Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Togglenavigation
Psychologists
Behavioral
IvanPavlov
JohnWatson
B.F.Skinner
EdwardThorndike
AlbertBandura
Humanist
AbrahamMaslow
CarlRogers
Cognitive
JeanPiaget
JeromeBruner
EdwardTolman
AnneTreisman
DonaldBroadbent
AlbertEllis
AaronBeck
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DavidKolb
WilhelmWundt
LeonFestinger
Psychodynamic
SigmundFreud
ErikErikson
CarlJung
Social
SolomonAsch
StanleyMilgram
HoflingNurseStudy
PhilipZimbardo
SergeMoscovici
HenriTajfel
Memory
RichardAtkinson
AlanBaddeley
FergusCraik
ElizabethLoftus
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Developmental
LevVygostksy
JeromeBruner
MaryAinsworth
JohnBowlby
LawrenceKohlberg
Theories
Behavioral
BehavioristApproach
ClassicalConditioning
OperantConditioning
SchedulesofReinforcement
LawofEffect
SocialLearningTheory
Humanist
HumanisticPsychology
HierarchyofNeeds
CarlRogers
Personality
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PersonalityTheories
TypeA
Cognitive
CognitivePsychology
InformationProcessing
Attention
Perception
CognitiveDissonance
Memory
MemoryIntro
ShortTerm
LongTerm
MultiStoreModel
WorkingMemory
LevelsofProcessing
Forgetting
EyewitnessTestimony
SigmundFreud
PsychodynamicApproach
Psychoanalysis
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Id,Ego,SuperEgo
UnconsciousMind
PsychosexualStages
DefenseMechanisms
Social
SocialPsychology
Conformity
Obedience
Attitudes
SelfConcept
Prejudice
Developmental
JeanPiaget
SensorimotorStage
PreoperationalStage
ConcreteStage
FormalOperationalStage
LevVygostksy
ZPD
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JeromeBruner
Attachment
JohnBowlby
KohlbergMoralDev
PsychosocialStages
Studies
Conformity
AschLineStudy
SherifStudy
JennesBeansStudy
Obedience
MilgramShockStudy
HoflingNurseStudy
ZimbardoPrisonStudy
Attachment
44Thieves
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StrangeSituation
Schaffer&Emerson
VanIjzendoorn&Kroonenberg
Harlow'sMonkeys
Hodges&Tizard
Genie
Behavioral
Pavlov'sDogs
LittleAlbert
BoboDoll
Memory
SerialPositionEffect
LoftusandPalmer
PetersonandPeterson
Stress
KiecoltGlaser
SRRSRahe
Developmental
Scaffolding(ZPD)
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HeinzDilemma
ThreeMountainsTask
ObjectPermanence
ResearchMethods
Experimental
LabExperiment
FieldExperiment
NaturalExperiment
ExperimentalDesigns
Variables
NonExperimental
CaseStudy
Interviews
Questionnaire
LikertScales
Observations
ConductingResearch
Hypotheses
Sampling
ScienificApproach
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LabReport
EthicalGuidelines
Data
QualitativeQuantitative
Reliability
Validity
Correlation
Statistics
HomePsychologyEssayGuide
bySaulMcLeodpublished2014
SimplyPsychologyApp
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EssayWritingGuidefor
PsychologyStudents
Beforeyouwriteyouressayit'simportanttoanalysethetaskand
understandexactlywhattheessayquestionisasking.Itispossible
yourlecturerwillgiveyousomeadvicepayattentiontothisasit
willhelpyouplanyouranswer.
Nextconductpreliminaryreadingbasedonyourlecturenotes.At
thisstageit'snotcrucialtohavearobustunderstandingofkey
theoriesorstudies,butyoushouldatleasthaveageneral'gist'ofthe
literature.
Afterreading,planaresponsetothetask.Thisplancouldbeinthe
formofamindmap,asummarytable,orbywritingacorestatement
(whichencompasstheentireargumentofyouressayinjustafew
sentences).
Afterwritingyourplanconductsupplementaryreadingandrefine
yourplanandmakeitmoredetailed.
Itistemptingtoskipthesepreliminarystepsandjustwritethefirst
draftwhilereadingatthesametime.However,readingandplanning
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willmaketheessaywritingprocesseasier,quicker,andensurea
higherqualityessayisproduced.
Nowletuslookatwhatconstitutesagoodessayinpsychology.
Thereareanumberofimportantfeatures.
1.AGlobalStructurestructurethematerialinawaythat
allowsforalogicalsequenceofideas.Eachparagraph/
statementshouldfollowsensiblyfromitspredecessor.
Theessayshould'flow'.Theintroduction,mainbodyand
conclusionshouldallbelinked.
Eachparagraphshouldcompriseamainthemewhichare
illustratedanddevelopedthroughanumberofpoints
(supportedbyevidence).
2.KnowledgeandUnderstandingrecognise,recalland
showunderstandingonarangeofscientificmaterialthat
accuratelyreflectsthemaintheoreticalperspectives.
3.CriticalEvaluationargumentsshouldbesupportedby
appropriateevidenceand/ortheoryfromtheliterature.
Evidenceofindependentthinking,insightandevaluation
oftheevidence.
4.QualityofWrittenCommunicationwritingclearlyand
succinctlywithappropriateuseofparagraphs,spelling
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andgrammar.Allsourcesreferencedaccuratelyandin
linewithAPAguidelines.
Inthemainbodyoftheessayeveryparagraphshoulddemonstrate
bothknowledgeandcriticalevaluation.
Thereshouldalsobeanappropriatebalancebetweenthesetwoessay
components.Trytoaimforabouta60/40splitifpossible.Most
studentsmakethemistakeofwritingtoomuchknowledgeandnot
enoughevaluation(whichisthedifficultbit).
Itisbesttostructureyouressayaccordingtokeythemes.Themesare
illustratedanddevelopedthroughanumberofpoints(supportedby
evidence).Chooserelevantpointsonly,onesthatmostrevealthe
themeorhelptomakeaconvincingandinterestingargument.
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KnowledgeandUnderstanding
Rememberthatanessayissimplyadiscussion/argumentonpaper.
Don'tmakethemistakeofwritingalltheinformationyouknow
regardingaparticulartopic.
Youneedtobeconcise,andclearlyarticulateyourargument.A
sentenceshouldcontainnounnecessarywords,aparagraphno
unnecessarysentences.
Eachparagraphshouldhaveapurpose/theme,andmakeanumber
ofpointswhichneedtobesupportbyhighqualityevidence.Be
clearwhyeachpointisisrelevanttotheargument.Itwouldbeuseful
atthebeginningofeachparagraphifyouexplicitlyoutlinedthe
themebeingdiscussed(.e.g.cognitivedevelopment,social
developmentetc.).
Trynottooverusequotationsinyouressays.Itismoreappropriateto
useoriginalcontenttodemonstrateyourunderstanding.
Psychologyisasciencesoyoumustsupportyourideaswith
evidence(notyourownpersonalopinion).Ifyouarediscussinga
theoryorresearchstudymakesureyoucitethesourceofthe
information.
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Notethisisnottheauthorofatextbookyouhavereadbutthe
originalsource/author(s)ofthetheoryorresearchstudy.
Forexample:
Bowlby(1951)claimedthatmotheringisalmostuselessif
delayeduntilaftertwoandahalftothreeyearsand,formost
children,ifdelayedtillafter12months,i.e.thereisacritical
period.
Or
Maslow(1943)statedthatpeoplearemotivatedtoachieve
certainneeds.Whenoneneedisfulfilledapersonseeksto
fullfilthenextone,andsoon.
Asageneralrulemakesurethereisatleastonecitation(i.e.nameof
psychologistanddateofpublication)ineachparagraph.
Remembertoanswertheessayquestion.Underlinethekeywordsin
theessaytitle.Don'tmakethemistakeofsimplywritingeverything
youknowofaparticulartopic,beselective.Eachparagraphinyour
essayshouldcontributetoansweringtheessayquestion.
CriticalEvaluation
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Insimpletermsthismeansoutliningthestrengthsandlimitationsof
atheoryorresearchstudy.
Therearemanywaysyoucancriticallyevaluate:
Methodologicalevaluationofresearch
Isthestudyvalid/reliable?Isthesamplebiasedorcanwe
generalizethefindingstootherpopulations?Whatarethe
strengthsandlimitationsofthemethodusedanddata
obtained?
Becarefultoensurethatanymethodologicalcriticismsare
justifiedandnottrite.Ratherthanhuntingforweaknessesin
everystudyonlyhighlightlimitationswhichmakeyoudoubt
theconclusionsthattheauthorshavedrawne.g.wherean
alternativeexplanationmightbeequallylikelybecause
somethinghasntbeenadequatelycontrolled.
Compareorcontrastdifferenttheories
Outlinehowthetheoriesaresimilarandhowtheydiffer.This
couldbetwo(ormore)theoriesofpersonality/memory/child
developmentetc.Alsotrytocommunicatethevalueofthetheory
/study.
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Debatesorperspectives
Refertodebatessuchasnatureornurture,reductionismvs.
holismortheperspectivesinpsychology.Forexample,
wouldtheyagreeordisagreewithatheoryorthefindingsof
thestudy?
Whataretheethicalissuesoftheresearch?
Doesastudyinvolveethicalissuessuchasdeception,privacy,
psychologicalandphysicalharm.
Genderbias
Ifresearchisbiasedtowardsmenorwomenitdoesnot
provideaclearviewofthebehaviorthathasbeenstudied.A
dominantlymaleperspectiveisknownasanandrocentric
bias.
Culturalbias
Isthetheory/studyethnocentric?Psychologyispredominantlya
white,EuroAmericanenterprise.Insometexts,over90%of
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studieshaveUSparticipants,whoarepredominantlywhiteand
middleclass.Doesthetheoryorstudybeingdiscussedjudge
otherculturesbyWesternstandards?
AnimalResearch
Thisraisestheissueofwhetheritsmorallyand/or
scientificallyrighttouseanimals.Themaincriterionisthat
benefitsmustoutweighcosts.Butbenefitsarealmostalways
tohumansandcoststoanimals.
Animalresearchalsoraisestheissueofextrapolation.Can
wegeneralizefromstudiesonanimalstohumansastheir
anatomy&physiologyisdifferentfromhumans?
ThePECSystem
Itisveryimportanttoelaborateonyourevaluation.Don'tjustwritea
shoppinglistofbrief(oneortwosentence)evaluationpoints.Instead
makesureyouexpandonyourpoints,remember,qualityof
evaluationismostimportantthanquantity.
WhenyouarewritinganevaluationparagraphusethePECsystem.
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MakeyourPoint.
Explainhowandwhythepointisrelevant.
DiscusstheConsequences/implicationsofthetheoryorstudy.
Aretheypositiveornegative?
ForExample
(Point)Itisarguedthatpsychoanalytictherapyisonlyofbenefit
toanarticulate,intelligent,affluentminority.
(Explain)Becausepsychoanalytictherapyinvolvestalkingand
gaininginsight,andiscostlyandtimeconsuming,itisargued
thatitisonlyofbenefittoanarticulate,intelligent,affluent
minority.Evidencesuggestspsychoanalytictherapyworksbestif
theclientismotivatedandhasapositiveattitude.
(Consequences)Adepressedclientsapathy,flatemotionalstate
andlackofmotivationlimittheappropriatenessof
psychoanalytictherapyfordepression.Furthermore,thelevelsof
dependencyofdepressedclientsmeanthattransferenceismore
likelytodevelop.
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UsingResearchStudiesinyour
Essays
Researchstudiescaneitherbeknowledgeorevaluation.
Ifyourefertotheproceduresandfindingsofastudy,thisshows
knowledgeandunderstanding.
Ifyoucommentonwhatthestudiesshows,andwhatitsupports
andchallengesaboutthetheoryinquestion,thisshows
evaluation.
WritinganIntroduction
Itisoftenbesttowriteyourintroductionwhenyouhavefinishedthe
mainbodyoftheessay,sothatyouhaveagoodunderstandingtothe
topicarea.
Ifthereisawordcountforyouressaytrytodevote10%ofthisto
yourintroduction.
Ideallytheintroductionshould
1.Identifythesubjectoftheessayanddefinethekeyterms.
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2.Highlightthemajorissueswhichliebehindthe
question.Letthereaderknowhowyouwillfocusyour
essaybyidentifyingthemainthemestobediscussed.
3.Signposttheessayskeyargument,(and,ifpossible,
howthisargumentisstructured).
Introductionsareveryimportantasfirstimpressionscountandthey
cancreateahaloeffectinthemindofthelecturergradingyouressay.
Ifyoustartoffwellthenyouaremorelikelytobeforgivenforthe
oddmistakelaterone.
WritingaConclusion
Somanystudentseitherforgettowriteaconclusionorfailtogiveit
theattentionitdeserves.Ifthereisawordcountforyouressaytryto
devote10%ofthistoyourconclusion.
Ideallytheconclusionshouldsummarizethekeythemes/arguments
ofyouressay.Statethetakehomemessagedontsitonthefence,
insteadweighuptheevidencepresentedintheessayandmakea
decisionwhichsideoftheargumenthasmoresupport.
Also,youmightliketosuggestwhatfutureresearchmayneedtobe
conductedandwhy(readthediscussionsectionofjournalarticlesfor
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this).
Don'tincludenewinformation/arguments(onlyinformation
discussedinthemainbodyoftheessay).
Ifyouareunsureofwhattowritereadtheessayquestionandanswer
itinoneparagraph.
Pointsthatuniteorembraceseveralthemescanbeusedtogreat
effectaspartofyourconclusion.
TheImportanceofFlow
Obviously,whatyouwriteisimportant,buthowyoucommunicate
yourideas/argumentshasasignificantinfluenceonyouroverall
grade.Moststudentsmayhavesimilarinformation/contentintheir
essays,butthebetterstudentscommunicatethisinformation
conciselyandarticulately.
Whenyouhavefinishedthefirstdraftofyouressayyoumustcheck
ifit'flows'.Thisisanimportantfeatureofqualityofcommunication
(alongwithspellingandgrammar).
Thismeansthattheparagraphsfollowalogicalorder(likethe
chaptersinanovel).Haveaglobalstructurewiththemesarrangedin
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awaythatallowsforalogicalsequenceofideas.Youmightwantto
rearrange(cutandpaste)paragraphstoadifferentpositioninyour
essayiftheydon'tappeartofitinwiththeessaystructure.
Toimprovetheflowofyouressaymakesurethelastsentenceofone
paragraphlinkstofirstsentenceofthenextparagraph.Thiswillhelp
theessayflowandmakeiteasiertoread.
Finally,onlyrepeatcitationswhenitisunclearwhichstudy/theory
youarediscussing.Repeatingcitationsunnecessarilydisruptsthe
flowofanessay.
Referencing
Thereferencesectionisthelistofallthesourcescitedintheessay
(inalphabeticalorder).Itisnotabibliography(alistofthebooks
youused).
Insimpletermseverytimeyourefertoaname(anddate)ofa
psychologistyouneedtoreferencetheoriginalsourceofthe
information.
Ifyouhavebeenusingtextbooksthisiseasyasthereferencesare
usuallyatthebackofthebookandyoucanjustcopythemdown.If
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youhavebeenusingwebsitesthenyoumayhaveaproblemasthey
mightnotprovideareferencesectionforyoutocopy.
ReferencesneedtobesetoutAPAstyle:
Books
Author,A.A.(year).Titleofwork.Location:Publisher.
JournalArticles
Author,A.A.,Author,B.B.,&Author,C.C.(year).Articletitle.
JournalTitle,volumenumber(issuenumber),pagenumbers
AsimplewaytowriteyourreferencesectionisuseGooglescholar.
Justtypethenameanddateofthepsychologistinthesearchboxand
clickonthe'cite'link.
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Next,copyandpastetheAPAreferenceintothereferencesectionof
youressay.
Onceagainrememberthatreferencesneedtobeinalphabeticalorder
accordingtosurname.
FurtherInformation
WritingSkillsforPsychologists
StudySkills
EssayWritingGuide
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Howtocitethisarticle:
McLeod,S.A.(2014).EssayWritingGuideforPsychology
Students.Retrievedfromwww.simplypsychology.org/psychology
essay.html
Comments(11)
Sortby: Date Rating LastActivity
millie 73weeksago +1
thisisveryhelpful,Ithinki'mdoingwellwithessayssofar,achievingdistinctiongrades,butgoingontoapsychdegreethisseptemberI
willneedtostepupmygame.thanksforthis!
Reply Report
monica 57weeksago 0
Thanks,thiswasextremelyhelpful.Thorough,yetsuccinct!
Reply Report
Nigel 48weeksago +1
Thanks.lfoundthisveryhelpful.Nowlcangetbacktobusinessandwritethebestessay
Reply Report
Bobbi 31weeksago 0
Greatpost!Thankyousomuch!
Reply Report
Anrol 22weeksago +1
WelldoneMcLeod,S.A.(2014).IthinkyoushouldbeteachingmePsychology.Irefertoyouconstantly.Thankyou
Reply Report
catheadgasket 21weeksago +1
Itistemptingtoskipthesepreliminarystepsandjustwritethefirstdraftwhilereadingatthesametime.However,readingandplanning
willmaketheessaywritingprocesseasier,quicker,andensureahigherqualityessayisproduced.
Reply Report
cookupaparty 0p 21weeksago +2
Thishasbeensohelpfulwhilstrereadingmyfinalessayforthisyear.ThepartabouttheflowofanessaywasparticularlyusefulasI
realisedminedidn'tuntilIreadthroughyouradvice.Thankyou!
Reply
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Report
Blacka 20weeksago +1
Thanks.Itsreallyhelpful
Reply Report
SteveLocke 17weeksago 0
Somegreattipsforessaywritinghere.
Reply Report
JogalaxmiDas 8weeksago 0
Thanks,itsreallyveryamazingandsohelpful
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