Exam-Style Questions Flashcards
Travis is currently undertaking his first year of university. He is feeling pressured by his family’s expectation that he should score high marks. Travis also works part-time stacking frozen vegetables in the cool room of his local supermarket to save money to go out with his new girlfriend, who he wants to impress. Identify an external factor in the scenario above and describe how it may exacerbate (worsens) Travis’s physiological response to stress.
Source: VCAA 2016 Psychology, Section B, Q.10 (adapted); ©VCAA
- External factor:working in the very low temperatures of the cool room. [1 mark]
- Description:This could increase the functioning of Travis’s sympathetic nervous system [1 mark], exacerbating the stress response [1 mark]
Low temperature is the only valid external factor; it is a result of his environment – feelings of pressure is internal, though derived from his family’s expectations. Wanting to impress his girlfriend is internal.
One night, Simon came home later than the time he had agreed with his parents. As punishment, Simon’s parents confiscated his mobile phone for a month. Simon experienced considerable stress during this time, because he was out of contact with his friends. The factor responsible for this stress was: A. social, B. cultural, C. biological, D. psychological
Source: VCAA 2013 Psychology, Section A, Q.31; ©VCAA
A. social
The question is asking for a factor (cause) of stress, rather than the stress response Simon had.
Annie is stressed about her driving test scheduled for today. With reference to the physiological aspects of Annie’s stress response, give two reasons why this level of stress may be helpful when Annie takes her driving test. (4 marks)
Source: VCAA 2015 Psychology, Section B, Q.12; ©VCAA
- Acceptable responses included any two of the following:
- release of adrenaline makes her more alert and able to concentrate on the road
- redistribution of blood supply to muscles gives her more energy
- dilated pupils enable her to see better and foresee hazards
- increased glucose secretion gives her increased energy.
What is the fight-or-flight-or-freeze response?
3.4 LA Review; Q2
An involuntary response to a stressor involving physiological changes produced by the sympathetic nervous system in readiness to confront the threat (i.e. fight), escape (i.e. flight) or keep absolutely still to avoid detection (i.e. freeze)
- Taiga is suffering from stress. His recurring viral infections are most likely due to: A. an increase in cortisol, B. a decrease in cortisol, C. a decrease in noadrenaline, D. a decrease in adrenaline.
A. an increase in cortisol
Cortisol’s main role is to increase glucose secretion to help repair stress-induced damage to different bodily functions (e.g. adrenaline damages the stomach and cortisol helps to repair this damage whilst adrenaline continues functioning). It is the body’s main defense system. Whilst preoccupied with stress and damage-repairing, the immune system may be compromised.
b. Identify what stage of Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome Bob was in when he started frequently catching colds. Justify your response.
Source: VCAA 2021 Psychology, Section B, Q.1; ©VCAA
Bob is likely in the resistance stage of GAS. The ongoing stress from his work resulted in his body releasing cortisol over a period of time to help overcome the stressor; however, this caused his immune system to be suppressed, making him more vulnerable to catching a cold.
VCAA comment: A common error was to identify it as the exhaustion stage. It is not this because Bob is still continuing to function and only suffering from a cold, which is not a severe illness. For full marks, the ongoing release of cortisol was required (not simply cortisol release).
c. After working in this highly stressful environment for many years, Bob was diagnosed with a heart condition that required surgery.
Explain which stage of Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome Bob was experiencing when he was diagnosed with a heart condition.
Bob is experiencing the exhaustion stage of the GAS. His heart has been operating at a higher rate as his body tries to resist the stressors, this has resulted in weakening of the heart (wear and tear on his heart) and it has become damaged.
VCAA comment: Students needed to identify that Bob was in the exhaustion stage, explaining that due to Bob’s physiological resources having been depleted as his systems had been operating at an elevated rate, his heart was weakened by the elevated heart rate and his resistance levels to stress dropped below normal.
In terms of neural plasticity, describe the role of LTP in the development of Little Albert’s conditioned emotional response.
LTP causes the neural signals representing the perception of the white rat and those representing the fear response to the loud noise to become associated and strengthened through repeated pairings.
