research booklet … · web viewderren brown has replicated milgram’s experiment – maybe you...
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PASTON SIXTH FORM COLLEGE
PSYCHOLOGY
SUMMER RESEARCH BOOKLET
Name: ………………………………………………………
Welcome to Psychology A level at Paston Sixth Form College.
We are excited that you have chosen this popular and exciting A level as part of your study programme at the College.
Before you start psychology in September, we would like you to carry out a few simple investigations in order to fully prepare yourself for the course you are about to undertake. You may find that you are interested in a particular area of psychology and wish to undertake some research of your own – we would be delighted to have a look at your work when you join us later in the year.
Have a go at researching the areas suggested on the next few pages and bring this completed document (and anything else you have done) with you to your first lesson.
We have also included a list of documentaries and books which may be of interest to you and which will certainly aid your understanding of psychology as the course progresses. I am sure that some summer reading would be useful!
Please enjoy your research and remember that the more you put into your studies, the more you will get out of them!
If you have any questions about the psychology course then please feel free to e mail on:
Looking forward to seeing you all in September from Helen, Louise and Luke
Ok then, you have decided to study psychology……but….do you know what psychology is?
Define psychology in your own words: ________________________________________________________
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Task 1: Marvellous memory
Mini Experiment:
In this experiment you can test as many or as few people as you like. As the experimenter you should read out one line at a time of the triangle of numbers below to your participant. When you have finished reading out the line, your participant should recite back to you as many of the numbers they can remember. Record how many numbers they recall correctly on each line.
Task 2: Social Influence: Obedience
Research and produce a fact sheet on two key studies:
1) Milgram’s (1963) Obedience to Authority
2) Burger’s replication of Milgram’s experiment (2009)
Taking it further…..
Explain how research such as that of Milgram & Burger, might explain historical atrocities such as the Nazi persecution of the Jews… Derren Brown has replicated Milgram’s experiment – maybe you would like to investigate this replication? Were people as obedient today as in 1963?
Task 3: Approaches in Psychology
There are four main Psychological approaches or perspectives that you will study in the first year of your A level. Research each of these approaches and explain the key terms, assumptions and psychologists which fit into each one. What do psychologists in each of these areas believe about behaviour?
SOCIAL COGNITIVE
LEARNING (Behaviourism) BIOLOGICAL
Task 4: Read the following extract about a study carried out in psychology (some years ago!). Research this study using the internet; you can watch (very old) video footage of this experiment on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0ucxOrPQE&feature=related
There are also loads of clips of this study on YouTube
Little Albert (1920)
The "Little Albert" experiment was a famous psychology experiment conducted by Watson and Raynor.
The participant in the experiment was a child that Watson and Raynor called "Albert B.", but is known popularly today as Little Albert. Around the age of nine months, Watson and Raynor exposed the child to a many animals and objects including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks and pillows and observed the boy's reactions. The boy initially showed no fear of any of the objects he was shown.
The next time Albert was exposed to the rat, Watson made a loud noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer behind Albert’s head. Naturally, the child began to cry after hearing the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud noise, Albert began to cry simply after seeing the rat. That fear then generalised to the other white fluffy objects also.
Answer the following questions:
1. Explain at least two strengths and two weaknesses of the way that the research was carried out.2. Identify and explain one strength and one weakness of using a child in this research.3. Identify and explain at least two ethical issues that may have arisen in this research (ethics are the way
in which you treat the people who take part in your research). (Look up ethical guidelines for psychologists).
4. Suggest one way in which this research could be improved.
Task 5: Below is a cartoon which is all about studies that have been carried out in psychology and is quite funny (if you understand what is being talked about!) For you final task, research and then explain why this cartoon is (moderately!) funny.
Documentaries and Books that may be of interest to you:
Stephen Fry Documentary ‘The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj8hqXd7N_A
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time – Mark Haddon
The Shock of the Fall – Nathan Filer
The Marshmallow Test – Walter Mischel
Opening Skinner’s Box – Lauren Slater
The Man who Shocked the World; the Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram – Thomas Blass
The Heist – Derren Brownhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaHbACoYNSA
Please bring this completed booklet plus any extra work to your first psychology lesson – thank you