Kerboodle and Edmodo tasks, and homework for next lesson.

Kerboodle is an online resource that links in with our Nelson Thornes textbook. You now have logins in the following form:
Username: initial of first name followed by last name with no spaces e.g. 'tlawrence' (if you have spaces or hyphens in your name these are removed so james smith-jones would be 'jsmithjones'.
Password: same but with a 0 (zero) on the end. If your last name is only three letters along, then 00!
Organisation code: 5166

There are two tasks for you to do now, and one for the end of the holiday.

Edmodo is our unofficial school VLE. You can use it to hand in work, which will then be storred online, along with my comments on it. Use your password when you sign up if you haven't done so already - you can use this to log in if you forget your username.
You either need to sign up for this yourself and use the following code to join the AS Psychology group: p537na or log in and click 'join' in your 'groups' panel on the left and enter the code.

For our next lesson on Wednesday 2nd November, research and bring a piece of paper with a summary of the following:
What is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, and the permissive amine hypothesis of depression?

• What is the evidence that these disorders have a genetic basis?

Interesting TV series alert

This looks great - if you missed the first episode like I did, catch up on i-player

Experimental design

We evaluated the multi-store model first and then went on to some research methods. You need to know the three types of experimental design - independent groups, repeated measures and matched pairs, plus the strengths and weaknesses of each. Try and work out the design of all the memory experiments that we've covered in class. Your textbook covers this area well, on pages 109-111. The ppt is here.

Defining Abnormality

The first section of our Abnormality topic is concerned with ways psychologists use to categorise people as 'normal' or 'abnormal' - these methods are called Definitions of Abnormality. They are not explanations as to why people may be psychologically abnormal - we will look at how each of the four approaches explains this next.

The definitions you need to be able to explain and evaluate are (click for presentation):

Deviation from Social Norms

Failure to Function Adequately

Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

In practice psychiatrists and psychologists don't ever use just one definition, they use a 'classificatory system' which is based on a mixture of these ideas. The use of such systems is often called the 'disease model' or 'medical model' of abnormality, because it assumes that psychological disorders can be classified and diagnosed based on clusters of symptoms, much like physical diseases.

Here is a short presentation on this.

For Wednesday 19th October:

An essay, to be word processed and brought electronically (300-400 words):

"Put the three definitions of abnormality in order from most to least useful. Justify your decision with reference to their strengths and limitations."

Revise the 'defining abnormality' section for a test.

The multi-store model

This is the first model of memory that you need to know: the multi-store model. We've covered STM and LTM so today we looked at sensory memory (SM). We will evaluate the validity of the model next lesson. The ppt is here and this covers next lesson as well.

Encoding and an ESSAY

An in-depth look and replication of Baddeley (1966), which most of us managed to get our heads round by the end of the lesson. The powerpoint containing all the stimuli is here.

You need to be consolidating the material learnt now after every lesson. This means reading over your class notes and then the relevant section in your textbook, amending your notes as necessary, and checking it all makes sense. Look in other texts if necessary - there are plenty in the sixth form study room. Test yourself with the summary questions in the textbook. A VERY useful document including answers to the summary questions and a glossary is here.

We also looked at visual encoding in short-term memory. The ppt on Brandimote et al is here.

Your first essay for me is due on Tuesday 18th October. A suggested plan is here. Title:

‘Give a brief account of the differences between STM and LTM, and consider the extent to which research supports the distinction between them’ (12 marks).