session 2011-2012 third level psychology courses · third level courses 2011-2012 5 practical...

Third Level Courses 2011-2012

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Session 2011-2012 THIRD LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY COURSES

MEMBERS OF STAFF IN CHARGE: Honours (single, joint, combined): Dr Maarten Milders & Dr Lisa DeBruine

CONTENTS

General notes for Psychology Junior Honours: • Aims of the Courses; Lectures; Tutorials 2 • Practical Projects 5 • Health and Safety in Psychological research 6 • Planning and Use of Time; Marks for Class Work 8 • Progress 9 • Penalties for Late Work 10 • Plagiarism; Submission of Medical Information 11 • Appeals Procedures 12 • Student Complaints 12 • Examinations (Rules and Regulations) 13 • Common Assessment Scale Mark Descriptors Level 3 15 • Requirements for the Award of an Honours Degree 16 • Honours Degree: Grade Spectrum 18 • School Research Seminars 20 • Contacting Staff; Class Representatives 21 • Student Facilities 22 • Rooms and Laboratories for Practicals, Theses, etc. 22 • Equipment and accessories for Practicals, Theses, etc. 23 • Grievances and Problems 24 • Psychological Society; British Psychological Society (BPS) 25 • Senior Honours 26 • Junior Honours Timetable: First Half-Session 27 • Junior Honours Timetable: Second Half-Session 28

First Half-Session PS3009 Methodology A 30 PS3014 Biological Psychology 46 PS3011 Psychological Assessment 49 PS3012 Perception 52

Second Half-Session PS3513 Methodology B 56 PS3519 Memory and Language 60 PS3518 Developmental Psychology 63 PS3517 Social Psychology 66


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GENERAL NOTES FOR PSYCHOLOGY JUNIOR HONOURS

MyAberdeen (the University of Aberdeen’s Virtual Learning Environment)

MyAberdeen replaces WebCT as students’ virtual learning environment. This is where you will find learning materials and resources associated with the courses you are studying. MyAberdeen also provides direct access to TurnitinUK, the online originality checking service, through which you may be asked to submit completed assignments. You can log in to MyAberdeen by going to www.abdn.ac.uk/myaberdeen and entering your University username and password (which you use to access the University network). Further information on MyAberdeen including Quick Guides and video tutorials, along with information about TurnitinUK, can be found at: www.abdn.ac.uk/students/myaberdeen.php. Information about academic writing and how to avoid plagiarism can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism.

AIMS OF THE COURSES

Students selected for Honours are given the opportunity to pursue many of the themes introduced in the first two years of psychology in greater detail and depth. The course consists of lectures, practicals and tutorials. The tutorial system and the practical projects allow you to develop your writing skills in the form of essays and scientific reports and to develop your oral communication skills by requiring you to prepare and present work to your peers and tutors/supervisors. The Level 3 timetable allows the opportunity for individual and independent study and you are expected to undertake background reading in addition to specified course work.


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LECTURES You must attend and do the work of all the following courses: First half session Second half session Methodology - A PS3009 Methodology - B PS3513 Biological Psychology PS3014 Memory and Language PS3519 Psychological Assessment PS3011 Developmental Psychology PS3518 Perception PS3012 Social Psychology PS3517 Details of the courses are provided in the following pages. In each half-session, you will be expected to attend lectures and take part in tutorials and practicals.

TUTORIALS The Function of the Tutorial System The function of tutorials is to broaden your knowledge of the concepts and content of the subject areas covered at Level 3. Tutorials are not designed simply to cover lecture material in greater detail. Tutorials are designed to broaden your knowledge of course material by writing an essay for each lecture course. You will also be given the opportunity to extend your knowledge by participating in discussions and giving short oral presentations topics decided by tutors. You will be expected to undertake additional background reading for these tutorials. Transferable skills This element of the level 3 curriculum is aimed to facilitate the acquisition of the following transferable skills:

• Communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. • Analytic skills, including the ability to gather, analyse, assess and discuss primary data and secondary literature. • Information Technology Skills, such as word processing, data analysis, email, use of the internet, and web searching. • Data Management Skills, including the ability to use software packages such as SPSS for preparing data files and for exploring and analysing data appropriately. • Personal and Organisational Skills, such as the ability to undertake self-directed study, and to plan and submit work within an appropriate deadline.

Attendance at tutorials is compulsory. Any student who misses more than 2 tutorial sessions will be deemed to be at risk of failing the course and may be withdrawn from the course. If you are withdrawn from the course you will not be eligible to sit the examination.


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The Conduct of the Tutorial System You will attend a total of six one-hour tutorials during each half session. Tutorials will involve discussions of topics set by tutors, informal presentations by students and discussion of how to write the relevant course essay. You are required to write one 2000 word essay for each of the three theory courses in each half-session (i.e., an essay shall be written for Perception, Psychological Assessment and Biological Psychology in the first half-session, and for Memory and Language, Developmental Psychology and Social Psychology in the second half-session). Two copies of each essay must be submitted to the School Office by the appropriate date of submission. Please note that the Office closes at 4pm, and students arriving after 4pm will not be allowed to submit their essay. Essays must be word processed. Late essays will be penalised (-1 for the weekend, -1 for each week day). In addition, an electronic copy of each essay must to be submitted to the Turnitin Plagiarism Detection website. You will not receive an essay mark until your work has been submitted for plagiarism detection. As part of each tutorial course, each student will give a presentation to the tutorial group on a topic to be agreed with the tutor. Giving a satisfactory presentation is part of the work of the course, and this will form part of the course assessment (5% of your overall mark) Also, as part of the tutorial system, you are encouraged to attend School Research Seminars. These seminars are given by members of staff and postgraduates and invited speakers from other universities. Attendance at research seminars is not compulsory, but may be beneficial as they expose you to a range of different areas of research and provide an important and enjoyable way of keeping abreast with developments in Psychology. Research seminars will be advertised each week within the School and usually take place at 3.30pm every Thursday during term, in room T1 in the School. If you have any queries about research seminars please contact the seminar co-ordinators, Dr Doug Martin or Dr Amelia Hunt. Detailed information concerning the allocation of students to tutors, the location of tutorials, and arrangements for submitting written essays will be made available in a separate handout (‘Level 3 Tutorial System') which will be distributed to you during the first week of each half-session.

PRACTICAL PROJECTS The Function of Practicals


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Practical projects are carried out as a compulsory element of the courses Methodology A and B. Students work in groups in close collaboration with members of staff on a wide range of topics, e.g., experimental and cognitive psychology, social psychology, health psychology, etc. The function of the practicals is to give you experience of running, analysing and writing up a small research project. You will be expected to contribute to the design and preparation of practical reports, recruit and test participants, collaborate in the analysis of project data, and write a short research report not exceeding 3000 words. Training in research skills is an important part of an advanced undergraduate course in Psychology. It is also intended that the practicals will help you prepare for your research dissertation, which is carried out in the fourth year. Transferable Skills This element of the level 3 curriculum is aimed to facilitate the acquisition of the following transferable skills:

1. Communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

2. Analytic skills, including the ability to gather, analyse, assess and discuss primary data and secondary literature.

3. Interpersonal skills, such as the ability to work with others in research collaboration.

4. Information Technology Skills, such as word processing, data analysis, email, use of the internet, and web searching.

5. Data Management Skills, including the ability to use software packages such as SPSS for preparing data files and for exploring and analysing data appropriately.

6. Personal and Organisational Skills, such as the ability to undertake self-directed study, and to plan and submit work within an appropriate deadline.

The Conduct of Practicals There are two eight-week practical slots during the academic year (i.e. one each half-session). These slots are periods during which you undertake a research practical for which a written report is submitted and assessed. You are assigned to a practical group, the members of which work together on a project under the supervision of a staff member. Each group will normally meet the supervisor on at least seven or eight occasions, although additional meetings may be needed, especially during the early weeks of the practical. Each student is required to submit a written report at the end of each practical period. The report should not exceed 3000 words. Details of how to write a research report are given in the Methodology A notes later in this Handbook. As in the case of tutorial essays you are required to submit two word processed copies of your report to the office. As for tutorial essays, a copy of your practical report must be submitted to the JISC Plagiarism software (Turnitin). Following submission of the written practical report you will be required to give an oral presentation of your work to


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students from other groups and a member of staff who was not your tutor. Oral presentation of practical work is a compulsory element of the courses Methodology A and B and is worth 5 % of your overall mark. Towards the end of the second half-session you must begin preparing for your Final Year research thesis (this thesis is carried out and completed in the Fourth Year). The procedure for assigning students to projects is described in the document 'Thesis Selections'. You must not make independent arrangements to conduct a dissertation with a particular member of staff, or someone outside of the University, without consulting either Dr Sandie Cleland or Dr Kathryn Mearns (level 4 convenors). Ethical Approval

Before you start work on your project you must have it approved by the School Ethical Committee who will assess whether there are any ethical problems with what you plan to do. This committee will consider whether your project meets current ethical guidelines. (These can be found on the School’s website, under ‘Research’). Once you have agreed the details of your project with your supervisor, you should complete a copy of the ‘ethics questionnaire’, which can be downloaded from the School’s website. Once it has been completed and signed by you and your supervisor you should take a photocopy for your own records, and then hand it in to the School Office. You should do this as soon as possible, as you cannot commence work involving human participants until your project has been approved by the ethics committee. Further copies of this questionnaire and copies of the British Psychological Society Guidelines are available from the School Office. Level 1 students as participants in research: Group Participation Practicals • Level 1 students may be available for one-hour sessions in a large

laboratory during the teaching session. Your Practical supervisor will have more information about this. Any equipment required must be arranged in the normal way through Technical Support (Jim Urquhart), Room S16.

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN PSYCHOLOGICAL

RESEARCH The rapid development of the School of Psychology has led to an increase in research activity. Whilst it is highly unlikely that you will experience any health and safety problems, the School would like to make some recommendations with regard to health and safety that should be considered when conducting experiments. These recommendations were made following discussions with the University’s Health and Safety Advisor. Research within the School Layout of the research room


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Whenever possible, arrange the table and chairs in such a manner that the researcher is sitting closest to the door. Whenever possible researcher and participant should not be sitting on the same side of the table, but opposite each other. If it is necessary to have the door closed during the experiment then make sure that the door is not locked (but do not forget to lock the door when you leave the research room after you have finished your experiment). Use of tape recorders All of the research rooms are equipped with a tape recorder. It is important that the following explanation is given to participants: “It is now School policy to record every test session. This is in case should there be any cause of complaints by the experimenter or participant. Under normal circumstances the tapes will not be kept after the experiment, but the School reserves the right to retain the contents of the tape should circumstances suggest that this is necessary”. If you have any complaints about a test session, please keep the tape. Time of testing Research rooms within the School can only be used during normal working hours, i.e. from 9 am – 4 pm, Mondays to Fridays. Standards of behaviour We expect participants to behave in an acceptable manner. The use of angry, threatening, aggressive or sexually related language (or behaviour) is unacceptable. If any researcher feels uncomfortable or threatened during an experiment, the School expects researchers to leave the room in a dignified manner (for example by saying “Please excuse me; there is something I have to do”). After leaving the room, they should go to their supervisor or, if this person is not available, to another academic member of staff and explain what has happened. The member of staff should return to the participant, explaining that unfortunately the researcher is unable to continue with the experiment, but that they will be given their marks. The member of staff should fill in the Research Participation Record as well as the Participants record. Afterwards, the researcher must report this situation as soon as possible to Dr Milders and keep the tape. Participant’s health If a participant becomes unwell during testing, contact a First Aider (Dr R Allen, Room S09, ext 2665 or Dr K Allan, Room T6, ext. 3932 or Mr T Mitchell, Room T15, ext. 3066) If an ambulance is required call 9/999. Research outside the School: research in the community As said before, it is highly unlikely that you will experience any health and safety problems. However, the School would like to make some


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recommendations, which are standard procedures used by community workers visiting people at home. Place and time of testing The School advises researchers to conduct their research during normal working hours and in a neutral location, for example, in the meeting room of an activities centre or a residential home. Basic precautions Whenever possible take a mobile phone with you so that you could use it to summon assistance if necessary. Switch it off during your experiment. Always let someone (for example a friend) know which participants you are planning to visit, the dates, times, and addresses. Let him/her know when you think you will be finished. Phone your friend to let her/him know that you have completed your visit(s). Do not forget to do so! If your friend has not heard from you, he/she should contact your supervisor, the School Office, or police (in the order given until they have contacted one). Inform your friend of this procedure in advance, giving the relevant contact numbers. The supervisor/School Office should ask for the participants’ names, addresses and phone numbers and make a reasonable effort to contact the final participant(s). For example they might phone them to find out whether the researcher actually showed up. If necessary they will contact the police.

PLANNING AND USE OF TIME The Level 3 courses consist of lectures and a wide range of class activities including practical work and tutorials. It is essential that you make the time to familiarise yourself with lecture material and to pursue the recommended reading for each of the courses. Tutorials and practical work will involve extra background reading and it is important that you organise your time so that this work is carried out effectively. There are a number of ‘empty slots’ in the timetable of Level 3 courses. These slots are included in the timetable of work so that you can pursue private study and library work.

MARKS FOR CLASS WORK Course essays and practical reports are marked on the University Common Assessment Scale (CAS) described in the front section of this Handbook. For the theory courses, the essay mark for each course will count towards 20% of the overall assessment for that course, while 5% of the mark will come from satisfactory performance in an oral presentation. The practical report in each half-session will contribute 25% and the practical presentations 5% towards the assessment for the Methodology courses.

PROGRESS

The University operates a system for monitoring students' progress to identify


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students who may be experiencing difficulties in a particular course. If the year convenors have concerns about your attendance and/or performance, the Registry will be informed. The Registry will then write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to ask you to contact the Senate office in the first instance. Depending on your reason for being deemed ‘at risk’, the Senate will either deal directly with your case or refer you to your Adviser of Studies or a relevant Student Support Service. Students are required to attend such meetings with their Adviser of Studies in accordance with General Regulation 8.

Set criteria are used to determine when a student should be reported in the monitoring system. You will be asked to meet your Adviser if any of the following criteria apply: either (1) you are absent for a continuous period of two weeks or 25% of the course (whichever is less) without good cause being reported; or (2) you are absent from two small group teaching sessions (e.g. tutorials, research practical meetings, or SPSS workshops) without good cause; or (3) if you fail to submit a piece of summative or a substantial piece of formative in-course assessment by the stated deadline.

If you fail to contact the Senate Office or meet your Adviser within the prescribed timescale (as set out in the e-mail or letter), you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course concerned and will accordingly be ineligible to take the end-of-course assessment or to enter for the resit. The Registry will then write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to inform you of this decision. If you wish consideration to be given to reinstating you in the course you will be required to meet with the Convener of the Students' Progress Committee. The Head of School can declare an Honours student unsatisfactory at the end of a session and discontinue the student from attendance on courses at Level 4 (Regulation 16.1 Section (6)). Thus students not sitting or not passing missed or failed exams in August can be discontinued under this Regulation.

CLASS CERTIFICATES Students who attend and complete the work required for a course are considered to have been awarded a ‘class certificate’. Being in possession of a valid Class Certificate for a course entitles a student to sit degree examinations for that course. Class certificates are valid for two years and permit a total of three attempts at the required assessment within that two year periods i.e. the first attempt plus up to two resists.


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PENALTIES FOR LATE WORK In addition, running in parallel to the above procedures, a penalty of 1 mark will be deducted from the written essay (in the case of the theory courses) or the practical report (in the case of the methodology courses) for each teaching day (or a weekend) beyond the specified School deadline (see tutorial and practical handouts) that course work is submitted. In the case of the theory courses, such deductions could result in a CAS of 0 for late work and the consequent loss of 20% of the potential assessment. Late submissions without an acceptable reason will be subject to the penalties outlined in the section titled, PROGRESS. However, the submission of late work accompanied by a medical letter (not a self-certification) will not be penalised. Requests for the extension of a deadline must be made to one of the year convenors and not the member of staff setting the work, and will only be considered in exceptional cases.

FEEDBACK ON ASSESMENT The University recognises that the provision of timely and appropriate feedback on assessment plays a key part in students learning and teaching. The guiding principles for the provision of feedback within the University are detailed in the Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment available at:

www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x8.pdf Enhancing Feedback: The University recognises both the importance of providing timely and appropriate feedback on assessments to students, and of enabling students to voice views on their learning experience through channels such as Student Course Evaluation Forms and Class Representatives. FAQs, guidance and resources about feedback can be found on the University’s ‘Enhancing Feedback’ website at:

www.abdn.ac.uk/clt/feedback PLAGIARISM

The Code of Practice on Student Discipline is Section 5, Appendix 5.16 (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendices.shtml#section1) of the University’s Academic Quality Handbook. The University definition of plagiarism is:

"the use, without adequate acknowledgement, of the intellectual work of another person in work submitted for assessment. A student cannot be found to have committed plagiarism where it can be shown that the


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student has taken all reasonable care to avoid representing the work of others as his or her own."

Any instance of plagiarism in student work is treated extremely seriously and can lead to a mark of 0 being recorded. If a student is unclear about whether his or her written work comprises plagiarised material then he or she should consult with the member of staff to whom the work is being submitted.

TurnitinUK

TurnitinUK is an online service which compares student assignments with online sources including web pages, databases of reference material, and content previously submitted by other users across the UK. The software makes no decision as to whether plagiarism has occurred; it is simply a tool which highlights sections of text that have been found in other sources thereby helping academic staff decide whether plagiarism has occurred. As of Academic Year 2011/12, TurnitinUK will be accessed directly through MyAberdeen. Advice about avoiding plagiarism, the University’s Definition of Plagiarism, a Checklist for Students, Referencing and Citing guidance, and instructions for TurnitinUK, can be found in the following area of the Student Learning Service website www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism/.

SUBMISSION OF MEDICAL INFORMATION

Medical Certification Absence from Classes on Medical Grounds Candidates who wish to establish that their academic performance has been adversely affected by their health are required to secure medical certificates relating to the relevant periods of ill health (see General Regulation 17.3). The University’s policy on requiring certification for absence on medical grounds or other good cause can be accessed at:

www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x5.pdf You are strongly advised to make yourself fully aware of your responsibilities if you are absent due to illness or other good cause. In particular, you are asked to note that self-certification of absence for periods of absence up to and including eleven weekdays is permissible. However, where absence has prevented attendance at an examination or where it may have affected your performance in an element of assessment or where you have been unable to attend a specified teaching session, you are strongly advised to provide medical certification (see section 3 of the Policy on Certification of Absence for Medical Reasons or Other Good Cause).


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APPEALS AND COMPLAINTS The University’s appeals and complaints procedures provide students with a framework through which to formalise their concerns about aspects of their academic experience or to complain when they feel that standards of non-academic service have fallen short of that which they expected. The process has been designed to make the appeals and complaints process as accessible and simple as possible and to provide a robust, fair mechanism through which to ensure that all appeals and complaints are considered in the appropriate way at the appropriate level. A major feature of the process is the emphasis it places on early or informal resolution. All students should note that there is an expectation that they will take responsibility for seeking resolution of their academic or non-academic concerns by raising and discussing them at the earliest possible stage with the relevant individuals in an academic School or administrative Service. Further details of the processes for making an appeal or complaint, including where to find further help and support in the process, is given at:

www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/appeals Further advise on appeals can be obtained from the AUSA Student Advice Centre in the Hub or your Adviser of Studies..

I am unhappy with my marks. Can I appeal? Academic appeals will only be considered on grounds where: i) it is believed that the University’s procedures were not followed; or ii) it is believed that the person or body making the decision did not have the authority to do so; or iii) it is believed that the person or body making the decision did not act impartially; and iv) a student considers that they have suffered, or could suffer, material disadvantage as a result. Those involved in considering academic appeals will not pursue an appeal that does nothing more than question the academic judgement exercised. For example, a student cannot appeal simply because they are unhappy or disagree with a CAS mark awarded. Academic judgement is a matter solely for the relevant School(s) and the Examiners.


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If you feel that you need more feedback to understand why you were awarded a particular mark, we encourage you to contact your tutor directly and meet with him/her to discuss your work. If, following this, you wish to appeal your mark, you should follow the procedures described above, indicating in writing the grounds on which you are appealing.

EXAMINATIONS

There is a ninety-minute exam for each Level 3 course. The examination assessment contributes 75% towards the overall assessment for the theory courses and 70% of the assessment for the methodology courses (see contribution of essays and reports under ‘Marks for Class Work’). Please note that you must write legibly in examinations. Scripts that cannot be read because of extremely poor handwriting will not be marked. The non-Methodology courses are examined by essay questions. Students are asked to write one essay answer from a selection of three essay questions in each of two sections. The examinations for the Methodology courses are in a multiple-choice format. Note that the January course assessments are provisional until approved by the External Examiners in June. For Single Honours students, eighteen elements of assessment are used to determine the overall Class of Honours Degree based on the University’s Grade Spectrum for Honours Classification (see the Table below) but examiners retain the final discretion in the award of Honours Classes. Eight of these elements are the Level 3 course assessments and ten are the Level 4 assessments made up of the following:

• Examinations (6 elements): Each option will be examined by means of one ninety-minute examination and will contribute one element. Each exam will consist of six questions randomly allocated into two sections. Students answer two questions, one question from each section. Students will be examined on the three first half-session options in January and the three second half-session options in May/June.

• Tutorial Essays (2 elements): The marks from the three essays in

each half session will be combined to form one element. • Thesis (2 elements): The marks for the poster and the thesis will be

combined (poster 5%, thesis 95%) and the overall mark will count as two elements.

For Combined Honours Students (e.g. Psychology with French), sixteen elements of assessment are used to determine the final Class of Honours Degree based on the University’s Grade Spectrum for Honours Classification (see the Table below) but examiners retain the final discretion in the award of Honours Classes. Eight of these elements are the Level 3 course assessments and eight are the Level 4 assessments made up of the following:


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• Examinations (4 elements): Each option will be examined by means of one ninety-minute examination and will contribute one element. Each exam will consist of six questions randomly allocated to two sections. Students answer two questions, one question from each section. Students will be examined on the two first half-session options in January and the two second half-session options in May/June.

• Tutorial Essays (2 elements): The marks from the two essays in each half session will be combined to form one element.

• Thesis (2 elements): The marks for the poster and the thesis will be combined (poster 5%, thesis 95%) and the overall mark will count as two elements.

For Joint Honours students, eight elements of assessment are used to determine the Psychology component of the overall Class of Honours Degree based on the University’s Grade Spectrum for Honours Classification (see the Table below) but examiners retain the final discretion in the award of Honours Classes. Four of these elements are the Level 3 course assessments (Methodology A, Psychological Assessment, Developmental Psychology, and Social Psychology), three of the elements are the level 4 course assessments (Perceptual Processes, Memory and Language Processes, and Advances in Biological Psychology) and one element comes from the Level 4 Research Project.


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COMMON ASSESSMENT SCALE (CAS) MARK DESCRIPTORS LEVEL 3

Unless you are told otherwise all work submitted for Level 3 courses will be marked according to the following criteria. 20, 19, 18 First Class Direct and penetrating in answering the question, drawing on a

wide range of relevant material. Reasoned and sustained argument, with excellent use of supporting evidence. Excellent, critical understanding of concepts, with clear demonstration of insight, perceptiveness and originality. Extensive, in-depth information base. Shows firm familiarity with relevant literature, with effective reference to recent research papers in academic journals, or equivalent. Large ‘value-added’ to material from lectures and prescribed reading.

17, 16, 15 Upper Second Class (2.1) Direct in answering the question, drawing on a range of relevant material. Reasoned and sustained argument, with effective use of supporting evidence. Firm understanding of concepts, with some signs of critical ability, insight and perceptiveness. Wide and sound information base. Shows familiarity with relevant literature, including some reference to recent research papers in academic journals, or equivalent. ‘Value-added’ to material from lectures and prescribed reading.

14, 13, 12 Lower Second Class (2.2) Answers the question set, but draws on a limited range of relevant material. Shows some ability to develop reasoned and sustained argument, with adequate use of supporting evidence. Satisfactory understanding of concepts, but with limited signs of critical ability. Adequate information base. Restricted use of relevant academic literature. Little ‘value-added’ to material from lectures.

11, 10, 9 Third Class Attempts to answer the question, but may digress at times or shows limited awareness of the implications of the question. Argument not always fully reasoned or sustained, with limited use of supporting evidence. Limited understanding of concepts. Little or no sign of critical ability. Limited and/or shaky information base. No use of the recent research literature. No significant ‘value-added’ to material from lectures. Structural weaknesses or poor quality presentation.

8, 7, 6 Marginal Fail Fails to address the specific question set, or presents consistently weak or ‘non-academic’ arguments. Misunderstanding of concepts. Poor information base, perhaps with factual errors. Serious structural weaknesses or serious deficiencies in presentation.


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5, 4, 3, 2 Clear Fail

Answer is largely or wholly inaccurate, irrelevant or incoherent; answer is seriously incomplete or ignores academic conventions.

Progression In comparison with your work at Level 2, you are now expected to demonstrate: • A critical understanding of concepts • Familiarity with academic literature, including some ability to use recent

journal papers or equivalent research literature • ‘Value-added’ to material from lectures and textbooks

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF AN

HONOURS DEGREE

Requirements for the Award of an Honours Degree All students who are admitted to an Honours programme, in or after 2004/05, will be required to achieve 480 credit points, including at least 180 at levels 3 and 4, of which at least 90 must be at level 4. This change to the requirements for the award of an Honours Degree was made by the Senate to ensure that Honours degrees are awarded in compliance with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This is a common national Framework for all awards in Scotland. Further information is available at www.scqf.org.uk.

Accordingly, students failing to meet this credit requirement at the first attempt will require to make up this credit shortfall before graduating. General Regulation 21, as outlined below, sets out the procedures available to enable students to make up this credit shortfall.

In the case of a candidate who has failed to complete satisfactorily an element of Honours degree assessment at the time prescribed by Regulation 9.3, then the appropriate procedure from (a) to (e) below shall apply:

a) If, but only if, the failure is on account of illness or other good

cause, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, and shall be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.

b) If the failure is the result of absence or non-submission for any

other cause, the candidate shall be awarded zero for the assessment concerned and shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be


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permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.

c) For courses at level 4 and above only, if the candidate has

completed the assessment but been awarded a mark on the Common Assessment Scale between 6 and 8 inclusive, they shall be awarded the same amount of unnamed specific credit, not exceeding 30 credit points in total, at level 1.

d) If the candidate has completed the assessment, but the course is at

level 3, or the course is at level 4 or above and the mark awarded on the Common Assessment Scale is less than 6, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification. Alternatively, for courses at level 4 and above only, such candidates may elect to attend and submit themselves for assessment in another course or courses of equivalent credit value, which may be at any level.

e) If any of options (a), (b) or (d) above would normally apply, but

medical advice indicates that it would be unreasonable to require a candidate to appear for assessment on a subsequent occasion, and if the candidate’s past record provides sufficient evidence that they would have obtained Honours, the examiners may recommend the award of an Aegrotat degree, but only after obtaining the consent of the candidate. The award of an Aegrotat degree will debar candidates from counting towards Honours degree assessment any result achieved thereafter.

Notes (i) For courses at level 4 and above, the timing and format of the assessment required under any of sub-sections (a), (b) or (d) above shall be determined by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School.

(ii) The options to achieve or be awarded credit under (b), (c) and (d) above shall not be available to candidates who have accumulated less than 90 credit points at level 4 or who have failed to complete satisfactorily the assessment for a course which, on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School, has been prescribed by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) as compulsory for the award of a degree with Honours. Such candidates will be able to qualify for a non-Honours degree only.

Further guidance is also available in the Guidance Note for Students who either Fail, or who Fail to Attend or Complete, an Element of Prescribed Degree Assessment which can be accessed at:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x6.pdf


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HONOURS DEGREE CLASSIFICATION (GRADE SPECTRUM)

All Honours Degrees are classified using the University’s Grade Spectrum which is available at:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x4.pdf. The Grade Spectrum, an extract of which is outlined below, is used to determine degree classification on the basis of the CAS mark awarded for each element of Honours Degree Assessment.

First: Marks at 18 or better in elements constituting half the total elements

and Marks at 15 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements

and Normally marks at 12 or better in all elements

2i: Marks at 15 or better in elements constituting half the total elements


and Normally marks at 9 or better in all elements

2ii: Marks at 12 or better in elements constituting half the total elements


Third: Marks at 9 or better in elements constituting three quarters of

the total elements.

The Grade Spectrum defines the threshold standards against which the different classes of honours degree are awarded. The Examiners, however, have discretion (in the circumstances defined in Note 4 of the Grade Spectrum) to depart from this and may choose to award a higher degree than that indicated by the Grade Spectrum. Please note that only degrees at 2ii standard and above are accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). If you get a 3rd class degree you are not eligible for Graduate Basis Registration (GBR) of the BPS.


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Transcripts at Graduation It is anticipated that students who commenced their studies in, or after, 2009/10, will receive a more detailed transcript of their studies on graduation. The increased details will include a record of all examination results attained. For students graduating in 2012/13 transcripts will show details of all CAS marks awarded, including marks which are fails. Where a resit has been required as a result of medical circumstances or other good cause (MC/GC) this will not be shown, but all other circumstances (i.e. No Paper ‘NP’) will be included.

Aberdeen Graduate Attributes Graduate Attributes are a wide-ranging set of qualities which students will develop during their time at Aberdeen in preparation for employment, further study and citizenship. There are four main areas of the Graduate Attributes:

• Academic excellence • Critical thinking and communication • Learning and personal development • Active citizenship

Students have many opportunities to develop and achieve these attributes. These include learning experiences on credit-bearing courses and co-curricular activities such as work placements, study abroad and volunteering. In accordance with the University’s commitment to Equality and Diversity, students can request support with any aspect of the Graduate Attributes framework. The ACHIEVE website offers resources that enable students to assess and reflect upon their present skills and development needs. The website also contains resources to help students to improve their skills and links to a range of university services such as the Careers Service and the Student Learning Service. Students can access ACHIEVE from their MyAberdeen site in the ‘My Organisations’ section. More information about Aberdeen Graduate Attributes and ACHIEVE can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/graduateattributes. The Co-curriculum The co-curriculum enhances a student’s employability and provides opportunities to develop and achieve Aberdeen Graduate Attributes. Co-curricular activities complement a student’s degree programme and include: work placements, study abroad, enterprise and entrepreneurship activities, the BP Student Tutoring Scheme, career mentoring and the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award initiative. Below are examples of credit-bearing co-curricular activities. It is anticipated that these types of activity will be


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included on an enhanced transcript for students graduating in, or after, 2012/13 ERASMUS is an exchange programme funded by the European Commission which enables students to study or work in another European country as part of their degree programme. Eligible students will receive a grant to help with extra costs while abroad and a number of our partner institutions teach through English. For more information, visit www.abdn.ac.uk/erasmus/. The University also has opportunities for students to study in a non-European country as part of their degree through the International Exchange Programme. International partners include universities and colleges in North America, Hong Kong and Japan (abdn.ac.uk/undergraduate/international-exchange). The University aims to ensure full academic recognition for study periods abroad, therefore the credits gained from study abroad will count towards the Aberdeen degree programme for students participating in both ERASMUS and the International Exchange Programme. Work placements can also form an integral part of a degree programme and attract academic credit. Placements are available locally, nationally and internationally, lasting from a few weeks to a full year and are generally paid. Visit the Careers Service website for further placement information and to find available work placements. Further information about the co-curriculum is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers

SCHOOL RESEARCH SEMINARS

The School organises a programme of Research Seminars given by speakers from both inside and outside the University, usually on Thursday, 3.30 to 4.30 pm. Seminars are open to all interested parties. They are an important and enjoyable way of keeping abreast of the developments in Psychology and you are strongly encouraged to attend as many of these seminars as possible (see section on Conduct of Tutorials). A copy of the programme is available on the School web pages and posters advertising visiting speakers are placed in the Psychology School.

CONTACTING STAFF Students can contact staff in the following ways: • Send an e-mail message (e-mail names are listed at the front of this

Handbook). • Speak to the member of staff at the end of a lecture, tutorial workshop or

practical meeting if there is time. • Go to the staff member's room. If the person is not there, there may be a

message pad on the door or a booking arrangement for making an appointment.


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• Leave a message in the appropriate mail basket in the School Office (G1).

CLASS REPRESENTATIVES We value students’ opinions in regard to enhancing the quality of teaching and its delivery; therefore in conjunction with the Students’ Association we support the operation of a Class Representative system. The students within each course, year, or programme elect representatives by the end of the fourth week of teaching within each half-session. In this course/school/programme we operate a system of course/year/programme representatives. Any student registered within a course/year or programme that wishes to represent a given group of students can stand for election as a class representative. You will be informed when the elections for class representative will take place. What will it involve? It will involve speaking to your fellow students about the course/year/programme you represent. This can include any comments that they may have. You will attend a Staff-Student Liaison Committee and you should represent the views and concerns of the students within this meeting. As a representative you will also be able to contribute to the agenda. You will then feedback to the students after this meeting with any actions that are being taken. Training Training for class representatives will be run by the Students Association. Training will take place in the fourth or fifth week of teaching each half-session. For more information about the Class representative system visit www.ausa.org.uk or email the VP Education & Employability [email protected]. Class representatives are also eligible to undertake the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award, further information about the co-curricular award is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers. It is important to know who your representatives are so that they can raise matters of concern at the Staff-Student Liaison Committee Meeting on your behalf. Their names and e-mail addresses are displayed on the Level 3 page of MyAberdeen. Matters of an individual or personal nature should be discussed in the first instance with one of the year conveners (Dr DeBruine or Dr Milders) or your Adviser of Studies, rather than at a Staff-Student Liaison Committee Meeting.


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STUDENT FACILITIES

Levels 3 & 4 Laboratory/Seminar Room – F1 This room has been set aside primarily for the use of Levels 3 and 4 students. Students are expected to keep up to date with notices about lectures, tutorials, practicals, SPSS workshops, book lists and so on. Students must also scan the pigeon holes for any messages or mail. Occasionally, access to the room will be restricted when it is needed for Honours tutorials or other teaching purposes. PCs equipped with the software SUPERLAB for preparing and running experiments have now been located in F1. These are networked to a file-server but are not on the University’s network and therefore cannot be used for e-mail, word-processing or statistical analysis. The room will be locked outside normal working hours. Lockers Lockable lockers are available near the first-floor lift for depositing belongings. A key may be obtained from the School Office on payment of a deposit of £2 which is refunded when the key is returned at the end of the academic year.

ROOMS AND LABORATORIES FOR PRACTICALS, THESES etc.

The School has a variety of accommodation that can be booked for practicals, dissertation work, etc. (i) Specialist Laboratories: Various specialist laboratories can be booked through Mr Jim Urquhart

([email protected]), Rm S16. Small Rooms:

Please read the following Room Booking Procedures To optimise the use of our research rooms, rooms are now booked out according to the following set of procedures. There are many more students than there are rooms, therefore rooms normally have to be shared by other users. You are allocated a Room for the following timeslots, mornings 9a.m – 1 p.m. and afternoons 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Lunchtimes and Wednesday afternoons must also be used. You are encouraged to concentrate as much testing as possible into these time slots, and as such, make optimal use of the room e.g. do not book for 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. when you have a lecture.


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Rooms can be booked up to 2 weeks prior to the “start of testing” date, but you will only be issued with a key (£5 deposit required) when you are ready to start testing actual participants. If you want to pilot your study (for example to find out how long the testing session takes) you will get access to a room as and when required. Note that the room for carrying out pilot work may not be the room allocated to you for testing subjects. The initial room booking is for 2 weeks only and you will be allocated times as follows:

1 week of 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 1 week of 1 p.m. – 5p.m.

N.B. Please keep to your allocated time slots i.e. no swapping. (All testing to be carried out within the above hours, Monday to Friday.)

If it is anticipated that testing will take longer than 2 weeks, the room must be rebooked at the end of the first week of testing. Rebooking will be for one week only. Therefore, it is to your advantage to maximise the use of the hours available to you in the first 2 to 3 week booking period. If you have not been able to complete your testing in this period, you can sign up for additional weeks, but you will be placed at the end of the queue of students waiting for rooms. So there may be a delay in providing these extra weeks. Please note that you may not be given the same room, but you will be given a room with the same facilities. For example: You are ready to start testing on Monday 24th October. Your initial booking period is for 2 weeks, i.e. until Friday 4th November. If you will definitely be finished on Friday 4th November, you do not need to rebook, but remember to return the key and get your £5 deposit returned! If you expect not to be finished testing on Friday 4th November, you must rebook the room on Friday 28st October. This gives you a one-week extension to your initial 2 week booking period, i.e. you will have the room booked until Friday 11th November only. A booking card, with your name, will be placed on the door. On the reverse of this card will be the booking details to include the weeks you are booked, the time slots for each week and a “rebook if necessary date”.

Remember - you are expected to complete your data collection in 2 weeks with a further one-week extension, only if required.

EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES FOR PRACTICALS, THESES etc. Standard pieces of equipment (stopwatches, VCRs, audio-cassette recorders etc.) and materials (acetate sheets, pens etc.) are readily available from F23. The School has a wide range of audio, visual and physiological instrumentation. This can be used in consultation with your supervisor.


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If you require equipment, please complete an equipment request form (see room G16). The equipment will normally be available 2 working days following the receipt of the completed form. Please note that if your request is not sufficiently specific, this may result in a delay in the equipment becoming available. Requests for rooms and equipment can only be made after ethical approval has been obtained. After use, the equipment must be returned as soon as possible. Please do not pass it on to another person unless this has been arranged beforehand with the technician. Computers The School has considerable expertise in using computers to run experiments both on-line (via the internet) and off-line. A computer monitor and keyboard can also be used as stimulus and response facilities, usually in tandem with software such as SUPERLAB (see notes about room F1). Computers are particularly suited to applications needing accurate or very short timing, to the production of randomised stimuli, and to the accumulation of data for statistical analysis. Audio and Video Recordings The School has a large number of audio and video recordings, some dating from many years ago, others recently purchased or recorded off-air. Students can borrow them (along with portable audio cassette players in the case of audio material) from Mr Jim Urquhart ([email protected]) , Rm S16 Test Library materials The School houses a psychometric test library, with a range of tests that can be borrowed and used for research purposes. Further information about the test library is available from Dr Maarten Milders. Please note that tests can be expensive, so it may not always be possible to provide the first choice of materials.

GRIEVANCES AND PROBLEMS

Any grievances or problems should be directed to Dr Lisa DeBruine or Dr Maarten Milders in the first instance. Thereafter, recourse may be made to the Head of School. Students are reminded that they can also seek help from their Advisers of Studies, Student Health Service, and the Student Counselling Service located on Dunbar Street (www.abdn.ac.uk/counselling)

PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY The student-run Psychological Society, open to all students and staff, arranges a programme of talks and social events during the year.


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THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY (BPS)

The British Psychological Society is the principal organisation representing academic and professional psychologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1907, received its Royal Charter in 1965 and now has some 20,000 graduate and student members. Its organisation reflects the main roles of psychologists in Britain. The Professional Affairs Board represents those employed in occupational, clinical and educational psychology, while the Scientific Affairs Board looks after the needs of academic and research workers. One of the roles of the Scientific Affairs Board is to organise the major national conferences of the Society, one of which is held in December and the other during the Easter Vacation. There are numerous sub-groups within the Society representing specialised interests: History and Philosophy; Developmental; Cognitive and so on. Several members of staff in the School serve or have served on various BPS Boards and Committees. The Society is also represented by groups in regions of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Branch of the BPS has over 700 members and holds regular meetings throughout Scotland. Most of them are one day Scientific Meetings devoted to a particular theme or topic though there is also a three day residential Conference once a year. If you are pursuing the Honours course in psychology, you can apply to become a Student Subscriber to the Society. Advantages of membership include: • The monthly magazine 'The Psychologist' containing news of psychology

and psychologists in Britain and short articles on current debates and controversies.

• The monthly Appointments Memorandum, the most comprehensive round-up of job vacancies for psychologists.

• Access to all the Society's Scientific Meetings at both national and regional levels, and use of the Society's London library.

• The opportunity to purchase at cheaper rates the scientific journals run by the Society, including the British Journal of Psychology.

Application forms for membership can be obtained from the School Office.


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SENIOR HONOURS

Single Honours students register for the Thesis PS4019 spanning both half-sessions and each of the 45 credit courses PS4030 and PS4530. Within each of the 45 credit courses, students choose three option courses and undertake a tutorial/essay programme. The list of option courses for 2011-2012 is given below. This may change for 2012-2013 depending on staff availability. Brain and Body Visual Awareness Applications of Cognitive Neuroscience Evolutionary Psychology Perspectives on Social Attributions Abnormal Psychology Social Cognitive Neuroscience Human Evolution Human Neuropsychology Human Factors

Combined Honours students register for the Thesis PS4019 spanning both half-sessions and each of the 6-credit courses PS4029 and PS4529. Within each of the 6-credit courses, students choose two option courses and undertake a tutorial/essay programme. The lists of option courses are given above. Joint Honours students register for the Research Project PS4507 in the second half-session and the level 4 courses, Perceptual Processes, Memory and Language Processes, and Advances in Biological Psychology.


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PSYCHOLOGY JUNIOR HONOURS TIMETABLE 2011-2012

First Half-Session The following timetable shows the times and locations for the lectures and the times for practicals and tutorials. Note that you only attend one tutorial each week and tutorials do not occur every week - a separate handout will give more details about the tutorial system. You are strongly encouraged to attend the research seminars because they often provide useful background information that is not given in the lectures. Questions concerning the timetable should be directed to Dr DeBruine or Dr Milders. Day Time Location Topic Monday 11am King’s College F7 Methodology A 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 1 Tuesday 9am Meston 1 Psychological Assessment 11 or 12 Tutorial Handout Psych Assessment Tutorials 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 2 3pm Practical Handout. Research Practicals Wed’day 9am King’s College F7 Perception 11 or 12 Tutorial Handout Perception Tutorials 10am William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 3 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 1 2pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 4 Thursday 9am King’s College F7 Biological Psychology 11am William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 2 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 3 3.30pm William Guild T1 School Seminar Friday 11 or 12 Tutorial Handout Biological Psych Tutorials 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 4


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PSYCHOLOGY JUNIOR HONOURS TIMETABLE 2011-2012

Second Half-Session The following timetable shows the times and locations for the lectures and the times for practicals and tutorials. Note that you only attend one tutorial each week and tutorials do not occur every week - a separate handout will give more details about the tutorial system. You are strongly encouraged to attend the research seminars because they often provide useful background information that is not given in the lectures. Questions concerning the timetable should be directed to Dr DeBruine or Dr Milders Day Time Location Topic Monday 11am King’s College F7 Methodology B 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 1 Tuesday 9am King’s College F7 Developmental Psychology 11 or 12 Tutorial Handout Social Tutorials 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 2 3pm Practical Handout Research Practicals Wed’day 9am King’s College F8 Social Psychology (Note that the lectures will be 9-11 am for the first 8 weeks only. No lectures from week 9 onwards) 11 or 12 Tutorial Handout Developmental Tutorials 10am William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 3 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 1 2pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 4 Thursday 9am King’s College F7 Memory and Language 11am William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 2 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 3 3.30pm William Guild T1 School Seminar Friday 11 or 12 Tutorial Handout Memory and Language Tutorials 1pm William Guild S26 SPSS Workshop – Group 4


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FIRST

HALF-SESSION


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SESSION 2011-2012 LEVEL 3 PS 3009 CREDITS 15

METHODOLOGY A

Aims To impart the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out and evaluate psychological research. Additionally, the first three lectures will concern ethical, historical and conceptual issues, with the aim to introduce students to history and philosophy of psychology and the ethical issues surrounding psychological research. Learning Outcomes • Academic excellence:

- Have knowledge of the general principles of psychological research and the commonest elementary designs.

- Have a knowledge of the following statistical methods for use in the practicals and later in dissertations:

Statistics for exploring a data set (e.g. mean, variance) Methods to determine if data are appropriate for analysis by

ANOVA One-way between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) One-way within-subject ANOVA Factorial between-subjects ANOVA Factorial within-subject ANOVA Mixed design ANOVA Follow-up tests, such as multiple comparisons

- Be able to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis.

- Obtain an overview of a number of methods that can be used in qualitative analysis of psychological data, e.g., discourse analysis, thematic analysis, grounded theory, narrative work.

• Critical thinking and effective communication:

- Be aware of the kinds of approach that are appropriate for different research questions.

- Be aware of the pitfalls associated with the use of particular research strategies and experimental designs.

- To gain sufficient knowledge in philosophy of psychology to be able to offer critiques of traditional scientific method theory, method and practice in neuropsychology

• Learning and personal development:

- Have expertise in the operation of the statistical package SPSS for


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Windows in order to carry out the techniques and tests specified above.

- Be able to plan, conduct, analyse, and report on empirical studies conducted under the supervision of a member of staff.

• Active citizenship:

- To be aware of ethical issues surrounding psychological research Staff Dr Lisa DeBruine (Course Coordinator and lecturer) Dr Royston Allen (SPSS Teaching Coordinator) Dr. Royston Allen, Dr Philip Benson, Dr Dannette Marie (Course lecturers) Various staff (Practical Course) Assessment One ninety-minute written examination consisting of 60 multiple-choice questions. (70% of the assessment) Practical Report (25% of the assessment) Oral presentation (5% of the assessment) Note that the material covered in the SPSS Practical Course will be included in the written examination. Teaching Methods Lectures, SPSS practicals, and experimental practicals. Lecture and SPSS Practical Syllabus Full details are available in the Notes for Level 3 Students. Recommended Reading Statistics

• Dancey, C. P. & Reidey, J. (2007). Statistics without Maths for Psychology. Pearson Education Limited.

• Kinnear, P.R. & Gray, C.D. (2009). SPSS 17 made simple. Hove: Psychology Press. ISBN: 978-1-84169-729-1

Ethics

• http://www.abdn.ac.uk/psychology/research/ethics_docs.shtml • http://www.bps.org.uk/the-society/code-of-conduct/code-of-

conduct_home.cfm Philosophy of Science (available on WebCT)

• Cooper, R. (1982). The passing of psychology. Canadian Psychology, 23, 264-267.


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• McComas, W. (1996). Ten myths of science: Re-examining what we think we know. School Science & Mathematics, 96, 10-25.

• Popper, K. (1957). Science: conjectures and refutations. In C.A. Mace (Ed.). British Philosophy in Mid-Century: A Cambridge Symposium. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Qualitative research methods

• Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Cresswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. London: Sage.

• Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (2008) (Eds.). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. London: Sage.

• Kvale, S. (2009). Interviews: learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. London: Sage.

• Other recommended readings, papers, and lists will be placed on WebCT for students.

During the Course, reference will be made to a wide range of material, not all of which can be considered in detail during the lectures. Students are expected to read the textbook chapters and papers that lecturers recommend. Knowledge of such material will be assumed in the written examinations. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend all lectures, SPSS practicals, and experimental practical meetings, and to submit satisfactory practical reports on time. Students failing to attend SPSS practicals and experimental practical meetings will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course (see page 9 of this handbook). Please note that, a student who has not submitted a report can be refused a class certificate and will not be able to take the end-of-course examination. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students, including the details concerning practicals.


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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR PS3009 The coursework has three components: (1) Principles of data analysis and research methods in general.

(2) Data analysis with the computing package SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences).

(3) Practical experimental course.

1. Principles of Data Analysis and Research Methods (Coordinator Dr.

DeBruine)

This component, a series of weekly lectures given by Dr DeBruine and her colleagues over the first half-session, is concerned with the exploration and description of psychological data, and the selection of appropriate formal statistical tests. There are also lectures by Dr Benson on ethics, by Dr Allen on conceptual issues, and by Dr Marie on qualitative methods. Dr DeBruine’s series of lectures is not a formal course in statistics: no mathematical derivations are necessary, and only a minimal mathematical background is assumed. The material of this course, however, is not elementary, and you are advised to attempt any exercises that may be recommended.

2. Data Analysis with SPSS (Dr Roy Allen)

This component takes the form of weekly practical sessions by Dr Allen and other demonstrators.

3. Experimental Practicals

Students work together in small groups under the supervision of various members of staff on projects lasting eight weeks. Notes on how to prepare the Reports are given below.


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EXAMINATION OF COURSE CONTENT As with all Level 3 courses, the material covered will be assessed by written examination. The questions in the Methodology papers, however, will be in multiple-choice format. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend all lectures, SPSS practicals, and experimental practical meetings, and to submit satisfactory practical reports on time. Students failing to attend SPSS practicals and experimental practical meetings will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course (see page 9 of this handbook). In the case of the practical report, please note that students who do not submit a practical report can be refused a class certificate and will not be able to take the end-of-course examination. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students, including the details concerning practicals.


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LEVEL 3 PRACTICALS: GUIDELINES FOR STAFF AND STUDENTS. Responsibilities of supervisors: • To organise weekly meetings of the practical group at 3pm on Tuesdays.

In exceptional circumstances another time may be arranged on a particular week with the agreement of the group.

• To ask students to sign an attendance sheet and pass it to the School office.

• To supply sufficient information to direct students to appropriate background reading on the topic.

• To design an appropriate experiment or to provide the group with a topic and assist in the design of an appropriate experiment.

• Where appropriate: to supply experimental materials, or sufficient information for students to construct experimental materials.

• To provide a clear explanation of the experimental design, and to answer any questions about the methodology raised by students.

• Students can be asked to produce and copy experimental materials but if possible the supervisor should provide e.g. their photocopy card in order to duplicate material.

• To assist students in organising data entry and data analysis. • In most cases staff should ensure that the level of data analysis required

does not exceed the current stage of methodology lectures and SPSS practicals already experienced by the students. If in doubt consult the Methodology A or B co-ordinator. However, it may be appropriate to use more advanced statistics if the supervisor is willing to provide a higher level of tuition and support.

• To provide guidance on the layout and content of practical reports. Students should write all aspects of their practical report independently.

• When marking practical reports to provide sufficient written feedback to allow students to improve their performance in future experimental reports.

• To attend and assess the practical presentations of a number of students from other research groups.

• To take an attendance register at the oral presentation meeting. • After hearing all of the presentations within a group the tutor will provide

feedback to each individual as to whether their presentation was satisfactory, and will give more detailed feedback on performance if this is required. Satisfactory presentations will comprise: a clear and well-organised outline of the material, expressed in a manner comprehensible to non-experts in the field, with support from visual aids where this is appropriate. A presentation may be considered unsatisfactory if the material is poorly organised or difficult to understand. If a presentation is considered unsatisfactory the student may be asked to prepare another presentation for a later date. If a student misses a meeting due to illness they will be required to either give an individual presentation of the material to their tutor at a later date or to produce a written outline of their prepared presentation.


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Responsibilities of students: • To attend all practical meetings on time. • To contribute to group discussions and literature searching. • Where required, to arrange extra meetings of the group without the

supervisor (e.g. to enter data into the computer). • Students can be asked to read reasonably broadly on the background

area to the project, and to carry out literature searches to identify up-to-date references on the topic of the practical. The more reading a student does, the clearer will be the background to the project and the easier it will be to write up the report.

• To organise practical implementation of the project, e.g. by recruiting participants, booking research rooms, obtaining appropriate equipment or copying test materials.

• To carry out the tasks requested by the supervisor (e.g. background reading, constructing experimental materials, data entry, data analysis…) in the time span specified by the supervisor.

• Students can be asked to produce and copy experimental materials but if possible the supervisor should provide e.g. their photocopy card in order to duplicate material.

• To raise questions in practical meetings where any issues about the practical are unclear.

• To produce an appropriate report and oral presentation by the specified dates.

• In terms of the final reports, it would be expected that students produce a report formatted in accordance with APA guidelines including: a succinct abstract, a reasonably broad description of background literature, a clear outline of experimental hypotheses, a sufficiently detailed outline of methodology to allow replication of the experiment, results section containing both descriptive and inferential statistics described in text and tables/figures where appropriate, and a well-organised discussion section with clear conclusions at the end. Any statistical outputs not included in the results section should be included in a clearly labelled appendix. Further details on the writing up of practical reports are provided elsewhere.

• Students must present a satisfactory oral presentation at the end of the practical block. Satisfactory presentations will comprise: a clear and well-organised outline of the material, expressed in a manner comprehensible to non-experts in the field, with support from visual aids where this is appropriate. A presentation may be considered unsatisfactory if the material is poorly organised or difficult to understand. If a presentation is considered unsatisfactory the student may be asked to prepare another presentation for a later date. If a student does not give a presentation due to illness they will be required to either give an individual presentation of the material to their tutor at a later date or to produce a written outline of their prepared presentation.


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Timetable: It is impossible to specify an exact timetable because each project will have slightly different demands. This timetable therefore only provides a rough guideline, and may not be appropriate for some projects. Exact guidelines as to the size of projects cannot be given because different topics will vary in the amount and types of testing required. It might be expected that an individual student would asked to carry out up to 15 hours of experimental testing (i.e. face to face testing of experimental participants) plus of course piloting and preparation time.

WEEK ONE • At meeting: background reading information provided, topic of project discussed.

• Students may be given specific articles to read or tasks to carry out for next meeting.

WEEK TWO • At meeting: theoretical background and details of experimental methodology discussed.

• Possibly pilot work for project organised to allow student experimenters to try out the experimental protocol before the next meeting.

• Ethics form completed. • Discuss participants to be used. • If the testing will involve Level 1 Group Participation

practicals, Dr Lowe must be contacted indicating how many groups are needed and testing time required.

WEEK THREE • At meeting: any problems with experimental protocol discussed and resolved

• Test materials duplicated if necessary. • Supervisor and students agree the experimental

testing to be carried out by students and the timetable for this.

• Experimental testing begins. WEEK FOUR • Students continue experimental testing.

• At meeting: discussion of any issues of experimental protocol.

• At meeting: data entry, experimental hypotheses and analysis strategy discussed.

WEEK FIVE • Experimental testing completed. • Data entered by group into SPSS file. • At meeting: discussion of any problems encountered

during testing or data entry. • At meeting: further discussion of analysis strategy.

WEEK SIX • Data analysis carried out. • At meeting: discussion of the results of data analysis. • At meeting: instruction on the write up of the practical

report. WEEKS SEVEN & EIGHT

• Students write up practical report. • At meeting: discussion of any problems in writing up

report. WEEK 11/12 • Oral presentation meeting


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Details of the allocation of students to supervisors and the arrangements for the submission of practical reports and oral presentations will be given in a separate handout (‘Level 3 Practicals’) which will be made available during the first week of each half-session. FORMAT FOR A PRACTICAL REPORT When you have carried out an experiment or study it is imperative that you record and interpret your data in such a way that the importance of them is successfully communicated to others. It should be possible for a person reading your report to be able to replicate your study (i.e. carry it out exactly as you did) so your description of the experiment needs to be precise and accurate. This is very important in scientific methodology, since it ensures that errors and incorrect conclusions can be identified and rejected. It is essential that the level of the practical report is correctly pitched: the language used should be formal, but you should not assume that the reader has specialist knowledge. If in any doubt, read some journal articles – this is the style that you are trying to achieve. When you are preparing your report, you will need to organise your material and support your statements, where possible, with documented evidence. All empirical articles follow a similar format, so it is important that you understand and follow this format from the beginning of your Psychology course. Such articles start with a title, then the author’s name (or names if there is more than one of them) and affiliation for published papers, followed by an abstract, an introduction, then a method section, including (where appropriate) details of the experimental design, participants, materials and/or equipment and procedure, followed by sections on the results, discussion and conclusion, a reference list and possibly an appendix. Most of the report should be written mainly in the past tense, as you are describing what has been done and why you have done it. You should try to convey this information as concisely and clearly as you are able.


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Title This should identify the topic of the study in one phrase or sentence. Abstract This is a short summary in about 100-300 words of the whole experiment. It includes the area of investigation, the way the experiment was done, the results, the discussion and the conclusion. Although this is placed at the beginning of the report you will probably find it easier to write it after you have completed the rest of the report. Introduction This introduces the experiment, describes previous similar experiments and their conclusions, and builds up to the purpose of the experiment in terms of an aim. It progresses from the general background towards the specific aims of the experiment you are conducting. You should : • State the problem to be investigated, in general terms, at the beginning of

the introduction. • Review the literature concerning the practical topic, citing authors by

name(s) and year according to the American Psychological Association (APA) style. You will find details of the APA style at the end of these instructions.

• Give a brief overview of how the study will be conducted. • State the aim of the experiment, including a statement about the expected

outcome (the experimental hypothesis or hypotheses). Method The method should supply enough details so that the experiment could be replicated by another researcher. It should be written in the past tense, noting exactly what was done. The method is organised under a number of sub-sections: i) Participants You should note: • Details of the participants – the number participating, by gender, their age

range and educational level, if known (e.g. 25 first year university Psychology students, 15 males and 10 females, ages 17-32). Also any personal details of the participants which may be relevant to the experiment, such as left-handedness or colour-blindness.

• How the participants were selected (randomly or at a class or by another criterion).

• Whether any of the participants were subsequently excluded and if so, why.


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ii) Materials You should note in detail: • The stimuli used (you may want to include a copy or diagram of these in an

appendix). • How the stimuli were randomised/presented. • What equipment/computer was used. iii) Procedure You should note: • The exact instructions to the participants (if these are very long, you could

include them in an Appendix). • Details of what the experimenter did and in what order (e.g. how the

equipment was set up). • How responses were recorded and subsequently scored. iv) Design A description of the plan or design of the experiment.

You should: • Identify the experimental design (e.g. a within-subjects experiment) and a

suitable statistic (e.g. a t-test). • Name the variables and identify their type (the independent variable/s (IV’s)

and dependent variable/s (DV’s) or the variables to be correlated. • Note, if a control group was used, how this was done – what was the basis

of the allocation to the experimental and the control group. • Note that confounding of variables is an important issue to consider in the

planning of the study since we need to make sure that the data collected is a true reflection of what is being studied, rather than a reflection of some other factor which has not been taken into account. If we do not control the variables this may produce biased results. For example, if an experiment was set up to test the reaction time to a set of stimuli under 2 different experimental conditions, such as colour stimuli in one condition and black and white stimuli in the other and all the people assigned to one experimental condition were aged over 60 and all the people in the other condition were aged under 20, then if there were differences between the two groups, it would be difficult to determine which factor was responsible for the differences – the age factor or the experimental colour factor.

Results This is the most important part – relaying what actually happened in the experiment. It is a summary of the data collected and includes the outcome of any statistical test used.


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The Results section summarises the data collected and the statistical treatment of them. First, state the main results or findings and then report the data in enough detail to support your conclusions. Mention all relevant results, including those that run counter to your hypotheses. Make sure that when you state whether or not your results support your hypotheses. When reporting inferential statistics (e.g. t-tests, F tests, Chi-square), include the magnitude or value of the test, the degrees of freedom, the probability level and the direction of the effect. Be sure to report descriptive statistics, e.g. means or standard deviations. Report the data clearly and economically. For example, Tables provide exact values and are more than adequate for showing main effects. Figures, on the other hand, best illustrate interactions and general comparisons. Avoid repeating the data in several places, e.g. by presenting both tables and figures and do not use tables for data that can be presented as a few sentences in the text. Label, title and number all tables and graphs (refer to all tables as tables and all graphs, pictures or drawings as figures). Always explain what to look for in tables and figures and use them to supplement the text. Any large tables or long statistical analyses can be included as appendices, suitably annotated and numbered for easy reference. Any material that appears in tables or figures should also be described in text. Results (e.g. graphs, tables of means, standard deviations, statistical tests (t-tests, correlations etc)) should be arranged in the order of the hypotheses, with brief objective comments, but not subjective comments – these should be reserved for the Discussion section. Make sure that you state whether or not your result supports your hypothesis, including the level of statistical significance, plus the critical and observed values, where it has been appropriate to calculate this. Please note that we do not ‘prove’ hypotheses, or say that they are correct or true. We say that the hypothesis was supported or not supported. Also, it is not appropriate to say that 'unfortunately' a test was non-significant: the language used should always be objective. A guide to reporting statistics will be given out in Methodology A and is available on MyAberdeen. Discussion This is the place for the consideration of your results and their theoretical or practical implications. The results should be described in relation to other experiments mentioned in the Introduction and in relation to your aims and hypothesis/es and relevant suggestions made about further studies. You should: • Discuss the results (with reference to the numbered tables and graphs in

the Results section or in the Appendices). Comment on any differences and similarities between your findings and those that you have referred to in the literature.


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• Summarise what we now know and do not know as a result of this study and make constructive criticisms of the study and suggest what improvements in design could be made if it were to be done again. Consider whether the sample of participants used is an accurate reflection of the general population.

• Suggest what might be done next if the research were to be continued and indicate the form that future experiments might take.

Conclusion This should be a brief summary of the findings of the study, noting whether they support the hypothesis/es. The conclusion is less comprehensive than the abstract because it only refers to the results. This should not be a continuation of the discussion and should not refer to the specific statistics of the data. It states the main import of what has been discovered. References You should identify the sources you have referred to and list any books and reference material you have used. You should list these alphabetically in the recommended format. The recommended format for this School is the APA format, an example of which is given below. Acknowledgments It is customary to acknowledge any special or unusual sources of help you have had in executing or funding your study. You might acknowledge: • Anybody who has provided you with access to Schools, Clinics etc.. • Your supervisor(s). • The source of finance if your research has been sponsored. • A computer, statistical or any other expert who has provided you with

specialist help. Appendices These are where you may include items such as raw data, actual instructions, further details of stimulus materials, and statistical computations. Other items which might be included are fuller tables of results, analyses, diagrams, computer programs etc. Make sure that appendices are suitably annotated and numbered. Material should not appear in appendices unless it is referred to in the main text of the report. American Psychological Association (APA) Reference Format Berlyne, D.E. (1980). Psychological aesthetics. In H.C. Triandis & W. Lonner

(Eds.) Handbook of cross-cultural psychology. Volume 3. Basic processes. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.


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Ellis, A.W. & Young, A.W. (1988). Human cognitive neuropsychology. Hove: LEA.

Howell P., Cross, I., & West, R. (1985). Musical structure and cognition. London: Academic Press.

Kinnear, P. R.., & Gray, C. D. (2007) SPSS 16 made simple. Hove: Psychology Press.

Reber, A.S. (1993). Implicit learning and tacit knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rivers, W.H.R. (1905). Observations on the senses of the Todas. British Journal of Psychology 1, 321-396.

• Notice that the name of a journal (but not the paper’s title) and the name of

a book are highlighted in some way (they can be underlined, boldened or italicised, or a combination as here). Also lower case is used for the first letters of each word of a paper or book title except for the first word, the word after a hyphen or colon, or a proper name. Indentation of continuation lines is not necessary but makes the list of references more legible.

• The year of publication appears after the name(s) of the author(s). If the same author/authors has/have published more than once in a year, use a, b, c etc. after the year (e.g. 1987a, 1987b etc.). The publisher’s name is placed after the place of publication separated by a colon.

• If an item appears in an edited book, the editors’ initials are located before the surname(s) and (Ed.) or (Eds.) appears after the surname(s). In addition, the name of the book rather than the title of the chapter is highlighted.

• Refer in the text to Rivers (1905), Reber (1993), Ellis & Young (1988). If there are more than two authors for a single source, refer to all the authors (e.g. Howell, Cross & West (1985)) the first time and then to Howell et al. (1985) thereafter.

• For citing information found on World Wide Web, use the following format: StatSoft, Inc. (1999). Electronic Statistics Textbook. Tulsa, OK: StatSoft. WEB: http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html.


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SCHEDULES AND SYLLABUS METHODOLOGY A FIRST HALF-SESSION PS3009 You are expected to attend all lectures and SPSS practicals, each of which lasts for one hour. Each week there will be two SPSS practicals: the first will be focused on the content of the week’s lecture; the second will be problem-based. Lectures Mondays at 11 am in KC F7 SPSS Practicals William Guild Building – Room S26

Group 1: Mondays 1-2pm and Wednesdays 1-2pm Group 2: Tuesday 1-2pm and Thursdays 11-12pm Group 3: Wednesdays 10-11pm and Thursdays 1-2pm Group 4: Wednesdays 2-3pm and Fridays 1-2pm

Schedule of Lectures and SPSS Practicals TEACHING WEEK WEEK 1 26th September Dr Benson Ethical Issues in Psychology No SPSS practicals WEEK 2 3rd October Dr Allen Philosophy of Science SPSS 1 WEEK 3 10th October Dr DeBruine Review of L2 statistics SPSS 2 WEEK 4 17th October Dr DeBruine Introduction to ANOVA SPSS 3 WEEK 5 24th October Dr DeBruine One-way between-participants ANOVA SPSS 4 WEEK 6 31st October Dr DeBruine One-way within-participants ANOVA SPSS 5


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WEEK 7 7th November Dr DeBruine Factorial between-participants ANOVA SPSS 6 WEEK 8 14th November Dr DeBruine Factorial between-participants ANOVA SPSS 7 WEEK 9 21st November Dr DeBruine Mixed-design ANOVA SPSS 8 WEEK 10 28th November Dr Marie Qualitative research methods for psychology I SPSS 9 WEEK 11 5th December Dr Marie Qualitative research methods for psychology II SPSS 10 WEEK 12 12th December Dr DeBruine Review No SPSS practicals COURSE PS3009 ENDS


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SESSION 2011-2012

LEVEL 3 PS3014 CREDITS 15

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Aims The aim of this course is to extend on previous coverage concerning the biological basis of behaviour and cognition. The lectures on psychopharmacology will provide accounts of the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of common psychotropic medicines (including drugs used to treat schizophrenia, depression and anxiety) and ‘recreational’ drugs (including alcohol, cocaine and ecstasy). The role of psychopharmacology in increasing understanding of both normal and abnormal brain function will be discussed. The lectures on neuropsychology and biological psychology will provide accounts of how brain damage, genes and hormones can affect behaviour and cognition. Learning outcomes Academic excellence: To further knowledge of the relationship between biological processes affecting the brain and normal and abnormal behaviour and cognition. Critical thinking and effective communication: Students will learn to critically evaluate topics related to biological psychology and to communicate this in coursework or exam essays. Learning and personal development: Students will learn skills to understand and evaluate different approaches to research in biological psychology Active citizenship: The course will help to give students a better appreciation of the multiple causes of abnormal behaviour and cognition Staff Dr. Milders (Course co-ordinator) Dr. Milders, Dr Sutherland (Course lecturers) Various staff (tutorials and essays) Assessment 1 ninety-minute written examination (75% of assessment) Essay (20% of assessment) Oral presentation (5% of assessment) Teaching Methods Lectures, tutorials, essay.


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Lecture syllabus Lectures 1 – 6 Human Psychopharmacology Dr Sutherland The aim of psychopharmacology is to improve understanding of both normal and abnormal brain function by studying the effects of drugs on human cognition, mood and behaviour. Lecture 1. Overview of conceptual and methodological issues in psychopharmacological research. Principles of neurotransmission. Mechanisms of agonistic and antagonistic drug effects. Measuring drug effects. Lecture 2. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The effects of cholinergic agonists and antagonists on cognitive performance. Alzheimer’s disease. Lecture 3. The neurotransmitter noradrenaline. The effects of noradrenergic agonists and antagonists on mood and cognitive performance. Noradrenaline and emotional memory. Noradrenergic drug treatments for ADHD. Lecture 4. The neurotransmitter dopamine. The role of dopamine in Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia. The role of dopamine in pleasure/reward behaviour and drug dependence. Lecture 5 The neurotransmitter serotonin. The effects of serotonergic agonists and antagonists on mood, cognition and social behaviours. Serotonin and depression. Hallucinogenic and psychedelic drugs. Lecture 6. Brain opioid systems. The effects of opiate drugs. Endogenous opioids (endorphins). The role of endogenous opioids in pain perception and ingestive behaviour. Recommended textbook Parrott, A., Morinan, A., Moss, M. & Scholey, A. (2004) Understanding drugs and behaviour. Chichester: Wiley. Lectures 7 – 12 Neuropsychology & biological psychology Dr Milders Lecture 7. Brief history of neuropsychology and biological psychology. Overview of important concepts, evolution of brain and behaviour Lecture 8. Hormones and control of behaviour Lecture 9. Memory disorders, including anterograde and retrograde amnesia, impairments in semantic memory.


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Lecture 10. Language disorders. Deficits in spoken and written language production and comprehension Lecture 11. Emotion. An “emotional brain”, the role of the amygdala and frontal lobes in emotion, emotions and stress. Lecture 12. Disorders in regulation and control, personality changes following brain damage. Recommended reading Andrewes, D. (2001). Neuropsychology: From theory to practice. Hove: Psychology Press. Breedlove, M., Watson, N. & Rosenzweig, M (2010). Biological Psychology (6th edition). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend tutorials, give an oral presentation, and submit an essay. Students failing to undertake these activities will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course. For information about the implications of receiving a fail mark for course work, or failing to submit course work, see page 9. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.


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SESSION 2011-2012 LEVEL 3 PS3011 CREDITS 15

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

Aims The main aim of this course is to outline and evaluate various methods of psychological assessment and discuss the application of psychological tests to important settings such as clinical psychology. The course also aims to provide you with an understanding of psychometric theory, which is important to understand key issues in assessment. The course includes some historical background to developments in psychological assessment, considers applications of psychological assessment in a wide range of settings, and includes discussion of legal and ethical issues surrounding test administration and interpretation. This course will develop skills in thinking critically about psychological assessment techniques, and link theoretical and applied aspects of psychometrics and psychological assessment. Learning Outcomes Be able to evaluate critically in written essays, oral presentations, and group discussions the following topics relating to the course syllabus: 1. Principles of psychometrics 2. The merits of different methods of psychological assessment. 3. The issues associated with using and interpreting tests. 4. Ethical and legal issues surrounding use of psychological assessment. 5. Different assessment techniques to measure cognitive abilities and mood. 6. The advantages and disadvantages of different forms of assessment in

clinical, neuropsychological and occupational situations. Staff Prof Louise Phillips (Course co-ordinator) Prof Louise Phillips, Prof John Crawford (Course lecturers) Various staff (tutorials and essays) Assessment 1 ninety-minute written examination (75% of assessment) Essay (20% of assessment) Oral presentation (5% of assessment) Teaching methods Lectures, tutorials, essay.


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Lecture syllabus Note that weblinks for each lecture and questions to aid analysis of course material are available via MyAberdeen. Introduction to assessment.(LP) History of psychological testing, standardisation and norming, test bias. Basic psychometrics (JC) Reliability, validity and norms Assessing abilities (JC) Theories and measurement of intelligence. Assessing mood (JC) Measurement of anxiety and depression. Occupational assessment (LP) How organizations select future employees: autobiographical data, interviews, cognitive ability tests, personality tests, work samples, assessment centres Basic methods of clinical neuropsychological assessment. (LP) Uses of clinical neuropsychological assessment, assessing cognitive dysfunction: intelligence, memory, language; assessing executive functions. Measurement and interpretation issues in neuropsychological assessment.(LP) Procedures of neuropsychological assessment, assessment of deficits and changes in psychological functioning, evaluation and interpretation of neuropsychological assessment data, problems in clinical assessment. Assessment in old age and dementia (LP) Psychological contributions to diagnosing and assessing dementia, problems of differential diagnosis, assessing cognition, functional capacity and quality of life in old age. Forensic and legal aspects of psychological assessment. (LP) Psychological assessment evidence in court, specific aspects of legal assessment, assessment of malingering. Recommended reading General texts on assessment Gregory, R.J. (2011) Psychological testing: History, principles, and

applications, (6th edition.). London: Allyn & Bacon.


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Kaplan, R.M. & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2009) Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues.(7th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Murphy, K.R. & Davidshofer, C.O. (2005). Psychological testing : principles and applications (6th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Neuropsychological assessment Goldstein, L.H. & McNeil, J.E. (2004). Clinical neuropsychology: A practical

guide to assessment and management for clinicians. Chichester: Wiley. Hebben, N. & Milburg, W. (2009). Essentials of neuropsychological

assessment. (2nd edition). Chichester: Wiley. Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D.B. & Loring, D.W. (2004) Neuropsychological

Assessment (4th edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend tutorials, give an oral presentation, and submit an essay. Students failing to undertake these activities will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course. For information about the implications of receiving a fail mark for course work, or failing to submit course work, see page 9. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.


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PERCEPTION Aims To present experimental data and associated theories relating to selected areas of visual perception. The course will start with conceptual issues related to perception, outlining relationship between sensation and perception in relation to illusions. Historical approaches to quantifying the relationship between the physical parameters of the stimulus and psychological percept such as Weber (1795-1878), Fechner (1801-1887) Stevens’ (1906-1973) laws are discussed. The course will then continue with details of more recent observations and models related to perception of features such as colour, structure, disparity and motion. Other topics such a neuronal basis for perception and psychological factors such as visual attention in the context of perception will be addressed. Learning Outcomes Academic Excellence: To have an in depth understanding of the following:

1. How the perception of surface colours are affected by number of different retinal photopigments. Abnormal perception of colour in cases of acquired and congenital colour vision deficiencies.

2. Parameters affecting detection of basic structures. What are the spatial and temporal properties for detection of simple achromatic gratings?

3. What are the binocular and monocular cues for depth perception? To be able to outline a number of theories of stereopsis.

4. The neurobiology of visual perception. The relationship between cell properties in early cortical visual areas and psychophysical performance.

5. Modulation of perception of visual features by visual attention. How the perception of colour and motion in particular are affected by selective visual attention

6. What are the evidence for attentive/ per-attentive processing of basic features and at what stage of processing attentional mechanisms affect visual processing.

Critical Thinking and effective communications: Be able to evaluate critically in oral presentations, written essays and degree examination topics stated above. In particular, you will be required to conduct a literature search on evidence related to a particular topic in visual perception and critically assess a number of scientific journals in a written essay. Learning and personal development:


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You will be given the opportunity to choose a topic amongst a series of options related to visual perception and give a short presentation using a presentation package. Feedback will be provided to allow you develop your presentation skills. Active Citizen: you will be made aware of how basic research findings from visual perception are used in to attract people’s attention or modify their behaviour. These include, advertising, marketing, and hazard avoidance. Staff Prof. A. Sahraie (Course Co-ordinator) Various staff (tutorials and essays) Assessment 1 ninety-minute written examination (75% of assessment) Essay (20% of assessment Oral presentation (5% of assessment) Teaching Methods Lectures, tutorials, essay. Lecture Syllabus Lecture 1 : An Introduction to Psychophysics What is threshold sensitivity ? Methods for psychophysical determination of thresholds for detection. Lectures 2 Colour Vision I Differences in perception of light intensity and wavelength. Photo-pigment types and encoding of wavelength. Lectures 3 Colour Vision II S, L and M signals and colour opponency. Lectures 4 Colour Vision III Colour vision abnormalities. Assessment of changes in colour vision. Lectures 5 Depth Perception Stereopsis and theories of depth perception. Monocular and binocular cues to depth information. Lectures 6 Spatial Vision Use of sinusoidal gratings in visual sensitivity experiments and the determination of the contrast sensitivity function (CSF). Spatial and temporal characteristics of human visual system.


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Lectures 7-8 Cortical encoding of orientation and colour Neuronal basis for visual perception. In particular similarities and differences in cortical architecture of Human and Monkey brain. Lectures 9-10 Cortical Encoding of Visual Motion Perception of motion, encoding of motion signals and abnormalities in motion perception following brain injury. Lectures 11-12 An Introduction to the Role of Visual Attention in

Perception Pre-attentive and attentive processing of orientation, motion colour, and depth. Investigation of visual attention using psychophysical and physiological techniques. Recommended Reading There is no single text book for this course. Material will be covered from a number of standard textbooks given below. In addition, a number of journal articles will be referenced during the lectures. Copies of the articles can be obtained either from the library or via e-journal links. Levine, M.W. (2000). Fundamentals of sensation and perception (3rd

Edition). Oxford University Press. Sekuler, R. & Blake, R. (2006). Perception (5th Ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Bruce, V., Green, P.R. & Georgeson, M.A. (1996). Visual perception (3rd

Ed.). Hove: Psychology Press. Gazzaniga, M.S., Ivry, R.B. & Mangun, G.R. (2002).Cognitive neuroscience:

The biology of the mind. New York: Norton.(Also reprinted in 2006) Goldstein, E.B. (2002). Sensation and perception (6th Ed.). Brooks/Cole. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend tutorials, give an oral presentation, and submit an essay. Students failing to undertake these activities will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course. For information about the implications of receiving a fail mark for course work, or failing to submit course work, see page 9. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.


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SECOND HALF-SESSION


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SESSION 2011-2012

LEVEL 3 PS3513 CREDITS 15

METHODOLOGY B

Aims To equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out and evaluate psychological research. Learning Outcomes • Academic excellence:

- Have a knowledge of more sophisticated research strategies. - Have a knowledge of the following statistical methods for use in the

practicals and later in dissertations: Pearson correlation. Other measures of association (point-biserial, Cramer’s V,

etc.) Simple regression. Multiple regression. Exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory Factor Analysis Statistical power and effect size

• Critical thinking and effective communication:

- Be able to discuss and evaluate the statistical methods taught in this course critically in research reports, oral presentations, group discussions, and the degree examination.

• Learning and personal development:

- Extend expertise in the operation of the statistical package SPSS for Windows in order to carry out the techniques and tests specified above.

- Be able to plan, conduct, analyse, and report on empirical studies conducted under the supervision of a member of staff.

• Active citizenship:

- To be aware of ethical issues surrounding psychological research Staff Prof J Crawford (Course Co-ordinator) Prof J Crawford (and Kathryn Mearns) (Course lecturers) Dr Royston Allen (SPSS co-ordinator & tutor) Various staff (practicals)


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Assessment One ninety-minute written examination consisting of 60 multiple-choice questions. (70% of the assessment) Practical Report (25% of the assessment) Oral presentation (5% of the assessment) Note that the material covered in the SPSS Practical Course will be included in the written examination. Teaching Methods Lectures, SPSS practicals, experimental practicals. Lecture and SPSS for Windows Practicals Syllabus Full details are available in the Notes for Level 3 Students. Recommended Reading

• Dancey, C. P. & Reidey, J. (2007). Statistics without Maths for Psychology. Pearson Education Limited.

• Kinnear, P.R. & Gray, C.D. (2009). SPSS 17 made simple. Hove: Psychology Press. ISBN: 978-1-84169-729-1

• Howell D. C. (2010). Statistical methods for psychology. Belmont, CA Duxbury Press

• Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2005). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). New York: Pearson

Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend all lectures, SPSS practicals, and experimental practical meetings, and to submit a satisfactory practical report on time. Students failing to attend SPSS practicals and experimental practical meetings will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course (see page 9 of this handbook). In the case of the practical report, please note that students who do not submit a practical report can be refused a class certificate and will not be able to take the end-of-course examination. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.


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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR PS3513

SCHEDULES AND SYLLABUS METHODOLOGY B

SECOND HALF-SESSION PS 3513

You are expected to attend all lectures and SPSS practicals, each of which lasts for one hour. The first 6 SPSS practicals will be related to the content of the weeks lecture and will include problem-based workshops. Lectures Mondays at 11 am (KCF7) SPSS Practicals William Guild Building – Room S26

Group 1: Mondays 1-2pm and Wednesdays 1-2pm Group 2: Tuesday 1-2pm and Thursdays 11-12pm Group 3: Wednesdays 10-11pm and Thursdays 1-2pm Group 4: Wednesdays 2-3pm and Fridays 1-2pm

Schedule of Lectures and SPSS Practicals

2012 WEEK 1 30th January

Prof Crawford Pearson Correlation, Part 1 SPSS 1 Pearson correlation, Part 1 WEEK 2 6th February

Prof Crawford Pearson Correlation, Part 2 SPSS 2 The Pearson correlation, Part 2 WEEK 3 13th February

Prof Crawford Other measures of association SPSS 3 Other measures of association WEEK 4 20th February

Prof Crawford Linear regression SPSS 4 Linear regression WEEK 5 27th February

Prof Crawford Multiple regression


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SPSS 5 Multiple regression WEEK 6 5th March

Prof Crawford Exploratory Factor analysis SPSS 6 Exploratory Factor analysis WEEK 7 12th March

Prof Crawford Confirmatory Factor analysis & SEM No SPSS practical WEEK 8 19th March

Dr Mearns Finding and planning a viable thesis research project

No SPSS practical

EASTER RECESS

There is one further SPSS class after Easter (Week 11); some further

voluntary SPSS revision sessions may also be available.

WEEK 9 16th April Prof Crawford Effect Size, Power and Meta-

Analysis: Part 1 No SPSS practical WEEK 10 23rd April

Prof Crawford Effect Size, Power and Meta-Analysis: Part 2

No SPSS practical WEEK 11 30th April

Prof Crawford Statistical Test Selection SPSS 7 Revision/Exam Preparation WEEK 12 7th May

Prof Crawford Statistical Test Selection 2 / Revision of material

No SPSS practical

COURSE PS3513 ENDS


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MEMORY AND LANGUAGE

Aims To consolidate and extend previous coverage of cognitive material by presenting a discussion and critique of experimental data relevant to: learning and memory, autobiographical memory, and language processing. Learning Outcomes (Lectures 1 to 6)

• Academic excellence: Students will be able to describe major theories of memory (e.g. working memory, autobiographical memory) and major findings from human memory research (e.g. characteristics of short and long-term memory, dual-task interference effects in working memory, effects of memory distortion in autobiographical memory).

• Critical thinking and effective communication: Students will be able to evaluate different theoretical accounts of human memory and communicate this through coursework and written exams.

• Learning and personal development: Students will learn the skills to understand and evaluate memory research in applied areas such as clinical and legal settings.

• Active citizenship: Students will become aware of moral and ethical controversies in memory research, such as the unreliability of eyewitness testimony.

Learning Outcomes (Lectures 7 to 12)

• Academic excellence: Students will be able to describe models of three key aspects of language processing (sentence parsing, language production and dialogue). They will be able to describe how competing accounts differ, and the empirical evidence to support them. In addition, they will be able to describe how current research into language has been shaped by its historical context.

• Critical thinking and effective communication: Students will be able to critically evaluate the contrasting accounts of language processing (for example, garden path versus constraint-based models of sentence parsing), and will be required to communicate this through coursework and exams.

• Learning and personal development: Students will learn the skills to understand and evaluate different approaches to language research.

• Active citizenship: Students will become aware of how linguistic factors can aid or impede understanding between speakers and within communities.


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. Staff Dr D Pearson (Course co-ordinator) Dr D Pearson, Dr A Cleland (Course lecturers) Various Staff (tutorials and essays)

Assessment 1 ninety-minute written examination (75% of assessment) Essay (20% of assessment Oral presentation (5% of assessment) Teaching methods Lecture, tutorials, essay. Lecture Syllabus Lectures 1-6 Dr Pearson This series of lectures will focus on some of the key issues in the cognitive study of human learning and memory. Initially there will be a discussion of historical and conceptual issues in memory research, including the establishment of experimental techniques for investigating memory, the historical development of metaphors for the mind, and the technological developments which influenced the origins of cognitive psychology. After this the main focus will shift on to multi-store models of memory, and the characteristics of short and long term memory will be examined. This will include a description of the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad components of working memory, and a discussion of how general attentional or central executive resources may be involved in the short-term retention and processing of information. The course will also examine how information is organised within long-term memory, and whether it is valid to distinguish between episodic and semantic stores of knowledge. Final consideration will be given to theories and applications of Autobiographical Memory research, including consideration of Eyewitness Memory. The specific coverage of topics will be as follows: Lecture 1: Historical and Conceptual Issues in Memory Research. Lecture 2: Verbal Working Memory and Language. Lecture 3: Executive and Visuo-Spatial Working Memory. Lecture 4: Knowledge Organisation in Long-Term Memory Lecture 5: Autobiographical Memory Lecture 6: Eyewitness Memory


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Lectures 7-12 Dr Cleland These lectures will begin with an introduction to the key issues in psycholinguistics, and will place these debates within their historical context, focusing on the influence of figures such as Chomsky. The lectures will go on to examine how people piece together the meaning of a sentence from its syntactic structure. In particular it will focus on two competing accounts of sentence processing; the “garden path” and the “constraint-based” models. The course will also cover the processes that underlie language production, examining how it is that speakers select individual words to express an idea, and how they order those words within a sentence. Finally, the course will focus on factors that influence how people communicate in a dialogue setting. The breakdown of lectures will be as follows: Lecture 1: Historical and Conceptual Issues in Language Research Lecture 2: Syntactic parsing 1: Garden Path Theory Lecture 3: Syntactic parsing 2: Constraint-based Models Lecture 4: Language production 1: Word production Lecture 5: Language production 2: Sentence production Lecture 6: Dialogue Major sources of reading Baddeley, A.D. (1990). Human memory: Theory and practice. LEA. Eysenck, M.W. & Keane, M.T. (1990). Cognitive psychology: A student’s

handbook. LEA. Logie, R.H. (1995). Visuo-spatial working memory. LEA. Harley, T.A. (2001 or 2008). The psychology of language: From data to

theory. Hove: Psychology Press Pinker, S. (various editions – you can get second-hand editions of the 1995

paperback cheap online). The language instinct: The new science of language and mind. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Additional references will be given out at each lecture. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend tutorials, give an oral presentation, and submit an essay. Students failing to undertake these activities will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course. For information about the implications of receiving a fail mark for course work, or failing to submit course work, see page 9. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.


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DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Aims To consolidate and extend students’ knowledge of a number of core areas of developmental psychology. This course will examine both historical and contemporary issues and findings in perceptual development, language development, social and emotional development, and developmental psychopathology. The course will also cover a number of key conceptual issues including the role of nature versus nurture in human development, modularity and modularization, and the contribution of research on atypical development to our understanding of normal functioning. Learning Outcomes Be able to evaluate critically in written class and examination assessments, oral presentations, and group discussions the following topics relating to the course syllabus:

1. Academic Excellence: Students will develop an appreciation of social, cognitive and biological factors in children’s development; the role of nature versus nurture in the development of language, and theory of mind; modularity, modularization, and social input; and, the historical context of studies examining the development of social cognition and infancy and the advances made in this field.

2. Critical Thinkers and Effective Communicators: Students will develop

the ability to think critically in the following areas: (1) Perceptual Development: Research methods appropriate to the study of neonatal looking preferences; theories of neonatal preference for the human face (2) Language Development: Stages of language acquisition through infancy and early childhood; theories of language acquisition (Chomsky’s theory, information processing theory, learning theory, modelling, and evidence from Sign Language) (3) Social and Emotional Development: Research methods appropriate to the study of children’s understanding of other people; the development of children’s theory of mind; developmental watersheds in children’s appreciation of mental states; social, cognitive, and biological factors affecting the development of children’s understanding (4) Developmental psychopathology: the developmental trajectories of perceptual, language, and social and emotional processing in children with Williams Syndrome and Autistic Spectrum Disorder; Cognitive-level explanations of autism.


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Students will be given the opportunity to become effective communicators by preparing and delivering oral presentations to their peers and tutor in one of the areas above

3. Learning and personal development: Students will be given the opportunity to acquire skills (through group discussion, library work, oral presentations and essay writing) that will help them to critically evaluate theories and research within core areas of developmental psychology

4. Active Citizenship: The emphasis of this course is social cognition and the factors that affect the development of those abilities that facilitate interactions with other human beings.

Staff Dr Hosie (Course co-ordinator and Lecturer) Dr Hosie and various staff (tutorials and essays) Assessment 1 ninety-minute written examination (75% of assessment) Essay (20% of assessment Oral presentation (5% of assessment) Teaching Methods Lectures, tutorials, essay Lecture Syllabus The lecture course begins with a discussion of those psychological attributes that are critical to our understanding of what it is to be ‘human’. The lectures focus upon: (1) Perceptual development (in particular those studies examining early looking preferences for the human face). The different research methodologies used by studies in this field are discussed and theoretical explanations for early face preferences are evaluated. (2) Language acquisition. The stages involved in language development during infancy and childhood are discussed. Theoretical explanations of language acquisition are evaluated (e.g., Chomsky’s theory, information processing theory, learning theory, modelling). The contribution of studies of natural sign language to our understanding of language development is also considered. (3) Social and Emotional Development. The ages at which infants and children’s demonstrate an awareness of different mental states (e.g. intentionality,desire, pretense, belief) is considered and the question of developmental watersheds in children’s conceptual understanding is


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discussed. The types of methodology used to examine children’s mental states is also discussed and special consideration is given to the role of the false-belief task in children’s understanding of belief states. The social, cognitive, and biological factors that might affect children’s awareness of mental states is also examined. (4) Developmental Psychopathology. These lectures focus upon the abilities of children with Williams Syndrome (WS) and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The lectures on Williams Syndrome focus upon the unusual developmental trajectories of the perceptual, social, and language abilities of children with this disorder. The lectures on Autism examine the unusual cognitive profiles of children with ASD as well as the major cognitive-level explanations for this disorder (i.e. the theory of mind hypothesis, executive dysfunction, and weak central coherence). Similarities and differences between WS and ASD are also discussed. (5) In light of the material covered, students at the end of the course are invited to reflect upon a number of key conceptual issues, including: (i) the role of social, cognitive and biological factors in human development; (ii) Nature versus nurture; modularity versus modularisation; (iii) the contribution of atypical development to our understanding of normal functioning. Finally, the findings of the course are discussed within an historical context, with the aim of illustrating to students the extent of the progress that has been made within different fields of developmental psychology in recent years. Recommended Reading A reading list will be distributed at the beginning of each lecture module. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend tutorials, give an oral presentation, and submit an essay. Students failing to undertake these activities will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course. For information about the implications of receiving a fail mark for course work, or failing to submit course work, see page 9. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.


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SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Aims To introduce students to a range of topics in experimental social psychology. The course will commence with a brief conceptual overview of experimental social psychology. Consideration will then be given to a range of core topics in social cognition. The historical context of each topic will be covered prior to an analysis of contemporary theoretical and empirical research. Learning Outcomes

• Academic excellence: Students will be able to describe major social psychological theories and central findings from contemporary research in core topics in the area.

• Critical thinking and effective communication: Students will be able to evaluate and articulate how research in social psychology can inform societal issues.

• Learning and personal development: Students will learn the skills to understand and evaluate the scientific basis of claims regarding everyday social phenomena.

• Active citizenship: Students will become aware of the moral and ethical implications of social psychological theory and research.

Staff Professor Neil Macrae (Course co-ordinator and lecturer) Dr Lynden Miles (lecturer) Various Staff (tutorials and essays) Assessment 1 ninety-minute written examination (75% of assessment) Essay (20% of assessment Oral presentation (5% of assessment) Teaching Methods Lectures and tutorials.


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Lecture Syllabus (6 x 2 hour lectures) Lectures 1 Social Perception and Action Lectures 2 Embodiment Lectures 3 Stereotyping Lectures 4 Mind Perception Lectures 5 Affective Forecasting Lectures 6 Consciousness

Recommended Reading Lists of specific references to review and journal articles will be given with each lecture. Progress Requirements Students are expected to attend tutorials, give an oral presentation, and submit an essay. Students failing to undertake these activities will be deemed to be ‘at risk’ and may be withdrawn from the course. For information about the implications of receiving a fail mark for course work, or failing to submit course work, see page 9. Other Information See the Notes for Level 3 Students.

session 2011-2012 third level psychology courses · third level courses 2011-2012 5 practical...

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