Unit+4.+Study+Design

Unit 4: Brain, behaviour and experience This unit focuses on the interrelationship between learning, the brain and its response to experiences, and behaviour. The overall quality of functioning of the brain depends on experience, and its plasticity means that different kinds of experience change and configure the brain in different ways. Students investigate learning as a mental process that leads to the acquisition of knowledge, development of new capacities and changed behaviours. Understanding the mechanisms of learning, the cognitive processes that affect readiness for learning, and how people learn informs both personal and social issues.  Students build on their conceptual understanding of learning to consider it as one of several important facets involved in a biopsychosocial approach to the analysis of mental health and illness. They consider different concepts of normality, and learn to differentiate between normal responses such as stress to external stimuli, and mental disorders. Students use a biopsychosocial framework – a conceptual model which includes psychological and social factors in addition to biological factors in understanding a person’s mental state – to explore the nature of stress, simple phobia and a selected mental disorder.  The intent of the study is not that of diagnosis and treatment but to explore causes of mental illness, avenues of assistance and factors that promote mental wellbeing. Students analyse research methodologies associated with classic and contemporary theories, studies and models, consider ethical issues associated with the conduct of research and the use of findings, and apply appropriate research methods when undertaking their own investigations.  The research methodologies and ethical principles considered in this unit include the research methodologies and ethical principles for Unit 3 (from page 22) in addition to: • experimental research: identification and operationalisation of independent and dependent variables; identification of extraneous and potential confounding variables including artificiality, demand characteristics, and non-standardised instructions and procedures; ways of minimising confounding and extraneous variables including type of sampling procedures, and standardised instructions and procedures • sampling procedures in selection and allocation of participants: convenience sampling • ethical principles and professional conduct: advantages and limitations of the use of non-human animals in research in terms of generalisation and conclusions.  **Area of study 1 ** **Learning **  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">How do we learn? Why do some people learn faster than others? How important are role models in shaping behaviour? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This area of study explores the characteristics of learning as a process that plays a part in determining behaviour. Students study the neural basis of learning, and examine different types of learning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning, one-trial learning, trial and error learning, insight learning and latent learning. Behaviour not dependent on learning is also explored. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As students analyse and evaluate the contribution that classic and contemporary studies have made to this field of study, they consider the techniques used to gather data and the associated ethical implications. Students apply appropriate methods of psychological research and ethical principles when undertaking their own research investigations. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Outcome 1 ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain the neural basis of learning, and compare and contrast different theories of learning and their applications. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">To achieve this outcome the student will draw on key knowledge outlined in Area of Study 1 and related key skills outlined on page 13 and research methodologies on page 28. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Key knowledge // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This knowledge includes: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• behaviours not dependent on learning including reflex action, fixed action patterns and behaviours due to physical growth and development (maturation) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• mechanisms of learning: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– areas of the brain and neural pathways involved in learning, synapse formation, role of  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">neurotransmitters <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– developmental plasticity and adaptive plasticity of the brain: changes to the brain in response to learning and experience; timing of experiences <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– use of imaging technologies in identification of localised changes in the brain due to learning specific tasks <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• applications of, and comparisons of, learning theories: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– classical conditioning as informed by Ivan Pavlov: roles of neutral, unconditioned, conditioned stimuli; unconditioned and conditioned responses <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– applications of classical conditioning: graduated exposure, aversion therapy, flooding <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– three-phase model of operant conditioning as informed by B.F. Skinner: positive and negative reinforcement, response cost, punishment and schedules of reinforcement <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– applications of operant conditioning: shaping, token economies <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– comparisons of classical and operant conditioning in terms of the processes of acquisition, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">extinction, stimulus generalisation, stimulus discrimination, spontaneous recovery, role of  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">learner, timing of stimulus and response, and nature of response (reflexive/voluntary) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– one-trial learning with reference to taste aversion as informed by John Garcia and Robert A. Koelling (1966) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– trial-and-error learning as informed by Edward Lee Thorndike’s puzzle-box experiment <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– observational learning (modelling) processes in terms of the role of attention, retention, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">reproduction, motivation, reinforcement as informed by Albert Bandura’s (1961, 1963a, 1963b) experiments with children <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– insight learning as informed by Wolfgang Kőhler <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– latent learning as informed by Edward Tolman <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• the extent to which ethical principles were applied to classic research investigations into learning including John Watson’s ‘Little Albert’ experiment <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• research methods and ethical principles associated with the study of learning, as outlined in the introduction to the unit. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">AREA OF STUDY 2 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mental health ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">What does mental health mean? How can ‘normality’ be defined? Is feeling stressed ‘normal’? What is the relationship between mental health and illness? How can mental wellbeing be enhanced? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Students use a biopsychosocial framework to investigate how biological, psychological and sociocultural factors interact to contribute to the development of an individual’s mental functioning and mental health. They identify the mechanisms underpinning the range of usual human emotions such as anxiety, stress, anger, sadness and happiness. Students learn to distinguish between normal or universal experiences such as stress, anxiety and moodiness, and chronic conditions such as addiction, depression, anxiety and phobias which fall into the category of mental illness or psychological disorder. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The relationship between stress and mental health is investigated together with the strategies for coping with stress. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Students apply a biopsychosocial framework to the study of simple phobia and a selected mental disorder. They identify protective and risk factors, coping mechanisms and the principles of how treatments work. Students analyse how biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors interact to contribute to the development and treatment of these disorders. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As students examine classic and contemporary studies, they evaluate the research methodologies used and consider associated ethical issues. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Outcome 2 ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">On completion of this unit the student should be able to differentiate between mental health and mental illness, and use a biopsychosocial framework to explain the causes and management of stress, simple phobia and a selected mental disorder. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">To achieve this outcome the student will draw on key knowledge outlined in Area of Study 2 and related key skills outlined on page 13 and research methodologies on page 28. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Key knowledge // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This knowledge includes: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• concepts of normality and differentiation of mental health from mental illness <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• systems of classification of mental conditions and disorders: underlying principles of classification; strengths and limitations of discrete categorical (DSM-IV and ICD-10) and dimensional (graded and transitional) approaches to classification of mental disorders <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• use of a biopsychosocial framework (the interaction and integration of biological, psychological and social factors) as an approach to considering physical and mental health <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding the relationship between stress and physical and mental wellbeing: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– physiological and psychological characteristics of responses to stress including fight-flight <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">response, eustress and distress; strengths and limitations of Selyes’ General Adaptation <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Syndrome <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– psychological determinants of the stress response; strengths and limitations of Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– social, cultural and environmental factors that exacerbate and alleviate the stress response <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– allostasis (stability through change brought about by the brain’s regulation of the body’s response to stress) as a model that integrates biological, psychological and social factors that explain an individual’s response to stress <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– strategies for coping with stress including biofeedback, meditation/relaxation, physical exercise, social support <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding and managing simple phobia as an example of an anxiety disorder: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– biological contributing factors: role of the stress response; role of the neurotransmitter gammaamino butyric acid (GABA) in the management of phobic anxiety <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– psychological contributing factors: psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive models; the use of psychotherapies in treatment including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), systematic desensitisation and flooding <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– socio-cultural contributing factors: specific environmental triggers such as being bitten by a  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">dog; parental modelling and transmission of threat information <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute to an understanding of the disorder and its management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding ONE of the following types of mental disorder and its management: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Mood disorder: major depression <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– biological contributing factors: role of genes in contributing to the risk of developing major <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">depression; roles of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline in major depression; the <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">function of antidepressant medication in management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– psychological contributing factors: learned helplessness; stress; the use of psychotherapies in  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">management including cognitive behaviour therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– socio-cultural contributing factors: abuse, poverty, social isolation and social stressors as risk <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">factors; support factors including family and social networks and recovery groups <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">to an understanding of the disorder and its management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">OR <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Addictive disorder: gambling <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– biological contributing factors: role of the dopamine reward system and as a target for <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">treatment <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– psychological contributing factors: social learning theory and schedules of reinforcement; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">the use of psychotherapies in treatment including cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">therapies <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– socio-cultural contributing factors: social permission of gambling opportunities; management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">including social network and recovery groups <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">to an understanding of the disorder and its management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">OR <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Psychotic disorder: schizophrenia <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– biological contributing factors: genetic predisposition; drug-induced onset; changes in brain <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">activity; the use of medication that blocks dopamine to treat psychosis <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– psychological contributing factors: impaired mechanisms for reasoning and memory; the use of psychotherapies in management including cognitive behavioural and remediation therapies, stress management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– socio-cultural contributing factors: social disadvantage, trauma and psycho-social stress as  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">risk factors; psychoeducation, supportive social (including family) environments, removal of   <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">social stigma <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">– the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute to an understanding of the disorder and its management <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">• research methods and ethical principles associated with the study of mental health, as outlined in the introduction to the unit.