EWT and the cognitive interview

We finished off the first powerpoint today - along the way discovering that quite a lot of you are capable of creating false memories! We also briefly looked at individual differences in participants, and how they affect accuracy of memory. We started to talk about the cognitive interview - make sure you have read up on this before next lesson, and listened to the audio clip that is linked from the powerpoint, as it's a really clear explanation of the technique. Next lesson we'll be having a go at the cognitive interview, and you will also have a small test on working memory next week.

Eyewitness Testimony

We ran through the beginning of EWT at a frightening speed today, suddenly aware of the looming nature of exams! Here's a powerpoint for you to work through at a more sedate pace - don't forget to make notes from your textbook as well as there are extra studies in there that I haven't mentioned. We got up to the slide that says "Quick discussion break". I will give you a test on the Working Memory Model next week so make sure you are confident with that as well. I will also be expecting a flurry of emails from tutors saying what brilliant presentations you have given - if you want me to do a final check before you present then do email them to me.

TLa work for Monday 28th March - Obedience reading and Independent Behaviour

A combination of poorly children and a broken mains stop tap (resulting in no water in my house) is keeping me at home today. We are in something of a race against time to finish Social Influence by the end of term next week - so do this work!

Read the 'Obedience to Authority' section in your textbook - p.202-214 if you haven't already, and add to your notes on obedience research. We have covered Milgram, field studies including Hofling and Bickman, ethical issues and the questions of internal and external validity in the past few lessons. Pay particular attention to the 'authoritarian personality' as an alternative explanation for obedience to the situational factors (legitimate authority, agentic state, gradual commitment) which Miglram proposed.

Answer summary questions 13, 14 and 15 on p.214

Read about explanations of independent behaviour (i.e. not conforming or obeying, but doing what you feel to be right) on p.216-218 and make notes on Gamson et al (1982). This obedience study resulted in fairly consistent disobedience - what makes it so different from the Milgram, Bickman and Hofling studies?

There's an assignment on Edmodo - five short answer questions which should only take 10 minutes to do once you've done the reading. Have a go at 'turning in' this. If you've not yet signed up, you might not see it when you do, so here are the questions.

Try to get all this done this afternoon / this evening - it will make tomorrow's lesson more useful.

Social Psychology: Ethics, Obedience and Edmodo

We're experimenting with Cheney's new VLE site today - http://www.cheney.edmodo.com/ - sign up and use the code 'hq96uy' to join the AS Psychology group. There are two assignments set, plus questions for you to ask / respond to and a poll!

Majority and minority influence test and essay and other obedience research

We did a test today - I have a plan to scan these and the mark schemes so I can upload them for you but haven't done this yet.

This essay is for next Tuesday 29th March:

“Describe and evaluate research into conformity.”

12 marks AO1 + 12 marks AO2

We also looked briefly at some more studies into obedience - here's the presentation again. You need brief notes on Sheridan (puppy electrocution), Hofling (doctor smith and the nurses) and Bikman (the power of the milkman's uniform).

Useful websites

Here's a website with lots of info on working memory:
http://www.psypress.co.uk/ek5/resources/demo_ch06-sc-02.asp

And here's on with some memory games - might be useful for your presentations:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html

Strategies for memory improvement

Exams are not far away now – we’re going to help each other prepare for these by sharing your knowledge of how to improve memory.

There are four main strategies that we will cover:

Visual imagery
Verbal mnemonics
The role of organisation & active processing
Dual coding hypothesis

In groups of four, your job is to design a 25 minute activity for your tutor time, which covers all four areas of memory improvement. It should include:

- A brief account of research evidence on which each strategy is based
- A handout on an A4 sheet.
- Some tips on how to make revision easier
- Activities, games, a chance to put them in to practice!

You may want to use a powerpoint slide so they have something to focus on but the structure is up to you. Keep each bit short and punchy. It is boring sitting and listening for too long so maybe you could give them something to do?

We will do a trial run of this in class before taking it to tutors!

For the presentation you will choose one tutor group from within your group of four, and all four of you will present together to that one group.

On Tuesday we introduced Milgram's classic experiment into obedience to unjust authority with Derren Brown's very accurate replication which you can watch here.

Here's the presentation for obedience research - we will look at the field studies over the next couple of lessons.

For next Tuesday 22nd March make notes on Milgram's study (aims, procedure, findings, conclusions and brief criticisms) including the variations. We will also have a shortish test on the Social Influence work we've done up to today - majority and minority influence, Asch, Clark, Moscovici and Zimbardo, informational and normative influence and the three theories (Duel Process, Social Identity and Social Impact).

WMM essay

Today we spent a lot of time talking about how to write the following essay:

“Briefly describe one alternative to the multi-store model of memory and consider the strengths and/or limitations of this model.” (12 marks)‏

First I asked you to brainstorm everything that you would have put in, and then to group and order this information in to five paragraphs. We discussed various ways of starting the essay off, and how to link a couple of ideas together.

Kema and Patrick read us the start of their introductory paragraph, which we all agreed was excellent!

If you missed this lesson I'd recommend talking to someone who was there to get a full idea of what we discussed.

I'd like to take the essays in next Tuesday.

Social Influence - minority influence and factors, issues and explanations in conformity research

On Thursday last week we looked at key terms for describing and explaining social influence, and then at some research into minority influence - where an individual or small group changes the attitudes/beliefs and ultimately the behaviour of the majority through the process of internalisation. (This compares with the influence of majoritieso on individuals, which can involve informational influence and internalisation, but is more often the result of normative influence and therefore compliance).

Here is the presentation for Minority influence research.

Homework for Thursday 17th March was to produce a table comparing two classic studies - Moscovici and Clark - see the presentation for details.

Here is the presentation for Issues, Factors and Theories of conformity - you need to finish off your notes for the factors and theories using your textbook for Thursday, as well as revising thoroughly for a test on Social Influence up to this point.

Working Memory Model

We went through this powerpoint on the WMM today.

Your homework is to read and make notes on the studies in your textbooks p21-23, and to make notes on the strengths and limitations of the model.

Next lesson we will do a timed essay!

Social Psychology - Identification

We spent most of today's lesson watching the documentary about the Stanford Prison Experiment which you can watch here, here and here.

Sub-headings for your notes on this study (use your textbook):

• Aims
• Participants - including their allocation to the two conditions (guards and prisoners)
• Instructions given to the guards
• Behaviours observed
• Ethical issues (and how the experiment was stopped)
• The demand characteristics problem
• Conclusions

Multi-store model & work for CKe next Tuesday

We went over the powerpoint for evaluating the MSM today (scroll down for the link).

I'm on a course next Tuesday, and you have all written essay plans - I would like you to write the essay in the lesson and give it to Mr Lawrence when you see him the lesson after.

Your homework is to revise the two MSM powerpoints and make sure that you can do a really good job on the essay. A tip for you - remember you are *evaluating* how well the research supports the model rather than just describing it.

1st March - Recap of Multi-store model

Although Robin clearly did an excellent job in taking you through the Multi-Store model of memory, it seems that you hadn't got quite as far through it as I'd hoped, so we spent most of today recapping the basic principles.

You should be able to describe what a model is, what the multi-store model is, talk about the components of sensory memory (iconic, echoic and haptic) *and* describe the Sperling study and the later variation.

Homework was to research flashbulb memories, and answer the question: Do flashbulb memories support the concept of a multi-store model of memory?

Social Psychology - Conformity

We introduced our new topic with an experiment on Kiran in which he conformed to a group norm established by the majority - an example of normative influence.

Here is the presentation for conformity research we started looking at.

Here is a very good video discussing some of the classic studies we looked at in the lesson and some more recent neurological research. Your homework is to watch it an leave a comment (include your name) or question by Thursday.