VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[sarangiya]

Okay great, that's what I put  The answers said acetylcholine, which I guess makes sense because reduced levels are associated with Alzheimers. This question was from 2016 though.

Wow where from??
I don't remember ACh being in the previous study design.

[rani_b]

Wow where from??
I don't remember ACh being in the previous study design.

TSSM unit 3 2016 exam 

[sarangiya]

TSSM unit 3 2016 exam 

It's not mentioned explicitly but there was definitely Alzheimer's.
Maybe I've got memory loss!! haha

[gary123]

Hello, I need clarification with validity and reliability as I can't really nail down how to determine the extent of each one in a given scenario. Here is a research scenario from Jacaranda:
For her extended VCE Psychology practical investigation, Amelia decided to investigate encoding in short-term memory. She used a random sample of 30 students from a cohort of 150 Year 10 students at her school.
Two lists of monosyllabic words were read out to participants in the investigation:
•   List 1 – key, pea, ski, flea, tea, bee, knee, tree, sea (monosyllabic words that rhyme)
•   List 2 – sock, bean, stick, ant, milk, fly, leg, leaf, sand (monosyllabic words that do notrhyme)
All 30 participants listened to two readings of the words in List 1 and were then given two minutes to write down the words that they recalled. Next, they all listened to two readings of the words in List 2 and were then given two minutes to write down the words that they recalled.

There were two questions asking about validity and reliability(2 marks each). For validity I wrote the definition correct but in the scenario I wrote that validity is the extent of amount of time taken to do the puzzle was actually due to the IV which was not marked correct. My teacher wrote 'How do you know time taken to complete puzzle seems valid in objectively measuring concentration skills'. tbh I don't know how it is actually 'valid' as well so I need help on that. For reliability I wrote the definition and then wrote wether results will be consistent or same in different experimental conditions or if other experimenters used different items. Another mark taken off, I looked at the solutions and I sorta understand reliability but need help with validity in particular.
Thanks!

[sarangiya]

Hello, I need clarification with validity and reliability as I can't really nail down how to determine the extent of each one in a given scenario. Here is a research scenario from Jacaranda:
For her extended VCE Psychology practical investigation, Amelia decided to investigate encoding in short-term memory. She used a random sample of 30 students from a cohort of 150 Year 10 students at her school.
Two lists of monosyllabic words were read out to participants in the investigation:
•   List 1 – key, pea, ski, flea, tea, bee, knee, tree, sea (monosyllabic words that rhyme)
•   List 2 – sock, bean, stick, ant, milk, fly, leg, leaf, sand (monosyllabic words that do notrhyme)
All 30 participants listened to two readings of the words in List 1 and were then given two minutes to write down the words that they recalled. Next, they all listened to two readings of the words in List 2 and were then given two minutes to write down the words that they recalled.

There were two questions asking about validity and reliability(2 marks each). For validity I wrote the definition correct but in the scenario I wrote that validity is the extent of amount of time taken to do the puzzle was actually due to the IV which was not marked correct. My teacher wrote 'How do you know time taken to complete puzzle seems valid in objectively measuring concentration skills'. tbh I don't know how it is actually 'valid' as well so I need help on that. For reliability I wrote the definition and then wrote wether results will be consistent or same in different experimental conditions or if other experimenters used different items. Another mark taken off, I looked at the solutions and I sorta understand reliability but need help with validity in particular.
Thanks!

Validity - does the experiment test the relationship between IV and DV?
I don't understand... is the puzzle you refer to a different scenario? Are still talking about the Jacaranda prompt?
Having few extraneous variables contributes positively to validity, because you know the IV is isolated in making changes in the DV (therefore the test of the IV on the DV is true, not affected by other variables that aren't the IV). Is it a good design to test one against the other? Validity also refers to the ability to be generalised. Are the results valid for people in the past? People of a different age group? A different culture/ethnicity? This is rare to see in a VCE context.

Reliability - does the test give the same results time and time again?
You can have reliability within the experiment itself. For example, if you refer to your above scenario, it would have poor reliability if the word list changed each time, or if one list was allowed to be recalled over 3 minutes, but the other over 2. It wouldn't be consistent, and would give different results each time - not a reliable measure. You can also have external reliability. This is a measure of the experiment itself - if the experiment was run again by someone else, would they get similar results? If they would (e.g. the method is easy to follow, the trials are consistent measures), then there is a high level of reliability. If each time the test was re-run the results were different, it is not a reliable tool for testing whatever you're trying to. Inter-rater reliability was also mentioned in the previous study design, and refers to when 'raters' (basically assessors of the experiment) predict what is going to happen. If their perceptions/predictions are accurate, your test is probably reliable. If not, it probably isn't. For example, if you said that the DV is 'violent behaviour' - some raters might only think that a kick (but not a kick) is violent, while others might think a punch is violent. In that case, you can improve reliability by operationalising or objectifying your DV ("violent behaviour" -> number of times bodily contact was made in any form)

The reason why "results will be consistent or same in different experimental conditions or if other experimenters used different items" is not correct is because if you change the experimental conditions or different items, how is that meant to show consistency? E.g. if one experiment showed that 15/20 words could be remembered on average when given two minutes to recall, and another showed an average of 17/20 for five minutes to recall, how are they testing the same thing? How does that show that your method is reliable when you actually change it? Using different items is the same deal. Let's say one experiment used monosyllabic words (rhymed) vs. monosyllabic words (not rhymed), and another used polysyllabic words (rhyme) vs. non-rhymed, then you aren't testing rhyme vs. non-rhyme, you're comparing monosyllabic vs. polysyllabic, which has nothing to do with your topic.
Sorry, I think that's confusing but I hope you get what I mean.

Idk I hope that helped a bit. If you could clear up the puzzle thing I can update my answer. Good luck

[gary123]

sht i copy pasted the wrong scenario i feel so stupid lol sorry. Heres the correct one

Denise, an educational psychologist, was interested in studying the effects of distractors on concentration of VCE students. Denise works at Beachside Secondary College, a coeducational secondary school.

There are 200 VCE students at the college,100 students in Year 11 and 100 students in Year 12.Both year levels comprise 60% males
and 40% females, aged between 16 and 17.5 yearsold.

Denise randomly sampled 20VCE  students at her school. The 20 VCE students were matched on IQ levels andone member of each pair were then randomly allocated into Group 1 and Group 2.
Denise obtained informedconsent.

Denise used a research assistant to help conduct the experiment .For Group 1,the research assistant gave participants
a logic puzzle to complete with no background distraction. For Group 2 the research assistant gave participants the logic puzzle and asked them to complete it while loud instrumental music was played.

The research assistant recorded the time taken to complete the puzzle.

The following results were obtained.
Mean time taken to complete puzzle
Group 1 -13.4 min (no background noise)
Group 2 - 16.01 min ( background noise)
SORRY again btw thanks for clarifying I sorta have the grasp of them now

[sarangiya]

sht i copy pasted the wrong scenario i feel so stupid lol sorry. Heres the correct one

Denise, an educational psychologist, was interested in studying the effects of distractors on concentration of VCE students. Denise works at Beachside Secondary College, a coeducational secondary school.

There are 200 VCE students at the college,100 students in Year 11 and 100 students in Year 12.Both year levels comprise 60% males
and 40% females, aged between 16 and 17.5 yearsold.

Denise randomly sampled 20VCE  students at her school. The 20 VCE students were matched on IQ levels andone member of each pair were then randomly allocated into Group 1 and Group 2.
Denise obtained informedconsent.

Denise used a research assistant to help conduct the experiment .For Group 1,the research assistant gave participants
a logic puzzle to complete with no background distraction. For Group 2 the research assistant gave participants the logic puzzle and asked them to complete it while loud instrumental music was played.

The research assistant recorded the time taken to complete the puzzle.

The following results were obtained.
Mean time taken to complete puzzle
Group 1 -13.4 min (no background noise)
Group 2 - 16.01 min ( background noise)
SORRY again btw thanks for clarifying I sorta have the grasp of them now

Lol all good! I'm glad you got a grasp of them. I took me ages to finally understand them.

For this scenario I think your validity would be indicated by:
• Matched participant (controlling for IQ variable = less extraneous variables = more valid)
• double blind procedure (use of assistance = reducing experimentor bias = less extraneous variables = more valid)
• maybe the whole stratified random sample etc makes it generalisation-able-ish? Which suggests validity. Also the strata reduce participant variables as well I think
Tbh I don't really know what your teacher meant either. Like, sure, it is hard to tell whether the longer the time taken = the less concentrated the students. But it annoys me that there's no suggestion on how to fix it. Oh well. Id go with the extraneous variables stuff ... If anyone has better ideas m(_ _)m lol

For reliability:
• using same logic puzzle for group 1 and 2 (same conditions = consistent = same results every time)
• retest (hypothetically if the test was run again >> same results = reliable, weird results = not so reliable )

I think reliability is a bit harder. I could only think of the puzzles for internal reliability and out of interrater and restesting for external the retest seemed better.

Let me know how you get on. Good luck

[rani_b]

Why is jet lag considered a sleep disorder and not a sleep disturbance? I thought one of the criteria for something to be a sleep disorder was that it had to regularly disturb sleep?

[sarangiya]

Why is jet lag considered a sleep disorder and not a sleep disturbance? I thought one of the criteria for something to be a sleep disorder was that it had to regularly disturb sleep?

According to the texbook:

The term sleep disturbance is used to refer to any sleep-related problem that disrupts an individual’s normal sleep–wake cycle, including problems with sleep onset, waking from sleep and abnormal behaviour occurring during sleep. The disruption may be temporary, occasional or persistent. If a sleep disturbance regularly disrupts sleep, causing distress or impairment in important areas of everyday life during normal waking hours, then it is usually referred to as a sleep disorder. This means that sleep disorders are generally considered serious disturbances to the normal sleep–wake cycle (American Academy of Sleep Medicine [AASM], 2014a; APA, 2013)

Jetlag may not affect the individual for months or years, but it can have a significant effect for days or perhaps even weeks. It also "disrupts sleep, causing distress or impairment in important areas of everyday life during normal waking hours" because people with jetlag may sleep during normal waking hours which affects their ability to function socially and productively. It may also be "considered serious disturbances to the normal sleep–wake cycle" because it is "a mismatch between the individuals cycle and the day-night cycle of their physical environment", which makes it a circadian rhythm phase disorder.
I kind of agree with you that I think jet lag is probably one of the less severe sleep disorders, but I guess we have to accept it as a sleep disorder because it consistently occurs (can be induced by travel?), can last for days/weeks, interrupts the individual's functioning and may result in distress. That's probably a little bit more serious than a sleep disturbance (e.g. just a bad's night sleep from being too hot).

[rani_b]

According to the texbook:
Jetlag may not affect the individual for months or years, but it can have a significant effect for days or perhaps even weeks. It also "disrupts sleep, causing distress or impairment in important areas of everyday life during normal waking hours" because people with jetlag may sleep during normal waking hours which affects their ability to function socially and productively. It may also be "considered serious disturbances to the normal sleep–wake cycle" because it is "a mismatch between the individuals cycle and the day-night cycle of their physical environment", which makes it a circadian rhythm phase disorder.
I kind of agree with you that I think jet lag is probably one of the less severe sleep disorders, but I guess we have to accept it as a sleep disorder because it consistently occurs (can be induced by travel?), can last for days/weeks, interrupts the individual's functioning and may result in distress. That's probably a little bit more serious than a sleep disturbance (e.g. just a bad's night sleep from being too hot).

Thank you - that helped so much (As per usual! )

[Olivia.kelson]

Why can sleep be described as both a circadian and an ultradian rhythm?

[Bri MT]

Why can sleep be described as both a circadian and an ultradian rhythm?

Your sleep wake cycle is constrained to 24 hours,  which makes it a circadian cycle.

Changing between REM and NREM occurs in a cycle that takes less than 24 hours,  therefore it's ultraradian

[rani_b]

Hey everyone..

When talking about the adolescent sleep-wake cycle (delayed sleep phase syndrome), the Jac textbook says "during adolescence, there is a hormonally induced shift of the sleep-wake cycle forward by about 1 to 2 hours."

When talking about advanced sleep phase syndrome, the textbook says "older people tend to become sleepier in the early evening and wake earlier in the morning" so "the sleep-wake cycle is shifted forward...."

Now I thought that doesn't really make sense, because they are opposite in nature so how can both be described as shifting forward?

Then when talking about bright light therapy to treat circadian rhythm phase disorders, the textbook then says to treat delayed sleep phase disorder, "light exposure takes place during early morning" to "shift the phase forward." This makes sense if the initial movement was backwards, further into the night - but as I wrote above, the textbook says the initial movement was forward.  And for advanced sleep phase disorder, it says "light exposure takes place early at night" to "shift the phase backward.

Basically, I am just confused as to which direction the adolescent sleep-wake cycle shifts: forward or backward? And advanced sleep phase syndrome? Help would be appreciated!

[Bri MT]

Hey everyone..

When talking about the adolescent sleep-wake cycle (delayed sleep phase syndrome), the Jac textbook says "during adolescence, there is a hormonally induced shift of the sleep-wake cycle forward by about 1 to 2 hours."

When talking about advanced sleep phase syndrome, the textbook says "older people tend to become sleepier in the early evening and wake earlier in the morning" so "the sleep-wake cycle is shifted forward...."

Now I thought that doesn't really make sense, because they are opposite in nature so how can both be described as shifting forward?

Then when talking about bright light therapy to treat circadian rhythm phase disorders, the textbook then says to treat delayed sleep phase disorder, "light exposure takes place during early morning" to "shift the phase forward." This makes sense if the initial movement was backwards, further into the night - but as I wrote above, the textbook says the initial movement was forward.  And for advanced sleep phase disorder, it says "light exposure takes place early at night" to "shift the phase backward.

Basically, I am just confused as to which direction the adolescent sleep-wake cycle shifts: forward or backward? And advanced sleep phase syndrome? Help would be appreciated!

Adolescents tend to have delayed sleep onset, and go to sleep later

Elderly people tend to have earlier sleep onset (and also sleep less)


In advanced sleep phase syndrome there is advanced sleep onset, that is, sleep onset occurs earlier


Hope this helps

[rani_b]

Hope this helps

Thanks for the fast reply! I understand the concept, but I just wanted to get a grasp on the terminology. So adolescents get sleepier later, and wake up later so their sleep-wake cycle is shifted backward (further into the night)? And elderly people get sleepier earlier, so their sleep-wake cycle is shifted forward (earlier into the night)?