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Name _____________________________________
Harlington Upper
School
A’ Level Psychology
Transition Task’s
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I would like you to research the origins of psychology and the 4
approaches of psychology:
1. The social approach—what is conformity? Normative and
Informational conformity. Types of conformity—internalisation,
identification, compliance.
2. The biological approach to psychology - define genotypes
and phenotypes, neurotransmitters, hormones.
3. The learning approach to psychology—define classical and
operant conditioning, social learning theory.
4. The cognitive approach to psychology—define schemas,
cognitive neuroscience, the role of the theoretical and computer
models.
5. Research Methods –
Websites— http://psychcentral.com
https://www.verywell.com/psychology-4014660
https://www.psychologytoday.com/
http://www.spring.org.uk/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/index.shtml
http://digest.bps.org.uk/
You will be assessed on the approaches in this booklet throughout your time
in Psychology at Sixth Form. If there are any
questions about the work in this booklet then you
can email us at [email protected] or
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The Social Approach to Psychology
Define conformity - using the concepts of normative and informational influence.
Give an example of when someone shows each type of conformity
Internalisation
Identification
Compliance
Research Asch 1951—experimental investigation of conformity to the
majority. Explain what he did and his findings.
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The Biological Approach to Psychology
What are genotypes and phenotypes?
What are neurotransmitters?
What are serotonin and dopamine used for?
What are hormones?
What is testosterone used for?
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Label the Neuron
Label the lobes of the brain
Label the synapse
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The Behavioural Approach to Psychology
Define classical conditioning
Define operant conditioning
Define social learning theory
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The Cognitive Approach to Psychology
Define a schema in cognitive psychology
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Define the role of the theoretical and computer models in
psychology.
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Youtube clips that will help you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo7jcI8fAuI&feature=youtu.be —fun play on classical conditioning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRdCowYEtAg The difference between classical and operant conditioning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2MSc3eNS1Y What is cognitive neuroscience documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM7gXsQH2xg Social learning theory
Top 10 psychology films - for all you Netflix addicts! A Beautiful Mind (2001): Ron Howard's brilliant film not only educates the viewer about schizophrenia but ingeniously
brings the viewer to empathize - and to a degree - experience the confusing pain of schizophrenia, as portrayed by Russell Crowe as mathematics genius, John Nash.
Memento (2000): Another film that ingeniously brings the viewer a close-up experience of someone who is suffering, in
this case a man struggling with retrograde amnesia.
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): For a generation of students new to psychology, this film offers a slice of their
profession's history, as seen in the barbaric and controlling treatment of patients at a psychiatric hospital.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): Regarded by the American Film Institute as depicting the greatest hero in American
cinema, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), an attorney who defends a Black man accused of rape. Heroes and exemplars portrayed in films can serve as powerful motivators in treatment.
Ordinary People (1980) and Good Will Hunting (1997): while not perfect portrayals of psychologists (it is unethical to
choke your client!), Judd Hirsch and Robin Williams play empathic and motivating therapists that educate and inspire their clients and the viewer.
Life is Beautiful (1998): Italian film that shows us the extremes of what humans are capable of - the horrors of Nazism as
well as tremendous creativity, humour, and sacrifice.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994): one of the most popular films ever made, perhaps due to the ease an individual can
relate to the story of a man wrongfully imprisoned but never giving up hope. Since most clients seeking psychology services are seeking hope, this is a great film to recommend as a treatment adjunct.
The Hours (2003): interweaving story of three women, played by Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman, from
different generations that serves as a useful teaching tool on mood disorders, suicide, and coping behaviours.
American Beauty (1999). It's difficult to not be inspired by this Oscar-winning film. It is a rhapsody of mindfulness, finding
beauty in each moment, and the possibility in every human being for change. If you do not enjoy this film the first time around, take another viewing and do as the alternate title for the film suggests - "look closer."
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Research Methods - What is the experimental method?
What is an experiment in psychology? – Complete the paragraph using the ‘Key
terms’
Dependent Variable Research measured
Variable observed Independent Variable
An experiment is one way of conducting …………….. where: One …………. is
made to change (by the experimenter). This is called the …………… …………… or
IV. The effects of the IV on another variable are ……………. or ……………… This
variable is called the ………………. ……………. or DV.
(A variable is just a thing – something that can change. For example, noise is a
variable. It can be soft of loud)
Many things that are called experiments are actually investigations. An experiment must have an IV and DV.
Q. Below are some variables. For each suggest two possible levels of the IV. i.e. temperature could be warm or cold.
Speed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Clocks ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Apples ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Psychology students …………………………………………………………………………………………..
An experiment. Does noise affect concentration?
If the variable we are going to change is noise. The two levels of the IV will be loud
noise and soft noise. The variable we would measure is concentration. How might
you do this? You probably would decide to give people a task that assesses
concentration, i.e. a memory game. One group play the memory game with loud
noise (radio) and the other group would play the game with no noise. For both
groups you could time how long it takes to complete the task.
Q. Does noise affect your concentration? a. What was the IV? ………………………………………………………………………. b. What was the DV? ……………………………………………………………………… c. What was the aim of this experiment? ……………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Other variables, demand characteristics and investigator effects. Variables are factors that can change or vary in some way during research . In research there may be some variables you want to change, to keep the same and others that might change without you realising. The more you consider the possible variables in your research, and plan to control interference from other variables, the better chance of conducting a creditable piece of research.
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The following are variables other than the IV Write a definition for each
below.
The following websites are useful for research methods.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-hypotheses.html
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/psychology
Variables Definition
Extraneous variables
Confounding variables
Participant variables
Situational variables
Experimenter variables
Demand characteristics
Investigator effects
Order effects
Q. In each of the following studies, think of one or more possible variables that may affect the results of the study.
a. Two classes of primary school children are tested to see if older or younger children have better memories. One class contains older children. The other class contains younger children. The children are tested in their own classrooms by their own teacher. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. b. Some students investigate whether men or women are more affected by alcohol. They give each participant a reaction time test and then give them two glasses of wine, followed by another reaction time test. …………………………………………………………………. c. A psychological study tested the effects of vitamins on exam performance. Students were told before hand that vitamins enhance exam performance. One group of students received a vitamin pill and the other group received a ‘placebo’ (a pill with no vitamins) the exam performance of both groups was measured. ……………………………….. d. a teacher conducted a memory experiment with her class. Half the class had done the memory experiment before…………………………………………………………………………………….
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Aims: The purpose of a study is called the ‘Aim’ and an important starting point for
a study. It is written as a statement – not a prediction of what might happen. i.e.
to see if noise affects concentration in a memory test,
Hypotheses: A hypothesis is a statement of what you believe to be true. it is a
precise and testable statement of the relationship between two variables. It is
sometimes called the ‘experimental hypothesis or the ‘alternative hypothesis’. A
hypothesis is not the same as the research aims.
A directional hypothesis (one tailed) states exactly what outcome is expected from
the experiment. There is a difference or relationship between two conditions or
different groups of participants. i.e. Participants will take less time to complete a
memory test when there is no noise.
A non-directional hypothesis (two tailed) simply predicts that there will be a
difference in performance or relationship between the conditions or groups of
participants, but not what that difference will be. i.e. There will be a difference in
the time taken to complete the memory test when there is different levels of noise.
Q. Are the following hypothesis directional or non-directional?
i. People take longer to state the colour of a word when it is written in a
conflicting colour than when the word and the colour it is written in are
same. ……………………………………………………………………….
ii. Performance speeds are different when people state the colour of a word
when it is written in a conflicting colour than when the word and the
colour it is written in are the same. ………………………………………
iii. People who do homework without the TV on produce better results than
those who do homework with the TV on. ………………………………
iv. There is a difference between work produced in noisy or silent
conditions. ………………………………………………………………….
A note about ‘Operationalisation’. A good hypothesis should be written in a
testable form, operationalised. This means specifically identifying a set of
behaviours (or operations) that can be measured or manipulated.
Non Operationalised hypothesis: People concentrated better in quiet rather than
noisy conditions.
What do we mean by quiet and noisy? We need to define the behaviours
(operations)
‘concentrate better’ – take less time
‘quiet’ = no sound
‘noisy’ = radio playing
Operationalised hypothesis: People take less time to complete a memory test when
it is quiet, no sound, compared with when there is noise, a radio is playing.
Q. Do older people sleep more or less than younger people?
a. Identify the IV and DV in this experiment.
IV = ………………………………. DV= ………………………………….
b. How could you operationalise the IV and DV?
Operationalised IV: …………………………………………………………
Operationlised DV: …………………………………………………………
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c. Write a fully operationalised directional hypothesis. ………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………...
d. Write a fully operationalised non-directional hypothesis. .………………
…………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………...
There are other types of hypothesis: experimental, research, alternative and
Null hypothesis. Write a definition for each below.
The following websites are useful for research methods.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-hypotheses.html
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/psychology
Experimental Hypothesis
Research Hypothesis
Alternative Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis
Q. Read the statement below and decide which are aims and which are hypothesis.
a. To see if blondes have more fun than brunettes. …………………………….
b. Arts students are less clever than science students. ……………………………
c. Whether alcohol causes goldfish to have poorer memories than no alcohol. .
…………………………………………….
d. Positive expectations lead to differences in performance. ……………………
Experimental Design: The term ‘experimental design’ refers to how the participants
are used in an experiment. There are usually two conditions in an experiment and
the experimenter has to decide who will take part in each condition there are three
experimental designs that can be used:
Below describe and evaluate (a strength + a weakness) each of the different groups
design using the pictures to help you. The following Tutor2u web pages will give
you further descriptions and the strengths and weaknesses of each design.
https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/revision-note-experimental-design
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Experimental Design Definitions Strength/weakness
Independent groups
Repeated Measures
Matched Pairs
Q. For each of the following experiments state whether it is repeated measures,
independent groups or matched pairs design. When trying to decide it might help
you if you ask yourself ‘would the findings be analysed by comparing the scores
from the same person or by comparing the scores of two or more groups of
people’? If it is 2 or more groups of people, then are the people in the different
groups related (matched) or not?
a. Boys and girls are compared on their IQ test scores. …………………………
b. Hamsters are tested to see if one generic strain is better at finding food in a
maze compared to another group. ………………………………………………..
c. Reaction time is tested before and after a reaction time training activity to see if
test scores improved after training………………………………………………….
d. Students are put in pairs based on their GCSE grades comma and then one
member of the pair is tested in the morning and one tested in the afternoon on a
memory task…………………………………………………………………………..
e. Three groups of participants or given different word lists to remember to see
whether nouns, verbs or adjectives are easier to recall……………………………
f. Participants are asked to give a numerical rating for attractive and unattractive
photographs……………………………………………………………………………
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Selection of Participants. In any research the selection of the ‘target population’ is
the group of individuals a researcher is interested in. For example, babies in the
western world, people in the UK or students living in Leeds. At the end of the study
the researcher wants to be able to make a statement about this target population,
obviously the researcher cannot study all the people in the target population so the
researcher starts by identifying a smaller group called a sampling frame. For
example if the researcher was interested in all the babies in the western world s/he
might select babies born in two hospitals in Leeds in December 2019. The researcher
then draws a sample and ideally this sample will be representative of the target
population so that generalization of those results about the target population can
be made.
How do you select a ‘representative sample’?
Below describe and evaluate (a strength + a weakness) each of the different
‘Sampling methods’. The following Tutor2u web pages will give you further
descriptions and strengths and weaknesses of each sampling method.
https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/sampling-techniques
Sampling method description Strengths Weaknesses
Random sampling is…..
Opportunity sampling is…
Systematic sampling is…
Stratified sampling is….
Q. Identify the sampling method in each of the studies below. a. A University undertook a study of mobile phones use in teenagers, using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was given to a group of students in a local upper school, selected by placing all the students’ names in a container and drawing out 50 names. ………………………………………….. b. A group of psychology students interviewed shoppers in a local shopping centre about attitudes towards dieting. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. c. A researcher studied IQ in primary school children by selecting the first 5 names in each class register for every school s/he visited. ………………………………………………………………………….
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d. A polling company employed a panel of people to consult with regarding their opinions on political issues. They identified various subgroups in the population and then randomly selected members from each sub-group.…………………………………………
Confederates, Ethics and Pilot Studies.
Confederates are individuals in an experiment who are not real participants and
have been instructed how to behave by the experimenter. A very famous
experiment by a researcher called ‘Milgram’ used a ‘confederate in his research
into ‘obedience’.
Find out about ‘Milgram’s’ experiment by following this link
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html .
Name the confederate ……………………………………………………………….
Why would researchers use a ‘confederate’ in research? …………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ethics. Ethics relates to values of human behaviour, and the rightness or
wrongness of our conduct. This is important issue to consider when carrying out
research to protect our participants from harm. Some key ethical issues when
designing research are, Protection from harm, informed consent, deception,
confidentiality and briefing/debriefing. More information about Ethical issues can
be found at the following website:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Ethics.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/debriefing-in-psychology-research-definition-process-quiz.html
Q. why do you need to brief participants? ………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Q. Why is it necessary to debrief participants? ……………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Q. Imagine you were giving the briefing and debriefing in Milgram’s experiment.
What would you say? Complete the following briefing and debriefing
statements.
Briefing Statement:
This experiment is about………………
………………………………………….
…………………………………………..
You will be asked to ………………….
…………………………………………..
…………………………………………..
…………………………………………..
…………………………………………..
You can …………………….. from the
experiment at any time.
If you are willing to take part please
sign below.
…………………………………………
Thank you for agreeing to take part.
De-Briefing statement:
Thankyou for taking part in the
experiment. The true purpose of the
study was to…………………………..
…………………………………………
…………………………………………
…………………………………………
Would you like to ……………………
……………………………….? YES/NO
Do you ………………………………..
………………………………..? YES/NO
……………………………………………
……………………………………………
……………………………………………
……………………………………………
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Pilot Studies. A pilot study is a small-scale trial of a research design run before
doing the real thing. It is done in order to find out whether certain things don’t
work so they can be changed before the real experiment.
Find out more here: https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/research-
methods-pilot-studies and https://www.bps.org.uk/
Q. What things might not work in an experiment? …………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Q. Who is the BPS and what is their role in psychology? …………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Descriptive statistics: How to represent your data
Measures of central tendency tell us about the middle/average values in a set of
data. Three different ‘averages’ is the mean, ‘median’ and ‘mode’.
For more on this follow the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVxZBK9Vm5w
Complete the following table.
How to calculate the ‘Measure of
central tendency’
An advantage and a disadvantage of this
measure of central tendency
To calculate the mean you…
+
-
To calculate the median you…
+
-
To calculate the mode you….
+
-
Measures of Dispersion looks at how data can be described in terms of how
dispersed or spread out it is. The easiest way to do this is to use the ‘range’ or a
more precise method call ‘standard deviation’ which you can find out more
about by visiting
https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Standard+Deviation
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For now we will find out about the ‘range’. To calculate the range you find the
numerical difference between the lowest and highest value in a set of scores.
i.e: 23,19,24,47,23,20. This data set then needs to be re-arranged into order i.e.
19,20,23,23,24,47. To calculate the range you then simply take the highest
number from the lowest: 47 – 19 = a range of 28.
Now have a go at the questions below to practice calculating these measures of
central tendency and dispersion.
Q. for each of the data sets below calculate, the mean, median, mode and range.
Data set 1
2,3,5,6,6,8,9,12,15,21
Data set 2
2,2,4,5,5,5,7,7,8,8,8,10
Data set 3
Cat,cat,dog,bird,snake
Mean
Median
Mode
range
Descriptive statistics. Graphical representation. A picture is worth a thousand
words. Graphs provide a means of ‘eyeballing’ the data and seeing the findings at
a glance.
Bar chart the height of a bar represents
frequency of an item. Categories are
usually put on the horizontal (x-axis)
and frequency is on the vertical y-
axis). Bar charts are used for data that
is not continuous (nominal data) i.e.
bird, cat, snake and a space is left
between each bar to show a lack of
continuity.
Histogram is essentially a bar chart
except that the area within the bars
must be proportional to the
frequencies represented. This means
the vertical axis (frequency) must start
at 0. Also the horizontal axis must be
continuous (no categories). There is
also no gaps between the bars
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Task: Draw a histogram or a bar chart for the following two sets of data.
Data set 1 Data set 2
Table to show boys and girls scores on a
memory test.
Boys scores Girls scores
11 15
14 16
8 10
9 5
3 8
16 16
14 12
Table to show frequency of favourite pets
Pet Frequency
Dog //// //// //
Cat //// //// /
Mouse ///
Snake /
Rabbit //// //
pig ////
Test yourself: Multiple choice questions.
1. The independent variable
in a study is
a. The one excluded
b. Manipulated by the
experimenter
c. Observed or measured
d. Not of interest to the
experimenter
5. Which of the following is a
random sample?
a. names drawn from a hat
b. asking people if they
would like to take part
c. using every 10th name on a
register
d. taking whoever happens to
be there
9. an individual who is
instructed how to behave by
a researcher is called
a. an extraneous variable
b. a dependent variable
c. a confederate
d. Mrs Simpson
2. A pilot study is
a. The first study
b. A preliminary
investigation
c. A small scale trial run of
research
d. A research project on
flying aeroplanes
6. selecting participants who
just happen to be there is
called.
a. opportunity sampling
b. volunteer sampling
c. random sampling
d. quota sampling
10. one way to improve the
design of a study is to
a. conduct a pilot study
beforehand to see if it works
b. have lots of variables
c. use a repeated measures
design
c. use a confederate
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3. Debriefing involves
a. Telling a participant the
true aims of a study
b. Giving Pps a chance to
discuss any psychological
harm they may have
c. Asking Pps for feedback
about the experiment
d. All of the above
7. In an independent groups
design
a. there are two or more
separate groups of Pps
b. the analysis involves
comparing measures from
two or more separate groups
c. the analysis involves
comparing two measures
from the same person
d. both a and b
11. All sampling methods are
a. representative of the target
population
b. biased
c. random
d. difficult to conduct
4. Which is a measure of
central tendency
a. Range
b. Bar chart
c. Mode
d. interval
8. An extraneous variable is a
variable that
a. has been controlled by the
experimenter
b. confounds the findings of
the study
c. may influence the
dependent variable
d. the researcher wants to
make a strong statement
12. Which of the following
could not be an extraneous
variable in a study
a. an investigator effect
b. an confederate
c. an order effect
d. a lack of standardised
procedures
Glossary: Complete a glossary of all the research methods key terms you have
learnt about so far. I’ve included a few to get you started.
Key term Definition
Dependent variable
Experiment
Independent variable
Directional hypothesis
Experimental/alternative
hypothesis
Hypothesis
Non-directional
hypothesis
Aim
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Experimental design
Independent groups
design
Repeated measures
design
Matched pairs design
Target population
Operationalisation
Control
Extraneous variables
Investigator effects
Confederate
Confounding variable
Debriefing
Situational variable
Standardised
instructions
Standardised procedures
Bar chart
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Histogram
Measure of central
tendency
Measures of dispersion
Mean
Median
Mode
Range
Standard deviation
Pilot study
Informed consent
Ethical issues
Briefing
Practice effect
Generalisation
Sample
Participant variables
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