The Mystery Behind Dr. Meyer's Pop Quizzes

What do students anticipate whenever Dr. Meyer closes the classroom door?

A. Surprise party

B. Pop quiz

C. Movie time

Answer:

B. Pop quiz

Dr. Meyer is known for his infamous pop quizzes that always catch his students off guard. The interesting part is that right before he administers a pop quiz, he has a predictable behavior of closing the classroom door. This simple act of closing the door has now become a conditioned stimulus for the students, signaling to them that a pop quiz is about to happen.

In psychology, a conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response. In this case, the closing of the door by Dr. Meyer has become the conditioned stimulus because it has been consistently paired with the unconditioned stimulus of a pop quiz, leading students to anticipate what's coming next.