If you’re a student, you have a number of options available to you when it comes to selecting a major.  It can feel overwhelming and if you have always been fascinated by the idea of earning a psychology degree, it is important to fully explore the option before making a decision.   To determine if your fascination with psychology is enough to pursue an education and possibly a career, be sure to ask yourself the following questions…

Do you work well with others?   If you are someone who gets pleasure out of working with and helping other people, psychology might be a great choice for you.  There are many options out there for holders of psychology degrees as far as careers go; however, the majority of psychology grads will work in the arena of human services.  Should you happen to follow in this path, most of your time will be spent working one-on-one with individuals who need your help.

On the other hand, if you are someone who works better alone and are more interested in the subject matter than the concept of working directly with others in the services of mental health, the good news is that you don’t have to nix the major…since psychology is so diverse in the careers available, you could fulfill your career goals by exploring paths such as teaching, research or consulting.

How do you handle stress?  Of course, we all would like to enjoy a life devoid of stress but unfortunately that is not the reality in which we live.  Stress is inevitable and if you’re a student, you know you are bound to feel the extra burden from time to time…

Careers in human services can be very rewarding but they can also be very challenging…because of this, stress-inducing frustration can occur.  You can enroll in courses in counseling and stress management that can come in handy for professionals trying to deal with work-related tension.  Aside from taking your basic courses, utilize research and volunteer opportunities that your school offers for you to gain some hands on experience and help you gain the proper stress-coping skills necessary for a job in the field of psychology.

Going to grad school?  For some, the idea of more schooling after you receive your undergraduate degree may be the last thing on your mind.  However, students with a bachelor’s degree in psychology may run into fewer career opportunities and limited salaries than those who are equipped with a master’s degree.  Graduate school would be a huge commitment, but if you conquer it, the professional opportunities increase and broaden your chances for success.  Try to determine what it is exactly that you want to do early on, define your goals and then decide if the path you wish take requires more schooling.

What are your interests?  You might think that your personal interests have nothing to do with your educational and professional goals, but they actually play a leading role inhow happy you will be in the decision to pursue psychology as your major.  Ask yourself:  Are you a practical problem solver?  Or would you rather experiment with different theoretical ideas?  Consider your own personal learning methods, preferences and interests.  Within the field of psychology, there is a plethora of sub-disciplines from which to choose, each with differing educational requirements.

Have you had guidance?  Take advantage of the academic advising services that your college has to offer.  Make an appointment to speak with your counselor and he or she will be able to help you determine how suitable you are for studies and jobs in psychology based on your personality, interests and goals.  Be sure to ask plenty of questions and your advisor should gladly offer information to you on different career paths and specialties.

When choosing psychology as a degree, it is important to create your class schedule geared towards advancing you in the direction of your potential career.  Your advisor will suggest courses that mirror your personal and professional goals and your plan can be tailored to meet your specific needs.

Now that you know how to come to a decision on whether or not a psychology degree is right for you, remember that it is also important to have a love for the subject matter.  If you anticipate going to your classes, enjoy fruitful discussions on the topics, and love learning new facts about psychology…then chances are that pursuing this degree is a good choice for you.

Cindy McDonald is a guest post author who covers topics surrounding psychology and shares with us the above article.  Cindy is also the owner of Best Christian Dating Sites where she gives tips for safe online dating.

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It seems like everyone is going green these days, and the field of psychology is no exception. Ecopsychology is a relatively new term, coined in 1992 by the historian Theodore Roszak in his book, The Voice of the Earth. It draws on concepts from ecology, psychology, and philosophy and concerns the intimate connection between humans and nature.

Components

Although the human mind is shaped by modern society, it remains adapted to the natural world in which it evolved. Thus, humans have a latent instinct to find emotional connections with nature. As a result, the sources, consequences, and solutions for environmental problems are deeply connected with the human psyche, self-image, and behavior. The illusion that a separation exists between humans and nature causes suffering for both, in the form of environmental devastation and our own feelings of despair and alienation. However, by realizing that this connection exists, healing can occur.

Ecopsychologists believe that when humans are away from the influence of nature, mental delusions can occur. On the other hand, living in harmony with nature as a part of it forms the basis for human sanity.

Application

Ecopsychology searches for ways in which humans can bond and reconnect with nature. This can include ecotherapy, dealing with grief about environmental destruction, taking action to restore the environment, and living a sustainable lifestyle.

One of the most important practices of ecopsychology is to take psychotherapy into nature. Direct encounters with the natural world, such as a walk through the woods, along a lake, or even in a park can foster healing in a number of mental health issues such as addiction, emotional trauma, stress, along with improving self-confidence and spiritual growth. In fact, the benefits of spending time in natural settings have been measured and verified in many psychological studies.

Ecopsychologists also examine cultures that have histories of embracing nature, such as aboriginal, pagan, Buddhist, Hindu, and shamanist cultures. For these groups, loss of nature has an effect that is far more profound because it is so entwined with self-identity. We can learn from their practices of living in harmony with nature.

Ecotherapy

Ecotherapy is broadly defined as any way in which nature can be used to promote mental and emotional health. This may include wilderness retreats, relieving stress in nature, or using it as a base for spiritual growth. Many ecopsychologists use the term in a more narrow sense to refer to psychotherapy in nature, which could include dealing with a client’s feelings about environmental problems or discussing positive responses to experiences in nature.

Some examples of ecotherapy include:

- A group of sexually assaulted women meets in a park. As a result of being in nature, they feel more free to share their deep emotions.

- A therapist recommends that a client with anxiety take daily walks to relieve stress.

- Men with histories of violence work with horses to increase their capacity for empathy.

- Members of a therapy group choose a stone from a box containing rocks of all shapes and sizes. They take turns to describe themselves by describing the stone and disclose more about themselves as a result.

- Children with ADD are more successful at focusing and completing tasks in a natural setting.

- A retreat in the wilderness helps a new father realize that he is a man, not a boy, and he can later draw on the experience of being alone in the woods.

- A prison with windows that look out on natural environments can help reduce behavioral problems in inmates.

Other Terms

There are a number of other terms used to describe ecotherapy or share similar philosophies. These include but are not limited to psychoecology, environmental psychology, green psychology, Gaia psychology, global therapy, green therapy, nature-based psychotherapy, and Earth-centered therapy.

* Patricia Duggan has a Masters in Psychology and has been practicing for 11 years. She maintains the site Psychology Degree. She writes about various subjects within the psychology field. *

I’ll admit that a few months ago I was unsure about whether to continue with this blog. I was spending hours on posts which ultimately reached an audience of about 10 people a day – often repeat readers. With university commitments, it became hard to uphold an academic blog so I decided to push it aside in favour of other work.

Well, what a surprise I had when I returned today!

It would seem that I have jumped from about 30,000 all time hits to nearly 80,000 in a matter of months, with my blog attracting around 700 hits per day the last week. I can’t express how happy it’s made me; if anything, it’s “re-motivated” me. I’ll continue writing posts as soon as I can.

Thanks again, it’s always the readers that make the blog.
Speak soon!

Sam.

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Interview with a School Psychologist

Considered working as a School psychologist? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story told anonymously, to get you closer to the truth about this line of work.

What is your job title? How many years of experience do you have in that field? Would you describe the things you do on a typical day?

A normal day for me starts at 8 in the morning. The minute I step into any of my three offices, the barrage of calls, notes, meetings and requests for a go-see are endless. But I don’t mind. You see, I love kids. I see them every day for work and I never get tired of them. If you look inside the large bag I always carry with me to work you will see that it’s filled with lots of testing materials and toys. Yes, I’m allowed to play around on the job and yes I get into a lot of cat fights. All in a day’s work, folks, all in a day’s work. What do I do? I’m a school psychologist. Have been one for three years now.

What’s your ethnicity and gender? How has it hurt or helped you? If you ever experienced discrimination, how have you responded and what response worked best?

I suppose being a woman helps in my kind of job. Being able to show emotions and not having a child feel weird about it can be a plus although not all the time. My ethnicity has never been a source of problem, a hesitation maybe, but nothing that stopped me from doing my job properly.

Do you speak any language other than English? If so, how has it helped you in your job?

Aside from English, I speak two other languages – Tagalog and Spanish.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your job satisfaction? What would it take to increase that rating?

In a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say this job is a 10 in terms of the satisfaction it gives me. Being able to help kids with their problems, in fact just making sense of what they’re going through and helping them reach their full potential is more than just rewarding. It fulfils me in ways no amount of money will ever do.

What don’t they teach in school that would’ve been helpful to you?

One of the toughest lessons I ever had to learn as a school psychologist happened when I was just starting out. Back then, I was so idealistic and naïve. There was this little boy named Eric. His teacher wanted to have him placed in a special education class and I was asked to make a classroom observation. I had an entirely different recommendation for the boy but the teacher and his parents were adamant. The principal thought it wasn’t cost effective to give in to their demands so we made a compromise. You see, being given the authority to decide what is the best for a child does not necessarily mean having the power to implement it. Several other concerns will affect this decision-making process and the result does not always come up to your expectations. That I learned the hard way.

How did you get started in this line of work? If you could go back and do it differently, what would you change?

Just being able to qualify as a school psychologist takes a lot of effort and time. And still all that training and education will not be enough to teach you everything you need to know about handling kids effectively. For one, no one ever warned me that being a school psychologist meant being able to multi task. On the job, I learned how to eat my lunch while devising an Individual Education Plan for Stacy. As a school psychologist I also learned how to play detective, putting together clues and hints, just so I could understand what it is that bothers Erin so much that she can’t make any friends at all.

Ending up as a school psychologist was not part of my plan. I was going to be a doctor, find a cure for cancer and be a renowned noble prize winner. But life took a different turn when my sister’s best friend decided to kill herself at the age of 13.

What’s the strangest thing that ever happened to you in this job?

There are no strange things in this kind of job. What would have struck others as bizarre will not strike you as such. You get that way when you spend as much time as I do with kids. You open your mind to every possibility and you leave it at that. It’s the only way to cope.

On a good day when things are going well, can you give an example of something that really makes you feel good?

On a good day, when things are really going well, I see my shyest student sing her heart out, to the delight and pride of her single mother. This makes me feel good and warm all over. This reminds me of why I love my job and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.

When nothing seems to go right, what kind of snafus do you handle and what do you dislike the most?

When nothing seems to go right, I see two of my girls fighting loudly in the hall, saying terrible things to each other, that only adults should even know about. This tears me up but I keep a straight face. Again, I’m reminded that I’ve yet to hear from these kids’ moms. That despite the many messages I left on their machine, the multiple visits, they’ve remained indifferent to my pleas. This is what I hate the most. Feeling and actually being helpless to do anything.

How stressful is your job? Are you able to maintain a comfortable or healthy work-life balance? What’s a rough salary range for the position you hold? Are you paid enough considering your responsibilities?

They say that to stay sane, a school psychologist must find other things to focus on after a long and stressful day at work. I agree. It’s true, being one is mighty stressful. But my family keeps me grounded. In case you’re wondering, my pay range falls within the $34,800 to $48,800 range. Is this enough compensation? You bet. You have to understand, the rewards of being a school psychologist does not depend much on what I earn although it’s nice being able to come home to a safe neighborhood.

What’s the most rewarding moment you’ve experienced in this position? Of all the things you’ve done at work, what are you most proud of?

The most rewarding moments of this job does not have anything to do with money. It has everything to do though with the genuine laughter that I hear from Kevin whose dad just passed away a couple of months ago. It has everything to do with seeing little Johnny finally learn his ABC’s after weeks and weeks of testing and one on one counseling.

What’s the most challenging moment you’ve experienced? What would you prefer to forget?

Every day is a challenge for me. But deciding if Kevin needs my help more than Caroline is the least of my favorites. If I had a choice, I would bring every child’s profile home with me and work on them until my eyes drop. But I learned long ago that this cannot be healthy, both for me and the child I’m concerned about so I don’t do that anymore.

What education and skills do you need to get hired and succeed in this field?

With very rare exception, a master’s degree in psychology or counseling is the minimum requirement to be working at this job. All school psychologists must be certified and licensed by the state they choose to work in. On top of this, you have to be patient, stable and mature. If listening is not your strongest suit, then this job is definitely not for you. Can’t stand kids? Stay away from this job and go work in a bank. Above all, you must be curious and inquisitive, with an enduring passion for learning more about human behavior and helping kids reach their full potential. To be really honest, this is not the kind of post I would recommend to everyone. It requires competence, long hours of training and an honest desire to help.

Are there any common misunderstandings you want to correct about what you do? How much vacation do you take? Is it enough?

The most common misconception about school psychology is that it is the same as educational psychology, that these two are interchangeable. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like any teacher whose office hours are based on the children’s school hours, I too have my days off. But the work of a school psychologist does not always end when the school day ends.

Does this job move your heart? If not, what does?

All in all, being a school psychologist is no walk in the park. But it moves my heart in ways no amount of money or prestige ever could. This is something that I can definitely continue to do for the rest of my life.

Authored by

As told to ‘JustJobs.com Academy’ – a collection of true job stories told by workers from all walks of life from mental health counselor to business development director, and everything in between.

Learning is something that is greatly advantageous for the survival of both humans and other animals. By learning behaviours that produce favourable outcomes, we can aid our well-being and repeat such behaviours to acquire the benefits more than once. It is described as:

“An adaptive process in which the tendency to perform a particular behaviour is changed by experience. As conditions change, we learn new behaviours and eliminate old ones.”

Martin, Carlson and Buskist, 2007.

There have been a great deal of different learning theories proposed; the main three being habituation, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Habituation is deemed the simplest form of learning; when we learn to ignore a repeated stimuli. For example, prior to reading this sentence, you will have learnt to ignore the feeling of clothes against your skin. Of course, as soon as you read that, you are instantly aware of the feeling your clothes are producing (unless you’re reading this naked, which I’d rather not assume…). Classical conditioning is learning to associate two stimuli with one another. For example, your mouth might water in response to the scent of a cooking steak (or even the thought of one!). Both these learning theories will be explored in greater detail in subsequent learning posts.

It may seem wiser to begin my learning posts with habituation, as it is the most basic form of learning. This is true, but I believe operant conditioning will be of more use to students and will prove to be more popular than a habituation post. There is much more to discuss, and it will (in my opinion) prove much more interesting to read.

So – operant conditioning. What is it?

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental learning, is learning by ‘operating’ with the environment. By doing so, we will sometimes be rewarded with good consequences and other times we will produce less favoured outcomes. We are more likely to repeat a behaviour once we learn that it produces positive consequences.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

Operant conditioning originates from the basement of an American psychologist by the name of Edward Thorndike. He observed the behaviour of hungry cats which he placed into homemade ‘puzzle boxes’. The box was designed so that once a latch was activated, the cat was able to escape and find food. As expected, the cats firstly engaged in random behaviour, such as meowing, hissing and scratching. At first, cats took a long time to escape; they would accidentally nudge the latch which opened the puzzle box. This was a random, unintentional interaction with their environment, leading to a rewarding consequence. In each subsequent trial, the cat became more and more efficient at activating the latch – until eventually it was activated with little or no hesitation. Thorndike described this as “learning by trial and accidental success“.

Thorndike explained that the cat repeated the latch activation behaviour as a result of it’s favourable outcome. There was no other way that the cat could escape and eat – and so the behaviour was learnt. When the cat escapes, the response that leads to this behaviour is strengthened. He named this relation between response and outcome the “law of effect“. Thorndike’s work was possibly the most important advancement in learning theory – as it enabled us to understand learning as a response to the environment rather than just other stimuli like with classical conditioning. His work enabled another prominent behavioural psychologist to advance the theory further: that of B. F. Skinner.

Skinner’s contribution to understanding operant conditioning

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was no doubt a very busy man. He took the findings of Thorndike and found objective ways to study behaviour, writing several books to the public suggesting ways the theory might be used to better society (Skinner, 1948).

Perhaps his most important contribution to the field was his invention known as the “Skinner box” or “operant chamber”. This allowed the behaviour of animals to be observed and manipulated in an easy manner. One such variation of his invention, for example, required rats to press a small lever. This in turn lead a pellet to be dispensed by the box. An example of a typical Skinner box used for rats can be seen in figure 1 below. With humans, they are often specially tailored to the needs of the experiment, but involve allocation of “points” which can often be exchanged for money or other goods.

Figure 1. A Skinner box containing a rat.

As before, it is found that animals will repeat behaviours which lead to favoured outcomes – in the case of the box above, a pellet being dispensed. Many variations are used, with signal lights, electric shock generators amongst other things.

Skinner’s work lead him to come up with something called the “Three Term Contingency”. He believed all human behaviours can be broken up into three separate parts:

• Discriminative stimulus
• Operant response
• Reinforcement

The discriminative stimulus is, essentially, the preceding event that occurs before a certain behaviour is acted out. So, for example, a car alarm sounding outside could be a discriminative stimulus. You would discriminate between your car alarm, and that of other vehicles. Should you realise that it is your car, you would have an operant response. This is simply the behaviour that occurs due to the discriminative stimulus – which would be to check your car isn’t being stolen (and to turn the alarm off if not). Reinforcement would come from the relief that your car is safe, and that you now don’t have to listen to the annoying alarm for ages. Our everyday behaviour is guided by discriminative stimuli; responding to our name being called for example. Have you ever got up and replied “yes?” when nobody has actually called your name (without having misheard)? Of course not – why would you respond when nobody has called you? We only reply (the operant response) when our name has been called by someone (the discriminative stimulus) because that way we will probably end up talking to someone we like (the reinforcer).

More about reinforcement and punishment

When studying behaviour in more recent times, researchers tend to manipulate one of the three parts of the three-term contingency. Of the three parts mentioned before, the reinforcement/outcome is the most manipulated variable. There are typically five consequences that occur as a result of operant behaviour:

• Positive reinforcement: This is when behaviour is repeated due a desirable outcome (appetitive stimulus) reliably and frequently following the response. For example, you may visit a shop again (the response) because the service was excellent, or the clothes are good (the appetitive stimulus).
• Negative reinforcement: This is often incorrectly mixed up with punishment. They are two completely separate concepts! Negative reinforcement is when behaviour is repeated in order to avoid an aversive stimulus (which is anything unpleasant/undesirable). For example, getting stuck in traffic is aversive for most of us. If you leave home early one day and miss the traffic, you will repeat the behaviour of leaving early to avoid the aversive stimulus (heavy traffic). Negative reinforcement leads to strengthening of behaviour.
• Punishment: Again, this is often mistaken for negative reinforcement. Punishment refers to avoiding particular behaviour that is often followed with aversive stimuli. For example, if you receive a painful sting from a bee when sticking your finger in a hive. You would consequently not repeat the behaviour of prodding a beehive. People often punish their children or pets to prevent unwanted behaviour. The problem with this, however, is that the person/pet does not learn which behaviours are desirable – only those which are not. So, punishment leads to weakening of a behaviour.
• Response cost: This is a form of punishment – whereby you avoid behaviour that leads to the termination of an appetitive stimulus. For example, if someone tells you that every time you swear, you must pay £1. You will avoid swearing in order to keep your money. This is commonly used with children with behavioural problems – points or tokens are removed every time they misbehave.
• Extinction: This refers to the reduction of a certain behaviour because the reinforcer no longer occurs. The rat that pulls the lever for a pellet of food will no longer do so if the pellet will no longer dispense. Another example in humans is story telling. Once you realise people are bored of your story, you will stop telling it. The reinforcement of seeing people enjoying your story is gone – there’s no reason for you to continue with the behaviour.

And finally, a note on shaping.

Skinner developed a technique he named “shaping”. This is a method of teaching behaviour to a subject (usually animals). The concept is simple enough; you positively reinforce desirable behaviours when the subject engages in them. Consider training a dog to give their paws for a treat. At first, the dog even coming towards you will be rewarded with a tasty treat. Then, you only give the reward once the dog sits down. This begins to shape their behaviour towards the desired eventuality. You will then only provide treats once the dog offers a paw.

This works with humans as well. At first, you might give a sticker to a child who forms poor, but correct, letters of the alphabet. Consequently, you only provide a sticker when better formed letters are produced. You could even shape my behaviour! Posts on here which receive more views are going to influence me to write similar topics/posts of a similar standard. If a post is ignored, I will probably avoid touching on that topic again or writing in that style.

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Those are the fundamental principles which outline operant conditioning. There is much more reading available, which is easily accessible in libraries or the internet. I realise this post is very long at the moment though, so I will refrain from writing anymore. Thanks for reading, and be sure to look out for the other two posts soon to be released on learning!

Thanks again,
Sam.

Perhaps one of the most influential studies into the field of majority influence is that of Asch. He conducted a number of experiments throughout the 1950′s aiming to test just how easily people are willing to conform when pressured by a majority. His results were important not just in minority influences, but also group interaction. So, what did he do and what were the results?

The set-up

Participants believed they were participating in a visual discrimination task. It sounded simple enough; they were told they needed to sit in small groups (of between 7-9 other participants) and publicly declare which of three ‘comparison’ lines matched the ‘standard line’ (see fig. 1). Everyone took turns to say whether line A, B or C matched the standard line.

In reality, there was only one participant at a time – the other 7-9 people were confederates working for the experimenter. The real (aka naive) participant had no idea everyone else was a stooge, and was always placed so that he answered second to last. There were a total of eighteen trials, all consisting of different line lengths.

'X' is the standard line. Participants needed to decided whether A, B or C was the same length as X.

The other confederates were asked to pick incorrect answers for 12 of the 18 trials. On 6 of them, they would pick a line too short and on the other 6 they would pick a line too long. For the remaining 6 trials, they were asked to pick the correct answer. There was also a control condition, where participants completed the task on their own with no group influence. Less than 1% of participants made genuine errors in the control condition, so it was assumed that the task was unambiguous.

Results for the non-control condition.

Although the results were not massively shocking, they were interesting and definitely showed conformity in some cases:

• 25% of participants refused to conform on any trial and provided correct answers on all 18 trials.
• 50% of participants conformed on at least six trials and provided incorrect answers on them; correct answers were provided on the other trials.
• 5% conformed to all erroneous trials – therefore providing 12 incorrect answers and 6 correct ones.

The average conformity rate was 33% across all trials (the total number of times participants conformed divided by the number of participants x the number of trials.)

After the experiment

Asch asked participants why they conformed to the incorrect majority. All participants reported feeling uncertainty and doubt as a result of the differing opinions of themselves and the group. The majority of participants admitted knowing that they saw the lines differently to the group but thought they may have been perceiving it wrong, and the group must have been right. Others did not want to stand out or look “stupid”, so just went along to avoid any conflict. A small minority reported actually seeing the lines as the group did.

It seems therefore that we conform to avoid ridicule and social disapproval. Nobody wants to be the only person to voice a different answer or opinion.

Alterations upon the above experiment.

In 1951, before the above had taken place, Asch conducted exactly the same experiment, but with 16 naive participants and only 1 confederate. When he gave incorrect answers, the other participants openly humiliated him and laughed at him. The experimenter found the situation so odd, that even he joined in at laughing at the confederate!

It seems therefore, that social ridicule is a major reason for conformity. Asch tested this by asking the 7-9 confederates to publicly declare their answers, but the naive participant to write their answer down privately on paper. Conformity dropped to just 12.5%, suggesting that there was no longer a fear of social disapproval.

Deutsch and Gerard (1955) further altered Asch’s original experiment, finding that when group pressure is low and the lines are quite ambiguous (it was hard to get the right answer), conformity reduced. Some participants were allowed to keep the stimuli when making decisions, and others had the lines removed so they couldn’t see them. When they had no stimuli present, and hence had reason to be uncertain – conformity dropped even more. However, 23% of participants still conformed when they could see the stimulus and answered privately!

***

It can therefore be seen that even in unambiguous tasks, the pressure to conform is very high. We do this to avoid social disapproval, ridicule and humiliation. Since Asch’s experiments from the 1950′s, there has been much research delving deep into conformity – but Asch’s experiment certainly paved the way for such research to occur.

Thanks for reading,
Sam.

References:

Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs, 70.

1. We will be born
2. We will die one day
3. Psychology students will have a horrible amount of essays to write during their studies.”

And you know what? He was right!

In this blog post, I aim to provide a few pointers towards writing an essay that will get you a first. Of course, this will likely apply to any college students as well, but you usually require much less work at A-Level standard than degree level.

So, what how exactly do you write a good psychology essay?

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Leave yourself plenty of time before your deadline.
Perhaps the most important point, it’s crucial to leave your self time to prepare! Leaving an entire essay until the night before is an almost guaranteed way to drop a few grade points. Granted, some people have the amazing ability to get first’s without any effort, but there’s no harm in getting an early start.

Research around the topic thoroughly
Very often lectures will contain the fundamental research in a given area. For example, you can’t really have a lecture on short-term memory without mentioning Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) Multi-Store Model of Memory, right? The important thing however, is to not stick with what is safe. Sure, lecturer’s know best and include the most relevant research, but copying all of the lecture studies will get you no more than a 2:1 (in the second/third year anyway).

Make sure you use all the sources you have – books, journal articles, eJournal databases (such as Web of Science and PSYCarticles if you have access to them at University), e-books, webpages (make sure they’re credible though!), Google Scholar etc. If you’ve taken the first point into consideration, you should have plenty of time to research the topic thoroughly and pick out studies which support what you need to say. Unless you know your topic inside-out, you’ll probably find it pretty hard to write anything of good quality.

Plan, plan… and plan.
For those who write a lot and are more spontaneous, this may not be as useful. For the majority of people, however, it will be hugely beneficial to sit down and structure the essay before you begin writing. I find sometimes if I don’t plan, I end up writing and find new research which means I’m going back and forth all the time and lose my flow. Of course, some people might prefer this method of adding as you go; it’s by no means a bad thing. Planning can be very worthwhile though, and will save a lot of time in the long run. Plan what you will include in the introduction – what exact is the essay about? Then decide in what order you will include your research, and structure those paragraphs accordingly.

For an essay on schizophrenia, for example, you might begin by explaining what schizophrenia is. Then you might have a paragraph detailing prevalence rates, and research that supports these figures. Next you might look at the aetiology – possibly with a paragraph on each cause (such as biological causes, neurology, pharmacological explanations etc.). Next you might outline the main treatments, before ending on a conclusion of findings.

Be aware of the dreaded word limit.
Something that irks me more than I would ever imagine is that horrible word limit. I’d say most essays range from 1000-2500 words, and it’s very important you are aware of how many yours is. There’s a huge difference between a 1000 word essay and 2000 word one; you’ll be expected to have a lot more research in the latter. It also gives you a good idea of how much time you will need to invest in relation to other assignments, and how much detail you’re expected to include. Try not to overrun the limit; it’s very difficult to cut words out once you’re over. Usually you’ll be given a 10% either way lee-way (1800-2200 for a 2000 word essay), but CHECK with your tutors first.

Make sure you’re answering the question and nothing else.
It’s very easy, especially when you get engrossed in research, to begin including things that don’t really answer the question. If your essay title is “The effects of drugs on neurotransmission“, it is not helpful just to write all about drugs and then about neurotransmission. You need to look at the effects of the drugs, not just them both individually. Similarly, the long term effect of drugs on the heart, for example, is irrelevant to the question. Make sure you really think about what the research is saying before throwing it in an essay. Just make sure everything you include links back to the main topic, and really has a purpose for being there. As mentioned before, words are golden in essays, so make every single one count!

Cite as many studies as you can find.
Although there’s certainly no need to take that too literally, it is useful to back up most (if not ALL) of your points with valid research. When you read what you’ve put, ask yourself if there’s anything you can do to support it. Saying things like “many studies show the effect of X on Y” without naming any studies is just not going to work in your favour. A better statement would be “many studies show the effect of X and Y (Example et al., 2011; Smith and Bloggs; 1995)”. It’s also a good idea to use recent research (within the past 10 years), because it shows you’ve really looked into the area in depth to find relevant research.

It’s also really worth looking at full text journal articles when they’re available. That way, you can read the introduction to their work, which very often includes a lot of research which will also apply to your topic. Then you can access THOSE full text articles, and so on. In a way you’re “article surfing”, and finding lots of quality research along the way.

Reference properly!
I have a few friends who’ve actually dropped grade points because of tiny referencing errors, like not putting something in italics. There’s a very strict bunch of guidelines for referencing everything you use – so stick to it! The guidelines are plastered over the internet, and for the lazy amongst you, here are the three main sources you will use and how they are referenced in APA format. Please note some Universities might require you to use another format, but mine uses APA which is what I will describe below. So, here’s how to reference with APA guidelines:

Primary journal sources:

Author, A. B., Author C. D & Author D. E. (Year). Title of the article. Journal title, volume number(issue number), page no.-page no.

For example:
Battle, Y., Martin, B., Dorfmanc, J. & Miller, S. (1999). Seasonality and infectious disease in schizophrenia: the birth hypothesis revisited. Journal of Psychiatric Research , 33(6), 501-509.

Books (but not chapters, just the whole thing):

Author, A. B. & Author, C. (Publish Date). Title of book. Location: Publisher.

For example:
Tsuang, M., & Faraone, S. (1990). The Genetics of Mood Disorders. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

Websites:

Author, A. (Date Published). Article name. Name of website. [Retrieved] Date, [from] URL of website.

For example:
American Psychological Association. (2008). HIV Office on Psychology Education (HOPE). Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/hope.html

If there’s a dot there, put it in. If it’s in italics, do it! It takes a few seconds and could be the difference between a 2:1 and 1st depending on the strictness of the markers!

Take pride in the presentation.
I’m guessing you’ve probably been given presentation pointers already by your University, if so – follow them! If not, it only takes a few seconds at the end of the assignment to make sure the fonts are easy to read, the size is appropriate etc. For all my assignments, I put them in Times New Roman, 12pt, line spacing at 1.5 or 2 lines. Make sure to put page numbers at the bottom, and include a header with your student number/ID and the module title. Include a cover sheet as well if that’s what your department asks for.

SPAG is crucial, but you should know that by now…
As if you haven’t heard it enough, spelling, punctuation and grammar are crucial! Simple rules you should have learnt at GCSE or even earlier should still apply now. Paragraphs should be used properly, everything should be spelt correctly and punctuation in the right places. Sentences are meant to be no longer than 25 words. If you can’t spell properly and use the right grammar, it just looks really bad for you when someone comes to mark it. A badly spelt essay just looks… stupid, and you’ll get a grade to reflect that.

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I think that’s pretty much it!

If there’s a couple of those pointers that are most important, it’s leave yourself lots of time to research and prepare & research the topic area thoroughly. Lecturers can really tell when someone has explored the topic well, and it will show in the writing. Psychology is an academic study, so use loads of studies to support all your statements. If you do that, you’re pretty much guaranteed a first as long as you write it up correctly, and ALWAYS link back to the question!

If I think of anymore points, I’ll add them in the future!

Thanks for reading,
Sam.

All of those daytime talk show hosts use something that fascinates all human beings. A lie detector.

We find it almost shocking to think that a machine may actually see through our deception. Is it that obvious that you’re telling a lie? Can a bunch of wires and a polygraph really see through even the most cunning liars?

Well, in honesty, there is probably no such thing as a 100% correct lie detector – even the talk shows say they’re only 98% likely to be correct. Is that figure even remotely close to it’s accuracy? I’m very skeptical. Many critics disregard the lie detector as rubbish, it’s simply not a scientific procedure. There’s certainly no conclusive evidence that they DO work.

But what about humans?
We all lie at some point, so surely we’d be better at detecting lies than a machine that doesn’t know what it’s doing?

Lie detectors test for physiological changes in skin temperature and sweat, amongst other things. They're often disregarded as inaccurate and lacking scientific methodology.

Well, there is no lack of literature on the different body signs and gestures that supposedly capture lying behaviour. Firstly, I will write about the basic signs that someone might be lying, which are usually included in most body language literature. Then we will come to a conclusion about how accurate it really is…

What are the signs someone might be lying?

Evasion of eye contact.
It’s very hard for most people to feel totally fine when they tell a lie.  Things just become awkward and tense, especially during lies that might have bigger consequences. It is deemed “average” for someone to keep eye contact for over 50% of a natural conversation, so if someone spends most of their time looking away, things are looking a little suspicious… On the flip-side, those of us who are well read on lying body language might attempt a double bluff. In other words, they will make every effort to keep eye contact to look like they’re not lying. Remember, about 50% of a conversation is natural eye contact. Too much or too little might indicate some porkies going on.

Unusual body language.
All of us act differently in social situations. Some are more relaxed than others, some find speaking difficult and awkward. But, if you know someone quite well and they’re acting a little “off”, there’s usually something not right. During lying, the body usually stiffens, the liar will cross their arms defensively, and they take up less space by moving their limbs close to their body. They tend to fidget (tap their foot, click their fingers, twiddle their thumbs), blink more often and sometimes cover their mouth or touch their face.

Inconsistent emotional behaviour.
It’s much harder to fake emotion than it might first seem. Like when you get that birthday present that makes you cringe, but you need to act like you love it. The liar will often mess up the timing and duration of emotional reactions; so emotion may be delayed, last too long/not enough or just end abruptly. The mix of emotional gestures and words can also become inconsistent. Someone might, for example, say “it’s beautiful!” before smiling a few seconds after. Usually, you’d do both simultaneously. Look for muscles in the face as well. When you fake a smile, you use only the muscles in your mouth; real smiles use many more in the eyes, cheeks, jaw etc.

As can be seen by my stunning modelling above, it is probably quite easy for most of you to see which is the real smile (you really don’t want to know how long I sat there pulling ridiculous faces to myself until I smiled…) The answer can be seen by left clicking and highlighting over the space between the arrows:

>>  B is the real smile <<

In the real smile picture, my eyes squint more, my mouth opens wider and my cheeks ‘ripple’ slightly (definitely a big hint if you haven’t worked out the real one already…) In older people, wrinkles may become more defined on their forehead for a real smile.

Guilty people get defensive, innocent people go on the offensive.
Pretty self explanatory. Suppose some chicken nuggets of yours have gone missing, and you ask a suspect “did you eat my chicken nuggets earlier?”. The guilty party will likely respond “What? No, I didn’t eat them, what do you mean? How could it have been me, I was… erm, out at a lecture all today. It definitely wasn’t me! Why are you picking on me?”. They may also simply refuse to answer, or accuse you of being the real liar.

Someone innocent might respond more offensively: “What? Of course not! I wouldn’t trust John though, I saw him snooping in the kitchen at around the time you were gone, and he did have breath like chicken nuggets just before!”

Their language use and conversational style is different.
Liars will often speak slower and in a different pitch or tone than usual. There will be many er’s and umm’s whilst making the story up as they go. Truthful people will have little trouble remembering recent events and will speak without much thought. Liars will often add useless details to a story to make it seem more “real”, like the colour of a car they drove or the length of someone’s hair (unless of course the lie involves the car colour or hair length).

Contracted sentences are usually TRUTH – so using words like “didn’t” rather than “did not” and “wasn’t” instead of “was not”. They will often use more humour or sarcasm than normal to make a joke of things, and will be VERY eager to change the subject.

If you want to trick them, change the subject randomly. If they seem more at ease, they’re probably lying. If they get confused, irritated or draw the conversation back to the original, they’re probably innocent.

Liars stories will change a lot over short periods of time.
Our short term memory is amazing, but not perfect. When liars make up a lot of false information in a short conversation, not all of it will be remembered in the long term. Ask them a couple of days later to recall their exact story; they will probably struggle to recall all of those small details that they so eagerly included before. You wouldn’t be nasty and put someone on the spot like that though… would you?

So does this actually work?

Well, I’d love to tell you that you’ll never be deceived again. I’d love to say that every person that stammers, forgets their stories and doesn’t look at you exactly 50% of your conversation length is, without-a-doubt, a liar.

Unfortunately, humans are just not simple enough. We don’t fit into neat, clean categories and all behave exactly the same. This is why some people are so excellent at lying. Their social skills are so advanced, they can just “keep their cool” all the time and don’t worry about lies. Telling if strangers are lying is virtually impossible, as you don’t know how they act in normal situations.

However, this is a useful guide to see if things are a bit suspicious. If someone you know well acts differently according to the guide above, the chances are they at least have something to hide. Unfortunately though, we will probably never be able to completely tell, with total accuracy, what is really going on in someone’s mind.

Thanks for reading,
Sam.

Eating Disorders: Myths, Facts, and Unknowns

This week, February 20-26, is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The campaign was established by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) in order to raise awareness about one of the most insidious mental  illnesses effecting especially (but not only) adolescents in Western cultures today. Despite the fact that we always hear about anorexic celebrities and models, ostensibly placing understanding of the illness in the spotlight, there are many public misconceptions. Here are a few misunderstandings, established facts, and areas in which more research is required.

Myths

1. A person should only seek treatment if they are seriously emaciated or underweight.

When we think of those who are affected by eating disorders, we usually have only extremely thin people in mind. However, many who are effected by eating disorders have normal or above average weights. In fact, especially when it comes to bulimia, patients are overweight.

2. Media images of the ultrathin cause eating disorders.

One myth that is very common about eating disorders is that it is an illness of the 21st century, caused by the glamorization of being extremely thin like models and Hollywood actors and actresses. While socio-cultural factors certainly serve to exacerbate the disorder, these popular images do not cause the disorder. Eating disorders have been well-documented in medical literature since the 1800s, long before the mass distribution of media and when the cultural standard for the ideal body type was much fuller than it is now.

3. People with eating disorders are only obsessed with beauty or are simply seeking attention.

Again, this is another myth that has been purveyed in popular media, but the fact of the matter is that many people who suffer from aneroxia, bulimia, or another eating disorder hold distorted ideas of their bodies in addition to having other problems like depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Eating disorders are not skin deep they are far more complex than public perception makes them out to be.

Facts

1. Eating disorders are one of the most common mental disorders.

According to statistics gathered from various private researchers by the Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, 1 in 5 women have an eating disorder in the United States, and as many as 24 million Americans suffer from eating disorders, while as many 70 million suffer from such disorders around the world.

2. People who seek treatment for eating disorders have a generally favorable prognosis.

Although of all psychiatric illnesses, eating disorders have the most fatalities, long-term outcomes especially for those who seek treatment are quite good. Half of people with anorexia nervosa eventually recover completely, about 20% continue to have difficulties with their relationship with food, and 20% die from related long-term medical conditions.

3. Men suffer from eating disorders, too.

Although many think of eating disorders as only a female phenomenon, millions of men suffer from them as well. Ten percent of cases of patients with eating disorders that come to the attention of health professionals are male, but researchers suspect that men underreport.

Unknowns

1. The exact cause of eating disorders is unknown.

As mentioned before, eating disorders are very complex. Although researchers know that eating disorders are caused and triggered by a variety of factors, there is as yet no one definitive explanation. Researchers do know, however, that environment plays a large role in developing an eating disorder, as well as comorbid disorders like depression or OCD.

2. The role that genetics play in developing an eating disorder is also unknown.

The most exciting and new research to come out on eating disorders has been in the realm of genetics. Although researchers suspect that genes may play a factor in the development of eating disorders, they are still unsure to what extent this is true. Researchers are also looking for new frontiers in therapy through genetic research, like gene replacement therapy, although such advances are still far out on the horizon.

**

For more information on eating disorders, check out NEDAs website, here.

References

Common Myths about Eating Disorders. NEDA, 2008.

Eating Disorders 101: A Summary of Issues, Statistics, and Resources. Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders

A genetic link to anorexia nervosa. American Psychological Association, 2002.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Tara Miller, who particularly enjoys writing about psychology degree.  Questions and comments can be sent to: miller.tara23@gmail.com.