VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[brenden]

VCE PSYCHOLOGY Q&A THREAD

To go straight to posts from 2020, click here.

What is this thread for?
If you have general questions about the VCE Psychology course or how to improve in certain areas, this is the place to ask!


Who can/will answer questions?
Everyone is welcome to contribute; even if you're unsure of yourself, providing different perspectives is incredibly valuable.

Please don't be dissuaded by the fact that you haven't finished Year 12, or didn't score as highly as others, or your advice contradicts something else you've seen on this thread, or whatever; none of this disqualifies you from helping others. And if you're worried you do have some sort of misconception, put it out there and someone else can clarify and modify your understanding! 

There'll be a whole bunch of other high-scoring students with their own wealths of wisdom to share with you, including TuteSmart tutors! So you may even get multiple answers from different people offering their insights - very cool.


To ask a question or make a post, you will first need an ATAR Notes account. You probably already have one, but if you don't, it takes about four seconds to sign up - and completely free!

OTHER PSYCH RESOURCES

CLICK ME!

* VCE Psych: 2018 Resources MegaGuide
* Psychology Research Methods Weekly Practice
* Psychology Q&A with the ATAR Notes Psych Lecturer
* A Guide to VCE Psych
* A summary of changes to the 2017+ study design
* Relevant Psych Exam Questions (from previous study designs)
* How to get a 40+ Study Score in VCE Psychology!
* How I Got a Raw 48 in Psych - Tips, Tricks and Regrets
* Advice for Psychology 3/4 in Year 11
* Remembering Stuff in VCE Psych - How to Go About It
* How to Study for the VCE Psych Exam - Three Weeks Out
* Definition Bank - Learning
* Mind Map of Units 1 and 2 Study Design
* A General Guide For Psychology
* Countdown to the Psych Exam - Part 1

Original post.

Hey guys! There are some very talented Psychology students on these forums, but so far there's been no dedicated Psychology thread the same as Specialist/Methods etc. So, feel free to leave all of your Psychology questions in this thread!

[anat0my]

Hey thanks so much for creating this!

I'll kick it of with one of my own questions - can someone please explain how visual stimuli is received/processed? How does the whole each half eye thing work? Cheers!

[evelynandrews]

Hey thanks so much for creating this!

I'll kick it of with one of my own questions - can someone please explain how visual stimuli is received/processed? How does the whole each half eye thing work? Cheers!

Visual stimuli is processed in the primary visual cortex; the major destination of visual information from sensory    receptors. The visual field (everything we see when looking straight ahead) can be divided into two fields: the left visual field and the right visual field. Information from left visual field is processed in the right hemisphere, and information from the right visual field is processed in the left hemisphere. (NOTE: information from each eye is processed in both hemispheres of the brain, it is not true that information from the right eye goes only to the left hemisphere, or vice versa). Our eyes work like a camera- the image is reversed. So any image in the right field of view will be received on the left part of the retina, and mapped to the left hemisphere.

To give an example, if I was standing at a zoo and a giraffe stood on the right hand side of my field of view, the image of the giraffe will project onto the left part of the retina (of each eye), and be processed in the left hemisphere.

Hope that answers your question!

[scarletmoon]

So in the grivas textbook and the 2015 tsfx notes it says the Broca's area is only in the left frontal lobe but my psych teacher said today that the broca's area is in the left and right frontal lobe. Which one is correct? I'm so confused now

[brenden]

So in the grivas textbook and the 2015 tsfx notes it says the Broca's area is only in the left frontal lobe but my psych teacher said today that the broca's area is in the left and right frontal lobe. Which one is correct? I'm so confused now

I've never heard of someone saying Broca's area is in the left 1and right frontal lobe, but I have a sneaking suspicion that ~5% of people have their Broca's area in the right lobe. It's generally just in the left side, close to the primary motor cortex. (If you think about it, it's near the primary motor cortex, which means it controls the neck, jaw, tongue/lip muscles that are involved with speech, so when it's damaged, it's you ability to make words with your mouth that is damaged - but not your actual language abilities).

Edit: So TECHNICALLY, your teacher is correct, because Broca's area can be in the left and right frontal lobe, but mostly it sits in the left lobe. There can also be multiple Broca's areas for skilled bilingual children, if I remember correctly!

[Joseph41]

Subbed.

[chocolate.cake.1]

Hi everyone
Here are a few questions which i'm kind of confused about:

- what is a simple task and a complex task (I.e. How would you classify it?)
- why does sleep deprivation affect the ability to complete simple tasks but not nessecarily complex tasks?
- what are some limitations of sleep data (e.g. The graphs that show sleep patterns, sleep deprivation experiments)

Please excuse the silliness of these questions 
I am new to 3/4 psych and am still trying to learn the basics   

Thanks in advance!

[warya]

I have a question!
What are perceptual and cognitive distortions? And does time orientation not come under perceptual distortions because i wrote this in a practice Sac and got no marks for contradicting myself lol

[JackSonSmith]

Hi everyone
Here are a few questions which i'm kind of confused about:

- what is a simple task and a complex task (I.e. How would you classify it?)
- why does sleep deprivation affect the ability to complete simple tasks but not nessecarily complex tasks?
- what are some limitations of sleep data (e.g. The graphs that show sleep patterns, sleep deprivation experiments)

Please excuse the silliness of these questions 
I am new to 3/4 psych and am still trying to learn the basics   

Thanks in advance!

I view simple tasks as things that you are able to do easily/without paying much attention and complex tasks as those where you do need to pay attention.

Sleep deprivation affects simple tasks more because it is believed that sleep deprivation affects motivation more than ability. ie. I'm tired and can't be stuffed doing this.

Limitations of sleep data may include: data was taken while participant was not in natural environment

[chocolate.cake.1]

I view simple tasks as things that you are able to do easily/without paying much attention and complex tasks as those where you do need to pay attention.

Sleep deprivation affects simple tasks more because it is believed that sleep deprivation affects motivation more than ability. ie. I'm tired and can't be stuffed doing this.

Limitations of sleep data may include: data was taken while participant was not in natural environment

Thanks for your help!

[brenden]

Hi everyone
Here are a few questions which i'm kind of confused about:

- what is a simple task and a complex task (I.e. How would you classify it?)
- why does sleep deprivation affect the ability to complete simple tasks but not nessecarily complex tasks?
- what are some limitations of sleep data (e.g. The graphs that show sleep patterns, sleep deprivation experiments)

Please excuse the silliness of these questions 
I am new to 3/4 psych and am still trying to learn the basics   

Thanks in advance!

I view simple tasks as things that you are able to do easily/without paying much attention and complex tasks as those where you do need to pay attention.

Sleep deprivation affects simple tasks more because it is believed that sleep deprivation affects motivation more than ability. ie. I'm tired and can't be stuffed doing this.

Limitations of sleep data may include: data was taken while participant was not in natural environment

Extending upon this, sleep deprivation impacts both motivation and general mental functioning... So when you're doing a simple task - say, making burgers if you're a veteran McDonald's worker, and you haven't slept, it would be very easy to accidentally put a slice of cheese on a McChicken if you're making a bunch of Quarter Pounders with one McChicken also needing to be made. (A McChicken has no cheese, and a QtrPounder has two slices of cheese... so if you have a block of cheese with you and you go "Bang bang bang bang bang" putting cheese on burgers, it's easy to accidentally put one on a McChicken if you aren't thinking straight).

But think of something more complex, like parallel parking for a learner driver. Whether you've had 9 or 5 hours of sleep - you aren't going to make a silly mistake. You might screw it up, just because you're a bad driver, but probably not because of sleep deprivation. You can force yourself to concentrate on this. The sleep deprivation takes away basic focus and concentration, but when push comes to shove, your body can handle the complex stuff.

As for simple and complex, I might think of it like automatic and controlled processes.

I have a question!
What are perceptual and cognitive distortions? And does time orientation not come under perceptual distortions because i wrote this in a practice Sac and got no marks for contradicting myself lol

Ummm. Okay, this is really bringing me back and challenging my memory. I understand what you're saying - your perceptions are screwed up if you think 15 minutes has passed and it's actually been an hour, but from my (very sketchy) memory... This question would have been something like "give an example of perceptual and cognitive distortions that may occur in an ASC".

Because this question is targeting altered states of consciousness, it's targeting the knowledge of what MAKES an ASC. There's four things. It's like... (and this is getting REALLY sketchy)

Distortions of something (control?)
Distortions in perception and cognition
Time orientation
Controlling yourself (something something)

So, what they wanted is specifically NOT time control - it was testing "distortions in perception and cognition", which is something more like... if you take Smurf pills (which is a drug that makes you think you're tiny) - you have distorted perceptions. Or if you take LSD (hallucinogens) and stuff like that, it screws around with your perceptions and ability to think.

In general, your 'perception of time' might be screwed up, and that's correct in real life, but for the purpose of VCE Psychology, they wanted to test ONE of the FOUR of those little "checkboxes" for an ASC, and you chose the wrong one.

I might be wrong here, and I would sincerely appreciate being corrected on this just in case I give someone the wrong information (it's been a good 3 years since I've done this), but I believe that might be the answer.

[Burt Macklin]

I've got conflicting answers in my textbook and notes on REM sleep. Is it a period of light sleep or deep sleep and, therefore, is it easier to be woken from REM sleep or harder?

[brenden]

I've got conflicting answers in my textbook and notes on REM sleep. Is it a period of light sleep or deep sleep and, therefore, is it easier to be woken from REM sleep or harder?

Both! For this very reason, REM sleep is often referred to as "paradoxical sleep" - so this little confusion should help you remember it pretty well - just think of the paradox. 

One reason it might be considered light is that REM sleep occurs at the end of a sleep cycle, which means it's closer to the top of a graph. I.e, things go, Stage 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM, and the next cycle might have REM after Stage 3. The point is, REM doesn't occur after Stage 4, or at the bottom of a graph - it occurs at the top of the graph - where the comparatively  "lighter" stages of sleep are also occurring. So, even though it's sometimes called "Stage 5" sleep, REM sleep definitely doesn't occur after Stage 4 (and you'll probably be asked this in a multi-choice designed to trick you).

Another reason it might be considered "light" is because of the beta-like, or sawtooth waves, present in an EEG. *Really important to say beta-like and not beta waves*. These brain waves are obviously the brain waves associated with being awake and alert, so with beta-like waves being present in sleep, maybe you could consider it 'light'. Your heart rate and breathing also quickens during REM, whereas they are very slow in Stage 4.

Why would it be considered deep or paradoxical? Because the EMG readings (reading muscle activity) are lowest in this stage of sleep - despite brain activity and heart rate going up, voluntary muscles are paralysed. Think of what would happen if someone paralysed all your muscles but left you awake and they were about to torture you. That's what REM sleep is like - you can't move, but your brain and heart is going off tap (obviously less than if you'd been tortured).

Now... before I answer your question... disclaimer... I haven't touched this type of stuff in three years, so trying to remember perfectly is like you trying to remember what you did for the first three weeks of year 9, so I very well could be wrong and I would ask your teacher to clarify.

That said, I believe for the purposes of VCE Psychology REM is considered a stage of light sleep, and that stage 4 is considered the hardest stage to wake up from. Question 9 of the 2012 exam asked what type of waves indicated "deep sleep" - TandD waves obvs, http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/psychology/psych-spec-sampexam-w.pdf and you'll see in those little graphs that REM is represented as being between Stage 1 and awake, which is the standard representation. I think because of this, REM should be considered as being 'light sleep'... particularly as Stage 3 and 4 are often referred to as the "deep stages" of sleep. Truthfully, I can't tell you whether it's easier or harder to wake someone up from REM in comparison to Stage 4, as I tried to Google to confirm my answer and I also got jumbled information... What does Grivas say? I wouldn't really call REM deep sleep for VCE Psych, but I'm not sure whether that means it's easy to wake someone up in REM. The whole thing about "paradoxical sleep" is making me doubt whatever answer I think it is.

[scarletmoon]

is the primary motor cortex just in the frontal lobes? Or is it everywhere around the cerebrum? My teacher said that the motor cortex is distributed around the cerebrum buT in my notes it just says its in the frontal lobes

[JackSonSmith]

is the primary motor cortex just in the frontal lobes? Or is it everywhere around the cerebrum? My teacher said that the motor cortex is distributed around the cerebrum buT in my notes it just says its in the frontal lobes

If I remember correctly, there are motor areas in each lobe. However the primary motor cortex is located in only the frontal lobes.