Midterm Practice Exam (ungraded) · Weeks 1–7 (Objectives 1–5)

Course: Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Bennett
What this is: a low-stakes rehearsal for the cumulative midterm. It mirrors the real exam's blueprint — same coverage, item-type mix, length, and concept-and-scenario difficulty — but is built from fresh item-bank variants and shares none of the live midterm's questions.
Settings: ungraded (0 points) · unlimited attempts · feedback shown after submission · opens before the exam window so you can prepare.

This is the human-readable practice exam with its vetted answer key and feedback (released after submission). The import-ready Classic QTI 1.2 is in O-practice-exam-week-08-qti.xml (generated by a validated Python script — parses with 20 items). The Canvas placement block is at the bottom.

Integrity note for students. Every item here is a fresh variant — a new scenario and wording — with a pre-vetted answer. None of these are the live midterm questions. Working them builds the skill the midterm tests, honestly. The paired live exam is L-midterm-week-08.md.

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Blueprint (mirrors the midterm)

Coverage is proportional to teaching time, matching the real exam: Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 3 · Obj 4 = 5 · Obj 5 = 6. (The actual midterm items are not listed here — only the shared structure.)

#	Type	Concept	Objective	Week
1	Multiple choice	Definition of psychology (behavior + mental processes)	1	1
2	Matching	Major perspectives → an example scenario	1	1
3	Multiple choice	Hindsight bias ("knew it all along")	1	1
4	Multiple choice	Identify the dependent variable	2	2
5	Multiple choice	Research ethics — informed consent / IRB	2	2
6	True / False	Correlation strength vs. sign	2	2
7	Multiple choice	A neurotransmitter's role (dopamine)	3	3
8	Multiple choice	Brain structure → function (hippocampus)	3	3
9	Multiple choice	Sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight)	3	3
10	Multiple choice	Sensation vs. perception (which is interpreting?)	4	4
11	Multiple choice	Absolute vs. difference threshold	4	4
12	Multiple choice	A sleep stage (deep slow-wave NREM-3)	4	5
13	True / False	Sensory adaptation misconception	4	4
14	Multiple choice	Depressant vs. stimulant	4	5
15	Multiple choice	Classical conditioning — identify the UCS	5	6
16	Multiple choice	Positive reinforcement	5	6
17	Multiple choice	A schedule of reinforcement (variable-ratio)	5	6
18	Multiple choice	Classical vs. operant conditioning	5	6
19	Multiple choice	Explicit vs. implicit (procedural) memory	5	7
20	Multiple answer	What improves encoding into long-term memory	5	7

Objective totals: Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 3 · Obj 4 = 5 · Obj 5 = 6 → 20 items (ungraded; mirrors the 100-point midterm's emphasis).

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Questions, key, and feedback (feedback releases after you submit)

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

Q1 (MC). A classmate says, "Psychology is just common sense written down." Which response best captures why psychology is a science?
- A. Because it studies only the brain and nervous system
- B. Because it uses systematic, empirical methods to test claims about behavior and mental processes ✅
- C. Because it relies on the opinions of trained experts
- D. Because it focuses exclusively on treating mental illness
Feedback: What makes psychology a science is its reliance on systematic, empirical evidence — testing claims rather than trusting intuition — to study behavior and mental processes. (A and D each name only one slice; C mistakes expertise for evidence.)

Q2 (Matching). Match each major perspective to a psychologist's example focus.
| Example focus | Correct perspective |
|---|---|
| Studies how dopamine levels affect a person's mood | Biological |
| Explains a fear of dogs as a learned response to a past dog bite | Behavioral |
| Examines how a person's attention and memory shape what they notice | Cognitive |
| Emphasizes a client's free will and drive toward self-fulfillment | Humanistic |
Feedback: These are lenses, not rivals. The biological view looks inside the body (neurotransmitters); the behavioral view looks to learning from the environment; the cognitive view studies mental processing; the humanistic view emphasizes free will and personal growth.

Q3 (MC). After a sports team loses a close game, a fan insists, "I knew they were going to lose all along." Before the game, though, the fan had predicted a win. This tendency to see an outcome as obvious after it happens is called —
- A. the placebo effect
- B. hindsight bias ✅
- C. the fundamental attribution error
- D. introspection
Feedback: Hindsight bias (the "I-knew-it-all-along" effect) makes outcomes feel obvious after the fact — which is exactly why psychologists test claims rather than trusting after-the-fact intuition.

Objective 2 — Research Methods & Ethics (Week 2)

Q4 (MC). A researcher tests whether a new tutoring app improves test scores. One group uses the app for three weeks; another group does not. Everyone then takes the same exam, and the researcher compares scores. In this study, the dependent variable is —
- A. whether or not a group used the tutoring app
- B. the scores on the exam everyone takes at the end ✅
- C. the brand of tablet the app runs on
- D. how many students were in each group
Feedback: The dependent variable is the outcome the researcher measures — the exam scores. It "depends on" what the independent variable (app vs. no app) did. (A is the independent variable.)

Q5 (MC). Before a memory study begins, participants are told what the study involves and its risks, are assured they may withdraw at any time, and only then agree to take part. An independent committee reviewed the study's ethics before it began. These two safeguards are, respectively —
- A. debriefing and replication
- B. informed consent and IRB review ✅
- C. random sampling and random assignment
- D. deception and a cover story
Feedback: Informed consent means agreeing to participate after learning the purpose, risks, and right to withdraw; the IRB (Institutional Review Board) is the independent committee that must approve a study before it runs. (Debriefing is the after-the-study disclosure, especially when deception was used.)

Q6 (True / False). A correlation of +0.20 indicates a stronger relationship than a correlation of −0.75.
- True
- False ✅
Feedback: False. The sign tells only the direction (positive vs. negative); the strength is the absolute value (distance from zero). Since 0.75 is farther from zero than 0.20, −0.75 is the stronger relationship.

Objective 3 — Biological Bases of Behavior (Week 3)

Q7 (MC). A neurologist explains that a person's tremors and difficulty initiating movement are linked to the loss of cells that produce a particular neurotransmitter — the same one heavily involved in reward and motivation. Which neurotransmitter is it?
- A. Serotonin
- B. GABA
- C. Dopamine ✅
- D. Acetylcholine
Feedback: Dopamine drives reward, motivation, and movement; its loss is associated with the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Don't swap it with serotonin (mood, sleep, appetite). (GABA is the calming brake; acetylcholine handles muscle action and memory.)

Q8 (MC). A person with damage to one brain structure can still recall events from years ago and hold a normal conversation, but cannot form new long-term memories of people they meet today. Which structure was most likely damaged?
- A. The amygdala
- B. The cerebellum
- C. The hippocampus ✅
- D. The occipital lobe
Feedback: The hippocampus is essential for forming new long-term memories — damage to it leaves old memories intact but makes laying down new ones very hard. (The amygdala handles fear, the cerebellum balance/coordination, the occipital lobe vision.)

Q9 (MC). A hiker rounds a corner and nearly steps on a rattlesnake. Instantly their heart pounds, pupils widen, and energy surges for action. Which branch of the nervous system produced this fight-or-flight response?
- A. The sympathetic nervous system ✅
- B. The parasympathetic nervous system
- C. The somatic nervous system
- D. The central nervous system
Feedback: The sympathetic branch is the body's "gas pedal," arousing it for action (fight-or-flight). Its partner, the parasympathetic branch, is the "brake" (rest-and-digest) that later calms you back to baseline.

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

Q10 (MC). Which of the following is an example of PERCEPTION (organizing and interpreting) rather than sensation (detecting)?
- A. Sound waves making the eardrum vibrate
- B. Taste receptors on the tongue responding to sugar
- C. Hearing a few notes and recognizing them as your national anthem ✅
- D. Light striking the receptor cells at the back of the eye
Feedback: Sensation is the body detecting raw physical energy (A, B, D are receptors picking up a signal). Perception is the brain organizing and interpreting that signal into meaning — recognizing the notes as a specific song is interpretation.

Q11 (MC). You are studying with the radio on at a steady volume. A friend slowly turns the volume up; the smallest increase you can just barely notice is best described as the —
- A. difference threshold (just-noticeable difference) ✅
- B. absolute threshold
- C. transduction point
- D. sensory adaptation level
Feedback: The difference threshold (JND) is the smallest change between two stimuli you can detect. Don't confuse it with the absolute threshold — the smallest amount of a stimulus you can detect at all (e.g., the faintest sound in silence).

Q12 (MC). A sleeper is very hard to wake, shows large, slow delta waves on the EEG, and if awakened is groggy and disoriented. This deep, restorative slow-wave sleep is —
- A. NREM-1
- B. NREM-2
- C. NREM-3 ✅
- D. REM
Feedback: NREM-3 is the deepest, most restorative slow-wave sleep (big slow delta waves), and people woken from it are groggy. (NREM-1 is the light doorway, NREM-2 has sleep spindles, and REM is the active, dreaming stage.)

Q13 (True / False). Sensory adaptation means that, over time, we become MORE sensitive to a constant, unchanging stimulus.
- True
- False ✅
Feedback: False. Sensory adaptation is reduced — less — sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus (a bakery's smell fades; you stop feeling your watch). The receptors stop reporting a signal that isn't changing.

Q14 (MC). A substance speeds up the central nervous system — increasing heart rate, alertness, and energy. This describes which drug category, and which is an example?
- A. A depressant, such as alcohol
- B. A stimulant, such as caffeine ✅
- C. A hallucinogen, such as LSD
- D. A depressant, such as a sedative
Feedback: A stimulant speeds up the nervous system; caffeine is the everyday example (along with nicotine and cocaine). Sort drugs by direction: stimulants speed up, depressants (alcohol, sedatives) slow down, hallucinogens distort perception.

Objective 5 — Learning & Memory (Weeks 6–7)

Q15 (MC). A cat comes running to the kitchen every time it hears the electric can opener, because the sound has always been followed by food. The food, which makes the cat salivate automatically and without any learning, is the —
- A. unconditioned stimulus (UCS) ✅
- B. conditioned stimulus (CS)
- C. conditioned response (CR)
- D. neutral stimulus
Feedback: The food triggers salivation automatically and unlearned, which makes it the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). The can-opener sound is the conditioned stimulus (CS); salivating to the sound is the conditioned response (CR).

Q16 (MC). A student receives enthusiastic praise from the instructor each time they answer a question in class, and as a result the student volunteers answers more and more often. Adding the praise to increase the behavior is an example of —
- A. positive reinforcement ✅
- B. negative reinforcement
- C. positive punishment
- D. negative punishment
Feedback: The behavior increased, so it's reinforcement; the praise was added, so it's positive. Positive reinforcement. (Negative reinforcement would remove something aversive instead.)

Q17 (MC). A person keeps checking a social-media app because, every so often — after an unpredictable number of checks — they find an exciting new notification. This unpredictable payoff makes the checking very persistent. Which schedule of reinforcement is at work?
- A. variable-ratio ✅
- B. fixed-ratio
- C. fixed-interval
- D. variable-interval
Feedback: Reinforcement depends on the number of responses (a ratio) and is unpredictable (variable) → variable-ratio, the schedule that produces the highest, most persistent responding (slot machines, notifications).

Q18 (MC). Which statement best captures the difference between classical and operant conditioning?
- A. Classical conditioning shapes voluntary behavior with consequences; operant conditioning is about reflexes.
- B. Classical conditioning links a signal to an involuntary, reflexive response; operant conditioning shapes voluntary behavior through its consequences ✅
- C. Classical conditioning requires a model to imitate; operant conditioning does not.
- D. There is no real difference; the two terms mean the same thing.
Feedback: Classical conditioning is about involuntary, reflexive responses to a signal (you don't choose to salivate). Operant conditioning is about voluntary behavior shaped by its consequences (you choose to act for a reward). Reflex vs. choice; signal vs. consequence.

Q19 (MC). Tying your shoelaces smoothly without being able to fully explain the steps in words is an example of which kind of memory?
- A. Procedural (implicit/nondeclarative) memory ✅
- B. Episodic (explicit/declarative) memory
- C. Semantic (explicit/declarative) memory
- D. Sensory memory
Feedback: A learned skill you perform automatically is procedural memory — implicit ("knowing how"). Episodic and semantic memory are explicit ("knowing that"): personal events and general facts you can state.

Q20 (Multiple answer — select all that apply). A student is preparing for the midterm. Based on memory research, select all strategies that genuinely improve encoding into long-term memory.
- A. Thinking about the meaning of each concept and linking it to personal examples (deep processing) ✅
- B. Spacing study out over several days rather than cramming it all the night before ✅
- C. Chunking long lists into smaller meaningful groups ✅
- D. Re-reading the notes once, quickly, without thinking about them
- E. Highlighting large blocks of text in a single color while reading passively
Feedback: Deep (semantic) processing, spacing/distributed practice, and chunking all build durable memories (A, B, C). Shallow one-time re-reading (D) and passive highlighting (E) feel productive but produce weak encoding — spacing beats cramming and meaning beats surface features.

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Answer key (quick reference)

Q	Answer	Q	Answer
1	B	11	A (difference threshold)
2	dopamine→Biological / dog-bite→Behavioral / attention&memory→Cognitive / free will→Humanistic	12	C (NREM-3)
3	B (hindsight bias)	13	False
4	B (exam scores)	14	B (stimulant — caffeine)
5	B (informed consent & IRB)	15	A (UCS)
6	False	16	A (positive reinforcement)
7	C (dopamine)	17	A (variable-ratio)
8	C (hippocampus)	18	B
9	A (sympathetic)	19	A (procedural)
10	C	20	A, B, C

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Quality gate (H5 — self-checked)

• Mirror check: 20 items, coverage Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 3 · Obj 4 = 5 · Obj 5 = 6 — matches the midterm blueprint's emphasis and item-type mix (16 MC + 1 matching + 2 true/false + 1 multiple-answer).
• Single-answer integrity: every multiple-choice and true/false item (Q1, Q3–Q19) has exactly one correct option; the matching item (Q2) pairs all four example scenarios one-to-one; the multiple-answer item (Q20) keys A, B, C (D and E must be left unselected).
• No arithmetic: all items test concepts, studies, and terms — no computation to mis-key.
• Factual accuracy: real psychologists/effects (Bandura, Miller's 7±2, hindsight bias, the misinformation family) referenced factually; every neurotransmitter/structure/disorder link is stated as an association; nothing falls outside the Weeks 1–7 course definitions.
• QTI parse confirmation: O-practice-exam-week-08-qti.xml parses as imsqti_xmlv1p2 with 20 items; every single-answer respcondition sets SCORE = 100 on exactly one option. (In Canvas the placement makes it ungraded with feedback on; the engine still scores attempts so students see what they missed.)
• Integrity vs. the live exam: 0 items are shared with L-midterm-week-08.md — verified by full stem-plus-options comparison. Where a concept slot overlaps the midterm, this form uses a different scenario (e.g., the midterm's classical-conditioning item asks for the CS using a dog/can opener; here Q15 asks for the UCS using a cat/food; the midterm tests fixed-interval with a paycheck, here Q17 tests variable-ratio with a social-media app).

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Item-bank & coverage note

All 20 items are fresh variants assembled from the Week 1–7 item banks, preferring items not used on the live midterm and authoring fresh scenarios where a concept overlaps. Tagged course=PSYC1 · form=practice-midterm · weeks=1–7 · objectives=1–5 and deposited back into the banks for future per-term ($39) regenerations. Each term's update regenerates fresh practice variants alongside the midterm and continues to share none of the live items.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object             = Quizzes::Quiz
title                     = "Midterm Practice Exam (ungraded)"
assignment_group          = "Practice exercises"
points_possible           = 0
grading_type              = not_graded
allowed_attempts          = unlimited
show_feedback             = true        # released after submission
available_from_offset_days = -3        # opens 3 days before the exam window
due_offset_days           = 6         # on or before the exam due date
published                 = true
shuffle_answers           = true
provenance                = "~ Prof. Bennett's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"