VCE Psychology Units 3&4 [2023]

Accuracy

how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity being measure

Action potential

an electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron

Acute stress

a form of stress characterised by intense psychological and physiological symptoms that are brief in duration

Adequate nutrition and hydration

when the type and amount of food and drink that an individual consumes meet their physical needs

Advanced sleep phase disorder (ASPD)

a type of circadian rhythm sleep disorder in which sleep and waking occur earlier than usual

Affective effects (relating to sleep deprivation)

the changes in emotions and emotional responses that arise from sleep deprivation

After conditioning

the third stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus, producing a conditioned response

Agonists

a type of drug that imitates neurotransmitters and works to initiate a neural response (excitatory or inhibitory) when it binds to the receptor sites of a neuron

Aim

a statement outlining the purpose of an investigation

Alarm reaction

the first stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome involving the initial decrease and subsequent increase in bodily arousal in response to an immediate stressor

Allocation

the process of assigning participants to experimental conditions

Altered state of consciousness (ASC)

a state of consciousness that is distinctly different from normal waking consciousness in terms of quality of experience and levels of awareness

Ancestors (in relation to SEWB)

a belief that a family and community's ancestors are interconnected with Creation spirits and Country and watch over, guide, and protect families and communities in the physical and spiritual world

Antecedent

the stimulus or event that precedes and often elicits a particular behaviour

Anxiety

a psychological and physiological response that involves feelings of worry and apprehension about a perceived threat

Appraisal

an assessment or evaluation of stimuli

Approach strategies

coping strategies that directly confront the source of the stress

Attention (in relation to observational learning)

the first stage of observational learning in which individuals actively focus on the model's behaviour and the consequences of the behaviour

Autonomic nervous system

a division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates visceral muscles, organs, and glands, and transmits neural messages to the central nervous system about their activity

Avoidance strategies

coping strategies that evade the stressor, seeking to indirectly reduce stress

Axon terminal (also known as terminal button)

the end of a neuron that releases neurochemicals into the neural synapse

Bar chart

a graph displaying the relationship between at least two variables using rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values they represent

Before conditioning

the first stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus has no associations and therefore does not produce any significant response

Behaviour (in relation to operant conditioning)

the voluntary actions that occur in the presence of the antecedent

Behavioural effects (relating to sleep deprivation)

the changes in actions and the ability to control them that arise from sleep deprivation

Behaviourist approaches to learning

theories that propose learning occurs by interacting with the external environment

Beneficence

the commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved in taking a particular position or course of action

Benign-positive

an initial appraisal of a stimulus as neutral or good that does not cause stress for the individual

Benzodiazepines

a type of medication that depresses central nervous system activity and is often used as a short-acting anti-anxiety medication

Between-subjects design (also known as independent-groups design or between-groups design)

an experimental design in which individuals are divided into different groups and complete only one experimental condition

Biological factors

internal, genetic, and/or physiologically based factors

Biological protective factors (in relation to mental wellbeing)

influences that stem from an individual's brain and/or body that can maintain or promote mental wellbeing

Biological rhythms

repeated biological processes that are regulated by internal mechanisms

Biopsychosocial approach

a holistic, interdisciplinary framework for understanding the human experience in terms of the influence of biological, psychological, and social factors

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)

a measure of how much alcohol is in a person's bloodstream

Blue light (in relation to zeitgebers)

a type of light that can be emitted both naturally and artificially

Body (in relation to SEWB)

connecting to the physical body and health in order to participate fully in all aspects of life

Brain

a complex organ contained within the skull that coordinates mental processes and behaviour, and regulates bodily activity

Breathing retraining

a method used to teach breathing control techniques that may reduce physiological arousal

Bright light therapy

a method used to adjust a person's circadian rhythm through exposure to a high-intensity light source

Case study

an in-depth investigation of an individual, group, or particular phenomenon (activity, behaviour, event, or problem) that contains a real or hypothetical situation and includes the complexities that would be encountered in the real world

Catastrophic thinking

a type of cognitive bias in which a stimulus or event is predicted to be far worse than it actually is

Central nervous system

a major division of the nervous system comprising the brain and spinal cord, which receives neural messages from and transmits neural messages to the peripheral nervous system

Challenge

a further appraisal of a stressor as potentially providing a positive opportunity for growth or change for the individual

Chronic stress

a form of stress that endures for several months or longer

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders

sleep disorders that interfere with the typical regulation of the circadian rhythm of sleep, leading to a change in the sleep-wake cycle

Circadian rhythms

biological and behavioural changes that occur as part of a cycle that lasts around 24 hours

Classical conditioning

a process of learning through the involuntary association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus that results in a conditioned response

Classification

the arrangement of phenomena, objects, or events into manageable sets

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

a form of psychotherapy that encourages individuals to substitute dysfunctional cognitions and behaviours with more adaptive ones

Cognitive bias

a predisposition to think about and process information in a certain way

Cognitive effects (relating to sleep deprivation)

the changes in mental processes that arise from sleep deprivation

Community (in relation to SEWB)

connection to wider social systems, providing individuals and families the ability to connect with and support each other

Conclusion

a statement that summarises the findings of a study, including whether the hypothesis was supported or rejected

Conditioned response

the response that occurs involuntarily after the conditioned stimulus is presented

Conditioned stimulus

the stimulus (originally the neutral stimulus) that produces a conditioned response after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Confidentiality

the privacy, protection and security of a participant's personal information in terms of personal details and the anonymity of individual results, including the removal of identifying elements

Confounding variable

a variable that has directly and systematically affected the dependent variable, apart from the independent variable

Conscious response

a deliberate and voluntary action that is initiated by the brain and performed intentionally by the body

Consciousness

the level of awareness an individual has of their thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and existence

Consciousness continuum

a visual representation of the different states of consciousness that progress from lower levels of awareness to higher levels of awareness

Consequence

the outcome of the behaviour, which determines the likelihood that it will occur again

Context-specific effectiveness

when the coping strategy or mechanism used is appropriate for the unique demands of the stressor

Control group

the group of participants in an experiment who receive no experimental treatment or intervention in order to serve as a baseline for comparison

Controlled experiment

a type of investigation in which the causal relationship between two variables is tested in a controlled environment; more specifically, the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable while aiming to control all other variables

Controlled variables

variables other than the IV that a researcher holds constant (controls) in an investigation, to ensure that changes in the DV are solely due to changes in the IV

Convenience sampling

any sampling technique that involves selecting readily available members of the population, rather than using a random or systematic approach

Coping

the process of dealing with a stressor

Coping flexibility

an individual's ability to adjust or change their coping strategies depending on the unique and changing demands of a stressor

Correlational study

a type of non-experimental study in which researchers observe and measure the relationship between two or more variables without any active control or manipulation of them

Cortisol

a hormone that is released in times of stress to aid the body in initiating and maintaining heightened arousal

Counterbalancing

a method to reduce order effects that involves ordering experimental conditions in a certain way

Country (in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures)

traditional lands of a particular language or cultural group, including both geographical boundaries and the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual connections to and within it

Cultural continuity

the passing down and active practice of cultural knowledge, traditions, and values from generation to generation

Culture (in relation to SEWB)

a strong sense of identity, values, tradition, and connection between the past, present, and future that drives behaviour and beliefs

Data

information used as part of or generated by an investigation

Daylight (in relation to zeitgebers)

the typical light an individual is exposed to during the day, and is mostly natural blue light

Debriefing

a procedure that ensures that, at the end of the experiment, the participant leaves understanding the experimental aim, results and conclusions

Deception

the act of intentionally misleading participants about the true nature of a study or procedure

Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS)

a type of circadian rhythm sleep disorder in which sleep and waking occur later than usual

Demand characteristics

cues in an experiment that may signal to a participant the intention of the study and influence their behaviour

Dendrite

a branched extension of a neuron on which receptor sites are located

Dependent variable (DV)

the variable the researcher measures in an experiment for changes it may experience due to the effect of the independent variable

Descriptive statistics

statistics that summarise, organise, and describe data

Determinants of wellbeing

factors that influence wellbeing on individual and community levels

Distress

a form of stress characterised by a negative psychological state

Dopamine

a neuromodulator primarily responsible for voluntary motor movement, the experience of pleasure, and reward-based learning

Double-blind procedure

a procedure in which both participants and the experimenter do not know which conditions or groups participants are allocated to

During conditioning

the second stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus, producing the unconditioned response

Eating and drinking patterns (in relation to zeitgebers)

what, when, and how much food and drink is consumed by an individual

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

a device that detects, amplifies, and records the electrical activity of the brain

Electromyograph (EMG)

a device that detects, amplifies, and records the electrical activity of the body's muscles

Electro-oculograph (EOG)

a device that detects, amplifies, and records the electrical activity of the muscles responsible for eye movement

Emotional wellbeing

the ability for an individual to appropriately control and express their own emotions in an adaptive way, as well as understand the emotions of others

Emotion-focused coping

the use of coping strategies that target the emotional components of a stressor, dealing with it indirectly rather than confronting its source

Empirical evidence

information obtained through direct and systematic observation or experimentation

Enteric nervous system

the network of nerves in the gut and is a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system

Ethical concepts

the broad, moral guiding principles that people should consider when conducting research, practising psychology, or when analysing a psychological issue or debate

Ethical guidelines (also known as participants' rights)

the procedures and principles used to ensure that participants are safe and respected

Eustress

a form of stress characterised by a positive psychological state