tlh teacher’s little helper
Year 12 - Psychology (ATAR)

Lessons

11 lessons

  1. Sensation and Perception in Memory The roles of sensation and perception in memory. Processes of sensation – reception, transduction, transmission. Processes of perception – selection, organisation and interpretation.
  2. Models of Memory: Multi-Store and Working Memory Processes of memory – encoding, storage, retrieval. Features of the multi-store model (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968): sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory (implicit/procedural; explicit/declarative – semantic and episodic). Features of the working memory model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 2000): central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer.
  3. Memory Formation and Brain Structures Structures of the brain and their roles in memory: the hippocampus in the formation and storage of memory (Henry Molaison case study), the cerebellum in the formation and storage of implicit memories, and the amygdala in the formation of memories.
  4. Remembering and Forgetting Remembering: recall (free, serial, cued), recognition and relearning; levels of processing model (Craik and Lockhart, 1972) with shallow and deep processing (study: Craik and Tulving, 1975). Rehearsal: maintenance and elaborative; repetition and Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve (1885). Forgetting: retrieval failure, interference (proactive and retroactive), motivated forgetting, decay theory. Causes of memory loss and impacts on behaviour and emotion: trauma (CTE), degeneration (Alzheimer's disease), drug-induced (Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome).
  5. Theories of Learning and Behaviour Modification Classical conditioning: reflex and learnt components (NS, UCS, UCR, CS, CR); key principles – acquisition, stimulus generalisation, discrimination, extinction, spontaneous recovery (studies: Pavlov, 1902; Watson and Rayner, 1920). Operant conditioning: three-phase model (antecedent, behaviour, consequence), reinforcement and punishment (positive/negative), schedules of reinforcement (studies: Thorndike, 1898; Skinner, 1938). Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977): observational learning, modelling, vicarious reinforcement (study: Bandura, Ross and Ross, 1961). Application to behaviour modification: systematic desensitisation, token economies.
  6. Motivation: Self-Determination Theory and Maslow's Hierarchy Sources of motivation – physiological, cognitions, emotions, social. Self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000): amotivation, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation; self-determination continuum; psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness). Hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1954, 1970): deficiency and growth needs, expanded hierarchy, self-actualisation and characteristics of a self-actualised person.
  7. Models of Wellbeing: Diener and Ryff Subjective wellbeing – model of subjective wellbeing (Diener, 1984): life satisfaction, affective balance (positive and negative affect). Psychological wellbeing – six-factor model (Ryff, 1989): autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, self-acceptance.
  8. Stress, Stressors and Models of Stress Stress as defined by Selye (1936); distress and eustress (Selye, 1983). Stressors: types (psychological, environmental, social, cultural) and characteristics (source, duration, intensity). Models of stress: General Adaptation Syndrome (alarm, resistance, exhaustion); stress as a stimulus – Social Readjustment Scale (Holmes and Rahe, 1967); Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984) – cognitive appraisal, problem- and emotion-focused coping. Health-related consequences: maladaptive and adaptive coping strategies.
  9. Sleep, the Sleep–Wake Cycle and Sleep Deprivation Purpose of sleep – evolutionary and restorative. Sleep–wake cycle as a circadian rhythm; three stages of NREM and one stage of REM, with characteristics (heart rate, eye movement, muscle tension, brainwave patterns via EEG) and the length/repetition of the sleep cycle. Sleep deprivation: causes (shift work, drugs, sleep environment, stressors) and effects of acute and chronic deprivation. Techniques to improve sleep hygiene (study: He et al., 2020).
  10. Science Inquiry: Ethics, Research Design and Methodology Ethical guidelines and practices: role of ethics committees; guidelines for human participants (protection from harm, informed consent, withdrawal rights, deception, confidentiality, privacy, voluntary participation, debriefing); use of animals (replacement, reduction, refinement). Formulating research: aims, variables (independent, dependent, control, extraneous, confounding), hypotheses and inquiry questions. Methodology: research designs (experimental and non-experimental), sampling and allocation of participants, sources of extraneous/confounding variables and methods to minimise them.
  11. Science Inquiry: Data Analysis, Evaluation and Communication Data collection: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods; subjective vs objective data. Processing and analysing data: data displays (scatterplot, column, line, histogram; summary and frequency tables), mean and median, Pearson's correlation coefficient. Drawing conclusions: evidence-based conclusions relevant to the hypothesis/inquiry question. Evaluation of research: validity (internal, external), reliability (test-retest, inter-rater), generalisability, improvements, ethical implications, critical evaluation of sources. Communicating: appropriate psychological terminology and referencing.