PsychoSpace

Journey's end

2010-05-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Well, almost there. Some of you have decided enough is enough, and realising that youn have earned enough credits have decided to cash in early. But for those who are still determined, here are some hints for assignment 17.

Assignment 17 is about ethics, obedience research and application of social psychology to the real world.

Part A has two questions:

1 is about ethics. You are to do an ethics discussion around Zimbardo’s prison experiment and Milgram’s obedience project. Each of these are controversial for different reasons, and in addition to discussing how the ethical principals of deception, harm, right to withdraw etc. are applied (or not!) you must discuss whether the ends of the research justified the means. Focus chapter 15 (page 218) contains most of the information you need for this.

2 is about evaluation of Milgram. In this assignment, you will be looking at one evaluative issue, that of ecological validity. This basically asks “does Milgram’s research translate to other situations? We don’t normally go round giving electric shocks to other people, but there are instances in real life when we might do things against our principles or normal instructions when we are told to do so. To pass this section you must describe at least one piece of research that tests obedience to authority and supports Milgram's results. Hofling (1966) and Meeus and Raaijmakers (1987) (see pages 208-209 Focus) are two pieces of research that might help.

Part B has three questions, but you can combine these into one piece of writing. There is no word limit here but I have suggested a cap of 5000 words. Many people get into the discussion and get carried away…

To do the first part, you should compare the Iraqi prison with Zimbardo’s research. Is there any suggestion that the behaviour of the guards was because of their personality? or because of their situation?

The second part is fairly general, and is really focused on majority influence. Were conformity issues involved here? You could discuss that aspect of the soldiers’ behaviour.

The third section is about minority influence. How could the influence of a minority help to reduce abusive behaviour? Could the research of Moscovici, or perhaps Gamson, be of any help? Moscovici is on page 196, Gamson page 214. Or are there any other psychological explanations? Whatever you say, you must support with empirical evidence.

I MUST have the assignments by 2nd June. I can’t guarantee marking stuff in time for 4th after then.

Nearly there ... Don't Panic!

2010-05-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

So now, we're coming towards the end of the course. The final unit "Conformity and Obedience" which has two assignments, and by now, if you've got thus far, you'll take them in your stride. But if you can you really should get to the lessons!

Assignment 16 looks very long, but it's not that bad. The first thing to say is that you can find just about everything you need inn the Focus book. It's almost as if it was written with this course in mind! There are three parts to it. The first is about informational and normative social influence. We look at two models and map examples of behaviour on to them. Activity two on page 187 (guessing the page, but it's about the ladies at the golf club and the Orson Welles play) is a good one to try, and we worked it in class if you weren't there.

These are the models we refer to. (From Gross (2005))

Next, we shall look at the autokinetic effect experiment of Sherif. This is available on the website page (find it without a link, I'm feeling lazy!) but also in the Focus book. Again, try and map the experiment onto the model.

Finally, for this post, look at the Asch line size experiment. We'll spend a lot of time on this one. Try and map that on to one of the models - and that's a fair bit of the assignment started!

More to follow ...

Insanity - what is it?

2010-05-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Basically, this is about Assignment 14. What is madness? More to the point, how can we define abnormal behaviour? The assignment asks for you to choose three out of the five, describe/explain and evaluate them. You know how to do this by now. You see, the assignment appeared at the beginning of last year's course and the headings in task 2 are designed to help people evaluate. So you can set the assignment out as a standard piece of writing - describe/evaluate one approach, describe evaluate second approach, describe evaluate third approach, finish off with perhaps a paragraph that brings it all together.

You can actually find all that you need to achieve a pass in the Focus book and the handout for DSM IV. About 750 - 1000 words if you feel you need a ball-park figure. Remember that an opinion expressed in a text book is perfectly OK as a reference of supporting or contradicting evidence for an approach.

But you can in fact find much more outside the Focus book. For example, if you choose to discuss classification methods, then you should include discussion on Rosenhahn (1973) "On being sane in insane places".

The picture is of Bedlam, a famous picture from Rakes Progress. It is not a picture of room M41 on a bad day.

On 13th May you have a short exam. The subject is stress, and anything in your Focus book between pages 91 and 136 is fair game. Try and de-stress like the girl in the picture. Have a great weekend!

A Very Fine Specimen

2010-04-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

When I put the mindmaps up (see last post) it seems there was a bit cut off. So, I've put the tree on the wall, photographed it again, and left in the background (wall). What you see below is the whole tree. And everyone agreed that it was indeed a very fine specimen. Here it is:

Hint for Assignment 13: The minimum needed to achieve a pass is to write about one way in which Piaget, Vygotsky and Information Processing research have each been applied to education. The pink book has it all just about. You can find extra in Gross, pages 592, 595 and 599. Other text books will have even more, you would just have to find it. And that is how to get the merits and distinctions, of course. For this assignment, "more gets you more!"

Assignment 13 - so try your luck!

2010-04-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, first of all, follow this link to the mindmaps you all made. It's a 6.5Mb pdf file and might take a minute or two to download, depending on your connection, and if you absolutely cannot access it then let me know and I'll see what I can do.

So, how to do Assignment 13. Basically it's a written assignment, probably about 1000 words or so by the time you've finished. All thye mindmaps/flipcharts call them what you will, have enough information on them to help you ploan. The major resource will of course be the pink book, from where most of the mindmaps were developed. And they're all very good. But there's also some stuff in Gross and I expect some of you will go even further afield.

Don't forget that if you are stuck, then ask.

And if you do it Sunday afternoon, here's a piece of music (a favourite of mine, so you know what I like!)

Holidays? Whatever gave you that idea?

2010-04-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Assignment 12 seems to be causing a lot of grief. And I tried to make it easy for you! Well, here are some hints. Anyone who has seen this before, yes, I know you emailed me and this was the reply. But quite a few others have the same problem as well.

If you are having problems with the first part of assignment 12, I think you will be better off with sensorimotor stage and pre-operational stage. I have generally advised this because most of the obvious changes and research are focused on these two. Also, the main difference between pre- and concrete operational stages is that, in my words, pre-operational children can’t and concrete operational children can. Think of the difference between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. (These are stages of development in English primary schools distinguished by the assessed achievement of standard attainment tests, or “SATS”). The assignment asks for a piece of research from each of the two stages you choose, not the whole stage!

Sensorimotor research includes research into the development of object permanence. Piaget (1937) demonstrated that children in this stage do not develop object permanence until several months of age. Most of the evaluative research (e.g. Baillargeon and Devos (1991)) shows that object permanence develops earlier than Piaget reckoned.

Pre-operational research is usually about egocentrism (three mountains task, which was challenged by policeman-doll experiments) or conservation tasks, which are challenged by “naughty teddy”. You can find all you need in the pink booklet, or from Gross.

So, have some sustenance before you go any further...

Mindmaps:

Some of you have been asking for software to do mindmapping. I was rather hoping that you might hand-draw them. But FreeMind (click on the link and download) is not only free but better than mine! I use Mindjet mindmanager software, which I had to buy several years ago.

This link http://www.jeffstanden.net/Piagetmap.pdf is to a mindmap on my website. Trouble is, they are software produced and not very detailed or attractive. If you don’t know about mindmaps, then I’m sorry. I did ask if you knew! I thought you had covered them in study skills. These YouTube links might help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLWV0XN7K1g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_H42Z9wxA&feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UCXalYcoko&feature=related

Basically the assignment is to make mindmap notes of the evaluation of Piaget, Vygotsky and Information Processing approaches to cognitive development. It’s a short (-ish!) way of covering a lot of material – far better than a 2500 word essay! Use bullet points or single phrases to explain each evaluative concept on a mind map.

If there are any more doubts, I’ll do a mindmap session on the day we get back (19th). In fact, I think I’ll do that anyway.

Meanwhile, something to drool over:

His name is Jonathan Ansell, and he's a singer. Here he is with Lesley Garrett. You drool over him. I'll settle for the girl in the red dress!

Presentations over, now you're mine again!

2010-03-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

OK. I'm not here for a couple of days, so I've put a worksheet up on the Developmental page. Mainly, you need to be catching up assignments, but if you've done them, or you want a rest after the rigours of presentation week, then try the worksheet.

And I'll see you all on Monday!

And yet another picture...

It's called "Party Girl". You should. Party.

It's been a long time...

2010-03-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Good Heavens it’s four weeks since I updated the site! Quite a bit to catch up on.

Assignment 9: I’m in such a rush that I can’t remember when it’s due in. I would hate to think I’m giving hints for something that should have been submitted a week ago. Especially if you read this and think you’ve got it wrong!

This is the assignment about childcare and enrichment studies. You should first read the chapter in Focus about Childcare. You will find information there about Headstart, with some evaluative comment. Then, read through the first of the stimulus pieces. Understand it. Then comment on it. Does it look as though it’s related to Bowlby, or deprivation studies? If so, then describe Bowlby and say how it is related. Similarly, anything about childcare or nursery care etc. But – support what you say with empirical evidence. This means references. You don’t have to reference the stimulus materials.

Then, read the two pieces about Headstart and Surestart. Comment on those in the same way. There is no right or wrong answer here, only your comments, supported with evidence.

No word count.

Assignment 10:

Remember the lesson on “conceptualise”? External stimulus, internal response and transaction? That is the key to this part of the assignment. It’s in the Focus book. In fact, you should by now have read (and I mean hold a book in your hands and read it page by page, making notes and doing activities as they appear) all the stress stuff in Focus. Especially since the exam is going to be on stress.

The next bit is about describing research. A physiological piece (G.A.S. perhaps?), a cognitive piece (must be Lazarus and cognitive appraisal) and a behavioural piece, ideally Friedman and Rosenman Type A personality. Then choose ONE of them and evaluate it. The merits and distinctions will mostly be in the evaluations in this assignment.

Then, back to Sam. Discuss how the stress experienced could be measured in each of the three ways indicated. Biochemical means measuring drugs or hormones etc. in the body. Usually invasive. Physiological and self-report are straightforward. There is a section in Focus on self reports. Finally, you don’t have to evaluate these, but evaluate = higher grades. No word count!

I’ve had enough for now.

Here’s the usual:

It's a long day so far...

2010-02-07T06:43:00.000-08:00

I'm just doing too much marking today.

Here's the solution:

I wish! !

Here's the therapy, I suppose...

Time to even things up a bit...

2010-02-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Oh dear, now I'm in trouble. It's all from the last post about assignment 8. It seems that one of my male students objected to the fact that the girls got a real picture, while the blokes only got a cartoon.

Well, not to worry. I've scoured the internet and found just the picture to even things up a bit. Here's a picture of a famous and yet somehow romantic girl - she is true only to one - her frog.

So, I hope this evens out the balance. You know who you are!

Assignment 8

2010-02-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

Assignment 8 Notes and Hints

Just step back and look at the requirements of this assignment. You only need to concentrate on TWO of the topics. It’s your choice as to which two. But here are some pointers as to what is needed as a minimum to PASS the assignment.

First, a note about evaluation. Most of the resources you will be using have an evaluation section. You should start there. Evaluation should include (a) Is the research ‘good’ research (Oh how I detest value judgements!) in other words, does it show or demonstrate or explain what it sets out to do? (b) What doesn’t it do or explain? (c) Find some (at least one) empirical study or studies that support the research and (d) find some that either don’t support it or at least offer an alternative explanation.

Here's a bit of motivation for you.

Bowlby’s monotropic theory.

Start by describing the theory. Hint – see the website! This is really about maternal deprivation. You have to evaluate the theory, and this implies that you should pose the question “What if attachment to mother is broken for some reason?” How might mental health be affected? So deal with the 44 thieves research, and evaluate it. That’s the minimum for this section. You might be so interested that you can’t stop and want to discuss privation and deprivation generally, who am I to criticise?

Harlow and Zimmerman.

This is one of several pieces of research published by Harlow and one or more of his colleagues. Basically, it’s Harlow and his rhesus monkeys. Describe the research in terms of aim – method – results – conclusion. Include evidence of strength of attachment, however distasteful you may feel about it. In fact, a brief evaluation of the ethics in Harlow’s research would not go un-noticed! But don’t forget there were two parts to Harlow’s research. Not only was there the investigation of ‘cupboard love’ theory, but also the effect of returning the subject monkeys to the rest of the herd. And make sure you evaluate. See the book page 65.

Schaffer and Emerson

Phases of attachment based on the longitudinal study of 60 Glasgow families. Nuff said.

Ainsworth and Bell.

Sensitive responsiveness and the strange situation. Types of attachment. Loads of opportunity for evaluation here. The really ambitious ones among you will go on to discuss the cross-cultural element. Often a long answer to this part, but if you are interested you can easily get carried away. I don’t mind, and again, it won’t go un-noticed!

If you find a connection between the two you are writing about, then mention it. For example, the strange situation relies on a characteristic of attachment described by Schaffer and Emerson...

By this time you are probably feeling like this:

But you'll be sooo glad it's finished. Number 9 is just around the corner, and that's over half way. Time for celebration!

You wanted some references...

2010-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Leifer, A.D., Leiderman, P.H., Barnett, C.R. and Williams, J.A. (1972) Effects of Mother-Infant Separation on Maternal Attachment Behavior. Child Development, 43, 1203-1218

Klaus, M.H. and Kennell, J.H. (1976) Human maternal and paternal behavior,
in Klaus M.H. and Kennell J.H. (editors) Maternal-infant bonding, (1976) St.Louis, The CV Mosby Company

That's all for now!

Assignment 7 here already!

2010-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Assignment 7 is meant to be a fairly short assignment, which is really a nature/nurture discussion on child development. Well, not quite but nature nurture comes into it. The first bit requires you to outline (what's this?) psychological theories of imprinting, then temperament. You can find just about all you need for that in the Focus book. Just remember the KISS principle!

The second part wants a description of Klaus and Kennell's research followed by an evaluation. You really need to have been at the lesson for that, but here is a link to the notes we used in class.

The third part asks for a nature nurture discussion on the first two parts. Basically, imprinting is nature, temperament could be both (and say why!) and Klaus and Kennell is nurture (and say why.) Don't kill yourselves over it, because Assignment 8 will be along soon and that will be a bit more challenging.

So have a nice cup of tea now...

Oh, to hell with it, go for the biggie...

PS, congratulations to those who've had successful interviews.

Developmental Psychology - some You Tube clips

2010-01-20T01:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some clips that we've viewed in class recently. You might want to see them again, you might want to see them for the first time! And you might want to refer to them in Assignment 7.

First a clip of some old and original footage of Konrad Lorenz and his geese.

Next, a clip on temperament, from Thomas and Chess.

Here is a clip on temperament from Jerome Kagan.

Also today, here is the reference for Guiton (1966) and the chickens. He reared some male chicks in isolation for 47 days, i.e. until they were mature (oven ready?). While in isolation, they were fed only by an assistant in yellow gloves. They became imprinted on yellow rubber gloves, and at one stage they attempted to mate with yellow rubber gloves. The chicks had developed inappropriate social and sexual behaviour. Guiton then kept the chickens with normal females and eventually they developed normal sexual behaviour, although they were past imprinting age. This suggested the critical period may not be quite so critical.

Guiton, P. (1966) Early experience and sexual object choice in the Brown Leghorn. Animal Behaviour, 14, 534-538.

Assignment 6

2010-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

Assignment Six is up and running! Here are some hints from our classroom discussions. If you haven’t been able to get in, you might be at a disadvantage until you can get the hand-outs. Since they are mainly photocopies of excerpts from textbooks, I can’t put them on the website because of copyright issues. Also, if you can’t get to classes the assignment is on the website here, and must be submitted by Monday 1st February.

Oh, and I might have confused and worried a few people last week. Assignment 5 is due in 18th January, not 11th. Ho hum.

Back to Assignment 6. The two most important words in the assignment are “discuss” and “two”. You are only required to discuss two of the three options.

Discuss is best summed up as ‘describe, explain, evaluate, giving examples where appropriate’.

I’ve made three burger diagrams (link 1) (Link 2) (Link 3) which are nothing more than basic suggestions as to how the options might be answered. They are not set in stone! And there’s no right or wrong answer for these – there rarely is for a discussion!

There is no word count for this assignment, but you must reference. I would expect the whole thing to be about 1000-1500 words, may be more, may be less.

Might be a lot of wine in this assignment.

Perhaps you’d better sit back and have a nice cup of tea instead.

As usual, if you're stuck, then ask. Ask me, ask your mate, ask anyone but don't sit and let it fester.

Looks like it's getting warmer!

2010-01-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

As I look out of the window today, much of the snow seems to have melted, and although there have been some flurries, it is now raining. So, assuming the thaw has started, perhaps it's back to normal.

If you can't get in on Monday, please email Assignment 5 and I will accept it as on time. If I mark it before I see you (unlikely!), I'll put on a fresh front sheet. Most resubmissions of assignment 4 have to be in by 11th (tomorrow). It's difficult to email them, so I'll have to accept them when I see you, but to qualify for grading I must have them as soon as possible.

On Monday, the lesson will be about recovered and false memories. Follow this link to the crime studies page on my website, scroll down and open or download the powerpoint. You will need some of this if you tackle that part of assignment 6.

Access Bad Weather Update – Friday

2010-01-08T08:45:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed the college was closed today! I hope you discovered that via the internet or radio or anything other than walking up to the front door!

Notice that most of the snow today landed on our part of Lincolnshire. Such is life. Anyway, there were no lessons today, have a nice weekend.

Access Bad Weather Update – Thursday

2010-01-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

I think the weather caught us by surprise today.

(OOPS! Picture fail!)

The forecast was for the rest of the country to be snowed under while our little corner of the world was to be clear, sunny and a little bit cold. No such luck, we had a bit of snow as well. Enough to keep many of my students away today. So here is an update on what we covered.

Access classes continued with memory. We watched this video, which introduces some of the forgetting issues we are studying. Then, we discussed some of the points on the mindmap about forgetting. (Link to website - paper copies available when you're next in class)

The points we concentrated on today were system failure (displacement, interference and trace decay. I call them system failure because they can be related to breakdown or leakage from the multistore system), retrieval failure, biological explanations of forgetting and an introduction to psychoanalysis and motivated forgetting. You should really read Focus pages 22-33.

Here are some more notes on forgetting. References to Gross are from an earlier edition, but you should be able to find it in the latest edition. Notes 1 – system failure. Notes 2 – amnesia.

Finally, if you're still having trouble producing a bar chart for asssignment 4, here's a walkthrough (kind of!)

Access Bad Weather Update – Tuesday

2010-01-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

We’ve taken up the story again with memory. Moving away from information processing models and looking instead at real life memory – sometimes called autobiographical memory. Find some more on page 18 Focus under Long Term memory.

In class, we worked through this powerpoint (direct link to my website)

You know you just can't wait to get back!

2010-01-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

So, another term and a new year – decade even!

New fascia for the PsychoSpace blog as well!

Trouble is, as I write this (Sunday evening) it looks as though some of my students may have difficulty getting to the college. I am relying on you to go to PsychoSpace if you can’t make it. Please keep a regular watch here for messages and lesson exercises if the weather gets much worse. Two snowflakes and a sparrow fart and Boston grinds (slides?) to a halt!

The plan for the next couple of weeks is to look at some theories of forgetting and how they are applied to the Criminal Justice System. In particular, eye-witness testimony and interviewing. You can find this in Focus Chapter 3 pages 34-47. Assignment 6 is based on this. Talking about assignments, if you are snowed in over an assignment deadline, email it to me.

I’ve marked Assignment 4 for those who were able to submit on time. Those of you who missed the deadline, please try and get it in as soon as you can.

Many of you have to resubmit some questions. These are the main problems, and some hints if you’re still stuck:

Questions 1 to 8 are about correlation.

The graph associated with correlation is a scattergram. Please don’t join the dots, because then it isn’t a scattergram any more. It’s a line graph. Here’s a scattergram.

Correlation invites a particular terminology for hypotheses.

“There will be a positive/negative correlation between (variable 1) and (Variable 2)” and the null hypothesis “There is no (or zero) correlation between (Variable 1) and (Variable 2)”

Remember that GSR measures emotional arousal, not just fear!

Strengths and weaknesses for correlation can be found in the Focus book, page 240.

Questions 9 to 21 are about Experiments.

The Experiment is a separate research method in its own right. Don’t confuse with correlation. Yes, they are connected. A frequent research story will start with observation, then be tested with a correlational study, and finally with experiments where the intervening variables are controlled. So yes, questions 9 to 21 do continue the story.

Most people managed the calculations.

Most people described the results. “The results showed that (Dependent variable) was (higher/lower) under condition 1 than condition 2.”

Very few people got the bar chart correct. KISS never was more important than here! Why are you producing a graph of the results? To make the results easy to understand, using a graphic image rather than words. You described the results. The graph should be just as simple. TWO BARS. How many times have you done this? So why oh why were you fannying about with multi column charts and such like? When did you see me using them? Truth is, the charts you have produced are not summary charts, but pictorial representations of raw data. In this case, waste of ink.

Rant over.

Remember me drawing two column bar charts and saying “If you do it this way, you will always get IV and DV the right way round? Say no more…

Hypotheses for experiments are slightly different from correlational hypotheses. We did a practical memory experiment and wrote down a specimen hypothesis.

Experimental design is a subject apart. See Focus pages 253-254, or follow this link to my website. Page 5 has experimental design. Read the whole document if you can, it is interesting and informative and I wrote it.

Extraneous variables are linked with correlation intervening variables. (In this case they’re almost the same.) You should identify them, describe them, say what the effect would be on the results if they were not controlled, and then how you would control them.

Ethics is a subject apart; we do more on this later in the year, but for now see page 259 Focus for a short summary.

Hope all this helps.

A little something to keep you occupied...

2009-12-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Assignment 5 is another essay. This time, you will be graded on your ability to reference. But also there’s the content of course. And the structure.

The content is all about memory. Short term memory in particular, and is really a long winded evaluation of short term memory via levels of processing theory and working memory. There are resources in your Focus book, as well as the links on the cognitive psychology page. I’ve copied those for everyone, and you will find them most helpful.

So, here are the hints for doing assignment 5:

1. Plan it first. But you know that by now.

2. Word limit is 1500 words. Aim for plus or minus 10%. But you know that by now as well.

3. Use the fishbone as a reminder – link here.

4. You’ve got a long time for this assignment thanks to the Christmas break. But don’t leave it to the last minute!

5. Essays shouldn’t have diagrams in them. A bit of a challenge for this one!

6. Time for a glass of wine.

7. Don’t forget the evaluation. You really do need to read up on the evaluation. Find some in the Focus book and also in the resources supplied. You could look under “Evaluation of the levels of processing theory.” K.I.S.S! Don’t look for something difficult unless you feel supremely confident, (and I am starting too think that most of you are by now).

8. Similarly, evaluation of working memory is all available in the resources given.

9. Bring the whole thing together in a concluding paragraph. You will need to think this through for yourself. Answer the essay question here, with a summary of what you have written.

10. Time to have another slurp.

11. Check the references. There could be some easy but good grades here.

12. Finish the bottle.

You might notice that this has been posted before you have had the lesson input. Don't worry, I'll be doing it this week. Although by now I don't think you'll care, after all that wine.

Meanwhile, here is a seasonal wish for you. You need sound for this. It's amazing what you can do with a spreadsheet!

Need for Speed 2

2009-11-30T10:21:00.001-08:00

So we discussed some of the issues in assignment 4. Without giving too much away:
• Questions 1-8 are about correlation
• Questions 9-21 are about experiments
The rest are self explanatory

Graphs:
These can be done either by hand on graph paper (see me if you want some) or by computer. I’d prefer it if they were not freehand – I need you to convince me you can draw a graph. (I know, I know!) Don’t join the points on a scattergram – it’s not a dot-to-dot game!

Reminder that correlations have covariables and experiments have IV and DV. Correlations have intervening variables and experiments have extraneous variables, confounding variables, situational variables, spam variables, spam and chips, egg spam and variables, aaarrrgggghhhh!!!!

Design has a special meaning in experiments. It’s all about allocation of participants to conditions. Only two for you to worry about – independent subjects and repeated measures.

Ethics has a whole chapter – there’s also a section in the research design chapter in Psychology in Focus.
The *best* source for hypothesis, null hypothesis, sampling and such is my website.
See how you get on. You’ve got this week in lesson time to go for it!

The Need for Speed

2009-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well, here's the hints for assignment 4 - Need for Speed.

This is the story of the psychology student with the boyfriend and the fast car. It has elements of relationships (between variables, that is), of emotion and electricity, of fast driving with fast women and breaking speed limits. All the stuff of a good Mills and Boon. You should be so lucky!

The assignment is in four main parts, each with set questions that must all be answered:

· A case-study/interview

· A correlation

· A questionnaire survey

· An experiment

But not necessarily in that order.

The resources you need for this are:

· Class notes

· Handouts

· Psychology in Focus

· www.jeffstanden.net

In theory, you can find everything on my website, in the research methods section.

Don’t worry about references for this assignment. Have a good look at it, talk to your friend and I’ll put up some more info in a couple of days.

What's stress, Mummy?

2009-11-06T01:36:00.000-08:00

Grab the burger!

The burger has the plan for assignment three. That is, the plan we talked about in class. But you don’t have to use that!

Remember that an essay is a style of writing, a kind of literary form I suppose. Think of it as telling your reader what you are going to say, then saying it, then telling them what you’ve just said. The introduction and the conclusion are a bit like the bun, and the meaty stuff in the middle is the bit that matters.

You could write the essay by including Fantz (pattern and face recognition in infants) and Gibson and Walk (depth perception using the visual cliff) for the nature side. Then, use cross cultural studies (e.g Segall et al.) to illustrate the nurture side. BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO! You could use any research you want to illustrate the arguments, just as long as it is evaluated and referenced. You might like to use the animal studies such as Blakemore and Cooper, or Held and Hein. Riesen with the three Chimps is an old favourite. Or you might like to illustrate the argument using recovered sight case studies, or research with the spectacles that turn the world upside down. I could go on.

You can use any text book you want, just as long as it is referenced appropriately. The world doesn’t stop at Gross or the pink handout!

Try to come to a conclusion. Is it nature, or nurture or something else; either in between or an alternative?

Then the usual Jeff advice: Don’t worry. Wine sometimes helps the process. I doubt you think clearly at 3am. Don’t let it fester, ask somebody. You know the drill by now!

Word length is important. Aim for plus or minus 10%.

No references no pass. It doesn’t worry me if you get it wrong first time.

You want referencing? You got it to go...

2009-10-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

Here is my short

summary on referencing.

Remember it's only to get you started. If you can understand this bit, you can understand the rest!

I suppose you want a picture? Well, this is what I've been doing.

And here's a picture

Have a nice half term!

Oh No, Not ANOTHER Access Assignment!

2009-10-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yup. Time for assignment 2. As promised, here are some hints.

Hint no.1: Don't underestimate your own capabilities!

And NOW....

How to do Assignment 2

Q1 You should start with sense 1. Name it. Explain it along the lines of “nerve endings in the (organ, e.g. skin) are stimulated by …..” Then say how that sense is perceived, e.g. “you sense the heat in a cup of coffee because the nerve endings in the skin are stimulated, both by temperature and touch. This is perceived as you holding a delicious, warm cup of coffee.”

Q2 Does look suspiciously like one of the powerpoint slides in ‘sensation and perception’. Say no more. Nudge nudge. Wink wink.

Q3 Describe how the Necker cube is perceived. It’s sensed as a pattern of black lines on a white background. Describe the top-down explanation of how the percept is a cube with the corner pointing out of the page. But our minds don’t stop there. Describe the top-down explanation of perceiving it as a cube pointing into the page. And our minds then keep working… In other words, perception is an active, dynamic process. (What would happen, do you think, if it was a static process? Just a thought, I don’t expect an answer!)

Q4 A bit of planned, extended writing is needed here. Perhaps you'd better have a nice cup of tea and a sit down at this point...

Click here for a mindmap.

The mindmap should help you plan it. The question asks you to distinguish between top-down and bottom-up processing. Basically, you must explain the top down theory approach, i.e. Gregory’s theory. Use some technical terms, such as hypothesis, schema, matching, constructivist, percept, whatever. Use an example, e.g. the fox, or the rider or something. Then do the same for the bottom up approach, i.e. Gibson’s theory of direct perception. Liberally sprinkle a few technical terms such as motion parallax, optical array or visual array, and affordances if you feel like it.

But the main thrust of this assignment is the evaluation. In your handout you will find a section called evaluation of constructivist (top down) theories and evaluation of bottom up theories. You see, level three work is all about evaluation. You are allowed, nay, encouraged to be critical. As long as you can support what you say with evidence. In psychology, you usually support with empirical evidence or peer-reviewed published articles or books etc. You will be taught before too long about referencing – another subject which has a poignancy all of its own. So you might think that top down and bottom up theories probably should be integrated. Good idea! Who says so? Well, yes, I do, but the expert is Ulric Neisser. And you’ll find what he has to say in the handout. ‘Fraid you’ll just have to read it, though. Sorry!

How long? I hear you saying. Aim for Q1 about ½ a page to a page. Q2 about ½ a page. Same for Q3. Q4 probably about 750 words. Ish. Don't count them though. These are only a rough guide, because it all depends on how much you get carried away. Just remember the poor bugger who's got to mark it, though!

As promised here is a picture to gloat over when you've finished.

Personally, I don't understand what you ladies see in him.

The Attention Thing

2009-10-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

OK. Some of my students have shared with me the attentional channels thing about the basketball players. The idea is to watch it and count the number of passes. YouTube have taken off the original one, so here is a slightly different version, but just the same principle.

The idea is twofold: first, to show you a bit of psychology; second, to make you think about how attentive you are when you drive. Ask yourself if you really think it's OK to use your mobile phone when you are driving. Or your satnav. Or to change the CD in the player. Or to turn round and swipe at the kids messing around in the back.

Then watch this little clip. WARNING! It's not pretty. But then true life isn't always, is it?

The First Access Assignment

2009-10-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve posted the assignments for the whole course. Well, the first six or seven, but I got fed up with changing the format. I’ll do the rest later. They are also on the college VLE, but that’s not much good when you’ve forgotten your login details. I know, you couldn’t possibly forget them…

Here’s some tips on how to do the first one.

Tip 1 Don’t worry about it. If it looks easy it probably is.

Tip 2 I’m assessing content, not style. Yes, it will be easier in the long run if you can word process it. Get used to it now while you can, because you really will need to word process the later ones!

Tip 3 If you don’t know what to do, ASK. You can ask me, or your friend, or Dear Abby the agony aunt. But don’t just sit and fester until it’s too late.

Tip 4 Describe and draw the basic information process model. Say that you will give an example of an information processing model. Describe and draw the multistore model and explain how it fits the basic model. Sit back and admire your work. Sip at the glass of wine…

Tip 5 Choose a bit of computer, say hard disk. Explain how this is a storage item. Compare it with a bit of the memory process. Explain how it compares with a bit of the memory process. Sit back again, admire the work and have another sip. Hic!

Tip 6 Read your notes, and consider looking at Gross page 27 box 2.6 and page 32 box 2.9. For fun, you might read the pages between as well! Then try your hand at answering the third part of the assignment. If you really are worried about literary style, then write as if you were writing me a letter. If you want. Finish the bottle.

This is you when you've done the assignment. Unless you're one of the blokes. In which case I'll find a suitable picture for a later post.

So good luck!

Welcome to 2009-2010

2009-10-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Suppose I’d better put something up for a new academic year. That’s it. Title says it all. Hopefully, more as the year gets under way…