E
Free Exam
for 2013-16 VCE study design
Engage
Education
Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology
Practice Exam Question and Answer Booklet
Duration: 15 minutes reading time, 2 hours writing time
Structure of book:
Section
Number of questions
A
B
C
65
18
2



Number of questions to
be answered
65
18
2
Total
Number of marks
65
60
15
140
Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers and
rulers.
Students are not permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or white
out liquid/tape.
No calculator is allowed in this examination.
Materials supplied:
 This question and answer booklet of 28 pages.
Instructions:
 You must complete all questions of the examination.
 Write all your answers in the spaces provided in this booklet.
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Section A – Multiple-choice questions
Instructions
Answer all questions by circling your choice.
Choose the response that is correct or that best answers the question.
A correct answer scores 1, an incorrect answer scores 0.
Marks will not be deducted for incorrect answers.
No marks will be given if more than one answer is completed for any question.
Questions
Question 1
Which of the following is not true of Normal Waking Consciousness (NWC)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
It can involve controlled processes, such as learning how to drive
It can involve automatic processes, such as listening to music
Content limitations are likely to be more restricted than in Altered States of Consciousness (ASC)
Content limitations are likely to be less restricted than in Altered States of Consciousness (ASC)
Question 2
Selective attention is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Selectively attending to one stimulus whilst ignoring others
Being unable to divide your attention between different stimuli
Simultaneously distributing attention between two or more stimuli
Placing importance on certain memories and ignoring ones that are unpleasant
Question 3
Which of the states listed below is an Altered State of Consciousness (ASC)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Alcohol-induced state
Daydreaming
Meditation
All of the above
Question 4
Theta waves are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
A characteristic of both Normal Waking Consciousness and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep
A characteristics of a deeply-relaxed state of consciousness
A characteristics of the early stages of sleep
A characteristics of very deep sleep
Question 5
Which of the following statements is false?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Page 1
EEG detects, amplifies and records activities of the brain
ECG detects, amplifies and records electrical conductivity of the skin
EMG detects, amplifies and records electrical activity of the muscles
EOG detects, amplifies and records electrical activity of the muscles around the eyes
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 6
Which of the following is true of REM sleep?
A. REM sleep is often referred to as ‘paradoxical sleep,’ as the body is very active but the brain is
inactive
B. As we grow older, a greater proportion of our sleep is REM sleep
C. As we sleep throughout the night, the amount of time we spend in REM becomes progressively
longer
D. We do not dream in REM sleep
Question 7
A longitudinal research study is one that:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Uses a very diverse sample in terms of age and gender (i.e. a ‘long wave’ sample)
Collects all data simultaneously before analyzing it over a long period of time
Minimizes the potential confounding variable of time
Uses the same participants over a long period of time
Question 8
Common effects of sleep deprivation include all of the below apart from:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Difficulty in solving simple tasks
Difficulty in solving very complex/challenging tasks
Inhibited motor abilities
Inhibited perception of reality
Question 9
The hormonally-induced shift of the ‘body clock’ forward by about 1-2 hours during adolescence
(resulting in the later onset of sleepiness) is called:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Circadian rhythm
Sleep-wake cycle shift
Sleep debt
Body-clock shift
Question 10
Main roles of the temporal cortex include all of the below apart from:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Being involved in spatial reasoning and awareness
Helping with the memory of facts
Being associated with facial recognition
Being involved in determining appropriate emotional responses
Question 11
The larger the area associated with a certain body part in the primary motor cortex, the:
A.
B.
C.
D.
More precise motor skill that body part requires
More sensitive to touch that body part
Bigger that body part
More complex that body part
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 2
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 12
The outer part of the brain which is covered in folded layers of matter is called the:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Corpus callosum
Cerebral cortex
Cerebellum
Cerebral cortical
Question 13
Frankie fell whilst painting the ceiling in her apartment. As a result, she now has trouble performing
complex mental functions. The lobe of her brain that is most likely to have been damaged in this case is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
The frontal lobe
The parietal lobe
The occipital lobe
The temporal lobe
Question 14
David damaged his Broca’s area. Which of the sensations below is he most likely to experience?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Incoherent but fluent speech
Extremely non-fluent but comprehensible speech
Difficulty understanding speech of others
Incoherent and non-fluent speech
Question 15
The right hemisphere of the human brain specialises in the all of the below apart from:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Spatial tasks
Drawing and painting
Comprehension of speech
Recognition of faces, pictures and visual patterns
Question 16
In Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga’s ‘split-brain’ research, when a patient was flashed an image to
their left visual field, it:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Travelled to their left hemisphere and they were, therefore, unable to name it
Travelled to their left hemisphere and they were, therefore able to name it
Travelled to their right hemisphere and they were, therefore unable to name it
Travelled to their right hemisphere and they were, therefore able to name it
Question 17
Long-term potentiation refers to:
A. A collective term for physical changes about memories that occur in neurons over a long period
of time
B. Continuous changes that take place in and between neurons over, allowing memories to be
created and strengthened with use
C. The hidden potential of neurons to form connections and create memories
D. The release of extra neurotransmitters which inhibits growth of new synapses
Page 3
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 18
The hippocampus:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Is important for forming implicit memories
Is likely to result in retrograde amnesia if damaged
Is the most important part of the brain in regard to linking emotions with memories
Is important in forming declarative memories
Question 19
Liam is a Year 12 Psychology student. His teacher decided to give Liam’s class a multiple choice exam
in order to test their knowledge of that term’s content. This type of test utilises the measure of retention
known as:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Recall
Recognition
Relearning
Retrieval
Question 20
Atkinson-Shiffrin’s multi-store model of memory has three levels, which are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Encoding, storage and retrieval
Sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory
Short-term memory, working memory and long-term memory
Visual processing, phonemic processing and semantic processing
Question 21
Which of the statements below is incorrect about sensory memory?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Sensory memory has an almost unlimited capacity
Sensory memory holds onto an exact copy of the stimulus
Information that is attended to in sensory memory is transferred to short term memory
Echoic sensory memory is lost more quickly than iconic sensory memory if not attended to
Question 22
According to Baddeley & Hitch’s model of working memory, working memory does not include the:
A. Central executive, which controls automatic memories central to survival, such as heart rate and
blinking
B. Phonological loop, which stores auditory information, allowing us to remember what has been
said in the past
C. Visuo-spatial sketchpad, which stores visual information, allowing us to remember what has
been seen in the past
D. Episodic buffer, which aids the retrieval of information from long-term memory, and combines
different systems of working memory across all senses
Question 23
According to Craig & Lockhart’s levels of processing:
A. Shallow processing increases chances of effectively retrieving information at a later time
B. The deeper the processing, the less likely you will be able to retrieve the information at a later
time
C. Maintenance rehearsal is a form of deep processing
D. Shallow processing produces weak memory traces that fade rapidly
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 4
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 24
The grouping of separate pieces of information into larger mental groups is called:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Semantic grouping
Chunking
Joining
Encoding
Question 25
Benny is five years old and is able to tie his shoe laces without the help of his parents. Benny’s memory
of how to tie his shoelaces is an example of a(n):
A.
B.
C.
D.
Declarative memory
Episodic memory
Semantic memory
Procedural memory
Question 26
The theory that suggests that memories fade if they have not been used for a long time is the:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Motivated Forgetting Theory
Decay Theory
Retrieval Failure Theory
Interference Theory
Question 27
Memory decline over the lifespan typically:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Significantly reduces the efficiency of the measure of retention ‘recall’
Significantly reduces the efficiency of very simple tasks
Significantly reduces the efficiency of procedural, long-term memories
All of the above
Question 28
Memory cannot be enhanced by:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Context-dependent cues
The method of altered-behaviour
Mnemonic devices
State-dependant cues
Question 29
Limitations of case studies include all of the below apart from:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Page 5
Potentially time-consuming
Often do not explain why subjects have behaved in a certain way
Difficult to generalise findings to wider population
Research findings are often too generic
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 30
The retrieval failure theory appears to apply to all of the below apart from:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Procedural memory
Semantic memory
Short-term memory
Long-term memory
Question 31
In regard to fixed action patterns, all of the below are true apart from:
A. Fixed action patterns typically involve only very simple behaviours
B. Fixed action patterns are difficult to change
C. All members of a species are genetically predisposed to produce the same response to the
same stimuli
D. Fixed action patterns are not dependent on learning
Question 32
Where would you most likely find Wernicke’s area?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Left temporal lobe
Right parietal lobe
Left frontal lobe
Right occipital lobe
Question 33
Which part of the neuron is most responsible for sending messages toward other neurons?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Soma
Synapse
Dendrite
Axon
Question 34
The main neurotransmitter involved in learning is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Glutamate
Glutamite
Glutamane
Glutamine
Question 35
In classical conditioning, the learner is (1) and the nature of the response is (2), whereas in operant
conditioning, the learner is (3) and the nature of the response is (4).
A.
B.
C.
D.
(1) Active; (2) involuntary; (3) inactive; (4) involuntary
(1) Passive; (2) voluntary; (3) inactive; (4) voluntary
(1) Passive; (2) involuntary; (3) active; (4) voluntary
(1) Active; (2) voluntary; (3) active; (4) involuntary
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 6
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 36
In Ivan Pavlov’s famous research study (‘Pavlov’s Dogs’), the bell was initially the (1), and then became
the (2).
A.
B.
C.
D.
(1) NS; (2) UCS
(1) NS; (2) CS
(1) UCS; (2) NS
(1) CS; (2) NS
Question 37
John Watson’s ‘Little Albert’ experiment is an example of (1). In this study, the loud noise was the (2).
A.
B.
C.
D.
(1) Operant conditioning; (2) conditioned stimulus
(1) Operant conditioning; (2) unconditioned stimulus
(1) Classical conditioning; (2) conditioned stimulus
(1) Classical conditioning; (2) unconditioned stimulus
Question 38
In Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with dogs, extinction would likely occur if:
A.
B.
C.
D.
The dogs were presented with no stimuli for a long time
The dogs were presented with the original NS without the UCS
The dogs were presented with the UCS without the original NS
The dogs were presented with the UCS, and then the original NS
Question 39
Common environmental factors that may alleviate stress include all of the below apart from:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Good sanitary conditions
Being afforded with personal space when required
A lack of long-term physical illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer
Easy access to healthcare and health services
Question 40
Punishment is best described by:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Is the delivery of a pleasant stimulus following a response
Is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus following a response
Is the removal of a pleasant stimulus following a response
Both A and B are true
Question 41
The form of reinforcement most resistant to extinction is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Page 7
Continuous reinforcement
Variable ratio reinforcement
Fixed interval reinforcement
Answers B and C are both true, as they are both formed of partial reinforcement
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 42
Observational learning is best defined as:
A. A mental process in which a sudden, complete and unexpected solution to a problem is
achieved
B. Learning that occurs vicariously by watching of the behaviour of ‘models,’ and the
consequences of those behaviours
C. Learning that takes place without any direct reinforcement, is not immediate or apparent, and
remains ‘hidden’ until the behaviour is needed
D. Learning that occurs after an observation of great individual effort
Question 43
Diana has Alzheimer’s Disease. The condition has developed to the stage where she is unable to live
independently or function effectively in society. According to which of the approaches to normality listed
below is Diana considered to be ‘abnormal’?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Socio-cultural approach
Situational approach
Medical approach
Historical approach
Question 44
According to the DSM-IV, under which axis are mood disorders classified?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Axis 1
Axis 2
Axis 3
Axis B
Question 45
An advantage of classifying mental disorders with the dimensional approach is that it:
A. Has very specific and distinct categories of mental disorders
B. Can easily be used in conjunction and reference to categorical approaches such as the DSM-IV
and ICD-10
C. Is useful for treatment planning and recommendation
D. Reduces the likelihood of stigma and labeling
Question 46
The adaptive process for actively maintaining stability through change is called:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Homeostasis
Allostasis
Meditation
Mental Imagery
Question 47
In secondary appraisal (in Lazarus & Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping), an individual
may ask:
A.
B.
C.
D.
“Is this event something I can deal with?”
“Am I in trouble?”
“What, if anything, can I do to deal with this event?”
“Is there any benefit now or in the future?”
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 8
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 48
As soon as we perceive ourselves to no longer be under threat, the parasympathetic nervous system
returns bodily functions to their normal state of balance. This process may involve:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Pupils dilating, increased salivation, decreased breathing rate, reduced adrenaline
Pupils contracting, decreased salivation, decreased breathing rate, reduced adrenaline
Pupils dilating, increased salivation, decreased breathing rate, reduced adrenaline
Pupils contracting, increased salivation, decreased breathing rate, reduced adrenaline
Question 49
In regard to the biopsychosocial framework, all of the statements below are true apart from:
A. It is an approach to best describe and explain how biological, social and psychological factors
combine to interact and influence physical and mental health
B. States that biological, social and psychological factors all play important roles in the context of
disease and illness
C. Suggests that mental health is best explained by the influence of biological factors
D. States that biological factors include genetic predisposition and neurochemistry, psychological
factors include emotions and personality, and social factors include family background and
cultural traditions
Question 50
Allostatic overload is most likely to occur when:
A.
B.
C.
D.
An individual is exposed to high levels of stress for short periods of time
An individual is exposed to high levels of stress for long periods of time
An individual suffers emotional mood swings on a regular basis
An individual feels overwhelmed with their social relationships
Question 51
When an experiment has two groups (an experimental group and a control group), and those groups are
randomly allocated, the type of experimental research design is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Independent groups
Matched participants
Repeated measures
Placebo testing
Question 52
A research hypothesis should include everything except:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Experimental design
Testable predication
Population
IV and DV
Question 53
The experimenter/s most commonly associated with the phenomena of misleading questions and
reconstructed memory is/are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Page 9
Wolfgang Köhler
Elizabeth Loftus
Alan Baddeley & Graham Hitch
Edward Tolman
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 54
When the sample is randomly selected from pre-determined groups based on the presence or absence
of particular characteristics, with the proportion of participants with or without those particular
characteristics in the sample equal to the population, which of the sampling techniques listed below has
been used?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Convenience sampling
Random sampling
Stratified sampling
Random stratified sampling
Question 55
Debriefing should occur:
A. After all experiments have finished to ensure participants know the true aims of the study
B. Only after experiments that involved a level of deception to ensure participants know the true
purpose of the study
C. Only if the ethics committee formally asks the experimenter to undertake the procedure
D. Only if something went wrong in the experiment to explain to participants the nature of the
problem
Question 56
Which hemisphere/s of the brain is/are responsible for tasks relating to language, such as reading,
writing and speaking?
A. Both the left and right hemispheres, but the left hemisphere is usually more dominant in these
B. tasks
C. The left hemisphere only, as the right hemisphere tends to specialize in tasks not relating to
language
D. The right hemisphere only, as the left hemisphere tends to specialize in tasks not relating to
language
E. Both the left and right hemispheres, but the right hemisphere is usually more dominant in these
tasks
Question 57
The measure of retention that refers to retrieving information in a particular order is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Free recall
Numbered recall
Serial recall
Cued recall
Question 58
Descriptive statistics do not include:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Variability
Measures of central tendency
Correlation
p-value
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 10
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 59
A study is conducted on the effect of age on the ability to perform mental arithmetic under pressure. In
this study, the participants’ amount of sleep is a(n):
A.
B.
C.
D.
Potentially confounding variable
Independent variable
Control variable
Dependent variable
Question 60
Which of the ‘rights’ listed below may a participant of an experiment not necessarily hold at all times?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Withdrawal rights in all circumstances
Informed consent in all circumstances
Voluntary participation in all circumstances
No deception in any circumstances
Question 61
Spatial neglect refers to:
A. The idea that the left and right hemispheres of the human brain specialize in different types of
functions and tasks
B. A phenomenon in which an individual consistently ignores stimuli presented from one side of the
body
C. The inability to understand content relating to celestial bodies and the solar system
D. Damage to the parietal lobe which causes an inability to recognise the difference between 2D
and 3D shapes
Question 62
In the method of retention ‘relearning,’ a ‘saving score’ refers to:
A. A measure of the effectiveness of relearning, calculated with a specific formula
B. A measure of the effectiveness of relearning, calculated with general intuition
C. A score out of 50 that measures how well content was initially learned, with 1 denoting the most
effective learning
D. A score out of 50 that measures how well content was initially learned, with 50 denoting the
most effective learning
Question 63
The difference between eustress and distress is that:
A. Eustress refers to stress factors directly affecting you, whereas distress is a more general term
B. Eustress refers to the psychological stressors which lead to arousal, whereas distress is the
noticeable physiological changes
C. Eustress refers to positive arousal caused by a stressor, whereas distress is a state of negative
arousal
D. Eustress and distress are synonymous
Page 11
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 64
John is a seventy-year-old grandfather. He is explaining to his grandchildren how he felt during his first
ever examination. John’s memory of his first ever examination is an example of:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Both episodic memory and semantic memory
Both declarative memory and procedural memory
Both semantic memory and procedural memory
Both declarative memory and episodic memory
Question 65
‘Microsleep’ refers to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
The sleeping patterns of a child until the age of 3 years
A very short period in which we sleep during wakeful behaviour
A ‘catch-up’ of sleep following deprivation of REM sleep
A cycle of sleep that occurs only once per 24 hour period
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 12
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Section B – Short-answer questions
Instructions
Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
Questions
Question 1
Describe the difference between Normal Waking Consciousness (NWC) and Altered States of
Consciousness (ASC) in terms of time orientation and content limitations.
4 marks
Page 13
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 2
a. Sammy, a six-year-old, and Susie, a forty-year-old, are both trying to learn Indonesian as a second
language. Sammy is having much more success than Susie. In terms of brain plasticity, explain why
this may be the case.
2 marks
b.
Many years later, when Sammy is fourteen and Susie is forty-eight, Susie falls over on national
television. Susie finds the experience to be extremely embarrassing, and chooses to manually forget
the incident in its entirety. Explain the process that Susie is utilising.
2 marks
Total: 4 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 14
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 3
Describe two major functions of the amygdala.
2 marks
Question 4
There are several different experimental designs that can be implemented when undertaking research.
a. Explain the ‘repeated-measures’ experimental design.
2 marks
b. Identify one advantage and one disadvantage of the ‘independent groups’ experimental design.
2 marks
Total: 4 marks
Page 15
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 5
Sally has been petrified of moths ever since she was hit on the head with a baseball immediately after a
moth flew past. Sally believes that moths are of great danger to her safety and wellbeing, and that seeing
a moth means that being hit in the head with a baseball is imminent. One day, as she entered her room,
Sally happened to see several large moths flying above her bed.
a. Which branch of Sally’s autonomic nervous system is likely to be most active?
1 mark
b.
Describe two biological changes which Sally may experience as a result of her moth encounter.
2 marks
c.
Sally decided to go to a psychologist in order to get help to treat her phobia of moths. In terms of
classical conditioning, how might the psychologist treat Sally so that she is no longer afraid of
moths?
2 marks
d.
In terms of classical conditioning, explain why Sally may also have an irrational fear of dragonflies.
2 marks
Total: 7 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 16
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 6
What is the difference between mental health and mental illness?
2 marks
Page 17
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 7
Lazarus & Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping proposes that an individual’s stress
response is contingent on that individual’s interpretation of the stressor. Identify and describe one
strength of the Transaction Model of Stress and Coping.
2 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 18
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 8
a. During which stage of sleep are ‘sleep spindles’ most likely to occur?
1 mark
b.
Name and describe one other phenomenon likely to occur during the stage of sleep identified in
Question 8.a.
2 marks
Total: 3 marks
Page 19
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 9
a. Identify one strategy that could be used for coping with stress.
1 mark
b.
Briefly outline the strategy identified in Question 9.a, and explain how implementation of that
strategy could result in reduced levels of stress
2 marks
Total: 3 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 20
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 10
How does the dimensional approach of classifying mental conditions and disorders differ from the
categorical approach? In your answer, outline one strength and one limitation of the dimensional
approach.
4 marks
Page 21
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 11
Outline the difference between continuous reinforcement and partial reinforcement. Use examples to
demonstrate your answer.
2 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 22
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 12
Using relevant examples, explain how spontaneous recovery may occur in both operant conditioning and
classical conditioning.
4 marks
Question 13
Ivan is six years old and struggles to remember lists of semantically-unrelated words. It so happens that
Ivan has a memory test at school in the coming days, where he has to list six words: bananas, fish,
monkey, blue, house and great.
a. Explain the concept of narrative chaining.
1 mark
b. Show that Ivan could use narrative chaining to aid him in remembering the six unrelated words.
1 mark
Total: 2 marks
Page 23
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 14
a. Some behaviours are not dependent on learning. Which type of behaviour not dependent on learning
is exemplified by a spider spinning a web?
1 mark
b. According to the behaviour not dependent on learning identified in Question 14.a, why do spiders
but not humans spin webs?
2 marks
Total: 3 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 24
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 15
A university is conducting research on the effect of sleep deprivation on Year 12 studies. As part of the
research, the university has requested that participants of the study (Year 12 students) write in a journal
how tired they feel each night (just before they go to bed) and each morning (just after they wake up).
a. Identify the technique used by the university to collect the qualitative research data.
1 mark
b. Explain a potential limitation of the technique chosen in Question 15.a, and the effect it may have on
the results of the research.
4 marks
Total: 5 marks
Page 25
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 16
Describe two features represented in the ‘forgetting curve’ as informed by the work of Hermann
Ebbinghaus.
2 marks
Question 17
Name and describe two ethical principles of experimental research.
4 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 26
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
Question 18
The semantic network theory proposes that we mentally store information in a particular way. Identify two
features of the semantic network theory that allow for more effective and efficient retrieval of information.
In your answer, use relevant examples relating to a learning theory or learning theories that you have
learned about this year in Psychology.
3 marks
Page 27
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Section C – Extended response
Imagine that, in 2008, a research study was conducted by a university in Australia. The aim of the study
was to measure the effect that excess alcohol consumption (as per the Dietary Guidelines for Australians)
had on teenage students’ levels of anxiety before performing a five-minute oral presentation to a large
number of peers. Levels of anxiety were measured by a number of self-report questionnaires. Most of the
participants came from local schools due to convenience for the experimenters.
There were 100 participants ranging from 13 years of age to 18 years of age. The participants were only
told that they would be participating in a study regarding anxiety. They were allocated randomly into two
groups. One group – the control group – received a placebo drink, whilst the other group – the
experimental group – was required to drink an excess amount of alcohol each morning for a period of
three weeks. To ensure minimal effect from extraneous variables, a double-blind procedure was
implemented.
Question 1
a. Identify the sampling technique that the experimenters of the research study used to choose their
sample of 100 students for the study.
1 mark
b. The case study infringed upon numerous ethical principles. Select one ethical principle and explain
how it has been violated in regard to the case study above.
1 mark
c. Construct a research hypothesis for the case study above.
2 marks
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 28
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
d. The case study infringed upon numerous ethical principles. Select one ethical principle and explain
how it has been violated in regard to the case study above.
1 mark
Total: 5 marks
Page 29
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.
The Engage Education Foundation
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
Question 2
Write a possible research hypothesis and method section that adheres to the conventions of
psychological report writing for a study on the impact of undertaking VCE Psychology on overall VCE
studies. In your answer, you should include:
-
A research hypothesis
Participants of the study, including the chosen sampling procedure
Operationalised independent and dependent variables
The procedure of the study, including the chosen experimental research design
The possible impact of extraneous variables and how that impact will be avoided
One ethical principle which should be adhered to during the study
www.engageeducation.org.au
Page 30
Units 3 and 4 Psychology: Free Exam E
The Engage Education Foundation
10 marks
End of Booklet
Looking for solutions? Visit www.engageeducation.org.au/practice-exams
To enrol in one of our Psychology seminars head to: http://engageeducation.org.au/seminars/
Page 31
6.5 hour revision seminars for just $56 – visit www.ee.org.au for more info.