Neural basis of learning and memory
Models to explain learning
Process of memory
Reliability of memory
Research methods
100

1 mark

True or false

Memories are likely to be stored in the postsynaptic neutron

False - it is in the synapse 

100
1 mark

True or false

Social learning theory was devised by Pavlov

False - Bandura

Pavlov was Classical Conditioning 

100

1 mark

True or false

Procedural memory is likely to be involved when a person recalls how to switch on an iPad after not having used one for some time

True!

100

True or false

Reconstruction is most effective to demonstrate the existence of information in memory?

1 mark

False - relearning 

100

1 mark

True or false

Random allocation is an essential feature of any type of psychological experiment


True

200

1 mark

If long-term potentiation is to occur between two neurons, then

A. the two neurons must be activated simultaneously.

B. the two neurons must be connected within a neural
pathway.

C. the existing connection between the two neurons must be weak.

D. the existing connection between the two neurons must be strong.

A. the two neurons must be activated simultaneously.

200

1 mark

A factory worker decides that timing a trip to the toilet to coincide with weekly team meetings with his supervisor and other factory workers allows him to avoid being reprimanded for not working hard enough. In this situation, going to the toilet to avoid being told off is an example of

A. positive reinforcement.

B. negative reinforcement.

C. punishment.

D. stimulus generalisation.

B. negative reinforcement.

200

1 mark

Which of the following statements about the hippocampus is correct?

A. The hippocampus is the permanent storage site for explicit memories.

B. The hippocampus is the permanent storage site for classically conditioned memories.

C. Procedural memories do not appear to involve the hippocampus at all.

D. The medial temporal lobe is located in the hippocampus.

C. Procedural memories do not appear to involve the hippocampus at all.

200

1 mark

A neurodegenerative disease is best described as a

A. brain trauma.

B. brain injury.

C. brain-related disorder associated with older people.

D. progressive decline in the structure and/or function of brain neurons.

D. progressive decline in the structure and/or function of brain neurons.

200

1 mark

A random sample of VCE students in a school could be achieved by selecting

A. every tenth student walking out of a VCE assembly.

B. all students who walk to school.

C. all students who are enrolled in three or more science studies.

D. all students whose VCE candidate number ends with an even number.

D. all students whose VCE candidate number ends with an even number.

300

Neurohormones secrete into the _________________________________________ , whereas neurotransmitters secrete into the _________________________________________ .

2 marks

- capillaries/bloodstream 

- synaptic gap/synapse 

300

In classical conditioning there is always a specific _____ that elicits the desired response, whereas in operant conditioning the _____ must first produce the desired response.

2 marks

stimulus

learner

300

1 mark

When we first experience an event, all the distinct aspects are stored in different regions of the brain, yet we are still able to remember them all later on. The brain structure called the ____________________________________ is critical to this process, associating all these different aspects so that the entire event can be retrieved as a unified memory.

Hippocampus 
300

1 mark

___________ is considered the most sensitive of the retrieval methods

relearning/savings/method of savings/savings method 

300

1 mark

the ____________ group provides a standard or ‘baseline’ against which the performance of the experimental group can be compared to determine whether the IV has caused some change in, or affected in some way, the behaviour or event being measured (the DV).

control

400

What is synapse formation (or growth) and what role does it play in learning and memory?

2 marks

  • synapse formation (or growth): explanation should refer to structural change at the synapse e.g. growth of new synaptic connections (such as additional dendritic spines), change to a pattern of existing connections (1 mark)
  • role in learning and memory: role should refer to biological mechanism of learning and memory structural change that physiologically enables the brain to respond to experience, and represent and store this information to enable learning and memory (1 mark)
400

What distinguishes response cost as a form of punishment?

1 mark`

Explanation should demonstrate understanding that response cost as a form of punishment occurs when a valued stimulus is taken away/lost as a consequence of a specific response/behaviour. (1 mark)

400

Identify two different types of classically conditioned memories.

2 marks

Types include:

  • taste aversions
  • conditioned emotions/emotional responses
  • conditioned reflexes
400

2 marks

What is Alzheimer’s disease and what type of long-term memory is primarily affected?

  • Alzheimer’s disease: a type of dementia characterised by the gradual widespread degeneration of brain neurons, progressively causing memory decline, deterioration of cognitive and social skills, and personality changes (1 mark)
  • Primarily semantic and episodic (explicit) (but some implicit memories may also be impaired). (1 mark)
400

2 marks

Distinguish between internal and external validity in relation to research.


internal validity: the extent to which the results obtained for a study are actually due to the variable(s) that was tested or measured and not due to some other factor (1 mark)

external validity: the extent to which the results obtained for a study can be generalised to the population from which the sample was drawn or to other populations/people in other settings over time (1 mark)

500

Explain how long-term potentiation and long-term depression influence synapse formation.

4 marks

  • long-term potentiation: long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections (1 mark), resulting in enhanced or more effective synaptic transmission → improves the ability of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons to communicate with one another at the synapse i.e. strengthens synaptic connections in a way that enables postsynaptic neurons to be more easily activated → the postsynaptic neurons become more and more responsive to the presynaptic neurons as a consequence of repeated stimulation by neurotransmitters; i.e. ‘neurons that fire together, wire together’ (1 mark)
  • long-term depression: long-lasting decrease in the strength of synaptic transmission and connections (1 mark), resulting in less effective synaptic transmission or no communication at the synapse; less effective synaptic transmission or no communication at the synapse; weakening or elimination of unused synapses through LTD may prune unimportant or unwanted connections, leaving only the important connections that have been strengthened through repeated use by LTP. (1 mark)
500

Distinguish between classical and operant conditioning in relation to timing of the stimulus and response

1 mark

  • CC: response (e.g. CR) depends on stimulus (e.g. NS then UCS) occurring first
  • OC: reinforcement or punishment after the response i.e. reinforcer or punisher (consequence) depends on response occurring first
500

3 marks

Describe the interaction between the amygdala and hippocampus in long-term memory formation and storage.

Description may refer to:

  • structural connection/both are interconnected (e.g. part of the limbic system) and exchange neurological information for memory formation and storage
  • respective roles in formation and storage of any type of long-term emotional memory
  • a description or example of their interaction in LTM formation and storage.
500

3 marks

Explain how the serial position effect provides evidence for the existence of separate short-term and long-term memory stores.

  • Explanation should:
  • describe the serial position effect e.g. free recall is better for items at the end and beginning of a list than for items in the middle of a list

explain better or worse recall for items in relation to different parts of the list with reference to STM and LTM as separate components e.g. items around the middle of a list are presented too 

  • late to be adequately rehearsed and transferred to LTM and too early to be held in STM without rehearsal, so they are more likely to be forgotten (unless they are distinctive in some way); if recall occurs immediately after the list is learned, the last few items are remembered best because they are still in STM and the first few items in a list are remembered well because they received more attention and rehearsal than other items and are therefore transferred to LTM

Award 1 mark for accurately describing the SPE, 1 mark for a valid explanation of STM as a separate system and 1 mark for an explanation of LTM as separate system.

500

2 marks

Distinguish between an extraneous variable and a confounding variable

  • Distinction between extraneous and confounding variables should refer to an extraneous variable as an unwanted variable that may or may not affect the DV (1 mark) and a confounding variable as an unwanted variable that produces a measurable change in the IV consistent with the hypothesis (1 mark).
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