UNIT 4 PSYCHOLOGY
Area of Study One: Learning
An Introduction to Learning
Mechanisms of Learning
The Neural Basis of Learning
Areas of the Brain Involved in Learning
The Amygdala
The Hippocampus
The Cerebral Cortex
The Cerebellum
The Ventral Tegmental Area
The Neural Mechanisms and Pathways Involved in Learning
Long-Term Potentiation
Developmental Plasticity and Adaptive Plasticity of the Brain
Use of Imaging Technologies in Identification of Localised Changes in the Brain Due to
Learning Specific Tasks
Applications of, and Comparison of, Learning Theories
Classical Conditioning
Classically Conditioned Reflexes vs. Classically Conditioned Emotional Responses
One-Trial Learning
Trial and Error Learning
B.F. Skinner and His Studies of Human and Animal Behaviour: Operant Conditioning
What is Punishment?
Factors Which Influence the Effectiveness of Both Reinforcement and Punishment
Schedules of Reinforcement
Elements of Operant Conditioning
Applications of Operant Conditioning
Similarities and Differences Between Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning and Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
Key Elements of Observational Learning
Area of Study Two: Mental Health
Important Issues to Consider When Studying Mental Health
Concepts of Normality and Differentiation of Mental Health from Mental Illness
Approaches to Defining Normality and Abnormality
Perspectives of Abnormality: Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment
Types of Psychological Disorders
What is Psychological Dysfunction?
Introducing the Biopsychological Framework
What is Classification?
DSM-IV-TR
ICD-10
Dimensional Approaches
What are the Problems Associated with Diagnosis and Dimensional Ratings in Such
systems?
Stress and the Biopsychosocial Framework
Physiological Responses to Stress
The Fight-or-Flight Response
How Do We React in a Threatening Situation?
Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome
Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
Social, Cultural and Environmental Factors that Exacerbate and Alleviate the Stress
Response
Calhoun’s 1962 Experiments on the Potential Effects of Crowding
Research Methods and Ethical Principles Associated with the Study of Learning
The Experiment in Psychological Research
Three Experimental Designs
The Analysis and Interpretation of Data
About Conclusions and Generalisations
What is an Extraneous Variable?
What is a Confounding Variable
Repeated Measures Design
Matched Participants Design
Qualitative and Quantitative Data Collection
Reliability and Validity in Research
Ethical Principles
Exam Hints