VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[sdfg]

'Stefano is very overweight. As his new year's resolution, Stefano decides to get fit and begin eating more fruits and vegetables. Stefano has weighed up the pros and cons of certain diets and plans to begin his diet in the next few weeks. Identify and explain what stage of the trans-theoretical model that Stefano is most likely to be in.'

Why is the answer contemplation and not preparation?

Answer's incorrect in my opinion. Contemplation would be if he's just realised that being overweight and unfit is a problem and is evaluating the benefit and detriment of continuing or discontinuing his unhealthy behaviours. No efforts are also taken to address the problem at this stage but he has clearly done that by planning to eat more fruit and vegetables, and begin his new diet next week.

[rani_b]

Answer's incorrect in my opinion. Contemplation would be if he's just realised that being overweight and unfit is a problem and is evaluating the benefit and detriment of continuing or discontinuing his unhealthy behaviours. No efforts are also taken to address the problem at this stage but he has clearly done that by planning to eat more fruit and vegetables, and begin his new diet next week.

I thought the same thing! Thank you.

[Bri MT]

'Stefano is very overweight. As his new year's resolution, Stefano decides to get fit and begin eating more fruits and vegetables. Stefano has weighed up the pros and cons of certain diets and plans to begin his diet in the next few weeks. Identify and explain what stage of the trans-theoretical model that Stefano is most likely to be in.'

Why is the answer contemplation and not preparation?

Answer's incorrect in my opinion. Contemplation would be if he's just realised that being overweight and unfit is a problem and is evaluating the benefit and detriment of continuing or discontinuing his unhealthy behaviours. No efforts are also taken to address the problem at this stage but he has clearly done that by planning to eat more fruit and vegetables, and begin his new diet next week.

In addition to what sdfg said,  action is planned within the next 30 days & they have a plan. (having a plan isn't necessary, but it is a characteristic of preperation )

(The main thing to look for is that they have decided but not taken action, but the timeframe is also something to consider. If it was "next few months" I'd understand why the answers said contemplation)

[studyingg]

If a neurohormone is defined as a chemical substance that is synthesised and released from the axon terminals of a neuron into the bloodstream... how is adrenaline considered a neurohormone? I realise that adrenaline can act as both a hormone and a neurotransmitter (noradrenaline), however this not how neurohormone is defined in my book (or any other book for that matter). If a question like: what is a similarity and a difference between a neurohormone and a neurotransmitter... would it be correct to say that a similarity is that both are chemical messengers synthesised and released from the axon terminals of a neuron, and a difference is that a neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic gap between two neurons and onto the dendrites of the post synaptic neuron whereas a neurohormone is released into the bloodstream towards distant target cells. This is right according to my definitions, however it seems as if the study design is implying something else (as I'm getting the idea that adrenaline is released from the adrenal glands --- stimulates adrenoreceptors near the brain--- leading to the release of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline in the brain)

[Bri MT]

If a neurohormone is defined as a chemical substance that is synthesised and released from the axon terminals of a neuron into the bloodstream... how is adrenaline considered a neurohormone? I realise that adrenaline can act as both a hormone and a neurotransmitter (noradrenaline), however this not how neurohormone is defined in my book (or any other book for that matter). If a question like: what is a similarity and a difference between a neurohormone and a neurotransmitter... would it be correct to say that a similarity is that both are chemical messengers synthesised and released from the axon terminals of a neuron, and a difference is that a neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic gap between two neurons and onto the dendrites of the post synaptic neuron whereas a neurohormone is released into the bloodstream towards distant target cells. This is right according to my definitions, however it seems as if the study design is implying something else (as I'm getting the idea that adrenaline is released from the adrenal glands --- stimulates adrenoreceptors near the brain--- leading to the release of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline in the brain)

Based on what the textbooks say, your proposed answer is correct.
I would also definitely consider adrenaline to be a neurohormone.

Adrenal is released from adrenal glands and is a neurohormone

[studyingg]

Hello,  I have a question about drawing graphs on the exam. In the case that they ask us to draw a graph, (for example changes to the proportions of NREM-REM over the lifespan), would It be a bad idea to use coloured highlighters and a key indicating which section of the graph is NREM and which is REM, because I just realised that they'll probably photo-copy our exams for marking, and the examiner may not be able to tell I used a coloured key... this is a pretty stupid question... but like are we allowed to use colours?

[studyingg]

Based on what the textbooks say, your proposed answer is correct.
I would also definitely consider adrenaline to be a neurohormone.

Adrenal is released from adrenal glands and is a neurohormone

Okay, so If I was ever describing the biological pathway that occurs during the formation of an emotionally aousing memory would it be best to describe the stimulation of the amygdala occurring like this:
perception of a threat-- hypothalamus (signals to the adrenal gland)-- neurons in the adrenal gland release adrenaline into the blood stream---adrenaline stimulates adrenoreceptors (such as the vagus nerve near the brain) which leads to the release of noradrenaline within the brain--- noradrenaline  activates the amygdala--- the amygdala works with the hippocampus to consolidate the episodic emotionally arousing memory, with an implicit emotional component attached.
 (obviously I'll use proper sentences)

[sdfg]

Hello,  I have a question about drawing graphs on the exam. In the case that they ask us to draw a graph, (for example changes to the proportions of NREM-REM over the lifespan), would It be a bad idea to use coloured highlighters and a key indicating which section of the graph is NREM and which is REM, because I just realised that they'll probably photo-copy our exams for marking, and the examiner may not be able to tell I used a coloured key... this is a pretty stupid question... but like are we allowed to use colours?

Yeah, they scan the exam papers so I wouldn't use coloured highlighters to draw graphs cause they might not pick up (maybe a pen that's a dark colour instead?). Whether or not you're allowed to use colour ... well technically no cause you're only meant to be writing in blue and black, but my examiner-teacher last year said that they didn't care as long as it's a dark, legible colour (I wrote in purple in last year's exam cause it was the only pen that helped with my writer's callus, and nothing happened). But maybe just to err on the side of caution (that the colours don't pick up), use dotted and dashed lines instead? 

Okay, so If I was ever describing the biological pathway that occurs during the formation of an emotionally aousing memory would it be best to describe the stimulation of the amygdala occurring like this:
perception of a threat-- hypothalamus (signals to the adrenal gland)-- neurons in the adrenal gland release adrenaline into the blood stream---adrenaline stimulates adrenoreceptors (such as the vagus nerve near the brain) which leads to the release of noradrenaline within the brain--- noradrenaline  activates the amygdala--- the amygdala works with the hippocampus to consolidate the episodic emotionally arousing memory, with an implicit emotional component attached.
 (obviously I'll use proper sentences)

Not miniturtle but I would just say "adrenal gland releases..." cause technically neurons don't release neurohormones (specialised neurons called neurosecretory cells do - beyond scope of VCE though), which adrenaline is in this case because it's long-distance communication. Other thing I would fix is the last part cause it's a bit vague ( works w/ H to consolidate by how does it work w/ H to consolidate (amygdala attaches emotional signficance...)?

[studyingg]

Yeah, they scan the exam papers so I wouldn't use coloured highlighters to draw graphs cause they might not pick up (maybe a pen that's a dark colour instead?). Whether or not you're allowed to use colour ... well technically no cause you're only meant to be writing in blue and black, but my examiner-teacher last year said that they didn't care as long as it's a dark, legible colour (I wrote in purple in last year's exam cause it was the only pen that helped with my writer's callus, and nothing happened). But maybe just to err on the side of caution (that the colours don't pick up), use dotted and dashed lines instead? 

Not miniturtle but I would just say "adrenal gland releases..." cause technically neurons don't release neurohormones (specialised neurons called neurosecretory cells do - beyond scope of VCE though), which adrenaline is in this case because it's long-distance communication. Other thing I would fix is the last part cause it's a bit vague ( works w/ H to consolidate by how does it work w/ H to consolidate?

Thank you so much for the responses, i'll probably use a pattern or something for the graph. Do you think I should I say specialised neurons (because I want the examiner to know that I know that adrenaline is a neurohormone and not just an ordinary hormone). And thanks for the advice about the last part, i'll make sure to explain how the consolidation occurs using at least a sentence or two. Thanks again

[Bri MT]

Hello,  I have a question about drawing graphs on the exam. In the case that they ask us to draw a graph, (for example changes to the proportions of NREM-REM over the lifespan), would It be a bad idea to use coloured highlighters and a key indicating which section of the graph is NREM and which is REM, because I just realised that they'll probably photo-copy our exams for marking, and the examiner may not be able to tell I used a coloured key... this is a pretty stupid question... but like are we allowed to use colours?

To be safe, I would code by either having 1 in blue pen & another in black,  use a dotted/dashed line versus a solid line, or just labelling this on the graph. If you are presented with a series of data and are plotting that, you could also use different shapes to form a legend (circles, triangles, squares... as the dots)

Okay, so If I was ever describing the biological pathway that occurs during the formation of an emotionally aousing memory would it be best to describe the stimulation of the amygdala occurring like this:
perception of a threat-- hypothalamus (signals to the adrenal gland)-- neurons in the adrenal gland release adrenaline into the blood stream---adrenaline stimulates adrenoreceptors (such as the vagus nerve near the brain) which leads to the release of noradrenaline within the brain--- noradrenaline  activates the amygdala--- the amygdala works with the hippocampus to consolidate the episodic emotionally arousing memory, with an implicit emotional component attached.
 (obviously I'll use proper sentences)

I'd say that your response is more detailed than required but it looks great

2017 examiners report relevant quote(answer)

"Students gained one mark for correctly identifying adrenaline (epinephrine) as the neurohormone, and another for stating its role in activating the fight/flight, or arousal, response. Alternatively, students could state that adrenaline stimulates the release of noradrenaline (norepinephrine), which activates the amygdala. Two further marks were allocated for identifying the amygdala as the relevant brain region, with its role being the consolidation of emotional memories. Students could include reference to the hippocampus working with the amygdala, but it needed to be clear that it is the amygdala that is responsible for processing/consolidating/‘involved in storing’ emotional memories, not the hippocampus on its own. "
(The question indirectly asked about the role of adrenaline)
[/quote]

Thank you so much for the responses, i'll probably use a pattern or something for the graph. Do you think I should I say specialised neurons (because I want the examiner to know that I know that adrenaline is a neurohormone and not just an ordinary hormone). And thanks for the advice about the last part, i'll make sure to explain how the consolidation occurs using at least a sentence or two. Thanks again

I'd only bother if your response was part of a 10 marker.

[studyingg]

Thanks for the help miniturtle

[studyingg]

I just want to clarify something about the long term effects of total sleep deprivation. This is a question from the VCAA exam 1 2008 psych exam (and I'm particularly interested in part c). The answer for this question was 'none', but I was wondering, if someone goes for like a week without getting any sleep, would there still be no long term effects? The reason I ask is because if you look the case study of Peter Tripp, he did suffer irreversible consequences as a result of long-term sleep deprivation, whereas Randy Gardener did not experience any long term negative consequences.

[studyingg]

Does 'discussing implications' of research mean suggesting possible further hypothesis that can be developed based on the findings of research... or does it mean how the results of the experiment can be implied to a real world context? Also, if it is the latter... does a result have to be valid/reliable in order for an implication to be drawn?

For example in the case of a study investigating the effect of positive reinforcement of learning found that students who were positively reinforced learnt better than students who received no consequence. But due to the fact that findings of the study being confounded by uncontrolled variables, and the use of an unrepresentative sample, neither a conclusion or generalisation could have been inferred. Is it still possible to suggest how the findings relate to a real -world context and say, possible implications from this study could be the use of positive reinforcement by teachers (such as a token economy) in the classroom in order to improve students academic performance.

I did a similar thing in my aos 3 investigation into recall vs recognition, as in I could not draw a conclusion or generalisation, but I did evaluate my results in terms of a real-world context because we were required to. But I was wondering is this correct in terms of the conventions of scientific writing?

[rani_b]

Say I conduct an experiment, hypothesising that VCE students who drink orange juice before exams will score better than people who don't (sorry couldn't think of another example  ). If I use random sampling, random allocation, large sample size, no extraneous variables etc. but the results are not statistically significant, can that 'non-significance' still be generalised to the wider population? Could I generalise that drinking orange juice will not mean you score better?

[studyingg]

Say I conduct an experiment, hypothesising that VCE students who drink orange juice before exams will score better than people who don't (sorry couldn't think of another example  ). If I use random sampling, random allocation, large sample size, no extraneous variables etc. but the results are not statistically significant, can that 'non-significance' still be generalised to the wider population? Could I generalise that drinking orange juice will not mean you score better?

Yes, because it means that there is no evidence to suggest a causal relationship between drinking orange juice before exams, and exam performance. If there were confounding variables/non-random allocation/ small sample size, then you would say a valid conclusion cannot be drawn. However because your experiment meets the requirements to draw inferencess you can say that the results of the experiment indicate that there is no evidence to suggest that drinking orange juice will cause you to score better.

But you have to make the marker know that you are drawing an inference based on whether or not drinking orange juice will cause higher exam scores. Because it is possible that someone who drinks orange juice does get a high exam score... but this correlation would not be that of cause and effect but rather a coincidence.