What is attachment?

Another picture of Luke as I'm sure you didn't see nearly enough today.

For homework, make notes on the stages of attachment proposed by Schaffer & Emerson in 1964. Also, don't forget the working memory model 12-mark essay due in next week.

Today's powerpoint is here.

Two video clips from today as well: separation anxiety (boy in the strange situation) and joy on reunion (US soldier returning home) - weepie alert.

Last memory section

For those on the history trip on Thursday 15th, it is vital that you catch up on this work as it will not be covered again in class.

We finished the memory module today. Strategies for memory improvement include visual imagery, mnemonics, method of loci & dual coding hypothesis (plus many more - you only need about 4). For each method you need to describe the strategy and then explain why it works. For an example of a past exam question on this topic see Q2 on this paper (January 2011). My ppt is here but is fairly brief - you must make your own notes from the textbook. A sheet that I have used in previous years is here - this contains a table to fill in on the different strategies.

The cognitive interview is straightforward enough. Describe it (remember COPE), give some supporting research, and say why it works. There are a few downsides as well - possibly unsuitable for children and very resource-intensive. My ppt is here.

Biological Therapies

Yesterday we introduced biological therapies with a look at psychosurgery and electroconvulstive therapy (ECT). Here is the presentation, which contains more detail than you need, especially on psychosurgery which you won't be asked specifically about in an exam (but could write about as part of a general question on biological therapies).

We went through the first ten of the twenty questions I set last week - we will go through the biological ones on Thursday when we will finish biological therapies.

Next Tuesday we will have a test on the whole of the Abnormality topic, so revise your definitions and the four models as well as the therapies. These multiple choice questions are to help you in your revision of therapies, and this Abnormality Specification Overview tells you exactly what you need to know for next Tuesday's test and your AS exam, with boxes to colour in when you initially audit your understanding and when you revise each topic.

Age & eyewitness testimony

Today's powerpoint is here, and if you missed the handout come and find me to get one. You need to know three ways in which eyewitness testimony is affected by age, and describe supporting evidence for each. The own-age bias is relevant here - superior recognition for those of our own age. Since many research studies use young people, this might go some way to explaining reduced performance in older participants.

Work for Mrs Watson - Thurs 1st December

You need to know how the following factors can influence eyewitness testimony:

1. Leading questions
2. Pre-learned information
3. Arousal
4. Consequences
5. Individual differences

We covered the first four last lesson. Now make your own notes on number 5 - individual differences (this includes age). Make sure your notes from the last few lessons are up to date as well - powerpoints used in class are on the blog and your textbook is very thorough.

Any problems, send me an email.

Work for Mr Lawrence - Tuesday 29th November

Sorry about this, but I have no voice and not well enough to be in school.

Here are twenty questions about behavioural, cognitive and biological therapies, to be completed and brought to next Tuesday's lesson. You should be able to answer them all using your textbook, although some extra reading might help.

Psychoanalysis

In addition to the three definitions of abnormality (DSN, FFA and DIMH) and the four models (Biological, Behavioural, Cognitive and Psychodynamic), you need to be able to describe and evaluate five specific types of therapy (two biological ones - ECT and drugs - and one each for the other models). The therapy based on the Psychodynamic Model is usually called Psychoanalysis.

Here is the presentation we looked at in today's lesson.

We will cover the other two psychological approaches (cognitive and behavioural) next week, and I set this work on behavioural therapies (which aim to correct faulty behaviour with classical and operant conditioning) to do for next Tuesday's lesson:

1) Explain each of the following using the terms UCS, UCR, CS and CR:

• Aversion therapy
• Flooding
• Systematic Desensitisation

2) Explain token economies using the term positive reinforcement

Of these Systematic Desensitisation is the important one, in that it's the only one named in the specifications, so the only one you can be asked specifically about in an exam. You need to be able to describe in a bit of detail how it's used and give strengths and limitations.