How many VCAA Psychology questions cover What influences mental wellbeing??

AusGrader has 14 VCAA Psychology questions on What influences mental wellbeing?, all with instant AI grading and detailed marking feedback.

VCAA Psychology What influences mental wellbeing?

4 sample questions with marking guides and sample answers

Q20

2022

QCAA

Paper 1

1 mark

Q20

1 mark

A comparison of the roles of classical conditioning (CC), operant conditioning (OC) and social learning theory (SLT) in the development and maintenance of phobias suggests that

Development: OC and SLT associate a stimulus and a response, Maintenance: CC rewards avoidance

Development: CC and SLT associate a stimulus and a response, Maintenance: OC rewards avoidance

Development: OC associates a stimulus and a response, Maintenance: CC and SLT punish avoidance

Development: CC associates a stimulus and a response, Maintenance: OC and SLT punish avoidance

2022

QCAA

Paper 2

9 marks

This question refers to the investigation by Watson and Rayner (1920).

Q2a

2 marks

Describe how fear responses can be learnt and provide an example of this process from the investigation.

A fear response can be learnt when it is paired with a fear-evoking stimulus.
In the investigation, a white rat was paired with a loud noise multiple times, so that the fear of the rat was paired with the noise.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
Describes how fear responses can be learnt	1
Identifies an example of the process from the investigation	1

Q2b

3 marks

Distinguish between stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination. Identify which occurred in the investigation and provide an example.

In stimulus generalisation, the behaviour is shown for similar stimuli, whereas in stimulus discrimination, the behaviour is only shown for the specific stimuli.
Stimulus generalisation occurred when little Albert displayed the same reaction when presented with a white rabbit as he did to the white rat that he had been conditioned to fear.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
Distinguishes between stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination	1
Identifies that stimulus generalisation occurred	1
Provides an example from the investigation	1

Q2c

2 marks

In a follow-up study, researchers showed infants a video of another infant’s reaction to the rat following fear conditioning. Predict the reaction of the infants shown the video when subsequently presented with a rat. Justify your prediction.

The infants are likely to show a fear response to the rat.
Participants are likely to have experienced vicarious conditioning, whereby they have learnt to fear the rat through observing the infant’s reactions to it.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
Predicts a fear response	1
Justifies by referring to vicarious conditioning	1

Q2d

2 marks

Describe extinction and explain how the learnt fear response could be extinguished in a participant from the follow-up study.

Extinction is the process where an associated response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
For example, to extinguish a fear response a participant could be presented with a rat multiple times without the unconditioned stimulus, until the rat no longer causes the conditioned fear response.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
Describes extinction in classical conditioning	1
Explains how the fear response could be extinguished	1

2024

SCSA

34 marks

Cecil is a 25-year-old who has recently completed his apprenticeship and started his first job in a busy workshop. Despite completing his apprenticeship and getting a job in the industry, he finds himself struggling with feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction in various aspects of his life. He often feels overwhelmed by work pressure, has trouble maintaining meaningful relationships with colleagues, and lacks a sense of purpose and direction in his personal life. Cecil also finds it challenging to balance his professional responsibilities with his own needs for personal growth and self-care.

Cecil has been referred to a psychologist for help by his supervisor at work. To collect data on Cecil's wellbeing, the psychologist has conducted both an interview and administered a self-report survey. The interview was open-ended, and the survey was composed of a variety of Likert and rating scales. The information from these measures was applied to a psychological and a subjective model of wellbeing to better help Cecil understand his current situation.

Write an extended answer that demonstrates Science inquiry and Psychological knowledge and understanding in relation to the scenario above.

In your answer you must:

define wellbeing
distinguish between subjective and psychological wellbeing
summarise Diener's (1984) model of subjective wellbeing
explain how four components of Ryff's (1989) psychological wellbeing model contribute to an overall sense of wellbeing
explain one specific challenge Cecil is facing related to his wellbeing
assess the benefit of using both the interview and the survey to collect and interpret data
use appropriate psychological terminology
acknowledge sources of information using appropriate referencing.

Wellbeing is feeling happy and content or a positive state in one's life.

Subjective wellbeing focuses on an individual's personal evaluation of their life satisfaction and emotional experiences, and emphasises subjective perceptions and feelings. Psychological wellbeing encompasses broader dimensions of psychological functioning and reflects a more comprehensive assessment of mental health and wellbeing.

Diener’s (1984) model of subjective wellbeing includes life satisfaction, which is the overall evaluation of one's life circumstances, including satisfaction with work, relationships, and personal achievements; and affective balance, which is the balance between positive and negative emotions experienced by an individual, indicating the overall emotional wellbeing.

In Ryff’s (1989) psychological wellbeing model, autonomy is the sense of independence and self-determination where individuals feel in control of their actions and decisions, which leads to a greater sense of fulfilment. Environmental mastery is the ability to effectively manage and adapt to the external world, demonstrating competence in navigating challenges. Personal growth is the continuous process of self-improvement and exploration, fostering a sense of progress and expansion of one's capabilities and seizing opportunities for personal development. Positive relations with others highlights the importance of meaningful and supportive connections with family, friends, and community, contributing to emotional wellbeing and social support.

A specific challenge Cecil is facing is that he experiences feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction, indicating low life satisfaction and low affective balance.

The benefit of using both the interview and the survey to collect and interpret data is that this is a mixed method design that collects both quantitative and qualitative data, which allows for statistical analysis and allows for rich data and understanding of meaning.

Marking Criteria

Define wellbeing

Descriptor	Marks
States that wellbeing is feeling happy and content or a positive state	1
States that it is in one's life	1

Distinguish between subjective and psychological wellbeing

Descriptor	Marks
Explains that subjective wellbeing focuses on an individual's personal evaluation of their life satisfaction and emotional experiences	1
States that subjective wellbeing emphasises subjective perceptions and feelings	1
Explains that psychological wellbeing encompasses broader dimensions of psychological functioning	1
States that psychological wellbeing reflects a more comprehensive assessment of mental health and wellbeing	1

Diener’s model of subjective wellbeing

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies life satisfaction	1
Describes life satisfaction as the overall evaluation of one's life circumstances, including satisfaction with work, relationships, or personal achievements	1
Identifies affective balance	1
Describes affective balance as the balance between positive and negative emotions experienced by an individual (indicating the overall emotional wellbeing)	1

Component 1

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies a component (Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Personal growth, Positive relations with others, Purpose in life, or Self-acceptance)	1
Describes the component (e.g., the sense of independence and self-determination, the ability to effectively manage and adapt to the external world, etc.)	1
Explains how it contributes to wellbeing (e.g., leads to a greater sense of fulfilment, demonstrating competence in navigating challenges, etc.)	1

Component 2

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies a component (Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Personal growth, Positive relations with others, Purpose in life, or Self-acceptance)	1
Describes the component (e.g., the sense of independence and self-determination, the ability to effectively manage and adapt to the external world, etc.)	1
Explains how it contributes to wellbeing (e.g., leads to a greater sense of fulfilment, demonstrating competence in navigating challenges, etc.)	1

Component 3

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies a component (Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Personal growth, Positive relations with others, Purpose in life, or Self-acceptance)	1
Describes the component (e.g., the sense of independence and self-determination, the ability to effectively manage and adapt to the external world, etc.)	1
Explains how it contributes to wellbeing (e.g., leads to a greater sense of fulfilment, demonstrating competence in navigating challenges, etc.)	1

Component 4

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies a component (Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Personal growth, Positive relations with others, Purpose in life, or Self-acceptance)	1
Describes the component (e.g., the sense of independence and self-determination, the ability to effectively manage and adapt to the external world, etc.)	1
Explains how it contributes to wellbeing (e.g., leads to a greater sense of fulfilment, demonstrating competence in navigating challenges, etc.)	1

Specific challenge

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies that he experiences feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction OR struggles with work pressure, maintaining relationships, finding purpose, or balancing his needs	1
Explains that this indicates low life satisfaction OR highlights deficiencies	1
Explains that this indicates low affective balance OR deficiencies in autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, or self-acceptance	1

Benefit of mixed method design

Descriptor	Marks
Identifies that this is a mixed method design	1
States that it collects both quantitative and qualitative data	1
Explains that this allows for statistical analysis	1
Explains that this allows for rich data or understanding of meaning	1

Psychological terminology

Marking Bands

Descriptor	Marks
Accurately uses a variety of appropriate psychological terminology relevant to theories, studies, models and concepts fluently and in a clear and logical way.	3
Accurately uses some appropriate psychological terminology relevant to theories, studies, models and concepts in a clear and logical way.	2
Uses everyday language with limited relevance to theories, studies, models and concepts.	1
None of the above	0

Referencing

Marking Bands

Descriptor	Marks
Consistently uses the names of the researcher/author and date/s.	2
Uses only the names of the researcher/author or date/s.	1
None of the above	0

2020

SCSA

10 marks

Riaan and Padima have met at university while studying psychology and come from very different backgrounds. During a lecture, another student faints, falls down stairs and is rushed to hospital. It is a while before the class learns that the student is unharmed. While waiting for this news, Riaan and Padima react very differently to the significant event. Riaan experiences post‑traumatic growth (PTG), while Padima exhibits signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Q9a

2 marks

Define the terms ‘post-traumatic growth’ and ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’.

PTG is the experience of individuals whose development, at least in some areas, has surpassed what was present before the struggle with crises occurred.

PTSD is the failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
Defines PTG as the experience of individuals whose development, at least in some areas, has surpassed what was present before the struggle with crises occurred	1
Defines PTSD as the failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event	1

Q9b

3 marks

It could be suggested that Padima lacks resilience. Outline three qualities that someone with resilience would demonstrate.

Examples of qualities include (any 3 of the following):

seeing change as a challenge rather than something to be feared
having a feeling of control over their own lives
having a sense of direction in both their professional and personal lives
demonstrating a wide comfort zone
having a strong support network
having a strong faith in a system of meaning
being able to make the most out of small opportunities.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
1 mark for each quality identified (up to 3 marks): see change as a challenge rather than something to be feared have a feeling of control over their own lives have a sense of direction in both their professional and personal lives demonstrate a wide comfort zone have a strong support network have a strong faith in a system of meaning are able to make the most out of small opportunities.	3

Q9c

2 marks

Describe the difference between someone who shows resilience and someone who shows post-traumatic growth after a significant event.

People who are resilient are able to go back to functioning 'as normal' following a significant event, whereas people who experience PTG go 'beyond' their pre-traumatic levels of understanding and adaptability.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
States that people who are resilient are able to go back to functioning 'as normal' following a significant event	1
States that people who experience PTG go 'beyond' their pre-traumatic levels of understanding and adaptability	1

Q9d

3 marks

When discussing how they were feeling, Padima said she was surprised that Riaan did not show any outwardly negative reactions, but Riaan explained that he did feel some negative reactions.

Explain why post-traumatic growth is not always about only positive reactions.

Post-traumatic growth is about how an individual manages and overcomes the trauma. It does not mean that the trauma does not impact them negatively, as people have varying reactions which can be a mix of positive or negative.

Marking Criteria

Descriptor	Marks
Explains that post-traumatic growth is about how an individual manages and overcomes the trauma	1
States that it does not mean that the trauma does not impact them negatively	1
Notes that people have varying reactions which can be a mix of positive or negative	1

VCAA Psychology What influences mental wellbeing?

Define wellbeing

Distinguish between subjective and psychological wellbeing

Diener’s model of subjective wellbeing

Component 1

Component 2

Component 3

Component 4

Specific challenge

Benefit of mixed method design

Psychological terminology

Referencing

Frequently Asked Questions

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