April 28, 2021
Although Psychology has a reputation of being the easiest science discipline to study, the abstract concepts within this subject say otherwise. Its popularity comes from students interested in human behaviour as the content covered has very relatable real-life applications that the other sciences cannot offer. Psychology can be very overwhelming, as for a student trying to do well, staying on top of the extreme amount of content taught in this subject is particularly challenging. Despite the workload being heavy, the ideas taught have great importance as they can influence students to shape a more critical perspective in their future studies.
Typically, the year begins with learning about the complexities of the nervous system, followed by a focus on stress, learning, and memory. Near the middle of the year, a thorough understanding of research methods is taught, which is followed by learning about sleep and consciousness. Finishing the year on mental health and phobia, students then must complete a 2 hour and 30-minute examination that contains both multiple choice and short answer questions.
To perform well in Psychology, you need to keep on top of all the work that you are assigned, as the high-density workload only continues to pile up. Additionally, implementing strategies of a deep learner also improves chances of doing well, that is, asking questions regularly about any misconceptions and trying to connect to the content with personal examples.
The number one mistake made by students in VCE psychology is focusing on learning the content but never translating that knowledge to application. Simply knowing the content is not enough to succeed, as you also need to work on perfecting your formula for answering questions. In particular, this involves moving beyond flashcards and textbooks and getting into practice questions! This allows students to avoid the trap of trickily-worded questions, which is common in Psychology, as well as ensure they are frequently using the correct wording and terminology in their answers.
Students tend to rote learn definitions and regurgitate them on the exam. This is not what the examiners are looking for. Make sure you read questions carefully and are relating learned content directly to the question by focusing on applying what you have learned. This way the key phrases that are awarded marks will come naturally, while also steering away from losing 1-2 marks for just reciting definitions.
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