VCE PSYCHOLOGY
REVISION QUESTIONS
OUTCOME 1
Question 1
 Which of the following descriptions of human consciousness
is most accurate?
A. Awareness of the world around us and ourselves, including
thoughts and feelings
B. Knowledge of events taking place in the world
C. Being able to understand and express our thoughts,
feelings and knowledge of the world
D. Awareness of different situations that may cause an altered
state of consciousness
Question 2
 Consciousness is often described as being
A. Selective, continuous and changing
B. Selective, objective and changing
C. Selective, subjective and unchanging
D. Selective, objective and unchanging
Question 3
 Altered states of consciousness
A. Do not occur naturally
B. Are always characterised by high levels of focused,
selective attention
C. Can lead to either a heightening or a dulling of the
senses
D. Cannot occur during sleep
Question 4
 A delta brainwave pattern is characterised by waves of
_________ amplitude and _______ frequency.
A. high, low
B. Low, low
C. Low, high
D. High, high
Question 5
 When delta waves comprise more than 50% of
recorded brain activity, a person has entered Stage
_____ sleep.
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
Question 6
 Which of the following is most likely to be associated
with normal waking consciousness?
A. Coma
B. Selective attention
C. Dreams
D. Insomnia
Question 7
 Which of the following is not an example of normal
waking consciousness?
A. Planning
B. Anticipating
C. Thinking
D. Dreaming
Question 8
 A state of deep relaxation such as meditation is likely to
produce:
A. A lowered heart rate
B. Body tremors
C. An increased galvanic skin response (GSR)
D. A significant increase in body temperature
Question 9
 An alcohol-induced state could be called an altered
state of consciousness because the individual:
A. Would be fully aware of their surroundings
B. Can control the amount of alcohol they drink
C. May be unable to control their emotions
D. Will probably be able to judge time
Question 10
 Which of the following is most likely to rely on
controlled processing?
A. Tapping your pen repeatedly on the desk
B. Listening to background music
C. Washing the dishes
D. Composing an essay
Question 11
 An experienced pilot can attend to the complex task of flying a
larage commercial passenger aircraft while at the same time
conducting conversations with air traffic controllers and a copilot. This is possible because, for the expert, flying the
aircraft is:
A. An automatic process
B. A controlled process
C. A focussed process
D. A divided task process
Question 12
 Sue is sitting at her desk working on some complex
mathematical questions. An electroencephalograph
(EEG) would most likely show _______ brain waves.
A. Alpha
B. Beta
C. Theta
D. Delta
Question 13
 Elizabeth has not slept for the last two days. As a
result she is likely to:
A. Perform well on monotonous tasks
B. Have problems with memory and recall
C. Experience hypnic jerks
D. Perform as usual on interesting or complex tasks
Question 14
 Which of the following statements is true of the sleep
cycle in a typical night’s sleep for an adult?
A. Each cycle lasts for approximately 35 minutes.
B. About 60% of the night is spent in rapid eye movement
(REM) sleep.
C. Periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep get longer
and closer together as the night progresses.
D. Periods of Stage 4 sleep occur more often as the night
progresses.
Question 15
 Most people can talk on the telephone while performing
some tasks, such as ironing clothes or washing dishes
but not other tasks such as reading a book or doing
mathematical calculations. This suggests that:
A. Attention can be divided between complex tasks.
B. Attention can be divided between simple tasks
C. There is no limit to the amount of information a person
can process at the one time.
D. Complex tasks require less focussed attention.
Question
16
 Loula has been knitting for 20 years and often knits while
watching television. While knitting the basic pattern she
mostly uses __________ but knitting a complex patter
mostly involves _____________.
A. Selective attention, focused attention
B. Automatic processing, controlled processing
C. Controlled processing, focused attention
D. Divided attention, automatic processing
Question 17
 Richard, a keen coffee drinker, is in the middle of
making a cup of coffee when the phone rings. He
answers the phone and is able to finish making his cup
of coffee while talking to his friend on the
speakerphone. For Richard, making the cup of coffee
can be considered:
A. An automatic process, because it was completed with
minimal awareness and did not interfere with the other
task.
B. A controlled process, because it was completed with
minimal awareness and did not interfere with the other
task
C. An automatic process, because it involved alert
awareness and mental effort
D. A controlled process, because it involved alert
awareness and mental effort
Question 18
 Ian enjoys playing the computer game SuperRace
2000. He plays the game a lot and often achieves high
scores. Brett rarely plays computer games. Both Ian
and Brett attempt to play the game while talking on the
telephone. ________ performance is less likely to be
affected because playing this computer game is a(n)
_________________ process.
A. Ian’s, automated
B. Brett’s, automated
C. Ian’s, controlled
D. Brett’s, controlled
Question 19
 Gerard is in an altered state of consciousness. He reports
that his pain threshold is significantly lower compared with
his pain threshold, during his normal waking state. This
difference is best explained by:
A. A reduction in signals from the pain receptors.
B. A perceptual distortion
C. Changes in self control
D. Changes in emotional feelings
Question 20
 Selective attention occurs when a person:
A. Concentrates on one task while ignoring others
B. Divides their attention between two or more tasks
C. Is carrying out only one task and this is automatic
D. Is not highly focused on any particular task
Question 21
 Max is able to drive his car, listen to a conversation on the
radio, and work out his travelling direction. He can do this
efficiently and all at the one time. This is an example of
which aspect of consciousness?
A. Selective attention
B. Focused attention
C. Divided attention
D. Concentrated attention
Question 22
 A characteristic of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is
that:
A. The person dreams only during this stage of sleep
B. The brainwave pattern resembles the pattern of an
awake and alert individual
C. The person does not dream and the brainwave pattern
resembles that of an awake and relaxed individual.
D. The person may be dreaming and their muscles often
move.
Question 23
 Which of the following methods is unlikely to be used to
determine different states of consciousness?
A. Self-report
B. Computerised tomography (CT) scan
C. Heart rate
D. Body temperature
Question 24
 Adrienne is completing a test. During the task, Adrienne has
thoughts about the part-time work roster her employer
changed recently, the party she is attending the next day, and
the prospect of getting her Learner’s Permit next week. What
is the best way of describing her state of consciousness?
A. Normal waking consciousness
B. Altered state of consciousness
C. Focused state of consciousness
D. Selective state of consciousness
Question 25
 Some friends are having a sleepover. It is midnight but
Julie is still very excited and chatty. Yasmin, however, is
very tired and about to fall asleep. Sasha has already
been asleep for 30 minutes. Of these three girls, it is
most likely that at the moment ___________ will have
the highest frequency brain waves, and _____________
will have the highest amplitude brain waves.
A. Sasha, Julie
B. Yasmin, Sasha
C. Sasha, Yasmin
D. Julie, Sasha
Question 26
 A number of physiological measures can be used to
study states of consciousness. Physiological measures
that are commonly used include:
A. Electroencephalograph, self-reports, blood pressure
B. Galvanic skin response, body temperature, heart rate
C. Glucose absorption in the brain, blood pressure,
electromyogram
D. Heart rate, electroencephalogram, CT scan
Question 27
 The galvanic skin response (GSR):
A. Measures sweat
B. Measures body temperature
C. Measures electrical conductivity of the skin
D. Causes electrical conductivity in the skin
Question 28
 Research into sleep patterns indicates that the number
of episodes spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
per night is typically around:
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four to five
D. Seven to eight
Question 29
 During which stage of sleep would you expect to find
delta waves starting to appear?
A. Stage 1
B. Stage 2
C. Stage 3
D. Stage 4
Question 30
 As a person changes from being alert to a drowsy
state, the brain waves will __________ in frequency
and ____________ in amplitude.
A. increase, decrease
B. Increase, increase
C. Decrease, increase
D. Decrease, decrease
Question 31
 Hypnic jerks are:
A. More commonly known as sleep spindles
B. More likely to occur in REM sleep
C. An indicator that a person is dreaming
D. More likely to occur in Stage 1 sleep
Question 32
 A sleep researcher was interested in monitoring a
range of physiological activities of a group of
participants during various stages of sleep. Which one
of the following outcomes is the researcher likely to
find?
A. The participants’ metabolic rates (energy consumption)
increased as they slept and fell as they awoke.
B. The participants’ hormonal levels in the blood incrased
as they slept and fell as they awoke
C. The participants fell asleep when their body
temperature increased and awoke as it dropped
D. The participants fell asleep when their body
temperature dropped and awoke as it increased
Question 33
 The pattern of EEG waves present when someone is
awake and alert is characterised by ________ waves.
A. Alpha
B. Beta
C. Theta
D. Delta
Question 34
 Sleep spindles are typically characterised by:
A. Brief bursts of high amplitude
B. Brief bursts of high frequency
C. A single surge of high amplitude
D. A single surge of high frequency
Question 35
 Stage 1 sleep primarily consists of:
A. Alpha and theta waves
B. Beta and theta waves
C. Beta and alpha waves
D. Alpha and delta waves
Question 36
 Which brainwave patterns are associated with light
sleep?
A. Theta
B. Alpha
C. Delta
D. Mixture of alpha and beta
Question 37
 Dreams usually occur:
A. If you go to sleep feeling anxious or tense
B. During the occurrence of REM sleep
C. During light sleep
D. During NREM sleep
Question 38
 Dreams in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep:
A. Tend to be short-lived compared to REM dreams
B. Tend to be longer compared to REM dreams
C. Tend to be more vivid compared to REM dreams
D. Do not occur
Question 39
 According to most sleep experts, the most effective
way to treat insomnia is:
A. Medication
B. Dietary and lifestyle changes
C. Going to a sleep clinic
D. Staying awake for extremely long periods of time
Question 40
 During the first few weeks of life it has been found that babies
spend:
A. More time asleep than adults, but about the same proportion
of time in REM and non-REM sleep as adults.
B. About 16-18 hours asleep and about 50% of this time in
REM sleep
C. About 16-18 hours asleep but only about 10% of this time in
REM sleep
D. About 16-18 hours in REM sleep. Non-REM sleep does not
develop until late in the first year.
Question 41
 Generally, during REM sleep
A. Virtually no electrical activity in eye muscles can be
detected
B. Large amounts of electrical activity can be detected in
leg muscles
C. Most skeletal muscles are relaxed
D. Small muscles of the face are tense
Question 42
 Rosalie is a newborn baby and her grandmother, Vera, is 65 years
old. Which of the following statements about their sleep patterns
is most likely to be correct?
A. Rosalie sleeps on average 8 hours; Vera sleeps on average 4
hours
B. Rosalie sleeps on average 15 hours, Vera sleeps on average 10
hours
C. Rosalie undergoes about 50% of her sleep in REM, Vera
undergoes about 20% of her sleep in REM
D. Rosalie undergoes about 20% of her sleep in REM, era
undergoes about 50% of her sleep in REM
Question 43
 Studies of individuals involved in sleep deprivation
generally report that changes in their ability to function in
normal waking consciousness start to occur after about
______ days, and usually involves the inability to
complete ______________ tasks.
A. Three, simple
B. Ten, complex
C. Ten, simple
D. Three, complex
Question 44
 Sam’s employment involves shiftwork. He finds it
difficult to get adequate sleep and is often tired. As a
result, he
A. Often experiences hallucinations
B. Finds it difficult to complete complex tasks
C. Finds it difficult to complete simple tasks
D. Is more emotionally stable than usual
Question 45
 Which one of the following statements most accurately
expresses the philosopher Rene Descartes’ view of
consciousness?
A. The mind and the body are physically distinct entities and do
not interact
B. The mind and the body are physically distinct entities that
are intertwined
C. The mind is a psychological creation of the brain and the
body
D. The mind is an outcome of the neural activity of the brain
Question 46
 Most psychological scientists today view consciousness
as:
A. A form of dualism with the mind and body being
spearate but interrelated
B. An outcome of the activity of different parts of the mind
separate from the brain
C. A consequence of the activation of neurons in different
parts of the brain
D. A state of mind that serves no useful purpose.
Question 47
 After going without sleep for 4 days, a person is most
likely to
A. Find it very difficult to get to sleep
B. Suffer long term physiological effects
C. Sleep for 24 hours or more
D. Suffer no long term psychological effects
Question 48
 Lachlan works in a fruit processing factory. His job is simply to
look for fruit with marked skins and put them in a separate crate. If
he has gone without sleep for several days, he is most likely to:
A. Continue working efficiently as the task is not difficult
B. Sort the fruit as efficiently as usual but not listen as carefully to
instructions.
C. Make more mistakes than usual in checking the fruit for marked
skins
D. Work faster than usual as he is concentrating more because he
knows he is tired.
Question 49
 A researcher was investigating the effects of sleep deprivation. The
participants were deprived of sleep for a period of seven days. Which of the
following statements would best describe the findings of the investigation?
A. Sleep deprivation had no psychological effects on the participants.
B. Some of the participants suffered severe physical effects for several weeks
following the sleep deprivation.
C. After sleep deprivation, participants found it difficult to perform complex tasks
but were able to perform more simple tasks successfully.
D. After sleep deprivation, participants found it difficult to perform simple tasks
but were able to perform more complex tasks successfully.
Question 50
 The electrooculogram (EOG) detects, amplifies and records:
A. Movement of the eyes
B. Electrical activity in the muscles that are part of the iris
C. Electrical activity in the muscles responsible for controlling
eye movements.
D. Muscle tension in the muscles that are part of the iris.
Question 51
 Which of one of the following statements is correct about the
progressive changes in cleep that occur throughout the
sleep cycle?
A. More time is spent in REM sleep and less time in NREM
sleep
B. More time is spent in NREM sleep and less time in REM
sleep
C. Dream time gets progressively less and less
D. More time is spent in deep sleep and less time in light
sleep.
Question 52
 Dr. Vogel is studying the effects of caffeine on behaviour.
She sleep deprives 30 first year university students for 24
hours before the experiment begins. She divides her
participants into two groups of 15 by picking their names out
of a hat.
Experimental Group – The 15 students in the experimental
group are given a capsule containing a dose of caffeine
equivalent to five cups of strong coffee.
Control Group – The other group is given an apparently
identical capsule containing powdered sugar only.
The students are then tested on their ability to perform a
number of complex arithmetic problems.
 The independent variable of the experiment is:
A. Mental alertness
B. Hours of sleep deprivation
C. Amount of caffeine consumed
D. Performance on complex arithmetic problems
Question 53
 The dependent variable of the experiment is:
A. Mental alertness
B. Hours of sleep deprivation
C. Amount of caffeine consumed
D. Performance on complex arithmetic problems
Question 54
 A confounding variable that was not controlled in the
study may have been the
A. Gender of the participants
B. Education of the participants
C. Level of fatigue of the participants
D. Amount of caffeine consumed by the participants
Question 55
 The placebo control participants received __________
while the experimental participants received
______________
A. Caffeine, powdered sugar
B. Powdered sugar, caffeine
C. Complex problems, simple problems
D. Simple problems, complex problems
Question 56
 What design was used in Dr. Vogel’s study?
A. Correlational
B. Matched subjects
C. Independent groups
D. Repeated measures
Question 57
 Which of the following procedures could best improve
Dr. Vogel’s study?
A. Single blind
B. Double blind
C. Random sample
D. Placebo controlled
Question 58
 In which of the following types of research study does
the experimenter have the most control over the
participants?
A. In-depth interview
B. Correlational study
C. Experimental study
D. Naturalistic observation
Question 59
 An experimenter tested the effect of different levels of
interference on the recall of details following a reading task.
All participants were first tested in a quiet room free of
distractions and then in a very noisy room.
 The independent variable in this experiment was:
A. The number of participants
B. The number of errors participants made when tested on
their reading
C. The quiet or noisy room conditions
D. The number of pages read in the quiet and noisy conditions
Question 60
 The experimental design used in this study was:
A. Repeated measures design
B. Matched participants design
C. Independent groups design
D. Placebo control design
Question 61
 University psychology students are often used as
participants in experiments. As they will have learned quite
a lot of psychological knowledge they may try to figure out
the hypothesis that an experiment is trying to test. If this
influences their behaviour, the results of the study could be
biased by:
A. Treatment effects
B. Participant effects
C. Experiment effects
D. A placebo effect
Question 62
 A psychologist has devised a new technique that is
designed to alleviate the feeling of stress and induces
sleep. She sets up two conditions. The experimental
condition involves being taught the technique while the
control condition does not. To minimise the effects of
individual differences between the participants in each
condition, which research design could the
psychologist use?
A. Independent groups design
B. Matched participants design
C. Between subjects design
D. Counterbalancing design
Question 63
 When obtaining informed consent from prospective
participants, the psychologist must
A. Tell the participants of any risks involved in the study.
B. Coerce the participants to become involved in the study
C. Debrief the participants after the study
D. Allow participants to withdraw from the study at any time.
Question 64
 While carrying out an experiment, the psychologist
unintentionally encouraged the experimental group to
perform well. The psychologist’s influence on the
participants confounded the results and is known as
the
A. Participant effect
B. Experimenter effect
C. Bias effect
D. Random allocation effect
Question 65
 To overcome the problem outlined previously, the
psychologist could
A. Employ a research assistant, who is unaware which
group the participants are in, to collect the results
B. Make sure the participants do not know which group
they are allocated to
C. Include a placebo group
D. Use a stratified sampling technique
Question 66
 In a repeated measures design
A. Different participants are used in both the control and
experimental conditions
B. The same participants are used in both the control and
experimental conditions
C. Different participants with similar characteristics are
used in both the control and experimental conditions
D. The same participants are used in one trial of both the
control and experimental conditions and different
participants are then used in subsequent trials.
Question 67
 A limitation of a matched-participants design, when
compared with an independent groups design, is that
A. The results can only be generalised to a very small
population because the participants all have the same
participant variables
B. The results will be the same for both groups because
the participants all have the same participant variables
C. Order effects may occur
D. Matching participant variables can be time consuming