Skill Align QCE Psychology - Free Online Pack 0 Paper 1
An independently authored QCE Psychology practice paper with worked answers and question-specific human marking guidance.
- Paper
- Paper 1 Question and Response Book
- Reading
- 5 minutes
- Writing
- 90 minutes
- Assessment
- 49 marks
A QCAA-approved scientific or graphics calculator may be used. Notes and other unauthorised materials are not permitted.
Section 1 - Multiple-choice questions
Questions 1-20 are multiple choice. Select the best answer for each question. Each question is worth 1 mark.
Question 1
1 mark- The somatic nervous system
- The autonomic nervous system
- The spinal cord alone
- The sensory cortex
Question 2
1 mark- The occipital lobe initiates the withdrawal after recognising the rail.
- The autonomic nervous system stores a learned motor program for the hand.
- The thalamus prevents sensory information from reaching the spinal cord.
- A spinal reflex pathway produces the withdrawal before cortical interpretation is completed.
Question 3
1 mark- The memory can involve the hippocampus, neocortex and amygdala rather than being stored in one isolated point.
- The entire memory is stored only in the primary motor cortex.
- The memory is stored only in the spinal cord once it becomes familiar.
- The thalamus permanently stores every visual and emotional feature together.
Question 4
1 mark- The primary auditory cortex
- The occipital lobe only
- The primary motor cortex
- Wernicke's area
Question 5
1 mark- an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
- a sensory receptor.
- an excitatory neurotransmitter.
- a myelin sheath.
Question 6
1 mark- In the primary visual cortex
- At sensory receptors in the cochlea
- At the optic nerve
- In the spinal motor neurons
Question 7
1 mark- Interposition
- Linear perspective
- Relative size
- Visual constancy
Question 8
1 mark- Amplitude
- Frequency
- Brightness constancy
- Timbre
Question 9
1 mark- Sensory memory and procedural memory
- The cerebellum and spinal cord
- The episodic buffer and echoic store only
- The phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
Question 10
1 mark- semantic memory.
- procedural memory.
- iconic memory.
- episodic recall.
Question 11
1 mark- recognition after unsuccessful recall.
- relearning without recognition.
- encoding failure with no retained information.
- procedural transfer after extinction.
Question 12
1 mark- maintenance rehearsal only.
- stimulus generalisation.
- spacing.
- response cost.
Question 13
1 mark- unconditioned stimulus.
- unconditioned response.
- positive reinforcer.
- conditioned stimulus.
Question 14
1 mark- positive reinforcement.
- negative punishment.
- negative reinforcement.
- classical extinction.
Question 15
1 mark- modelling after an observed rewarding outcome.
- classical conditioning through an unconditioned stimulus.
- negative punishment applied directly to the learner.
- spontaneous recovery after extinction.
Question 16
1 mark- A parent teaches a young child a household greeting.
- A school club communicates expectations about how committee members take turns.
- A newborn shows a reflexive grasp.
- A person experiences an involuntary increase in heart rate.
Question 17
1 mark- Compliance
- Internalisation
- Identification
- Audience inhibition
Question 18
1 mark- self-serving bias.
- the fundamental attribution error.
- cognitive dissonance.
- social categorisation only.
Question 19
1 mark- Shared emotional connection
- Permanent agreement on every value
- Absence of group boundaries
- Identical personal histories
Question 20
1 mark- Brief competition for a prize with unequal authority
- Equal status while pursuing a shared superordinate goal
- Separate tasks with no interaction
- One group observing the other from a distance
Section 2 - Short-response questions
Questions 21-25 are short response. Answer every part and use only the supplied evidence where required.
Question 21
5 marksAt a pedestrian crossing, Noor presses a button. A wiring fault makes the button surface unexpectedly hot. Noor's finger withdraws rapidly, and Noor then deliberately moves two steps away. The diagram shows the order of events recorded by a teaching model.
Question 22
6 marksA council tests a wayfinding display under three conditions. The same 80 visitors complete every condition in counterbalanced order. The chart shows the mean percentage of destinations selected correctly: low-contrast display with traffic noise, 43%; high-contrast display with traffic noise, 67%; high-contrast display with quiet ambient sound, 79%.
Question 23
5 marksDuring an audio tour, visitors hear a six-word instruction while inspecting a route diagram. Condition V requires them to repeat the words aloud. Condition S requires them to trace the route with a finger. Condition D requires both tasks at once. Mean complete instructions recalled are V = 5.1, S = 4.8 and D = 2.9 out of 6.
Question 24
7 marksNinety students learn 24 unfamiliar psychology terms and complete a delayed recognition test one week later. They are randomly allocated to one 40-minute session, four 10-minute sessions on consecutive days, or four 10-minute sessions that alternate memory and learning terms. Mean correct recognition is 13, 17 and 20 respectively. No group studies after its allocated sessions.
Question 25
6 marksA neighbourhood project asks 120 visitors whether they will volunteer for one hour. At Gate A, a neutral sign reads 'Volunteer information'. At Gate B, a sign reads 'Most visitors last Saturday chose to volunteer'. Forty of 60 visitors at Gate B sign up, compared with 24 of 60 at Gate A. Visitors selected their gate before they could see either sign.
Worked Solutions And Marking Guide
General marking principles
- Award each listed criterion independently when the required psychological idea or evidence decision is demonstrated.
- Accept accurate equivalent terminology that preserves the question-specific meaning.
- Do not award causal, diagnostic, cultural or population-wide claims that exceed the supplied evidence.
Section 1 Question 1
Answer: The autonomic nervous system
The autonomic division of the peripheral nervous system regulates involuntary activity such as changes in heart rate.
Section 1 Question 2
Answer: A spinal reflex pathway produces the withdrawal before cortical interpretation is completed.
A withdrawal reflex can be coordinated through the spinal cord while sensory information also travels towards the brain.
Section 1 Question 3
Answer: The memory can involve the hippocampus, neocortex and amygdala rather than being stored in one isolated point.
Explicit memories draw on interacting brain regions, including the hippocampus, neocortex and amygdala.
Section 1 Question 4
Answer: The primary motor cortex
The primary motor cortex is directly involved in initiating voluntary movement.
Section 1 Question 5
Answer: an excitatory neurotransmitter.
Excitatory neurotransmission makes a postsynaptic action potential more likely.
Section 1 Question 6
Answer: At sensory receptors in the cochlea
Auditory transduction occurs at sensory receptors in the cochlea before transmission along the acoustic nerve.
Section 1 Question 7
Answer: Interposition
Interposition occurs when one object obscures part of another and is therefore perceived as nearer.
Section 1 Question 8
Answer: Timbre
Timbre is the quality that distinguishes sounds even when loudness and pitch are matched.
Section 1 Question 9
Answer: The phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
Silent verbal rehearsal draws on the phonological loop, while maintaining the route shape draws on the visuospatial sketchpad.
Section 1 Question 10
Answer: procedural memory.
A practised motor skill is an implicit procedural memory.
Section 1 Question 11
Answer: recognition after unsuccessful recall.
Selecting previously encountered information from alternatives is recognition; producing it without cues is recall.
Section 1 Question 12
Answer: spacing.
Spacing distributes learning episodes over time rather than massing them in one session.
Section 1 Question 13
Answer: conditioned stimulus.
After pairing, the formerly neutral light becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned startle response.
Section 1 Question 14
Answer: negative reinforcement.
Removing an aversive tone after the response increases that response, so the consequence is negative reinforcement.
Section 1 Question 15
Answer: modelling after an observed rewarding outcome.
The learner observes a model's behaviour and its rewarding consequence before reproducing the behaviour.
Section 1 Question 16
Answer: A school club communicates expectations about how committee members take turns.
Schools and clubs are secondary agents of socialisation; family is a primary agent.
Section 1 Question 17
Answer: Identification
Identification occurs when behaviour changes to support a valued relationship or group membership, without necessarily becoming a private belief.
Section 1 Question 18
Answer: the fundamental attribution error.
The judgment overemphasises a personal cause and underweights the clear situational constraint.
Section 1 Question 19
Answer: Shared emotional connection
Shared emotional connection is one of the prescribed processes contributing to a sense of community.
Section 1 Question 20
Answer: Equal status while pursuing a shared superordinate goal
Sustained contact is most favourable when it includes equal status, mutual interdependence and a shared superordinate goal.
Section 2 Question 21
(a) The withdrawal is an involuntary spinal reflex, whereas the two-step movement is a voluntary action initiated through cortical motor control.
The two movements differ in voluntary control and in the level at which the initial response is coordinated.
(b) The sensory signal enters the spinal cord and crosses synapses through an interneuron to a motor neuron, producing withdrawal. Information also ascends to the brain, so conscious identification can occur after the spinal response begins.
A polysynaptic spinal circuit can trigger a protective motor response without waiting for completed cortical interpretation.
Mark allocation
- Human markers assess the independently authored 'pedestrian-button-relay' evidence decisions separately.
- Accept accurate equivalent psychological terminology; escalate culturally sensitive, contradictory or novel responses rather than inferring unsupported meaning.
- Do not double-penalise a consequential error unless a later criterion independently tests the same knowledge.
Detailed marking criteria
Part a (1 mark)
Identifies the withdrawal as an involuntary spinal reflex.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Identifies the withdrawal as an involuntary spinal reflex.
Do not credit by itself: Do not describe both movements as conscious decisions made before muscle activation.
Part a (1 mark)
Identifies the two-step movement as a voluntary cortically controlled response.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Identifies the two-step movement as a voluntary cortically controlled response.
Do not credit by itself: Do not describe both movements as conscious decisions made before muscle activation.
Part b (1 mark)
Uses the sensory-neuron to interneuron to motor-neuron route shown in the model.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Uses the sensory-neuron to interneuron to motor-neuron route shown in the model.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that no sensory information reaches the brain.
Part b (1 mark)
Explains that the spinal cord can coordinate withdrawal before completed cortical interpretation.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Explains that the spinal cord can coordinate withdrawal before completed cortical interpretation.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that no sensory information reaches the brain.
Part b (1 mark)
States that sensory information also continues towards the brain for conscious awareness.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: States that sensory information also continues towards the brain for conscious awareness.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that no sensory information reaches the brain.
Section 2 Question 22
(a) With traffic noise held constant, increasing contrast is associated with a rise from 43% to 67%, a 24-percentage-point increase. With contrast held high, changing from traffic noise to quiet sound is associated with a further 12-point rise to 79%.
Each comparison changes one displayed condition while holding the other displayed condition constant.
(b) For these 80 visitors and this task, the high-contrast, quiet-sound condition produced the highest mean accuracy. The counterbalanced repeated-measures arrangement reduces order as a systematic explanation, but the chart does not show individual scores or prove that every visitor improved.
The conclusion must follow the group means and the stated design while retaining uncertainty about individual responses.
Mark allocation
- Human markers assess the independently authored 'wayfinding-contrast-sound' evidence decisions separately.
- Accept accurate equivalent psychological terminology; escalate culturally sensitive, contradictory or novel responses rather than inferring unsupported meaning.
- Do not double-penalise a consequential error unless a later criterion independently tests the same knowledge.
Detailed marking criteria
Part a (1 mark)
States that higher contrast is associated with greater correct selection when traffic noise is held constant.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent correctly calculated comparisons using 43%, 67% and 79%.
Do not credit by itself: Do not describe 24 percentage points as a 24% proportional increase.
Part a (1 mark)
Calculates the contrast-associated increase as 24 percentage points.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent correctly calculated comparisons using 43%, 67% and 79%.
Do not credit by itself: Do not describe 24 percentage points as a 24% proportional increase.
Part a (1 mark)
Calculates the quiet-sound-associated increase at high contrast as 12 percentage points.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent correctly calculated comparisons using 43%, 67% and 79%.
Do not credit by itself: Do not describe 24 percentage points as a 24% proportional increase.
Part b (1 mark)
Identifies high contrast with quiet sound as the highest-mean condition.
Acceptable alternatives: Supporting guidance only; do not require separately for this mark: Limits the conclusion to the tested visitors and destination task.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that quiet sound alone caused the full difference between the first and third bars.
Part b (1 mark)
Uses counterbalancing to explain why order is less likely to account systematically for the condition means.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Uses counterbalancing to explain why order is less likely to account systematically for the condition means.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that quiet sound alone caused the full difference between the first and third bars.
Part b (1 mark)
Rejects the claim that the displayed means prove improvement for every individual.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Rejects the claim that the displayed means prove improvement for every individual.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that quiet sound alone caused the full difference between the first and third bars.
Section 2 Question 23
(a) Word repetition primarily uses the phonological loop, while route tracing primarily uses the visuospatial sketchpad.
The tasks draw most directly on different specialised working-memory components.
(b) Condition D has the lowest mean, 2.9, compared with 5.1 and 4.8 in the single-task conditions. Coordinating two simultaneous tasks increases demand on the limited-capacity central executive and integrated working-memory system, leaving fewer resources for retaining the instruction.
The numerical comparison supports an explanation based on competing working-memory demands.
Mark allocation
- Human markers assess the independently authored 'audio-tour-working-memory' evidence decisions separately.
- Accept accurate equivalent psychological terminology; escalate culturally sensitive, contradictory or novel responses rather than inferring unsupported meaning.
- Do not double-penalise a consequential error unless a later criterion independently tests the same knowledge.
Detailed marking criteria
Part a (1 mark)
Links word repetition to the phonological loop.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Links word repetition to the phonological loop.
Do not credit by itself: Do not award a response that omits or contradicts this question-specific decision: Links word repetition to the phonological loop.
Part a (1 mark)
Links route tracing to the visuospatial sketchpad.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Links route tracing to the visuospatial sketchpad.
Do not credit by itself: Do not award a response that omits or contradicts this question-specific decision: Links route tracing to the visuospatial sketchpad.
Part b (1 mark)
Identifies Condition D as the lowest mean and uses its value of 2.9 out of 6.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Identifies Condition D as the lowest mean and uses its value of 2.9 out of 6.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that the data show permanent damage to long-term memory.
Part b (1 mark)
Compares Condition D with at least one correctly named single-task mean.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Compares Condition D with at least one correctly named single-task mean.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that the data show permanent damage to long-term memory.
Part b (1 mark)
Explains that coordinating simultaneous tasks places greater demand on limited working-memory control or capacity.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Explains that coordinating simultaneous tasks places greater demand on limited working-memory control or capacity.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that the data show permanent damage to long-term memory.
Section 2 Question 24
(a) The sessions are spaced across days, and memory and learning terms are interleaved within the schedule.
The timing demonstrates spacing and the alternation of categories demonstrates interleaving.
(b) Four spaced sessions exceed the single session by 4 terms. Adding interleaving to the spaced schedule produces a further 3-term advantage, and the third schedule exceeds the single session by 7 terms overall.
The comparisons separate the observed spacing-associated and interleaving-associated differences.
(c) For students completing this term-learning task, the spaced-and-interleaved schedule produced the highest delayed-recognition mean. Random allocation strengthens a causal interpretation of the allocated schedules, assuming the groups were treated alike apart from study schedule, but the result does not establish superiority for every learner or every subject.
The experimental allocation supports a conditional causal conclusion within the tested context.
Mark allocation
- Human markers assess the independently authored 'study-schedule-recognition' evidence decisions separately.
- Accept accurate equivalent psychological terminology; escalate culturally sensitive, contradictory or novel responses rather than inferring unsupported meaning.
- Do not double-penalise a consequential error unless a later criterion independently tests the same knowledge.
Detailed marking criteria
Part a (1 mark)
Identifies spacing across the four days.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Identifies spacing across the four days.
Do not credit by itself: Do not award a response that omits or contradicts this question-specific decision: Identifies spacing across the four days.
Part a (1 mark)
Identifies interleaving of memory and learning terms.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Identifies interleaving of memory and learning terms.
Do not credit by itself: Do not award a response that omits or contradicts this question-specific decision: Identifies interleaving of memory and learning terms.
Part b (1 mark)
Calculates 17 minus 13 as a 4-term difference.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Calculates 17 minus 13 as a 4-term difference.
Do not credit by itself: Do not convert the raw term differences into percentage points.
Part b (1 mark)
Calculates 20 minus 17 as a 3-term difference.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Calculates 20 minus 17 as a 3-term difference.
Do not credit by itself: Do not convert the raw term differences into percentage points.
Part b (1 mark)
Calculates 20 minus 13 as a 7-term overall difference.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Calculates 20 minus 13 as a 7-term overall difference.
Do not credit by itself: Do not convert the raw term differences into percentage points.
Part c (1 mark)
States that the spaced-and-interleaved group had the highest delayed-recognition mean.
Acceptable alternatives: Supporting guidance only; do not require separately for this mark: Uses random allocation as support for comparing the effects of the assigned schedules.
Do not credit by itself: Do not conclude that the schedule is guaranteed to be best for every person and every learning task.
Part c (1 mark)
Conditions the causal interpretation on no systematic treatment difference outside the schedules.
Acceptable alternatives: Supporting guidance only; do not require separately for this mark: Limits generalisation to the tested students, terms and delayed-recognition context.
Do not credit by itself: Do not conclude that the schedule is guaranteed to be best for every person and every learning task.
Section 2 Question 25
(a) It communicates what most previous visitors reportedly did rather than directly ordering the current visitor to volunteer.
Descriptive norms convey the behaviour presented as typical.
(b) Gate B recorded 40 sign-ups and Gate A recorded 24, so the descriptive-norm gate had 16 more sign-ups. These are 66.7% and 40.0% of each gate group respectively, a difference of about 26.7 percentage points.
Both raw counts and within-gate proportions show the same observed direction.
(c) The norm-message gate had a higher sign-up rate in this project. Because visitors chose a gate before seeing signs, pre-existing differences between gate users may remain, so the comparison is not equivalent to random allocation and does not by itself prove that the message caused the difference.
A useful association is present, but self-selection limits causal interpretation.
Mark allocation
- Human markers assess the independently authored 'volunteer-descriptive-norm' evidence decisions separately.
- Accept accurate equivalent psychological terminology; escalate culturally sensitive, contradictory or novel responses rather than inferring unsupported meaning.
- Do not double-penalise a consequential error unless a later criterion independently tests the same knowledge.
Detailed marking criteria
Part a (1 mark)
Explains that the message states the typical behaviour of previous visitors.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Explains that the message states the typical behaviour of previous visitors.
Do not credit by itself: Do not award a response that omits or contradicts this question-specific decision: Explains that the message states the typical behaviour of previous visitors.
Part a (1 mark)
Distinguishes the message from a direct command or rule.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept equivalent wording that preserves this decision: Distinguishes the message from a direct command or rule.
Do not credit by itself: Do not award a response that omits or contradicts this question-specific decision: Distinguishes the message from a direct command or rule.
Part b (1 mark)
Calculates the raw difference as 16 sign-ups.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept the correctly calculated difference of approximately 26.7 percentage points instead of both percentages. Supporting guidance only; do not require separately for this mark: Converts Gate B to approximately 66.7%.
Do not credit by itself: Do not treat 16 additional people as a 16-percentage-point difference.
Part b (1 mark)
Converts Gate A to 40.0%.
Acceptable alternatives: Accept the correctly calculated difference of approximately 26.7 percentage points instead of both percentages.
Do not credit by itself: Do not treat 16 additional people as a 16-percentage-point difference.
Part c (1 mark)
States the supported association between the norm message and the higher sign-up rate.
Acceptable alternatives: Supporting guidance only; do not require separately for this mark: Limits the claim to this project and these gate groups.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that the message caused exactly 16 people to volunteer.
Part c (1 mark)
Identifies gate self-selection as a possible source of pre-existing group differences.
Acceptable alternatives: Supporting guidance only; do not require separately for this mark: Rejects an unqualified causal conclusion from the comparison.
Do not credit by itself: Do not claim that the message caused exactly 16 people to volunteer.
Diagnostic Checklist
| Topic | Questions | Marks | Marks Lost | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 3 - Brain function | Q4 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for language processing and voluntary movement. |
| Unit 3 - Brain function | Q3 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for localised and distributed brain function in memory. |
| Unit 3 - Brain function | Q1, Q2, Q21 | 7 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for nervous system and spinal reflexes. |
| Unit 3 - Brain function | Q5 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for neurotransmission, neurotransmitters and interference. |
| Unit 3 - Learning | Q13 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for classical conditioning and fear responses. |
| Unit 3 - Learning | Q14 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for operant conditioning, reinforcement and punishment. |
| Unit 3 - Learning | Q15 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for social learning, modelling and vicarious conditioning. |
| Unit 3 - Memory | Q10 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for implicit and explicit memory brain regions. |
| Unit 3 - Memory | Q12, Q24 | 8 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for memory improvement strategies. |
| Unit 3 - Memory | Q9, Q23 | 6 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for memory models, duration and capacity. |
| Unit 3 - Memory | Q11 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for recall, recognition, relearning and forgetting. |
| Unit 3 - Sensation and perception | Q7, Q8, Q22 | 8 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for perceptual set and visual-auditory principles. |
| Unit 3 - Sensation and perception | Q6 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for seeing, hearing and sensory transduction. |
| Unit 4 - Attitudes | Q18 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for social identity, attributions and biases. |
| Unit 4 - Cross-cultural psychology | Q20 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for intergroup contact and prejudice reduction. |
| Unit 4 - Cross-cultural psychology | Q19 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for sense of community and culture. |
| Unit 4 - Social psychology | Q17 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for group social influence, status, roles and power. |
| Unit 4 - Social psychology | Q25 | 6 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for obedience, conformity, social norms and historical research. |
| Unit 4 - Social psychology | Q16 | 1 | ___ | Review the prescribed concepts and evidence limits for socialisation and gender role formation. |