VCE Psychology Unit 3 examines how the nervous system functions under stress, how learning and memory operate, and how these processes influence behaviour. Students explore the roles of the CNS, PNS and autonomic responses, distinctions between stress, eustress and distress, and the biological, psychological and social factors contributing to stress. The unit also investigates classical and operant conditioning, observational learning, and the multi-store model of memory, including encoding, storage and retrieval. Students learn how memory can fail, how forgetting occurs, and how research methods and ethical principles guide psychological investigation.