Unit One

Biological influences/bases of behaviour

 * ====functions of the major parts of the brain====


 * hindbrain
 * midbrain
 * forebrain
 * left and right hemispheres
 * corpus callosum


 * main features of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex
 * structure of the neuron


 * cell body
 * axon
 * dendrites
 * myelin sheath


 * methods for investigating brain function


 * external recordings – electroencephalography (EEG)
 * scanning techniques


 * still pictures – computed axial tomography (CAT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
 * dynamic pictures – functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), positron emission tomography (PET) scan


 * case study – Phineas Gage


 * factors that affect behaviour, emotion and thought


 * physical activity
 * psychological and physiological responses to recreational drugs – cannabis, alcohol and amphetamine

Cognition

 * ====theories of intelligence====


 * general intelligence – Galton, Spearman
 * measuring mental age and intelligence quotient – Binet and Simon, Terman
 * empirical approaches to intelligence – Wechsler
 * multiple intelligences – Gardner
 * emotional intelligence – Golman


 * intelligence testing


 * advantages and disadvantages of group and individual testing


 * the role of sensation and perception in cognition


 * sensory organs and stimuli
 * perception – illusions and distortions of visual perception
 * attention – selected, divided, habituation, dishabituation


 * physiological responses indicating different states of consciousness


 * electrical activity of the brain
 * heart rate
 * body temperature
 * galvanic skin response

Relational influences

 * ====types of relationships====


 * pro-social
 * anti-social


 * determinants of liking


 * proximity
 * similarity
 * reciprocity


 * relationship development in adolescence


 * changing structure of adolescent groups – Dunphy

Communication

 * non-verbal communication


 * body language
 * gestures
 * physical distance
 * facial expressions
 * touch and smell


 * effective communication


 * listener/receiver attributes
 * active listening
 * working collaboratively
 * assertive communication
 * the impact of hearing impairment and language delay


 * role of language in initiating, maintaining and regulating interpersonal relationships – Robinson’s social skills

Planning and conducting psychological research

 * ====research terminology====


 * experimental, non-experimental
 * scientific, non-scientific
 * sample
 * population


 * ethics in psychology research


 * informed consent
 * confidentiality
 * voluntary participation and withdrawal rights
 * deception in research


 * steps in the scientific method
 * differences between sample and population data
 * experimental research methods


 * independent and dependent variables
 * operational hypotheses
 * controlled and uncontrolled variables
 * experimental and control groups
 * reliability and validity


 * non-experimental (descriptive) research methods


 * case studies, surveys, correlational studies and archival research
 * behavioural variables (not dependent and independent variables) in correlational studies


 * qualitative methods of data collection
 * quantitative methods of data collection – fixed response, rating scales

Processing and evaluating psychological research

 * ====methods of displaying quantitative data – tables, graphs and diagrams====
 * interpretation of the following forms of data:


 * mode
 * mean
 * median
 * range


 * role of probability
 * use of correlation to establish association between variables
 * sources of error in data and ways of reducing them
 * evidence-based conclusions related to the hypothesis