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Psychology: 2nd year university revision

Hi I'm a 2nd year psychology student revising for exams this summer, just looking to see if other people doing the same/similar course are up for study help?

I have plenty of revision notes already, but sometimes it's helpful to get a 2nd opinion etc to make sure I've covered everything. I'm a distance student too so I don't have a library/other students to revise with.

Topics I'm revising are:
-Child Development
-Personality
-Cognitive psychology
-Social psychology (Group/individual)
-Statistics/SPSS

Let me know if you're studying these or maybe already have.
Reply 1
Hello :smile:

I am doing my MSc now, but have studied all of those modules (I was at Kent Uni) so if you/anyone want any help feel free to ask and I'm happy to have a look through my old notes.
Reply 2
Original post by Liv1204
I was at Kent Uni.


Oh that's good to hear, you probably did the same modules then? It'd be great if you still had your notes, especially Child Dev. I never know how much detail we need to revise to, and lecturers aren't very forthcoming...
Reply 3
Original post by Zero.
Oh that's good to hear, you probably did the same modules then? It'd be great if you still had your notes, especially Child Dev. I never know how much detail we need to revise to, and lecturers aren't very forthcoming...


Yep, I did those modules. :smile: Is there anything particular you're after with the Child Development/other notes? Let me know any questions that come up and I'll have a look through and see what I can find.

Hated the Child Dev. module, I have to say! I did well in the exam for it somehow, but didn't enjoy the module at all. (And then still chose Advanced Developmental as one of my final year options...no idea why!)
Instead of just revising notes, its worth findings new papers to read on the topics, if you want to get a first in essays, since reading new papers will give you different ideas to everyone else in your class.
Reply 5
Original post by Liv1204
Is there anything particular you're after with the Child Development


Do you have anything on Linguistic Nativism theory? I know there's a lot of sites and papers about it, but I'm struggling to get my head around parameters and absolute/relative universals. Textbooks seem to be too brief or too specialised.

Hated the Child Dev. module, I have to say! I did well in the exam for it somehow, but didn't enjoy the module at all. (And then still chose Advanced Developmental as one of my final year options...no idea why!)


Yea, I think it's the way this module's taught. Everybody I've spoken to tells me they hate this module too. Gonna give it a miss next year for sure :smile:
Original post by Liv1204
Hello :smile:

I am doing my MSc now, but have studied all of those modules (I was at Kent Uni) so if you/anyone want any help feel free to ask and I'm happy to have a look through my old notes.


Hello, did you study the following modules in the First Year?

- History & Context
- Social & Developmental

I also don't know how much to revise for these MCQs and unseen exam (for Social & Developmental).

I know this is irrelevant, but I am hoping that either you and/or anyone else can help me out with my research question/topic for IPA SSIs and coming up with 5 open-ended questions. That would be excellent as I am struggling, the topic that I thought of was students experience of using social media but I don't know if that would be deemed as fully ethical. I also am finding it difficult to construct good questions. Any suggestions and pointers would be helpful.

Thanks.
Reply 7
Original post by Zero.
Do you have anything on Linguistic Nativism theory? I know there's a lot of sites and papers about it, but I'm struggling to get my head around parameters and absolute/relative universals. Textbooks seem to be too brief or too specialised.



Yea, I think it's the way this module's taught. Everybody I've spoken to tells me they hate this module too. Gonna give it a miss next year for sure :smile:


I don't know, I didn't go to any of the lectures in second year. :redface: I taught myself using the textbooks and online journals, alongside the lecture slides.

I've not got a massive amount of notes on that, although I do have a lot of notes on the biological/social theories of language development.

Original post by JennyBing
Hello, did you study the following modules in the First Year?

- History & Context
- Social & Developmental

I also don't know how much to revise for these MCQs and unseen exam (for Social & Developmental).

I know this is irrelevant, but I am hoping that either you and/or anyone else can help me out with my research question/topic for IPA SSIs and coming up with 5 open-ended questions. That would be excellent as I am struggling, the topic that I thought of was students experience of using social media but I don't know if that would be deemed as fully ethical. I also am finding it difficult to construct good questions. Any suggestions and pointers would be helpful.

Thanks.


I did a module in Social Psychology in first year. I think the best way to revise is just to really read through your notes, summarise them and see if you can get it down to the really basic key points to remember - don't worry if you can't remember everything, but try to really get the key points for each topic so you can elaborate on them in the exams.

When we did IPA we did a research question on friendship, you could probably get some good open-ended questions on that - how do people see friendships, themes in friendships, common interests, things like that?
Original post by Liv1204

I did a module in Social Psychology in first year. I think the best way to revise is just to really read through your notes, summarise them and see if you can get it down to the really basic key points to remember - don't worry if you can't remember everything, but try to really get the key points for each topic so you can elaborate on them in the exams.

When we did IPA we did a research question on friendship, you could probably get some good open-ended questions on that - how do people see friendships, themes in friendships, common interests, things like that?


Thank you for the revision suggestions. For each week, I end up with lecture, seminar and reading notes; should I make condensed notes of key points per week combining all three elements together?

I was thinking of doing friendship, so thanks for solidifying that. However, I am finding it confusing on coming up with a good research title. 'Student experience of friendship' is what I have come up with so far. As for questions:

1) What qualities do you look for in a friend?
2) What common interests do you share?
3) Can you tell me how you felt about the prospect of making new friends?
4) How did you make new friends?
5) Can you describe how the process of making friends was like?
6) Has friendship in university lived up to your expectations?

What are your thoughts? Have I missed out any important questions or anything?

Thanks!
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by JennyBing
Thank you for the revision suggestions. For each week, I end up with lecture, seminar and reading notes; should I make condensed notes of key points per week combining all three elements together?

I was thinking of doing friendship, so thanks for solidifying that. However, I am finding it confusing on coming up with a good research title. 'Student experience of friendship' is what I have come up with so far. As for questions:

1) What qualities do you look for in a friend?
2) What common interests do you share?
3) Can you tell me how you felt about the prospect of making new friends?
4) How did you make new friends?
5) Can you describe how the process of making friends was like?
6) Has friendship in university lived up to your expectations?

What are your thoughts? Have I missed out any important questions or anything?

Thanks!


That all sounds pretty good to me :smile: The only thing I'd wonder about is questions 4 and 5, they sound quite similar written down - maybe reword question 4 to 'Where do you meet new friends?' I guess you could consider asking about any negative experiences too, any experiences of dealing with conflict in friendship maybe?

And yep, that's pretty much what I did for revision. I had a Word document for each module where I copied/pasted all my notes into, then used a different colour for each heading within each subject, it meant I could easily add something if necessary and the colour seemed to help somehow! And then I just condensed it further and further from full sentences to bullet points and key words when I was confident I could remember it from there.
Original post by Liv1204
That all sounds pretty good to me :smile: The only thing I'd wonder about is questions 4 and 5, they sound quite similar written down - maybe reword question 4 to 'Where do you meet new friends?' I guess you could consider asking about any negative experiences too, any experiences of dealing with conflict in friendship maybe?

And yep, that's pretty much what I did for revision. I had a Word document for each module where I copied/pasted all my notes into, then used a different colour for each heading within each subject, it meant I could easily add something if necessary and the colour seemed to help somehow! And then I just condensed it further and further from full sentences to bullet points and key words when I was confident I could remember it from there.


Thanks. Yes, they do sound similar and I will change that. Do you think it would be okay to ask about negative experiences in terms of ethics? They say we don't want to upset participants and etc., but in order to gain a full picture and understanding it is required to some extent. I suppose it depends on the wording of the question(s), as it would have to be non-leading and put forward sensitively without being over-empathic.

I am curious as to whether you prefer quantitative or qualitative research. Or a mixed method. I like and dislike elements of both, so mixed would be my choice. What type did you select for your dissertation?

That sounds cool, like a custom-made revision guide for each module. The colours are a good idea since it makes it more interesting, and easier to identify. Apparently, colour aids memory so yes it probably aids recall.
Reply 11
Original post by Liv1204
I don't know, I didn't go to any of the lectures in second year. :redface: I taught myself using the textbooks and online journals, alongside the lecture slides.


No worries, I'm sure I'm overestimating the exams anyway. Did you attend final year lectures? I'm debating whether to distance learn next year as well, but I'm concerned about what I'll inevitably miss out on, i.e. workshops/tutorials.

Did you stay on at Kent to do your MSc? My plan is to do postgrad too but I'm not sure Kent is the best place for me.
Original post by JennyBing
Thanks. Yes, they do sound similar and I will change that. Do you think it would be okay to ask about negative experiences in terms of ethics? They say we don't want to upset participants and etc., but in order to gain a full picture and understanding it is required to some extent. I suppose it depends on the wording of the question(s), as it would have to be non-leading and put forward sensitively without being over-empathic.

I am curious as to whether you prefer quantitative or qualitative research. Or a mixed method. I like and dislike elements of both, so mixed would be my choice. What type did you select for your dissertation?

That sounds cool, like a custom-made revision guide for each module. The colours are a good idea since it makes it more interesting, and easier to identify. Apparently, colour aids memory so yes it probably aids recall.


I think you should be ok with it in regards to ethics - especially if you just asked participants how they have dealt with any conflicts in friendships, for example, and maybe just put a link to the university counselling service in the debrief or something.

I am far more inclined towards quantitative research! Although that is just my personal preference for research; I would veer towards mixed in that there are advantages and disadvantages of both, and different situations and different research questions require different methods. My dissertation used quantitative research though, and my MSc diss is using a single-subject design, which I really like.

Original post by Zero.
No worries, I'm sure I'm overestimating the exams anyway. Did you attend final year lectures? I'm debating whether to distance learn next year as well, but I'm concerned about what I'll inevitably miss out on, i.e. workshops/tutorials.

Did you stay on at Kent to do your MSc? My plan is to do postgrad too but I'm not sure Kent is the best place for me.


I didn't attend final year lectures, no, I had a lot else going on in my final year. It's definitely possibly to do ok without going, although obviously they can't condone it!

I didn't, although I did apply to Kent. I was offered a place on the MSc Forensic Psych at Kent but chose a different area to go into in the end. What are you hoping to do for postgrad?
Original post by Liv1204
I think you should be ok with it in regards to ethics - especially if you just asked participants how they have dealt with any conflicts in friendships, for example, and maybe just put a link to the university counselling service in the debrief or something.

I am far more inclined towards quantitative research! Although that is just my personal preference for research; I would veer towards mixed in that there are advantages and disadvantages of both, and different situations and different research questions require different methods. My dissertation used quantitative research though, and my MSc diss is using a single-subject design, which I really like.


Yes, it should be fine considering most of my questions are neutral. Yes, I can put contact details of the university counselling service in the debrief sheet. Thanks.

Right now, I am finding it difficult to narrow down to three main themes and most importantly, finding appropriate literature related to this topic. Most of journal articles that I have found are about foreign students' experiences and etc. which are not that applicable.

Even I am preferring quantitative methods over qualitative at the moment, despite not taking much of a liking to SPSS. It's just far more simpler and straight-forward. I agree, it depends on the type of research. What is a single-subject design? That sounds interesting.
Original post by JennyBing
Yes, it should be fine considering most of my questions are neutral. Yes, I can put contact details of the university counselling service in the debrief sheet. Thanks.

Right now, I am finding it difficult to narrow down to three main themes and most importantly, finding appropriate literature related to this topic. Most of journal articles that I have found are about foreign students' experiences and etc. which are not that applicable.

Even I am preferring quantitative methods over qualitative at the moment, despite not taking much of a liking to SPSS. It's just far more simpler and straight-forward. I agree, it depends on the type of research. What is a single-subject design? That sounds interesting.


A single-subject design uses around 3-5 participants usually, and focuses on repeated measurement. Because it involves repeated measurements you can establish a baseline, and it often involves staggered interventions for each participant (so e.g. with Participant 1 the intervention might be introduced after 5 baseline measures, Participant 2 after 6, etc), with the reasoning that if an effect is found after the intervention for each participant at different times you can be more sure that the change is due to the intervention. I really like them, I think they can be really useful, especially in the area I'm studying. It means you can get a more in-depth study of individuals' responses to an intervention and maybe see any individual differences between who does/doesn't respond to an intervention.

SPSS is very frustrating at times, but I think you do get used to it! But yes, I can relate, I prefer quantitative too despite the SPSS!
Original post by Liv1204
A single-subject design uses around 3-5 participants usually, and focuses on repeated measurement. Because it involves repeated measurements you can establish a baseline, and it often involves staggered interventions for each participant (so e.g. with Participant 1 the intervention might be introduced after 5 baseline measures, Participant 2 after 6, etc), with the reasoning that if an effect is found after the intervention for each participant at different times you can be more sure that the change is due to the intervention. I really like them, I think they can be really useful, especially in the area I'm studying. It means you can get a more in-depth study of individuals' responses to an intervention and maybe see any individual differences between who does/doesn't respond to an intervention.

SPSS is very frustrating at times, but I think you do get used to it! But yes, I can relate, I prefer quantitative too despite the SPSS!



That sounds really cool. What area are you studying?

SPSS can be a pain, mostly because it's quite fiddly and you have to be careful in order to avoid errors. Yes, with time, I'm sure it gets better. Quantitative without SPSS would be a dream.

BTW, should the word what or how be used in the following question:

Can you describe what/how the actual process of making friends was like?

What do you think about the title for my study?

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study Examining First Year Students' Experiences of Friendship in University

Thanks!
Original post by JennyBing
That sounds really cool. What area are you studying?

SPSS can be a pain, mostly because it's quite fiddly and you have to be careful in order to avoid errors. Yes, with time, I'm sure it gets better. Quantitative without SPSS would be a dream.

BTW, should the word what or how be used in the following question:

Can you describe what/how the actual process of making friends was like?

What do you think about the title for my study?

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study Examining First Year Students' Experiences of Friendship in University

Thanks!


That title sounds good to me. I think the word 'what' would be the word to use in your question.

I'm studying Sport & Exercise Psychology. :smile:
Original post by Liv1204
That title sounds good to me. I think the word 'what' would be the word to use in your question.

I'm studying Sport & Exercise Psychology. :smile:


Thank you. Yeah, I think you're right about the wording.

I always wanted to do something related to the area, but I am worried if it involves too much biology. :colondollar:
Reply 18
Do you have any notes on Personality? And did you have to evaluate the personality approaches using the 8 methods from Maltby?
hey can you please help me with HAUN ET AL 2014 study if you know in terms of A01 AND A03?

thank youuu so muchhh:h:

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