Higher Psychology 2013
Scroll to see replies
Original post by HighPi
I think there's pretty much an equal chance of anything within the course to come up. I'd make sure you have some knowledge of and research relating to:
- Bowlby's attachment theory
Advocated monotropy. Suggested contact comfort is important and there there is a critical period of attachment. Could use Harlow (1959) to support importance of contact comfort over food.
- Ainsworth's strange situation
Ainsworth & Bell (1970); Secure, Insecure Avoidant and Insecure Resistent attachment types.
- Behaviourist attachment theory
Classical and operant conditionining. Emphasises food as reincorcer. Look at Harlow (1959) to argue against emphasis on food. Example of classical conditionining could be Watson & Raynor (1920); and for operant conditioning look at Pavlov (1927).
- Effects of Deprivation/Privation
Make distinction between the two. Look at Bowlby (1944) for deprivation and Curtiss (1977) for privation.
- Day care
Bowlby (1953) argues that it's bad for a child to be separated from PAF. Supported by Belsky & Rovine (1987). However, Shaffer (1996) suggests if it's quality day care then it can be good. Supported by Lamb (1998) who said "Quality day care from infancy clearly has positive effects on children's intellectual, verbal and cognitive development". Scarr (1998) points out that children from low income families more likely to experience poor quality day care.
If you learn the above, you'll do very well in any early socialisation question.
- Bowlby's attachment theory
Advocated monotropy. Suggested contact comfort is important and there there is a critical period of attachment. Could use Harlow (1959) to support importance of contact comfort over food.
- Ainsworth's strange situation
Ainsworth & Bell (1970); Secure, Insecure Avoidant and Insecure Resistent attachment types.
- Behaviourist attachment theory
Classical and operant conditionining. Emphasises food as reincorcer. Look at Harlow (1959) to argue against emphasis on food. Example of classical conditionining could be Watson & Raynor (1920); and for operant conditioning look at Pavlov (1927).
- Effects of Deprivation/Privation
Make distinction between the two. Look at Bowlby (1944) for deprivation and Curtiss (1977) for privation.
- Day care
Bowlby (1953) argues that it's bad for a child to be separated from PAF. Supported by Belsky & Rovine (1987). However, Shaffer (1996) suggests if it's quality day care then it can be good. Supported by Lamb (1998) who said "Quality day care from infancy clearly has positive effects on children's intellectual, verbal and cognitive development". Scarr (1998) points out that children from low income families more likely to experience poor quality day care.
If you learn the above, you'll do very well in any early socialisation question.
Thank you very much! I basically know all of this already so that has made me slightly more confident for Friday, now I just has to remember everything else, which is proving to be difficult :P
Original post by JessicaLee123
How about case studies in research method?
A case study focuses on a particular person or group, and therefore can provide rich and detailed qualitative information. It's not a method itself, as researchers use other methods to acquire a wide range of information that all collectively contribute to a case study. For instance, observing a person and interviewing them could be used in conjunction with each other to produce detailed information on the case in question.
There is an ethical requirement for the person/s conducting a case study to be competent and professional, because they very often disect the lives of individuals to such an extent that their privacy and wellbeing could be compromised if the information isn't handled appropriately.
The key strengths are:
- It can provide rich qualitative information.
- Allows a researcher to study situations that would otherwise be impractical or unethical to bring about artificially.
- They have maximum ecological validity because they occured naturally, and the researcher is studying this occurence retrospectively.
The key weaknesses are:
- Because it's so specific to a particular case, the results cannot be generalised to the population as a whole.
- Because the case is so unique, it's impossible to replicate.
- Due to the detail required it's often very time consuming to conduct a case study.
You could mention other factors which influence case studies. For example, many case studies involve observation or interviews, and the weaknesses of these individual methods could be explored; researcher bias, for instance.
Research examples of case studies:
Curtiss (1977) - Case study of Genie, a child who was kept in almost total isolation until she was discovered aged 13. Clearly it would have been unethical to put her in this situation intentionally, but studying such can give a good insight into the effects of long-term isolation and maternal privation. For instance, Genie had no language skills, wasn't toilet trained, couldn't walk properly and had the social maturity of the average two-year-old. She showed some signs of improvement after she was discovered, but never became anything resembling normality.
Freud (1909) - Little Hans case study of a boy who had a phobia of horses. After careful consideration of all the evidence and - using his psychoanalytic approach to atypical behaviour - Freud concluded that the boy's real problem was an unconcious fear of his father.
There are lots of others, but I'd recommend the above two because of the range of Psychology topics they cover in the Higher.
Hope it's helpful.
Original post by HighPi
A case study focuses on a particular person or group, and therefore can provide rich and detailed qualitative information. It's not a method itself, as researchers use other methods to acquire a wide range of information that all collectively contribute to a case study. For instance, observing a person and interviewing them could be used in conjunction with each other to produce detailed information on the case in question.
There is an ethical requirement for the person/s conducting a case study to be competent and professional, because they very often disect the lives of individuals to such an extent that their privacy and wellbeing could be compromised if the information isn't handled appropriately.
The key strengths are:
- It can provide rich qualitative information.
- Allows a researcher to study situations that would otherwise be impractical or unethical to bring about artificially.
- They have maximum ecological validity because they occured naturally, and the researcher is studying this occurence retrospectively.
The key weaknesses are:
- Because it's so specific to a particular case, the results cannot be generalised to the population as a whole.
- Because the case is so unique, it's impossible to replicate.
- Due to the detail required it's often very time consuming to conduct a case study.
You could mention other factors which influence case studies. For example, many case studies involve observation or interviews, and the weaknesses of these individual methods could be explored; researcher bias, for instance.
Research examples of case studies:
Curtiss (1977) - Case study of Genie, a child who was kept in almost total isolation until she was discovered aged 13. Clearly it would have been unethical to put her in this situation intentionally, but studying such can give a good insight into the effects of long-term isolation and maternal privation. For instance, Genie had no language skills, wasn't toilet trained, couldn't walk properly and had the social maturity of the average two-year-old. She showed some signs of improvement after she was discovered, but never became anything resembling normality.
Freud (1909) - Little Hans case study of a boy who had a phobia of horses. After careful consideration of all the evidence and - using his psychoanalytic approach to atypical behaviour - Freud concluded that the boy's real problem was an unconcious fear of his father.
There are lots of others, but I'd recommend the above two because of the range of Psychology topics they cover in the Higher.
Hope it's helpful.
There is an ethical requirement for the person/s conducting a case study to be competent and professional, because they very often disect the lives of individuals to such an extent that their privacy and wellbeing could be compromised if the information isn't handled appropriately.
The key strengths are:
- It can provide rich qualitative information.
- Allows a researcher to study situations that would otherwise be impractical or unethical to bring about artificially.
- They have maximum ecological validity because they occured naturally, and the researcher is studying this occurence retrospectively.
The key weaknesses are:
- Because it's so specific to a particular case, the results cannot be generalised to the population as a whole.
- Because the case is so unique, it's impossible to replicate.
- Due to the detail required it's often very time consuming to conduct a case study.
You could mention other factors which influence case studies. For example, many case studies involve observation or interviews, and the weaknesses of these individual methods could be explored; researcher bias, for instance.
Research examples of case studies:
Curtiss (1977) - Case study of Genie, a child who was kept in almost total isolation until she was discovered aged 13. Clearly it would have been unethical to put her in this situation intentionally, but studying such can give a good insight into the effects of long-term isolation and maternal privation. For instance, Genie had no language skills, wasn't toilet trained, couldn't walk properly and had the social maturity of the average two-year-old. She showed some signs of improvement after she was discovered, but never became anything resembling normality.
Freud (1909) - Little Hans case study of a boy who had a phobia of horses. After careful consideration of all the evidence and - using his psychoanalytic approach to atypical behaviour - Freud concluded that the boy's real problem was an unconcious fear of his father.
There are lots of others, but I'd recommend the above two because of the range of Psychology topics they cover in the Higher.
Hope it's helpful.
How many marks do you lose if you write the name beside the research evidence but forget the date?
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by anniexoxo
How many marks do you lose if you write the name beside the research evidence but forget the date?
You won't necessarily lose a mark for this. For example, if you write about a topic and get the researcher and date correct, it'll get you a mark. If in the same piece of text you write about another piece of research but don't include a date on that occassion then you probably won't lose a mark for it. It would be unfair to remove multiple marks from a candidate for mis-quoting dates who is trying to show several pieces of research in support of their argument. In other words, it's better to try and get it wrong than to not try.
But really the maximum you could lose for writing about a topic and forgetting the date is 1 mark. In any case, I would suggest guessing a date as close to accurate as you can remember. There is a reasonable chance that the marker will not notice if it's wrong.
Original post by HighPi
You won't necessarily lose a mark for this. For example, if you write about a topic and get the researcher and date correct, it'll get you a mark. If in the same piece of text you write about another piece of research but don't include a date on that occassion then you probably won't lose a mark for it. It would be unfair to remove multiple marks from a candidate for mis-quoting dates who is trying to show several pieces of research in support of their argument. In other words, it's better to try and get it wrong than to not try.
But really the maximum you could lose for writing about a topic and forgetting the date is 1 mark. In any case, I would suggest guessing a date as close to accurate as you can remember. There is a reasonable chance that the marker will not notice if it's wrong.
But really the maximum you could lose for writing about a topic and forgetting the date is 1 mark. In any case, I would suggest guessing a date as close to accurate as you can remember. There is a reasonable chance that the marker will not notice if it's wrong.
Thank you. It's reassuring to know! (
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by HighPi
You won't necessarily lose a mark for this. For example, if you write about a topic and get the researcher and date correct, it'll get you a mark. If in the same piece of text you write about another piece of research but don't include a date on that occassion then you probably won't lose a mark for it. It would be unfair to remove multiple marks from a candidate for mis-quoting dates who is trying to show several pieces of research in support of their argument. In other words, it's better to try and get it wrong than to not try.
But really the maximum you could lose for writing about a topic and forgetting the date is 1 mark. In any case, I would suggest guessing a date as close to accurate as you can remember. There is a reasonable chance that the marker will not notice if it's wrong.
But really the maximum you could lose for writing about a topic and forgetting the date is 1 mark. In any case, I would suggest guessing a date as close to accurate as you can remember. There is a reasonable chance that the marker will not notice if it's wrong.
When a questions says to refer to research evidence. Do you include the method, procedure and then evaluate or just the results and then evaluate?
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by anniexoxo
When a questions says to refer to research evidence. Do you include the method, procedure and then evaluate or just the results and then evaluate?
Lots of people write far too much about the research for these types of questions and run out of time trying to actually write about what the question is asking. For example, if the question asked you to:
Discuss attachment types in early socialisation. Refer to research evidence in your answer.
You'll want to refer to The Strange Situation (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970). But you don't need to write every detail of what they did. Something quite succinct is often enough to score maximum marks within the timescale, such as:
"Various attachment types were established by Ainsworth & Bell (1970) in the Strange Situation experiment. A mother and infant experienced various episodes to measure the infant's response to separation from their mother; the presence of a stranger; and reunion with their mother. These were termed separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and reunion behaviour respectively. Three main attachment types were observed by Ainsworth. Secure attachment saw infants being distressed when their mother left..."
The above could be written in a matter of 5 minutes, and pretty much nails the KU marks in such a question, so long as after the ... you go on to describe each attachment type (which is what the question is asking!). This is perfect use of a research study. To score the AE marks you'd want another paragraph along the lines of:
"However, Ainsworth's assertion that human behaviour can be so easily categorised belies the likely complexity of it. Therefore, it could be said that Ainsworth's findings are too simplistic. Further, Ainsworth's attachment types are very Western-centric, with cultural bias suggesting secure attachments are the most desirable. But other cultures see other attachment types as the most desirable, and indeed the percentages of children that fall within the attachment types varies depending on culture. So whether Ainsworth's findings can - or should - be generalised to humans on the whole is questionable. Moreover, that Ainsworth's attachment types were derived from an experiment that was carried out in an artificial setting suggests that they make lack ecological validity."
And that's it: top marks. I haven't gone into un-needed details of the mother and infant being initially left alone, then a stranger enters and tries to play with the infant; then the mother leaves; then the mother returns blah blah blah. It doesn't answer the question! You won't lose marks directly for writing it, but you will lose marks if by writing it you eat up all your time that you should use for actually answering the question!
Hope it helps.
Good luck tomorrow!Original post by HighPi
Lots of people write far too much about the research for these types of questions and run out of time trying to actually write about what the question is asking. For example, if the question asked you to:
Discuss attachment types in early socialisation. Refer to research evidence in your answer.
You'll want to refer to The Strange Situation (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970). But you don't need to write every detail of what they did. Something quite succinct is often enough to score maximum marks within the timescale, such as:
"Various attachment types were established by Ainsworth & Bell (1970) in the Strange Situation experiment. A mother and infant experienced various episodes to measure the infant's response to separation from their mother; the presence of a stranger; and reunion with their mother. These were termed separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and reunion behaviour respectively. Three main attachment types were observed by Ainsworth. Secure attachment saw infants being distressed when their mother left..."
The above could be written in a matter of 5 minutes, and pretty much nails the KU marks in such a question, so long as after the ... you go on to describe each attachment type (which is what the question is asking!). This is perfect use of a research study. To score the AE marks you'd want another paragraph along the lines of:
"However, Ainsworth's assertion that human behaviour can be so easily categorised belies the likely complexity of it. Therefore, it could be said that Ainsworth's findings are too simplistic. Further, Ainsworth's attachment types are very Western-centric, with cultural bias suggesting secure attachments are the most desirable. But other cultures see other attachment types as the most desirable, and indeed the percentages of children that fall within the attachment types varies depending on culture. So whether Ainsworth's findings can - or should - be generalised to humans on the whole is questionable. Moreover, that Ainsworth's attachment types were derived from an experiment that was carried out in an artificial setting suggests that they make lack ecological validity."
And that's it: top marks. I haven't gone into un-needed details of the mother and infant being initially left alone, then a stranger enters and tries to play with the infant; then the mother leaves; then the mother returns blah blah blah. It doesn't answer the question! You won't lose marks directly for writing it, but you will lose marks if by writing it you eat up all your time that you should use for actually answering the question!
Hope it helps. Good luck tomorrow!
Discuss attachment types in early socialisation. Refer to research evidence in your answer.
You'll want to refer to The Strange Situation (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970). But you don't need to write every detail of what they did. Something quite succinct is often enough to score maximum marks within the timescale, such as:
"Various attachment types were established by Ainsworth & Bell (1970) in the Strange Situation experiment. A mother and infant experienced various episodes to measure the infant's response to separation from their mother; the presence of a stranger; and reunion with their mother. These were termed separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and reunion behaviour respectively. Three main attachment types were observed by Ainsworth. Secure attachment saw infants being distressed when their mother left..."
The above could be written in a matter of 5 minutes, and pretty much nails the KU marks in such a question, so long as after the ... you go on to describe each attachment type (which is what the question is asking!). This is perfect use of a research study. To score the AE marks you'd want another paragraph along the lines of:
"However, Ainsworth's assertion that human behaviour can be so easily categorised belies the likely complexity of it. Therefore, it could be said that Ainsworth's findings are too simplistic. Further, Ainsworth's attachment types are very Western-centric, with cultural bias suggesting secure attachments are the most desirable. But other cultures see other attachment types as the most desirable, and indeed the percentages of children that fall within the attachment types varies depending on culture. So whether Ainsworth's findings can - or should - be generalised to humans on the whole is questionable. Moreover, that Ainsworth's attachment types were derived from an experiment that was carried out in an artificial setting suggests that they make lack ecological validity."
And that's it: top marks. I haven't gone into un-needed details of the mother and infant being initially left alone, then a stranger enters and tries to play with the infant; then the mother leaves; then the mother returns blah blah blah. It doesn't answer the question! You won't lose marks directly for writing it, but you will lose marks if by writing it you eat up all your time that you should use for actually answering the question!
Hope it helps.
Good luck tomorrow!Thank you but can you explain this interms of stress if a question asked you to refer to research evidence?
hi, just out of the exam and i answered the question on Bowlbys contribution to attachment. I wrote about the maternal derivation hypothesis and 44 thieves, will i get any marks for this or is this wrong?
Did anybody see the atypical behaviour q? Talk about the worst q ever lol think my whole class failed on that haha! Inc me lol ! Why couldnt it have been on the approach or therapy
Original post by JessicaLee123
Did anybody see the atypical behaviour q? Talk about the worst q ever lol think my whole class failed on that haha! Inc me lol ! Why couldnt it have been on the approach or therapy
sorry to butt in here! I thought the atypical question wasn't too bad! I didn't really like the first part of the stress question. I'm surprised they asked about forgetting again for memory though
Original post by alanameatsix_
sorry to butt in here! I thought the atypical question wasn't too bad! I didn't really like the first part of the stress question. I'm surprised they asked about forgetting again for memory though
I agree! I had revised alot more about approaches and therapies!
Original post by alanameatsix_
sorry to butt in here! I thought the atypical question wasn't too bad! I didn't really like the first part of the stress question. I'm surprised they asked about forgetting again for memory though
Your lucky then
my teacher said the q sucked so bad that she felt bad for us But she said even if u get O u can get a A still so fingers crossed haha!Original post by anniexoxo
I agree! I had revised alot more about approaches and therapies!
I think we got the hardest atypical q in years tbh! Previous years q were much easier but oh well lol
Original post by JessicaLee123
I think we got the hardest atypical q in years tbh! Previous years q were much easier but oh well lol
Having looked at the question, I don't see what's hard about it? There is a tonne you can write about definitions of atypical behaviour along with their strengths and weaknesses.
Didn't you study the following definitions in class (?) : statistical definition; deviation from social norms; ideal mental health; maladaptive behaviour? If you mentioned all of those and nailed the strengths and weaknesses then it's an easy question to score top marks in.
Original post by Scottish123
hi, just out of the exam and i answered the question on Bowlbys contribution to attachment. I wrote about the maternal derivation hypothesis and 44 thieves, will i get any marks for this or is this wrong?
You'll get some marks for this, but I hope it's not all you wrote?
Could have written about any (ideally all) of the following:
- monotropy; single preferred attachment
- infant proximity to PAF having survival value
- emphasis on contact comfort as supported by Harlow (1959)
- sensitive attachment period
- what you wrote about it (effects of deprivation according to Bowlby)
Original post by HighPi
You'll get some marks for this, but I hope it's not all you wrote?
Could have written about any (ideally all) of the following:
- monotropy; single preferred attachment
- infant proximity to PAF having survival value
- emphasis on contact comfort as supported by Harlow (1959)
- sensitive attachment period
- what you wrote about it (effects of deprivation according to Bowlby)
Could have written about any (ideally all) of the following:
- monotropy; single preferred attachment
- infant proximity to PAF having survival value
- emphasis on contact comfort as supported by Harlow (1959)
- sensitive attachment period
- what you wrote about it (effects of deprivation according to Bowlby)
Does anyone remember what the two questions regarding stress were?
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by HighPi
You'll get some marks for this, but I hope it's not all you wrote?
Could have written about any (ideally all) of the following:
- monotropy; single preferred attachment
- infant proximity to PAF having survival value
- emphasis on contact comfort as supported by Harlow (1959)
- sensitive attachment period
- what you wrote about it (effects of deprivation according to Bowlby)
Could have written about any (ideally all) of the following:
- monotropy; single preferred attachment
- infant proximity to PAF having survival value
- emphasis on contact comfort as supported by Harlow (1959)
- sensitive attachment period
- what you wrote about it (effects of deprivation according to Bowlby)
Don't forget social releasers, and the fact that the monotropy attachment forms a template for future relationships. Then again, I suppose it's too late for us all to worry about what we missed, now xD
As for the Atypical Behaviour question... I think the question wasn't particularly hard in itself - there was plenty to write for it. However, I know I struggled with it mainly because I didn't do enough revision, and as I thought questions on this were unlikely to come up - having not seen one before today - I focused on other areas. I suspect other people did something similar, in that they simply didn't see that question coming.
Hey, hope the Psychology exam went well for all. I was taking Int 2 this year and I'm in S6. Could anyone please let me know how the course is and any tips for it ?? Thanks !!
Original post by itsGrand131415
Hey, hope the Psychology exam went well for all. I was taking Int 2 this year and I'm in S6. Could anyone please let me know how the course is and any tips for it ?? Thanks !!
Don't do it.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- How is my UCAS application?
- Could i get a student loan
- Already have a HND, will I get finance for new undergrad subject?
- Previous part time studies vs Full time student finance
- Help with application for student finance
- Can I crash higher psychology?
- funding for second degree
- Higher Psychology or crash Higher Administration and IT?
- Which A level subject should I drop?
- Waiting for uni of Leeds Decision for Interdisciplinary Science Foundation Year
- University of Nottingham vs Cardiff University for MSc Psychology (conversion)
- Audio files for GCSE French Listening??
- University of Glasgow Student - Q&A
- i didn’t take science subjects as a level but want to do bio at uni
- Getting into Scottish medical school
- gcses and universities
- subject choices HELP - LAW
- Revision help for exams in a month
- University of Nottingham vs Cardiff University for MSc Psychology conversion
- University of Nottingham vs Cardiff University for MSc Psychology (conversion)
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 minute ago
SQA Higher Physics - Paper 2 - 25th April 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 8 hours ago
SQA Nat 5 English - Critical Reading - 7th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 4 days ago
SQA Higher Mathematics - Paper 1 Non-calculator - 13th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 week ago
SQA Higher English - Critical Reading - 9th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Trending
Last reply 1 minute ago
SQA Higher Physics - Paper 2 - 25th April 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 8 hours ago
SQA Nat 5 English - Critical Reading - 7th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 4 days ago
SQA Higher Mathematics - Paper 1 Non-calculator - 13th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 week ago
SQA Higher English - Critical Reading - 9th May 2024 [Exam Chat]
