VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[tiredandstressed]

Hi everyone.

I'm a bit confused by multiple-choice question 50 in the 2019 exam. I picked C but the answer was A. Why would a small sample size be better in this case? Isn't a large sample size better to use for increased reliability of results and such?

Thank you!

Definitely a more challenging question, but the sample size wasn't what would lead you to the correct answer, it is the data collection method.
To obtain rich descriptive qualitative data interviews would be more appropriate not a questionnaire this is because
-Questionnaires provide an option of answers NOT a free response (hence why questionnaires can lead to quantitative data)
- Thus, to understand what living with a mental illness is like, a questionnaire is not appropriate, as mental health is subjective and is unique to the individual, thus stronger data would include interview answers that allow for personal responses justifying their personal experience of mental illness
Therefore A was the correct answer, had both A and C had 'interviews' then yes C would be better, but in this case, the data collection method was more important than the sample size.
I encourage you to review different data collection methods (and their pros and cons)
This question tested students specific knowledge on the type of data appropriate for mental illness research 

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

In cross sectional studies, is age the IV?

[lm21074]

In cross sectional studies, is age the IV?

If that is the variable of interest, yes. The variable in cross-sectional studies doesn't have to be age. It can be things like attitudes, occupation, cultural background, location, etc.

For example, a cross-sectional study could be on the effects of exposure to a natural disaster on mental health.


Hope this helps

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

Major stress vs catastrophe?

I was taught they were synonymous with each other but a practise exam (from a company- maybe I should be wary?) asked me for the difference between both.


What do you guys think?

[lm21074]

I think the main difference between them is the scale of each / how many people they affect.

- catastrophes are events that cause widespread damage (e.g. natural disasters). They tend to impact entire communities and beyond.
- major stressors are events that are extraordinarily stressful to almost everyone who experiences them. Events like natural disasters can be major stressors, but when it comes to catastrophes, the focus is widespread and on the impact of large numbers of people, if that makes sense?

Would love to hear the thoughts of others on this!

[wasabi]

My understanding is that catastrophes affect entire communities (like lm21074 said), but major stressors are events that are stressful for anyone who experiences it - such as being a victim of a crime, the death of a loved one, etc.

Some events could be catergorised as multiple things, e.g. death of loved one can be major stress and life event, natural disasters can be major stress and catastrophe

Hope this helps !

[as2002]

Hi could someone explain the SAM pathway and HPA axis? As in what is the order of each because I've been seeing different variations. Thanks

[amanaazim]

hey so i have some questions i want clarifying when i was doing the QATS 2020 Psychology exam my teacher gave me.

MCQ 1 . An AFL Player has received a three week ban from playing matches from the tribunal after inflicting 'dangerous contact' towards another player. This player has been conditioned through

options were

a) vicarious punishment
b) positive punishment (i chose this answer but it was wrong)
c) negative punishment ( correct answer)
d) positive reinforcement

So i dont understand why c would be the correct option as first of all there is no such thing as negative punishment and if that meant it was another term for response cost , i dont understand how it would be response cost. is it because your banning someone from playing the match . That makes sense but if i were to make it a punishment question how could i have done that ?

MCQ 2. which of the following is NOT associated with rem sleep

a) accelerated respiration rate
b) lower limbic system activity (correct answer)
c) muscle relaxation (my answer)
d) dreaming

i dont understand how is it option b , need explanation. and doesnt muscles relax in NREM as that is its job to relax the body and its muscles organs and glands

MCQ 3. A very short period of drowsiness or sleeping that occurs while the person is awake is likely to occur

a) the day after sleep loss (my answer)
b) during REM Sleep
c) After three or four sleepless days (correct answer)
d) During NREM Sleep

Wont you still be drowsy and sleepy after one day of total sleep deprivation so why isn't option a the answer and c is ?

[tiredandstressed]

hey so i have some questions i want clarifying when i was doing the QATS 2020 Psychology exam my teacher gave me.

MCQ 1 . An AFL Player has received a three week ban from playing matches from the tribunal after inflicting 'dangerous contact' towards another player. This player has been conditioned through

options were

a) vicarious punishment
b) positive punishment (i chose this answer but it was wrong)
c) negative punishment ( correct answer)
d) positive reinforcement

So i dont understand why c would be the correct option as first of all there is no such thing as negative punishment and if that meant it was another term for response cost , i dont understand how it would be response cost. is it because your banning someone from playing the match . That makes sense but if i were to make it a punishment question how could i have done that ?

MCQ 2. which of the following is NOT associated with rem sleep

a) accelerated respiration rate
b) lower limbic system activity (correct answer)
c) muscle relaxation (my answer)
d) dreaming

i dont understand how is it option b , need explanation. and doesnt muscles relax in NREM as that is its job to relax the body and its muscles organs and glands

MCQ 3. A very short period of drowsiness or sleeping that occurs while the person is awake is likely to occur

a) the day after sleep loss (my answer)
b) during REM Sleep
c) After three or four sleepless days (correct answer)
d) During NREM Sleep

Wont you still be drowsy and sleepy after one day of total sleep deprivation so why isn't option a the answer and c is ?

MCQ 1 is negative punishment (response cost)
Because its is the removal of a desirable stimulus (ban from playing matches) this will decrease the likelihood of the player of acting with 'dangerous behaviour'
Positive punishment: is the delivery of an undesirable stimulus this is not seen in MCQ 1
MCQ 2 is lower limbic system activity, the purpose of rem sleep is to replenish the mind (which will induce muscle relaxation) not lower limb activity.
this question has poor answer options, I would not expect this in a VCCA exam
MCQ 3 After three or four sleepless days
The accumulation of sleepless days results in a sleep debt which can lead to a period of drowsiness (micro sleep)
Again a poorly worded question, VCCA would choose more explicit answer options

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

Hi could someone explain the SAM pathway and HPA axis? As in what is the order of each because I've been seeing different variations. Thanks

Hi!

SAM is the polysnaptic reflex arc during the spinal reflex:
Sensory Receptor
Afferent neurons
Motor neurons

Sensory receptors receive sensory information from external environment then Afferent (sensory) neurons transmit this information via spinal cord to interneuron in spinal cord. Interneuron then communicates to motor neuron which transmits motor signals to efferent sites allowing for coordination of involuntary (Is that correct involuntary or voluntary?)skeletal movement.

The HPA axis is like explaining how stress hormones are released during the FFF response.

Hypothalamus is activated (I think it receives distress signal from amygdala) and stimulates the adrenal gland which releases the hormone ATHC which stimulates the adrenal glands to release adrenaline,noradrenaline and cortisol into the blood stream.

I’m a year 12 so I’d love to see what more experience people think too! Hope this helped 

[vehura]

Hi could someone explain the SAM pathway and HPA axis? As in what is the order of each because I've been seeing different variations. Thanks

In terms of stress, the SAM pathway (sympathetic-adrenomedullary system) and the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis are biological functions that are both activated during different stages of the stress response. However, they are not massive parts of the study design, and besides potentially the extended response, I doubt that VCAA will assess you directly on these concepts.

The SAM pathway describes how the sympathetic nervous system initiates the fight-flight response in response to a stressor. When the body perceives a stressor, the hypothalamus signals to the sympathetic nervous system to activate. The sympathetic nervous system then communicates to the adrenal medulla, which is the inner part of the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands then secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline, which you might have learnt are the stress hormones which increase energy and arousal in the body. This thus is the activation of the fight-flight response.

The HPA axis is typically activated during the resistance stage of the GAS model after the stressor has been prolonged and the body cannot maintain the fight-flight response. This involves the release of cortisol as a stress hormone which increases the body's energy levels and equips it to continue to deal with the stress. After the body detects the prolonging of the stress, the hypothalamus stimulates/activates the pituitary gland, which is located in the brain nearby to the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland then secretes a hormone known as ACTH into the bloodstream. ACTH travels through the body and communicates to the adrenal glands, which is then stimulated to secrete stress hormones called corticosteroids, the primary hormone released being cortisol. Once a certain level of cortisol has been reached in the body, it signals to the pituitary gland, which then signals to the hypothalamus to be switched off.

This is all really biological and isn't, again, a major part of the study design, so you don't need to know how to describe it in detail. However, it's interesting to know how it functions.  If you need clarification on any part of this, let me know.

[tigerclouds]

Hey there, I'm a bit confused with reconstruction as a method of retrieval. Is it different from the reconstructive nature of memory according to Loftus' research? If so, how? I don't understand how it applies to question 19 from the 2019 exam and other scenarios where you have to rearrange a pattern.

Another question: what exactly is the link between the amygdala and adrenaline during the consolidation of emotional memories? I'm confused between the role of adrenaline and noradrenaline in this process. And does the amygdala actually consolidate the memories or does it assist the hippocampus in doing this?

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

Hey there, I'm a bit confused with reconstruction as a method of retrieval. Is it different from the reconstructive nature of memory according to Loftus' research? If so, how? I don't understand how it applies to question 19 from the 2019 exam and other scenarios where you have to rearrange a pattern.

Another question: what exactly is the link between the amygdala and adrenaline during the consolidation of emotional memories? I'm confused between the role of adrenaline and noradrenaline in this process. And does the amygdala actually consolidate the memories or does it assist the hippocampus in doing this?

The amygdala is responsible for the encoding and consolidation of emotionally arousing memories. But it can also enhance the hippo campuses formation and consolidation of the explicit memories attached to the emotionally arousing memories.

According to VCAA adrenaline released during FFF response stimulates release of noradrenaline which stimulates the amygdala (according to the 2017 examiners report at least so this is a safe explanation I guess).

Adrenaline enhances the consolidation and encoding of emotionally arousing memories. Which is why stuff is more vivid if you were really scared or excited at the time.

I only did the 2019 exam today and haven’t marked it but I picked recognition so I’ll come back and tell you 

[uwuuu]

The 2019 Q19 was a highly disputed question amongst vcaa examiners, they justified that it was because that rearranging of the photographs are in a way "reconstructing" Bruce's memory to repoduce the photographs to form a coherent sequence of the photgraphs which relates to the reconstuctive nature of memory that was found by Loftus' research. I was also confused by this question as many textbooks have discreptancies to the phenomenon of "reconstruction"

The role of adrenaline is to enhances the consolidation of emotional arousing experiences into LTM. During the flight-fright-freeze response, the sympathetic nervous system is predominatly activated, the emotional arousal causes adrenaline released from adrenal glands and induces the release of noradrenaline in the amygdala. which stimulates the action of the amygala to form the emotional memory and signals the hippocampus that the event is significant to be consolidated into long term, explicit memory. In other words, the amygala is responsible for the formation of emotional memories which is consolidated by the hippocampus. I hope that helps

[tigerclouds]

Thanks guys!