VCE Psychology 2022

Every question from the 2022 VCE Psychology examination, the last exam on the previous 2017 to 2022 study design. Multiple-choice answers come with a short reason; Section B model answers sit behind a Show worked solution toggle. Questions on topics that have since left the course are flagged, so you know what to skip or adapt.

How to use this page

• Questions are from the 2022 VCE Psychology examination, copyright Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). Each is summarised briefly here; open the official examination PDF for the full wording, data and diagrams.
• Answers are original ExamExplained model answers. Every multiple-choice answer matches the key in the 2022 Psychology external assessment report (Word document), and every Section B answer was checked against the points the report accepted. Both files are listed on the VCAA Psychology examinations page.
• Percentages after multiple-choice answers are the share of students who chose the correct option. In Section B, "From the report" notes summarise what the examiners said students got wrong.
• Psychology answers are marked on the points made, so the model answers below are written as one clear point per mark and tied to the scenario. Other correct points were also accepted; the report lists them.

Which questions still apply

This paper was set on the VCE Psychology study design for 2017 to 2022 (Units 3 and 4 from 2017). The current study design began in 2023, and the 2023 exam was the first on it. Much of the core is the same (the nervous system, stress, learning, memory, sleep and specific phobia), but some topics were removed and some terms changed.

• Outside the current Units 3 and 4: Section A Questions 6 (Parkinson's disease), 17 (the serial position effect), 21 (Loftus and eyewitness testimony), 26 and 27 (induced altered states and controlled processing), 28 (parasomnias and dyssomnias), 30 (the restorative theory of sleep), 41 (self-efficacy), 46 (the transtheoretical model) and 47 (rumination); Section B Questions 3a (daily pressures and life events), 4b (recall and recognition), 4d (context-dependent cues) and 5a and 5b (altered states of consciousness induced by a sedative).
• Partly outside: Section A Questions 13, 18, 22, 23, 32, 33, 36, 38 and 39, and Section B Questions 4c, 5c, 6a and 8. The notes on each question say what still applies.
• Terms that changed: the current design uses between-subjects and within-subjects designs (not independent groups and repeated measures), and three NREM stages, not four (old stages 3 and 4 are now NREM stage 3).
• Everything else (the nervous system and neurotransmitters, synaptic plasticity, Selye and Lazarus and Folkman, coping, conditioning and observational learning, the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, sleep and sleep deprivation, specific phobia and the science skills) is still examinable and good practice.

Structure and timing

The paper is 120 marks in 150 minutes (plus 15 minutes reading time). That is 1.25 minutes per mark. The layout differs from the 2023 to 2025 papers.

• Section A (50 marks): 50 multiple-choice questions, mostly in scenario sets. Aim for about 55 minutes.
• Section B (70 marks): 8 questions, ending with a 10-mark extended response (Question 8) on bright light therapy and CBT for teenagers' sleep, marked holistically.

Section A: Multiple choice

Q1

The somatic nervous system Answer: B - enables deliberate (voluntary) movement of the body. Visceral muscles and the fight-flight-freeze response belong to the autonomic nervous system. (70%)

Q2

Roles of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. Answer: C - the parasympathetic regulates heart function and breathing (keeping balance); the sympathetic sends blood away from internal organs to the skeletal muscles of the limbs. The parasympathetic stimulates digestion rather than inhibiting it, so A is wrong. (45%; 29% chose A.)

Q3

A 12-week-old kitten meeting the family dog hisses, spits and briefly stands still. Answer: D - both her parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems were activated: hissing and spitting is a sympathetic-dominant fight response, and standing still is a freeze response. The brain, not the spinal cord, starts the fight-flight-freeze response (C). (49%; 40% chose C.)

Q4

The role of an axon Answer: C - carries nerve impulses away from the cell body, towards the axon terminals. (75%)

Q5

Why neural transmission is called a lock-and-key process. Answer: C - a neurotransmitter is only accepted by a receptor site with a complementary shape on the post-synaptic dendrite. The shapes are complementary, not the same (D). (39%; 51% chose D.)

Q6

Which is true of Parkinson's disease? Answer: A - the death of dopamine-producing neurons causes tremors. (79%) Study design: outside the current Units 3 and 4; Parkinson's disease is no longer a named example.

Q7

Denver practises for weeks before an orchestra audition. Which neural change occurred? Answer: D - unnecessary pathways were pruned as their technique developed. Myelin covers axons, not dendrites, and pathways are strengthened by correct practice, not errors. (62%)

Q8

Denver's nervous system during the audition. Answer: A - the peripheral (somatic) nervous system coordinated their hand movements. Voluntary finger movements are not controlled by the sympathetic or parasympathetic systems. (76%)

Q9

Shanvi, an emergency doctor on long, stressful shifts for years, is diagnosed with a digestive illness. Her stage of Selye's GAS? Answer: D - exhaustion: after prolonged stress her body can no longer cope, and she has developed an illness. (66%; 22% chose B.)

Q10

An avoidance strategy Answer: C - can reduce stress when nothing can be done about the stressor. Avoidance is not always maladaptive (B). (45%; 54% chose B.)

Q11

Justine learns editing Technique A, then a very different Technique B. Long-term potentiation of Technique B would require Answer: D - more glutamate released and stronger signal transmission in the Technique B pathway. LTP of B does not depend on LTD of A (A). (67%; 26% chose A.)

Q12

Justine chooses Technique B for close-ups of faces. Phases and components of operant conditioning. Answer: B - behaviour: using Technique B; consequence: getting the result she wanted. (72%)

Q13

An example of stimulus discrimination while using Technique B. Answer: D - recognising the visual cues that best suit Technique B, so she uses it only for those shots. Option A describes the behaviour, not the discrimination. (47%; 33% chose A.) Study design: partly outside; the antecedent-behaviour-consequence model is still in the course, but stimulus discrimination is no longer named.

Q14

A necessary element of Justine's observational learning from an experienced editor. Answer: A - committing the processes to memory (retention). Putting the skills into practice (B) is not required for learning to occur, since learnt behaviour can stay latent until needed. (31%; 34% chose B.)

Q15

Barnaby was stung by a swarm of bees and now panics at a picture of a bee. Answer: C - the conditioned stimulus is seeing a picture of a bee. (79%)

Q16

Where would Mario's memory of the phone call telling him he won, and of the feeling it caused, be permanently stored? Answer: D - both in the cerebral cortex. The hippocampus binds the parts of the experience (including the emotional input from the amygdala) and the amygdala adds emotion, but permanent storage is in the cortex. (28%; 48% chose B.)

Q17

Dr Juc presents 30 words slowly to Group 1 and quickly to Group 2; both groups then do a two-minute maths task before recall. Expected result? Answer: D - in both groups, words recalled from the middle and end of the list take longer to recall (higher lapsed time) than words from the start. The two-minute delay removes the recency effect in both groups, so A and B are wrong. (34%; 28% chose B.) Study design: outside the current course; the serial position effect is not in it.

Q18

Group 1 (slow pace) recalled words faster on average than Group 2. Likely reason? Answer: C - with 5 seconds per word, Group 1 could use maintenance rehearsal on each word as it was presented. Rehearsal extends how long information stays in short-term memory, not its capacity (B). (40%; 37% chose B.) Study design: partly outside; the Atkinson-Shiffrin model is in the course, but types of rehearsal are no longer named.

Q19

To minimise confounding variables, Dr Juc should Answer: C - use random allocation, so participant variables are less likely to differ between groups. Stratified sampling chooses who is in the sample; it does not decide which group each person joins (A). (28%; 44% chose A.)

Q20

How long does each word stay in sensory memory? Answer: A - about 0.2 to 4 seconds. (82%)

Q21

Following Loftus's research, eyewitness testimony is more likely to be inaccurate if the witness is asked Answer: B - about the colour of the jacket the perpetrator wore: a question that assumes a detail can plant misleading information. (52%) Study design: outside the current course; eyewitness testimony and Loftus are not in it.

Q22

River has anterograde amnesia after a brain injury a year ago. Which symptom also supports the multi-store model? Answer: B - River cannot remember lunch but recalls a birthday party from 10 years ago in detail: new information cannot be transferred to long-term memory, while memories stored before the injury remain. (75%) Study design: partly outside; the multi-store model is in the course, but amnesia is not named.

Q23

Lucinda trains one group of beagles and poodles with a dog biscuit and a different group with a dog toy. Her design? Answer: C - independent groups (different participants in each condition). (50%) Study design: partly outside only in wording; the current design calls this a between-subjects design.

Q24

A possible conclusion for this experiment. Answer: D - beagles need fewer training sessions than poodles when rewarded with a biscuit rather than a toy. It is the only option stated in terms of the measured variable (number of training sessions) and both independent variables. (59%)

Q25

If the same dogs did both parts, would she need to counterbalance? Answer: B - yes, because the order of the rewards might affect the results. Counterbalancing applies to the order of the independent variable's conditions (biscuit or toy), not the order in which breeds are trained (D). (45%; 35% chose D.)

Q26

Which results in an induced altered state of consciousness? Answer: C - a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC), which is deliberately brought on by drinking alcohol. Daydreaming is naturally occurring. (77%) Study design: outside the current course, which covers only sleep as a naturally occurring altered state.

Q27

Mavis uses controlled processing to listen to her netball coach while a noisy game goes on nearby. Answer: D - she is aware the game is being played but attends to the details of the instructions. (74%) Study design: outside the current course; controlled and automatic processing are not in it.

Q28

Sunil has the same terrifying dream as soon as he enters REM sleep and wakes five or six times a night. What type of sleep disorder? Answer: D - a parasomnia, because he experiences abnormal activity during sleep. A dyssomnia is trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep (B). (41%; 44% chose B.) Study design: outside the current course; parasomnias and dyssomnias are no longer listed.

Q29

The method that gives the best qualitative data about Sunil's disorder. Answer: B - a sleep diary in which he describes his nightmares in words. (59%)

Q30

Sunil gets enough NREM but too little REM sleep. Under the restorative theory, the likely result is Answer: A - reduced creativity, because REM sleep restores the brain (cognitive recovery). Physical recovery is linked to NREM sleep (C). (65%; 26% chose C.) Study design: outside the current course; theories of the purpose of sleep are not in it.

Q31

Sunil's diary says he is more accident-prone and easily upset and frustrated since his disorder began. Answer: D - primary data (collected first-hand for the investigation) showing a behavioural effect (being accident-prone). (51%; 25% chose C.)

Q32

Compared with others his age, Sunil probably spends a higher proportion of the night in Answer: B - NREM stages 1 and 2: he wakes each time REM begins and falls back into light sleep, so light NREM makes up more of his night. (55%; 30% chose C.) Study design: partly outside; proportions of REM and NREM are in the course, but it now uses NREM stages 1 to 3.

Q33

Brain activity in someone who has taken a depressant. Answer: B - brain waves increase in amplitude and decrease in frequency. (74%) Study design: partly outside; EEG readings are still examined for sleep, but drug-induced altered states are not.

Q34

Fifty shiftworkers estimate how long they took to fall asleep. Which statistic best reveals the effect of outliers? Answer: D - standard deviation, which shows how spread out the data are around the mean. A large spread suggests extreme scores. (46%; 32% chose A.)

Q35

Four people: W (36 hours awake, BAC 0.00), X (15 hours, 0.05), Y (9 hours, 0.05), Z (1 hour, 0.10). Who is likely to self-report the most irritability and stress? Answer: A - Individual W. W has been awake for 36 hours, far longer than anyone else, and sleep deprivation has affective effects such as irritability and stress. One full night without sleep impairs functioning about as much as a BAC of 0.10, and W is well past that point. (69%)

Q36

Teenagers Zachary (asleep 20 minutes) and Zoe (asleep 50 minutes). Their likely sleep stages? Answer: B - Zachary in NREM stage 2, Zoe in NREM stage 4 (deep sleep). The first REM period usually comes after about 90 minutes. (66%) Study design: partly outside only in wording; old NREM stage 4 is now part of NREM stage 3.

Q37

Conclusions from qualitative data are often not generalised because Answer: all four options were accepted. After psychometric analysis of the question, VCAA gave the mark for A, B, C or D. The most defensible answer is C: qualitative studies focus on a particular area and context. (A 35%, B 14%, C 39%, D 12%.)

Q38

Nareesh has recently moved to Australia, is struggling with cultural differences and separation from family, has barely slept for two days and relies on coffee. He visits a new friend for help. Answer: D - poor sleep is a precipitating biological factor, acculturative stress a precipitating psychological factor, and a friend's support a protective social factor. (86%) Study design: partly outside; the biopsychosocial approach and protective factors are in the course, but precipitating and perpetuating factors are now named only for specific phobia.

Q39

Ben, working on a farm and missing home, sleeps badly and is often near tears. What contributed to his doctor suggesting a mental health problem? Answer: A - feelings of unhappiness and difficulty sleeping. (65%) Study design: partly outside; the current course places people on a mental wellbeing continuum and no longer distinguishes mental health problems from disorders.

Q40

Ben does not want to appear vulnerable to his employer or family. The type of risk factor and why. Answer: C - social: he fears being seen as not coping because of his mental health. (64%; 26% chose A.)

Q41

Ben now believes he is doing a good job and asks to learn new skills. Answer: A - self-efficacy: belief in his own ability to succeed. (84%) Study design: outside the current course; self-efficacy is not named in it.

Q42

The neurotransmitter contributing to anxiety, its level and its main effect. Answer: A - GABA, low, inhibitory. Too little inhibition lets neurons fire too readily. (71%)

Q43

Vanessa was injured by a swooping magpie and now refuses to walk to school, even after swooping season. Her response is Answer: A - a learned behaviour, acquired through experience and kept going by the relief of avoiding the walk. It is not adaptive (D), because it continues after the threat has gone. (28%; 57% chose D.)

Q44

Vanessa's racing heart and sweaty palms at the thought of walking to school are typical of Answer: B - classical conditioning, because walking to school has become associated with the attack. (76%)

Q45

What shows a specific phobia rather than anxiety alone? Answer: B - she will not walk to school even after swooping season ends: avoidance out of proportion to any real danger. (75%)

Q46

Indi will drink soft drinks only once a week from next month; Jovi has no plans to cut down. Their stages of the transtheoretical model? Answer: B - Indi in preparation, Jovi in pre-contemplation. (80%) Study design: outside the current course; the transtheoretical model is not in it.

Q47

Indi keeps thinking about the health effects of soft drinks. Answer: B - rumination: repeatedly dwelling on the same thoughts. (66%) Study design: outside the current course.

Q48

The most appropriate ethics procedures for an experiment with primary school students. Answer: C - written consent from a parent or guardian and the student, information about the findings at the end, and the right for the student or parent to withdraw the student at any time. (89%)

Q49

Systematic desensitisation is Answer: C - using a learned relaxation technique while being exposed to stimuli from the least to the most fear-inducing. Relaxation and exposure happen together, not one after the other (B). (67%; 23% chose B.)

Q50

Classes A and B both have a mean of 5 out of 10; standard deviations are 0.5 (A) and 1.5 (B). Answer: A - Class B's scores varied more. The equal means say nothing about one class scoring lower overall. (73%)

Section B

Question 1 (8 marks)

Watson and Rayner conditioned 11-month-old "Little Albert" by pairing a loud noise with a white rat. During conditioning he startled and breathed heavily; afterwards he trembled and cried at the sight of a white rat, and later at other white, furry objects.

a

Outline the processes needed during conditioning for Little Albert to acquire his emotional responses. (3 marks)

b

Outline how one ethical principle could have been applied to prevent possible long-term distress for Little Albert. (2 marks)

c

Outline the role of a neurotransmitter involved in conditioning Little Albert's response. (3 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [3 marks].

• The neutral stimulus (the white rat) was paired with the unconditioned stimulus (the loud noise).
• The pairing was repeated many times.
• Each time, the white rat was presented just before the loud noise, so Albert came to associate the rat with the noise (and the fear it caused).

b. [2 marks]. Withdrawal rights. Albert (through his parent) should have been able to leave the study at any time, for example as soon as he became distressed, so the frightening pairings would have stopped before lasting harm was done. (Debriefing, informed consent, voluntary participation, respect and beneficence were also accepted, if the description matched the principle.)

c. [3 marks].

• Glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter, is involved.
• Each pairing of the rat and the noise released glutamate at synapses in the pathway linking them, making the post-synaptic neurons more likely to fire.
• Repeated firing strengthened this pathway (long-term potentiation), so the association was learnt and the sight of the rat alone came to trigger Albert's fear.

(Adrenaline was also accepted: released by the fright, it activates the amygdala and strengthens the emotional memory of fear of the rat.)

From the report. In a, many students mixed up the neutral and unconditioned stimuli, or said the two were paired without saying the rat came first. In b, the principle named had to match its description. In c, many named a neurotransmitter but described its role in learning only vaguely, or wrote about neurotransmitters in general.

Question 2 (8 marks)

For a student-led investigation, Brendan measured mean heart rates before and after two groups watched different movies. Group 1 (horror): 65 bpm before, 130 bpm after. Group 2 (romantic comedy): 60 bpm before, 70 bpm after. A normal heart rate is 60 to 80 bpm.

a

Write a possible research hypothesis. (3 marks)

b

Referring to physiological responses, explain the differences between the groups' heart rates before and after the movies. (2 marks)

c

Interpret each group's results with reference to Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome. (3 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [3 marks]. It is hypothesised that people who watch a horror movie will show a greater increase in stress (measured by change in heart rate) than people who watch a romantic comedy.

This has the independent variable (both movie types), the dependent variable (stress, measured by change in heart rate) and a direction.

b. [2 marks]. Group 1's heart rate doubled (65 to 130 bpm, a rise of 65 bpm, well above the normal range), while Group 2's rose by only 10 bpm and stayed normal. The horror movie activated the sympathetic nervous system (a fight-flight-freeze response, with adrenaline released), which raised heart rate; the romantic comedy did not.

c. [3 marks].

• Group 1 entered the alarm reaction stage (the countershock substage) of the GAS.
• The horror movie was a sudden stressor, and the body mobilised against it: resistance rose above normal and heart rate climbed to 130 bpm.
• Group 2 stayed at a normal level of resistance and did not enter any stage of the GAS: their heart rate stayed within 60 to 80 bpm.

From the report. In a, "increased heart rate" was not accepted as the dependent variable; it had to be stress, or the change in heart rate from before to after the movie. In c, answers needed a reason for Group 1's stage and a comment on Group 2.

Question 3 (11 marks)

A study asked participants to rate the severity of any of 100 daily pressures and life events they had experienced, on a four-point scale, and how often they had headaches. Headache frequency was higher for participants with higher average daily pressure scores than for those with higher life event scores. The perceived severity of the pressures, not their number, best predicted headache frequency.

a

Outline the difference between daily pressures and life events, with an example of each. (2 marks)

b

Why did the researchers use a rating scale, and what might be a limitation of it in this study? (2 marks)

c

Suggest one possible confounding variable and how it could affect the results. (2 marks)

d

Using Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, explain how the link between daily pressures and headache frequency might arise. Explain both types of appraisal. (5 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [2 marks]

A daily pressure is a minor, frequent hassle that people can usually manage, such as being stuck in traffic; a life event is a rarer, major change that requires significant adjustment, such as the death of a family member.

b. [2 marks]

Reason: a rating scale gives a (subjective) measure of how severe each participant perceived each stressor to be, which is what the study linked to headaches. Limitation: participants may not remember or judge accurately how severe past stressors were, and a four-point scale is too narrow to capture differences between them.

c. [2 marks]

Medication use. Participants taking anti-anxiety medication or antidepressants might perceive their daily pressures as less severe and rate them lower than they otherwise would, weakening the apparent link between severity ratings and headaches. (Other variables were accepted if they fitted the scenario and the answer explained how they could change the severity ratings, the headache frequency or the link between them.)

d. [5 marks]

• In primary appraisal, a person judges whether a stressor is irrelevant, benign-positive or stressful (harm/loss, threat or challenge).
• Participants with frequent headaches have appraised their daily pressures as stressful, not irrelevant or benign; those who appraised them as benign would be expected to have fewer headaches.
• In secondary appraisal, the person evaluates whether they have the coping resources to deal with the stressor.
• Stress is experienced when the demands of the daily pressures seem greater than the resources available.
• Participants who rated their daily pressures as severe probably judged that they lacked the resources to cope, so they experienced more stress and more frequent headaches; those who felt able to cope had fewer.

From the report. Part b was hard (19% full marks): saying the scale gives quantitative or subjective data did not justify its use, since that could equally be an advantage. In c, sample size, sampling and research design are not confounding variables. In d, a common error was to leave out Lazarus and Folkman's terms; a generic answer that never mentioned headaches or daily pressures could score at most 2.

Study design: part a is outside the current course, which uses internal and external stressors instead of daily pressures and life events. Parts b to d still apply.

Question 4 (10 marks)

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and studied a list of 80 words over two hours. Condition A: no music while learning or remembering. Condition B: music while learning and remembering. Condition C: music while learning, none while remembering. On day one, they circled the original words in a list of 200; on day two, they wrote down as many original words as they could. A bar graph shows about 31 (day one) and 10 (day two) words remembered in Condition A, about 65 and 57 in Condition B, and about 32 and 11 in Condition C.

a

Using the Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model, outline three processes as the words transfer from sensory to long-term memory. (3 marks)

b

Explain the different results from the two retrieval methods used on day one and day two. (3 marks)

c

Why is Condition C included? (2 marks)

d

Using psychological terminology, explain why Condition B recalled more words on both days. (2 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [3 marks].

• The words first enter sensory memory; those the participants pay attention to are transferred to short-term memory.
• In short-term memory, the words are rehearsed, which keeps them in short-term memory for longer.
• Rehearsed words are encoded into long-term memory, where they are stored relatively permanently.

b. [3 marks]

Day one used recognition (identifying the original words among 200) and day two used recall (writing the words down with no cues). In every condition participants remembered more words on day one, because recognition provides retrieval cues (the words themselves), which makes it a more sensitive measure of retention than recall.

c. [2 marks]

Condition C is a comparison group: music was present while learning but not while remembering. Comparing it with Condition B (music at both times) shows whether it is having music at both encoding and retrieval that improves remembering, rather than music during learning alone.

d. [2 marks]

The music acted as a context-dependent cue. Because the same music was playing when the words were encoded and when they were retrieved, the matching environment cued retrieval, so more words were remembered.

From the report. In a, many left out short-term memory, or described retrieval, which is not part of transferring information into long-term memory. In b, day one was often misnamed cued recall instead of recognition. Part c was poorly answered (12% full marks). In d, a common error was to call the music a state-dependent cue.

Study design: parts b and d are outside the current course, which no longer covers methods of retrieval or context- and state-dependent cues. Part a still applies. In c, the idea of a comparison condition still applies, but its link to context-dependent cues does not.

Question 5 (7 marks)

In conscious sedation, a dentist gives a healthy patient a central nervous system depressant or sedative, inducing an altered state of consciousness to suppress pain. The patient can still respond to words and touch, so the dentist gets real-time feedback about their state of consciousness.

a

Why do dentists need to use external cues to determine whether a patient is in an altered state of consciousness? (1 mark)

b

Identify four indicators of change in the patient's psychological state and outline how the dentist might use each to tell that the patient is in an altered state. (4 marks)

c

Outline how researchers at a university dental hospital could use one physiological measure to decide whether a patient has reached an altered state after the sedative is given. (2 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [1 mark]. Consciousness is a private experience, so the dentist must judge the patient's level of awareness from outside, to make sure they will not feel pain during the treatment.

b. [4 marks].

• Cognitive ability: the patient cannot correctly tell the dentist their address or date of birth.
• Time orientation: afterwards, the patient says a long procedure felt very short.
• Perception: the patient reports seeing things the dentist cannot see, or feeling little from touch or the drill.
• Emotional awareness: the patient laughs or cries at nothing, out of keeping with the situation.

c. [2 marks]. EEG. Once the sedative has taken effect, the EEG would show brain waves of lower frequency and higher amplitude than before (fewer beta waves, more alpha or theta waves), indicating the patient has entered an altered state.

(EMG, reaction time or heart rate were also accepted, if linked to a reduction caused by the depressant.)

From the report. Part a was poorly answered (only 25% got the mark): many described how to measure consciousness instead of saying why external cues are needed. In b, generic indicators with no link to the dental scenario, and physiological indicators, did not score. In c, answers had to link the measure to the depressant, usually as a reduction.

Study design: parts a and b are outside the current course, which no longer covers altered states of consciousness induced by drugs or their psychological indicators. In c, EEG measurement is still examined, but for sleep.

Question 6 (6 marks)

When Annabelle's retail shifts are cut, she feels stressed and often complains to a colleague about unfair treatment. Realising she cannot change the situation, she researches how to improve her employability, gets a trial with a new employer and proves her customer-service skills. She is also studying part time; when her final assignment clashes with a family commitment interstate, she asks her teacher for more time.

a. Identify three typical characteristics of a mentally healthy person and describe how Annabelle shows each. (3 marks)

b. Explain how Annabelle used a strategy with context-specific effectiveness to manage one external factor affecting her mental health. (3 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [3 marks].

• Resilience: after losing shifts she bounced back, finding a new job rather than staying stuck.
• High level of functioning: she manages work, part-time study and family commitments.
• High self-efficacy: she believed in her skills enough to convince an employer to give her a trial, and proved herself.

(Coping flexibility, independence, a positive mindset and social interaction were also accepted, if the description matched.)

b. [3 marks].

• External factor: her reduced shifts at work.
• Strategy: she researched how to improve her employability and gained a trial with a new employer, an approach strategy aimed at the problem itself.
• Context-specific effectiveness: this strategy matched the demands of the stressor (a lack of work) and removed it, because she got a new job; complaining to her colleague did not.

(The assignment clash, managed by asking her teacher for more time, was also accepted.)

From the report. In a, the three characteristics had to be clearly different, with matching descriptions. In b, complaining to her colleague was not accepted as the strategy, since complaining is not an approach strategy and it left the stressor in place.

Study design: part a is partly outside; levels of functioning and resilience are in the current course, but the list of characteristics of a mentally healthy person (such as self-efficacy) is not. Part b still applies.

Question 7 (10 marks)

Eloise, aged five, developed a mouse phobia after a mouse crawled on her and woke her six months ago. She cannot bear being near a mouse and refuses to go into her bedroom.

a

Using the language of operant conditioning, outline how the phobia was perpetuated. (2 marks)

b

Explain how a specific environmental trigger contributed to the development of the phobia. (2 marks)

c

Explain how one evidence-based social intervention could improve Eloise's resilience in dealing with her phobia. (3 marks)

d

Explain how one biological factor may act as both a risk factor and a protective factor in the development of the phobia. (3 marks)

Show worked solution

a. [2 marks]

Negative reinforcement. When Eloise avoids mice (and her bedroom), her unpleasant feeling of fear is removed, which strengthens the avoidance, so the phobia continues.

b. [2 marks]

The specific environmental trigger was the mouse that crawled on her and woke her. The fright released adrenaline, which helped form a strong emotional memory of the mouse, contributing to her phobia of mice.

c. [3 marks]

• Psychoeducation for her family (her parents).
• Her parents learn to challenge her unrealistic, anxious thoughts about mice and not to encourage her avoidance, for example by not letting her avoid her bedroom.
• With this support, Eloise gradually faces situations involving mice rather than avoiding them, so she is better able to cope when she next confronts a mouse.

d. [3 marks].

• Genetic vulnerability is a biological factor.
• Risk: if a biological parent has a phobia or an anxiety disorder, Eloise may have inherited a vulnerability that made developing a phobia more likely after the mouse incident.
• Protective: if her biological family has no such history, her genes could have protected her from developing a phobia.

(Other biological factors were accepted, such as GABA or sleep: sleep deprivation makes calm, rational responses less likely, while adequate sleep helps her stay calmer.)

From the report. Few students got full marks on any part (20% in a, 14% in b, 12% in c and 12% in d). In a, naming any other consequence scored nothing, and saying only that negative reinforcement perpetuated the phobia repeated the question. In b, answers about Eloise associating her bedroom with the mouse were wrong, since that would produce a phobia of the bedroom. In d, treatments such as benzodiazepines did not answer a question about development.

Question 8 (10 marks)

A study reported by Stanford Medicine News Center tested treatments for the sleep-wake shift in teenagers, in two four-week parts with different participants, using a fake (too brief) light therapy as the control. Part 1: bright light therapy alone made participants feel tired earlier than fake light therapy, but they did not go to bed earlier or sleep longer. Part 2: with CBT plus bright light therapy, participants slept 43 minutes more a night, went to bed 50 minutes earlier and were six times more successful at keeping consistent bedtimes than with CBT plus fake light therapy. Earlier studies found CBT alone helped teenagers fall asleep 10 to 15 minutes sooner on average.

Evaluate the contribution of bright light therapy and CBT to the teenagers' improved sleeping habits. Explain the sleep-wake shift in adolescence and how the two treatments can reduce its impact. Evaluating the study's methodology is not required. (10 marks)

Show worked solution

[10 marks]. This is marked holistically. A strong response could cover the following.

• The sleep-wake shift. The sleep-wake cycle is a circadian rhythm synchronised by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which responds mainly to light. As light fades, the SCN signals the pineal gland to release melatonin, making us drowsy. In adolescence, melatonin is released later, so the sleep-wake cycle shifts about two hours later: teenagers do not feel sleepy until late at night, mainly for biological reasons. Homework, screens and social life can push bedtime later still.
• Its impact. Teenagers need about 9 to 10 hours of sleep but must get up early for school, so many become sleep deprived. Sleeping in on weekends can shift their body clock even later. Effects include affective (moodiness), cognitive (poor concentration, careless errors) and behavioural (clumsiness) changes.
• How bright light therapy works. Bright light acts as a zeitgeber: exposure in the early morning signals daylight to the SCN, which shifts the body clock earlier, so melatonin is released earlier and teenagers feel tired earlier in the evening.
• How CBT works. CBT changes teenagers' thoughts about sleep (for example, linking more sleep to things they value, such as schoolwork or sport) and their behaviours (setting a regular bedtime, sleep hygiene, not sleeping in on weekends).
• Evaluating bright light therapy. In Part 1 it made participants feel tired earlier, but on its own it did not change when they went to bed or how long they slept, so alone it did not improve their sleeping habits.
• Evaluating CBT. Earlier studies show CBT alone has a modest effect (falling asleep 10 to 15 minutes sooner).
• Evaluating the combination. Together, the treatments had the largest effect: 43 minutes more sleep, bedtimes 50 minutes earlier and six times more success at keeping consistent bedtimes than CBT with fake light. Bright light therapy seems to make teenagers biologically ready to sleep earlier, while CBT gives them the thoughts and habits to act on it.
• Conclusion. CBT is effective alone but less so than the combination; bright light therapy alone did not improve sleep habits; combining them best reduces the impact of the adolescent sleep-wake shift.

From the report. The average was 4.3 out of 10 and hardly anyone scored full marks. The best responses explained the shift and its impact, described how each treatment works (including the role of melatonin), and compared all the results: bright light alone, CBT alone and both together.

Study design: partly outside. The adolescent sleep-wake shift (Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome), melatonin, zeitgebers, sleep hygiene and bright light therapy are all in the current course, but CBT is now named only as a treatment for specific phobia, not for sleep.

Advice from the 2022 report

• Answer every multiple-choice question. Marks are not deducted for wrong answers.
• Link your answer to the scenario. Generic answers to application questions could not get full marks, as Questions 3d, 5b and 7b showed.
• Answer every part of each question, and address the question exactly as asked.
• Spell key terms correctly. A misspelling that changes the meaning (such as "semantic" for "somatic") cannot be given the mark.
• Write within the answer spaces. Papers are scanned and marked online; if you continue in the extra space, number the answer clearly.