Dear Subscribers,Just a quick note that I will be away from October 19 - 28. I will be visiting a former student in Kurdistan, Iraq. I am not sure what kind of WIFI access I will have, so I cannot guarantee my usual quick turn-around in replying to your questions. I hope that nothing urgent will happen while I am away. If you have general questions, I recommend posting to Facebook, as you are likely...

For this lesson, I often have students do the teaching. I do this by giving them the following activity: Students teaching therapy However, you may feel more comfortable with a more focused approach, depending on how long you have with your students to explore the content. The difficulty of this part of the course is that it is very broad You may teach any psychological therapy that you would like....

The following lesson plan looks at the use of drug therapy in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. The effectiveness of drug treatments are discussed in ALP 3.4. The goal of this lesson is to get students to understand how drug treatments work as well as the general pros and cons of drug treatments. The effectiveness of such treatment - and the research to support it, is in the effectiveness...

There have been several clarifications given by the IB over the past few months. Many have said that these clarifications are difficult to follow. In order to assist, I am organizing these clarifications below, based on the relevant aspects of the curriculum. These clarifications are from the assessment clarification (June 27, 2018), the FAQ document (June 2018) and clarifications sent to all workshop...

Essential understandings Our behaviour is influenced by others, even when we believe that we are acting independently. We have both an individual and a social identity which influences our behaviour. Behaviours our learned through our interaction and observation of others. Stereotypes affect behaviour. The sociocultural approach Psychologists recognize that human behaviour can only be fully...

This lesson focuses on the role of neurotransmission in human behaviour - specifically, on memory.In keeping with the rest of the content of this mini unit on the biology of memory, acetylcholine will be the primary example given. However, there are other examples of neurotransmission affecting behaviour throughout the course; for example, dopamine and addiction; serotonin and depression; or serotonin...

This section of the site is devoted to materials that may be used to organize and assist students in the setting up and carrying out of the internal assessment. The section includes suggestions for experiments to replicate, reminders of restrictions for the internal assessment, planners and checklists, as well as samples of IA's which students should consult before starting their report writing....

A hormone is a chemical that is secreted by glands in the endocrine system. Unlike neurotransmitters, they are released directly into the blood stream. Hormones may act as neurotransmitters and attach to post-synaptic receptor sites. There are several different hormones that appear throughout the course. In this mini-unit on the biology of memory, I will focus on cortisol and adrenaline, the two key...

The following lesson plan is an introduction to brain imaging techniques - a key way in which psychologists are able to study the brain.Although I will focus on MRIs (structural) and fMRIs (functional) as techniques, I will also show them what else is happening in the world of neuroimaging. This lesson does not focus on specific studies as we have already discussed Maguire and Sharot in the previous...

This chapter looks at the fundamentals of psychology. What is psychology and how do psychologists do their job? The focus of this chapter is on research methods. It is important to understand research methods so that you can evaluate studies in psychology. You may find yourself referring back to these chapters throughout the course to remind yourself of the strengths and limitations of the research...