Final Exam — Instructions
Overview
This is the scored final exam for the course. It is cumulative: it draws on all eight course objectives, from what makes psychology a science in Week 1 to psychological disorders and their treatment in Week 15. It is given in Week 16, the finals week, which has no new material.
The exam has 40 questions, and every question counts the same. Nearly all of them are multiple choice with one best answer. One is a true/false statement to judge, and one allows more than one correct choice, so you mark all of them. Most questions are of medium difficulty, with some easier ones and a few harder ones. Every question rehearses a skill you already practiced in the weekly quizzes, the practice exercises, and the paired practice final.
Coverage and scope
The final covers the whole course, but it does not spread its questions evenly. The questions were drawn from a bank in a way that puts every one of the eight objectives on the exam at least once. Beyond that, the weight falls on the second half of the term: 35 of the 40 questions sit on the three objectives taught in Weeks 9–15. Here is what this form actually contains:
| Objective | What the questions ask you to do | Weeks that teach it | Questions on this exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Objective 1 (explain what makes psychology a science and compare its major theoretical perspectives (biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, sociocultural)) | Explain what makes psychology a science and compare its major perspectives | 1 | 1 |
| Objective 2 (evaluate psychological research methods and ethics, distinguishing correlation from causation, random sampling from random assignment, and identifying sources of bias) | Evaluate research methods and ethics, keeping correlation apart from causation | 2 | 1 |
| Objective 3 (describe the biological bases of behavior: neurons and neural transmission, the major neurotransmitters, and the structures and functions of the nervous system and brain) | Describe neurons, neurotransmitters, and the structures of the nervous system and brain | 3 | 1 |
| Objective 4 (explain how humans sense and perceive the world and how sleep, dreaming, and psychoactive drugs shape states of consciousness) | Explain sensation, perception, sleep, dreaming, and psychoactive drugs | 4, 5 | 1 |
| Objective 5 (compare the major models of learning and memory and apply them to everyday behavior, including why memory is reconstructive) | Compare the models of learning and memory and apply them to everyday behavior | 6, 7 | 1 |
| Objective 6 (analyze higher mental processes (cognition, judgment and its biases, language, and intelligence) and the forces of motivation and emotion) | Analyze cognition, judgment, language, intelligence, motivation, and emotion | 9, 10 | 11 |
| Objective 7 (describe cognitive, social, and emotional development across the lifespan and compare the major families of personality theory and their assessment) | Describe development across the lifespan and compare the families of personality theory | 11, 12 | 12 |
| Objective 8 (apply psychological science to social behavior, stress and health, and the classification and evidence-based treatment of psychological disorders, using accurate and non-stigmatizing language) | Apply psychology to social behavior, stress and health, and disorders and their treatment | 13, 14, 15 | 12 |
So put most of your review into Weeks 9–15, spread fairly evenly across thinking and feeling (Weeks 9–10), the person over time (Weeks 11–12), and the person in the world (Weeks 13–15). The first-half ideas, which Week 8 reviewed together, still matter in two ways. Each of the five first-half objectives has a question of its own. Those ideas also come back inside later scenarios, because a later question can turn on research design or on a brain structure.
These notes map the skills the exam assesses. The questions themselves are drawn fresh from the bank and are not listed here.
Instructions
- Attempts: one. The final is a single scored attempt.
- Time limit: none. There is no time limit, so take the time you need while the exam is open.
- Window: the exam opens in Week 16. Your instructor sets the open and close times in Canvas, and the exam locks when it closes.
- Navigation: the questions appear one at a time, and you cannot go back to an earlier question once you move on. Settle each question before you continue.
- Order: the answer choices are shuffled for each student.
- Materials: a few questions ask for a short calculation, such as a percentage or an average, so a basic calculator helps. Your instructor will tell you which other materials, if any, are allowed. AI tools are not permitted.
- After you submit: your score is recorded. The keyed answers are not shown, because the questions come from a bank shared with other course assessments.
Academic integrity
This is an individual, scored assessment, and the work must be your own. That means no help from another person, no shared or posted questions or answers, and no AI tools of any kind. The final confirms that you personally understand the concepts, studies, terms, and interpretations of the course.
The honest way to prepare is the rest of the final's bundle: the study guide, the exam-prep tutorial, and the practice final. They rehearse the same skills with fresh variants, and nothing in them appears on this exam.
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