NZQA registered unit standard
27257 version 1
Page 1 of 3
Title
Demonstrate understanding of key pieces of psychological research
Level
1
Credits
4
Purpose
People credited with this unit standard are able to demonstrate
understanding of key pieces of psychological research.
Classification
Social Science Studies > Psychology
Available grade
Achieved, Merit, and Excellence
Criteria for Merit
The candidate must demonstrate detailed understanding of key
pieces of psychological research.
Criteria for Excellence
The candidate must demonstrate in-depth understanding of key
pieces of psychological research.
Explanatory notes
1
Definitions
Findings are stated results, conclusions and/or recommendations that have
contributed to psychological knowledge.
Key pieces of psychological research are those studies which have made a
significant contribution to the development of our understanding of human and nonhuman animal behaviour. Examples of key pieces of psychological research include
but are not limited to:
Watson, J.B., and Rayner, R. (1920) Conditioned Emotional Responses. Journal of
Experimental Psychology, 3: 1-14.
Piaget, J. (1954) The construction of reality in the child. New York: Basic Books.
Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through
imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63: 575582.
Gazzaniga, M. S. (1967). The split brain in man. Scientific American, 217(2): 24-29
Loftus (1972) Leading questions in the eyewitness report. Cognitive Psychology,
1975, 7: 550-572.
Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). On the ethics of intervention in human psychological
research: With special reference to the Stanford Prison Experiment. Cognition, 2:
243-256.
Rosenhan, D.L. (1973) On being sane in insane places. Science, 179 (4070): 250258.
Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., and Frith, U. (1985) Does the autistic child have a
‘theory of mind’? Cognition, 21: 37-46
NZQA National Qualifications Services
SSB Code 130301
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA registered unit standard
27257 version 1
Page 2 of 3
2
Demonstrate understanding will involve the student identifying and describing one
finding from each study and how this contributed to psychologists’ understanding of
behaviour.
3
Demonstrate detailed understanding will involve the student explaining how the
findings from each study contributed to the development of psychological knowledge.
4
Demonstrate in-depth understanding will involve the student explaining how the
findings have improved the understanding of behaviour in relation to psychological
knowledge including how the findings could be applied to different situations or may
be used to explain social problems.
5
Teachers will provide a range of selected studies relating to a psychological setting
and/or from academic research. These may include summaries or extracts of
psychological research.
6
Demonstration can be conveyed using written, oral, or audio-visual presentation in
response to a given assignment.
7
Teaching and learning guidelines that inform psychology as it is taught in New
Zealand can be found at http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Socialsciences/Psychology. Assessment support material for these standards can be
found at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz.
8
Information on psychology as it is practiced in New Zealand is available from the
New Zealand Psychological Society, http://www.psychology.org.nz.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Demonstrate understanding of key pieces of psychological research.
Range
two pieces of given research.
Evidence requirements
1.1
The findings of key pieces of psychological research are described in terms of
their contribution to understanding behaviour.
Planned review date
31 December 2016
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process
Version Date
Last Date for Assessment
Registration
1
21 July 2011
NZQA National Qualifications Services
SSB Code 130301
N/A
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA registered unit standard
27257 version 1
Page 3 of 3
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference
0226
This CMR can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA,
before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses
of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by
NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and
which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that
applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies
to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs). The
CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing
to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors
and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact NZQA National Qualifications Services nqs@nzqa.govt.nz if you wish to
suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.
NZQA National Qualifications Services
SSB Code 130301
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016