Week 8 · Study guide

Midterm Study Guide · Weeks 1–7 (Objectives 1–5)

Introduction to Psychology · PSYC 1 Fall 2026 · Prof. Bennett Fictional sample

Course: Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Bennett
This is a student-facing review page. Read it, work the fresh practice, and follow the dated plan. Then run the paired Exam-Prep Tutorial and take the Practice Exam for active recall. (This guide points to those two — it does not repeat them.)

Integrity note for students. Every practice item on this page is a fresh variant — a new scenario and wording — with a vetted answer. None of these are the live midterm questions. Working them builds the skill the midterm tests, the honest way.

What the midterm covers (read this first)


Exam	Midterm — cumulative, Weeks 1–7, Objectives 1–5
Format	20 items, 100 points. Concept- and scenario-based: most items hand you a short situation and ask you to name the concept, identify the part, or pick the best explanation — psychology has no arithmetic (that's the statistics course). Expect a mix of multiple-choice, one matching item, one "select all that apply," and a couple of true/false.
Coverage (where the points are)	Obj 1 = 3 items (the science & perspectives) · Obj 2 = 3 items (research methods & ethics) · Obj 3 = 3 items (biological bases) · Obj 4 = 5 items (sensation, perception & consciousness) · Obj 5 = 6 items (learning & memory — the biggest slice). Study Objectives 4 and 5 hardest.
Weight	The midterm is 20% of your course grade.
When it opens / where	Opens in the Week 8 module (the review-and-exam week). The exam window and the room/timing are posted with the exam itself in Canvas; this guide and the exam-prep tutorial post before it so you can prepare. There is no weekly quiz or assignment in Week 8 — the midterm replaces them (Discussion 8, the midterm debrief, still runs).
What to bring	Nothing to compute — bring your understanding. Build the one-page concept sheet this guide helps you make (key terms, the misconception-cures, the four "identify the part" frameworks).

How to use this guide. Each objective below has the same four parts: (A) the key ideas in plain language, (B) the definitions / terms / procedures, (C) the predictable mistakes and their cures, and (D) where to review in the module. After all five objectives come fresh worked examples + self-check questions (with answers), a dated study plan, and how it's graded + test strategy.

Objective 1 — The Science of Psychology & Its Perspectives (Week 1) · 3 items

(A) Key ideas, plain language

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes — both the observable (what a person does) and the internal (what they think and feel). What makes it a science is the method: it tests claims with evidence instead of trusting "common sense," which is unreliable because of traps like hindsight bias ("I knew it all along"). The field grew through a sequence of schools and perspectives, each a different lens on the same behavior.

(B) Definitions, terms, procedures

Psychology = the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior = observable actions; mental processes = internal thoughts, feelings, memories.
Wundt (1879, Leipzig) opened the first psychology lab — the conventional birthdate of scientific psychology.
Early schools: structuralism (Wundt/Titchener — used introspection to find the elements of consciousness) vs. functionalism (William James — asked what mind and behavior are for, how they help us adapt).
The major perspectives (lenses): biological (brain, neurotransmitters, genes) · behavioral (learning from the environment) · cognitive (information processing — attention, memory, thinking) · psychodynamic (unconscious conflicts, early childhood) · humanistic (free will, personal growth) · evolutionary/sociocultural (adaptation; culture and social context). The modern habit of combining biological, psychological, and social levels is the biopsychosocial approach.
Hindsight bias = the tendency, after learning an outcome, to believe you "knew it all along" — a key reason psychologists use the scientific method rather than intuition.
Theory vs. hypothesis: a theory is a well-supported explanation that organizes many findings; a hypothesis is a single testable prediction drawn from it. (The everyday "it's just a theory" is the misconception.)

(C) Predictable mistakes → cures

❌ "Psychology is just common sense." → ✅ Common sense is shaped by hindsight bias; psychology tests claims with evidence. Method beats intuition.
❌ Mixes the biological and behavioral perspectives. → ✅ Biological = inside the body (brain/genes); behavioral = outside, learned from the environment.
❌ Mixes structuralism and functionalism. → ✅ Structuralism breaks the mind into elements (introspection); functionalism asks what mind is for.
❌ "A theory is just a guess." → ✅ In science a theory is well-supported; the single prediction is the hypothesis.

(D) Review in the module

Week 1 → Lecture Outline (the definition, the schools, the perspectives, the scientific method), Slides (Deck 1), Readings (what psychology is, the perspectives, the scientific method), and Lecture Tutorial 1.

Objective 2 — Research Methods & Ethics (Week 2) · 3 items

(A) Key ideas, plain language

To move past opinion, psychologists design studies — and the design decides what you may conclude. Only a randomized experiment can support a cause-and-effect claim; correlational and descriptive studies reveal links and patterns but cannot prove cause, because a third variable or the direction of the arrow may be fooling you. Running studies on people also carries ethical duties: consent, honesty, and oversight.

(B) Definitions, terms, procedures

Independent variable (IV) = what the researcher manipulates (the suspected cause). Dependent variable (DV) = what the researcher measures (the outcome). Hook: I manipulate the IV; I depend on the DV.
Study types: experiment (manipulate an IV, compare groups → can test a cause) · correlational (measure how two variables relate, no manipulation → a link) · descriptive (case study, naturalistic observation, survey → describe behavior).
Correlation ≠ causation. Two blockers: a third (confounding) variable that drives both, and the directionality problem (which way the arrow points). To claim cause, you need a randomized experiment.
Random assignment (who gets which treatment) balances the groups → supports a causal claim. Random sampling (who gets studied) makes the sample representative → supports generalizing to the population. Different jobs.
Ethics: informed consent (agree after learning purpose, risks, right to withdraw) · debriefing (the after-study disclosure, especially when deception was used) · IRB (the Institutional Review Board that must approve a study before it runs).

(C) Predictable mistakes → cures

❌ Swaps the IV and the DV. → ✅ The IV is the cause you set; the DV is the outcome you record.
❌ "Strong correlation, so X causes Y." → ✅ Ask was anything randomly assigned? If not, it's a link — hunt the third variable.
❌ Confuses random assignment with random sampling. → ✅ Assignment = who's treated (causation); sampling = who's studied (generalizing).
❌ Thinks debriefing comes before the study. → ✅ Consent is before; debriefing is after.

(D) Review in the module

Week 2 → Lecture Outline (IV/DV, study types, correlation vs. causation, ethics & the IRB), Slides (Deck 2), Readings (experiments vs. correlation, research ethics), and Lecture Tutorial 2.

Objective 3 — Biological Bases of Behavior (Week 3) · 3 items

(A) Key ideas, plain language

Behavior runs on biology. Neurons carry signals — electrically down the cell and chemically across the gap to the next neuron. Different neurotransmitters tune different functions. The nervous system splits into branches that arouse you (sympathetic) or calm you (parasympathetic), and the brain's structures specialize — different regions for fear, memory, movement, and the senses.

(B) Definitions, terms, procedures

Neuron parts: dendrites receive; the soma (cell body) integrates; the axon carries the signal away; the myelin sheath insulates and speeds it; terminal buttons release neurotransmitters. The action potential is all-or-none (fires fully or not at all).
The synapse: neurons don't touch — a tiny synaptic gap separates them; neurotransmitters cross the gap and bind to receptors (leftover is cleared by reuptake).
Key neurotransmitters (as associations): dopamine (reward, motivation, movement; low → Parkinson's) · serotonin (mood, sleep, appetite; low → depression) · GABA (the calming brake) · acetylcholine (muscle action, memory).
Nervous-system divisions: CNS = brain + spinal cord. PNS = everything else, split into somatic and autonomic; the autonomic splits into sympathetic (gas pedal — fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (brake — rest-and-digest).
Brain structures (function): frontal lobe (planning, movement) · occipital (vision) · temporal (hearing) · parietal (touch) · hippocampus (forming new memories) · amygdala (fear) · cerebellum (balance, coordination) · medulla (heartbeat, breathing).
The "we use only 10% of our brains" line is a myth — imaging shows activity across virtually the whole brain.

(C) Predictable mistakes → cures

❌ Swaps dopamine and serotonin. → ✅ Dopamine = reward/movement (Parkinson's); serotonin = mood/sleep/appetite (depression).
❌ Confuses the hippocampus and the amygdala. → ✅ Hippocampus makes memories; amygdala flags fear.
❌ Mixes sympathetic and parasympathetic. → ✅ Sympathetic = gas (arouse); parasympathetic = brake (calm).
❌ Thinks neurons touch. → ✅ They don't — neurotransmitters cross the synaptic gap.

(D) Review in the module

Week 3 → Lecture Outline (the neuron, the action potential, neurotransmitters, the nervous-system divisions, brain structures), Slides (Deck 3), Readings (the neuron, the brain), and Lecture Tutorial 3.

Objective 4 — Sensation, Perception & Consciousness (Weeks 4–5) · 5 items

(A) Key ideas, plain language

Sensation is the body detecting raw energy; perception is the brain organizing and interpreting it into meaning. The bridge between them is transduction (energy → neural signal). Perception is shaped both bottom-up (from the raw data) and top-down (from expectations and context). Consciousness shifts across the day — through sleep stages and dreams, and it can be altered by psychoactive drugs. This is a big slice of the exam (5 items); know the vocabulary cold.

(B) Definitions, terms, procedures

Sensation vs. perception: detecting vs. interpreting. Transduction = converting physical energy (light, sound) into neural signals.
Thresholds: absolute threshold = the smallest stimulus you can detect at all (50% of the time); difference threshold (JND) = the smallest change you can notice. Sensory adaptation = reduced sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus (the smell fades).
Vision: rods (dim light, periphery, black-and-white) vs. cones (color, fine detail, need good light — "cones for color").
Gestalt principles (the brain groups stimuli): figure-ground, proximity, similarity, closure, continuity. Depth cues: binocular (need both eyes — retinal disparity, convergence) vs. monocular (one eye — linear perspective, interposition).
Processing: bottom-up (data-driven, from the raw signal) vs. top-down (knowledge-driven, from expectation/context; a perceptual set).
Consciousness: the circadian rhythm is the ~24-hour clock (run by the SCN, with melatonin rising in darkness). Sleep stages: NREM-1 (light doorway) → NREM-2 (sleep spindles) → NREM-3 (deep slow-wave delta sleep) → REM (active brain, darting eyes, vivid dreams, body paralyzed). Dream theories: activation-synthesis (the cortex weaves a story from random REM signals) vs. information-processing (consolidating the day) vs. Freud's wish-fulfillment.
Psychoactive drugs: depressants slow the nervous system (alcohol) · stimulants speed it up (caffeine, cocaine) · hallucinogens distort perception (LSD). Tolerance (need more for the same effect) vs. dependence (rely on it) vs. withdrawal (symptoms on stopping).

(C) Predictable mistakes → cures

❌ Confuses the absolute and difference thresholds. → ✅ Absolute = detect it at all; difference = detect a change.
❌ "Sensory adaptation makes us more sensitive." → ✅ It makes us less sensitive to an unchanging stimulus.
❌ Swaps rods and cones. → ✅ Cones for color (and detail, in good light); rods for dim/peripheral.
❌ Calls REM the deepest sleep. → ✅ The deepest is NREM-3; REM is the active, dreaming stage.
❌ "Alcohol is a stimulant." → ✅ Alcohol is a depressant; the early "buzz" is lowered inhibition, not stimulation.
❌ Confuses tolerance and withdrawal. → ✅ Tolerance = need more; withdrawal = symptoms on stopping.

(D) Review in the module

Week 4 → Lecture Outline (sensation vs. perception, transduction, thresholds, Gestalt, depth cues, top-down/bottom-up), Slides (Deck 4), Lecture Tutorial 4. Week 5 → Lecture Outline (circadian rhythm, sleep stages, dream theories, psychoactive drugs), Slides (Deck 5), Lecture Tutorial 5.

Objective 5 — Learning & Memory (Weeks 6–7) · 6 items — STUDY HARDEST

(A) Key ideas, plain language

Learning is a lasting change in behavior from experience. Classical conditioning links a signal to an involuntary, reflexive response; operant conditioning shapes voluntary behavior through its consequences; observational learning happens by watching a model. Memory is a three-stage system for getting information in, holding it, and keeping it — and, crucially, it is reconstructive, not a perfect recording. This is the largest slice of the exam (6 items); budget the most time here.

(B) Definitions, terms, procedures

Learning (Week 6):
- Classical conditioning (Pavlov): UCS (food) → UCR (automatic salivation); a neutral stimulus paired with the UCS becomes the CS (bell/sound), which triggers the CR (learned salivation). The CS starts neutral and is learned; the UCS works automatically.
- Operant conditioning (Skinner) — decode every case with two questions: did the behavior go up (reinforcement) or down (punishment), and was a stimulus added (positive) or removed (negative)?
- Positive reinforcement = add something pleasant → behavior up.
- Negative reinforcement = remove something aversive → behavior up. (NOT punishment!)
- Positive punishment = add something aversive → behavior down.
- Negative punishment = remove something pleasant → behavior down.
- Schedules of reinforcement: fixed-ratio (every n responses) · variable-ratio (unpredictable # of responses — slot machines; highest, most persistent responding) · fixed-interval (first response after a set time — "scalloped" effort) · variable-interval (unpredictable time).
- Observational learning (Bandura's Bobo doll): learning by watching and imitating a model, with no direct reinforcement to the learner.

Memory (Week 7):
- Three-stage model (Atkinson-Shiffrin): sensory memory (split-second) → short-term/working memory (~7±2 items, ~20–30 sec) → long-term memory (effectively unlimited).
- Encoding boosters: deep/semantic processing (meaning), elaborative rehearsal (connect to what you know), chunking (meaningful groups), and spacing (distributed practice beats cramming).
- Explicit (declarative) memory = "knowing that" — episodic (personal events) and semantic (general facts). Implicit (nondeclarative) memory = "knowing how" — procedural skills (riding a bike).
- Retrieval: recall (produce it — fill-in-the-blank) vs. recognition (identify it — multiple choice). Interference: proactive (old disrupts new) vs. retroactive (new disrupts old).
- Reconstructive memory: memory is rebuilt each time, not replayed — so post-event misinformation can reshape it (the misinformation effect, Loftus). A confident memory can still be wrong.

(C) Predictable mistakes → cures

❌ Labels the CS as the thing that works automatically. → ✅ The UCS works automatically; the CS starts neutral and is learned.
❌ "Negative reinforcement is punishment." → ✅ Negative reinforcement INCREASES a behavior (it removes something aversive); punishment DECREASES it. Always ask: did the behavior go up or down?
❌ Confuses ratio and interval schedules. → ✅ Ratio = counts responses; interval = watches the clock.
❌ Calls Bandura's study classical or operant conditioning. → ✅ It's observational learning (watch + imitate, no direct reward).
❌ Confuses episodic and semantic memory. → ✅ Episodic = your diary (events); semantic = an encyclopedia (facts).
❌ Swaps proactive and retroactive interference. → ✅ PRoactive = PRior blocks new; Retroactive = Recent blocks old.
❌ "Memory is a video recording." → ✅ Memory is reconstructive — suggestions can be woven in (the misinformation effect).

(D) Review in the module

Week 6 → Lecture Outline (classical, operant — reinforcement/punishment and schedules, observational learning), Slides (Deck 6), Lecture Tutorial 6. Week 7 → Lecture Outline (the three-stage model, encoding, memory types, retrieval & interference, reconstructive memory), Slides (Deck 7), Lecture Tutorial 7.

Representative practice (all fresh — vetted answers)

None of these are live midterm items. New scenarios, new wording. Each answer is vetted; the one-line why names the idea it tests. Cover the answers, work each one, then check.

Objective 1 practice

Worked example 1 — definition + the right perspective.
A psychologist studies why a child who was bitten by a dog now freezes with fear whenever any dog approaches, and explains it as a learned association.
- (a) Is the child's freezing a behavior, a mental process, or both visible to an outside observer? (b) Which perspective best fits the "learned association" explanation?
Answer. (a) The freezing is an observable behavior; the fear itself is an internal mental process — psychology studies both. (b) The behavioral perspective (learning from the environment). Why: psychology = behavior + mental processes; "learned" points to the behavioral lens.

Worked example 2 — schools + the scientific method.
A friend says, "Of course people remember scary events better — that's just obvious."
- (a) Which mental trap makes that feel obvious after the fact? (b) What distinguishes the early school of structuralism from functionalism?
Answer. (a) Hindsight bias — the "I-knew-it-all-along" effect, the reason we test claims rather than trust intuition. (b) Structuralism used introspection to break consciousness into elements; functionalism asked what mind and behavior are for. Why: method beats common sense; structure (elements) vs. function (purpose).

Self-check (Obj 1).
1. True/false: a hypothesis is the same thing as a theory. → False — a hypothesis is one testable prediction; a theory is a well-supported explanation.
2. A researcher explains depression using genes, negative thinking, and cultural stress together. Which approach is this? → The biopsychosocial approach.
3. Which perspective emphasizes unconscious conflicts and early childhood? → Psychodynamic.
4. Who opened the first psychology lab, and when? → Wundt, 1879 (Leipzig).

Objective 2 practice

Worked example 1 — IV/DV + what you can conclude.
A researcher wants to know whether standing desks improve afternoon focus. Half a class uses standing desks for a month; the other half uses normal desks. Everyone takes the same focus test.
- (a) Name the IV and the DV. (b) If the standing-desk group scores higher, can the researcher claim standing desks cause better focus? What design feature matters?
Answer. (a) IV = desk type (standing vs. normal); DV = focus-test scores. (b) Yes — if participants were randomly assigned to the two desk conditions, since that balances other differences and supports a causal claim. Why: the IV is manipulated, the DV measured; random assignment is what licenses cause.

Worked example 2 — correlation vs. causation + ethics.
A study finds that teens who spend more hours on social media report lower mood. A headline says social media causes low mood.
- (a) Why is the causal claim premature? (b) Before running an experiment on this, name two ethical safeguards the researchers must have.
Answer. (a) It's correlational — a third variable (e.g., less sleep, or existing stress) could drive both, and the direction is unclear (low mood might lead to more scrolling). (b) Informed consent (and the right to withdraw) and IRB approval before the study runs. Why: correlation isn't causation; consent + oversight are required.

Self-check (Obj 2).
1. A correlation of −0.90 vs. +0.40 — which is stronger? → −0.90 (strength is the distance from zero; sign is only direction).
2. Which makes results generalize to a population: random sampling or random assignment? → Random sampling.
3. A vivid case study of one person — what family of methods is it? → Descriptive (it describes; it can't prove a cause).
4. What is the debriefing for? → To reveal the true purpose (and undo any harm) after a study, especially when deception was used.

Objective 3 practice

Worked example 1 — neurotransmitter + structure.
A person shows resting tremors and slowed movement; their physician mentions a neurotransmitter tied to reward and movement.
- (a) Which neurotransmitter, and which disorder is associated with its loss? (b) Which structure, if damaged, would instead spare old memories but block forming new ones?
Answer. (a) Dopamine; its loss is associated with Parkinson's disease. (b) The hippocampus (it forms new long-term memories). Why: dopamine = reward/movement (Parkinson's); the hippocampus is the memory-maker.

Worked example 2 — nervous-system branches.
You hear a smoke alarm and your heart races; ten minutes later, alarm off, you feel your body settle.
- (a) Which branch produced the racing heart? (b) Which branch settled you back down? (c) What are the two parts of the CNS?
Answer. (a) The sympathetic branch (fight-or-flight). (b) The parasympathetic branch (rest-and-digest). (c) The brain and the spinal cord. Why: sympathetic arouses, parasympathetic calms; CNS = brain + spinal cord.

Self-check (Obj 3).
1. Which part of a neuron receives incoming signals? → The dendrites.
2. True/false: neurons physically touch when they signal. → False — neurotransmitters cross the synaptic gap.
3. Which structure flags fear almost instantly? → The amygdala.
4. The "we use only 10% of our brains" claim is — → A myth (imaging shows whole-brain activity).

Objective 4 practice — big section; work all of these

Worked example 1 — sensation/perception + transduction.
You smell smoke, your nose's receptors fire, and then you realize "something's burning."
- (a) Which step is sensation and which is perception? (b) What is the name for the receptors converting the odor molecules into neural signals?
Answer. (a) The receptors firing = sensation (detecting); realizing something's burning = perception (interpreting). (b) Transduction. Why: detect vs. interpret; transduction is the energy-to-neural-signal bridge.

Worked example 2 — thresholds + adaptation.
You walk into a friend's house and notice a strong scent of candles; twenty minutes later you barely smell it.
- (a) The faintest scent you could detect at all on entering relates to which threshold? (b) Why does the scent fade?
Answer. (a) The absolute threshold (the smallest stimulus detectable ~50% of the time). (b) Sensory adaptation — reduced sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus. Why: absolute = detect at all; adaptation = the receptors stop reporting an unchanging signal.

Worked example 3 — sleep stages + dream theory.
A sleeper in the lab shows an EEG almost like waking, darting eyes, and reports a vivid dream when woken.
- (a) Which stage is this? (b) Which dream theory says the cortex is weaving a story out of essentially random REM signals?
Answer. (a) REM sleep. (b) Activation-synthesis. Why: REM = active brain + darting eyes + vivid dreams; activation-synthesis = cortex synthesizes random signals into a narrative.

Worked example 4 — psychoactive drugs.
A person says one strong coffee no longer wakes them up — they now need three — and feels headachy and irritable on days they skip coffee entirely.
- (a) "Needing three to get the old effect" is what? (b) The headaches/irritability on stopping is what? (c) Is caffeine a depressant or a stimulant?
Answer. (a) Tolerance. (b) Withdrawal. (c) A stimulant (it speeds up the nervous system). Why: tolerance = need more; withdrawal = symptoms on stopping; caffeine speeds you up.

Self-check (Obj 4).
1. Which receptors give color and fine detail in good light? → Cones ("cones for color").
2. The brain "filling in" a broken outline to see a whole shape is which Gestalt principle? → Closure.
3. Which is the deepest slow-wave sleep stage? → NREM-3.
4. Retinal disparity is a binocular or monocular depth cue? → Binocular (needs both eyes).
5. Reading messy handwriting easily because the surrounding words tell you what to expect is — → Top-down processing.

Objective 5 practice — largest section; work all of these

Worked example 1 — classical conditioning, label the parts.
A child gets a small painful sting from a stapler at school. Soon, just seeing the stapler makes the child flinch, before anything touches them.
- (a) UCS? (b) UCR? (c) CS? (d) CR?
Answer. (a) UCS = the painful sting (causes flinching automatically). (b) UCR = flinching to the sting. (c) CS = the sight of the stapler (was neutral, now triggers the response). (d) CR = flinching at the sight of the stapler. Why: the UCS works automatically; the CS is the once-neutral cue that now triggers the learned CR.

Worked example 2 — operant conditioning, name the consequence.
- (a) A teen does extra chores and their parents add screen time; the chores increase. (b) A driver buckles up to stop an annoying chime; buckling increases. (c) A child touches a hot stove, it hurts, and they stop touching it. (d) A parent takes away a phone after rudeness, and the rudeness drops.
Answer. (a) Positive reinforcement (add pleasant, behavior up). (b) Negative reinforcement (remove aversive, behavior up — not punishment). (c) Positive punishment (add aversive, behavior down). (d) Negative punishment (remove pleasant, behavior down). Why: up = reinforcement, down = punishment; added = positive, removed = negative.

Worked example 3 — schedules of reinforcement.
- (a) A coffee shop gives a free drink after every 10 purchases. (b) A slot machine pays after an unpredictable number of pulls.
Answer. (a) Fixed-ratio (a set number of responses). (b) Variable-ratio (unpredictable number of responses — the most persistent responding). Why: ratio = counts responses; "fixed" = set number, "variable" = unpredictable.

Worked example 4 — memory stages + type.
You look up a 7-digit number, repeat it until you dial, then forget it — but you still remember your childhood phone number from years ago.
- (a) Which store briefly held the looked-up number, and what's its rough capacity? (b) Which store holds the childhood number? (c) Knowing how to dial a phone without thinking is which memory type?
Answer. (a) Short-term (working) memory, capacity ~7±2 items for ~20–30 seconds. (b) Long-term memory (effectively unlimited). (c) Procedural (implicit) memory. Why: STM holds ~7±2 briefly; LTM is durable; a smooth skill is procedural.

Worked example 5 — reconstructive memory.
Two friends watched the same minor fender-bender. A week later, one is asked, "How fast was the car going when it smashed into the other?" and now "remembers" broken glass that wasn't there.
- (a) What does this illustrate? (b) Does the friend's confidence make the memory accurate?
Answer. (a) The misinformation effect — memory is reconstructive, so a leading word reshaped it (even planting a detail). (b) No — confidence does not guarantee accuracy. Why: memory is rebuilt, not replayed; suggestion can edit it.

Self-check (Obj 5).
1. In classical conditioning, which element is learned — the UCS or the CS? → The CS.
2. Removing an aversive alarm to increase getting up on time is — → Negative reinforcement (behavior up).
3. A toddler imitating a sibling with no reward demonstrates — → Observational learning (Bandura).
4. Episodic or semantic: knowing the capital of France? → Semantic (a general fact).
5. New locker combination making you forget last year's is which interference? → Retroactive (recent blocks old).

Study plan — a dated countdown (sized to 2 sessions/week)

Built for the Week 8 midterm. Adjust the exact dates to your section's posted exam day; the rhythm is what matters. Do a little across several days rather than one long cram (spacing beats massing — it's on the exam and it works).

When	Do this (≈45–75 min)
~7 days out (Week 7, after class)	Read this guide's Objectives 1–3 sections. Work the Obj 1, 2 & 3 practice. Build your one-page concept sheet (definitions, the four "identify the part" frameworks: IV/DV, neuron parts, sleep stages, the operant 2-question grid).
~5 days out	Read Objectives 4 and 5 carefully (they are 11 of 20 items). Work the Obj 4 worked examples and self-checks (sensation/perception, thresholds, sleep, drugs). Re-derive any you missed.
~3 days out	Work all of the Obj 5 practice (classical/operant labeling, schedules, memory stages, reconstructive memory). Then run the paired Exam-Prep Tutorial (`N-exam-prep-tutorial-week-08`) in an approved chatbot (Gemini / Claude / ChatGPT) — it diagnoses your weak spots across the whole midterm and drills them with fresh items.
~2 days out	Take the Practice Exam (the paired `O-practice-exam-week-08`) under timed, closed-note conditions. Score it; list every concept you missed.
~1 day out	Re-teach only the topics you missed on the practice exam (use this guide's mistake-cures and the relevant Lecture Tutorial). Re-do those specific self-checks. Sleep — memory consolidates overnight.
Exam day	Skim your one-page concept sheet. Arrive early. Read each item twice and answer the question actually asked.

Two paired tools — use both (don't skip):
- Exam-Prep Tutorial (N-exam-prep-tutorial-week-08) — a copy/paste chatbot tutor that diagnoses, re-teaches, and drills you across all of Objectives 1–5, ending with a readiness summary. Best for active recall and shoring up weak spots.
- Practice Exam (O-practice-exam-week-08) — a full, fresh, mirror-format run. Best for pacing and a final readiness check.

(This guide points to both on purpose — it doesn't duplicate them.)

How the midterm is graded + test-taking strategy

How it's graded.
- 100 points across 20 items, 5 points each, weighted toward application (read a scenario, name the concept) rather than bare recitation. The matching and "select all that apply" items are scored per correct pairing/selection.
- The midterm is 20% of your course grade. It replaces Week 8's quiz and assignment (the midterm-debrief Discussion 8 still runs).
- Coverage matches this guide: Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 3 · Obj 4 = 5 · Obj 5 = 6. Time is dominated by Objectives 4 and 5, so practice those until the vocabulary is automatic.

Honest test-taking strategies for this material.
1. Translate each scenario into its concept first. Underline the cue words — manipulated / measured, added / removed, automatic / learned — then match to the term. The exam rewards reading carefully.
2. For operant items, run the two-question grid: did the behavior go up or down (reinforcement vs. punishment) and was something added or removed (positive vs. negative)? Never read "negative" as "bad."
3. For classical-conditioning items, find what's automatic. The thing that triggers the response without learning is the UCS; the once-neutral cue is the CS.
4. Match the sleep stage to its signature: deepest + delta waves = NREM-3; active brain + darting eyes + vivid dream = REM.
5. Sort drugs by direction: slow = depressant (alcohol), speed up = stimulant (caffeine), distort = hallucinogen. Keep tolerance / dependence / withdrawal distinct.
6. Don't over-claim causation. If a study only measured (no random assignment), the answer is "association / third variable," not "X causes Y."
7. Watch perspective mix-ups: biological (inside the body) vs. behavioral (learned outside); episodic (events) vs. semantic (facts).
8. Do the easy items first, flag the hard ones, and budget time — 20 items in the period means a few minutes each. Don't sink ten minutes into one item while quick ones wait.
9. On "select all that apply," judge each option independently — some are designed to look right (passive highlighting, cramming) but are weak strategies.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object   = Page
title           = "Midterm Study Guide — Weeks 1–7 (Objectives 1–5)"
module          = "Week 8 — Midterm Review & Exam"
grading_type    = not_graded
available_from  = 2026-10-17      # posts before the Week 8 exam window opens
published       = true
provenance      = "~ Prof. Bennett's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"

Term-update note: each term's $39 update regenerates fresh practice variants from this same scope — the live midterm is never reproduced here.

The per-term $39 update (fresh assessment variants, re-paced to your next calendar) referenced above is on the roadmap — coming soon. Today's download is yours to keep, but it doesn't refresh itself.

~ Prof. Bennett's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com