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TRIAL EXAMINATION
VCE PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT 3
ASSESSMENT GUIDE
Question 1
Which of the following statements reflects the view of French philosopher René Descartes?
Answer:
C.
The mind and body are separate but interact with each other
Question 2
Which of the following terms indicates that consciousness is a sequence of thoughts and feelings, rather than
a fixed and unchanging entity?
Answer:
D.
Stream of consciousness
Question 3
Mona was learning to drive her dad’s manual car, at the end of a lesson her dad wanted to discuss the
interview that had been played on the radio as she was driving, but Mona had no idea what it was about!
The most likely explanation for this is:
Answer:
B.
Mona was paying selective attention to her driving which was a controlled process
Question 4
Which of the following is not true in relation to microsleeps?
Answer:
D.
A microsleep involves a sudden period of REM sleep
Question 5
The survival (evolutionary) theory of sleep suggests that organisms sleep at times when they are less well
adapted to find food or avoid predators. Which of the following is a criticism of the survival theory of
sleep?
Answer:
B.
During sleep we are in a reduced state of awareness so we are in increased
danger from predators
Question 6
Renee is sixteen years old and her sister Jamee is ten years of age. Which is the most likely description of
their natural sleep patterns during the summer school holidays.
Answer:
C.
Jamee sleeps from 9.00 pm until 8.00 am; Renee sleeps from 1.00 am until 11.00 am
Question 7
‘Left neglect’ is a phenomenon that sometimes affects people who have an acquired brain injury (ABI).
Which of the following statements is true of a person experiencing ‘left neglect’?
Answer:
C.
There has been damage to the cerebral cortex in the right parietal lobe
Question 8
Which of the following would be the most appropriate brain imaging technique to be used to discover the
parts of the cerebral cortex involved in solving a mathematical problem?
Answer:
A.
SPECT scan or PET scan
Question 9
One advantage of TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) over DBS (direct brain stimulation) is that
Answer:
C.
The patient needs to have the brain exposed during DBS but not during TMS
Question 10
Wernicke’s aphasia is most commonly caused by damage to
Answer:
B.
the association cortex of the left temporal lobe
Question 11
After an operation to control his extremely severe epileptic seizures Julian finds that, when he sees an
object out of the left-hand corner of his eye (in his left visual field), he cannot speak the object’s name
aloud, but when he looks directly at it, he can both recognise and name it.
The operation to prevent Julian’s seizures was probably an operation that
Answer:
A.
severed his corpus callosum
Question 12
The primary visual cortex, the primary auditory cortex, the primary somatosensory cortex and the primary
motor cortex are found, in that sequence, in the following lobes of the cortex
Answer:
C.
occipital lobe; temporal lobe; parietal lobe; frontal lobe
Question 13
Which of the following is a function of the association cortex for the lobe named
Answer:
A.
parietal lobe – enables the integration of sensory stimuli
Question 14
If a person suffered damage to Wernicke’s area, which of the following difficulties would they be most
likely to show?
Answer:
C.
they would not understand what was said to them and when they tried to reply
the speech would be jumbled and meaningless
Questions 15 to 19 refer to the following research
In a recent study 100 volunteer participants (all adult students at Victorian universities, 50 males and 50
females) performed a complex series of tasks. After this, they all slept in a sleep laboratory; half the
participants (Group A) were awakened each time they showed signs of REM sleep, the other participants
(Group B) were allowed to have an undisturbed night’s sleep.
The next day they were asked to describe the series of tasks performed the day before, their responses
being scored out of 50 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Results were as follows:
Group A mean score 31
Group B mean score 46
Probability of the difference between the means p = .02
Question 15
Which of the following conclusions could be drawn from these results:
Answer:
B.
For these participants, REM sleep assists consolidation of episodic memories
Question 16
The experimental design used here was
Answer:
B.
Independent groups
Question 17
If the significance level was set at .05, the difference between the mean scores for the two groups could
be said to be
Answer:
B.
statistically significant
Question 18
In this study, the dependent variable was:
Answer:
B.
strength of episodic memory
N.B. Alternative ‘A’ is not correct – ‘score on the recall task’ is the way the DV was operationalised, not
a statement of the DV itself
Question 19
In this study, the population was
Answer:
D.
Adult university students in Victoria
Question 20
A major role of the thalamus is:
Answer:
A.
Selecting which parts of a stimulus to attend to
Question 21
Which of the following is a true statement about the parasympathetic nervous system?
Answer:
B.
In normal daily life it maintains the body’s state of metabolic balance (homeostasis)
Question 22
In a normal night’s sleep an adult aged 30 to 45 will spend approximately how many minutes in REM
sleep?
Answer:
C.
90
Question 23
When Sally hears her brother play a chord of A Major on his guitar, she sees a simmering haze of blue – when he
plays G Major, she sees green.
Sally experiences a condition known as:
Answer:
D.
synaesthesia
Question 24
A researcher is using an EEG on a sleeping patient. The trace on the screen is showing waves with a frequency of
28 cycles per second with occasional sequences of waves that resemble the teeth on a saw. The researcher
concludes that the patient has entered which stage of sleep?
Answer:
D.
REM
Question 25
In researching sleep-patterns, researcher Jade asks participants to keep a ‘sleep diary’ to record how often
they dream and the content of those dreams.
One problem that Jade must be aware of is the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, this means that
Answer:
B.
participants may make up extra dreams, trying to provide Jade with the
information she is looking for
Question 26
In a study by Sperry and Gazzaniga, split-brain patients were given a cup to hold in their right hand which was
hidden from sight. The patient could identify the object as a cup by
Answer:
C.
saying the word ‘cup’
Question 27
Further research into hemispheric specialisation by Sperry and Gazzaniga, showed that when split-brain patients
were given blocks and asked to use one hand only to arrange them to match a puzzle-pattern they were shown, the
findings were that
Answer:
A.
left-handed and right-handed people performed the task more easily with their left hand
Question 28
Kandel trained Aplysia (Sea Hares) to withdraw their gills into the body as a result of being touched on the tail
with a glass rod. After training the Aplysia were dissected and the chemical composition of their bodies was
measured.
The results showed that:
Answer:
B.
Higher levels of certain neurotransmitters were shown
Question 29
Which of the following statements regarding the hippocampus and amygdala is correct?
Answer:
A.
The hippocampus is more involved in the formation of explicit memories and the
amygdala in the formation of implicit memories
Question 30
Which of the following is a correct statement with respect to Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multi-store model of
memory?
Answer:
D.
Repeated maintenance rehearsal may assist with storage of material in long-term memory
Question 31
Working memory is considered to have four independent but interactive components, these are
Answer:
A.
visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop, central executive and episodic buffer
Question 32
According to Craik and Lockhart’s ‘level of processing’ theory, material will be more efficiently retrieved from
long-term memory if it has been processed through
Answer:
D.
Semantic encoding
Question 33
Which of the following is true of decay theory?
Answer:
D.
All of the above responses are correct
Question 34
Annie is 77 years old and has been diagnosed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Which of the
following best describes Annie’s memory problems:
Answer:
C.
Annie can remember how to knit but has difficulty remembering her daughter’s
new telephone number
Question 35
‘Tip-of-the-tongue’ phenomenon refers to a form of retrieval failure. I was trying to recall the name of a
friend but could not immediately retrieve it; yet I knew that it was a short name and started with a ‘J’ sound.
What does this tell us about storage of memories in long-term memory?
Answer:
C.
A single memory is stored in a complex manner involving several locations in
the brain.
Question 36
The fact that we cannot recall something we know really well has been referred to as
Answer:
B.
cue-dependent forgetting
Question 37
In order, from least sensitive to most sensitive, are the following measures of retention
Answer:
C.
free recall; recognition; relearning
Question 38
The duration of iconic sensory memory is considered to be approximately
Answer:
C.
0.3 seconds
Question 39
The sequence of colours of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) are frequently
remembered by means of the following mnemonics:
1. ROY G. BIV
2. Richard Of York Gained Battles In Vain
Which of the following statements is true of these mnemonics?
Answer:
C.
1 is an acronym, 2 is an acrostic
Question 40
Eye-witness testimony has been shown to be unreliable as a result of misleading questions. This has
demonstrated which of the following characteristic of episodic memories?
Answer:
B.
Episodic memories are reconstructive memories
Question 41
Motivated forgetting includes which of the following?
Answer:
C.
Suppressed memories and repressed memories
Question 42
Sara is studying for her Biology exam next week, but she finds that she keeps confusing the terms with
the Psychology she studied this morning. It is likely that she is experiencing
Answer:
B.
pro-active interference from the material she had studied earlier
Question 43 to 45 refer to the following research
Ms Revera used her Grade 5 class in some research on memory for words.
First she read them a list of 14 words and immediately asked them to write down as many of the words as
they could recall.
Next she read them a different set of 14 words, but asked them to write the words down in the order in
which she had read them.
Question 43
The most likely outcome of this research would be
Answer:
A.
They recalled more words from the first list than from the second list
Question 44
For the first list, it is most likely that the best memory would be for
Answer:
C.
words from the beginning and end of the list
Question 45
The experimental design used in this research was
Answer:
C.
Repeated measures
SECTION B – Short Answer: Answer the questions in the spaces provided. DO NOT write
outside the border on any page.
As long as the meaning of a word is clear and unambiguous, marks are not deducted for spelling
errors except as specified in this guide.
Where part of a sample answer is shown in parentheses, it is for information and would not be
required in a student response.
Question 1
a.
It is possible that an altered state of consciousness can be identified from a person’s
emotional responses to stimuli. Explain this statement and give an example.
2 marks
Answer:
In an ASC a person may show heightened or reduced emotional responses to
stimuli. E.g. they may watch a sad movie but not feel sadness.
Marking Protocol:
2 marks:
Both explanation and example are given
1 mark:
Either explanation or example are appropriate
b.
It is possible that an altered state of consciousness can be identified from a person’s
perceptual responses. Explain this statement and give an example.
2 marks
Answer:
In an ASC a person may be less aware of stimuli than they would be in NWC. E.g.
in a meditative state a person’s experience of pain may be reduced.
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
1 mark:
Both explanation and example are given
Either explanation or example are appropriate
Question 2
a. Explain why a large proportion of the primary somatosensory cortex is devoted to fingers,
hands, lips and tongue.
2 marks
Answer:
Sensory receptors in all body parts send messages to the primary somatosensory
cortex (in the parietal lobe). As there are concentrations of receptors in the fingers, lips etc., a
similarly large proportion of the somatosensory cortex must be devoted to these body parts.
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
Students identify both high concentrations of receptors in body parts and similar proportions in
the primary somatosensory cortex.
1 mark:
Either of the above points is made
b. Which part of the primary motor cortex controls the fingers of the right hand?
Answer:
Upper left
1 mark
Marking protocol:
1 mark:
Both pieces of information are required
Question 3
a.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of using a CT scan, compared with an fMRI, for
brain research.
2 marks
Answer:
Advantage: CT-scan is cheaper and more readily available than fMRI.
Disadvantage: CT-scan shows only structure of the brain (fMRI shows both structure and function)
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
Both advantage and disadvantage are identified.
1 mark:
Either advantage or disadvantage is identified
N.B. other points are acceptable – e.g. CT advantage – no problems with metallic inserts (pacemaker etc). CT
disadvantage – high level of X-rays, cannot re-use within several months.
b.
Give one advantage of using a SPECT scan for brain research, compared with an MRI scan.
1 mark
Answer:
SPECT shows structure and function (MRI shows only structure)
Marking protocol:
1 mark:
As above.
Question 4
Julia’s grandmother is having her 70th birthday celebration and asks Julia to take lots of photographs
because she says ‘Now I’m over 70, I’m worried that I’m not going to be able to remember things very
well’.
a. As a psychology student, what could Julia say to reassure her grandmother?
1 mark
Answer:
In healthy older adults, memory loss with advancing age is not inevitable.
Marking protocol:
1 mark:
As above.
b. What suggestions should Julia make to help her grandmother to minimise memory loss as she
becomes older?
2 marks
Answer:
Keep using your brain, doing as many different types of mental activity as possible (word puzzles,
number puzzles, spatial puzzles, reading etc.). Also keep physically active (increased blood flow through the brain
increases the supply of oxygen and nutrients – glucose etc.)
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
Both of the above suggestions are made
1 mark:
One appropriate suggestion is given
Question 5
a. What is the function of the reticular activating system?
1 mark
Answer:
 Regulates level of attention
 Controls sleeping/waking transitions
Marking protocol:
1
mark: Students make one of the two points above
b. Describe the physical changes in the reticular activating system during normal waking
consciousness and identify the effect this has on a person’s consciousness.
2 marks
Answer:
Increased level of blood flow and increased activity in neurons leads to increased
awareness. As a person becomes drowsy, blood flow and level of neural activity decrease.
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
Both blood flow and neuronal activity levels are identified
1 mark:
Either blood flow or neuronal activity levels is identified
Question 6
Complete the following table which refers to Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory
COMPONENT
4 marks
FUNCTION
Answer:
VISUO-SPATIAL SKETCHPAD
Storage of visual information
PHONOLOGICAL LOOP
Storage of auditory information
EPISODIC BUFFER
Selects material from LTM to be used in working memory
Commits material to LTM
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE
Decision-making: (switching attention; inhibition;
updating)
Marking protocol:
One mark is allocated for each cell in the above table. For the Central Executive, any of the four functions
earns a mark.
Question 7
David is an auctioneer who has to sell a house this afternoon – his first auction! He is worried that he will forget
the important features of the house when he is giving his introduction so he uses the peg-word method to make
sure he covers the four main selling-points; the kitchen, the rose garden, the double garage and the local primary
school.
Describe in detail how he could use this visualisation method to improve his retrieval.
3 marks
Answer:
the items.
Number
One
Two
Three
Four
Peg-word involves visualising the item along with a picture that represents a number to sequence
Peg-word
Bun
Shoe
Tree
Saw
Item to be recalled
KITCHEN
ROSE GARDEN
DBL GARAGE
LOCAL SCHOOL
VISUALISATION
Plate of buns on kitchen counter
Shoe in bird-bath in rose garden
Large tree blocking door of garage
A huge saw cutting into the roof of a school
Marking protocol:
3 marks:
All four items are shown.
Peg words represent numbers for sequencing
Linking images are described
2 marks:
Two or three items are shown
1 mark:
Visualisation of one linked item and peg-word is shown
Question 8
Lara is a lawyer conducting the defense of Annie who is accused of negligent driving because she ran into the
back of a stationary car at traffic lights.
Lara asks a witness ‘How fast would you estimate my client was travelling when she ran into the BMW
stopped at the lights?’
The witness suggested that Annie was slowing down and well under the speed limit.
Jack is the police prosecutor.
a. How might Jack have phrased a question to obtain a higher estimate of speed?
1 mark
Answer:
‘How fast was she travelling when she smashed into the stationary BMW’
Marking protocol:
1 mark:
Any response that uses a term implying extra speed and violence in the collision.
b. Explain why Jack’s question may cause a different response from Lara’s question .
2 marks
Answer:
The word ‘smashed’ (crashed; banged etc.) provides the information that there
was some violence in the impact. When the witness recalls the crash, they reconstruct the
memory increasing the violence of the event.
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
Students show that the term used implies increased violence/energy and that this
term contributes to the reconstruction of the memory.
1 mark:
One of the two points above is made
Question 9
Use an example to show how memory may be enhanced by
a.
using state-dependent cues
2 marks
Answer:
When John witnessed an assault in the city he was very anxious; when giving a statement to
the police he was advised by the psychologist to try to feel the same level of anxiety so that this would
improve his recall.
Marking protocol:
2 marks:
Students identify an appropriate example. The example shows the relationship between
state-dependent cues and memory.
1 mark:
The example is given but the explanation of the relationship is not clear. Or state-dependent
cues are explained but without an appropriate example.
b.
using context-dependent cues
2 marks
Answer:
Later, John was taken back to the place in the road outside a nightclub where the assault
had occurred. He found that his memory for the event was much stronger.
2 marks:
Students identify an appropriate example. The example shows the relationship between
context-dependent cues and memory.
1 mark:
The example is given but the explanation of the relationship is not clear. Or contextdependent cues are explained but without an appropriate example.
SECTION C – This question is worth 15 marks: answer in the space provided.
Question 1
You have been asked to investigate the relationship between the amount of daytime activity a person undertakes
and the amount of REM sleep they experience the next night.
You have access to a sleep laboratory and equipment including an EEG and EOG. Forty Year 12 students (20
male and 20 female), all over the age of 18 years, have volunteered for the study.
Identify the operational variables you would investigate and state the experimental hypothesis. Describe the
experimental design and procedures in the format of the ‘Method’ section of a psychological report.
State two ethical considerations that you would follow and describe the procedures you would use to make sure that
these were appropriately met.
15 marks
Answer:
Variables:
Independent variable – Level of daytime physical activity – operationalised as
High – More than 3 hours per day physical activity
Low – Less than 1 hour per day physical activity.
Dependent variable – Sleep pattern – operationalised as minutes spent in REM
sleep (proportion of sleep that is REM sleep is also appropriate).
Experimental hypothesis:
That Year 12 VCE students who undertake higher levels of physical activity during the day will
experience lower levels of REM sleep the following night.
N.B. Because the initial question refers to ‘…a person…’, it is (possibly more) correct to refer to
‘all people’ as the population.
The population identified above is the population implied from the sample.
Method
Participants
Participants were 40 Year 12 students (20 males and 20 females).
Measures
Recordings of electrical activity in the muscles controlling eye movement (EOG) and electrical
activity of the brain in the form of brain waves (EEG) were made.
Procedures
Participants were randomly assigned to ‘high activity group’ or ‘low activity group’ by tossing a
coin (independent groups).
High activity group were asked to undertake 3 hours of physical activity per day and record this
in a self-report diary.
Low activity group were asked to undertake less than 1 hour of physical activity per day and
record this in a self-report diary.
Each participant slept in the sleep laboratory attached to the EOG and EEG.
Ethical considerations
Informed consent:
Participants were informed of what would be involved in the research,
how the results would be used and signed a form indicating that they agreed to take part.
Debriefing:
After the research all participants were informed of the results and
informed how to obtain counselling if they felt they needed it.
(Voluntary participation:
coercion was used)
All participants had volunteered to take part in the study, no
Marking protocol:
Content:
Students adequately address each of the following content items:
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Experimental (research) hypothesis
Method
Participants
Measures
Procedures
Ethical considerations
7 marks
Explanation:
Operationalisation of variables
Description of procedures
Experimental design and allocation
Experimental procedures
Description of procedures to ensure ethical requirements are met
8 marks
N.B. Although the extended question is not intended to be ‘count the points made’ type of assessment,
this will necessarily occur to some extent as there is certain essential content.
This means that in this scheme, ‘content’ is recall and application of knowledge, ‘explanation’ is
demonstration of understanding.