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This examination was the final Unit 3 June examination for the VCE Psychology Study Design. From 2013, a single examination covering both Units 3 and 4 will be held in November. As the paper is assessed online, students are reminded to write within the marked boundaries on the paper for each question. They should also clearly indicate if a response is continued in the extra pages provided at the end of the response booklet. As in previous examinations, many students missed out on marks because they did not answer the question asked or failed to address the scenario outlined.
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55 6 61 4 71 1 2 20 80 5 3 45
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21 1 35 18 7 84 10 12 11 83 63 1
10 11 2 66 5 0 86 20 3 5 18 34
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A CT scan (option A) is much more cost-effective than an MRI scan (option B) in this instance. The hippocampus is involved in the formation of declarative memories. Only new procedural memories (option B) would be formed. Putting a word into a sentence leads to encoding according to meaning; this is therefore semantic encoding. Debriefing occurs after research.
Only new procedural memories can be formed; options A, C and D represented declarative memories.
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12 13 72 5 52 8 59 66 12
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0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
It is not possible to encode nonsense syllables using narrative chaining (option A) as this requires items to be incorporated into a meaningful story. Names can be encoded by associating them with items already in the semantic network. Forgetting would therefore be slower than for the nonsense syllables.
The savings score refers to a decrease in either time or the number of trials required to learn information a second or subsequent time.
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Option D cannot be correct as the independent variable is deliberately manipulated by the researcher; this ensures that the control group and experimental group experience different conditions.
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Question 1b. Marks 0 1 2 Average % 1.3 23 29 48 When allowed to sleep naturally, on the sixth night they would experience a greater than normal proportion of REM to NREM sleep; this is to make up the REM sleep that was missed. Many students confused REM sleep with Stage 1 NREM. Others stated REM Stage 4, but this was incorrect. Question 2 Marks 0 1 2 Average % 0.7 59 13 28 Content of a daydream is less controlled and more varied compared to meditation. (A daydream can be nonsense, illogical, disorganised and have many ideas. The content of meditation is controlled, eliminates most thoughts and focuses on a single internal or external stimulus.) There were many students who discussed meditation as being deliberate while daydreaming is involuntary, and these students failed to address the question. The question stipulated content limitations as the basis for comparison, not self-control. Question 3a. Marks 0 1 2 Average % 1.4 16 26 57 In an altered state of consciousness, level of awareness may be reduced compared to normal waking consciousness. Eric could ask Jason questions such as, Can you tell me where we are? If Jason answers correctly, he is probably not in an altered state of consciousness. In an altered state of consciousness, perceptual and cognitive distortions may occur. Eric could ask Jason questions such as, How many fingers am I showing you? If he answers correctly, he is probably not in an altered state of consciousness. Other characteristics could include: o time orientation o change in emotional awareness o change in self-control o change in content limitations. Any appropriate physiological characteristic was acceptable for this question. This question was generally well answered. The main confusion occurred when students identified the cues as being state-dependent and did not refer to context. Students are reminded that time orientation refers to awareness of the passage of time.
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Students were required to identify the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe and the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. Question 4bi. Marks 0 1 2 Average % 0.6 54 34 12 Synaesthesia is a perceptual anomaly in which stimulation of one of the senses (or a cognitive process) also causes a perceptual experience in another sense (or creates another cognition). The two most common errors were when students simply gave a description of a specific form of synaesthesia or made statements that synaesthesia occurs when we experience two sensations at once this is quite normal and we do it all the time. Question 4bii. Marks 0 1 2 Average % 0.4 70 19 11 Infant brains contain neural connections between two primary sensory cortices (primary auditory cortex or temporal lobe and the primary visual cortex or occipital lobe). Usually these connections are pruned during childhood. If this pruning does not occur, visual-auditory synaesthesia may occur.
Memory characteristic CNS function confidence in ability motivation myelination measure of memory
Healthy elderly adult slower than when younger lower than when younger lower than when younger myelin loss (decreased insulation/efficiency of neural transmission) recognition superior to recall
This question required students to make a comparison. As in the table above, it was essential that they show the specifics for healthy young adults and for healthy older adults in order to compare. Many students discussed dementia or physiological decay, ignoring the wording of the question. Question 6 Marks 0 1 2 3 Average % 1.9 27 10 12 51 Superior recall for items at the beginning of the list indicates effective transfer into long-term memory (primacy effect). Superior recall for items at the end of the list indicates items still in short-term memory (recency effect). Generally this question was well-answered; however, some students discussed Ebbinghaus forgetting curve rather than the serial position effect. Question 7 Marks 0 1 2 3 Average % 1.1 44 15 32 9 The diagram below shows a semantic network for the central concept House. The individual concepts are nodes joined by links and arranged in a hierarchical structure. Many students described a linear, rather than hierarchical structure, and were therefore not awarded any marks.
Retirement
Question 8a. Marks 0 1 Average % 0.6 39 61 The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is when a person knows they know something but cannot retrieve it (remember or recall it) at that moment. Some students tended to be inexact in their responses; for example, stating that the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon refers to the inability to recall something.
Very good response Completes most points correctly and appropriately. Relates each point into the research investigation.
Average to above average response Completes some points correctly. Makes some relevant connections to the research investigation.
Below average response Completes some of these points correctly. Makes few relevant connections to the research investigation