VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[ardria]

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

What about when asked a SA question such as, for example, 'what is recognition'? Even though I know what it is and would be able to correctly answer MC questions about it, I feel that I'd struggle to improvise a definition for it off the top of my head.

[Bri MT]

What about when asked a SA question such as, for example, 'what is recognition'? Even though I know what it is and would be able to correctly answer MC questions about it, I feel that I'd struggle to improvise a definition for it off the top of my head.

Just give an explanation of it, starting with what easiest for you to remember about it. If it helps you think of what it is, write down an example (in working space) and ask yourself what seperates that from things that are examples of recall or relearning.

Eg. Recognition is one of the ways that learning can be demonstrated. It occurs when a person is able to select the right answer from a group of alternatives (distractors).

[rani_b]

When talking about how systematic desensitisation applies CC principles, can I say that it aims to replace a conditioned fear response to a phobic stimulus with a conditioned relaxation response?

Thanks!

[Bri MT]

When talking about how systematic desensitisation applies CC principles, can I say that it aims to replace a conditioned fear response to a phobic stimulus with a conditioned relaxation response?

Thanks!

I like the first part of it, "it aims to replace a conditioned fear response to a phobic stimulus ", but I'm not sure about referring to the relaxation response as conditioned. I'm not saying that the relaxation response isn't conditioned, but I'm slightly hesitant about your wording due to the fact that in the absence of the original phobic conditioning the person should be neutral/relaxed in the presence of the stimulus.

Interested to hear others' thoughts on this as well

[rani_b]

I like the first part of it, "it aims to replace a conditioned fear response to a phobic stimulus ", but I'm not sure about referring to the relaxation response as conditioned. I'm not saying that the relaxation response isn't conditioned, but I'm slightly hesitant about your wording due to the fact that in the absence of the original phobic conditioning the person should be neutral/relaxed in the presence of the stimulus.

Interested to hear others' thoughts on this as well

Yeah I see...
Maybe I'll just take the wording from the textbook - systematic desensitisation applies CC principles as it involves "unlearning the connection between anxiety and a specific object or situation and over time, re-associating feelings of relaxation with that object or situation."

[studyingg]

can someone please help me with this?

[rani_b]

can someone please help me with this?

I'm not 100% sure, but here is my attempt:

Anxiety disorders are mental disorders characterised by chronic feelings of distress, nervousness and apprehension. Therefore, specific phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, since it is characterised by significant and excessive fear and anxiety produced when exposed to a certain object or situation, or even just anticipating exposure, which can then interfere with everyday functioning.

[rani_b]

Hey guys 

When a q asks to evaluate the validity of the experimental results and is 2 marks only, is that referring to:
- the extent to which the procedures used actually accurately measure what the research intended to measure
- if the results are actually due to the IV and not because of other variables (internal validity)
- the extent to which the results can be generalised to the population (external validity)

I'm just a little confused since validity can refer to so many things...

[Bri MT]

Hey guys 

When a q asks to evaluate the validity of the experimental results and is 2 marks only, is that referring to:
- the extent to which the procedures used actually accurately measure what the research intended to measure
- if the results are actually due to the IV and not because of other variables (internal validity)
- the extent to which the results can be generalised to the population (external validity)

I'm just a little confused since validity can refer to so many things...

I'd have the first two descriptions foremost in my mind

[rani_b]

Hey guys, this is a question 6a from the VCAA 2011 exam 1:

A researcher wanted to investigate whether chronic sleep deprivation causes obesity. In particular, she planned to test
whether reduced sleep would result in a significant increase in body weight at the end of 12 months.The researcher planned to select 100 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 40 and record their Body Mass Index. She decided she would allocate them equally to either the experimental group or to the control group.The experimental group would have their sleep time reduced to five hours per night while the control group would maintain a sleep time of 7–10 hours per night.

a. State a possible research hypothesis for this study

Would this be correct:
'That healthy 18-40 year old people who have reduced total sleep time each night over a prolonged period of time will experience an increase in body weight compared to healthy 18-40 year old people who do not have reduced total sleep time.'

Just wondering because VCAA's answer was this: 'People between the ages of 18 and 40 who sleep fewer than 6.5 hours per night will have a larger Body Mass Index after twelve months than those who sleep more than 6.5 hours per night.' <-- does this answer have operationalised terms though? Because isn't specifying the way the body weight will be measured (using BMI) and the time period operationalising it?

[Bri MT]

Hey guys, this is a question 6a from the VCAA 2011 exam 1:

A researcher wanted to investigate whether chronic sleep deprivation causes obesity. In particular, she planned to test
whether reduced sleep would result in a significant increase in body weight at the end of 12 months.The researcher planned to select 100 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 40 and record their Body Mass Index. She decided she would allocate them equally to either the experimental group or to the control group.The experimental group would have their sleep time reduced to five hours per night while the control group would maintain a sleep time of 7–10 hours per night.

a. State a possible research hypothesis for this study

Would this be correct:
'That healthy 18-40 year old people who have reduced total sleep time each night over a prolonged period of time will experience an increase in body weight compared to healthy 18-40 year old people who do not have reduced total sleep time.'

Just wondering because VCAA's answer was this: 'People between the ages of 18 and 40 who sleep fewer than 6.5 hours per night will have a larger Body Mass Index after twelve months than those who sleep more than 6.5 hours per night.' <-- does this answer have operationalised terms though? Because isn't specifying the way the body weight will be measured (using BMI) and the time period operationalising it?

I wouldn't worry about operationalising or not,  as the different types of hypothesis aren't tested in our study design. 

So yes,  they did operationalise - but that doesn't really matter (it can just be a waste of time sometimes)

[studyingg]

Do we need to know about the HPA axis?

[Bri MT]

Do we need to know about the HPA axis?

The HPA axis isn't directly in the study design nor is it in the examiners report for last years exam; however, it *may* be relevant in regards to the role of the cortisol.

I would regard the HPA axis as "nice to know" rather than "need to know"

[studyingg]

The HPA axis isn't directly in the study design nor is it in the examiners report for last years exam; however, it *may* be relevant in regards to the role of the cortisol.

I would regard the HPA axis as "nice to know" rather than "need to know"

Alright, great. Thank you!! is the HPA axis involved in both biological models --or is it more involved in the GAS than the f-f-f model ?

[studyingg]

I have a question regarding the effect of individual participant related differences. Whats the best way to discuss their effect?

For example a researcher used an all female sample, for the study of the memory ability of the population: students.
Do you say: 'The use of an all-female sample is considered an extraneous (and potential confounding) variable because the results of the participants are unrepresentative of the characteristics of the population (students), this therefore compromises the external validity of the experiment as the findings cannot be accurately generalised to the population of research interest. ' or do you say: 'Having an all-female sample can be considered an extraneous (and potential confounding) variable because this characteristic may influence the results, as the cause of change in the dependent variable (memory abilities of the participants), may be due to the fact that they are female, and not due to the effect of the independent variable, this therefore reduces the internal validity of the experiment, as this characteristic could potentially have had an effect on the dependent variable.'