VCE Psychology Exam Sample Solutions and Discussion 2017

[oJL8A99A]

Is anyone else struggling to open the copy of the exam on the other thread? I keep clicking on the section and nothing is coming up 

[JonahMek1]

Hey, folks, it's Howey, your psych lecturer. I'm going to try and chuck up some solutions to the exam throughout the day, all in this post here!

Just a quick disclaimer - these solutions are not official in any way and are just my opinion. They are being produced quickly so if you disagree with something feel free to let me know - just comment below!

Here we go:

Multiple-Choice

1. A
2. C
3. C
4. D
5. A
6. D
7. B
8. A
9. A
10. D
11. D
12. B
13. C
14. B
15. D
16. D
17. C
18. A
19. A
20. B
21. B
22. A*
23. D
24. B
25. C/D?*
26. C
27. C*
28. D
29. B
30. C
31. A
32. C
33. D
34. B
35. A
36. D*
37. A
38. A
39. D
40. A
41. B
42. A
43. C
44. D
45. A
46. C
47. C
48. C
49. C
50. B 

HEY HOWEY!

I was just wondering:
wouldn't MCQ22 not be a because someone with a BAC of 0.10 would experience more cognitive impairment e.g. poorer decision making?
Also, on MCQ28 Isn't arlo using state dependant cues, hence the emotions?
On MCQ32 would D also be accepted as an answer, as while EOG is quantitative, it cannot definitively indicate his state of consciousness?
On MCQ41 aren't they social risk factors(C)?

tbh im not sure about any of these 4 , so i just wanted to get your opinion

[amyxz]

Hey howey, just in regards to MC question 27, I was under the impression that well-learned procedural responses are stored in the cerebral cortex, and only consolidated and temporarily stored in the cerebellum. Also, for question 42, wouldn't challenging unrealistic thoughts come under social support since I assumed the thoughts were being challenged by family members if that made sense.

I also thought the same for 27. as temporary storage of implicit memory is cerebellum but permanent is cerebral cortex

[Atlantis]

HEY HOWEY!

I was just wondering:
wouldn't MCQ22 not be a because someone with a BAC of 0.10 would experience more cognitive impairment e.g. poorer decision making?
Also, on MCQ28 Isn't arlo using state dependant cues, hence the emotions?
On MCQ32 would D also be accepted as an answer, as while EOG is quantitative, it cannot definitively indicate his state of consciousness?
On MCQ41 aren't they social risk factors(C)?

tbh im not sure about any of these 4 , so i just wanted to get your opinion

hey i'm not howey, but for question 32 D wouldn't make sense because EOG is still recording electrical activity and like you said is still quantitative.

you could make the same argument about EEGs not definitively showing the state of consciousness either, because looking at it alone, beta waves could indicate dreaming or focused attention.

[howey]

Hey howey, just in regards to MC question 27, I was under the impression that well-learned procedural responses are stored in the cerebral cortex, and only consolidated and temporarily stored in the cerebellum. Also, for question 42, wouldn't challenging unrealistic thoughts come under social support since I assumed the thoughts were being challenged by family members if that made sense.

In regards to Q27 - I have heard both that they are stored in the cerebellum permanently and temporarily, so it could potentially be either - personally I'm just going with cerebellum. (The Jacaranda and Oxford textbooks differ on this point, which is quite frustrating)

Q42 - I see what you're saying but I think challenging unrealistic thoughts more comes under psychological (e.g. the cognitive component of CBT) than social, and A is definitely the best answer, I think.

[howey]

Hey Howey! Just wondering if I could ask you about your answer for MCQ 36. I picked option C because they all seemed wrong, but that one seemed most correct.

Good question! I didn't really like this question either - similar to you, I felt none of the options were great answers. Personally, I felt D was the best definition, as the source of anxiety isn't always known, and often anxiety occurs because of something that may happen in the future (e.g. I may fail this test tomorrow). Also, anxiety isn't always irrational - the textbook describes it as 'normal in certain situations' and 'adaptive and helpful' in mild amounts. That was my thought process, anyway, but I can definitely see how you could also argue for C. 

[Joseph41]

Is anyone else struggling to open the copy of the exam on the other thread? I keep clicking on the section and nothing is coming up 

Hmm that's weird! What do you see?

[howey]

HEY HOWEY!

I was just wondering:
wouldn't MCQ22 not be a because someone with a BAC of 0.10 would experience more cognitive impairment e.g. poorer decision making?
Also, on MCQ28 Isn't arlo using state dependant cues, hence the emotions?
On MCQ32 would D also be accepted as an answer, as while EOG is quantitative, it cannot definitively indicate his state of consciousness?
On MCQ41 aren't they social risk factors(C)?

tbh im not sure about any of these 4 , so i just wanted to get your opinion

Q22 - I agree that I think it should be more impaired, but I don't like any of the answers at all. It's definitely not B or D (in my opinion), and I don't think there would be 'no change' in concentration, so I went with A - but genuinely a bit unsure on that one. Happy to hear others thoughts.
Q28 - Definitely context-dependent cues as it is referring to the basketball court, which is part of the external environment.
Q32 - D isn't correct because an EOG is quantitative data, not qualitative. Sorry!
Q41 - Potentially, but I think something like 'feeling overwhelmed' could be psychological. Also, we don't really use the term 'sociocultural risk factors', so I steered clear of it.

If you disagree, feel free to say so - I stress that these are just my opinions!

[psychdude]

Thanks to whoeever posted the exam booklet and to howey for answering everything! Sitting on 45/46 MC which I'm ok with.

I have to say, Q22 was without a doubt the biggest b*tch of all the MC. Usually the MC questions relating to BAC are quite simple but this one made no sense to me. I remember thinking 'whatever I choose will feel wrong' and I still stand to that. I had a bit of a brain flop and picked less exaggerated mood, but I just didn't see how the cognitive impairement, my other choice, would be "about the same".

I can handle hard exams but when the answers all suck that's what frustrates me. No amount of study could have helped anyone there.

[nm2xo]

Wouldn't question 25 (MC) easily be D because they said according to Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model, not the sources of stress (eg- acculturative stress)?

Option D is the only one with components from the transactional model

[oJL8A99A]

Wouldn't question 25 (MC) easily be D because they said according to Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model, not the sources of stress (eg- acculturative stress)?

Option D is the only one with components from the transactional model

Yes, but from memory option A was that they would both undergo a secondary appraisal. The major issue with the question was trying to work out whether the first girl who was excited was experiencing a benign-positive appraisal or a stressful-challenge appraisal. The problem with this question is, if they both decide it's stressful (e.g option D --> harm/loss, threat, challenge) they must BOTH evaluate coping resources (which I'm pretty sure was option A). So either D AND A are correct, or just C.

I chose C because I though the first girl was appraising the situation as benign-positive but we'll see what VCAA says. Also was that dot point (the different kinds of stressors; major, acculturative, daily pressures) assessed in any other part of the exam? Can't remember.

[oJL8A99A]

Hmm that's weird! What do you see?

When I click on the "+" it opens but comes up with nothing in it

[Joseph41]

When I click on the "+" it opens but comes up with nothing in it

What browser are you using?

[oJL8A99A]

Thanks to whoeever posted the exam booklet and to howey for answering everything! Sitting on 45/46 MC which I'm ok with.

I have to say, Q22 was without a doubt the biggest b*tch of all the MC. Usually the MC questions relating to BAC are quite simple but this one made no sense to me. I remember thinking 'whatever I choose will feel wrong' and I still stand to that. I had a bit of a brain flop and picked less exaggerated mood, but I just didn't see how the cognitive impairement, my other choice, would be "about the same".

I can handle hard exams but when the answers all suck that's what frustrates me. No amount of study could have helped anyone there.

I had exactly the same problem. I choose less exaggerated mood as well - thought process was that when you first consume alcohol the effects resemble more of a stimulant than a depressant so therefore the more you drink the less "exaggerated" your mood gets as it begins to slow the CNS.  A terrible question though (nearly as bad as the "disgusting caffeine question")

[-273.15]

for that 5 mark question on comparing the results I talked about the main points Howey discussed but I didnt feel like that was enough to get 5 marks??? stupid question. Like surely being able to answer that caffiene question should get you more marks than comparing results? weird