VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[Bri MT]

Thanks for the fast reply! I understand the concept, but I just wanted to get a grasp on the terminology. So adolescents get sleepier later, and wake up later so their sleep-wake cycle is shifted backward (further into the night)? And elderly people get sleepier earlier, so their sleep-wake cycle is shifted forward (earlier into the night)?

Yes

Also I wouldn't stress tooo much about using the backward/forward notation if that stresses you out, I imagine later/earlier would be sufficient. 
(no where in the2017 examination report was forward/backward terminology used even though sleep disruption was significantly assessed)

[rani_b]

Yes

Great, thanks heaps!

[studyingg]

Can you get the adequate quantity of sleep required, but still be deprived of sleep quality?

[sdfg]

Can you get the adequate quantity of sleep required, but still be deprived of sleep quality?

Yes. Night shift workers, for instance, can get the recommended 8 hours but their sleep isn't the best due to it usually being outside the hours where the sleep-wake cycle is biologically designed to work in.

[Bri MT]

Yes. Night shift workers, for instance, can get the recommended 8 hours but their sleep isn't the best due to it usually being outside the hours where the sleep-wake cycle is biologically designed to work in.

Thank you for your (accurate,  factual AND with an example) response sdfg

I also want to add that sleep deprivation (& the associated symptoms) apply for low quality of sleep as well as low quantity

Edit: typo

[rani_b]

Hey 

My question is: to what extent does CBT for insomnia reflect the biopsychosocial model?

Would you say that the cognitive aspect addresses psychological factors such as negative thoughts/feelings? I'm unsure as to what other aspects of the biopsychosocial model it reflects...

[fruitbowl34]

How is sleep classified as a circadian and ultradian rhythm? I know that the sleep-wake cycle could be a circadian, but what for the ultradian?

Edit: Sorry!! I didn't realise this question had been asked already! So just ignore my question!

Mod edit: merged subsequent post. If you need to add extra information or respond to your own post it is best to do this by modifying the original post rather than posting twice in a row. (You're not in trouble or anything,  just take this on board for the future)

[Bri MT]

Hey 

My question is: to what extent does CBT for insomnia reflect the biopsychosocial model?

Would you say that the cognitive aspect addresses psychological factors such as negative thoughts/feelings? I'm unsure as to what other aspects of the biopsychosocial model it reflects...

In CBT the bio and social aspects are considered to result from the person's psychology and thus are targeted through that

Sorry!! I didn't realise this question had been asked already! So just ignore my question!

That's ok,  thank you for letting us know once you realised

[lilyt19]

Hi there! I'm currently in year 9 going into year 10 next year at a new school. And next year I'm going to be doing early advancement for VCE Psychology. You probably know what that is, but if you don't, it's where I'll do units 1 and 2 in year 10 and units 3 and 4 in year 11. I obviously don't know much at all about VCE so any overall advice/tips would be great. I really want to do well and get an ATAR of 93 to get into the course I want.

So regarding psych, I'm wondering what you found the hardest topics to be? And also in the exam, I've heard section C is really tricky so maybe a bit of advice on that?

Also, did you like pysch? I think it sounds super interesting and doesn't seem too hard.

I'd really appreciate your answers, thanks so much!!

[Bri MT]

Hi there! I'm currently in year 9 going into year 10 next year at a new school. And next year I'm going to be doing early advancement for VCE Psychology. You probably know what that is, but if you don't, it's where I'll do units 1 and 2 in year 10 and units 3 and 4 in year 11. I obviously don't know much at all about VCE so any overall advice/tips would be great. I really want to do well and get an ATAR of 93 to get into the course I want.

So regarding psych, I'm wondering what you found the hardest topics to be? And also in the exam, I've heard section C is really tricky so maybe a bit of advice on that?

Also, did you like pysch? I think it sounds super interesting and doesn't seem too hard.

I'd really appreciate your answers, thanks so much!!

Hi Lily,

Hmm.. the transactional model of stress and coping was probably what I found most difficult.

what this model is

The model describes how we psychologically evaluate and cope with stress. This is split into different components,  such as when we first appraise the stressor,  and  evaluation of resources we can use to deal with it. It's not super complicated,  but the bane confused me a bit because I was unsure on why this was a "transaction between the person and their environment" , hence being called the transactional model. 

Lots of people did struggle with section C, but that's not really in the exam anymore.  Instead,  research based questions are spread throughout the exam and there's a 10 mark question requiring detailed response. There's a thread where I have posted up research related questions for people to practice with, and you're certainly welcome to read through that and have a go at any of the questions.  I'd say that there are 3 components to doing well at these questions: 1) memory: knowing the terminology, common examples etc. 2) Conceptual understanding. Last year's exam had a few of these that hit students really hard because they had never been taught how to respond, but students who really understood the topics could adapt to it and respond appropriately 3) Linking to the scenario.  Psychology places a strong emphasis on responding to the context (eg. If asked a question about a dog learning something,  refer to the dog in your answer)

Psychology wasn't originally part of my VCE plan but I'm glad I studied it. Unit 1 is a bit less interesting for lots of people,  but especially later on,  the topics you cover are really applicable to the " real world".

I didn't know anything about VCE when I started it doing early advancement for biology (btw I hadn't heard that term before,  so thank you for explaining what you meant), so definitely don't feel that you're behind or disadvantaged for that.

There are some great guides in the Victorian Technical Score Discussion section of the forums, but also be aware that they have a high level of detail which many students never learn. 

Basically (this is an oversimplification using rough numbers),  for each VCE subject you are graded on a bell curve,  with scores ranging from zero to fifty.  Being graded on a bell curve means that the score you get is based on how well you do compared to the other students in the state studing that subject.  Eg. If you perform better than most students you'll get a 30+ study score,  if you are in the top ten percent you'll get a 40+ study score. 

Once you have completed enough VCE subjects (at the end of year 12) your study scores are added together to form an aggregate. If your aggregate is higher than 90% of the state, you'll get a 90+ ATAR. It might sound daunting to think that you need to score higher than 93% of the state to achieve your goal,  and it WILL require hard work,  but remember that this figure also includes students who don't want to go to uni etc.

Out of interest,  what course do you want to get into?

I hope that this helps,  and feel free to ask more questions

[rani_b]

In regards to memory bias, there are two cub-categories - change bias and consistency bias. I understand that consistency bias is reconstructing  an original memory to fit in with what is presently believed, like imagining an experience with a spider a few years ago as it being a much larger or faster spider than it actually was.  Could someone clarify what change bias is, using an example? Thank you!!

[ardria]

Hi guys,

Two questions from the Jacaranda textbook that I don't understand:

--

1)

Question:
As the level of alertness increases and attention intensifies when awake, _________________ brain waves become more rapid.
Answer:
alpha

Why would it be alpha? Wouldn't it be beta as those are the waves that reflect concentration during NWC?

--
2)

Question:
You want to observe theta waves as they actually occur in an adult during normal waking consciousness. What mental and/or physical activity should the person perform to increase the likelihood of theta wave activity?

Answer:
Activities may include a task that:
- involves creativity/creative expression
- promotes dream-like visual imagery e.g. imagining a particular event/scenario)
- promotes excitement
Award 1 mark for an appropriate task. Note that a period of drowsiness, sleep onset or awakening (when delta waves are prominent) is not considered NWC.

I don't understand at all why the answer is what it is. 

--

Very confused, would really appreciate help
[/list]

[sdfg]

In regards to memory bias, there are two cub-categories - change bias and consistency bias. I understand that consistency bias is reconstructing  an original memory to fit in with what is presently believed, like imagining an experience with a spider a few years ago as it being a much larger or faster spider than it actually was.  Could someone clarify what change bias is, using an example? Thank you!!

Change bias is when we perceive that past events/memories must be either far worse or far better than (i.e. can't be the same as) our current situation. In other words, something must have (significantly - cause our brain tends to exaggerate things when we're not sure) changed since our past experiences. An example of this could be learning a new skill; we often assume that we're way better than when we started after some time practicing even though this might not necessarily be the case.

Hi guys,

Two questions from the Jacaranda textbook that I don't understand:

--

1)

Question:
As the level of alertness increases and attention intensifies when awake, _________________ brain waves become more rapid.
Answer:
alpha

Why would it be alpha? Wouldn't it be beta as those are the waves that reflect concentration during NWC?

--
2)

Question:
You want to observe theta waves as they actually occur in an adult during normal waking consciousness. What mental and/or physical activity should the person perform to increase the likelihood of theta wave activity?

Answer:
Activities may include a task that:
- involves creativity/creative expression
- promotes dream-like visual imagery e.g. imagining a particular event/scenario)
- promotes excitement
Award 1 mark for an appropriate task. Note that a period of drowsiness, sleep onset or awakening (when delta waves are prominent) is not considered NWC.

I don't understand at all why the answer is what it is. 

--

Very confused, would really appreciate help
[/list]

Question 1 has some tricky wording that you have to look out for. The keywords "increases" and "intensifies" imply that the question isn't concerned about the highest level of awareness; beta is as such not correct, as that's what betas waves are associated with, and so therefore alpha must be the answer.

For Question 2, essentially, those activities are associated with increased level of theta waves. Doing something creative? Increased theta waves. Daydreaming? Increased theta waves. Basically things you can zone out with. Don't know why "a task that promotes excitement" is there though; would more so associate that with beta waves.

[ardria]

Thanks for the answer !

Is it a crucial part of exam prep to memorise definitions for the many many key terms across Unit 3 and 4? There are so many it seems overwhelming to remember them all.

[Bri MT]

Thanks for the answer !

Is it a crucial part of exam prep to memorise definitions for the many many key terms across Unit 3 and 4? There are so many it seems overwhelming to remember them all.

No,  but you should understand the terms and be able to use them in your writing.

The exception to this is you must use the Detect Amplifies and Records Electrical activity of the...  description for EEGs, EMGs & EOGs  (use DARE to remember this)