§-Psychology Q&A
WA · SCSA← Psychology
Psychology Q&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every WA Psychology syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Unit 3
Describe the tri-component model of attitudes, attitude-behaviour consistency, and Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance
Explain attribution theory, including internal and external attributions, and the fundamental attribution error, actor-observer bias and self-serving bias
Explain the structure and function of the nervous system, the role of neurotransmitters, and the biological stress response
Explain neuroplasticity, including developmental and adaptive plasticity, and how experience and injury reshape neural connections
Explain classical conditioning, including the key processes and stimuli, and apply it to examples such as Pavlov's dogs and Little Albert
Explain Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance, including the conditions that produce dissonance and the strategies used to reduce it
Explain theories of forgetting and the reconstructive nature of memory, including the reliability of eyewitness testimony with reference to Loftus
Compare theories of learning including classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning, and outline models of memory
Describe and compare the Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model and the working memory model, including encoding, storage and retrieval
Explain observational learning and social learning theory, including the four mediational processes, with reference to Bandura's Bobo doll study
Explain operant conditioning, including reinforcement, punishment, shaping and schedules of reinforcement, with reference to Skinner
Apply research methods including experimental design, variables, sampling, validity, reliability and the interpretation of descriptive and inferential statistics.
Describe the major structures of the brain and the lobes of the cerebral cortex, and explain hemispheric specialisation and localisation of function
Unit 4
Explain attachment theory and attachment styles, with reference to the work of Bowlby, Ainsworth and Harlow
Explain conformity, including normative and informational social influence, and the factors affecting it, with reference to Asch's line study
Explain cross-cultural psychology, including individualism and collectivism, and the difference between etic and emic approaches to research
Explain the influence of culture on behaviour, social identity, prejudice, discrimination and strategies to reduce intergroup conflict.
Explain theories of development including Piaget's cognitive stages, attachment, and Erikson's psychosocial stages, with reference to nature and nurture.
Describe Erikson's psychosocial stages of development and explain the nature-nurture interaction, including evidence from twin studies
Explain group processes including social loafing, deindividuation, group polarisation and groupthink, and their effects on individual behaviour
Explain obedience to authority and the factors that influence it, with reference to Milgram's experiments and their ethical evaluation
Describe Piaget's stages of cognitive development and key concepts such as schemas, assimilation, accommodation, object permanence and conservation
Explain prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination, social identity theory, and strategies to reduce intergroup conflict, with reference to Tajfel, Sherif and Allport
Explain prosocial behaviour and the bystander effect, including the factors that increase or decrease helping, with reference to Latane and Darley
Apply ethical principles and research methods to psychological investigations, including informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing and the role of ethics committees.
Explain social influence including conformity, obedience, group processes, prosocial and antisocial behaviour, using key studies.