UNIT 3 | AREA OF STUDY 2

PRACTICE SCHOOL-ASSESSED COURSEWORK

Assessed task: Media review

OUTCOME 2
On completion of this unit the student should be able to apply different approaches to explain learning to
familiar and novel contexts and discuss memory as a psychobiological process.

Key information
 Time allowed: 5 minutes reading time + 55 minutes writing time
 Permitted items
- Blank copy of articles
- Pens, pencils, highlighters, eraser, sharpener, and ruler
 Not permitted:
- Annotated articles
- Study notes/textbooks
- Electronic devices (including mobile phones and smart watches)
 You may write on the provided articles once writing begins. This writing will not be assessed.
 All your responses and examples must be given in context of the relevant article
- Questions Part A 1–7 relate to Article #1
- Questions Part B 1–5 relate to Article #2

Total marks available: 40 marks (see marking rubric at the end of document)

Key knowledge

Approaches to understand learning

 behaviourist approaches to learning, as illustrated by classical conditioning as a three-phase process (before

conditioning, during conditioning and after conditioning) that results in the involuntary association between
a neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response, and operant conditioning
as a three-phase process (antecedent, behaviour and consequence) involving reinforcement (positive and
negative) and punishment (positive and negative)
 social-cognitive approaches to learning, as illustrated by observational learning as a process involving
attention, retention, reproduction, motivation and reinforcement

The psychobiological process of memory

 the explanatory power of the Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model of memory in the encoding, storage and
retrieval of stored information in sensory, short-term and long-term memory stores
 the roles of the hippocampus, amygdala, neocortex, basal ganglia and cerebellum in long-term implicit and
explicit memories
 the role of episodic and semantic memory in retrieving autobiographical events and in constructing possible
imagined futures, including evidence from brain imaging and post-mortem studies of brain lesions in people
with Alzheimer’s disease and aphantasia as an example of individual differences in the experience of mental
imagery

Key science skills

 explain how models are used to organise and understand observed phenomena and concepts related to
psychology
 draw conclusions consistent with evidence and relevant to the question under investigation
 critically evaluate various types of information related to psychology from journal articles, mass media and
opinions presented in the public domain

Stimulus material #1 — Part A

Why you should train your cat and how to do it (20 marks)

https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-train-your-cat-and-how-to-do-it-188307

The pandemic fuelled a rise in first-time pet owners and people adopting puppies and kittens. While even
inexperienced owners expect a new puppy will need some training, people rarely think the same applies to
kittens.

But just like dogs, cats need support to adjust to living alongside us. Simple forms of training can be good for
their wellbeing.

Compared to dogs, cats share different historic relationships with humans. Cats have never been selectively bred
to enhance their ability to cooperate and communicate with us, or perform working roles such as herding,
hunting or guarding. But research shows they can recognise and respond to our subtle social cues and be trained
to perform similar tasks to dogs.

However, it’s unlikely we would need a cat to “walk nicely” on a lead, or settle quietly at the pub. And cats
typically need less support than dogs to master toilet training – providing the right litter tray is usually sufficient.

But we are missing a trick if we only think about training pets to make our lives easier. Myself and colleague
Daniel Cummings of animal charity Cats Protection would argue that there are many possible benefits to the cat
also. In a rehoming shelter, for example, training can be a useful tool to increase a cat’s exploratory behaviours,
positive reactions to people and maybe even their chances of being adopted.

At home, we can use simple techniques to help cats with things like feeling comfortable in a cat carrier, getting
used to car journeys, as well as tolerating being groomed and receiving basic health examinations and
treatments. Such training can also help cats cope better with visits to the vet.

What works

Cats are not born with an innate affinity towards humans and must be exposed to gentle, warm handling from
two weeks old so they can learn we are friend rather than foe. There is limited evidence that younger cats are
more attentive to our social cues, which could mean they are more amenable to training. Kittens should also be
played with using cat wands or fishing rod toys so that they learn not to attack our hands or feet.

Punishments such as shouting, rough handling or using a water spray can induce stress and compromise the
quality of owner-cat relationships. Always use positive reinforcement (such as treats and praise). This is not only
the most effective way to train pets, but it’s also better for their wellbeing.

Reward-based techniques can be an excellent way to teach a cat to enter a carrier on their own or sit calmly
whilst we deliver their flea treatment. Some very friendly food motivated cats may enjoy being taught to give a
high five, or to sit or spin.

But cats are often less motivated than dogs to pay attention to us, or do what we are asking, especially in
situations where they don’t feel comfortable. These factors may explain the high drop-out rates in studies that
involve training cats to attend to human social cues.

It’s important that we make sure the cat is somewhere they feel at ease when we undertake any training with
them. Always ensure the cat has the option to walk away or end the session when they want and try to give
them a break if they seem uncomfortable. Signs to look for include the cat turning their head away, nose licking,
head shaking, a raised paw, sudden bouts of self-grooming, looking hunched or tense, a twitching or thumping
tail and rotated or flattened ears.
Remember to take training in little steps. alenka2194/Shutterstock

Here’s how to teach your cat enter a carrier and settle in five easy steps:

1. Lure them onto a blanket

In a place where your cat already feels safe, teach him or her to settle on a blanket. Do this by luring the cat onto
the blanket using food.

Reward the cat for staying on the blanket with more treats, petting or verbal praise, depending on what your cat
likes most. Feed treats at nose height to encourage them into a sit position, then feed treats at ground height to
encourage the cat to crouch and then eventually lay on the blanket.

2. Introduce the carrier

Once your cat has mastered step one, place the blanket on the bottom of a carrier with the lid removed. Repeat
the same luring and rewarding steps.

3. Take it slowly

When your cat is happily resting on the blanket in the carrier, place the lid on top of the carrier (without
attaching the door) and repeat the luring and rewarding process.

4. Let your cat set the pace

After your cat has happily entered the carrier and settled inside, place the door on the carrier but keep it open to
start with, so that he or she doesn’t suddenly feel trapped inside. Allow them to exit the carrier when they want
and use treats to encourage them back in. In small movements, start to close the door slightly then open it again,
each time giving the cat a treat. Build this up slowly until the door can be fully closed (for only a few seconds at
first) while the cat is still comfortable. Feed the cat treats through the closed door.

5. Almost there

Work towards the cat being in the carrier with the door closed for longer periods, adding a few extra seconds
each time. Keep rewarding the cat by popping treats through the sides or door of the carrier, gradually increasing
the time between each treat delivery. Each training session should last no more than a few minutes in total, and
some cats may prefer only one session a day. It might take lots of sessions and many days or weeks before this
final step is complete.
Stimulus material #2 — Part B

This ancient mnemonic technique builds a palace of memory (20 marks)

https://www.britannica.com/story/this-ancient-mnemonic-technique-builds-a-palace-of-memory

This article was originally published at Aeon on September 20, 2017, and has been republished under Creative
Commons.

In Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective novel A Study in Scarlet (1887) we learn that Sherlock Holmes used the most
effective memory system known: a memory palace. Although imagined memory palaces are still used by memory
champions and the few who practice the memory arts, they are best known from Greco-Roman times when
great orators, including Cicero, used them to ensure their rhetoric was smooth, detailed and flawless. The
physical memory palace, usually a streetscape or building interior, would become so familiar to the orator that it
was always available to them in their imagination. By ‘placing’ one piece of information in each site, they could
mentally stroll through their memory palace, location by location, drawing out each portion of the speech in the
required order without missing any element.

Received opinion is that this method of loci, as the technique is also known, dates to before Simonides of Ceos
(c. 556–468 BCE), who is often credited as the inventor. However, there is ample circumstantial evidence that
Indigenous cultures the world over have been using it for far longer than that. There is a continuous record
dating back at least 40 000 years for Australian Aboriginal cultures. Their songlines, along with Native American
pilgrimage trails, Pacific Islanders’ ceremonial roads and the ceque system of the Inca at Cusco all exhibit exactly
the same pattern as the memory palaces described by Cicero. At each sacred location along these paths, elders
would sing, dance or tell a story, all making the information associated with the location more memorable.

The memory skills of indigenous elders exceed anything reported for the ancient Greeks. Research with the
Native American Navajo people, for example, shows that they memorise a classification of more than 700 insects
along with identification, habitats, and behaviour. And that’s just insects. A fully initiated indigenous elder would
be able to relate stories equivalent to a field guide for all the birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and hundreds of
insects within their environment.

Cultures without writing are referred to as ‘non-literate’, but their identity should not be associated with what
they don’t do, but rather with what they do from necessity when there is no writing to record their knowledge.
Cultures without writing employ the most intriguing range of memory technologies often linked under the
academic term ‘primary orality’, including song, dance, rhyme and rhythm, and story and mythology. Physical
memory devices, though, are less often included in this list. The most universal of these is the landscape itself.

Australian Aboriginal memory palaces are spread across the land, structured by sung pathways referred to as
songlines. The songlines of the Yanyuwa people from Carpentaria in Australia’s far north have been recorded
over 800 kilometres. A songline is a sequence of locations, that might, for example, include the rocks that
provide the best materials for tools, to a significant tree or a waterhole. They are far more than a navigation aid.
At each location, a song or story, dance or ceremony is performed that will always be associated with that
particular location, physically and in memory. A songline, then, provides a table of contents to the entire
knowledge system, one that can be traversed in memory as well as physically.

It is the structure of the human brain that dictates the memory methods that work so effectively right across
human societies. It is our dependence on writing that has eroded this skill. We can, if we choose to, implement
these techniques alongside our current educational methods. I have taught schoolchildren to sing their science
and to create memory trails right around the school grounds, with excellent results. We can and should learn
from the intellectual achievements of indigenous cultures by adapting their techniques to contemporary life. But
when we do this, we should acknowledge the source. These memory techniques are far older than our Western
civilisation, and they are far more effective than the crude rote techniques that replaced them.

Written by Lynne Kelly, who is a science writer and works as an Honorary Research Associate at La Trobe
University in Melbourne. She researches the extraordinary memory methods of indigenous and early literate
cultures and applies them in daily life. This research has led to a new theory for the purpose of ancient
monuments across the world. Her latest book is The Memory Code (2016). She lives in Castlemaine, Australia.

Part A

Why you should train your cat and how to do it (20 marks)

1. What type of learning, classical or operant conditioning, do you think is best suited to training
cats? Use evidence in the article to support your answer. (3 marks)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. If a cat is sprayed with water or handled roughly by their owner for doing the wrong thing,
using the language of operant conditioning, explain why would this be seen as an ineffective
strategy. (3 marks)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

3. The article suggests that ‘Reward-based techniques can be an excellent way to teach a cat to
enter a carrier on their own or sit calmly whilst we deliver their flea treatment’. Using the ABC
of Operant conditioning, suggest how this could be done. (4 marks)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________
 _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Using the language of classical conditioning, explain how a cat could learn to fear going to get
injections at the vet. (5 marks)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

5. Discuss 2 factors that could influence the effectiveness of using reinforcement for the cat’s
behaviour. (2 marks)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

6. Why does the article suggest that punishment should not be used to train a pet? What type of
punishment is discussed in the article? (2 marks)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________
 7. Is a cat likely to learn via observational learning? Explain your answer. (1 mark)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Part B

This ancient mnemonic technique builds a palace of memory (20 marks)

https://www.britannica.com/story/this-ancient-mnemonic-technique-builds-a-palace-of-memory

1. a. ‘It is the structure of the human brain that dictates the memory methods that work so effectively
right across human societies’. The process of getting information effectively to memory, can be
explained with reference to the Atkinson–Shiffrin multi-store model of memory.

Using an example of what you have learnt in class regarding Indigenous learning, discuss how
information, such as songlines is transferred into long-term memory using the Atkinson–Shiffrin
model. (4 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

b. To make sure that information goes beyond sensory information, the material must be
encoded. Explain how the method of loci can be used as a mnemonic device to assist the
storage of information. (1 mark)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

c. Does the method of loci use elaborative or maintenance rehearsal? Explain which of these
methods is more effective for LTM storage. (4 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Referring to the article, how have the Greek orators used the method of loci to remember their
speech? (2 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. a. The article suggests that Indigenous cultures have been using songlines as a mnemonic device for
years and years. How do they remember the songlines? (1 mark)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

b. How does singing help information be learnt? (2 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. It was suggested that Indigenous elders could memorise a classification of more than 700 insects
along with identification, habitats and behaviour. Are these implicit or explicit memories? Explain
your answer. (3 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. Music and dance are important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. They are used as
part of everyday life and to mark special occasions. When learning traditional dances, which areas
of the brain would be involved in the development of the skill involved? What type of long-term
memory is this? (3 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
Marking rubric
Key knowledge focus 6 marks 5 marks 4 marks 3 marks 2 marks 1 mark 0 marks
Part A
Student is able to accurately
explain why operant
conditioning is best used for Student is able to answer
training cats. They will that operant conditioning is
Student identifies operant
Q1 Comparison of classical and explain that positive best for training cats and Not
conditioning but is not
operant conditioning reinforcement (treats) is a that this type of learning is shown
able to explain why
part of operant conditioning dependent on consequences
as learning is influenced by (such as praise treats)
consequences. This is not
the case in CC.
Student is able to explain
that the strategies in the Student is able to identify
Student identifies
Question are forms of that punishment is used Not
Q2 Strategies to change behaviour punishment but only discuss
punishment and two reason but are unable to justify shown
one strategy
for why this method is this is ineffective
ineffective are needed
Student is able to correctly
identify the antecedent,
behaviour and consequence
Student is able to correctly Student identifies one
and are able to recognise Student is able to correctly Not
Q3 ABC of operant conditioning identify the antecedent, aspect of the ABC of
that if a positive identify 2 parts of the ABC shown
behaviour and consequence operant conditioning
reinforcement is given,
behaviour will be
strengthened
Student effectively
describes Phase 1 —
NS, UCS and UCR,
Student correctly lists all Student correctly lists all
Phase 2 is explained Student answers in a
components of phases 1–3 components of phases 1–3 Student correctly lists 2 of Not
Q4 Phases of classical conditioning with NS repeatedly generic way or only have
yet do not explain either yet do not explain phase 1 the 3 phases shown
presented before UCS one of the phases correct
phase 1 or 2 or 2
to produce UCR, Phase
3 includes correct CS
producing CR

Student discusses 2 relevant Student discusses one

factors for using relevant factor for using Not
Q5 Effectiveness of reinforcement
reinforcement to change reinforcement to change shown
behaviour behaviour
 Student either lists
Student does 2 of the
positive punishment but
following: explains how
has no explanation why it
punishment induces fear as Not
Q6 Use of punishment should not be used or has
well as listing positive shown
the explanation but does
punishment as they type of
not list positive
punishment used.
punishment
Part B
Student accurately discusses Student accurately discusses
the movement of the movement of Student accurately discusses Student discusses the
information from sensory, to information from sensory, the movement of movement of information
Q1a Atkinson and Shiffrin model STM, to LTM and discuss to STM, to LTM but only information from sensory, to from sensory, to STM, to Not
of memory the importance of both discusses the importance of STM, to LTM and discuss LTM with no shown
attention and rehearsal either attention or rehearsal the importance of both explanation of role of
(which needs to be (which needs to be either attention or rehearsal attention and rehearsal
elaborative) elaborative
Student can explain how
method of loci is used
Q1b Method of loci as a mnemonic Not
mentioning mental
device shown
images and associations
with locations,
Student accurately discusses Student accurately lists ER
ER as creating links to as creating links to
Student lists ER as better
LTM/organises material LTM/organises material Not
Q1c Types of rehearsal than MR but does not Student just lists ER
better and that MR is simply better but does not shown
explain why
rote learning to retain adequately explain how it is
information in STM more effective than MR
Student identifies how
Student identifies how
information to be
information to be
remembered is placed in
Q2 Using the article to explain remembered is placed in a Not
a location but do not
method of loci location that can then be shown
include how the items are
recalled through
recalled through
visualisation
visualisation

Student accurately
Q3a Songlines as mnemonic explains how information Not
devices is associated with shown
locati0ons in a song

Student accurately discusses

Student only has one
Q3b Encoding of information for how singing creates Not
explanation for why
effective memory meaning, as it uses shown
singing is effective
elaborative rehearsal
 Student accurately discusses
explicit memories being
Student lists explicit but
factual and that they are
does not explain why, Student just lists explicit Not
Q4 Implicit vs explicit memory semantic and/or that they
whereas implicit ones are memory shown
are consciously recalled,
not consciously recalled
whereas implicit ones are
not consciously recalled
Student accurately lists
Student accurately lists
procedural memories but
procedural memories that
only discus that are implicit Student just lists Not
Q5 Procedural skills are implicit and that they
OR that they involve the procedural memory shown
involve the Basal ganglia
Basal ganglia and the
and the cerebellum
cerebellum

/ 40 marks
KEY to marking scale based on the outcome contributing 40 marks

Very Low 0–12 Low 13–19 Medium 20–26 High 27–33 Very High 34–40