VCE Psychology Exam - Suggested Answers and Discussion

[Glasses]

Yo guys, in the multiple choice I used a hb pencil, and shaded firmly, but I don't think not firm enough or as hard as I can? Am I in trouble ? Only noticed it after finishing bio today, learnt to shade in as hard as I can once I'm happy with my answers for the next exam Ty :')

It shouldn't be a problem, don't stress

[vcegenius]

I had no idea what this was!!! i just talked about psychological factors of stress like difficultly concentrating  etc and where it was mostly experienced according to the results and where it affected them the most, basically just bullshitted my way through it hahah so its probs not even right..
What did u say?

I had no idea and wrote something about the participants varying responses to stressors due to the subjectivity of individual reaction to stressors... Which is basically referring to the transactional model without explicitly mentioning it, which was the next part of the question so my answer is obviously no good. I think that was a terrible question as I've never even head of the "psychological determinants" before?? Will be interesting to see what they wanted!

[nt2387]

My teacher and some girl in my class said it was the differentiation of eustress and distress. After Googling, it seems they were right (first link).
#rekt when you referred to like personality etc lmfao. I think I said that the personality, presence of mental health problems and coping strategies could affect the way one interprets stress lolllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lmao

I think that's right. I and some others talked about the psychological factors in BPS for that dot point, and then went onto discussing eustress, distress, etc for the second dot point.

[HasibA]

I had no idea and wrote something about the participants varying responses to stressors due to the subjectivity of individual reaction to stressors... Which is basically referring to the transactional model without explicitly mentioning it, which was the next part of the question so my answer is obviously no good. I think that was a terrible question as I've never even head of the "psychological determinants" before?? Will be interesting to see what they wanted!

wrote the same. psychological determinants mainly talk about how psychological factors affect stress response. subjectivity, individuality etc. all are factors, i think its right!
-source: discussion with cousin who did psych at uni, and is a qualified psych!

[Glasses]

RE: Psychological Determinants of Stress

I haven't had a look at the exact question, but I would assume that it was relating to the different psychological factors that can influence how an individual responds to stress. Such as:
- Prior experience with stressors and stress responses.
- Coping skills.
- Level of self-esteem.
- Attitudes.
- Perception of how much control one has over the stressful situation or event.

[deejay9]

The Grivas textbook lists "psychological determinants of the stress response" as psychological factors that can affect how an individual reacts to a stressor. Things like prior experience, self-esteem, motivation and attitudes. So those are the things I talked about in relation to the results of the questionnaire.

At first I thought it was referring to eustress and distress, but I think those are psychological reactions to a stress response not determinants.

Question for everyone - what did people write for Q4 part C in the short answer section? Some of my friends were saying that they wrote about the level of processing model of memory, so I'm a bit wary cause I didn't mention a specific theory of memory, I just wrote about how mnemonic devices assist with elaborative rehearsal and make information more likely to be recalled. 

[nadiaaa]

wrote the same. psychological determinants mainly talk about how psychological factors affect stress response. subjectivity, individuality etc. all are factors, i think its right!
-source: discussion with cousin who did psych at uni, and is a qualified psych!

Yess same! i spoke about how its subjective for each individual and the different things they'd experience. Hopefully we are right, or at least close.. what did u guys talk about that debriefing question right before the 10 marker?

[vcegenius]

Question for everyone - what did people write for Q4 part C in the short answer section? Some of my friends were saying that they wrote about the level of processing model of memory, so I'm a bit wary cause I didn't mention a specific theory of memory, I just wrote about how mnemonic devices assist with elaborative rehearsal and make information more likely to be recalled.

I have heard a bit about that too. I don't think they are correct, although they may still get marks. The question states "with reference to psychological theory" NOT "with reference to A psychological theory" so I'm 99% sure you were meant to explain how narrative chaining works and therefore why the class members who used narrative chaining will be able to recall more words than those who didn't (because it can be meaningfully linked and stored in LTM which has an unlimited capacity and duration compared to the other group who were likely to simply store it in STM which obviously has a limited duration and capacity). That's what I wrote and I don't know why you would bring any other theory into it.

[vcegenius]

Yess same! i spoke about how its subjective for each individual and the different things they'd experience. Hopefully we are right, or at least close.. what did u guys talk about that deception question right before the 10 marker?

I said that the participant's results should be discussed with them and shown their comparisons to the rest of the sample group and that those who reported abnormally high levels of stress once the wedding was over could be offered counselling lol. Don't think the last bit was correct but couldn't think of anything else. What did you write?

[nadiaaa]

I said that the participant's results should be discussed with them and shown their comparisons to the rest of the sample group and that those who reported abnormally high levels of stress once the wedding was over could be offered counselling lol. Don't think the last bit was correct but couldn't think of anything else. What did you write?

I think i got this question wrong, but i said the researcher would send a letter to the participants discussing their results, the nature of the study etc and then would give a contact number to address any additionally concerns they have and counselling if they need it haha, do u think this is wrong?

I have heard a bit about that too. I don't think they are correct, although they may still get marks. The question states "with reference to psychological theory" NOT "with reference to A psychological theory" so I'm 99% sure you were meant to explain how narrative chaining works and therefore why the class members who used narrative chaining will be able to recall more words than those who didn't (because it can be meaningfully linked and stored in LTM which has an unlimited capacity and duration compared to the other group who were likely to simply store it in STM which obviously has a limited duration and capacity). That's what I wrote and I don't know why you would bring any other theory into it.

Also i asked my teacher about this and she said Craik n Lockhart should be correct because narrative chaining involves semantic processing but she also should they'd probably more options too and from your answer yours looks 100% correct as well coz many people in my school didnt talk about Craik and Lockhart too so i guess both are fine.

[vcegenius]

I think that's right. I and some others talked about the psychological factors in BPS for that dot point, and then went onto discussing eustress, distress, etc for the second dot point.

Why would you refer to eustress and distress for the second dot point? That was referring to the transactional model of stress and coping? Eustress and distress has nothing to do with that? I was under the impression that you were required to discuss how different forms of primary appraisals and different levels of coping abilities/resources potentially directly impacted the results of the experiment/questionare/whatever it was. Someone tell me if I'm wrong.

I think i got this question wrong, but i said the researcher would send a letter to the participants discussing their results, the nature of the study etc and then would give a contact number to address any additionally concerns they have and counselling if they need it haha, do u think this is wrong?

I think you're on the money there. That's all debriefing is, so I can't really see how it would be wrong.

Mod Edit: Merged double post + fixed up a quote - Aaron

[MsCat]

I agree that Q6 should be "B".  B and C are not saying the same thing - they are saying the opposite. 

I don't think so. B and C are saying the same thing, and A is wrong... Babies have tonnes of REM/slow wave, and children either have more or the same as adolescents. (Tbh i thought they had more, but they certainly don't have less, so eliminate B and C, think the answer is D).

That said, it's been 4 years since I sat my exam haha!

[nt2387]

Why would you refer to eustress and distress for the second dot point? That was referring to the transactional model of stress and coping? Eustress and distress has nothing to do with that? I was under the impression that you were required to discuss how different forms of primary appraisals and different levels of coping abilities/resources potentially directly impacted the results of the experiment/questionare/whatever it was. Someone tell me if I'm wrong.

Mod Edit: Merged double post + fixed up a quote - Aaron

Eustress and distress are directly related to the primary appraisal stage. Eustress and distress is dependent on the person perceiving a stressor as a harm/loss, challenge, etc.

BTW these are marked holistically and the first and second dot points are fairly similar so I wouldn't worry where you place discussions regarding eustress and distress.

Also, you're right in definitely discussing the evaluation of the stressor and resources available in the second dot point. I've just linked it with eustress and distress for primary appraisal.

[sam_ch]

I wasn't sure about q12, I put C. I thought since the parasympathetic system calmed the body, arousal would be correct, but as for the mood part...

[sam_ch]

Could Q53 be A? The scenario mentions that the cricketer has blonde hair like Phoebe, and we are more likely to pay attention to models that are similar to ourselves. Unless this piece of information is supposed to be a distractor?

Yeah, I thought it could be A too, since we would need to pay attention first for observational learning to occur. As for motivation, I thought that stage was referring to having the motivation to reproduce the action studied