Surviving the exam

1
Surviving the exam

• Julie Robinson
• School of Psychology
• Flinders University
• September
• 2004

2
Overview

• Before the exam
• What to study
• How to study it
• While you are doing the exam
• After the exam

3
Before the examWhat to study

• Narrow down what you need to study
• If its not in the Curriculum statement, its not
  required in the exam
• Text and notes from class broader than curriculum
  statement
• Cognitive and attribution approaches to
  personality are in Essentials text but CANNOT be
  on the exam
• Learning through insight is in Essentials text
  but CANNOT be on the exam

4
Before the examWhat to study

• Narrow down what you need to study
• If its not in the Curriculum statement, its not
  required in the exam
• Text and notes from class more specific than
  curriculum statement
• Essentials text uses Freud and Jung as examples
  of the psychodynamic perspective on personality
  but specific questions about either of these
  theorists CANNOT be on the exam.Describe one
  example of a psychodynamic approach to
  personality.
• The Essentials text describes the Skinner Box,
  but specific questions about this CANNOT be on
  the exam. Describe one way in which operant
  conditioning has been studied.

5
Before the examWhat to study

• Narrow down what you need to study
• If its not in the Curriculum statement, its not
  required in the exam
• If it doesnt fit with the exam marking, it isnt
  necessary

6
Studying informed by marking Part A SHORT ANSWERS

• For anything listed in the curriculum statement
  (e.g., humanist perspectives on personality,
  the functions of attitudes, extinction in
  learning, application of principles (of social
  cognition) to social issues)
• max. requirement name/describe/identify/compare
  2 concepts
• lt-- max. mark 2 points
• Learn 3 points in depth (Cant get credit for 12
  points).
• May need 2, spare in case one of the others isnt
  relevant
• Learn to use main terms appropriately (time,
  marks)
• If relevant, know some of the main names
• Humanist perspectives on personality Maslow,
  Rogers

7
Studying informed by marking Part B EXTENDED
ANSWERS

• What are they likely to choose?
• general points from knowledge (humanist
  perspectives on personality, the functions of
  attitudes) or identification
• applications
• ethics
• How are they marked?
• 2Q _at_ Content 16, communication 4
• 4 points OR 2 points x 2 parts of the Q
• max. requirement discuss/compare/evaluate 2
  concepts
• lt-- max. mark for any 2 points
• Learn 3 points in depth (Cant get credit 12
  points).
• May need 2, spare in case one of others isnt
  relevant
• Learn to use main terms appropriately
• If relevant, know some of the main names

8
Before the examWhat to study

• Narrow down what you need to study
• If its not in the Curriculum statement, its not
  required in the exam
• If it doesnt fit with the exam marking, it isnt
  necessary
• Make sure you cover the curriculum
• If its in the Curriculum statement, it may be
  required in the exam

9
Before the examWhat to study

• Make sure you cover the curriculum
• If its in the Curriculum statement, it may be
  required in the exam whether or not its in your
  text and whether or not your teacher covered it
• Essentials text, not much on health effects of
  stress- (1 para PTSD) BUT it is a general point
  required by the curriculum statement

10
What if I need more information to cover the
curriculum statement?

• University level psychology textbooks
• School library
• Local library
• Surf the web
• Textbook sites often provide electronic lecture
  notes for each chapter
• http//www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/santrock/student/
  olc/1pcs_ppt_05.html
• Remember that you only need to know a few points

11
Before the examWhat to study

• What do you need to study?
• How do you do that?
• Organise your stuff
• Class notes
• Textbook(s) or other reading materials from
  teacher
• SASTA study guide
• Check it against the curriculum statement
• Only need to read the page for each Stage 2 topic
• Free from http//www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/cs-stage2.ht
  m
• Borrow copy from school
• Put aside/mark what you dont need for the exam
• May need for assignment

12
Before the examHow to study

• Make sure you understand what you are trying to
  learn
• Can fake it in some short answer questions that
  focus on
• Knowledge (40/120)
• Cannot fake it on rest of exam (analysis,
  application and evaluation on grid)
• Identification name principle in a new example
• Application name a principle relevant to a new
  situation and describe how it might work
• Research methods What does a new graph mean?
• Ethics name a principle relevant to a new
  ethical dilemma and propose a solution

13
Before the examHow to study

• Make sure you understand what you are trying to
  learn
• Become familiar with different question formats

14
Different question formats

• Cartoons
• Photographs/drawings
• Graphs/Tables
• Scenarios
• What is this?
• What could you do that would be effective?

15
Cartoon 1

• Cartoon showing of Garfield the cat with a cup of
  coffee at 9am
• Describe one psychological concept concerning
  altered states of awareness that is depicted in
  this cartoon
• Image from www.fragglerock.org/

16

• Altered states of awarenessa) Phase delay in
  circadian rhythmsb) use of stimulants to
  over-ride circadian rhythms
• Image from www.fragglerock.org/

17
Cartoon 2

• Examine the closest store in the cartoon. If the
  shopkeeper has a psychological disorder, what is
  it most likely to be and why? (Use only evidence
  available in the cartoon)
• Unnecessary alarm Co. cartoon from
  www.CartoonStock.com

18

• What?
• Anxiety DisorderWhy?
• Alarm is not warranted by the persons objective
  circumstances (unnecessary alarm)
• Anxiety at a level that disrupts normal
  functioning (store is closed just in case)

19
Photograph 1

• Photograph of Hillary Clinton campaigning for
  election in the USA.
• Politicians often have their photographs taken
  with babies. Use your knowledge about attitudes
  to explain one reason why they may do this. You
  may refer to the photograph in your answer.
• Image from http//www.joe-ks.com/archives_jul2003/
  BabyPunch.jpg

20
Photograph 2

• US anti-smoking poster
• If what happened on your inside happened on
  your outside, would you still smoke?
• Use your knowledge of persuasion to identify and
  describe one factor that may be effective in this
  poster.
• Image fromhttp//www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/pylems
  /depts/healthroom/staff.htm

21
Graph 1

• Examine the graph.
• How many of the brands of cigarettes contained 15
  mg of nicotine?
• How many brands contained less than 11 mg
  nicotine?
• Image from http//www.psychology.nottingham.ac.u
  k/staff/pal/stats/GENERAL_INFO/Effective_Presentat
  ions/Effective_Visuals/GIFS/Freq_Graph.GIF

22
Table 1

• Examine the table.
• The mean amount of nicotine in the cigarettes was
  12.2 mg.
• Is the median amount of nicotine in the
  cigarettes also 12mg?
• How can you explain this similarity or
  difference?
• Image from http//www.psychology.nottingham.ac.uk
  /staff/pal/stats/GENERAL_INFO/Effective_Presentati
  ons/Effective_Visuals/Effective_Slides.html

23
Table 2

• Removal Presence
• of stimulus of stimulus
• Increases
• tendency
• to perform
• response
• Decreases
• tendency
• to perform
• response

• Place the stimulus terms below in the correct
  cells in the table. You may place a term in more
  than one cell.
• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
• Punishment

24
Scenarios

• Maria, a 25-year-old legal secretary, was about
  to leave her office one evening when she was
  suddenly overwhelmed by intense feelings of fear.
  Believing that something dreadful was going to
  happen to her, she became flushed and found it
  difficult to breathe..She stumbled outside for
  some fresh air and the feelings gradually
  subsided. It could not have been worse if I were
  hanging by my fingertips from the wing of a plane
  in flight. The feeling of impending doom was just
  as real and frightening.
• Adapted from Fishman Sheehan (1985) p.26

25
How do I become more familiar with these formats?

• Collect relevant ads, photographs and cartoons
  from newspapers and magazines (just need a few)
• Election campaign
• Surf the net
• Google
• Images
• Anxiety cartoon

26
Before the examHow to study

• Make sure you understand what you are trying to
  learn
• Become familiar with different question formats
• Work out how you study best and do it
• Morning/night
• Visual/auditory/tactile/multi-modal.

27
ExampleLearning about altered states of
awareness using the visual mode

• Image from health.howstuffworks.com/ sleep.htm
• Image from http//homepage.psy.utexas.edu/HomePag
  e/Class/Psy301/Pennebaker/Intro2000/DailyOutlines/
  Oct02/eeg.gif
• Image from http//www.healthandage.com/html/res/p
  rimer/pics/sleep.gif
• Image from www.50plushealth.co.uk/
  index.cfm?articleid468

28
Before the examHow to study

• Make sure you understand what you are trying to
  learn
• Become familiar with different question formats
• Work out how you study best and do it
• Maintain prior learning

29
Maintaining prior learningResources designed for
YOU

• Practice
• 2004 Sample psychology paper
• Materials from your teacher
• SASTA Study guide
• Reminders
• Me
• Bookmarks, crossword puzzles, door hangers,
  desktop models
• http//www.ssn.flinders.edu.au/psyc/resources/teac
  hing_sec_psyc/students.php

30
Maintaining prior learningLoot and pillage
resources designed for others

• On-line game of concentration
• Flash cards
• Weiten Psychology Themes and variations text
• http//www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_prod
  ucts_wp.pl?fidM20bdiscipline_number24product_i
  sbn_issn0534597696
• Remember
• you are still a secondary student
• you are only meant to cover the SACE curriculum
• Pick and choose whats relevant

31
Before the examHow to study

• Make sure you understand what you are trying to
  learn
• Become familiar with different question formats
• Work out how you study best and use it
• Maintain prior learning
• Keep balance in your life

32
Keep balance in your life

• Make time to relax and have fun
• Yerkes-Dodson Curve short-term stress
• General Adaptation Syndrome long-term stress
• Too much stress will diminish your exam
  performance
• Physical exercise improves performance under
  stress
• Image from www.stresslessems.com/
  instructor/stress.html (top)
• http//ccins.camosun.bc.ca/tonks/courses/psyc130/
  gas.jpg
• (bottom)

33
Keep balance in your life

• Make time to relax and have fun
• Dont skimp on sleep
• Sleep deprivation will
• Reduce effectiveness of study
• diminish your performance on higher order
  thinking tasks
• Dont skip meals on the day of the exam
• Need to be able to access energy to benefit from
  moderate levels of stress

34
While you are doing the exam

• Before you start
• Once you start
• Last 5 minutes

35
While you are doing the exam Before you start

• Dont waste the reading time
• Scan for questions for which you have greater and
  lesser confidence.
• When the writing time starts, begin with the Qs
  you are confident about
• Plan answers for the extended response Qs (unless
  they have you spooked --gt plan short answers)
• Manage your stress level so that it will work for
  you rather than against you
• Plan your time
• Allow more time for
• Extended response questions It takes more
  writing to earn a mark
• questions for which you are not confident

36
While you are doing the exam Before you start

• Remind yourself
• completing other questions will help you to
  remember information that does not readily come
  to mind (add notes about new ideas to your plan
  as you complete the exam)

37
Once you start the exam

• Working out what they want
• What is the key information?
• What do they want you to do with it?

38
New short answer question
Photograph of mother and daughter (4 years old?)
Mother is looking in mirror while putting on make
up. Daughter is looking in smaller mirror
pretending to put on make-up.

• Name a type of learning that is taking place in
  the photograph.
• Describe one factor that influences the
  effectiveness of this type of learning.

39
New short answer question
Photograph of mother and daughter (4 years old?)
Mother is looking in mirror while putting on make
up. Daughter is looking in smaller mirror
pretending to put on make-up.

• Name a type of learning that is taking place in
  the photograph.
• Describe one factor that influences the
  effectiveness of this type of learning.
• Key Information

40
New short answer question
Photograph of mother and daughter (4 years old?)
Mother is looking in mirror while putting on make
up. Daughter is looking in smaller mirror
pretending to put on make-up.

• Name a type of learning that is taking place in
  the photograph.
• Describe one factor that influences the
  effectiveness of this type of learning.
• What you need to do

41
Extended response question on 2004 sample
psychology paper

• 17 (b) Employees of a plastics processing factory
  are recruited Discuss two ethical issues that
  you consider relevant to this case study.

42
Extended response question on 2004 sample
psychology paper

• 17 (b) Discuss two ethical issues that you
  consider relevant to this case study.
• Key information
• remainder of key information cant be determined
  until you choose which ethical issues to focus on
• What you have to do

43
While you are doing the exam

• Working out what they want
• Working out what you know thats relevant

44
Name a type of learning that is taking place in
the photograph. Describe one factor that
influences the effectiveness of this type of
learning.

• What types of learning do you know about?
• Do you know their names?
• Which of these could be taking place in the
  photograph?
• Do you know factors that influence the
  effectiveness of these types of learning?
• Choose the type of learning that allows you to
  make the best answer for BOTH parts of the
  question.
• Are there any terms that you should use?

Photograph of mother and daughter (4 years old?)
Mother is looking in mirror while putting on make
up. Daughter is looking in smaller mirror
pretending to put on make-up.
45
Discuss two ethical issues that you consider
relevant to this case study.

• Employees of a plastics processing factory are
  recruited by an organisational psychologist from
  the companys head office to take part in a
  research study on teamwork and group
  decision-making that has been designed to improve
  their working environment.
• Participants are told that they will be required
  to work in groups to complete a series of tasks
  that involve cooperation-- for example, building
  model structures out of a limited supply of
  materials, solving puzzles, and carrying heavy
  objects from one place to the next.
• However, participants are not told the real
  purpose of the research study, which is to
  discover whether or not discrimination and
  prejudice are social problems at the factory. The
  psychologist ensures that one member of each
  group is a person who is identifiably a member of
  an ethnic minority group. Hidden video cameras
  are used to film the group interactions as
  participants work through the tasks that are
  assigned to them. The psychologist is
  specifically interested in assessing how
  individual members of the groups speak to each
  other.
• The psychologist finds that there is no
  difference in the number and types of
  requeststhat are directed at members of minority
  groups.

46
While you are doing the exam Last 5 minutes

• Check that you have answered all the short
  answers
• Check 2 part questions
• Check that all the required points in the
  extended answer responses have been addressed
• Double check the Q have you done what was
  required of you?

47
After the exam

• Dont beat yourself up
• Keep it in perspective
• 30 of 1 subject
• (remember that the independent investigation is
  worth 25)