Continuing Professional Development

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A level Psychology

Getting Started: Specification A AS and A2

Teaching Resources for AS level

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Permission to reproduce all copyright materials have been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright holders have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements in future documents if required.

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Contents Page Scheme of work for AS psychology (PSYA1 & PSYA2) 4- 15 Teaching Resources for AS level PSYA1 Cognitive Psychology Memory Serial digit span demonstration- Based on Jacobs (1887) 16 Serial position effect- Based on Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) 17-18 Duration of STM -Based on Peterson and Peterson (1959): 19 Working Memory Model: The effect of word length on recall. 20 Exercises to illustrate how Working Memory functions 21 Eye Witness Testimony: Application questions 22 Designing an experiment to test memory improvement techniques 23-24 Detailed revison list for cognitive psychology, memory 25- 30 Developmental Psychology- Early Social Development Explanations of Attachments- how to explain learning theory and evolutionary perspective, including Bowlby

31-32

Cultural variations in attachment- 12 mark sample answer 33-34 Day Care - Design a survey 35 Additional Research Methods Questions Research Methods 1: hypotheses, IV, DV and operationalising variables 36-40 Research Methods 2- variables and experimental designs 41-43 Populations and samples: sampling smarties 44-45 Biological Psychology- Stress Stress as a bodily response sample exam questions 46 An experiment to investigate the body’s response to stress 47 Stress and Daily Hassles: identifying hassles and uplifts 48 Relationship between daily hassles and illness: research methods task: planning a correlation study

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Daily Hassles: applications question 50 Discuss the role played by personality factors in stress: sample answer 51-52 Social Psychology- Social Influence Types of conformity: application questions 53 Explanations of why people conform: application to research studies 54 Milgram’s work on obedience 55 Why people obey: explanations of obedience 56 Individual Differences- Psychopathology (Abnormality) Psychopathology: Sample questions and guidance notes 57 Psychopathology: the cognitive approach- sample essay 58-59 Treating Abnormality: Psychological Therapy: Systematic De-sensitisation (SD) 60-61

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Psychology AS (PSYA1 & PSYA2) Scheme of Work Overview Approximate teaching weeks

Topic

Week 1 Induction: course handbook and introduction to Psychology

Week 2-11

Human Memory and Research Methods

Weeks 12 –17 Development and Research Methods

January examination

PSYA1

Weeks 18 - 22 Biological Psychology- Stress

Weeks 23- 26 Social Psychology- Social influence

Weeks 27- 31 Individual Differences- Psychopathology (Abnormality)

Summer examination

PSYA2 and any PSYA1 re-sits

Weeks 32-34 Transition course to A2 after the AS examinations Skills and some subject based content

This scheme of work is a working document and subject to changes. Items which are underlined in the scheme of work have an associated worksheet or information sheet in this booklet.

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Unit 1- PSYA1 Cognitive Psychology and Research Methods

Week no.

Content Methods/ activities

Assessments Outcomes- students should be able to

1 Introduction to Psychology Nature of psychology Approaches Research methods

Library task-research a topic in psychology, write a mini review

• use the library catalogue

• find relevant library journals

2-3 Models of memory- MSM The multi store model (MSM) Research into encoding, capacity, duration (STM & LTM) Strengths and weaknesses of MSM Research methods Aims and hypotheses Lab experiment Presentation of data Operationalising variables Reliability and validity Case study

Booklet and textbook Question & Answer Practicals- capacity (Jacobs) -serial position effect (G & C) - duration (Petersons) Video- Clive Wearing STM problem- case study research

Complete exercises from booklet or textbook Assessment Describe and evaluate the multi-store model of memory - (12 marks)

• understand the term ‘model’

• describe multi store model

• explain concepts: encoding, capacity, duration & research into how they have been measured

• discuss strengths & weaknesses of multi store model

• understanding of named RM concepts and case study method

4-5 Research Methods Experimental method including lab, field and natural experiments Aims, hypotheses, including directional & non-directional, experimental designs, operationalisation of variables inc. IV & DV, control of extraneous variables, demand characteristics & investigator effects, pilot studies, reliability & validity

Make notes on methods, complete associated activities Discussion sheets worked examples. Group work Group activity- design & carry out a lab experiment from RM1: hyp. IV DV & operationalsing variables

Completion of notes and task activities to demonstrate understanding Assessment RM1: hypotheses, IV, DV and operationalising variables

• understanding and application of named RM concepts

• design a psychology experiment

6 Presentation of quantitative data inc. graphs, scattergrams and tables Central tendency (mean, median, mode) and dispersion (range, SD)

Class exercises- presentation of data

Complete task activities in class and for homework

Be familiar with: • presentation &

interpretation of graphs, scattergrams & tables

• central tendency & dispersion

7-8 Models of memory WMM Evidence for WMM- word length effect, VSSP-visual tracking, Bunge (2000) CE Strengths and weaknesses WMM

Booklet, textbook Practicals- WMM The effect of word length on recall & Exercises to illustrate how WM functions

Make a revision sheet- WMM, evidence to support, strengths, weaknesses

• describe WMM • evidence to support

the model • strengths/

weaknesses of WMM

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Unit 1- PSYA1 Cognitive Psychology and Research Methods Week no.

Content Methods/ activities

Assessments Outcomes- students should be able to

9-10 Memory in everyday life Eye witness testimony (EWT) & factors affecting accuracy of EWT including anxiety & age of witness Misleading information & use of cognitive interview Research methods- recap lab/ field experiment comparison Reliability/ validity

Booklet & textbook Didactic Discussion Classwork activity on EWT eg student recall of an event in school such as Prizegiving

Applications questions on EWT Test on EWT using exam question, eg Q5 Jan. 2009,Q4 Summer 2009

• explain processes involved in memory reconstruction

• outline findings of research into EWT and age effects

• outline findings of research into EWT and anxiety

• explain role/ research into misleading information

• discuss improving accuracy of EWT with cognitive interview

11 Strategies for memory

improvement organisation, chunking (STM) visual & verbal mnemonics

Memory booklet Question and answer Group activity- use & compare strategies

Practice exam questions/ technique Applications questions Designing an experiment to test memory improvement techniques

• describe strategies for memory improvement

• evaluate the effectiveness of strategies for memory improvement

• interpret exam questions

11 Consolidation, revision questions

Exam question practice Students work through revision list for memory and check RM notes are up to date

Look at revision list for cognitive psych. memory exam Discuss exam technique, types of questions

• revise effectively • approach the

exam with confidence

• apply understanding to novel questions

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Unit 1- PSYA1 Developmental Psychology and Research Methods Week no.

Content Methods/ activities Assessments Outcomes- students should be able to

12-14 Attachment Explanations inc. learning theory & evolutionary perspective inc. Bowlby Types of attachment, secure, insecure, Ainsworth Cultural variations in attachment Disruption of attachment, failure to form attachment, (privation) & effects of institutionalisation Research methods: Ethics, hypotheses, observational methods, pilot studies, reliability, survey, open & closed questions, quantitative and qualitative data

Booklet/ textbook Students answer questions & summarise material (research & comprehension skills) class discussion Quiz eg students create Blockbuster quiz on attachment Discuss sample answer: Describe and evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment Make notes on: Robertson & Robertson Hodges & Tizard Rutter –Romanian Orphanage studies Case studies of privation Design a simulated observation of infants attachment behaviour- create categories, explain procedure, check for reliability Video clips- Strange Situation & Robertsons

Complete booklet activities Explanations of Attachment sheet, then exam question: Describe and evaluate two explanations of attachment (12 marks) Plan exam answers disruption of attachment, privation and institutionalisation –discussion and group work

• explain attachment • outline and evaluate

learning theory and evolutionary perspective including Bowlby

• outline behavioural characteristics of children with different types of attachment

• explain why children may have different types of attachment

• describe and evaluate relevant studies into:

• cultural variations in attachment

• consequences of disruption of attachment

• failure to form attachment (privation)

• effects of institutionalisation

• develop awareness of RM, especially non-experimental methodology

15 Attachment in everyday life Impact of day care on social development. including effects on aggression & peer relations

Colour code studies of day care- for/ against

Design a survey- Day Care Design & carry out a survey. Consider ethical issues. Present findings to the group.

• explain impact of

day care on social development including aggression & peer relations

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Implications of research into attachment and day care for child care practices

Discussion of newspaper articles on day care – research exercise Devise advice to parents on day care – IT- Leaflet

• discuss implications of research into attachment & day care for child care practices

16 Research methods Correlational analysis Observational techniques Self-report techniques including questionnaire & interview Presentation of qualitative data Processes involved in content analysis Awareness of BPS Code of Ethics Ethical issues- dealing with them Selection of participants, sampling techniques

Structured activities eg Complete summary notes on advantages and disadvantages of methods Design observational categories Apply knowledge to real life –eg Analyse a nursery school prospectus. Carry out content analysis on the prospectuses. Identify ethical issues in real life research & how they could be addressed

Complete tasks and activities in class & for homework Formal - test on RM Research Methods 2: variables and experimental designs and multiple choice questions Cardwell & Flanagan (2008) Psychology AS: the complete companion p.111 Populations and samples: sampling smarties

• explain and give advantages and weaknesses of correlation, observation and self-report techniques

• interpret correlation data

• explain & interpret the presentation of qualitative data

• explain the process involved in content analysis

• show awareness of BPS Code of Ethics

• discuss ethical issues & the way psychologists deal with them

17 Consolidation, revision questions Revision calendar

Exam question practice Revision sheets by students Students make up exam questions from specification

Practice exam questions/ technique Mock examination

• revise effectively • approach the exam

with confidence • apply

understanding to novel questions across the unit

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Unit 2- PSYA2 Biological Psychology Week no.

Content Methods/ activities Assessments Outcomes: students should be able to:

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Stress The body’s response to stress Stress related illness & the immune system RM- Review- associated research methods- natural & lab experiments

Introduce concept of stress- Identify signs of stress Booklet with exercises and activities on body’s response to stress Practical: An experiment to investigate the body’s response to stress Background- introduction to the immune system Notes on research into the effects of stress on the immune system eg Kiecolt Glaser (1948, 1995), meta-review- Sagerstrom & Miller (2004)

Discussion & written answers Assessment: Questions on stress as a bodily response sample exam questions Discuss evidence for the effect of stress on the immune system (12 marks)

• describe the pituitary adrenal system

• describe the sympatho-medullary pathway

• show understanding of natural & lab experiments

• discuss the link between stress related illness & the immune system

• describe and evaluate research into stress related illness & the immune system

19 Stress in everyday life Life changes and daily hassles RM- recap self-report methods, correlation Workplace stress

Introduce life changes & daily hassles as sources of stress Stress & daily hassles:identifying hassles & uplifts Create and pilot SRRS student scale & daily hassle scale- assess effectiveness as research tools Introduce workplace stress factors-environment, workload, lack of control Summarise research eg Glass- noise, Marmot- Whitehall studies

Stress and daily hassles: planning a correlation study Daily hassles: Applications question Webquest: a mini-survey on workplace stress

• define life change

• describe research

using the SRRS and LCU scores

• define daily hassle

• evaluate use of

scales for life changes/ daily hassles

• demonstrate

understanding of self-report methods & correlation

• identify factors

which contribute to workplace stress & relevant research

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Week no.

Content Methods/ activities Assessments Outcomes: students should be able to:

20 Personality factors, including Type A behaviour Recap correlation

Introduce personality factors- Type A & Hardiness scales Booklet for notes and exercises Carry out Type A and Hardy personality questionnaires

Sample answer: Discuss the role played by personality factors in stress. (12 marks)

• discuss how personality influences the experiences & effects of stress

• construct a

scattergram Analyse correlation data

analyse a sample

answer 21-22 Emotion focused &

problem focused coping Psychological & physiological methods of stress management

Introduce emotion focused and problem focused approaches Booklet exercises Class exercises- identifying different approaches exercise Psychological & physiological stress management booklet question and answer

Stimulus response questions –applications

Practice exam questions including application questions on coping approaches and strengths and weaknesses of different methods of stress management

• distinguish between emotion focused and problem focused approaches to coping with stress

• discuss one

cognitive behavioural method of managing stress (SIT &/or Hardiness training)

• discuss one

physiological method of stress management (drugs &/or biofeedback)

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Exam question practice Students write exam questions for each other. Use specification wording.

Practise exam questions/ technique

• revise effectively • approach exam

with confidence • apply

understanding to novel questions across the unit

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Unit 2- Social Psychology- Social Influence Week no.

Content Methods/ activities Assessments Outcomes: students should be able to:

23 Social Influence Types of conformity, including internalisation & compliance Asch’s study-compliance, normative Clark- internalisation Why people conform, including informational social influence & normative social influence

Booklet for notes and exercises on examples of conformity Design & carry out a lab experiment e.g. sweets in a jar with/ without other people’s estimates Discussion -why people give to charity

Design, carry out and analyse data Application of knowledge questions: types of conformity Explanations of why people conform: application to research studies

• discuss types of conformity

• describe & evaluate Asch’s study of conformity

• describe & evaluate Clark’s study of conformity

• consider factors

affecting conformity eg size of majority, time, culture

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Milgram & why people obey Recap- lab experiments & ethical issues

Booklet and exercises Debate the ethics and validity (+modern applications) of Milgram’s studies

Research worksheet: Milgram’s work on obedience Discuss the contribution of Milgram’s research to our understanding of obedience (12 marks) Worksheet: Why people obey-explanations of obedience

• describe Milgram’s experiments on obedience

• evaluate Milgram’s

studies -ethical and validity issues

• recap the nature of

lab experiments & ethical issues

• discuss why people obey

25-26 Social Influence in everyday life Explanations of independent behaviour-how people resist pressures to conform and to obey authority Influence of individual difference on independent behaviour, inc. locus of control Implications for social change of research into

Booklet and textbook Questionnaire –Locus of control scale Design a correlation study of locus of control and conformity Debate the role of psychology as a force for good/ evil in social

Exercises in booklet and summary questions Exam questions This area of the specification has scope for a lot of variety of exam

• discuss situational

and personal factors to explain how people resist pressures to conform (eg Gamson)

• discuss situational and personal factors to explain how people resist pressures to obey

• discuss individual differences in independent

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social influence RM- ethical issues and how they are dealt with

influence Webquest: find examples where conformity, minority influence and obedience have implication for social change

questions past papers and the spec. should be considered. For example: Summer 2009,Q5 locus of control, Q8-obedience. Jan 2010-Q8 locus of control & resisting conformity, Q9 research & social change

behaviour • explain role of

locus of control on behaviour

• discuss the implications for social change of research into social influence

• recap ethical issues and how they are dealt with in social influence research

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Exam question practice Write exam questions using wording on the spec.

Practise exam questions/ technique

• revise effectively • approach exam

with confidence • apply

understanding to novel questions across the unit

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Unit 2- Individual Differences- Psychopathology (Abnormality) Week no.

Content Methods/ activities Assessments Outcomes: students should be able to:

27- 28 Defining and explaining psychological abnormality Definitions of abnormality including deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately & deviation frm ideal mental health. Limitations associated with these definitions of abnormality Key features of biological approach to psychopathology Key features to psychological approach to psychopathology inc. the psychodynamic, behavioural & cognitive approaches

Introduce definitions, booklet and exercises Small groups- generate examples of definitions and identify limitations Videos- abnormal behaviour e.g. Catman Discuss what is abnormal Booklet & discussion biological approach Booklet & discussion psychological approaches

Questions and guidance on Psychopathology (Abnormality) questions Psychopathology: the cognitive approach- sample essay

• outline deviation from social norms, failure to function & ideal mental health definitions & discuss limitations

• give examples of

each definition

• outline key features of biological approach to abnormality

• outline key features

of psychological approach inc. psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive approaches

• evaluate approaches

29-30 Treating Abnormality Biological therapies inc. drugs & ECT Psychological therapies, inc. psychoanalysis, systematic desensitisation and CBT

Booklet , textbook, question & answer- drugs and ECT Class exercise- using psychodynamic approach (case study examples) Video to introduce systematic desensitisation- answer questions Webquest: mini research into the use of CBT

Exam question practice Generate exam questions from the spec. Treating abnormality: psychological therapy: systematic desensitisation

• describe and evaluate drugs and ECT as treatments

• describe & evaluate

effectiveness of psychodynamic therapies

• describe & evaluate effectiveness of systematic desensitisation

• describe & evaluate effectiveness of CBT

31 Consolidation, revision

questions Exam question practice Mock exam

Practise exam questions/ technique

• revise effectively • approach exam with

confidence • apply understanding

to novel questions across the unit

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Additional suggestions for resources and teaching approaches ICT- based activities - internet (web based) site Learning Space (Nelson Thornes, 2008) renamed-Kerboodle (2009). If students have access to Kerboodle. This can provide the basis for some classwork and homework activities. It provides:

Worksheets on some activities, often in the form of ‘drag and drop’ exercises. Tests at the end of each section. A number of the questionnaire scales e.g. Type A personality, the Holmes and Rahe (1967)

SRR Scale can be accessed through the site. Some video clips, e.g. Clive Wearing case study, Robertsons’ John (disruption of

attachment), The Science of Stress, the Milgram experiment. Podcasts and webquests. The latter are useful in guiding students in a research task. For

example, Day care –a present day benefit or social development disaster? Research methods activities, including non-experimental methods, as well as the Ethical

Principles for conducting research with human participants. Staff can set up a group e-mail which can be a useful way of communicating with students. If

you have access to computers in class, it is possible for students to work on different parts of an answer, e-mail these to each other on Kerboodle, and come up with a ‘complete’ answer that can be printed by the end of the lesson. As a digital copy is available, so staff or students can make improvements on the work produced, if this is required.

Extension activities: For the keen or able students, a number of extra interest activities could be available. Often these can be based on chapters of books or original journal articles related to the course. Some examples are given below. You may need to direct the student when they undertake these activities. If students are thinking about research for the extended project qualification then extension activities could help with this and provide a basis for discussing with the student their commitment to carrying out independent research. Useful book chapters: Gross, R., (2003), Themes, Issues and Debates in Psychology 2nd ed., Normality and Abnormality Ch.7. London: Hodder Arnold – a number of chapters in this book could form the basis of further reading. Moghaddam, F., (2005), Great Ideas in Psychology, Conformity and Obedience, Ch.15 & 16, Oxford: One World Publications Journal articles: For institutionalisation and privation- Hodges, J. & Tizard, B., (1989), Social and Family Relationships of Ex-Institutional Adolescents, Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 30 (1) 77-97 For aggression and day care- Shea, J.D.C., (1981) Changes in Interpersonal Distances and Categories of Play Behaviour in the Early Weeks of Preschool, Developmental Psychology, 17 (4) 417-425 For real life studies into eye witness testimony- Yuille, J.C. & Cutshall, J.L., (1986) A Case Study of Eyewitness Memory of a Crime. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71 (2) 291-301

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Self- assessment activities and exam based resources

Students provided with specimen exam paper, they download mark scheme working independently

Students work through additional and further exam questions- mark schemes are available on

AQA site

AQA past papers, mark schemes and examiners reports can be found on the AQA website.

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Serial digit span demonstration

This is based on Jacobs (1887). It can be used to assess class members’ digit span or to compare digit and letter span.

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Instructions The digit and the letter lists can be used separately as demonstrations of span or compared as part

of an experiment. Start by reading the 3 digit item and ask participants to recall the digits in the same

order immediately. Continue to work through the list. When 10 digits are read out it will be difficult for

most people to correctly recall them in the same order. Jacobs found digits were more easily recalled

than letters.

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Serial position effect

This demonstration is based on the work of Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

1. Puzzle

2. Lamp

3. Cupboard

4. Piano

5. Biscuit

6. Ship

7. Climate

8. Suitcase

9. Banana

10. Chair

11. Guitar

12. Swimmer

13. Horse

14. Magazine

15. Yoghurt

16. Ruler

17. Wardrobe

18. Train

19. Sunshine

20. Pyjamas

Instructions Read, or visually present the words one at a time. Leave only a brief interval between each word. After reading/ presenting all 20 words, ask participants to recall any words they can remember, in any order. The serial position effect should occur. Words at the beginning and the end of the list should be more frequently recalled. If a delay of 30 seconds is introduced (ask participants to count down from a three figure number in 4’s for 30 seconds) the words at the end of the list should be poorly recalled due to displacement.

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Recording class results for serial position curve demonstration: Plotting a graph and research methods questions

• On the graph paper above plot the class results for the serial position curve. On the horizontal (x) axis write 1 to 20 to represent the order of the words. On the vertical (y) axis plot the frequency (the number of times a word was recalled).

• Label both axes on the graph

• Comment on what the graph shows

• Use the multi store model of memory to explain why the serial position effect occurs.

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Duration of short term memory This demonstration of duration of short term memory with delay before recall is based on Peterson and Peterson (1959) 12, 6, 18 seconds delay

3, 15, 9 seconds delay Trigram 3 sec Trigram 15 sec Trigram 9 sec JXT TVN CRH MGH LMW KYL SDB GFP BJR YCL LQN PFT QZK MWZ KZX PWH JGQ GJF Count down

287 in 3’s

Count down

482 in 5’s

Count down

973 in 3’s

Total Total Total

Instructions The trigram lists can be used in a demonstration of the duration of short term memory. Participants can work

in pairs. One participant tests the other on recall of the trigrams in the 12, 6 and 18 second delay conditions.

Experimenter and participant roles are swapped and the 3,15 and 9 second delay sheet is used. The

experimenter starts by reading one trigram to the participant and immediately states the number from which

the participant is required to count down. After the appropriate delay in seconds, with the participant counting

down in the distraction task, the participant tries to recall the trigram in the correct letter order. A tick in the

table can record a correct response. The process is repeated, working across the table to vary the time delay.

Each participant completes 6 rows of trigrams x 3 trigrams per row. As the time delay increases, accurate

recall of the trigrams is likely to lessen.

Trigram 12 sec Trigram 6 sec Trigram 18 sec

MVJ WQZ NHM LGY HFL TLF MWQ PDT CXV BXD QCG BNR PZN RYW KLP KYQ JTR QSW Count down

311 in 3’s

Count down

242 in 3’s

Count down

739 in 3’s

Total Total Total

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Working Memory Model: The effect of word length on recall. This comparison of recall of short words with recall of long words is based on Baddeley et al. (1975) link opportunity win platinum add livelihood cup overestimate list regiment knot government spade horizon watch timetable rule elephant slim cathedral

Instructions This is a demonstration based on a comparison of two conditions- recall of short and long words.

1. Read the long words to participants and ask them to repeat the words out loud. Repeat using the short words. Record the number of words correctly recalled.

2. Identify a design flaw in this demonstration that might have affected the results. Hint: think

about the effects of a repeated measures design and the controls that need to be in place.

3. Explain the findings of the demonstration in the context of the working memory model, especially the phonological loop.

Teacher’s note Participants should be able to recall more short words than long words, after the list has been read to them. The time-based limitation of the phonological loop makes it harder to recall as many long words as short words as fewer long words fit into the processing time available. The lack of counterbalancing in the presentation of the material could produce an order effect, which may be boredom or practice, affecting performance and this could impinge on the results.

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Exercises to illustrate how Working Memory functions

Now here is a tricky task

Doing two tasks easily (1) Doing two tasks with difficulty (2)

The latter two exercises are dual task activities:

• Why is it more difficult to carry out task (2) than it is to carry out task (1)?

• Which parts of your working memory operate when you carry out task (1) and task (2)?

Baddeley (1997) suggests that, to operate your working memory, you should try the following task: Work out how many windows there are in your house. Probably this is done by visualising standing outside the house and counting them, or walking through each room and counting. The image will be ‘viewed’ in your visuo spatial sketch pad and the tally of windows will be held in the phonological loop. The task will be supervised and monitored overall by the central executive which can use the episodic buffer to access the image of your house and to briefly hold the information from the other processors.

Repeat the months of the year in alphabetical order of their first letter. The tricky part of this is the number of months put too much of a strain on the time limited phonological loop and episodic buffer. It is difficult to keep scanning the months and putting them in alphabetical order when you are working with a list of 12 items.

Imagine you are taking a walk in the mind’s eye, around the letter F. Start in the bottom left corner. Each time you are at the top or bottom of the letter say ‘yes’. Each time you turn a corner in the middle of the letter say ‘no’

Imagine you are taking a walk in the mind’s eye, around the letter H. Start in the bottom left corner. Each time you are at the top or bottom of the letter touch the far side of your desk. Each time you turn a corner in the middle of the letter touch the near edge of your desk.

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Eye Witness Testimony: Application questions Cognitive interview and EWT

1. A shopping centre was the scene of a robbery. When the police arrived the robbers had escaped. In order to identify the criminals, the police wanted to ensure they could collect accurate and detailed information from the public who had witnessed the scene.

How might the police use the cognitive interview technique to interview these shoppers

(6 marks) Hint: Outline how the cognitive interview technique could be used. For example, shoppers might be asked to recreate the context, recall everything, view the scene from another perspective and relate events in a different order. Try to illustrate the outline with examples that directly relate to information in the text. Anxiety and EWT 2. Jay was working at the petrol station. Unexpectedly, a customer pulled out a knife and

robbed Jay’s till. Throughout the robbery Jay was terrified that he was going to be harmed.

What has research told us about the effect that Jay’s anxiety during the robbery might have on his reliability as an eyewitness? (6 marks)

Hint: Look at relevant research into the effect of anxiety on EWT. The findings and conclusions of relevant studies would be of interest, relate the findings to elements of the scenario. Age and EWT

3. Hannah, aged nine, and her sixty-five year old grandmother were walking home from the park when they heard the sound of breaking glass. They turned around and watched two men jump out of a white van. The men had apparently driven the van into a jewellery shop window. They were busy stealing expensive items through the broken window. Once they had taken what they wanted, the men jumped back into the white van and drove away at speed. Hannah and her grandmother watched the robbery happen.

Explain what research would suggest about the likely reliability of the testimony of these two witnesses? (6 marks)

Hint: think about the ages of these witnesses. Use findings and conclusions of research on age and witnesses. Relate your comments to this example.

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Designing an experiment to test memory improvement techniques Design a controlled experiment to test the effectiveness of one memory improvement strategy.

(8 marks) Hint: What method will you use? State the aim, hypothesis (directional or non-directional?), IV, DV and experimental design. State how you would create the material, control any possible extraneous variables and deal with ethical issues. Write out the standardised instructions and the ethical information to be presented to participants. Here is a table to help you. There are two examples of memory improvement techniques on the next page. You may wish to use one of those. Title

Aim

Hypothesis- including whether directional/ non-directional

Describe stimulus material

IV-operationalised

DV- operationalised

Controls of extraneous variables

Ethical considerations

Standardised instructions

Ethical consideration sheet for participants

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Examples of memory improvement techniques Two specific techniques which could be investigated are the peg word system and the method loci. The peg word system is based on organisation and visual links. First learn the basic organisational structure of the peg word system. This involves the numbers one to ten being associated with a rhyming word e.g. One is a bun Six are sticks Two is a shoe Seven is heaven Three is a tree Eight is a gate Four is a door Nine is a line Five is a hive Ten is a hen Then, using a list of words (it is best if it is not more than 10 words) try to form a mental image between the words and the ‘pegs’. For example the first word might be eggs. This might encourage you to think of eggs on a bun. For the second word, e.g. bread, you might visualise shoes made out of bread instead of leather. Continue to create VISUAL links for all the words on the list you wish to remember. The chances are, you will be able to recite list of words you have learnt quite some time afterwards, using the visual connection peg word system. Another mnemonic- method of loci is also a visual organising technique. This time, instead of using peg words you use locations, or places to provide the organising structure. Think of a regular route you take, perhaps using your route to school or college. Think of 10 key locations that you meet with on the way e.g. your front door, the corner of your road, the bus stop where you wait for the bus etc. If you have a list of items which you need to remember, VISUALLY associate one item with each of the locations on your route. When you want to remember the items ‘walk’ through your route mentally and visualise the connections as you go. When you think of the landmark the item should come to mind.

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Detailed revison list for cognitive psychology, memory Specification: Models of Memory

• The multi-store model of memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin) including the concepts of encoding, capacity and duration. Strengths and weaknesses of the model.

• The working memory model including its strengths and weaknesses.

Tick when completed

MEMORY

1. Can you draw & describe the multi-store model of memory (MSM)? SM, STM, LTM, role of attention, maintenance & elaboration rehearsal and retrieval. Include the capacity, duration and coding of STM & LTM.

2. Can you give evidence for the distinction between short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM)?

• Clive Wearing shows STM damage but separate long term memory functioning.

• Glanzer and Cunitz- serial position effect study shows first few and last few words better recalled, suggesting separate STM, LTM function. Interfering with LTM functioning (interference task before recall) causes decline in last few words but early words still recalled- demonstrating you can affect function of LTM without disruption to STM which shows they work separately.

• PET scans show different areas for STM (pre frontal cortex) & LTM (hypothalamus) functioning.

3. Can you explain what is meant by capacity in STM and LTM?

• Describe findings of research into STM capacity. Jacobs digit span, letters or numbers- average 7 + or – 2 items. Miller found it could be 7+ or – 2 chunks.

• No measure of LTM capacity. It is thought to be unlimited. 4. Can you explain duration in STM?

• Can you explain Peterson’s trigram study, 90% recall after 3 sec. less than 10% after 18 sec. Brief STM without rehearsal.

5. • Can you explain duration in LTM Bahrick et al. the yearbook study?

Free recall (no clues) of classmates- 60% after 15 years, 30% after 48 years.

• Recognition recall- 90% accurate for face and name recognition after 34 years. After 48 years 80% accuracy name recognition, 40% accuracy face recognition. LTM duration is quite good for a long time. Better for recognition than free recall.

6. Can you describe a study to explain encoding in STM and LTM? Encoding is the way information is represented in the brain.

• Baddeley. Word recall task. Word recall, words in correct word- which are acoustically different are better recalled than words which are acoustically similar. So acoustic sound separation is how we code in STM. Words which are semantically different are better recalled in the same order than words which are semantically similar. Separating things by meaning is how LTM coding works.

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7. Can you explain strengths and weaknesses of MSM? Strengths:

• Productive area for other researchers to develop • Looks at all areas of memory- SM, STM, LTM. Provides a unifying

framework. Weaknesses:

• Flow of information unlikely to be linear- information likely to flow in both directions from LTM to STM to SM as well as the other way.

• Emphasises rehearsal but we don’t always rehearse e.g. flashbulb memories

• Does not explain how information changes codes from acoustic to semantic

• Stores are unlikely to be unitary – WMM better explains the various processing in STM. STM is an active processor.

8. Can you draw & describe the working memory model (WMM)? CE, (controller- attention, delegates material, integrates material) CE controls: 1. VSSP (inner eye), processing of colour, shape, objects in space, body movement 2. PL (divides into articulatory control system (inner voice prepares material for speech) & phonological store (inner ear holds sound based information) 3. EB (holds information for CE and links to LTM)

9. Can you describe findings/ conclusions of evidence for WMM? • Count the windows in your house, demonstrates different aspects of

processing carried out by the WMM. • PL word length effect study (short & long words)- shows PL is time

limited • VSSP- tracking & walk around the letter in your mind’s eye shows

difficulty of 2 VSSP tasks together, competing for resources. 10. Can you discuss strengths and weaknesses of WMM?

Strengths Thorough explanation of active STM. Experimental evidence for sub-systems, less for CE Explains rehearsal but recognises other ways of remembering e.g. visualising. Explains STM deficits in different parts of processing e.g. KF Useful for explaining problems in reading, mental arithmetic & visuo spatial skills. For example phonological deficits prevent children learning to read or do mental arithmetic. PL may have developed for the purpose of language learning. Explains how we briefly store (EB) and process (PL, VSSP, CE) at the same time. Weaknesses Little known about CE. It is thought to be too complicated to demonstrate experimentally. There may be a number of CE’s for each processing mode, rather than just one. WMM does not explain the relationship between the meaningfulness of information being processed and the tendency to better recall more meaningful information.

11. Practise some exam questions: For a review- complete tasks on kerboodle Practise past paper questions. Use the mark schemes to help you. Look at questions on memory in your textbook

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6 mark questions could be to describe the MSM or WMM. It is useful if you can make a sketch of the model. A detailed sketch with processes (labelled arrows) correctly placed can earn good marks 12 mark questions could be describe and evaluate the MSM or WMM 3/4 mark questions could be to apply your knowledge about models. Find examples of these questions in your booklet or textbook You could be given statements that describe the model and be asked to put them in the right order, perhaps in a diagram You could be asked to explain encoding, capacity and duration and give details of a study to back up your explanation of these processes in STM and LTM. N.B. This is about 2/3 of your memory revision. The remaining 1/3 is Memory in everyday life

MSM- Explain the processes indicated by the arrows

WMM –explain the processes indicated by the arrows

Sensory memory (SM) brief registration of external stimuli e.g. echoic (sound), iconic (visual) haptic (tactile) limited capacity brief duration

Short term memory (STM) limited capacity, short duration, encoding mainly acoustic

Long term memory (LTM) potentially unlimited capacity and duration, encoding mainly semantic

Central executive

Visuo spatial sketchpad Episodic buffer Phonological loop

LTM

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Specification: Memory in everyday life Eyewitness testimony (EWT) and factors affecting the accuracy of EWT, including anxiety, age

of witness Misleading information and the use of the cognitive interview Strategies for memory improvement

Tick when completed

MEMORY IN EVERYDAY LIFE

1. Can you explain eye witness testimony (EWT)? Evidence supplied by people who witness an event of crime, relying only on their memory

2. Name 3 factors that affect accuracy of EWT misleading information anxiety experienced by the witness age of the witness

3. Can you outline two Loftus studies which demonstrate the negative effect of post event misleading information? The barn study and the hit/ smashed/ broken glass study

4. Can you outline a study which shows blatantly incorrect information does not fool people? The red purse study

5. Can you discuss strengths and weaknesses of Loftus’s lab studies? • High control, reliability, replicability • Important applications to criminal justice, police & lawyer

questioning • Low ecological validity due to lack of mundane realism, no

consequence, difference in attention compared with real life, lack of emotional reaction, ethical issues- lack of informed consent, perhaps some discomfort watching videos of accidents.

• Real life research –Yuille & Cutshall and Christianson & Hubinette find witnesses more accurate, problem of lack of validity in lab research.

6. What effect does anxiety have on EWT? Loftus- boy shot in face study & paper knife/ pen study- anxiety reduces accurate recall. Inverted U (Yerkes-Dodson) shows performance (accuracy) varies with level of anxiety.

7. Can you outline studies which show anxiety does not reduce accuracy of recall? Real life research –Yuille & Cutshall (gun shop study) and Christianson & Hubinette (22 bank robberies) found witnesses were accurate especially those who were very anxious.

8. Can you discuss the effect of age on EWT? Science demonstration study- younger children are poor ‘source monitors’ (Poole & Lindsay) Flin- 5 month delay in recall produced significant forgetting in children Davies- children can be accurate if misleading questions are avoided and detail e.g. of appearance is not demanded Elderly people- Yarmey- 80% of older people did not report seeing a weapon in a staged incident. Older people’s recall is generally poorer, but all people show ‘own age bias’ in identification.

9.

Can you define the cognitive interview and explain how it is used? Geiselman: recreate the context (CR), report every detail (RE), change perspectives (CP), recall events in a different order (RO).

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10. Does the cog. interview work? Why?

Study: Cog. interview (41 items recalled) more effective the standard interview (29 items recalled). Little difference in incorrect or confabulated items. Why? Association of ideas, Encoding Specificity Principle- recreating context cues recall, going beyond your own schema produces detail.

11. What does the enhanced cog. Interview do? Improves social skills & communication strategies of interviewer (Fisher)- witness allowed to take a lead, develop own train of thought, talk in a relaxed atmosphere. Interview avoids judgemental comments and uses appropriate language

12. Any other evidence of effectiveness? UK and USA police use it successfully, mostly the recreate the context (CR) and report every detail (RE) parts. Milne & Bull confirmed these approaches as most useful. CI causes confusion to children below 8 years.

13. Can you name 3 specific strategies for memory improvement (mnemonics)?

• Peg word system • Method of loci • Mind maps and spider diagrams

14. Can you explain how to use the techniques? Peg word- Nos. 1- 10 (for ten word recall) are attached to a rhyming word. The word to be learnt is VISUALLY connected to rhyming word. Method of loci- Use locations on a well known route- VISUALLY attach objects/ ideas to be learnt to these locations. Mind maps/ spider diagrams- branching pattern from the centre, radiating subtopics, use of size, colour sketches to create visual pattern. These techniques impose organisation on material.

15. Are they worth using? They help recall in a certain order so they help with recall of lists Helpful when you can not write things down e.g. speech, exam Need some time investment and thought to make them work. They work best with people who are ‘visualisers’.

16. Why do memory improvement techniques work? They impose organisation on material (study Bower- hierarchies) They involve elaboration rehearsal (MSM- this helps items reach LTM) They involve dual coding (Paivio) – visual as well as verbal coding

17. What other general strategies help to improve memory? • Chunking material (Miller) reduces the load on STmemory • Recreate the context (like in Cognitive Interview) • Recreate the context or mood of when you developed the memory

e.g. go back to the same room, recreate a ‘happy atmosphere’, i.e. context & state dependent recall.

• Actively process the information when it is being learnt- Craik & Lockhart – semantic processing is best

18. Practice some exam questions

4/ 6 mark questions –explain some factors affecting the accuracy of EWT Specifically you could be asked about anxiety, age of witness and misleading information. Use research evidence to back up your arguments

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4 marks you could be asked to apply your knowledge about anxiety, age or misleading information to a novel stem question 4/ 6 marks describe cognitive interview. You could be asked to explain why/ whether it works 4/ 6 explain strategies for memory improvement. These could require you to explain strategies for a particular situation you are presented with. Not all strategies suit every situation e.g. sometimes it is difficult to create visual images for memory tasks 12 mark questions could be on any part of this section e.g. Discuss strategies for memory improvement or describe and evaluate factors affecting the accuracy of EWT

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Classical Conditioning for Attachment UCS _______ ⇒ UCR ________ NS _______ + UCS_______ ⇒ UCR__________ CS________ ⇒ CR__________

Behaviour ⇒ positively reinforced

Explanations of attachments- how to explain learning theory and evolutionary perspective, including Bowlby

Explanation 1: Learning Theory Learning theory predicts that an infant will attach more to the person who gives greatest pleasure or reduces discomfort. This can be explained by classical conditioning, operant conditioning and drive reduction theory. Classical Conditioning: Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell. UCS -food⇒ UCR-salivation NS-bell + UCS-food ⇒ UCR-salivation CS-bell ⇒ CR-salivation How can this formula explain attachment behaviour? Put the appropriate explanations into the formula below.

Operant Conditioning: Skinner claimed that learning occurs because of its consequences. Behaviour ⇒ positively reinforced Behaviour ⇒ negatively reinforced Behaviour ⇒ punished How does this explain attachment behaviour? Indicate below the behaviour and positive re-inforcements that could encourage attachment.

Drive Reduction Theory of Attachment- Dollard and Miller Dollard and Miller proposed that when we feel something negative (for example cold/hungry etc) we are driven to find ways of reducing this. If the behaviour we adopt is successful, we are more likely to repeat it.

For example; a baby feels hungry, what will it do? What will be the consequence? How does this explain attachment?

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Explanation 2: Evolutionary Perspective e.g. Bowlby The evolutionary perspective suggests attachment is innate and adaptive for survival. Babies produce social releasers which are responded to by those who are sensitive caregivers. An attachment relationship thus develops and an internal working model of this relationship becomes the basis for future human relationships.

Task Using your textbook or other resources, use the following phrases to help you to write a description of Bowlby’s evolutionary explanation of attachment. Your explanation must make it clear how and why attachment occurs

Bowlby’s explanation of attachment –evolutionary perspective

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Attachment as an adaptive survival device Role of social releasers Caregiver’s sensitive responsiveness A parallel in animal imprinting Continuity hypothesis applies due to internal working model of attachment Critical period Monotropy develops

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Cultural variations in attachment- Sample Essay

Describe and evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment AO1-6 marks knowledge and understanding AO2- 6 marks commentary, analysis and evaluation Paragraph one- outlines the cultural measuring tool To measure cultural variation in attachment, a reliable, standardised measuring tool is needed. The Ainsworth Strange Situation Paradigm (1970) has generally been used. This aims to measure the quality of attachment by placing an infant (12-18 months) in a situation of mild stress (with the stranger and alone) to encourage the infant to seek comfort from the caregiver. It also measures whether the infant engages in exploration behaviour which can indicate attachment. Paragraph two- outlines research and starts to evaluate the findings and conclusions of the Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) meta-analysis Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) researched the literature and carried out a meta-analysis of 32 studies undertaken in 8 countries using the Strange Situation paradigm. The results indicated broad consistency between the original USA study and the studies in the meta-analysis. All the studies showed a majority of securely attached children. There were 4 European countries as well as Israel, China, Japan and the USA. China had the lowest number of secure children at 50% Germany at 57%. The insecurely attached children were approximately one third of the total. In most countries there were more avoidant than resistant children, though this was reversed in Israel and Japan. This broad consistency of findings does suggest a universal infant- parent attachment. The similarity of the findings may be due to an innate process, as Bowlby would suggest, or it may be due to the increasing effects of an exposure to similar ideas in the mass media which covers so many cultures. Nature or nurture may explain the similarity. Paragraph three- evaluation of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) A closer look at the differences in the Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg analysis has led psychologists to question the standardised nature of the measuring tool, i.e. the Strange Situation. It may well be that USA values on which the strange situation paradigm is based, do not transfer to other cultures. In Germany, children are encouraged to be independent, which as Grossman and Grossman (1991) point out, leads them to be classified as insecure avoidant. In China, where only 50% of children were secure, only one study with a small sample of 36 children had been reviewed. This is hardly a basis for generalising. In Israel and Japan, where there are many more resistant than avoidant infants, Japanese children are never separated from their mothers and would find the test paradigm very distressing. Israeli children brought up in a group situation rarely see unfamiliar faces in their culture and they found the presence of the stranger very distressing. For different reasons (thus questioning the validity of the study) both these groups produced high numbers of resistant insecure children. The results reflect the difficulty of making comparisons between cultures that have different values.

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Paragraph four findings, conclusions and evaluation of Takahashi The issue of the appropriateness of the Strange Situation for cultural comparison was tested in Japan by Takahashi (1990). The study measured the attachment response of 60 Japanese infants. 68% were securely attached and 32% were resistant insecure. The latter were very distressed when left alone. For many Japanese children their level of distress at being alone actually stopped their participation. In this instance the difference in response to being left alone was the basis of the cultural difference and this made it difficult to compare the Japanese children with the USA children on quality of attachment. Also the Japanese children, unlike USA children, showed no avoidant behaviour. This would be impolite in their culture. The Strange Situation Paradigm does not have the same meaning for Japanese and USA cultures so comparisons are unlikely to be valid. Paragraph five- comments on the difficulty of measuring cultural variations It has proved difficult for psychologists to assess the extent of cultural variation in attachment. The essential problem lies in finding a comparative measuring tool. The varied role of the mother and/or strangers in the child’s early experience and the nature of individualistic and collective cultures can all produce different effects in the Strange Situation. Comparative studies vary in size of samples and confuse culture with country. These methodological weaknesses need to be addressed before the question of cultural variation in attachment can be accurately assessed. Note: Approx 660 words- in 15 minutes you would not write this much. Discussion questions:

1. Discuss the structure of the essay.

2. The evaluation (AO2 material) is italicised. Look at some of these paragraphs and give

examples from the essay of where the commentary has been developed in depth. For

example, the criticisms of research into cultural variation in attachment may focus on the

difficulties of comparison of cultures with differing values, methodology issues in comparative

and meta analysis research and whether implications from attachment research support

nature or nurture as the basis for infant-parent attachment.

3. What marks would you give this essay for AO1 and AO2? Justify your marks by looking at a

mark scheme for a 12 mark question in a sample exam paper.

Work arising:

4. For revision purposes make a spider diagram of this essay.

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Day Care - Design a survey The survey aims to find out parents’ views of their child(ren)’s experiences of day care at nursery. The aim is to discover parents’ views about the quality of children’s everyday experiences at nursery. Write ten questions designed to be used for this survey:

You need to include open and closed questions.

Make sure the questions are clear and the instructions are easy to understand.

Be mindful of ethics and do not ask invasive or inappropriate personal questions.

Carry out a pilot study after completing your list of questions. Change any questions that are problematic or not clear.

Once you have designed the survey and carried out the pilot study, you need to collect some

data. Ask at least five people to take part in the survey.

When you have collected all your data, summarise your findings so that you can present them to the rest of the group. Make sure you can report the findings of the qualitative and the quantitative data you collected.

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Research Methods 1: hypotheses, IV, DV and operationalising variables You need to understand the following definitions: Aim: a general statement about the purpose of the investigation Hypothesis: a precise testable statement about the outcome of an investigation A directional hypothesis is a hypothesis that states there will be a change and the direction in which the results are expected to go (one –tailed hypothesis). A non-directional hypothesis is a hypothesis that predicts a change but not the direction of the change (two-tailed hypothesis). Exercises: Turn the following aims into directional hypotheses: 1. Aim: To investigate whether caffeine keeps you awake at night Directional hypothesis: ………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 2. Aim: To investigate whether eating fish makes you intelligent Directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 3. Aim: To test whether recognition recall is better than free recall. Directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Aim: To see whether babies attach more to their mothers than their fathers. Directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 5. Aim: To test whether fathers play with their children more than mothers do. Directional hypothesis …………………………………………………………..

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Now turn the directional hypotheses in questions 1 to 5 into non-directional hypotheses. The first one is done for you. 1. Non-directional hypothesis: Caffeine affects your ability to sleep. 2.Non-directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. 3.Non-directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. 4.Non-directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. 5.Non-directional hypothesis ………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. State whether the following experimental hypotheses are directional, or non-directional. 1. Snow makes your hand cold. ……………………………………………… 2. Doing psychology makes you more open minded about people………… 3. Babies will attach to the person who feeds them……………………….….. 4. Drinking alcohol makes a difference to co-ordination skills……………..… 5. Going to college affects your social life…………………………………….. 6. Sociability affects your finances……………………………………………….. 7. The more meaningful the material, the more likely recall of the material…………………

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In an experiment the Independent Variable is controlled and manipulated. The Dependent Variable is the variable that alters as a consequence of the IV being manipulated. In the example, watching tropical fish makes you relaxed, the IV is whether or not you watch tropical fish and the DV is how relaxed you are. Identify the hypotheses, independent and dependent variables Fill in the spaces below. HYPOTHESIS

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Older people will be slower in reacting to visual stimuli

Reaction time in seconds

Giving babies a lot of love teaches them trust

Amount of love shown by cuddling baby

Amount of violence watched

Amount of aggressive behaviour shown

Talking to children increases their language skills

Size of the children’s vocabulary

Recall of a list of words will be better when the words are meaningful

The more bystanders there are, the less likely it is that help will be given

Whether or not help is given

Participants will perform better when they are working alone

Level of performance

First impressions count Vary the first impression to be favourable, or unfavourable

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Operationalising variables: When you operationalise a variable you put it in a form in which it can be measured. This makes it clear how the IV will operate to measure the DV. You cannot, for example, measure ‘memory’ but you can measure ‘number of words recalled’. From psychology studies, which you already know, explain how the following were operationalised. 1. The IV and the DV in the Petersons’ trigram study of STM duration. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 2. The IV and the DV in the Jacob’s study of STM capacity. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 3. Operationalise the following hypothesis

Going to school improves reading ………………………………………………………………………………………

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Now design and carry out a short experiment in groups.

Choose one of the four aims above and use this planning sheet to help you design the investigation. Design decisions How many conditions will you have? What will they be? What is your hypothesis? Is it directional, or non-directional? Operationalise and state the IV and the DV What needs to be controlled? What materials will you use? Procedure Carry out the study on 4 people Results and discussion Present the results in an appropriate table and / or graph Interpret the findings, draw the conclusions. Write up the study

• one person could write the design • one person could explain the procedure • one person could organise the results • one person could interpret the findings and draw conclusions.

Aim: to see whether noise affects memory

Aim: to see whether organisation of information aids recall

Aim: to see whether a visual or a verbal stimulus is better recalled

Aim: to see whether a set of words are better recalled in a list or in a story

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Research methods 2: variables and experimental designs 1. The 3 experimental designs are:

• independent groups ………. • repeated measures ………. • matched pairs ……….

Rank the designs as to indicate which has most to least control of participant variables.(1=least control and 3=most control) 2. Fill in the appropriate designs in the sentences below: All random variation between participants is removed by the ________ _________ design. Some random variation between participants is removed by the ________ __________ design. Variation between participants is randomised by the __________ ___________ design. 3. Give one advantage and one disadvantage of each of the designs. Repeated measures

Advantage …………………………………………...…………………………………

Disadvantage …………………………………………………………………………… Matched pairs

Advantage …………………………………………...……………………………………

Disadvantage ……………………………………………………………………………… Independent groups

Advantage …………………………………………...………………………………………. Disadvantage ……………………………………………………………………………… 4. For each of the following state the IV, the DV and the experimental design: a. There is a difference in the ability of grey and white rats in learning to run a maze. IV…………………………………… DV…………………………………. Exp design………………… b. Watching violent TV gives children nightmares. IV…………………………………… DV…………………………………. Exp design…………………

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c. People are more likely to make a risky decision when they are in a group than when they are alone. IV…………………………………… DV…………………………………. Exp design………………………. d. An experimental group who receive treatment for fear of spiders overcome their fear better than a matched control group who receive no treatment. IV…………………………………… DV…………………………………. Exp design………………………. e. In a study to discover if children preferred strictly organised playgroup routines to ones where the children have a lot of free choice in what they do, the researcher used a repeated measures design and there were twenty children attending the playgroup. Explain how you would randomise order effects by counterbalancing. ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. f. A psychologist conducted a study to see whether visual imagery helps memory. To do this, there were two lists to be recalled; one had words only, the other had images instead of words. Describe how you would conduct this study i) using repeated measures ii) using independent groups iii) using matched pairs design. ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………

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………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Which design would be best? Explain your answer. ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… For which design would counterbalancing be necessary? ……………………………………………………………………. Explain how you would carry out the counterbalancing. ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. g. In a learning experiment, one group were tested alone and the other group were tested with friends watching. What extraneous situation variable operated in this study? ……………………………………………………………………………………… h. In a learning experiment, the investigator believed that spaced learning rather than massed practice would produce better learning. She encouraged the spaced learning group more. What is the name of this effect? ……………………………………………………………………………………..

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Populations and samples: sampling smarties Materials required: a small ‘fun pack’ of smarties for each person. We are going to investigate colour sampling in boxes of smarties and carry out some simple, descriptive statistical analysis. Open your box of smarties and record the number of smarties of different colours. Use the table below. Do not start eating the smarties yet! My box: Number of smarties of different colours Colour of smarties Number of

each colour Percentage of each colour

Red Orange Yellow Green Purple Brown Total number of smarties in the box

1. What is the range of numbers of smarties of different colours?

2. Comment on the percentages of different colours of smarties, given that smarties are

manufactured with the same number of each colour. Group findings: number of smarties of different colours Colour of smarties

My box

TotalNo.

% of each colour

Red Orange Yellow Green Purple Brown Total No.

3. Comment on the percentages of different colours of smarties within the group results.

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4. Comment on the percentage of different colours in your box compared with the percentage in the boxes of the group as whole.

5. Complete the following sentence based on observation of your own results and the group results: The larger the sample of smarties the

6. Are there any lessons to be learned about sampling in psychology experiments as a result of sampling smarties?

7. Take a random sample of one in four of the smarties from your box. How representative is the sample?

8. Sketch a suitable frequency graph to illustrate the group findings on the colours of smarties. Give a suitable title and label the axes. Frequency- y axis, colours of smarties- x axis

Title:

9. Eat the smarties.

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Stress as a bodily response sample exam questions 1. Use the phrases below to complete the diagram. The diagram starts with the role of the

hypothalamus in the body’s response to stress. • gets body ready for ‘fight or flight’ • stimulates adrenal medulla • stimulates adrenal cortex • releases adrenaline • releases corticosteroids (cortisol) • stimulates pituitary gland to release ACTH. (6 marks)

2. Apply your knowledge- ‘The driver slammed her foot on the brake pedal as she saw the child run out in front of her from behind a parked car’.

• Identify one physical reaction that the driver is likely to experience in this stressful situation

(1 mark)

• Explain how the physical reaction you identified was created by the body’s response to stress. (3 marks)

Hypothalamus

Physiological reactions e.g. increased heart rate

Liver releases energy and immune system is suppressed

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An experiment to investigate the body’s response to stress Material: Prior to the experiment, a numbered dot-to-dot puzzle will be needed. One of the higher numbers in the puzzle should be tippexed out e.g. number 59. Photocopying the sheet will prevent the tippex being seen. Try to pick a number which is not in an obvious place on its own. The dot-to-dot cannot successfully be completed as one number is missing. This should then produce mild anxiety and hopefully a faster pulse rate in the participant. Aim: This is an experiment to identify a physiological response to a stressful situation. The stressful situation is not being able to complete a dot-to-dot, due to a number missing in the sequence. The bodily response is a change in the pulse rate as a result of the stressful situation. Procedure:

1. Students work in pairs, one of each pair is a researcher, one of each pair is a participant. 2. The group are told this is an experiment looking into length of concentration and its effect on

stress. 3. Researchers have the study explained to them. 4. Researchers return to their partner. 5. They take their partner’s pulse rate (ensure they can do this). Index and middle finger on

outside of wrist, upturned hand, measure for 20 seconds and multiply by three. Resting pulse-approx. 60 to 80 beats a minute. They write down the pulse rate.

6. They ask the participant to complete the dot-to-dot. When they stop/ get anxious at not being able to find the missing number, researcher takes participant’s pulse rate again.

Pulse rate before attempting dot-to- dot

Pulse rate after attempting dot-to dot

7. Debrief participant. Ask participant if they would like to withdraw their scores.

Group results – to maintain anonymity in the whole group, the teacher can collect in results and produce a table for the class. Discuss the findings. Work arising- Students could write up the results, using descriptive stats, and draw a conclusion.

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Stress and Daily Hassles: identifying hassles and uplifts It may be daily hassles not major life events that cause problems. We experience uplifts (e.g. getting on well with friends, getting enough sleep, feeling on top of our work) and hassles (e.g. too many things to do, losing things, missing the bus). If hassles exceed uplifts we may feel stressed. Hassles scale: Assess yourself by indicating how often each item irritates you. Enter a number between one and ten. 10 = frequently, 5= sometimes and 0= almost never. Too little time to study Workroom too noisy Transport problems getting to school Too little money Criticism from teachers Uncomfortable classrooms Unreliable friends Fixing your hair in the morning School routine Conflicts with the family What did you score out of 100? Can you suggest any better hassle items? What about items that give you a lift? List 10 items that give you a lift, in the table below Assess yourself by indicating how much each item gives you an uplift. Enter a number between one and ten. 10 = frequently, 5= sometimes and 0= almost never. Uplift Items Uplift

score Uplift items Uplift

score 1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9

10

• Do your uplifts exceed your hassles, or the other way round? • What effect could this have?

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Relationship between daily hassles and illness: research methods task: planning a correlation study

You will not carry out the study A. Plan a correlation study to investigate whether there might be a relationship between daily hassles and illness. Which two variables are you investigating? 1. ……………………………………………………….…. 2. ………………………………………………………….. How exactly will you operationalise these variables? 1.……………………………………………………………………………………… 2.……………………………………………………………………………………… B. Create a short questionnaire which can be used to collect the data for your investigation. You will need to prepare questions about illness as well as daily hassles. In order to carry out a correlational analysis you will need to produce a single daily hassles score and a single measure of illness for each participant. For example, you could score the daily hassles and report the total for each participant. You could score illness by recording visits to the doctor over a period of time, or number of days taken off school/ college. C. Plan a suitable graph in which to present your results. (Think about how the results of a correlation study can be presented). Draw the graph axes, label them and create a title.

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Daily Hassles: Applications question ‘A headteacher sits at her desk. The day started badly. Her new car had broken down and she was forced to walk the last two miles of her journey to work, arriving hot and flustered. She is working through the school accounts – they don’t balance. Constant interruptions make matters worse. The Head of Psychology walks in demanding money for textbooks which the school can’t afford. A parent phones worried about her daughter’s progress in mathematics. Just as the head returns to the school accounts, her secretary walks in with a pile of urgent papers to sign. By this time, the headteacher is under stress. Her pulse is racing, she is sweating and her heart is thumping.’ 1. Name five daily hassles which are causing stress to the headteacher in the above passage

(5 marks)

2. What are the physical signs of stress, (suggested in the passage), shown by the headteacher? (2 marks)

3. Outline the body’s response to stress that the headteacher may be experiencing as a result of activity in the pituitary adrenal system and the sympathomedullary pathway. (6 marks)

Total /13 marks

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Personality factors in stress: Sample essay Discuss the role played by personality factors in stress. (6 + 6 marks) Friedman and Rosenman (1974) aimed to investigate the hypothesis that Type A individuals who’s

personalities are competitive, impatient and hostile are more likely to develop heart disease when

they are stressed than their opposites, Type B individuals. Using structured interviews, observation

and a volunteer sample, 3200 California men aged 39-59 were placed in categories of either Type A,

Type X (a mixture of Type A and Type B) or Type B. None of the men showed any sign of heart

disease at the start of the study. The sample of men was followed up for 81/2 years to assess their

lifestyle and health. A correlational analysis of the findings was carried out. They found that 81/2 years

later 257 had developed coronary heart disease (CHD). 70% of these were Type A personality. After

other variables were controlled (age, blood pressure, smoking, obesity) Type A’s were twice as likely

to develop CHD than Type B’s. Type A’s had higher levels of cholesterol, adrenaline and

noradrenaline. Not one of the pure Type B’s had developed CHD. A significant but moderate

correlation was found between Type A personality and CHD. High levels of stress hormones suggest

Type A’s do experience more stress than Type B’s.

A number of methodological questions related to the Friedman and Rosenman research question the

strength of the link between personality and stress. Although some aspects of lifestyle were

controlled in the study, other variables could have affected vulnerability such as resistance to stress

(hardiness). It was not an experimental study so cause and effect between personality and stress

cannot be assumed. The evidence is correlational. The relationship is moderate (r=0.3), though it is a

significant correlation as there was a large sample. It is possible that high levels of physiological

arousal resulting from genetic factors (a third variable) cause Type A personality. Thus the link would

lie between genetic factors and stress rather than personality and stress.

The Friedman and Rosenman findings have not always been replicated. A seven year longitudinal

study of 12000 men failed to replicate the relationship between Type A behaviour and heart disease

(Shekelle et al., 1985) so population validity may be lacking. Furthermore, Friedman and Rosenman

failed to identify which aspect of Type A behaviour was the key factor in the link with stress and CHD,

so their research lacks precision. Later research has suggested it is the hostility component of Type

A behaviour which is a predictor of CHD.

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Personality differences in hardiness may modify stressors. According to Maria Kobasa the concept of

hardiness is important in understanding why some people are vulnerable to stress and some

resistant. Hardiness includes a range of personality factors that provide a defence against the

negative effects of stress. The key factors in coping with stress seem to be a strong sense of control,

commitment and challenge. These are the key elements of Kobasa’s hardy personality. Hardy people

see themselves as being in control of their lives. They attribute control to themselves rather than to

external factors. Hardy people are involved with the world around them. They have a strong sense of

purpose or commitment. Hardy people see life changes as challenges to be overcome rather than as

threats or stressors. They enjoy change as an opportunity for development. All three of these

characteristics result in reduced physiological arousal to potential stressors. This means lower blood

pressure and less likelihood of stress related illness.

Kobasa has investigated hardiness though she does acknowledge two other factors, social support

and regular exercise are also important in protecting against stress. Of the three factors she found,

hardiness seemed to have the greatest impact. There is a lot of supporting evidence. For example, in

a study of highly stressed male managers those with high scores on hardiness, who also exercised a

lot, had the least illness. Control, commitment and challenge are not clearly defined independent of

each other. It may be that control includes elements of the other factors so it may be control, rather

than a full personality type ‘hardiness’ which is important in resisting stress. Kobasa’s work has been

mainly with male, white collar workers. Women’s responses may differ. Findings may not be

generalisable because of the limited population validity of the work. Personality is only one of a

number of factors relevant to stress and disease. As yet it is difficult to quantify its effect and studies

employ correlation techniques from which causal explanations cannot be generated. Note: Word count: Approx 730 words. In 15 minutes you would not write this much. Discussion questions:

1. Outline the structure of the answer.

2. The AO2 material is italicised. Look at some of the AO2 paragraphs and give examples from the answer to show how the argument is developed in depth.

3. What mark would you give to this answer? Justify your mark by looking at a mark scheme for

a 12 mark answer from a sample exam paper.

4. Make your own revision notes or revision diagram from this answer.

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Types of Conformity: Application questions Kelman (1958) identified 3 types of conformity: Compliance Publicly conforming to the group Privately maintaining your own view Identification

Publicly conforming to the group New attitudes and/ or behaviour only last as long as group membership

Internalisation

Publicly conforming to the group Privately changing your views to match those of the group. This is a real change of view that goes beyond the end of group membership.

Identify the following types of conformity- compliance, identification or internalisation? Give a reason why the conformity has occurred.

Jill has started work in a restaurant. Colleagues were discussing the customers they did not like to serve. Jill observed that all these customers seemed to be members of ethnic groups different from the restaurant staff. Jill personally did not think there was a problem with these customers. When asked what she thought, Jill supported her colleagues’ views. Type of conformity? _________________________ Reason for conformity? ______________________

Alisha is a prefect at her school. She takes her position seriously and carries out the duties expected including organising the younger children at break time and making sure they obey the rule to stay in the recreation area. When she is not carrying out her prefect duties she very relaxed and seems to do whatever she pleases, regardless of the rules. Type of conformity? ___________________________ Reason for conformity? _________________________

Max has joined the Green Party and has been reading a lot about energy saving and its importance to the future of the planet. As a result of this, he has changed the way he lives his life. Instead of driving he now always uses his bicycle. He tries to use energy saving devices in his house. Type of conformity? _____________________________ Reason for conformity? ___________________________

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Explanations of why people conform: application to research studies Deutsch and Gerard (1955) suggest there are two types of social influence that make people conform:

• Normative social influence, based on the desire to be liked. We conform so people accept us and we will not be laughed at or isolated. This is compliance, publicly going along with the majority view but privately holding one’s own view.

• Informational social influence, based on the desire to be right. We look to other people for

information to guide us, especially in ambiguous situations or when we move to new situations. By doing this we can redefine ourselves in an acceptable way in a new situation. Informational social influences can lead to internalisation of new views where we publicly and privately change what we think and/or do.

Deutsch and Gerard’s model is called the Dual Process Model. Although they describe two different processes operating, the normative and informational influences can work together to influence thoughts and behaviour. Task: Look at two studies of conformity e.g. Asch (1951), Clark (1998/89). Explain why people conformed using the framework of normative and informational social influence.

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Milgram’s work on obedience Factors affecting obedience: Milgram replicated his experiment but varied the setting, the power of the experimenter and the closeness of the learner to the teacher. Using the table below, describe the impact that these variables might have on obedience levels.

Variation Obedience rate Reason for variation in results v. the original study

Original experiment 65%- to 450 volts Venue moved to seedy offices in a nearby town, Bridgeport

48%- to 450 volts

The surroundings were not so prestigious as Yale University so they had less influence on producing obedience

Experimenter gives instructions to the teacher on the phone from another room

Having another teacher present who refuses to give the electric shock

Having the learner in the same room as the teacher

Teacher has to force the learner’s hand onto a shock plate in order to receive the shock

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Why people obey- explanations of obedience A number of factors have been identified to suggest why people obey. All of these factors can be illustrated from Milgram’s studies. Complete the following table which summarises the various reasons why people obey. Outline how each factor can be illustrated from Milgram’s studies. You will need your textbook to help you work out the answers.

Factor Key Feature How it is illustrated in Milgram’s

research Legitimate authority

We respect people who hold positions of power and are more likely to obey them

Change of venue from Yale to downtown Bridgeport reduced authority in participants’ eyes. Obedience levels fell.

Gradual commitment

Agency theory

Buffers- which prevent people having to look at consequences of their actions

Personality factors which affect obedience

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Psychopathology: Sample questions and guidance notes (a) Explain what is meant by the ‘deviation from social norms’ definition of abnormality. Give one limitation of this definition (4 marks) (b) Outline two key features of the biological approach to psychopathology.(6 marks) (c) Outline the key features of any one psychological approach to psychopathology. Consider the strengths and limitations of the approach you have chosen.

(6 + 6 marks) Here are some pointers:

(a) Explain the term by expanding it. What is the implication of a social norm? Does it suggest the abnormal behaviour is based on being different from what others consider to be acceptable? Give an example of what might be considered ‘deviation’ e.g. delusional thoughts and behaviour in schizophrenia. For a limitation- only one please! - look at the impact of this definition over time or perhaps consider how context, or a powerful group can define abnormality

(b) There are certain key features of the biological approach i.e. it has a physical or functional

basis in the brain and nervous system. The problem could be caused by e.g. brain damage, chemical imbalance, genetic risk factors and/or infection. Choose two of these features for expansion. In a 6 mark question it is necessary to identify the 2 key features and elaborate on each.

(c) Outline key features –try to balance your answer by only taking up about one half of your

answer with this part (AO1). Your choice of psychological approach is behavioural, cognitive or psychodynamic.

Strengths might focus on:

• Whether the approach is useful in understanding symptoms of abnormality and whether it provides a basis for treatment.

• Whether it tries to uncover the cause of the illness or just deals with the symptoms (the latter could be a limitation).

• Whether there is evidence to support its assumptions. Limitations might focus on:

• The limitations of the type of disorders which the approach can explain. • Whether there are any ethical concerns for the patient or relatives in the explanation given

by the approach e.g. are they to blame for the illness? • Whether there is a lack of evidence to support the assumptions. There may be

contradictory evidence. • Whether it only deals with symptoms and does not get to the cause of the problem. • Whether it is only a partial explanation of abnormal behaviour.

These are just suggestions, you may have other equally good points you want to discuss. Remember whatever you say must be based on the model you choose to discuss. On the next page there is a sample answer based on the cognitive approach. Look closely at the structure of the answer.

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Psychopathology: the cognitive approach- sample essay Outline the key features of any one psychological approach to psychopathology. Consider the strengths and limitations of the approach you have chosen (12 marks) N.B. Outline requires knowledge and understanding (AO1) and consider requires commentary, analysis and

evaluation (AO2/3) of strengths and limitations.

The cognitive approach assumes mental illness and emotional problems are the result of distorted

thinking. This takes the form of negative thoughts, irrational beliefs and illogical errors in thinking.

These maladaptive thoughts take place without conscious awareness so they are difficult to control.

These thoughts lead to feelings of failure and depression. This approach was founded by Albert Ellis

(1962) and Aaron Beck (1963) who saw the weakness of the behavioural model which did not take

into account mental processes. It is believed that the thinking processes that occur between the

stimulus and response are responsible for the feeling component of the response. According to Ellis

if people think rationally they behave rationally and are happy and effective. Irrational thinking

produces undesirable emotions and psychological disturbance in feeling and behaviour. Ellis claims

people ‘catastrophise’ events e.g. I am ignored by some people in the family because I am bad. They

fail to consider rational alternatives. Beck was interested in what causes depression. He found

depressed people draw illogical conclusions when they evaluate themselves. Negative thoughts lead

to negative feelings which can result in depression. Beck identified 3 sorts of negative thinking

negative views about oneself, the world and the future. He called this pattern of negative thinking the

cognitive triad. He suggested it was typical of people suffering depression.

One strength of the cognitive approach is that is Ellis and Beck try to change the way people think

and feel in order to promote psychological well-being. In support of the cognitive approach, research

has shown people do exhibit patterns associated with maladaptive thinking e.g. Gustafson (1992)

found maladaptive thinking processes were displayed by many people with anxiety, depression and

sexual disorders. Another strength is that with anxiety disorders and depression, cognitive therapy

has a high success rate and is relatively cost and time efficient. It does not usually involve

institutionalisation, though it can do when combined with other treatments e.g. for anorexia. Where

the treatment of abnormality works, the assumptions of the approach are likely to be supported.

Thase et al. (2007) compared cognitive therapy (CT) with anti-depressant medication in the treatment

of depression. CT was at least as effective as the medication and was better tolerated by the

patients. This shows that depression is, at least in part, due to ‘faulty thinking’.

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The cognitive approach is limited to focusing on the symptoms of the abnormality rather than the

causes of irrational thinking and why it develops in some people. Beck (1991) acknowledges that

although cognitive processes are involved in many psychological disorders they may well be a

consequence rather than a cause of the problem. Someone may develop faulty thinking as a result of

depression, rather than the other way round. Evidence is correlational not causal.

Word count: 532

The cognitive approach may also be only one of a number of factors producing abnormality.

Contributory environmental factors are played down with the responsibility for the

maladaptiveness resulting from the client’s faulty thinking which he/ she must take responsibility

for and change. This in itself can be an uncomfortable and stressful process. This approach

tends to blame the client, rather than situational factors. Further, the cognitive approach takes

no account of genetic or biological factors.

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Treating Abnormality: Psychological Therapy: Systematic De-sensitisation (SD) Systematic desensitisation is based on classical conditioning (CC). It is a type of behaviour therapy. Behaviour therapies are based on the idea that abnormality involves maladaptive learning and treatment consists of re-educating people. SD involves ‘unlearning’ a faulty association and substituting a more healthy association. SD changes the behaviour. It involves counter conditioning whereby e.g. the clinical psychologist attempts to replace the maladaptive behaviour e.g. fear of flying, with an alternative response i.e. no fear of flying. SD can involve the client experiencing the thing they fear, or by imagining the presence of the feared object. Relaxation must be maintained throughout the whole process. It is not possible for fear and relaxation to co-exist so maintaining relaxation suppresses the fear. The client is usually taken through a number of stages in the SD therapy. These are outlined below.

Stages in SD therapy 5. The client has controlled the fear provoking symptoms. If there are further problems the client can go back to re-trace any step in the hierarchy. 4. Once the client can cope with lower levels of anxiety provoking

stimuli and can remain relaxed, he/she moves on to addressing the more anxiety provoking stimuli.

3. Client gradually works though the de-sensitisation hierarchy whilst staying relaxed

2. A de-sensitisation hierarchy is constructed, from least to most feared

1.Relaxation is taught

Task Now try to explain the SD hierarchy using an example of your own choice. For example, you could use fear of heights, fear of dogs or fear of flying. Apply your knowledge in the stages framework given on the next page. Include as much detail as possible For example, you could write out the de-sensitisation hierarchy.

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Stages in SD therapy for ___________________________________ 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Further detail: