Understanding research methodology in psychology can be difficult. Hopefully this post will help make things a little clearer. When understanding any topic in psychology, I like to use a basic “What-How-Why” approach. This works particularly well for research methods. Read more: Exam Tips: How to write a research methods essay Lesson idea: Understanding research methods (with worksheet) Biological Approach Research …
Genetics and Ethics
Make sure you have the key questions, learning targets and glossary for this topic. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Whenever you are asked to discuss ethical considerations of any study, you should first remember the APA guidelines we covered during our research work. These are ethical issues when studying humans such as: deception, informed consent, debriefing, confidentiality and right to withdraw. (For genetics …
The Evolution of Attraction
See Chapter 5 of “IB Psychology: A Student’s Guide” for more information. This topic requires you to explain one evolutionary theory of a specific behaviour. One behaviour we look at in my course is sexual attraction because humans have evolved to find certain characteristics of the opposite gender attractive. The characteristics or traits, that are attractive, are those that will …
An Introduction to Brain Imaging
Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between biological factors and behaviour. Three of the important brain imaging technologies you should know about are: MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Discuss the use of, means you can write about a range of issues relating to the use of technology. For example …
Cortisol and Memory
Here’s an interesting study that investigates the impact of cortisol levels of memory encoding and recall. Travis DixonTravis Dixon is an IB Psychology teacher, author, workshop leader, examiner and IA moderator.
Cortisol
This article is a good starting point for learning about the role of cortisol in human behaviour. Travis DixonTravis Dixon is an IB Psychology teacher, author, workshop leader, examiner and IA moderator.
Melatonin, SAD and the Circadian Rhythm
Melatonin and SAD Here’s a video that defines SAD and gives some symptoms of this disorder. If you are to explain how melatonin can cause SAD, you need to know the symptoms. This is also applicable to the GLT that focuses on how our environment can affect our physiology and how that can in turn affect our behaviour. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJYojGonxA] …
Oxytocin and Bonding
Here’s an article with some interesting research regarding the role of oxytocin in bonding between fathers and their children. You’ll be able to find even more information about the functions of oxytocin in human behaviour by reading this article. Don’t forget that you need to know supporting research. If you are interested in how this hormone can influence bonding and …
Introduction to Localization of Brain Function
Localization of brain function simply means that different areas of the brain (i.e. locations) are associated with different behaviours and mental processes (functions). For example, Our hippocampus plays a role in memory. The prefrontal cortex is associated with decision making, planning and controlling our impulsive behaviours. The amygdala plays a role in emotion and emotional response. These are just some …
Introduction to Neurotransmission
Neurotransmission is the process by which neurotransmitters are fired from one neuron to another. It’s important that you can explain how varying levels of neurotransmitters in the nervous system (e.g. in the brain) can have an impact on our behaviour. Here’s a quick preview of neurotransmission: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNaFnRKwpFk] You should be able to outline the causes of neurotransmission and the changes …
Answering Questions in IB Psychology: An Introduction
How do we know what we know in Psychology? Research! Throughout this course and in almost every lesson you’re going to be asked to answer questions, such as*: How do levels of serotonin influence behaviour? What causes depression? Can we trust our memory? In answering all of these questions you need to use research to support your answer. Research means …
Hormones: An Introduction
Hormones and the Endocrine system Another key biological factor in understanding behaviour is the endocrine system. Neurons are what make up our nervous systems; glands are what make up our endocrine system. The endocrine system, therefore, is the name given to the various glands throughout the body that regulate and release hormones. You may already be familiar with hormones from …
Introduction to Qualitative Research
Research in psychology can be generally divided in to two major types: Quantitative Qualitative To be it simply, quantiative research deals in investigating human behaviour by looking at numbers and statistics. Experiments, correlational studies, and meta-analyses are some of the quantitative methods used in Psychology. Quantitative research often tries to investigate cause and effects, or correlations between factors and behaviour. Qualitative …
Semi-structured Interviews
Semi-Structured Interview The key to understanding how a semi-structured interview is carried out is to look at the name: it’s semi-structured. This means it has some structure, but there’s freedom. The structure in this interview method comes in the form of the interview guide that is planned beforehand. This guide includes the general themes or topics that the researcher wants …
Focus Group Interviews
A focus group is a small group people (e.g. 5 – 12) who have something in common that is of interest to the researcher. The researcher acts as a facilitator and the participants are encouraged to talk openly about particular topics that are brought up by the researcher. They are encouraged to talk as if they would in a normal …
Serotonin and Violence
Serotonin and Violence Levels of neurotransmitters in the brain can influence behaviour, so it’s plausible to think that in the criminal brain there may be some abnormalities in neurotransmitter levels. Numerous research studies have shown that violent criminals do in fact tend to have low levels of serotonin (e.g. Moi and Jessel, 1995; Scerbo and Raine, 1993). Studies have also …
Key Study: Piliavin (1969) – Field Experiment
In this video you might see some factors that influence bystanderism. But as these aren’t published studies, we can’t use these as evidence so following the video is a study that we can use as evidence. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4S1LLrSzVE] What factors can you see influencing bystanderism the following field experiment by Piliavin’s? Background Information Much of Darley and Latane’s research into …
Key Studies: Darley and Latane – Bystanderism (1968)
Darley and Latane hypothesized two factors that may influence bystanderism: Diffusion of responsibility Social influence Diffusion of Responsibility “Someone else will help.” This is one thought that might be a result of diffusion of responsibility. To diffuse means to spread something widely, so if there are more people around the responsibility of helping is spread amongst those people so individuals …
Neurotransmission and Behaviour
Neurotransmission and Behaviour There are a number of different neurotransmitters. Research has shown that these different neurotransmitters are associated with particular behaviours. For instance: Dopamine: love, addiction, pleasure, motivation, Serotonin: mood, sleep, arousal, impulsive and aggressive behaviour Acetylcholine: learning, memory, sleep, movement Noradrenaline: stress, alertness arousal There’s always a desire in students first learning about biological psychology to jump to …
Neurons and Neurotransmission
Brain Function: Neurons and Neurotransmission Neurons are a type of nerve cell found throughout our nervous system, including our brain. Brain function refers to the level of activity of brain cells (neurons) in the brain. There are around 100 billion neurons in your brain and they’re all connected to each other through their dendrites. Actually, they’re not physically connected. Between …
Key Study: Conformity rates across cultures (Bond and Smith, 1996)
There has been a lot of research into the role that culture might play in conformity. In Bond and Smith’s article they review many different studies that have investigated this idea. However, they found methodological flaws with these studies when trying to use them to make conclusions about social and cultural influences on conformity. So they decided to conduct a meta-analysis of …
Key Study: Conformity – Asch (1955)
Background Information Humans are social animals, formign groups and strong bonds naturally. As such, it’s not hard to see the many ways that belonging to a group is important. Conformity is one effect that can happen as a result of this need to belong. Conformity is when behaviour is modified in order to fit in with a larger group. Solomon …
Why do people conform? (Normative and Informational Influence)
It’s not essential that you know about normative and informational social influence for this course, but it might help you understand the factors influencing conformity better if you do. One explanation for conformity proposed by social psychologists is normative social influence. This means that we alter our behaviour to fit in with the group because we have a natural desire …
Key Study: Brain Damage and Violence (Grafman, et al 1996)
Updated May, 2020 The Vietnam Head Injury Study (VHIS) is a longitudinal that gathers and analyzes data from Vietnam war veterans. It has contributed significantly to our understanding of the brain as it has enabled psychologists to study veterans who have damage to particular areas of the brain and compare them with other veterans who have not suffered any damage. …
Key Study: Biology and Crime (Raine, 1997)
British Psychologist Adrian Raine is a criminologist who specializes in studies investigating biological correlates of criminal behaviour. In a study conducted in 1997, Raine used PET scans to compare the brains of two groups: Convicted murderers who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI), Non-murderers. Because of its role in emotion and behaviour regulation and control, Raine hypothesized …