Coursework Help

Post here if you need help with your coursework. Remember we are both away from Easter Sunday for the whole of the second week so will not check between the 12th and the 19th of April.

Miss Duffin and Mrs Gold.

References

Select the appropriate references for your report – you must have every study from your introduction!  If I have missed one that you have got post a comment and I will add it. They must be in alphabetical order by surname of the first researcher mentioned. You must write them exactly as they are shown here including the underlining to get full marks for this section

 

Buss, D. (1989) ‘Sex differences in human mate preferences’ Behavioural and Brain Sciences Vol 12 pp1-49

Dunbar, R. (1995) ‘Are you lonesome tonight’ New Scientist Vol 145 No. 1964 p26

Kenrick, D.T. & Keefe, R.C. (1992) Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in human reproductive behaviour. Behavioural and Brain Sciences Vol 15 (1) pp75-133

Darwin, C. (1859a) On the Origin of species by means of natural selection London:Penguin

Cunningham, M.R. (1986) Measuring the physical in physical attractiveness: Quasi-experiments on the sociobiology of female beauty Journal of Personality and Social Psychology  Vol 50, pp925-935

Borgerhoff-Mulder, M. (1988) Kipsigis bridewealth payments As cited in Human Reproductive Behaviour, A Darwinian Perspective Eds: L.L.Betzig, M. Borgerhoff-Mulder & P.W. Turke, Cambridge: University Press

Singh, D (1993) Adaptive significance of female attractiveness Journal of Personality and Social Psychology  Vol 65 pp295-307

Waynforth, D. and Dunbar, R. (1995) Lonely Hearts Analysis, As cited in Dunbar, R. (1995) ‘Are you lonesome tonight’ New Scientist Vol 145 No. 1964 p26

McGuniness, S. (1995) Lonely Hearts in London, As cited in Dunbar, R. (1995) ‘Are you lonesome tonight’ New Scientist Vol 145 No. 1964 p26

Fieldman,G. (2001) The lure of the older woman. Information collected from www.bbc.co.uk/news.bbc.co.uk/l/hi/health/1410495.stm on 6/11/2008

Pennebaker, J. (1979) Don’t the Girls’ Get Prettier at Closing Time: A Country and Western Application to Psychology Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 1, 122-125 (1979)

Coursework Expectations

Dear all,

here is some idea of what we are expecting between now and September,

a) discussions (F1-4) finished by the end of this week (11th July)

b) all sections to be complete in workbooks by the end of next week (18th July)

c) all sections (apart from the calculations) typed and in ONE plastic wallet and handed in during your first psychology lesson of next term (by 5th September you will all have had a lesson)

This is a managed workload and therefore non-negotiable expect under the most extreme circumstances. If you fail to meet these deadlines, particularly (c) then we will be speaking to parents – please don’t make us need to do this.

If you need help, speak to one of us in your lessons between now and then or come to the humanities office after school.  We can’t tell you what to write but we will point you in the right direction if you are stuck.

We hope that you have an enjoyable summer and look forward to seeing you in September,

Miss Duffin

Coursework Help

Anybody can post a comment here and we will try to get back to you asap

References in Coursework (Year 13)

Just a quick note to say these must be alphabetical and in the standard format.  Look in the back of your coursework pack or any psychology book for examples.  You must have a reference for each and every piece of research you talk about in the introduction and/or the discussion

Year 13 Discussion Help!

F1 Explanation of findings

Relate to the aim/hypotheses without referring to the statistics. So explain whether the aim has been supported or not, whether the hypotheses have been retained or rejected and state these in full. Now consider the statistics. Explain whether the results were as expected and why this was so OR state any findings you did not anticipate. Explain any additional findings that may have been noted in the gathering of the data with reference to the original aim. 

F2 Background theory

The results must be related back to the background theory. Do the results support or contradict? If they support are there any further explanations/new theories that can be cited to explain further the results (do not repeat research already given in the introduction)? If they contradict, consider why. Give criticisms of the background theory that might explain the contradiction, and include any alternative explanations that challenge the background research. 

F3 Limitations and modifications

All research has methodological weaknesses, e.g. sample-bias, disadvantages of the research method (design if appropriate), researcher and participant effects, confounding variables, reliability and validity, quantitative/qualitative approach, measurement scales, lack of standardisation or pilot test, statistical treatments, type errors, ethics. If the study is correlational you must remember lack of causation as the key limitation. Do not forget the modifications, i.e. suggest how these weaknesses could be addressed. 

F4 Implications and suggestions for further research

Discuss the wider implications of the findings e.g. do the findings have social significance? Real-life validity? Applications? Or are there any ethical implications? For example, if your results support a correlation between stress and physical illness, the implication would be the negative effects of stress and how these could be best reduced. Give ideas for follow up research; these should be a logical outcome of your research investigation, i.e. something that expands upon it by changing a key variable. For example, a further research based on stress and physical illness could be a correlational investigation into stress and psychological illness. Only a couple of ideas are needed but do elaborate. That is, explain what this would involve, e.g. the research method etc. and refer to background research that supports the relevance of the suggestions. Do not just do one or the other—you must include implications AND suggestions.

Year 13 Introduction Help!

INTRODUCTION 

C1 Background theory

Begin by stating the general area you are investigating e.g. stress, memory. Keep this short! DO NOT  WRITE AN ESSAY. Marks are based on how relevant the research is so BE SELECTIVE! For example, do not write everything you know about memory if you are investigating eyewitness testimony. Insteadselect relevant research such as
Bartlett’s reconstructive memory and Loftus’s research on EWT.   Five research studies are the maximum and two the minimum if the area is under researched. Do not describe the studies in too much detail. You need to focus on any flaws that you intend to improve upon and any findings or conclusions that you intend to follow up. Do not duplicate any information from the introduction in the discussion, you must describe (AO1) the research in the introduction and evaluate (AO2) it in the discussion. So there should be no repetition, given that these are very different skills!  C2 Formulation = filtering downThe aim/hypotheses must be a logical progression from the background research. The general theory must filter down to the specific research that your investigation is based upon. The study that is most relevant to your own should be the last one described before the aim.

C3 Aim/hypotheses

You must state the aim, experimental/alternative and null hypotheses clearly and precisely. The wording should be exactly the same as it was in the abstract as the aim is not supposed to change during the course of the investigation! The variables must be stated clearly so that the hypothesis is testable. This means you must operationalise the variables, that is, it must be clear how they will be measured. For example, if you are investigating memory then just stating the DV as ‘level of memory’ is not an operationalised variable, stating the DV as ‘the number of words remembered’ is an operationalised variable.  Experimental hypothesis: There is a difference between (state the IV) in the (state the DV). Null hypothesis: There is no difference between state the IV in the state the DV, and any differences that do exist are due to chance and/or random variables.  The formulation for the experimental hypothesis works for most hypotheses e.g.:There is a difference between males’ and females’ rated importance of physical attractiveness in mate selection.However, if the formulation does not work, or your hypothesis needs to be directional, remember that the key criteria for an experimental hypothesis is that you state a difference and operationalise the variables. Correlational hypothesis: There is a correlation between x and y. Null hypothesis: There is not a correlation between x and y and any association that does exist is due to chance and/or random variables.