Cupboard Love

Just had lots of presents? Did it make you nicer to your friends and family in the weeks leading up to Christmas in the hope of getting more presents? This is the principle of cupboard love.

Learning theory suggests that we develop attachments to our caregivers because of the food they give us - the Cupboard Love theory. A good criticism of this is the study by Harlow and Harlow on baby Rhesus monkeys. They became attached to the model mothers that were soft and cuddly, not the wire 'mummies' with food. How might you criticise the model and the study by Harlow and Harlow?

To revise the development of and types of attachment go to:

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/topic_quicklearn.asp?loc=ql&topic_id=12&quicklearn_id=1&subject_id=14&ebt=356&ebn=&ebs=&ebl=&elc=13

And just like the end of Stictly Come Dancing when Tess and Brucie tell us to 'Keeeeeep dancing!' , remember that I need you to 'Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep Revising'!

Research into STM

You will need to know one study for capacity, one for encoding and one for duration on STM. This means you must learn Brown and Peterson (duration), Miller (capacity) and Conrad (encoding). If you need information about these studies, go to:

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/topic_quicklearn.asp?loc=ql&topic_id=9&quicklearn_id=2&subject_id=14&ebt=260&ebn=&ebs=&ebl=&elc=13

What criticisms might you make of these studies? You need at least one positive and one negative for each one. Post them on the blog so everyone can use them. Remeber to do good criticism you need to explain, justify and then give an example. Have a go and I will give you feedback!

Remember - you need to keep revising throughout the two week break so that you are ready for the exam on the 10th January.

Preparing for those module exams

Hi Guys
If your aren't in a habit of revising, this is just a reminder to get underway as soon as possible. Remember that, according to Atkinson & Shriffrin, regular rehearsal transfers information into your long term memory.
What do you think of that? What are you revising at the moment and which bits are you finding difficult? Be the first to post a comment on the blog.

Freudian Concepts

Siegmund Freud, the father of modern Psychology, is a very importance theorist. You may not agree with his work, but you need to know about it. He is one of the most written about and quoted scientists of his generation.

Freud was born in Austria and did most of his work there, although he later lived and died in London. His home in London (in Hampstead) is now a museum to his work and life.

Freud is so important because he came up with a number of key theories:

• The human mind can be separated into conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious.
• Humans are driven by the 'pleasure principle'
• Personality is made up of 3 parts - id, ego and superego
• Ego defence mechanisms are created to protect the ego
• We all go through a series of psychosexual stages of development - the oral, anal, genital, latent and puberty. What happens to us in these stages determines the kind of personality we develop.
• If we are frustrated or over-indulged (spoilt) during any stage of development, this can affect our personalities.

So what have I missed out and what do you think of Freud's theories? How plausible are they and just how useful are they more than one hundred years after Freud was working?

What do you think of Freud? What do you find complicated or confusing?

Chimps have better memories than humans

Brand new research published today shows that on simple memory tests, chimps perform better than humans. Not only that, but young chimps are better at the test than adult chimps.
The chimp and human participants were shown a screen with numbers on it. They were then asked to point to the position where a particular number had been and recall the correct sequence of numbers. The chimps consistently outperformed the humans, suggesting that chimps are cleverer than we may have thought. A further conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that the evolution of chimps and humans diverged when humans began to acquire symbollic language. The need for the memory skill in this test reduced when humans were able to give names to items rather than remember their location and description.

To read more and to see an film of the research, go to

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7124156.stm

Mock Exams

As we near the end of term and impending exams, you will be taking mock exams to prepare you. If you are in year 12, your mock is on the 11th December in your lesson. If you are in year 13, your mock is in my double lesson with you in the final week of term (Monday 17th December).
The year 12 mock will cover everything we have studied on both memory and attachment (Ms Moore and Mrs Davies' work). It will last for one hour and follow the format of the real exam in January.
The year 13 mock will cover relationships & pro & antisocial behaviour from Mrs Davies' work, and all the work on psychological abnormality that you have done with Ms Moore, including disorders, causes and explanations, and therapies.

I have also added a vote to this blog so that you can tell me when is the best time for a couple of revision lessons. Please vote - I would like to try to find the best time!

Happy revising

Your contributions

As students of Psychology I have made you all authors of this blog. This will give you a chance to post useful things that you have found, helpful tips for each other and give you the chance to ask questions online which anyone can respond to. The Cavvypsych blog is our shared forum, so make use of it as much as you can.

Flashbulb Memories

Do you remember what you were doing when you heard about the explosion at Buncefield? Maybe you were woken by the explosion? Can you remember how you felt, what you did that day and who you spoke to? If you close your eyes, can you see, sense, smell and relive the experience of it all. Some psychologists call this Flashbulb Memory - the vivid memory that forms that a picture lit up by a flashbulb when a photo is taken. The memories that form are 'burnt' into our long term store and are very easily recalled. And it is not just world events like 9/11, 7/7, the assassination of JFK, Martin Luther King or Bobby Kennedy, the wedding of Charles and Diana and also the death of Diana and her funeral, but also personal events like the birth of a child, the death of a parent or spouse, your own wedding and other life changing and important events.

However, more recent research has cast doubt on the theory. To read more about this go to:

http://www.exn.ca/Templates/Story.cfm?ID=2000022953

Psychology for Remembrance Sunday

As we remember the dead of two world wars and other conflicts today, it seems appropriate to think about shell shock and the anxiety disorder that we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In World War One, many soldiers suffered from shell shock with symptoms rnaging from panic attacks (often resulting in running away from the battle) to mental and physical paralysis. Many were brought back to England to be treated for these symptoms although at this time pychology was still a very young science and the treatments were very basic. Enlisted men (foot soldiers) were sent to hospitals where they were treated with electrotherapy. Many thought they were cowards and in some cases men were shot for cowardice when they found themselves unable to go 'over the top' during a battle. The lucky ones (who were mostly officers) were sent to Craiglockhart hospital in Scotland where they were treated by a psychologist called W H Rivers. You can read about Rivers' work and the repression of traumatic memories at the following link:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/rivers1.htm

You can also read a vivid account of his work in the novel 'Regeneration' by Pat Barker. This is an account of the meeting of two famous WW1 poets - Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen - when both had been sent to Craiglockhart for treatment. Sassoon survived the war, but Wilfred Owen was eventually killed in action.
Today, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a recognised anxiety disorder and where individuals has experienced extreme trauma, therapy is made available. To read more about this condition go to:

http://www.ptsd.org.uk/

Writing good AO2 Material

Half the marks in your exam are awarded for AO2 - Evaluation and Analysis. Your essays need to contain clearly referenced criticisms which draw on the work of other psychologists and give either positive support or negative criticism. AO2 material needs to be linked to the descriptive content using evaluative connectives - try things like

however, therefore, another view is .., a study that supports this is ..., one criticism of this is ...

You also need fully explain your point - remember to PEEL (Point, Explanation, Evidence, Link).

Year 13 News

Year 13 students
Please make sure that you continue to work on your coursework over the next few weeks, making reference to the criteria for assessment that you have been given.
Also remember that your mock exams are in the first week in December, in lessons. You will need to start revising for these.

If you have resits to revise for, it is time now to begin the process of revision. Ask if you need any revision materials or past papers. The exams in the Spring term are on the 10th January (am).

Cavendish A level Psychology Blog

Dear Psychologist

Welcome to the new CavvyPsych blog - a blog intended to help you to do your very best at Psychology AS and A level. On this site you will find details of homework, useful website links, important dates and support material. It should help you to achieve your best possible grade in Psychology.

I hope you enjoy reading and using the ideas, that they sometimes make you smile and always make you think!