initial learning of the CS-US association
B. the disappearance of the CR when CS is presented alone
C. the reappearance of a previously extinguished CR
D. the generalization of the CR to similar stimuli
Answer: C. the reappearance of a previously extinguished CR
Rationale: Spontaneous recovery is the unexpected return of a conditioned
response after a rest period following extinction.
14.A child learns to say "please" only when an adult is present. This is an
example of:
A. stimulus discrimination
VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED WITH
SUPPORTIVE RATIONALES
1. Many children learn to fear lightning because it is often paired with loud
thunder (which, like most sudden, loud sounds is naturally frightening). In
this case lightning is the _____, thunder is the _____, and fear is the _____.
A. CS; CR; US
B. US; CS; UR
C. CS; US; CR
D. US; CS; CR
Answer: C. CS; US; CR
Rationale: Lightning is the conditioned stimulus (CS) because it initially does
not cause fear but becomes associated with thunder. Thunder is the unconditioned
stimulus (US) because it naturally elicits fear. Fear is the conditioned response
(CR) because it is learned in response to the CS.
2. What is one way to speed up the acquisition of a classically conditioned
response?
A. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus very
rapidly.
B. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus
intermittently.
C. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus at moderate
intervals.
D. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus randomly.
Answer: A. Pair the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus very
rapidly
Rationale: Rapid, massed pairings of the CS and US speed up acquisition,
though spaced pairings may lead to stronger long-term retention.
3. Gloria, the star in the school play, must cry when her father "tells her to
leave home." During rehearsal, Gloria holds an onion near her face when her
"father" tells her to leave. The onion serves as the ______, while being told
, to "leave home" is the ______.
A. US; UR
B. CS; US
C. US; CS
D. CS; UR
Answer: C. US; CS
Rationale: The onion naturally causes crying (unconditioned stimulus – US).
Being told to leave home is a neutral stimulus that becomes the conditioned
stimulus (CS) after pairing with the onion.
4. Operant behavior is:
A. voluntary
B. reflexive
C. involuntary
D. innate
Answer: A. voluntary
Rationale: Operant behavior is voluntary and controlled by its consequences
(reinforcement or punishment), unlike reflexive or involuntary behavior.
5. A young girl is just beginning to dress herself. At first, the parents call her a
"big girl" just for putting on her shirt "frontwards," even if it is not buttoned.
Then they call her a "big girl" only if she tries to button her shirt, even if the
buttons are in the wrong holes. Finally, they call her a "big girl" only if she
buttons her shirt correctly. They are using ______ to change her behavior.
A. discrimination training
B. shaping
C. primary reinforcement
D. higher-order conditioning
Answer: B. shaping
Rationale: Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations toward a
target behavior. The parents gradually raise the criteria for praise.
6. A child who practices the piano because it earns him praise is receiving:
A. a conditioned response
B. an unconditioned response
C. negative reinforcement
D. positive reinforcement
,Answer: D. positive reinforcement
Rationale: Praise is a positive reinforcer added after the behavior (practicing) to
increase the likelihood of that behavior occurring again.
7. When physical punishment is used to try to get children to change a
behavior, a problem is that:
A. it always works immediately and permanently
B. it may suppress behavior only temporarily and can lead to aggression
C. it is a form of positive reinforcement
D. it strengthens the parent-child bond
Answer: B. it may suppress behavior only temporarily and can lead to
aggression
Rationale: Physical punishment often causes temporary suppression, models
aggression, and does not teach alternative appropriate behaviors.
8. In Pavlov’s original experiment, the sound of the metronome was the
______ and salivation to the sound was the ______.
A. US; UR
B. CS; CR
C. US; CR
D. CS; UR
Answer: B. CS; CR
Rationale: The metronome was the conditioned stimulus (CS), and salivation to
the metronome was the conditioned response (CR).
9. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
A. Giving a child a timeout for hitting
B. Giving a child a candy for cleaning their room
C. Turning off a loud alarm by buckling your seatbelt
D. Spanking a child for running into the street
Answer: C. Turning off a loud alarm by buckling your seatbelt
Rationale: Negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus (loud alarm) to
increase the behavior (buckling seatbelt).
10.A fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement delivers reinforcement:
A. after a varying number of responses
B. after a fixed number of responses
, C. after a fixed amount of time
D. after a varying amount of time
Answer: B. after a fixed number of responses
Rationale: Fixed-ratio schedules provide reinforcement after a set number of
responses (e.g., every 10th response).
11.Who is known for the "Little Albert" experiment demonstrating conditioned
fear?
A. B.F. Skinner
B. Ivan Pavlov
C. John B. Watson
D. Edward Thorndike
Answer: C. John B. Watson
Rationale: John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conditioned fear of a white rat in
Little Albert.
12.In operant conditioning, a reinforcer is any consequence that:
A. decreases the likelihood of a behavior
B. increases the likelihood of a behavior
C. is always a reward
D. is always punishment
Answer: B. increases the likelihood of a behavior
Rationale: By definition, a reinforcer increases the future probability of the
behavior it follows.
13.Spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning refers to:
A. the initial learning of the CS-US association
B. the disappearance of the CR when CS is presented alone
C. the reappearance of a previously extinguished CR
D. the generalization of the CR to similar stimuli
Answer: C. the reappearance of a previously extinguished CR
Rationale: Spontaneous recovery is the unexpected return of a conditioned
response after a rest period following extinction.
14.A child learns to say "please" only when an adult is present. This is an
example of:
A. stimulus discrimination
