WGU PSYCH D094 OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT —
COMPLETE QUESTIONS & CORRECT ANSWERS
(2025/2026)
Introduction
The WGU PSYCH D094 Objective Assessment evaluates foundational competencies in general
psychology required of all teacher-education and behavioral-science majors. The 2025/2026
blueprint samples seven core domains: (1) foundations and research methods, (2) biological bases of
behavior, (3) learning and memory, (4) cognition and perception, (5) human development, (6)
personality and social psychology, and (7) psychological disorders and evidence-based treatments.
Mastery signifies readiness to apply psychological principles in classroom management, instructional
design, and supportive counseling roles. The 70-item set below mirrors the live exam’s distribution,
cognitive complexity, and time limit (105 min). All items are original, board-aligned, and fully solved.
Question 1
Which early school of psychology emphasized the adaptive function of consciousness and influenced
modern educational psychology?
A. Structuralism
B. Functionalism
C. Gestalt
D. Psychoanalysis
Answer: B. Functionalism
Rationale: Functionalists (James, Dewey) asked what consciousness does for survival and adaptation,
seeding applied fields such as educational and industrial psychology. Structuralism studied static
content; Gestalt focused on perceptual wholes; psychoanalysis stressed unconscious drives.
Question 2
An investigator hypothesizes that louder background noise reduces reading comprehension. In this
experiment, the decibel level of the noise is the:
A. Dependent variable
B. Independent variable
C. Confounding variable
D. Control condition
Answer: B. Independent variable
Rationale: The researcher manipulates sound intensity (IV) to observe its effect on comprehension
(DV). Decibel level is not an outcome, confound, or baseline condition.
Question 3
pg. 1
,Which lobe houses the primary somatosensory cortex and is vital for tactile object recognition?
A. Frontal
B. Parietal
C. Temporal
D. Occipital
Answer: B. Parietal
Rationale: Post-central gyrus (parietal lobe) receives touch, pressure, pain, and temperature
information. Frontal lobe governs movement and executive functions; temporal processes audition
and memory; occipital handles vision.
Question 4
During action potential propagation, which ion’s efflux is chiefly responsible for the falling phase of
the spike?
A. Sodium entering the cell
B. Potassium leaving the cell
C. Calcium entering through L-channels
D. Chloride entering the cell
Answer: B. Potassium leaving the cell
Rationale: Repolarization occurs when voltage-gated K⁺ channels open, allowing K⁺ to exit, restoring
negative charge. Na⁺ influx causes depolarization; Ca²⁺ contributes to plateau in cardiac muscle; Cl⁻
influx inhibits.
Question 5
Which neurotransmitter’s excessive activity in the mesolimbic pathway is most implicated in positive
symptoms of schizophrenia?
A. GABA
B. Dopamine
C. Serotonin
D. Acetylcholine
Answer: B. Dopamine
Rationale: The dopamine hypothesis posits hyper-dopaminergic transmission at D2 receptors in
mesolimbic projections underlies hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotics block D2 to alleviate
these symptoms.
Question 6
In classical conditioning, the phase during which the CS is repeatedly presented without the US is
called:
A. Acquisition
B. Extinction
C. Spontaneous recovery
D. Generalization
pg. 2
, Answer: B. Extinction
Rationale: Extinction weakens the CR by breaking the CS-US contingency. Acquisition pairs CS and
US; spontaneous recovery is the reappearance after a rest; generalization occurs to similar stimuli.
Question 7
A rat receives food only after pressing the lever 12 times (FR-12). The schedule produces which
typical pattern of responding?
A. High steady rate with short post-reinforcement pause
B. Low rate that accelerates toward reinforcement
C. Scalloped pattern with long pauses
D. Variable interval-like responding
Answer: A. High steady rate with short post-reinforcement pause
Rationale: Fixed-ratio schedules generate rapid, consistent responding interrupted by brief pauses
after reward. Variable-ratio shows highest rate; fixed-interval produces scallops; VI yields moderate
steady responding.
Question 8
According to Baddeley’s working-memory model, which component temporarily maintains
verbal/acoustic traces?
A. Phonological loop
B. Visuo-spatial sketchpad
C. Episodic buffer
D. Central executive
Answer: A. Phonological loop
Rationale: The phonological loop holds speech-based information for ~2 seconds via articulatory
rehearsal. The sketchpad stores visual patterns; the buffer integrates information; the executive
allocates attention.
Question 9
Which depth-of-processing question is most likely to enhance long-term retention of the word
EAGLE?
A. Is it in capital letters?
B. Does it rhyme with beagle?
C. Is it a symbol of freedom?
D. How many letters does it have?
Answer: C. Is it a symbol of freedom?
Rationale: Semantic (meaning-based) processing produces deeper, more elaborative encoding than
structural or phonemic tasks, yielding superior recall.
Question 10
pg. 3
COMPLETE QUESTIONS & CORRECT ANSWERS
(2025/2026)
Introduction
The WGU PSYCH D094 Objective Assessment evaluates foundational competencies in general
psychology required of all teacher-education and behavioral-science majors. The 2025/2026
blueprint samples seven core domains: (1) foundations and research methods, (2) biological bases of
behavior, (3) learning and memory, (4) cognition and perception, (5) human development, (6)
personality and social psychology, and (7) psychological disorders and evidence-based treatments.
Mastery signifies readiness to apply psychological principles in classroom management, instructional
design, and supportive counseling roles. The 70-item set below mirrors the live exam’s distribution,
cognitive complexity, and time limit (105 min). All items are original, board-aligned, and fully solved.
Question 1
Which early school of psychology emphasized the adaptive function of consciousness and influenced
modern educational psychology?
A. Structuralism
B. Functionalism
C. Gestalt
D. Psychoanalysis
Answer: B. Functionalism
Rationale: Functionalists (James, Dewey) asked what consciousness does for survival and adaptation,
seeding applied fields such as educational and industrial psychology. Structuralism studied static
content; Gestalt focused on perceptual wholes; psychoanalysis stressed unconscious drives.
Question 2
An investigator hypothesizes that louder background noise reduces reading comprehension. In this
experiment, the decibel level of the noise is the:
A. Dependent variable
B. Independent variable
C. Confounding variable
D. Control condition
Answer: B. Independent variable
Rationale: The researcher manipulates sound intensity (IV) to observe its effect on comprehension
(DV). Decibel level is not an outcome, confound, or baseline condition.
Question 3
pg. 1
,Which lobe houses the primary somatosensory cortex and is vital for tactile object recognition?
A. Frontal
B. Parietal
C. Temporal
D. Occipital
Answer: B. Parietal
Rationale: Post-central gyrus (parietal lobe) receives touch, pressure, pain, and temperature
information. Frontal lobe governs movement and executive functions; temporal processes audition
and memory; occipital handles vision.
Question 4
During action potential propagation, which ion’s efflux is chiefly responsible for the falling phase of
the spike?
A. Sodium entering the cell
B. Potassium leaving the cell
C. Calcium entering through L-channels
D. Chloride entering the cell
Answer: B. Potassium leaving the cell
Rationale: Repolarization occurs when voltage-gated K⁺ channels open, allowing K⁺ to exit, restoring
negative charge. Na⁺ influx causes depolarization; Ca²⁺ contributes to plateau in cardiac muscle; Cl⁻
influx inhibits.
Question 5
Which neurotransmitter’s excessive activity in the mesolimbic pathway is most implicated in positive
symptoms of schizophrenia?
A. GABA
B. Dopamine
C. Serotonin
D. Acetylcholine
Answer: B. Dopamine
Rationale: The dopamine hypothesis posits hyper-dopaminergic transmission at D2 receptors in
mesolimbic projections underlies hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotics block D2 to alleviate
these symptoms.
Question 6
In classical conditioning, the phase during which the CS is repeatedly presented without the US is
called:
A. Acquisition
B. Extinction
C. Spontaneous recovery
D. Generalization
pg. 2
, Answer: B. Extinction
Rationale: Extinction weakens the CR by breaking the CS-US contingency. Acquisition pairs CS and
US; spontaneous recovery is the reappearance after a rest; generalization occurs to similar stimuli.
Question 7
A rat receives food only after pressing the lever 12 times (FR-12). The schedule produces which
typical pattern of responding?
A. High steady rate with short post-reinforcement pause
B. Low rate that accelerates toward reinforcement
C. Scalloped pattern with long pauses
D. Variable interval-like responding
Answer: A. High steady rate with short post-reinforcement pause
Rationale: Fixed-ratio schedules generate rapid, consistent responding interrupted by brief pauses
after reward. Variable-ratio shows highest rate; fixed-interval produces scallops; VI yields moderate
steady responding.
Question 8
According to Baddeley’s working-memory model, which component temporarily maintains
verbal/acoustic traces?
A. Phonological loop
B. Visuo-spatial sketchpad
C. Episodic buffer
D. Central executive
Answer: A. Phonological loop
Rationale: The phonological loop holds speech-based information for ~2 seconds via articulatory
rehearsal. The sketchpad stores visual patterns; the buffer integrates information; the executive
allocates attention.
Question 9
Which depth-of-processing question is most likely to enhance long-term retention of the word
EAGLE?
A. Is it in capital letters?
B. Does it rhyme with beagle?
C. Is it a symbol of freedom?
D. How many letters does it have?
Answer: C. Is it a symbol of freedom?
Rationale: Semantic (meaning-based) processing produces deeper, more elaborative encoding than
structural or phonemic tasks, yielding superior recall.
Question 10
pg. 3
