Corpus Christi College (Cambridge University) is holding its annual essay competition for subjects including Psychology. This is aimed at A-Level and Higher students. Each school can enter up to two essays. Your essay should be 1,500 - 2,00o words in answer to one of the following questions:
1) Why do some people oppose immigration?
2) Is it possible to predict at birth which children are most likely to behave anti-socially?
3) "It is vital that action is taken to improve the health of those who regularly drink above the recommended daily limits for lower risk drinking" (Department of Health). What kind of action can be taken to encourage people to drink less alcohol, and how successful are the options likely to be?
It is noted that students are not expected to be studying any of the above subject matter on their course, and that they should draw on information from across the curriculum in their answers.
Let me know if you're interested - prize money is available, plus it would look fantastic on your CV!
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Topics
Just a quick word on topics - any of you browsing through this blog might notice changes compared to previous years. Just to clarify:
There are three topics in unit 1, but we only study two of them (the third topic, Early Socialisation, will be in the exam paper but you won't answer those questions).
There are several option topics in unit 3, and I have tended to vary these from year to year depending on what I think will be of most interest, and lead to the best exam results. This year the syllabus has changed slightly, and in light of this I think the best ones to do will be Prejudice and Atypical Behaviour.
There are three topics in unit 1, but we only study two of them (the third topic, Early Socialisation, will be in the exam paper but you won't answer those questions).
There are several option topics in unit 3, and I have tended to vary these from year to year depending on what I think will be of most interest, and lead to the best exam results. This year the syllabus has changed slightly, and in light of this I think the best ones to do will be Prejudice and Atypical Behaviour.
Et al
Some of you were asking about 'et al'. As you know, this is often used to shorten the researchers' names in a text, so you might see a reference to Rahe et al (1970).
The convention in psychology writing (such as articles and textbooks) is for one or two names to be given in full - e.g. Miller (1956), Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) - but any more than that get reduced to the first name from the publication plus 'et al'.
Apparently the latin origin of the term is the word alius meaning 'other'. Et al is an abbreviation of the plural et alli, so it means 'and others'. However, it would be unusual in speech or writing to actually say 'and others'; the convention would be to say 'and colleagues', e.g. "Lazarus and colleagues investigated the transactional nature of stress...".
Hope that clears it up!
The convention in psychology writing (such as articles and textbooks) is for one or two names to be given in full - e.g. Miller (1956), Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) - but any more than that get reduced to the first name from the publication plus 'et al'.
Apparently the latin origin of the term is the word alius meaning 'other'. Et al is an abbreviation of the plural et alli, so it means 'and others'. However, it would be unusual in speech or writing to actually say 'and others'; the convention would be to say 'and colleagues', e.g. "Lazarus and colleagues investigated the transactional nature of stress...".
Hope that clears it up!
Friday, 2 October 2009
Key aspects of the WMM and MSM theories of memory
A summary of the points about these two models that I wrote on the whiteboard. This is the kind of information you should put in if asked in a test/exam to describe or explain the model(s).
MSM:
3 separate stores
Linear - info goes through each store in turn
Rehearsal is key to LTM encoding
Passive storage
WMM:
Modalities of slave systems allow two different tasks to be done at once
Flexible - info travels between slave systems, controlled by C.E.
Processing time is based on real time to do tasks (e.g. articulate words)
Active processing of everyday tasks
MSM:
3 separate stores
Linear - info goes through each store in turn
Rehearsal is key to LTM encoding
Passive storage
WMM:
Modalities of slave systems allow two different tasks to be done at once
Flexible - info travels between slave systems, controlled by C.E.
Processing time is based on real time to do tasks (e.g. articulate words)
Active processing of everyday tasks
Monday, 22 June 2009
Course info - the exam
The Exam
The external assessment comprises the exam, which is worth 100 marks (40 each on the material from units 1 and 3, and 20 from unit 2), and the Research Investigation, which is worth the equivalent of 25 exam marks (roughly 20% overall).
There will be a 2-and-a-half hour exam in late May/early June, with three sections, one on each unit. The section on unit 1 consists of two questions on each topic, which will be worth either 10 marks each, or 8 marks and 12 marks. Unit 2 (Investigating Behaviour) will be assessed with short answer questions, based around a research scenario. Unit 3 will combine one set of short answer questions and one essay question.
Past papers plus the SQA 'specimen paper' are available on the SQA website www.sqa.org.uk as are marking instructions. Please note that a few changes have been made to the content of the course starting with year 2009-10, so don't worry about unfamiliar questions in previous year's exams.
The external assessment comprises the exam, which is worth 100 marks (40 each on the material from units 1 and 3, and 20 from unit 2), and the Research Investigation, which is worth the equivalent of 25 exam marks (roughly 20% overall).
There will be a 2-and-a-half hour exam in late May/early June, with three sections, one on each unit. The section on unit 1 consists of two questions on each topic, which will be worth either 10 marks each, or 8 marks and 12 marks. Unit 2 (Investigating Behaviour) will be assessed with short answer questions, based around a research scenario. Unit 3 will combine one set of short answer questions and one essay question.
Past papers plus the SQA 'specimen paper' are available on the SQA website www.sqa.org.uk as are marking instructions. Please note that a few changes have been made to the content of the course starting with year 2009-10, so don't worry about unfamiliar questions in previous year's exams.
Course info - Prelim
Prelim & school prize
There will be a prelim in January/February, and the mark will appear on your spring report, and will also inform estimates of your grade which go to the SQA and universities. The prelim will be shorter than the final exam, and will focus on research evidence.
As the SQA require appeals evidence to cover all three units of the Higher, it will be necessary to run an additional ‘2nd prelim’, which will take place in late April/early May. Although this is a busy time for all students, the exam practice will be very useful preparation, and this will be a good time to start your exam revision.
The student(s) with the most marks in NABs and January prelim combined will be awarded the prize(s) for psychology, and the top 25% of students will appear on the ‘Order of Merit’ for the year.
There will be a prelim in January/February, and the mark will appear on your spring report, and will also inform estimates of your grade which go to the SQA and universities. The prelim will be shorter than the final exam, and will focus on research evidence.
As the SQA require appeals evidence to cover all three units of the Higher, it will be necessary to run an additional ‘2nd prelim’, which will take place in late April/early May. Although this is a busy time for all students, the exam practice will be very useful preparation, and this will be a good time to start your exam revision.
The student(s) with the most marks in NABs and January prelim combined will be awarded the prize(s) for psychology, and the top 25% of students will appear on the ‘Order of Merit’ for the year.
Course info - NABs
NABs
Your knowledge of the units covered will be tested with SQA unit tests throughout the course. You are required to gain 50% (a ‘C’ pass) or more in all of these, as without doing so you cannot gain your higher, even if you pass the exam.
You have up to three attempts to pass each NAB. You must attend on the day of a NAB (see appendix 4, below, for provisional dates); any unexplained absences count as one of these three attempts.
If NABs are failed, a time must be arranged with your teacher to do a reassessment. The reassessment will consist of a completely new set of questions, so you must be prepared to answer on any aspect of the unit content. Again, failure to attend as arranged must count as one out of the three possible attempts, so make sure you take a note of time and place.
Tests will usually be marked and returned within a week of the date they are sat; resits and late tests may take longer before they are returned.
Your knowledge of the units covered will be tested with SQA unit tests throughout the course. You are required to gain 50% (a ‘C’ pass) or more in all of these, as without doing so you cannot gain your higher, even if you pass the exam.
You have up to three attempts to pass each NAB. You must attend on the day of a NAB (see appendix 4, below, for provisional dates); any unexplained absences count as one of these three attempts.
If NABs are failed, a time must be arranged with your teacher to do a reassessment. The reassessment will consist of a completely new set of questions, so you must be prepared to answer on any aspect of the unit content. Again, failure to attend as arranged must count as one out of the three possible attempts, so make sure you take a note of time and place.
Tests will usually be marked and returned within a week of the date they are sat; resits and late tests may take longer before they are returned.
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