VCE Psychology Units 3 & 4: Key Science Skills, Learning, Memory, Sleep, Wellbeing, and Specific Phobia

Comprehensive practice flashcards in Question and Answer format covering VCE Psychology Units 3 & 4: Key Science Skills, Nervous System Functioning, Stress, Approaches to Learning, Memory Processes, Sleep Mechanics & Disorders, Mental Wellbeing, and Specific Phobia.

In an experimental investigation, what is the key difference between an independent variable (IV) and a dependent variable (DV)?

The independent variable (IV) is the variable that is systematically manipulated, chosen, or changed by the researcher, whereas the dependent variable (DV) is the variable that is measured to determine the effect of the IV.

How does an extraneous variable differ from a confounding variable in a controlled experiment?

An extraneous variable is any variable other than the IV that may cause an unwanted effect on the DV, whereas a confounding variable is an uncontrolled variable that has actively affected the DV, making it impossible to determine whether the IV or the confounding variable caused the observed change.

What is the defining requirement of a random sampling technique?

Every single member of the population of interest must have an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study.

How is a sample selected when using a stratified sampling technique?

The population of interest is first divided into distinct subgroups (strata) based on specific characteristics, and participants are then randomly selected from each subgroup in the exact proportions in which they appear in the population.

What is a primary advantage of a within subjects experimental design over a between subjects design?

It eliminates the extraneous variable of individual participant differences between conditions because the exact same participants are exposed to both the experimental and control conditions.

What are the five general ethical concepts applied when analysing psychological research and issues?

Integrity, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect.

What are the six core values outlined by the NHMRC for conducting ethical research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

Spirit and integrity, cultural continuity, equity, reciprocity, respect, and responsibility.

What projective psychological assessment technique, originally developed by Hermann Rorschach in 1921 but widely criticized for its lack of scientific consistency and validity, is illustrated in this image?

The Rorschach inkblot test.

In experimental data analysis, what distinguishes repeatability from reproducibility?

Repeatability is the closeness of agreement between successive measurements of the same quantity carried out under identical conditions by the same researcher, whereas reproducibility is the closeness of agreement of measurements of the same quantity carried out under changed conditions (such as different researchers, equipment, or locations).

How do systematic errors differ from random errors in terms of their effect on measurement quality?

Systematic errors affect accuracy by causing readings to differ from the true value by a consistent amount or proportion in one direction each time, whereas random errors affect precision by causing unpredictable variations that result in a spread of readings.

What are the two major divisions of the central nervous system (CNS) and their respective functions?

The brain (which receives, processes sensory stimuli, and coordinates conscious thought, voluntary movements, and internal regulation) and the spinal cord (which carries sensory information from the PNS to the brain, carries motor commands from the brain to the PNS, and coordinates spinal reflexes).

What are the contrasting functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?

The sympathetic nervous system activates physiological arousal to prepare the body for action in response to a perceived threat (the flight-or-fight-or-freeze response), whereas the parasympathetic nervous system maintains homeostasis during calm states and restores the body to a state of calm after a threat has passed.

What is the sequence of neural events in an unconscious spinal reflex arc?

Sensory receptors detect a stimulus and initiate an impulse along sensory (afferent) neurons to the spinal cord; interneurons in the spinal cord immediately relay an involuntary motor message to motor (efferent) neurons; motor neurons stimulate effector muscles to respond before the brain consciously registers the stimulus.

How do glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) differ in their effect on post-synaptic neurons?

Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS and increases the likelihood that a post-synaptic neuron will fire an action potential, whereas GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter and decreases the likelihood of action potential firing.

What is the fundamental difference between a neurotransmitter and a neuromodulator?

A neurotransmitter transmits rapid chemical signals directly across a single synapse to an adjacent post-synaptic neuron, whereas a neuromodulator is released more diffusely into brain tissue to alter the overall responsiveness and transmission efficiency of entire groups or regions of neurons over a longer period.

How do long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) cooperate during synaptic plasticity?

Long-term potentiation (LTP) causes a relatively permanent strengthening of synaptic connections through repeated high-frequency stimulation (promoting sprouting and synaptogenesis), while long-term depression (LTD) causes a relatively permanent weakening of synaptic connections through prolonged low-level stimulation (facilitating pruning of unused pathways).

What role does the hormone cortisol play during chronic stress, and what is the cost of prolonged exposure?

Cortisol increases blood glucose levels, heightens alertness, and diverts energy from non-essential functions (such as digestion and reproduction) to help the body adapt over long periods; however, prolonged high levels suppress the immune system, increasing vulnerability to infections, illnesses, and physical wear and tear.

What is the gut–brain axis (GBA)?

The bidirectional communication network linking the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS), which regulates psychological processes and gastrointestinal function primarily via the vagus nerve and chemical signaling by gut microbiota.

What are the three stages of Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)?

Stage 1: Alarm reaction (consisting of the initial shock phase where resistance drops, followed by countershock where the flight-or-fight-or-freeze response is triggered); Stage 2: Resistance (where resistance rises above normal and cortisol levels peak to sustain coping); Stage 3: Exhaustion (where bodily resources are depleted and resistance collapses, causing high susceptibility to illness).

In the transactional model of stress and coping by Lazarus and Folkman, what is evaluated during primary appraisal?

The individual evaluates the personal significance of an event, categorising it as either not stressful (irrelevant or benign/positive) or stressful (harm/loss, threat, or challenge).

What occurs during secondary appraisal in Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model of stress and coping?

The individual evaluates their available internal and external coping resources and strategies to decide whether they are adequate to meet the demands of the stressor.

What distinguishes an approach coping strategy from an avoidance coping strategy?

An approach strategy directly confronts the stressor and its underlying causes to resolve the issue, whereas an avoidance strategy evades or shifts focus away from the stressor to obtain short-term relief without addressing the source.

In classical conditioning, what process defines acquisition?

Acquisition is the phase during conditioning when the neutral stimulus (NS) is repeatedly presented immediately before the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), forming an association that leads the organism to produce a conditioned response.

In operant conditioning, what is the difference between negative reinforcement and positive punishment?

Negative reinforcement involves removing an undesirable or unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated, whereas positive punishment involves adding an undesirable or unpleasant stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.

What are the five essential stages of observational learning as defined by Albert Bandura?

Attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, and reinforcement.

What are the capacity and duration limits of sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM) according to the Atkinson–Shiffrin multi-store model?

Sensory memory has an unlimited capacity and a duration of $0.2\text{ to }4\text{ seconds}$; STM has a capacity of $7 \pm 2\text{ items}$ ($5\text{ to }9\text{ items}$) and a duration of $12\text{ to }30\text{ seconds}$; LTM has an unlimited capacity and a relatively permanent duration.

What specific roles do the hippocampus, amygdala, and neocortex serve in explicit memory processing?

The hippocampus encodes and consolidates explicit (semantic and episodic) memories before transferring them for storage; the amygdala encodes emotional aspects (particularly fear) and signals memory significance; the neocortex permanently stores distributed explicit memories across the cortical lobes where the original sensory inputs were processed.

What roles do the basal ganglia and cerebellum play in implicit memory processing?

The basal ganglia encode and regulate procedural memories for motor habits, routines, and reward-based movements, whereas the cerebellum encodes and temporarily stores implicit procedural memories for motor skills and simple classically conditioned reflexes.

What are the primary neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease identified in post-mortem brain tissue?

Extracellular amyloid plaques (abnormal build-up of beta-amyloid protein fragments between neurons that disrupt communication) and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (abnormal build-up of tau protein strands inside neurons leading to cell death), alongside cortical atrophy and destruction of acetylcholine-producing neurons.

What is aphantasia and what are its two recognised forms?

Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily generate or visualise mental imagery in one's mind's eye; it can be congenital (present from birth) or acquired (occurring after brain injury, stroke, or severe psychological trauma).

How do songlines function as complex mnemonic devices in Aboriginal oral cultures?

Songlines are sung narratives of the landscape that record the journeys of ancestral creator spirits; as a person traverses Country, specific physical landmarks act as sequential spatial retrieval cues that unlock embedded ecological, legal, cultural, and survival knowledge.

What physiological responses are detected, amplified, and recorded by electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and electro-oculography (EOG)?

An EEG detects, amplifies, and records the electrical activity of the brain; an EMG detects, amplifies, and records the electrical activity of skeletal muscles; an EOG detects, amplifies, and records the electrical activity of muscles that control eye movements.

How does the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) interact with the pineal gland to regulate the sleep–wake cycle?

Light detected by the retinas signals the SCN to send inhibitory messages to the pineal gland to suppress melatonin release during the day, maintaining wakefulness; when light decreases at night, the SCN signals the pineal gland to secrete melatonin into the bloodstream, inducing drowsiness.

How do total sleep duration and the proportion of REM sleep change from infancy to older adulthood?

Newborns sleep $14\text{ to }17\text{ hours}$ per day with approximately $50\%$ in REM sleep, whereas older adults ($\ge 65\text{ years}$) sleep approximately $7\text{ to }8\text{ hours}$ with approximately $18\text{ to }20\%$ in REM sleep and significantly diminished or absent NREM Stage 3 (N3) deep sleep.

How do the effects of $17\text{ hours}$ and $24\text{ hours}$ of sustained wakefulness compare to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels?

Sustained wakefulness of $17\text{ hours}$ produces cognitive and affective performance impairments equivalent to a BAC of $0.05\%$, while $24\text{ hours}$ of sustained wakefulness produces impairments equivalent to a BAC of $0.10\%$.

What is the key difference between Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) and Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder (ASPD)?

DSPS is characterized by a persistent delay of sleep onset and waking times by two or more hours later than desired or socially acceptable, whereas ASPD involves an advance of sleep onset and waking times by two or more hours earlier than desired.

Why is exposure to blue light before bedtime detrimental to sleep hygiene?

Blue light wavelengths from screens and artificial lights powerfully stimulate light-sensitive retinal cells that signal the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to suppress melatonin secretion from the pineal gland, thereby preventing drowsiness and delaying the onset of sleep.

How does gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) dysfunction contribute to the biological vulnerability for developing a specific phobia?

A failure to produce, release, or receive adequate levels of GABA means the central nervous system lacks sufficient inhibitory signals to counteract the excitatory effects of glutamate, leaving the individual with uncontrolled neural hyperactivity and an easily triggered, exaggerated fight-or-fight-or-freeze response.

How do short-acting benzodiazepines function as GABA agonists in the biological management of phobic anxiety?

Benzodiazepines act as GABA agonists by binding to post-synaptic GABA receptor sites, where they mimic and enhance the inhibitory action of GABA, making post-synaptic neurons less likely to fire action potentials and thereby reducing physiological arousal.

How do classical conditioning and operant conditioning respectively explain the development and maintenance of a specific phobia under the behavioural model?

Classical conditioning precipitates the phobia when a previously neutral stimulus is paired with a traumatic or frightening event (UCS) to produce an involuntary conditioned fear response (CR); operant conditioning perpetuates the phobia because avoiding the phobic stimulus removes anxiety (negative reinforcement), increasing the likelihood of future avoidance behaviour.

What are the three sequential steps used in systematic desensitisation to treat a specific phobia?

1. Training the client in a physiological relaxation technique (e.g., breathing retraining); 2. Constructing a fear hierarchy ordering phobia-related stimuli from least to most frightening; 3. Gradually and pairing each step of the hierarchy with the relaxation technique until the phobic stimulus elicits relaxation rather than fear.

In social interventions for specific phobias, what two key strategies are emphasized during psychoeducation for families and supporters?

Challenging the sufferer's unrealistic or anxious cognitive thoughts through calm, rational questioning, and actively avoiding the reinforcement of avoidance behaviours by encouraging gradual, supported exposure.