Self-Study Pack Decentralised Selection Psychology 2015-2016

Psychology Department Radboud University

Drs. I.R. Bouwer Drs. M.L. van Rootselaar Prof. dr. D.H.J. Wigboldus

Introduction In the academic year 2015-2016, admittance to the Bachelor’s programme in Psychology at Radboud University will involve decentralised selection using a test. This means that some students wishing to study Psychology in Nijmegen will be able to obtain a place without having to draw lots. The remaining places on the programme will be allocated through centralised selection, i.e. a weighted draw. The purpose of decentralised selection is to offer motivated and talented students direct admission to the programme. After all, the students who take part in decentralised selection are prepared to make an extra effort on top of their current studies. The test and the preparation for the test are, in terms of content and form, representative of the Bachelor’s programme. For example, the literature addresses classic Psychology research and is to be studied independently based on learning objectives and self-study assignments. In this way, the Psychology Department aims to select those students who meet the profile of a starting Psychology student. The main feature of the decentralised selection procedure is a test. This self-study pack is to be used to prepare for this test. The pack describes 1) the literature to be studied to prepare for the test, 2) what the test will look like and how it will be graded, and 3) the self-study assignments to be completed whilst studying the material. The pack also includes a breakdown of the study load and an overview of the various study activities to be undertaken to prepare for the test.

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Literature For the test you need the book Forty studies that changed psychology: Explorations into the history of psychological research (6th or 7th Ed.), which is written by Roger R. Hock. This book describes 40 important psychology studies. Of these 40 studies, 12 will be assessed in the test: Brain: 1. Reading 1 (One brain or two?) 2. Reading 3 (Are you a “natural”?) 3. Reading 6 (To sleep, no doubt to dream..) 4. Reading 11 (Knock wood!) Person: 5. Reading 4 (Watch out for the visual cliff!) 6. Reading 20 (In control and glad of it) 7. Reading 27 (Racing against your heart) 8. Reading 29 (Who’s crazy here anyway?) Behaviour: 9. Reading 13 (What you expect is what you get) 10. Reading 16 (Thanks for the memories!) 11. Reading 38 (The power of conformity) 12. Reading 39 (To help or not to help)

Learning objectives The aim of the literature study is to meet the following learning objectives: o You are acquainted with 12 classic studies within the three specialization areas defined within the Bachelor’s programme Psychology: Brain, Person and Behaviour. o For each of these classic studies you are aware of: o the theoretical basis of the research; o how the research was carried out; o the research results; o the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour; o points of criticism made by other researchers and/ or follow-up research carried out in response to the research results. o You are able to communicate this information clearly in writing.

Test and grading Students will take a test to demonstrate the extent to which they have achieved the learning objectives. This is a test consisting of the following parts: a) 36 multiple-choice questions based on the study material; b) one open question based on the study material. The test will be entirely in English, as well as the answer to the open question.

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The final grade of the test is a weighted average of the two parts: the multiple-choice questions count for 80% of the final grade and the open questions for 20%. Students who obtain a final grade of 5.6 or higher (out of 10) have passed the test and will be ranked according to their score. This ranking determines the allocation of the available decentralised selection places by DUO. N.B. The decentralised selection procedure is described in detail in the Reglement decentrale selectie Bachelor Psychologie Radboud Universiteit , at www.ru.nl/psychologie, or, for a German version, at http://www.ru.nl/studiereninnimwegen/studium/bachelor0/psychologie/zulassung/dezentrales/ Preparation for the test Preparation for the test consists of the following learning activities: o studying the literature; o completing the self-study assignments; o completing a practice test. The self-study assignments and the practice test are only to help you and are therefore not part of the official test. They allow you to evaluate whether you have sufficient understanding of the material. Table 1 provides an overview of the study load for these learning activities. The study load required to prepare for the test totals about 20 hours. Table 1 Overview of learning activities and study load Activity Literature study* Self-study assignments (SSA) Practice test & revision

Number 12

Time 12hrs* 1/3hrs

Total time 12hrs 4hrs

1

4hrs

4hrs

Total study load *About 7 pages an hour (85 pages) = 12 hours

20hrs

You have four weeks to prepare for the test. During the first three weeks you will study the material and complete the self-study assignments. In week 3, around Friday 20 March, you will receive the practice test by e-mail, with answers. You can therefore use the last week to check whether you have a sufficient understanding of the material for the final test on Saturday 28 March.

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A suggested schedule for preparation is given below: Week 1. Week 10 (2 March)

2. Week 11 (9 March)

3. Week 12 (16 March)

4. Week 13 (23 March) Saturday 28 March

Activity

Self-Study Assignment (SSA)

Study literature related to SSA 1.1: Reading 1 specialization Brain and SSA 1.2: Reading 3 complete self-study assignments. SSA 1.3: Reading 6 SSA 1.4: Reading 11 Study literature related to SSA 2.1: Reading 4 specialization Person and SSA 2.2: Reading 20 complete self-study assignments. SSA 2.3: Reading 27 SSA 2.4: Reading 29 Study literature related to SSA 3.1: Reading 13 specialization Behaviour and SSA 3.2: Reading 16 complete self-study assignments. SSA 3.3: Reading 38 SSA 3.4: Reading 39 Complete practice test and The practice test will be sent by e-mail revise material. around Friday 21 March. Test

From 13.30 – 16.15 hrs in “Collegezalencomplex” which is the Humanities Lecture Hall Complex, Mercatorpad 1, Nijmegen. Registration begins at 13.00 hrs.

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Week 1: Specialization Brain The Brain area looks at the working of the brain and its effect on behaviour. Core topics include language, the motor system, memory, learning and perception. During this week you will read four classic studies about the biological basis of psychological processes. The first study is about patients with a split brain. The second study is about how babies develop a perception of shapes. The third study is about the relationship between sleep and awareness. Finally, the fourth study is about the effects of instrumental conditioning on behavioural learning. Self-study assignment 1.1 1. Read Reading 1: One brain or two? 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis 1 of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What points of criticism have been made by other researchers and how have the research results been recently applied?

Self-study assignment 1.2 1. Read Reading 3: Are you a “natural”? . 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What major point of criticism has been made towards twin research in general?

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Why was the research carried out and what are the theoretical propositions and hypotheses on which the research rests?

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Self-study assignment 1.3 1. Read Reading 6: To sleep, no doubt to dream… 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What follow-up research has been carried out in response to the research results and what are its recent applications? Self-study assignment 1.4 1. Read Reading 11: Knock Wood! 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What points of criticism have been made by other researchers and what follow-up research has been carried out in response to the research results? f) How have the research results been recently applied?

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Week 2: Specialization Person The Person area studies the normal development of children, adults and the elderly as well as psychological disorders in children, adults and the elderly. How can these problems be recognised and treated? In this week you will read four classic studies related to this area. The first study is about depth perception in babies. The second study is about the development of moral thought. The third study addresses the association between behaviour and the cardiovascular system. Finally, the fourth study is about psychotherapy. Self-study assignment 2.1 1. Read Reading 4: Watch out for the visual cliff! 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What points of criticism have been made by other researchers and what follow-up research has been carried out in response to the research results? f) How have the research results been recently applied? Self-study assignment 2.2 1. Read Reading 20: In control and glad of it! 2. Answer the following questions: g) What is the theoretical basis of this research? h) How was the research carried out? i) What were the research results? j) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What follow-up research has been carried out in response to the research results and what are its recent applications?

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Self-study assignment 2.3 1. Read Reading 27: Racing against your heart. 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What subsequent research has been carried out in response to the research results and what are its recent applications? Self-study assignment 2.4 1. Read Reading 29: Who’s crazy here, anyway? 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for diagnostic procedures in mental health profession? e) What subsequent research has been carried out in response to the research results concerning the experience of those with mental illness themselves and what are its recent applications?

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Week 3: Specialization Behaviour Within the Behaviour area you will learn about the influence that surroundings have on human behaviour. How do people interact with and influence one another? How are they influenced by the culture in which they live? People’s workplace behaviour is also addressed. In this week you will read four classic studies related to this specific area. The first study is about the influence of teacher’s expectancies on pupils. The second study addresses the cultural aspects of emotion. The third study is about forced compliance. Finally, the fourth study is about the bystander’s dilemma: when do people help those in need and when do they not?

Self-study assignment 3.1 1. Read Reading 13: What you expect is what you get. 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What subsequent research has been carried out in response to the research results and what are its recent applications?

Self-study assignment 3.2 1. Read Reading 16: Thanks for the memories! 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) How have the research results been recently applied?

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Self-study assignment 3.3 1. Read Reading 38: The power of conformity. 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What points of criticism have been made by other researchers and how have the research results been recently applied?

Self-study assignment 3.4 1. Read Reading 39: To help or not to help. 2. Answer the following questions: a) What is the theoretical basis of this research? b) How was the research carried out? c) What were the research results? d) What was the significance of the research results for our understanding of human behaviour? e) What follow-up research has been carried out in response to the research results and what are its recent applications?

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