VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[rani_b]

heeyyyy

I know that relearning is the most sensitive measure of retention however I only have a vague idea on what sensitive refers to.

can someone please give me some clarity on what sensitivity means in relation to measure of retention. What key things should I say?

I believe relearning is the most sensitive because it detects the presence of a memory even if there is only a small amount of it.

[KiNSKi01]

Sorry I think you misunderstood me 

What does sensitivity mean in relation to measure of retention

[Bri MT]

As RaniB said, sensitivity is about demonstrating the presence of the memory.
Higher sensitivity = able to demonstrate memory more strongly/often.

If you test something through free recall, it might demonstrate the presence of the memory 3/10 times, maybe cued recall would bring it to 5/10 and relearning might bring it to 8/10 (made up numbers). In this case, you would say that relearning is a more sensitive measure of retention than cued recall which is more sensitive than free recall


Hope this helps

[KiNSKi01]

ok cheers

makes more sense now

[studyingg]

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to make sure that my understanding of ethics is accurate. So in my book it says, 'it is legally permissible in Victoria to conduct medical research with patients in the mental health care system who have not given informed consent'. So even if it is legal is it still considered a breach of the ethical principle of informed consent? I think it is, but I’m not 100% sure tbh.

thanks

[Balfe]

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to make sure that my understanding of ethics is accurate. So in my book it says, 'it is legally permissible in Victoria to conduct medical research with patients in the mental health care system who have not given informed consent'. So even if it is legal is it still considered a breach of the ethical principle of informed consent? I think it is, but I’m not 100% sure tbh.

thanks

This is certainly an interesting point! For the purposes of VCE Psychology this would be an ethical breach assuming that the guardian did not provide informed consent. In order for such a study to be ethical, informed consent must be gained from the guardian of the mentally ill patient and attempts must be made to the best effort of the experimenter to explain the nature, purpose, risks and benefits of the study to the patient (although they do not necessarily have to consent themselves following this).

[studyingg]

This is certainly an interesting point! For the purposes of VCE Psychology this would be an ethical breach assuming that the guardian did not provide informed consent. In order for such a study to be ethical, informed consent must be gained from the guardian of the mentally ill patient and attempts must be made to the best effort of the experimenter to explain the nature, purpose, risks and benefits of the study to the patient (although they do not necessarily have to consent themselves following this).

Great, thanks for the clarification! (i'm sure you definitely know ur 'law-stuff' based off your profile pic )

[anon101]

I'm really confused about approach vs avoidance strategies and emotion vs problem-focused strategies. Can anyone define these terms and state the differences and similarities between them (because my teacher said).
Thanks a load

[fl982]

Hey guys,
In the VCAA exams are we allowed to write under the lines provided (in the blank white areas)  but within the border given of the exam, or do we have to go to the back of the exam and continue our responses there?

[Bri MT]

I'm really confused about approach vs avoidance strategies and emotion vs problem-focused strategies. Can anyone define these terms and state the differences and similarities between them (because my teacher said).
Thanks a load

In an approach strategy you approach the source of your stress and confront it. Eg. If your stressed about English, you might write a practice essay and ask your teacher for feedback
In an avoidance strategy you avoid the stressor. Eg. If you're stressed about English, you might procrastinate your English work so you don't have to deal with it.

Problem solving: Tackles the stressor directly Eg. if you're worried about your performance in something, practice your performance
Emotion based: Tackles the emotions involved in the stressor Eg.  if you're worried about your performance in something, vent to a supportive friend

Similarities: all can be adaptive, all can be maladaptive, all are used to cope with stress and/or its impacts


Hope this helps

Hey guys,
In the VCAA exams are we allowed to write under the lines provided (in the blank white areas)  but within the border given of the exam, or do we have to go to the back of the exam and continue our responses there?

You can write (or even draw diagrams) there - just make sure your writing is legible and within the borders

[anon101]

So, how can I answer this question best:
Why is LTD a necessary feature of synaptic change along with LTP?

Thanks so much for helping me!!!

[Bri MT]

So, how can I answer this question best:
Why is LTD a necessary feature of synaptic change along with LTP?

Thanks so much for helping me!!!

For this question I'm going to try and explain the answer to you rather than telling it to you (cause I think that'll be more helpful & help you remember rather than just memorising) so probably best not to directly copy this into your exam booklet:

Sometimes we learn things that are untrue, or that were true but no longer are. Or we have a destructive habit, belief or behaviour. Changing these will require unlearning associations & require LTD.

When we do learn something new, it might not fit in with our previous patterns/beliefs - so we might have to modify them. In this case, LTP and LTD are working together - LTP gives us the new pattern/association and LTD removes the old (potentially maladaptive) one.

And sometimes the pattern we had isn't bad, isn't being replaced by something new, and we get rid of it anyway. It's like cancelling an old subscription sure, the ting I'm paying for might not be bad, but if I'm not using it why continue to waste resources on it? By decreasing the synaptic strength of that old connection we also improve the efficiency of the system.



Hope this helps

[anon101]

So, correct me if I'm wrong here. But do you think that my response below would be worth full marks?
Btw, I understand what you're saying, however, I'm struggling to put it into words (and it's a 2 mark question)

• LTD allows for the decrease in unnecessary, unwanted and thus largely unused synaptic connections strength
• Prevents LTP from continuously strengthening synaptic connections, and thus using the nervous system's limited resources for something no longer needed

[Bri MT]

So, correct me if I'm wrong here. But do you think that my response below would be worth full marks?
Btw, I understand what you're saying, however, I'm struggling to put it into words (and it's a 2 mark question)

• LTD allows for the decrease in unnecessary, unwanted and thus largely unused synaptic connections strength
• Prevents LTP from continuously strengthening synaptic connections, and thus using the nervous system's limited resources for something no longer needed

It doesn't prevent LTP, it just has the opposite biological effect - so I'd be very wary of the wording you've used

I'd probably be more direct in your first point about LTD actually does too.

Given that it's for two marks, my answer might look something like this:
- LTD reduces the strength of rarely used synaptic connections which allows removal of maladaptive and/or unnecessary pathways
- This increases the efficiency of neural networks and reduces the amount of  resources wasted on unnecessary connections

[anon101]

I'm a bit confused about where the marks come from. Since their response is as follows:

• Constructively counteracts the synaptic strengthening caused by LTP
• Stops synapses hitting a ceiling level of efficiency (due to LTP)

From what I understand, the first point they make just means that it allows important synaptic connections to be strenghtened. And second means it prevents the nervous system from running out of resources, correct?
So how would I know to write those two exact points from the question?