The Psychological Question Thread.

[xoxogossipgirl]

they were coerced as they were offered extra marks in their final score
whenever you see that it's a breach of voluntary participation as they are pressured into taking part

and basically nearly every vcaa one will not actually be randomly selected, you can basically always pick out some minute way that it's not
whenever it's "the first .... volunteers" it's not representative of the population, as people who choose to volunteer might share some characteristic that people who don't volunteer don't have

that's how i'd see it
hope this helps

[masonnnn]

Having problems with vcaa 2008 research methods...

A researcher asked all the fi rst year Psychology students (100 males and 100 females) from Kookaburra
University to participate in a study. Students were offered extra marks in their Psychology fi nal score if they
agreed to participate.
Of the 200 students, 40 volunteered for the study (20 males and 20 females). The researcher wanted to investigate
whether the memories of fi rst year Psychology students at Kookaburra University were increased by sugar
intake.
Prior to the study, informed consent was given and all participants were asked to memorise a list of 20 words
(List A). They were then tested on their recall of the words.
The researcher then divided the participants into two groups. For convenience she put the 20 female volunteers
into one group (Group 1 – sugar group) and the 20 male volunteers into another group (Group 2 – no sugar
group).
Group 1 (sugar group) was given a drink containing sugar. Group 2 (no sugar group) was given a drink that
did not contain sugar.
All participants were asked to memorise a different list of 20 words (List B). They were tested again on their
recall of the words.
The mean difference in the recall of words across the two lists was calculated. The results are presented in the
table below.

Question 15.Were the participants in this study randomly selected? Explain your answer.

i wrote yes as the entire population were given the opportunity to participate...even though only some chose to. the actual answer is

"No. The students were 40 volunteers from the population. This biased the sample towards those who were willing to
take part"

WTH??? any participants are volunteers...or else it would breach voluntary participation

Question 22: What ethical standard or consideration was breached by the researcher? Explain how it was breached.

I said Debriefing however the answers were:

"Professional conduct or voluntary participation. The participants were coerced into taking part by being given extra
marks for their participation."

What do you mean coerced!!??? Many participants these days are paid to participate in research but that does make it unethical... besides we already established that participants were VOLUNTEERS....so what matters if they were given a reward..

for 15 look at this http://vcenotes.com/forum/index.php/topic,32326.0.html

for 22 in Australia you cannot be paid or coerced for psychological research. i think in america it may be different but for australia it's strictly voluntary participation.
YET in reference top 15 again,
the way for it to be perfectly random is for everyone in the population to be contacted and asked ie. by letter. aslong as they are not then coerced in any way with a reward or by a person with power over them it is still voluntary participation

[jinny1]

for Q22. isnt Debriefing a correct answer too??

also their answer saying participants were "coerced" inst really right..

Coerce: Persuade (an unwilling person) to do something by using force or threats

the participants weren't unwillingly nor any threats/force used, only a reward..

[masonnnn]

well, other definitions include 'by force or authority'
if the person holds authority over the sample, ie. a teacher over a student, then it can't be voluntary participation.
that's a big one they do with prac exams you may have noticed, always be suss if you see something about a teacher at uni or high school using their students.

and you could list many BUT always look for the one that is referred to in the question. big thing with research methods is having every question relate to/ specific to the scenario. yes, they didn't mention debriefing BUT they did mention that he DIDN'T keep to voluntary participation so that's the one to go for.

[Cianyx]

In terms of the consolidation theory, explain why Mark is able to remember details of the accident in six weeks time.


The answer is irrelevant. What I need to know, is whether I need to define consolidation theory before explaining why he is able to remember. In the answers a mark was rewarded for the definition despite it not being said in the answer. Halp

[jinny1]

Yes you do need to state a basic definition...'

and yes i know vcaa psych exams are quiet ambiguous

Do i need to state the DV and DV operationalised separately in the operational hypothesis??

[xoxogossipgirl]

no. though vcaa examination reports are vague, you just have to have the DV OPERATIONALISED. ie. in the exam i'm doing right now. "monkeys who always recieve food under the circular dish will make more correct guesses of where their food is than monkeys whose food is presented under a different shaped dish each trial"

you don't need the vague sweeping DV as well.

*trusting my psych teacher who is an examiner :-)

[Cianyx]

Thanks dudes

[masonnnn]

always go with define then apply.
so "consolidation theory suggests that blahblahblah which indicates that mark blahblahblah"

[jinny1]

i know its stupid question..

do i need to take HB or 2B pencil to the exam??

[xoxogossipgirl]

there are advantages and disadvantages of both:
HB: easy to rub out, but too light
2B: easy to read as not too light, but harder to rub out

you're gonna have to make an educated guess on that one

but you reminded me to bring a pencil. shit. good.
i don't know what type my pacer is, but it's a special uniball one i got from an airport once that cost me $10 and it's so smooth and has a nice grip.. will make filling in my multiple choice sheet feel wonderful.

jebuz psychology has driven me insane i think i need to go to bed

[jinny1]

hahah thx...

anyone else like me stopped studying for the day??

[masonnnn]

yeah. watching house then sleep. lovin' it.

[jinny1]

i feel excitedd!!

[xoxogossipgirl]

yep, i'm on VN despite last minute research methods study being in front of me begging me to look at it
i just looked at the graph of the forgetting curve i have above my desk, am listening to some calming city and colour, am going to go have a cup of tea and then go to bed.
it's gonna be sad to be finished psych. i felt the same way after english. definitely not after maths though.
good luck all