ECT and Drugs research task

We covered ECT - a biological therapy - in the lesson. Here's the link to the video we watched:

Electroconvulsive therapy

Click here for the presentation

For your drug produce 2-3 ppt slides on the following and email to tla by Weds 3rd:
How it was discovered, what it treats, how it affects the nervous system, how effective it is, issues including side effects and addiction.
You have been told your drug’s number (if you weren't in the lesson email tla!):

1. Valium 2. Prozac 3. Thorazine 4. MAOIs 5. Clozapine

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Chris Cullen spoke to us about Mindfulness - the 'third wave' in cognitive therapy - and about principles of cognitive therapy more generally. You need to be able to describe and evaluate CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and MBCT is one form of this.

The key idea is that you can improve your mood and your resistance to stress by regularly using meditation techniques to clear your mind of all thoughts, become aware of your body and the present moment, and then realise that thoughts that do pop into your mind are not facts but opinions. This breaks a constant cycle of stressful 'overthink' where we regret the past and worry about the future without appreciating the present moment.

Here is the presentation that Chris showed.

And have a look at www.bemindful.co.uk if you're interested.

The past is history. The future is a mystery but this moment is a gift. That is why it is called "the present".

MEMORY ESSAY DEADLINE!

Remember your memory essay is due this Thursday. Scroll down for the question...

Research project

Today we spent quite a bit of time looking in detail at some of the Research Methods terminology, and applying it to designing a new study. You'll need to make sure you have a really clear understanding of the difference between a lab, field and natural experiment, as well as the different experimental designs.

We also learned a new word today - Counterbalancing! If you missed the lesson anyone who was there should be able to explain it to you ;o)

Here's a link to the powerpoint - we only got about half way through this today and will continue with it on Thursday. Please make sure you've written up your Design section - 4 sentences only!

Models of Abnormality Test

Today's test caused some problems for some people, either because of a lack of preparation, intellectual power, or in some serious cases a bit of both. Disturbingly, some are finding it hard to tell the models apart, so here's a quick idiot's guide:

• Biological model - physical causes and 'brain stuff' - genes; infection; biochemistry (neurotransmitter imbalances); neuroanatomy (brain structure)
  
• Psychodynamic model - Freud; unconscious desires and memories; id, ego and superego; psychosexual stages and fixation; defence mechanisms
• Behavioural model - faulty learning - simple associations; classical and operant conditioning; no biological or mental causes
• Cognitive model - faulty thinking - negative thoughts, beliefs or schemas; biases in attributions or memories

Click here for a model answer (and a 4/6 mark evaluation) to the psychodynamic model question in the test.

A hard question was about twin or family studies - these are important evidence for the biological model because they support some role of genes in most disorders.

This web page is a fairly straightforward explanation of twin studies.

Or try this youtube tutorial.

Models of Abnormality Test

This test caused some people some problems - seemingly because of a lack of revision, intellectual power, or (in some serious cases) both. Alarmingly, some people can't tell the models apart, so here's a quick idiot's guide:

• Biological model - physical causes and 'brain stuff' - genes, infection, biochemistry (neurotransmitters) and neuroanatomy (brain structure)
  
• Psychodynamic - Frued; unconscious desires and memories, id, ego and superego, psychosexual stages, fixation and defence mechanisms
  
• Behavioural - simple associative learning; classical and operant conditioning; no biological or mental causes
  
• Cognitive - faulty thinking / negative beliefs / biases to attributions and memories

This topic is very simple - you just need to be able to write 6 marks worth of description and 6 marks worth of evaluation for each one.

• 
  

Memory essay deadline

Your essay:

‘Give a brief account of the differences between STM and LTM and consider the extent to which research supports the distinction between them’

is due on Thursday 27th January.

We spent some time planning this in the lesson and working out how to answer the question, so if you were absent then make sure you catch up the notes from someone else.

Memory Powerpoints

Hi everyone

So far in memory we have looked in detail at the concepts of Short Term Memory (STM) and Long Term Memory (LTM), and the three processes of memory: capacity, duration and encoding.

You can access the powerpoints from the lessons from these links:

Memory 1 - introduction

Memory 2 - duration in STM

Memory 3 - duration in LTM

Memory 4 - capacity

Memory 5 - encoding

Memory 6 - encoding 2

and as a special treat...

The "Who wants to be a A level Psychology Unit 1 Memory Expert" game :)

Biological Therapies: Psychosurgery, Drugs and ECT

Biological therapies assume that the causes of abnormality are physical, so the treatment should be too. Psychosurgery involves deliberately damaging the brain in an attempt to relieve mental symptons, Electroconvulstive therapy involves triggering seizures with electric currents applied through the brain, and drugs interfer with the brain's natural neurotransmitter chemicals.

Only drugs and ECT are mentioned in the spec, but we spent Thursday's lesson looking at psychosurgery as this is useful for evaluating the approach in general, and for comparison with the other two approaches which we will deal with next week. There is a slide of questions at the end of the psychosurgery part of the presentation - answering these with the help of your textbook will give you plenty of detail for the exam (you don't need all the detail about cingulotomies etc).

Click here to download presentation.

REMEMBER MONDAY AFTERNOON IS AN ABNORMALITY TEST - DEFINITION AND MODELS (NOT THERAPY).

The Behavioural and Cognitive Models

The Behavioural Model was a reaction to Freud's unscientific, untestable and unfalsifiable model, based as it was on unobservable subconscious thoughts. Instead, behaviourists like Pavlov, Watson and Skinner based their theories (in the first half of the 20th century) purely on directly observable stimul and responses (in Classical Conditioning), behaviours and reinforcers (in Operant Conditioning). Because they assumed that humans and other animals learn in the same way, and that genes are not relevant to behaviour, they could conduct highly controlled, scientific experiments on dogs, rats and pigeons to support their theories.

Download Behavioural Model presentation here.

The Cognitive Model, developed later when psychologists had computers as a model for the mind, assumes that thoughts and beliefs can and should be studied, but focuses on conscious thinking and memory unlike psychodynamic theories.

Donload Cognitive Model presentation here.

Homework essay: "Compare and contrast the behavioural and cognitivemodels of abnormalty" 12 marks AO1 + 12 marks AO2
This needs to be a double-length essay, showing that you understand the models and their strengths and limitations, but also that you can draw out similarities and differences between them. What do they have in common, both in terms of assumptions and good and bad points? You will lose marks if you simple describe and evaluate the two models without doing this.

Due on Tuesday 1st February

There will be a test on Definitions and Models of abnormality on Monday 24th January.

The Psychodynamic Model

Freud's theory of personality started the psychodynamic approach. Many of his ideas are now widely thought to be wrong, or at least only relevant to the types of people and the time he was living in (Mainly middle class Jewish women in Vienna, Austria around 1900). However modern psychodynamic theories are still important today and work on the same assumptions - that abnormality arises from unresolved conflicts within the mind, and subconscious desires and memories.

Download presentation here.

Click here for a list of defence mechanisms.

Homework essay:
"Describe and evaluate the psychodynamic model of abnormality" 6 marks AO1 + 6 marks AO2
Not actually set yet - watch this space...

The Biological Model

This explains abnormality in terms of physical factors including genes, pathogens (infection), brain biochemistry (neurotransmitters) and neuroanatomy (abnormal brain structure / brain damage).

Download presentation here.

Homework essay:
"Outline and evaluate the biological model of abnormality" 6 marks AO1 + 6 marks AO2
Now overdue if you haven't already handed it in!

Definitions of Abnormality

You need to be able to describe and apply three definitions of abnormality, and evaluate them including explaining how they are limited by culture. They are:

Deviation from Social Norms (DSN) - click here for presentation
Failure to Function Adequately (FFA) - click here from presentation
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (DIMH) - click here from presentation

Essay question:
"Describe and evaluate three definitions of abnormality" 12 marks AO1 + 12 marks AO2
Now overdue if you haven't already handed it in!
This should be longer than a standard homework essay, taking around a side of A4 (if you handwrite) or 300 words to outline (with examples) and then discuss the strengths and limitations of each of the three definitions above.

Individual Differences: Abnormality

Abnormality is the second of three topics we cover for Unit 2 at AS. It deals with three questions: how do psychologists define abnormality? (how can we decide who is normal and who is abnormal?); how do they explain abnormality with different models? (what causes psychological disorders?); what treatments do the models propose?

Here's the homework tracker sheet for the topic.