SSABSA

SENIOR SECONDARY ASSESSMENT BOARD OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA EXTERNAL EXAMINATION 2005

2005 PSYCHOLOGY

FOR OFFICE
USE ONLY

SUPERVISOR
ATTACH SACE REGISTRATION NUMBER LABEL
CHECK
TO THIS BOX

Monday 14 November: 1.30 p.m. Pages: 17

RE-MARKED
Questions: 27
Time: 2 hours

Examination material: one 17-page question booklet

one 8-page script book
one SACE registration number label

Approved dictionaries and calculators may be used.

Instructions to Candidates

1. You will have 10 minutes to read the paper. You must not write in your question booklet or script book
or use a calculator during this reading time but you may make notes on the scribbling paper provided.

2. This paper consists of two sections:

Section A: Short-answer Questions (Questions 1 to 25)
Answer all questions in Section A in the spaces provided in this question booklet.
Section B: Extended-response Questions (Questions 26 and 27)
Answer both questions in Section B in the separate script book.

3. In Section A there is no need to fill all the space provided; clear, well-expressed answers are required. If
you delete part or all of an answer you should clearly indicate your final answer and label it with the
appropriate question number. You may write on page 15 if you need more space.

4. In answers to questions on the topics you should use the psychological terms that are appropriate to the
individual topics.

5. The allocation of marks and suggested allotment of time are as follows:

Section A 80 marks 80 minutes
Section B 40 marks 40 minutes
TOTAL 120 marks 120 minutes

6. Attach your SACE registration number label to the box at the top of this page. Copy the information from
your SACE registration number label into the box on the front cover of your script book.

7. At the end of the examination, place your script book inside the back cover of this question booklet.
 STUDENT’S DECLARATION ON THE USE OF
CALCULATORS

By signing the examination attendance roll I declare that:

• my calculators have been cleared of all memory;
• no external storage media are in use on these calculators.
I understand that if I do not comply with the above
conditions for the use of calculators I will:
• be in breach of the rules;
• receive zero marks for the examination;
• be liable to such further penalty, whether by exclusion
from future examinations or otherwise, as SSABSA
determines.

2
SSABSA

3 PLEASE TURN OVER

 SECTION A: SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS (Questions 1 to 25)
(80 marks)

Answer ALL questions in this section in the spaces provided. You should spend about 80 minutes on
this section. Answers may be in note form. The allocation of marks is shown in brackets at the end
of each question or at the end of each part of each question.

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY (20 marks)

1. Describe one advantage of using the Delphi technique, rather than a focus group, in a
qualitative investigation.

(2 marks)

2. Describe one difference between experimental investigations and quantitative observational

investigations in their design.

(2 marks)

3. A psychologist interviews a sample of twenty women aged between 20 years and 30 years to
investigate society’s attitude to increasing immigration.
State two limitations of drawing conclusions using this sample.

Limitation 1:

Limitation 2:

(4 marks)

4. Describe one example of a subjective quantitative measure.

(2 marks)

4
5. Refer to the following table, which shows the resting heart rate of ten participants in an
investigation. The last row of the table shows the sum of scores, ∑X.

Participant X (Score)
1 70
2 68
3 88
4 75
5 77
6 87
7 63
8 81
9 71
10 56
ΣX = 736

(a) Calculate the mean for this distribution of scores.

(2 marks)

(b) Calculate the median score in this distribution.

(2 marks)

6. A psychologist plans to interview children under 14 years of age to investigate the factors
that contribute to self-esteem.
Describe three ethical issues that would be relevant to this investigation.

Ethical issue 1:

Ethical issue 2:

Ethical issue 3:

(6 marks)

5 PLEASE TURN OVER

SOCIAL COGNITION (20 marks)

7. Shahla has been reading about nuclear power stations for a school project. As a result,
she has developed a positive attitude towards the use of nuclear power to generate energy.
Using the example above, describe one model that explains the structure of attitudes.

(4 marks)

8. Describe one function or purpose that attitudes may serve.

(2 marks)

9. Describe one factor that affects people’s attitudes.

(2 marks)

6
10. The relationship between attitudes and behaviour is bidirectional.
Indicate the direction of the relationship between attitude and behaviour in each of the
following examples:

(a) Thomas finds politics boring, so he does not vote.

(2 marks)

(b) Chrissy is a good sprinter and has won several events. She thinks there should be more
money allocated to building sports stadiums.

(2 marks)

11. Angelo plays for the high school soccer team. On Saturday night he watched his favourite
soccer team on television.
Describe how Angelo may have gained self-knowledge from social comparison.

(2 marks)

12. We all form impressions of the people we meet in person or see in the media. Lili was
impressed by an actor she saw being interviewed on television. She thought he was
handsome, charming, and sincere.
Describe one factor that may have influenced the formation of Lili’s impression of the
actor.

(2 marks)

7 PLEASE TURN OVER

13. Describe two examples of how you would use impression management to make a favourable
impression on people at a friend’s family picnic.

Example 1:

Example 2:

(4 marks)

8
PSYCHOBIOLOGY OF ALTERED STATES OF AWARENESS (20 marks)

14. Refer to the following diagram, which shows the theoretical relationship between
psychological arousal and performance for the sports of golf and weightlifting.

golf weightlifting
good
performance

poor
low moderate high
psychological arousal

Source: Adapted from ExRx.net LLC, www.exrx.net/Psychology/InvertedU.html,

based on Yerkes-Dodson law

With reference to the diagram above, compare the way in which a golfer should prepare for
a good performance with the way in which a weightlifter should prepare for a good
performance.

(4 marks)

9 PLEASE TURN OVER

15. Refer to the following graphs, which provide information about the sleep patterns of
children and the elderly.

Children
awake
REM 1 REM 2 REM 3 REM 4
Stage 1
stages of sleep

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
hours of sleep

Elderly
awake
REM 1 REM 2 REM 3
Stage 1
stages of sleep

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
hours of sleep

Source: Adapted from WebSciences International and Sleep Research Society (United States),
Basics of Sleep Behaviour, 1997, www.sleephomepage.org/sleepsyllabus/fr-c.html

With reference to the graphs above, describe two differences between the sleep pattern of
children and the sleep pattern of the elderly.

Difference 1:

Difference 2:

(4 marks)

10
16. Describe what is meant by a circadian rhythm. Illustrate your answer with one example.

(4 marks)

17. Many road accidents are caused by drivers falling asleep while driving a vehicle.
Describe two strategies that governments could use to reduce driver fatigue.

Strategy 1:

Strategy 2:

(4 marks)

18. Psychologists often treat people who are experiencing stress.

(a) Describe one example of a situation in a person’s life that could lead to stress.

(2 marks)

(b) Describe one biological (physiological) effect of prolonged stress on a person’s health.

(2 marks)

11 PLEASE TURN OVER

HEALTHY MINDS (20 marks)

19. Students can cope more effectively with the pressures of school work if they adopt one or
more coping strategies. Philip and Jenny are responsible students who both do very well at
school. Philip prefers to spend his time indoors; Jenny prefers being outdoors.
Describe one strategy for Philip, and one strategy for Jenny, to help them to cope with the
pressures of school work.

Strategy for Philip:

Strategy for Jenny:

(4 marks)

20. Describe two biological (physiological) symptoms that indicate that a person might be
anxious.

Symptom 1:

Symptom 2:

(4 marks)

21. Describe one effective psychological treatment for depression.

(2 marks)

12
22. André recently topped the class in one of his subjects. He now thinks he is a capable
student. His friends have noticed that he is more sociable.
Using the basic processes level of explanation, describe one influence on André’s behaviour.

(2 marks)

23. Maria has always been sensitive and unassertive. Recently she has been even less confident
and has stopped socialising.
Using the person level of explanation, describe one of Maria’s characteristics that influences
her behaviour.

(2 marks)

24. Scot is not happy with his physical appearance. His best friend suggested that he start a
fitness program to shape up. Scot followed his friend’s advice.
Using the socio-cultural level of explanation, describe one influence on Scot’s behaviour.

(2 marks)

13 PLEASE TURN OVER

25. Resilience enables people to adapt to life-changing situations.
Describe two factors that influence resilience.

Factor 1:

Factor 2:

(4 marks)

14
You may write on this page if you need more space to finish your answers to Section A. Make
sure to label each answer carefully (e.g. 18(b) continued).

15 PLEASE TURN OVER

 SECTION B: EXTENDED-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Questions 26 and 27)
(40 marks)

Answer BOTH questions in this section.

Write your answers in the separate script book provided. Begin each answer on a new page.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this section, 5 to 10 minutes planning and 30 to 35
minutes writing. Credit will be given for clear, well-expressed answers that are well organised
and relevant to the questions.

16
LEARNING (20 marks)

26. Bruno is playing loud music while he is in the lounge room. His father tells him to turn the
music down, but Bruno refuses to do so. In order to get some peace and quiet, Bruno’s
father sends Bruno to his room. Now Bruno is left sulking in his room and his father is
feeling much more relaxed.
The next day Bruno listens to music in the lounge room using headphones. Bruno’s father
enjoys the silence and offers to order Bruno a pizza for dinner.
Discuss psychological principles of learning. Your response should include a description of:
• punishment, illustrated with one example from the scenario above;
• two factors that influence the effect of punishment on behaviour;
• negative reinforcement, illustrated with one example from the scenario above;
• positive reinforcement, illustrated with one example from the scenario above.

PERSONALITY (20 marks)

27. Michelle is an outgoing person with a busy lifestyle. She is employed as a salesperson and
regularly socialises with friends. Michelle plays various sports, including A-grade cricket
and tennis. Michelle enjoys playing these sports but also loves to win.
As an employee of a large retail company, Michelle has been one of the top two
salespeople for the last six months. She still worries about doing better. She intends to
apply for a promotion to the position of assistant manager. She becomes frustrated regularly
by co-workers who she believes do not work as hard as she does.
Discuss conceptions of personality. Your response should include a description of:
• one trait conception of personality;
• two of Michelle’s personality traits that illustrate the trait conception of personality you
described above;
• one strength and one weakness of trait conceptions of personality;
• either one psychodynamic conception of personality or one humanistic conception of
personality.

© Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia 2005

17 PLEASE TURN OVER