do you write essays in psychology

How to Write a Psychology Essay

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

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Before you write your essay, it’s important to analyse the task and understand exactly what the essay question is asking. Your lecturer may give you some advice – pay attention to this as it will help you plan your answer.

Next conduct preliminary reading based on your lecture notes. At this stage, it’s not crucial to have a robust understanding of key theories or studies, but you should at least have a general “gist” of the literature.

After reading, plan a response to the task. This plan could be in the form of a mind map, a summary table, or by writing a core statement (which encompasses the entire argument of your essay in just a few sentences).

After writing your plan, conduct supplementary reading, refine your plan, and make it more detailed.

It is tempting to skip these preliminary steps and write the first draft while reading at the same time. However, reading and planning will make the essay writing process easier, quicker, and ensure a higher quality essay is produced.

Components of a Good Essay

Now, let us look at what constitutes a good essay in psychology. There are a number of important features.

Global Structure – structure the material to allow for a logical sequence of ideas. Each paragraph / statement should follow sensibly from its predecessor. The essay should “flow”. The introduction, main body and conclusion should all be linked.
Each paragraph should comprise a main theme, which is illustrated and developed through a number of points (supported by evidence).
Knowledge and Understanding – recognize, recall, and show understanding of a range of scientific material that accurately reflects the main theoretical perspectives.
Critical Evaluation – arguments should be supported by appropriate evidence and/or theory from the literature. Evidence of independent thinking, insight, and evaluation of the evidence.
Quality of Written Communication – writing clearly and succinctly with appropriate use of paragraphs, spelling, and grammar. All sources are referenced accurately and in line with APA guidelines.

In the main body of the essay, every paragraph should demonstrate both knowledge and critical evaluation.

There should also be an appropriate balance between these two essay components. Try to aim for about a 60/40 split if possible.

Most students make the mistake of writing too much knowledge and not enough evaluation (which is the difficult bit).

It is best to structure your essay according to key themes. Themes are illustrated and developed through a number of points (supported by evidence).

Choose relevant points only, ones that most reveal the theme or help to make a convincing and interesting argument.

Knowledge and Understanding

Remember that an essay is simply a discussion / argument on paper. Don’t make the mistake of writing all the information you know regarding a particular topic.

You need to be concise, and clearly articulate your argument. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.

Each paragraph should have a purpose / theme, and make a number of points – which need to be support by high quality evidence. Be clear why each point is is relevant to the argument. It would be useful at the beginning of each paragraph if you explicitly outlined the theme being discussed (.e.g. cognitive development, social development etc.).

Try not to overuse quotations in your essays. It is more appropriate to use original content to demonstrate your understanding.

Psychology is a science so you must support your ideas with evidence (not your own personal opinion). If you are discussing a theory or research study make sure you cite the source of the information.

Note this is not the author of a textbook you have read – but the original source / author(s) of the theory or research study.

For example:

Bowlby (1951) claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until after two and a half to three years and, for most children, if delayed till after 12 months, i.e. there is a critical period.

Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fullfil the next one, and so on.

As a general rule, make sure there is at least one citation (i.e. name of psychologist and date of publication) in each paragraph.

Remember to answer the essay question. Underline the keywords in the essay title. Don’t make the mistake of simply writing everything you know of a particular topic, be selective. Each paragraph in your essay should contribute to answering the essay question.

Critical Evaluation

In simple terms, this means outlining the strengths and limitations of a theory or research study.

There are many ways you can critically evaluate:

Methodological evaluation of research

Is the study valid / reliable ? Is the sample biased, or can we generalize the findings to other populations? What are the strengths and limitations of the method used and data obtained?

Be careful to ensure that any methodological criticisms are justified and not trite.

Rather than hunting for weaknesses in every study; only highlight limitations that make you doubt the conclusions that the authors have drawn – e.g., where an alternative explanation might be equally likely because something hasn’t been adequately controlled.

Compare or contrast different theories

Outline how the theories are similar and how they differ. This could be two (or more) theories of personality / memory / child development etc. Also try to communicate the value of the theory / study.

Debates or perspectives

Refer to debates such as nature or nurture, reductionism vs. holism, or the perspectives in psychology . For example, would they agree or disagree with a theory or the findings of the study?

What are the ethical issues of the research?

Does a study involve ethical issues such as deception, privacy, psychological or physical harm?

Gender bias

If research is biased towards men or women it does not provide a clear view of the behavior that has been studied. A dominantly male perspective is known as an androcentric bias.

Cultural bias

Is the theory / study ethnocentric? Psychology is predominantly a white, Euro-American enterprise. In some texts, over 90% of studies have US participants, who are predominantly white and middle class.

Does the theory or study being discussed judge other cultures by Western standards?

Animal Research

This raises the issue of whether it’s morally and/or scientifically right to use animals. The main criterion is that benefits must outweigh costs. But benefits are almost always to humans and costs to animals.

Animal research also raises the issue of extrapolation. Can we generalize from studies on animals to humans as their anatomy & physiology is different from humans?

The PEC System

It is very important to elaborate on your evaluation. Don’t just write a shopping list of brief (one or two sentence) evaluation points.

Instead, make sure you expand on your points, remember, quality of evaluation is most important than quantity.

When you are writing an evaluation paragraph, use the PEC system.

Make your P oint.
E xplain how and why the point is relevant.
Discuss the C onsequences / implications of the theory or study. Are they positive or negative?

For Example

Point: It is argued that psychoanalytic therapy is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority.
Explain: Because psychoanalytic therapy involves talking and gaining insight, and is costly and time-consuming, it is argued that it is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority. Evidence suggests psychoanalytic therapy works best if the client is motivated and has a positive attitude.
Consequences: A depressed client’s apathy, flat emotional state, and lack of motivation limit the appropriateness of psychoanalytic therapy for depression.

Furthermore, the levels of dependency of depressed clients mean that transference is more likely to develop.

Using Research Studies in your Essays

Research studies can either be knowledge or evaluation.

If you refer to the procedures and findings of a study, this shows knowledge and understanding.
If you comment on what the studies shows, and what it supports and challenges about the theory in question, this shows evaluation.

Writing an Introduction

It is often best to write your introduction when you have finished the main body of the essay, so that you have a good understanding of the topic area.

If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your introduction.

Ideally, the introduction should;

Identify the subject of the essay and define the key terms. Highlight the major issues which “lie behind” the question. Let the reader know how you will focus your essay by identifying the main themes to be discussed. “Signpost” the essay’s key argument, (and, if possible, how this argument is structured).

Introductions are very important as first impressions count and they can create a h alo effect in the mind of the lecturer grading your essay. If you start off well then you are more likely to be forgiven for the odd mistake later one.

Writing a Conclusion

So many students either forget to write a conclusion or fail to give it the attention it deserves.

If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your conclusion.

Ideally the conclusion should summarize the key themes / arguments of your essay. State the take home message – don’t sit on the fence, instead weigh up the evidence presented in the essay and make a decision which side of the argument has more support.

Also, you might like to suggest what future research may need to be conducted and why (read the discussion section of journal articles for this).

Don”t include new information / arguments (only information discussed in the main body of the essay).

If you are unsure of what to write read the essay question and answer it in one paragraph.

Points that unite or embrace several themes can be used to great effect as part of your conclusion.

The Importance of Flow

Obviously, what you write is important, but how you communicate your ideas / arguments has a significant influence on your overall grade. Most students may have similar information / content in their essays, but the better students communicate this information concisely and articulately.

When you have finished the first draft of your essay you must check if it “flows”. This is an important feature of quality of communication (along with spelling and grammar).

This means that the paragraphs follow a logical order (like the chapters in a novel). Have a global structure with themes arranged in a way that allows for a logical sequence of ideas. You might want to rearrange (cut and paste) paragraphs to a different position in your essay if they don”t appear to fit in with the essay structure.

To improve the flow of your essay make sure the last sentence of one paragraph links to first sentence of the next paragraph. This will help the essay flow and make it easier to read.

Finally, only repeat citations when it is unclear which study / theory you are discussing. Repeating citations unnecessarily disrupts the flow of an essay.

Referencing

The reference section is the list of all the sources cited in the essay (in alphabetical order). It is not a bibliography (a list of the books you used).

In simple terms every time you cite/refer to a name (and date) of a psychologist you need to reference the original source of the information.

If you have been using textbooks this is easy as the references are usually at the back of the book and you can just copy them down. If you have been using websites, then you may have a problem as they might not provide a reference section for you to copy.

References need to be set out APA style :

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work . Location: Publisher.

Journal Articles

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title, volume number (issue number), page numbers

A simple way to write your reference section is use Google scholar . Just type the name and date of the psychologist in the search box and click on the “cite” link.

Next, copy and paste the APA reference into the reference section of your essay.

Once again, remember that references need to be in alphabetical order according to surname.

Student Resources

How To Cite A YouTube Video In APA Style – With Examples

How to Write an Abstract APA Format

APA References Page Formatting and Example

APA Title Page (Cover Page) Format, Example, & Templates

How do I Cite a Source with Multiple Authors in APA Style?

Lab Report Format: Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing in Psychology Overview

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Psychology is based on the study of human behaviors. As a social science, experimental psychology uses empirical inquiry to help understand human behavior. According to Thrass and Sanford (2000), psychology writing has three elements: describing, explaining, and understanding concepts from a standpoint of empirical investigation.

Discipline-specific writing, such as writing done in psychology, can be similar to other types of writing you have done in the use of the writing process, writing techniques, and in locating and integrating sources. However, the field of psychology also has its own rules and expectations for writing; not everything that you have learned in about writing in the past works for the field of psychology.

Writing in psychology includes the following principles:

Using plain language : Psychology writing is formal scientific writing that is plain and straightforward. Literary devices such as metaphors, alliteration, or anecdotes are not appropriate for writing in psychology.
Conciseness and clarity of language : The field of psychology stresses clear, concise prose. You should be able to make connections between empirical evidence, theories, and conclusions. See our OWL handout on conciseness for more information.
Evidence-based reasoning: Psychology bases its arguments on empirical evidence. Personal examples, narratives, or opinions are not appropriate for psychology.
Use of APA format: Psychologists use the American Psychological Association (APA) format for publications. While most student writing follows this format, some instructors may provide you with specific formatting requirements that differ from APA format .

Types of writing

Most major writing assignments in psychology courses consists of one of the following two types.

Experimental reports: Experimental reports detail the results of experimental research projects and are most often written in experimental psychology (lab) courses. Experimental reports are write-ups of your results after you have conducted research with participants. This handout provides a description of how to write an experimental report .

Critical analyses or reviews of research : Often called "term papers," a critical analysis of research narrowly examines and draws conclusions from existing literature on a topic of interest. These are frequently written in upper-division survey courses. Our research paper handouts provide a detailed overview of how to write these types of research papers.

Find My Rep

How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays

Paul Dickerson - University of Roehampton, UK
Description

“This book is one I wish I had bought at the start of my Psychology degree.” – Five-star review Essay writing is a key part of the Psychology degree and knowing how to write effective and compelling academic essays is key to success. Whether it's understanding how to implement feedback you receive on essays, how to stop procrastinating or what makes an effective introduction, this book covers it all. Drawing on insights derived from teaching thousands of students over a 25-year period How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays provides the keys that will unlock your writing potential.

Ace your Assignment provide practical tips to help succeed

Exercises help try the theory out in practice

Take away points highlight the key learnings from each chapter

Online resources provide even more help and guidance.

Supplements

Paul Dickerson, Emma McDonald and Christian van Nieuwerburgh discuss study skills, wellbeing and employability and explore how university lecturers and student welfare teams can better support Psychology students through their university journey.

Students enjoyed this text - they found it easy to read and the author's dry sense of humour appealed to many. Not just for psychologists!

A really useful guide for students, breaking down the components of what constitutes a good essay and written from a subject-specific view - highly recommend

I have recommended this to my first year tutorial groups as it provides them with everything they need to know about producing an excellent psychology essay.

Preview this book

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Help with writing assignments

You can improve your skills at writing assignments for your subject area in a number of ways:

Read the guidance or view the online tutorial on this page. They both go through the TIME model (Targeted, In-depth, Measured, Evidence-based) to explain what's required in academic writing.
Come along to one of our Succeed@Tees workshops. We run a workshop on academic writing, as well as on other types of writing (including critical writing, reflective writing, report writing). See the http://tees.libguides.com/workshops for more information, including a list of dates and times.
Book a one-to-one tutorial with a learning advisor at the Learning Hub. We can provide guidance on your structure and writing style.

Guidance on academic writing

Evidence-based.

Bringing it all together
Finally ...

Writing an assignment takes time, more time than you may expect. Just because you find yourself spending many weeks on an assignment doesn’t mean that you’re approaching it in the wrong way.
It also takes time to develop the skills to write well, so don’t be discouraged if your early marks aren’t what you’d hoped for. Use the feedback from your previous assignments to improve.
Different types of assignments require different styles, so be prepared for the need to continue to develop your skills.

We’ve broken down TIME into 4 key elements of academic writing: Targeted, In-depth, Measured and Evidence-based.

What is an academic piece of work

Your assignment needs to be targeted . It should:

Be focused on the questions and criteria
Make a decision
Follow an argument
How to be targeted
Academic keywords or clue words

Your assignment needs to be in-depth . You should consider your questions and criteria thoroughly, thinking about all possible aspects, and including the argument both for and against different viewpoints.

You should:

Identify topic areas
Plan your assignment
Think about your introduction and conclusion
How to be in-depth
How to read quickly

An academic writing style is measured. By this, we mean that it’s:

Emotionally neutral
Formal – written in the third person and in full sentences
How to be measured

Your assignment needs to be evidence-based . You should:

Reference all the ideas in your work
Paraphrase your evidence
Apply critical thinking to your evidence
How to be evidence-based
How to paraphrase

Once you’ve found all your evidence, and have decided what to say in each section, you need to write it up as paragraphs. Each paragraph should be on a single topic, making a single point. A paragraph is usually around a third of a page.

We find Godwin’s (2014) WEED model very helpful for constructing paragraphs.

W is for What

You should begin your paragraph with the topic or point that you’re making, so that it’s clear to your lecturer. Everything in the paragraph should fit in with this opening sentence.

E is for Evidence

The middle of your paragraph should be full of evidence – this is where all your references should be incorporated. Make sure that your evidence fits in with your topic.

E is for Examples

Sometimes it’s useful to expand on your evidence. If you’re talking about a case study, the example might be how your point relates to the particular scenario being discussed.

D is for Do

You should conclude your paragraph with the implications of your discussion. This gives you the opportunity to add your commentary, which is very important in assignments which require you to use critical analysis.

So, in effect, each paragraph is like a mini-essay, with an introduction, main body and conclusion.

Allow yourself some TIME to proofread your assignment. You’ll probably want to proofread it several times.

You should read it through at least once for sense and structure, to see if your paragraphs flow. Check that your introduction matches the content of your assignment. You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve been concise in your writing style.

You’ll then need to read it again to check for grammatical errors, typos and that your references are correct.

It’s best if you can create some distance from your assignment by coming back to it after a few days. It’s also often easier to pick out mistakes if you read your work aloud.

How to proofread

Online tutorial for writing assignments

We have an online tutorial to support academic writing. Click on the image below or go to Academic writing to view the tutorial.

Psychology Department

Why writing matters in psychology.

"Writing reflects thought, writing sharpens thought, writing generates thought. Writing is as important for intellectual growth as exercise is for athletic growth."

~Andy Swihart, Psychology Department

The Department of Psychology at SVSU requires writing in many of its psychology course offerings and has multiple important reasons for doing so. First, psychologists in particular, and successful individuals in general, communicate ideas through written means. If you are unable to communicate your ideas in a clear, coherent, written form, you will be unable to participate in the science of psychology. If you cannot communicate your observations, conclusions, and intentions in written format, you will be unable to participate in the clinical application of psychology. If you cannot share task lists, priorities, and information in written format, you will be unable to participate in any but the lowest levels of any employment setting. Being unable to write competently is as devastating a disability as being unable to read.

Second, writing reflects thought, writing sharpens thought, writing generates thought. Writing is as important for intellectual growth as exercise is for athletic growth. Writing is, in large part, the effortful process of wrestling with poorly apprehended and as yet disorganized ideas with the goal of achieving a higher level of understanding of these ideas. Hence, it is entirely erroneous to view writing as the result of putting well-understood and clearly articulated ideas into words. Rather, writing is a process that leads to improved understanding and articulation of the important intellectual ideas we did not initially understand.

Third, as a direct outcome of the above, your written communication of ideas allows your professor a means to assess your academic growth. Through review of your written work, your professor can assess your acquisition and level of mastery of psychological concepts. Furthermore, evaluation of your writing allows your professor to assess your ability to develop a critical, reasoned, intellectually defensible response to the psychological ideas you are encountering in your psychology course work.

In summary, writing is an exercise that is indispensable to your development, both as a consumer as well as a generator of psychological knowledge. More broadly, competency in written expression is a fundamental prerequisite to your post-graduate success. We urge you to approach the writing assignments in your psychology course work with appropriate energy and effort.

Typical Writing Assignments

Psychology instructors assign a wide variety of written assignments. These assignments include literature reviews, laboratory project reports, position papers, research article critiques, case reports, book reviews, observation reports and self-reflection exercises. Many instructors give essay questions on exams as well.

Professors in this discipline assign a variety of short and long written assignments.

Qualities of Good Writing

A straightforward, organized style of writing is valued in psychology as it is in any other science. For most assignments it is essential to make clear points with valid evidence supporting each point. For many assignments it is also important to include unique insights or critical thinking about the topic based on the evidence. It is important to focus on the overall purpose and intended audience of your paper. Because the purpose and audience for each assignment is different, make sure to thoroughly review any assignment guidelines provided by the instructor. Also, take advantage of instructors' office hours to ask questions about an assignment. Do not forget elements of grammar, sentence structure and paragraph structure when you write psychology papers. (These fundamental elements of good writing are important for more than English papers.) Unless otherwise stated, assume that the instructor prefers a formal style of writing with no slang terms or contractions, for instance.

Appropriate Types of Evidence & Support

Empirical evidence and theoretical arguments from peer-reviewed journals provide appropriate support in psychology papers. As with all sciences, the field has its foundation in theory and research. That foundation should be reflected in your papers. You should become familiar with the two general types of psychology journal articles: empirical articles (relate the methods and findings of one study primarily) and review/theoretical articles (synthesize evidence from multiple studies). Both types of articles offer valid support in your papers. The appropriateness of personal opinion and logical arguments will vary based on the type of assignment. In general, all personal opinions must be supported by theoretical concepts or research.

Citation Conventions

All psychology instructors require (or at least prefer) APA style for citations. APA style must be followed for in-text citations of quotations, paraphrases and summaries as well as for the reference list at the end of the paper. If you are using direct quotations, remember that you must include either quotation marks (for shorter quotations) or indentation (for longer quotations) AND an in-text citation giving credit to the original author. References to outside sources are often either underused or overused in student writing. It is vitally important to properly cite all quotations, summaries, paraphrases or even ideas that you got from an outside source. Failure to cite others' ideas, either intentionally or unintentionally, is considered plagiarism. Whereas you must cite all outside ideas, do not just string direct quotations together to construct your paper. Such writing does not reflect true understanding of the material or critical thought. Laboratory reports should follow all APA formatting guidelines. These papers should include the major sections of an APA manuscript: abstract, introduction, method, results and discussion. These papers also should follow APA format for the cover page, running head, headings, page numbers, tables, and figures. Pay attention to the details and refer to the Publication Manual of the APA frequently! Other types of papers, such as case reports and literature reviews, may not lend themselves to a format that includes the major sections of an APA style manuscript (e.g., methods, results). Ask your instructor for his or her guidelines for the structure of your paper.

Special Comments

Common "pitfalls" in student papers include the following:

Lack of organization in papers (outline first and then write!)
Stating a personal opinion without support
Trying to sound "scholarly" by writing long, convoluted sentences with obscure vocabulary (In general, keep it simple)
Careless mistakes in grammar and spelling
Overuse of direct quotations
Lack of proper citations of sources (this could get you into trouble with plagiarism!)
Use of websites instead of scholarly sources as references.

References and Resources

Peer reviewed (i.e., scholarly) articles are highly preferred as references for almost all assignments. Journals published by the American Psychological Association are good sources. Articles from these journals can be found on the databases PsychARTICLES and PsychJOURNALS. You may ask your instructor for a more specific list of recommended journals in his or her subfield. Academic books, such as those found in a university library, are generally also acceptable and should not be overlooked as valuable sources of information. Information from popular magazines, such as Newsweek, Time, and Psychology Today, are generally NOT preferred or NOT allowed. Information from websites is also generally UNACCEPTABLE. (The exception may be information from government or university websites.) Ask the instructor about his or her policy on citing websites.

See also Writing in Your Major @ www.gvsu.edu/wc See "Handouts - Writing in Your Major": - Application Paper - Research Proposals & Reports

Faculty Perspectives on Writing:

Andy swihart, psychology.

How I Learned to Write

Strategies For Writing

Writing In Psychology

Account details

How to Write 16 Mark Essays For AQA A level Psychology

How to write 16 mark essays for aqa a level psychology.

You will hear of numerous different ways to structure AQA A Level psychology 16 marker questions but the most effective tried and tested way will be keeping it nicely split between your theory points (AO1) and evaluation points(AO3) rather than mixing the two together across your paragraphs.

This structure of writing essays for A level AQA psychology has consistently scored students highly, even full marks in their exams.

The reason for this is the examiner is a human being and will be marking your essay as well as hundreds of other student answers and they will appreciate it so much more if you have made your essays explicitly easy to read and differentiate where the marks go as each is capped up to a certain amount.

For 16 marker questions, theory marks are capped at up to 6 marks and evaluation marks are capped at up to 10 marks .

Therefore, the harder you make the examiners work by trying to identify where the AO1 (theory) marks are or where the AO3 (evaluation) is, the less likely it is that you will be scored correctly across both elements up to the correct limit.

So make it nice and easy and the way you do this is write your theory first, and write it to a depth that clearly shows it is up to 6 marks worth of content that is well developed, and also up to 10 marks worth of evaluation points that also have sufficient depth.

Let's look at the theory element first and what information you should be looking to cover.

How do you structure 16 markers for AQA A level psychology?

Firstly, you do NOT need to write any introductions when starting your psychology essays ( or even conclusions in your evaluation at the end) and this is a common way to waste time in this subject. Simply go straight into outlining what the relevant theory states or into the evaluation itself without any filler.

Let's use the example from the A-level Psychology exam in 2023 (Paper 1) which asked two 16 mark questions in a single exam paper (yes you can be asked more than one 16 marker question in a single exam as this paper demonstrates).

The first 16 mark essay question asked this: Discuss research into minority influence (16 marks).

We've covered research into minority influence including consistency, commitment and flexibility here. The AQA specification actually tells you exactly what you need to know for this topic here too and it clearly outlines that the 3 subtopics you are required to know are:

Consistency
Flexibility

Therefore your theory element should be focused on outlining these three elements with enough detail to explain what each is with relevant information. Your evaluation would then be about the theory itself and it's strengths and weaknesses. You do not have to offer any conclusion but it is important to outline implications that relate to the theory itself. We'll examine what I mean for this further down when discussing the evaluation side of things but lets focus on theory for now.

The mark scheme for this question itself offers the following tips for examiners when assessing how much to score the theory section:

Knowledge of factors affecting minority influence including consistency/persistence, commitment (the augmentation principle), flexibility
Knowledge of other factors, eg confidence
Synchronic (consistency between members of minority) and/or diachronic consistency (consistency over time)
Process of conversion/internalisation
Accept minority influence processes involved in social change, such as the ‘snowball effect’, social cryptoamnesia
Description of studies of minority influence, eg Moscovici et al (1969), Wood et al (1994), Nemeth and Brilmayar (1987)

The above bullet points as mentioned are from the mark scheme itself and we can interpret the following from this:

You need to write all 3 elements which are consistency, persistence and commitment.
You need to show consideration of other factors too related to these 3 elements such as the confidence of the individual too.
You need to show a good level of depth that explains the process of conversion/internalisation occurs.
You need to link the theory to how it affects social change through the 'snowball effect' and also how social cryptoamnesia is also a factor.
You can also bring in relevant studies and describe them too if needed and what they found which will likely be related to the 3 factors consistency, persistence and commitment.

This shows you that to score the full 6 marks for theory (AO1), you will likely need to write a concise paragraph with the above information. I would therefore prepare for my exams by going through all the possible questions that can be asked and creating 16 mark model essay answers for every topic. We talk about all the possible essay questions you can be asked here for paper 1.

A good approach is to download all the past exam papers and their mark schemes to see all the questions that have come up to date and use the mark scheme just as I have shown you above to know what to cover when creating your model example answers.

The way you shape your model answers is therefore by using the guidance from the mark scheme so you know what to include across theory and evaluation.

Use Acronyms To Memorise Your Psychology Essays

Memorising complete 16 mark essays is difficult and will require you to utilise a memory technique known as chunking combined with using acronyms. The way this basically works is you structure the essays in such a way that you are able to form acronyms using the first letter of each paragraph. By remembering the acronym, this should in turn help you remember the rest of that particular paragraph using simply the first letter. It's always important to try and form an acronym that spells either a familiar word or phrase.

Here's an example:

Your remembered acronym might be SUMO-TUBO for a single essay (a strange word right? But easy to remember!)

'SUMO' would be for all the theory element of the essay while 'TUBO' would be for the evaluation .

So your theory element would begin with the letter S and this would begin your paragraph and be for all of your first point. The next section would then begin with U and form the next point you are making followed by M for the third.

This is basically how this technique works but it will only be successful if you do the following:

Create model 16 mark content first using the mark schemes and resources to cover everything in the spec.
Structure your created essays in a way that helps form memorable acronyms at the beginning of each main point or paragraph.
You practice your essays over and over again using this technique and memorising your acronyms for each essay. This part is key and provided you do this well, it usually takes students about 2-3 months (or longer) dependent on how often you practice them.

How long should a 16 mark psychology essay take?

The 16 mark essays are broken down with 6 marks for theory and 10 marks for evaluation.

Assuming we are aiming for an A* grade and to score full marks (which is possible and we should always be aiming for), you want to spend about 5 minutes writing your 6 marks worth of theory (AO1) and another 10 minutes at most writing your 10 marks of evaluation (AO2). I would argue you should not spend longer than this and if you could write them both in less time, e.g. 12-13 minutes total, this would be ideal.

To summarise, this should be approximately about 2 pages worth of writing with the theory element making up just over half the page and the rest being evaluation.

How many evaluation points is a 16 marker psychology?

The question of how many evaluation points you should write for 16 mark psychology essays depends on the breadth (how many different evaluation points you make) and depth (how well you explain each point and its relevance to the theory) of your essays.

Let's start with what we know - We know the evaluation section is worth up to 10 marks.

A straightforward approach that ensures you work towards the higher bands will see you write at least 4 well developed points in your evaluation with the goal of them scoring between 2 to 3 marks each.

If you write more relevant points (breadth) that are less developed and linked back to the theory, you can get away with less depth but if you write less breadth (less points, say for example you write 3, you need to consider writing more depth for each one instead).

So ultimately you have the option of writing between 3-5 points of evaluative commentary dependent how well you explain each and the level of depth you go into.

How long is each psychology A level exam?

How long each exam paper is depends on which paper you are sitting and whether it is AS or A-level. A summary of timings below:

In short, the AS papers are all 1 hour 30 minutes while all the A-level papers are 2 hours.

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Why I Study Psychology (10 Essays)

Why I Study Psychology is a collection of short essays. Each student explains their motivation for choosing psychology.

Psychology students are often motivated by personal experiences and a wish for healthier, happier communities. The essays demonstrate the value from having a vision for your career – whether it’s detailed or “big picture” – before you start a psychology degree. Having a long-term goal in mind offers a reliable source of study motivation.

Why I Chose Psychology Essays

College student writing a psychology essay

As part of a national essay competition, current and future psychology students were asked to explain their study motivation. Each student describes in 250 words or less (a) why I chose psychology as a major and (b) how I’m motivated to succeed at psychology studies. The best, most inspiring essays are published here.

1. Motivation

We all know that there will almost always be something to do that sounds much more appealing than our studies, so why do we study if there is something better? Motivation, that’s why. Everyone has their own motivating factor that keeps them in line with studying. Mine is pretty general and that is my future.

I have dreams of becoming a psychologist and helping people throughout my life. I also have a huge passion for American Sign Language. I plan to merge these two goals into one for my future career. I don’t want to be just any psychologist, I want to be a psychologist that is open to Deaf people and hearing people alike. I want Deaf people to feel comfortable coming to me without the need of a third person interpreter who is usually a stranger . Many Deaf people feel uncomfortable visiting a psychologist because of the need for a third person. I plan to make a step towards breaking that barrier by being able to sign or speak with any patient who comes to me.

With all these huge goals I know that I have to be very on top of studies and make sure I continue to stay on track and do my best. All of these reasons put together make up my ideal future and therefore my motivation to study.

~ Hannah Reis, Palomar College

Related: Human Psychology: Study of Mind and Behavior

2. My Dream

We live in a world filled with hurt and suffering, and a place that is not equal for all. My dream is to leverage my unique set of skills, abilities, privileges, resources, and knowledge in a way that increases equality and privilege for all (not just people with white skin). I am pursuing a degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology which combines psychology and business.

I feel most alive when I am volunteering with my family at The Christian Children’s Home of Ohio (CCHO) which is a non-profit orphanage for children. I love working with the children there, and it hurts my heart when I see them being forced to leave once they are eighteen without any further aid or support. Consequently, after gaining work experience in applying psychology principles to the business world, I intend to establish a non-profit organization . This entity will support young adults from foster care or orphanages, providing them with essential skills and emotional support as they transition to adulthood. Once they have turned eighteen the government will no longer provide very much aid to them; I want to supply them with the additional skills and services that they need to make it in the real world, and give them the emotional support that they may not have.

One of the main services I want to provide them is taking them to do mission work because the best way to grow as a person and gain perspective is through service and travel. When college gets hard, I hold on tight to this dream because I know my studies will help me achieve this dream.

~ Alyssa Powers, The University of Akron

Related: Different Fields of Psychology Study

3. A Catalyst for Change

The incredible transformation I have experienced through the power of therapeutic relationships motivates me to immerse myself in my studies and move closer towards my goal of becoming a psychologist. Recognizing how the quality of my own life has been profoundly enhanced by self-reflection, the invaluable lesson of how to learn from suffering, and coming to a deeper understanding of who I am, encourages me to try and be a catalyst for this kind of change in other’s lives. I’m motivated to empower people to feel confident enough in who they are that they don’t feel the need to bring others down.

When life as a student feels exceptionally challenging, I remind myself of the impact that the work I wish to practice has on people’s lives and those around them. I strongly believe large scale change happens on the individual level first, and if we want to see a world where we value the earth and all the people living on it, we have to do the work with ourselves first. I want to help people in their transformation towards becoming more unconditionally loving, tolerant, and compassionate people . I think when people are more comfortable with, and accepting of, who they are, they are consequently kinder and more loving towards those around them. Encouraging this kind of growth first on an individual level, and ultimately on a global level, motivates me to not only get through, but thrive within my program.

~ Hannah Freund, California Institute of Integral Studies

Related: What Does a Psychologist Do?

4. Reshaping Mental Health

People who are given psychiatric diagnoses experience some of the worst prejudice and discrimination. They are more likely to be the victims of violence, have a harder time securing jobs and housing, and constantly come face-to-face with the harmful stereotypes that state that these individuals are violent and unpredictable. As such, much research needs to be done to understand the cause of such distress, as well as to develop effective interventions and achieve healthy minds.

Our current mental health paradigm, which views distress as primarily biological and best treated medically, has unfortunately increased stigma and disability rates related to mental health. I was one of the fortunate few who was able to pursue a college degree despite being given a severe diagnosis and a hopeless prognosis. However, I know that much of my success has been due to luck and privilege, and the opportunities that I have been afforded are an exception, not a rule. I am striving to change that.

It is my hope that, through increased research and advocacy, society can come to understand that extreme distress is often a message about something that is wrong in a person’s world, and as such, is profoundly meaningful and can be understood. Furthermore, by understanding the psychosocial origins of distress – trauma, poverty, inequality, etc. – we can refocus upstream and create policies that protect against these stressors in the first place.

~ name withheld, Mount Holyoke College

Related: Is Psychology a STEM Major? Science vs Social Science

5. C’s Get Degrees

It is said that “C’s get degrees”, but that isn’t enough for me. C’s show an average amount of work, an average amount of time, an average amount of effort. “Average” is not something that I want to be known as. I want to be known as the girl who kept moving forward, went above and beyond, and never looked back. My driving force is making my family proud and reaching my ultimate goal—becoming a school psychologist.

I am the very first in my family to attend college. Every time the topic of school or my future is mentioned, I can see on their faces that they are overwhelmed with pride. When I received my Associate’s degree, seeing my grandpa cry made me realize how special my academic journey is to them. They have given up so much and have supported me in every way, making them proud is the very least I could do in return.

Becoming a school psychologist has been my dream career since I was in middle school. The thought of being able to connect and help a child grow both academically and socially is the greatest reward I could ever receive . Every time I am procrastinating typing a paper, not studying when I know I should have, or wanting to give up on a difficult problem, I think about my end goal. Making a difference to even just one child will make all of school worth it.

~ Haleigh Cordeiro, California Polytechnic State University

Related: How Long Does It Take to Get a Psychology Degree?

6. Find Your Unconscious

General psychology illustrated by mind symbol held up in front of crowd of people

Psychologists have discovered reasons, stages, and correlations among our biopsychosocial make-up. Over the centuries, they have managed to explain why humans experience what occurs in everyday life. They provide answers when we have questions about ourselves; it is for this reason that I strive to major in psychology.

I believe that I can make people in my environment, as well as myself, healthier by providing some sense of clarity whenever life situations become foggy. My dream is to someday become a successful industrial-psychologist. Why not a clinical psychologist, you might ask? While working one-on-one with individuals who are struggling would definitely be rewarding, I believe I can have a greater impact by helping larger groups . This dream of mine to become an industrial-psychologist would allow me to make the environment of common day people the most comfortable and enjoyable one.

Through the study of psychology, I will be able to know what qualities are the most necessary to enrich the daily lives of people and ensure that I apply them to my work. What drives me? The fact that I have seen psychologists help my family make sense of one of the most difficult things that we have gone through. Psychologists helped my sister facing anorexia nervosa deal with her disorder and helped my family become a strong support system to aid my sister’s recuperation. I want to know that I can help other people, psychology will open the doors to this dream of mine.

~ Iridian, Cal State University of Long Beach

Related: Clinical Psychologist

7. My Dream

Over 22 million children in the United States do not live with their biological mother and father and reside with their grandparents. This means that 3 percent of children living in America face the same situation as me. My father and mother were teenagers when they had me, so raising a baby girl was a difficult task for them. Neither of my parents went to college either, so having me took a toll on their lives. For the both of them, college was an opportunity to better their education and be successful, but with me, that would have been harder for them. Living with my grandparents was the best option for me.

I am currently experiencing teenage life and I can understand why raising a child, when you are only a child yourself, is a daunting responsibility. I commend my parents for choosing to provide a better life for me, actively shielding me from adversity and their own struggles. When I enter college, my goal is not just to pass my classes, it is to make something of myself . I know my parents would want that for me.

My dream is to work up to my doctorate and become a psychiatrist, fulfilling every opportunity and experience that comes my way. Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung once said “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become”, and through my hardship, I choose to overcome and prepare for my destiny.

~ Nina Grizzle

Related: How to Become a Psychologist

8. Art Therapy

My love for psychology began my junior year when I took the AP course. What was supposed to be a schedule-filling elective credit accidentally grew into a genuine fascination. I found myself going above and beyond the curriculum purely out of curiosity . My interest in what we were discussing in class every day would often send me down long, thought-provoking paths that motivated me to hunt down explanations to the answers of questions I didn’t know I had. But once I had the answers, they seemed to be demanding further explanation, and I was always more than happy to oblige.

With my future education in this field, I aim to innovate art therapy techniques that directly aid individuals with mental disorders and cognitive declines. I feel that experimenting with the effects that art has on people’s brain chemistry will open up a new type of therapy that can be clinically prescribed. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 52.9 million adults in the United States suffer from mental illnesses. This new form of therapy could possibly improve the mental state of the millions of people impacted while inspiring the creation of art.

~ Taylor Himes, University of Texas San Antonio

Related: Psychology Symbol Ψ (Psi or Trident): Greek Text and Images

9. If You Put Your Mind To It

For as long as I can remember, I knew that I wanted to make a difference in the world. I knew that the first step was to attend an accredited university, and that university happens to be Michigan State. I went into college with the dream of becoming a doctor, however, I had a change of heart.

At the beginning of my freshmen year, the unthinkable happened. My dad committed suicide. My world came crashing down. It was a complete shock. My dad always kept all his feelings masked. I never knew what he was going through, and everyday I regret not paying closer attention. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about him. If only I had known. I could’ve done something. That experience then motivated me to change my major to psychology.

I’ve always wanted to make a difference, and now I know exactly how to achieve that dream. I aim to support those enduring what my dad went through. I want to be there for them, to help them overcome their inner demons. I want to let them know that their lives are worth living. Losing a family member to suicide is one of the most detrimental events that anyone can ever endure, and if I can one day prevent someone from experiencing that, then I would have accomplished my goal; I will make a difference.

~ Kayla Harper, Michigan State University

Related: Is Psychology a Hard Major?

10. Motivated by God to Help Others

I’ve heard from so many different people how difficult college can be. Late nights, big tests, difficult and early classes, that doesn’t even sound like fun. The only thing that keeps me moving towards college is the idea of being able to help other people when I graduate.

In December of 2016 I travelled halfway around the world to the Philippines. While I was there I met 15 wonderful children with horrible backgrounds. The love these children missed out on for so many years is heartbreaking. My future goal is to study Psychology and Religion at Liberty University.

The dream that keeps me motivated to go back to school is the chance to help many , not just children, but anyone who needs a listening ear and a voice to discuss their problems. People need more people to care and who want to listen. If people would feel the love that God made for them this world would be a much better place.

~ Trinity Rake, Liberty University

Related: Difference Between Counselling and Psychology

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How to Use Psychology to Write Amazing Stories

by Joslyn Chase | 0 comments

Psychology and writing go hand-in-hand. Both are about understanding how people think and act, and why. But you don't need a psychology degree to write a good story—just a curiosity about the people around you.

Psychology and Writing

Maybe you’re a pantser. You dive into a story idea with a character that’s starting to come together in your mind. Three or four chapters in, the story starts to fall apart and you don’t know why.

Maybe your character’s behavior doesn’t fit the requirements of the story. Maybe your character’s motivations don’t make sense. Maybe you’re having trouble staying inside your character’s head, filtering the story through his perceptions.

Whatever the reasons, your story is in trouble.

Or, maybe you’re a plotter. You craft your story idea, sketching out the scene goals and events, working to lay the story out from start to finish. But at some point, you lose the thread, or the story elements aren’t coming together the way you wanted them to.

Could be the character you’ve developed isn’t the right one to deliver your story idea. Could be that parts of your idea are not based on realistic human behavior; they don’t ring true.

These are just a few of the ways you might find yourself with issues that need to be addressed if you are to write a story that grabs and holds reader attention. Insights into the psychology of human behavior may be just what you need to fix your story problems and right yourself on the path to successful completion.

The Doctor Is In

Remember the Charlie Brown comic strips? The enterprising Lucy one-upped the lemonade stand business model and parked herself at a booth offering “Psychiatric Help” for five cents. I remember one version where she added Opinions, also a nickel, Thoughts For The Day, ten cents, and Sound Advice for a quarter.

Like Lucy, I am not a psychologist. Nor do I play one on TV. I am just someone who finds the subject interesting and sees the value in it, as a writer. You’ll get my opinions and thoughts for the day for free, and I hope I can deliver some sound advice on psychology and writing, as well.

Writing Is Psychology

The study of psychology revolves around understanding why humans think, feel, and behave as they do. The resemblance to what we do as writers should be clear.

Realistic characters have history and family dynamics. They have strengths, weaknesses, and personality problems. They engage in internal monologues about themselves, their relationships, and the world around them.

Darian Smith puts it this way in The Psychology Workbook for Writers :

“Writers—the good ones anyway—are keen observers of human nature and they capture it in their characters and storytelling. They show the behaviors, the thought processes, and the ways people make meaning out of their experiences and events and turn these into provoking entertainment.”

No Degree Necessary

You don’t need a doctorate in order to apply the benefits of psychology to your writing. People who are drawn to write fiction usually have an instinctual understanding of psychology, to a degree.

But like most worthwhile pursuits, practicing certain techniques will make psychological perception a more available tool in your writer’s toolbox.

Here are three areas of focus for combining psychology and writing:

1. Observation

Most writers are people watchers. We’re fascinated by the things people do, what they say, and especially any discrepancies between the two. The fictional characters we create tend to be “larger than life” in many ways, but they must also be based on the ordinary man, someone the reader can relate to.

Story is hardwired into our DNA. We all have an intuitive understanding of stories and what they mean to us.

When we think we’re reading just for the sheer fun of it, we’re actually learning and honing valuable skills. We are learning how to relate to the world, and to each other, so if the characters in the stories we read are believable, we attach to them on a variety of levels in order to learn what they can teach us.

To that end, make a habit of observing those around you and noting their behavior. What kinds of things do they say ? How do they relate to each other? How do they solve the little problems life throws their way?

You may even want to record your observations in a notebook of some sort and refer back to those notes when you need to flesh out a character’s traits.

2. Body language

Nonverbal communication speaks volumes. You are already adept at reading gestures, facial expressions, and physical movements. You have to be—it’s a survival skill we all develop.

But you can hone this skill beyond the ordinary, and learn how to use it effectively in your writing.

Ex-FBI agent Joe Navarro wrote a book on the subject titled, What Every Body Is Saying . He writes,

“Nonverbal communication can also reveal a person’s true thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Because people are not always aware they are communicating nonverbally, body language is often more honest than an individual’s verbal pronouncements, which are consciously crafted to accomplish the speaker’s objectives.”

When it comes to body language, think congruency. You can use nonverbal signals that are consistent with what your character says to reinforce their words, but you can apply it to even greater advantage by using it to belie what the character says, tipping the reader that all is not as it seems.

In Wired For Story , Lisa Cron gives this warning:

“The most common mistake writers make is using body language to tell us something we already know. Rather, body language should tell us something we don’t know. Body language works best when it’s at odds with what’s happening.”

3. Visit your bookshelf

Grab your feather duster and explore your bookcase for volumes from yesteryear. Most of us have an old copy of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus , or The Five Love Languages , or Your Erroneous Zones , or How To Win Friends And Influence People . Come on—it’s not just me.

Blow the dust off the cover and open it up. You don’t have to get very far into one of these books to see how you can utilize the concepts to create fictional characters that feel real.

If you really don’t have any such books, they’re easy to find. Peruse Amazon and get some samples sent to your eReader.

In the past, I've sometimes visited an interesting website called Psychology For Writers , hosted by Dr. Carolyn Kaufman, Psy.D. Sadly, I learned that she recently passed away and it seems her website is no longer active. However, she wrote a book on the subject, The Writer's Guide To Psychology , which is still available. And here's the link to an interview she did with Joanna Penn .

My mentor, Dean Wesley Smith , suggests what he calls “typing in” exercises. This is where I find something that another writer has done remarkably well—a superb opening paragraph, a nail-biting cliffhanger, whatever—and type it into my own manuscript form .

The purpose is not to ever use those words, but by typing it in as the original writer did, I get a better sense of how the writer did it and by consciously applying and practicing this skill, it moves past my front brain and into my back brain where it becomes instinctual.

The same thing will happen when you apply the psychology you learn from other sources. By learning and applying knowledge of psychological theories, you will gradually integrate it into your instinctive writing behavior.

All Different, and Yet the Same

We are all individuals, distinct from one another and different in many respects, but we all share similar cognitive and emotional inventories. Each of us has experienced fear, anger, humor, guilt, love, lust, hate, disgust, longing, and a myriad of emotional variants.

The characters we create will be based on what we know, and will be processed by readers according to their similar experiences.

When you make a connection like that with your reader, the effect can linger long after the book is closed. A knowledge of psychology can help you do that.

Are you a people watcher? Do you use body language effectively in your writing? What old psychology books are collecting dust on your shelf? Tell us about it in the comments section .

For today's practice, you have two options.

At your desk: Think of the last conversation you had with someone and write down everything you can remember. What did you talk about? What did the other person say, and how did they say it? What was their body language?

Take fifteen minutes to record as much as you can.

In the wild: Go to a public place, such as a grocery store, a park, a coffee shop. Observe and listen to the people around you. Watch their interactions, their mannerisms, their body language. Listen to their conversation, their tone of voice, their verbal tics. Like a student in a classroom, make notes of everything you notice.

Then, take fifteen minutes to write about a character or a situation that arises from what you’ve just observed.

When you’re finished, post your practice in the comments section . And if you post, please leave feedback for your fellow writers!

Joslyn Chase

Any day where she can send readers to the edge of their seats, prickling with suspense and chewing their fingernails to the nub, is a good day for Joslyn. Pick up her latest thriller, Steadman's Blind , an explosive read that will keep you turning pages to the end. No Rest: 14 Tales of Chilling Suspense , Joslyn's latest collection of short suspense, is available for free at joslynchase.com .

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How to Get Started on Your First Psychology Experiment

Acquiring even a little expertise in advance makes science research easier..

Updated May 16, 2024 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

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Students often struggle at the beginning of research projects—knowing how to begin.
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Becoming something of an "expert" on a topic in advance makes designing a study go more smoothly.

One of the most rewarding and frustrating parts of my long career as a psychology professor at a small liberal arts college has been guiding students through the senior capstone research experience required near the end of their college years. Each psychology major must conduct an independent experiment in which they collect data to test a hypothesis, analyze the data, write a research paper, and present their results at a college poster session or at a professional conference.

The rewarding part of the process is clear: The students' pride at seeing their poster on display and maybe even getting their name on an article in a professional journal allows us professors to get a glimpse of students being happy and excited—for a change. I also derive great satisfaction from watching a student discover that he or she has an aptitude for research and perhaps start shifting their career plans accordingly.

The frustrating part comes at the beginning of the research process when students are attempting to find a topic to work on. There is a lot of floundering around as students get stuck by doing something that seems to make sense: They begin by trying to “think up a study.”

The problem is that even if the student's research interest is driven by some very personal topic that is deeply relevant to their own life, they simply do not yet know enough to know where to begin. They do not know what has already been done by others, nor do they know how researchers typically attack that topic.

Students also tend to think in terms of mission statements (I want to cure eating disorders) rather than in terms of research questions (Why are people of some ages or genders more susceptible to eating disorders than others?).

Needless to say, attempting to solve a serious, long-standing societal problem in a few weeks while conducting one’s first psychology experiment can be a showstopper.

Even a Little Bit of Expertise Can Go a Long Way

My usual approach to helping students get past this floundering stage is to tell them to try to avoid thinking up a study altogether. Instead, I tell them to conceive of their mission as becoming an “expert” on some topic that they find interesting. They begin by reading journal articles, writing summaries of these articles, and talking to me about them. As the student learns more about the topic, our conversations become more sophisticated and interesting. Researchable questions begin to emerge, and soon, the student is ready to start writing a literature review that will sharpen the focus of their research question.

In short, even a little bit of expertise on a subject makes it infinitely easier to craft an experiment on that topic because the research done by others provides a framework into which the student can fit his or her own work.

This was a lesson I learned early in my career when I was working on my own undergraduate capstone experience. Faced with the necessity of coming up with a research topic and lacking any urgent personal issues that I was trying to resolve, I fell back on what little psychological expertise I had already accumulated.

In a previous psychology course, I had written a literature review on why some information fails to move from short-term memory into long-term memory. The journal articles that I had read for this paper relied primarily on laboratory studies with mice, and the debate that was going on between researchers who had produced different results in their labs revolved around subtle differences in the way that mice were released into the experimental apparatus in the studies.

Because I already had done some homework on this, I had a ready-made research question available: What if the experimental task was set up so that the researcher had no influence on how the mouse entered the apparatus at all? I was able to design a simple animal memory experiment that fit very nicely into the psychological literature that was already out there, and this prevented a lot of angst.

Please note that my undergraduate research project was guided by the “expertise” that I had already acquired rather than by a burning desire to solve some sort of personal or social problem. I guarantee that I had not been walking around as an undergraduate student worrying about why mice forget things, but I was nonetheless able to complete a fun and interesting study.

My first experiment may not have changed the world, but it successfully launched my research career, and I fondly remember it as I work with my students 50 years later.

Frank McAndrew, Ph.D., is the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College.

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Cramming for an exam isn’t the best way to learn – but if you have to do it, here’s how

Senior Teaching Fellow in Education, University of Strathclyde

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Jonathan Firth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Strathclyde provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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Around the country, school and university students are hitting the books in preparation for exams. If you are in this position, you may find yourself trying to memorise information that you first learned a long time ago and have completely forgotten – or that you didn’t actually learn effectively in the first place.

Unfortunately, cramming is a very inefficient way to properly learn. But sometimes it’s necessary to pass an exam. And you can incorporate what we know about how learning works into your revision to make it more effective.

Read more: Exams: seven tips for coping with revision stress

A great deal of research evidence on how memory works over time shows that we forget new information very quickly at first, after which the process of forgetting slows down.

In practice, this means that very compressed study schedules lead to a catastrophic amount of forgetting.

A better option is to space out learning a particular topic more gradually and over a longer period. This is called the “spacing effect” and it leads to skills and knowledge being retained better, and for longer.

Research has found that we remember information better when we leave a gap of time between first studying something and revisiting it, rather than doing so straight away. This even works for short timescales – a delay of a few seconds when trying to learn a small piece of information, such as a pair of words, for instance. And it also works when the delay between study sessions is much longer .

In the classroom , spacing out practice could mean reviewing and practising material the next day, or delaying homework by a couple of weeks, rather than revisiting it as soon as possible. As a rule, psychologists have suggested that the best time to re-study material is when it is on the verge of being forgotten – not before, but also not after.

But this isn’t how things are learned across the school year. When students get to exam time, they have forgotten much of what was previously studied.

Better cramming

When it comes to actually learning – being able to remember information over the long term and apply it to new situations – cramming doesn’t work. We can hardly call it “learning” if information is forgotten a month later. But if you need to pass an exam, cramming can lead to a boost in temporary performance. What’s more, you can incorporate the spacing effect into your cramming to make it more efficient.

It’s better to space practising knowledge of a particular topic out over weeks, so if you have that long before a key exam, plan your revision schedule so you cover topics more than once. Rather than allocating one block of two hours for a particular topic, study it for one hour this week and then for another hour in a week or so’s time.

If you don’t have that much time, it’s still worth incorporating smaller gaps between practice sessions. If your exam is tomorrow, practice key topics in the morning today and then again in the evening.

Learning is also more effective if you actively retrieve information from your memory, rather than re-reading or underlining your notes. A good way to do this, incorporating the spacing effect, is to take practice tests. Revise a topic from your notes or textbook, take a half-hour break, and then take a practice test without help from your books.

An even simpler technique is a “brain dump” . After studying and taking a break, write down everything you can remember about the topic on a blank sheet of paper without checking your notes.

Change the way we teach

A shift in teaching practices may be needed to avoid students having to cram material they only half-remember before exams.

But my research suggests that teachers tend to agree with the idea that consolidation of a topic should happen as soon as possible, rather than spacing out practice in ways that would actually be more effective.

Teachers are overburdened and make heroic efforts with the time they have. But incorporating the spacing effect into teaching needn’t require radical changes to how teachers operate. Often, it’s as simple as doing the same thing on a different schedule .

Research has shown the most effective way to combine practice testing and the spacing effect is to engage in practice testing in the initial class, followed by at least three practice opportunities at widely spaced intervals. This is quite possible within the typical pattern of the school year.

For example, after the initial class, further practice could come via a homework task after a few days’ delay, then some kind of test or mock exam after a further gap of time. The revision period before exams would then be the third opportunity for consolidation.

Building effective self-testing and delayed practice into education would spell less stress and less ineffective cramming. Exam time would be for consolidation, rather than re-learning things that have been forgotten. The outcome would be better long-term retention of important knowledge and skills. As a bonus, school students would also gain a better insight into how to study effectively.

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How to Write a Methods Section for a Psychology Paper

Tips and Examples of an APA Methods Section

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

The methods section of an APA format psychology paper provides the methods and procedures used in a research study or experiment . This part of an APA paper is critical because it allows other researchers to see exactly how you conducted your research.

Method refers to the procedure that was used in a research study. It included a precise description of how the experiments were performed and why particular procedures were selected. While the APA technically refers to this section as the 'method section,' it is also often known as a 'methods section.'

The methods section ensures the experiment's reproducibility and the assessment of alternative methods that might produce different results. It also allows researchers to replicate the experiment and judge the study's validity.

This article discusses how to write a methods section for a psychology paper, including important elements to include and tips that can help.

What to Include in a Method Section

So what exactly do you need to include when writing your method section? You should provide detailed information on the following:

Research design
Participants
Participant behavior

The method section should provide enough information to allow other researchers to replicate your experiment or study.

Components of a Method Section

The method section should utilize subheadings to divide up different subsections. These subsections typically include participants, materials, design, and procedure.

Participants

In this part of the method section, you should describe the participants in your experiment, including who they were (and any unique features that set them apart from the general population), how many there were, and how they were selected. If you utilized random selection to choose your participants, it should be noted here.

For example: "We randomly selected 100 children from elementary schools near the University of Arizona."

At the very minimum, this part of your method section must convey:

Basic demographic characteristics of your participants (such as sex, age, ethnicity, or religion)
The population from which your participants were drawn
Any restrictions on your pool of participants
How many participants were assigned to each condition and how they were assigned to each group (i.e., randomly assignment , another selection method, etc.)
Why participants took part in your research (i.e., the study was advertised at a college or hospital, they received some type of incentive, etc.)

Information about participants helps other researchers understand how your study was performed, how generalizable the result might be, and allows other researchers to replicate the experiment with other populations to see if they might obtain the same results.

In this part of the method section, you should describe the materials, measures, equipment, or stimuli used in the experiment. This may include:

Testing instruments
Technical equipment
Any psychological assessments that were used
Any special equipment that was used

For example: "Two stories from Sullivan et al.'s (1994) second-order false belief attribution tasks were used to assess children's understanding of second-order beliefs."

For standard equipment such as computers, televisions, and videos, you can simply name the device and not provide further explanation.

Specialized equipment should be given greater detail, especially if it is complex or created for a niche purpose. In some instances, such as if you created a special material or apparatus for your study, you might need to include an illustration of the item in the appendix of your paper.

In this part of your method section, describe the type of design used in the experiment. Specify the variables as well as the levels of these variables. Identify:

The independent variables
Dependent variables
Control variables
Any extraneous variables that might influence your results.

Also, explain whether your experiment uses a within-groups or between-groups design.

For example: "The experiment used a 3x2 between-subjects design. The independent variables were age and understanding of second-order beliefs."

The next part of your method section should detail the procedures used in your experiment. Your procedures should explain:

What the participants did
How data was collected
The order in which steps occurred

For example: "An examiner interviewed children individually at their school in one session that lasted 20 minutes on average. The examiner explained to each child that he or she would be told two short stories and that some questions would be asked after each story. All sessions were videotaped so the data could later be coded."

Keep this subsection concise yet detailed. Explain what you did and how you did it, but do not overwhelm your readers with too much information.

Tips for How to Write a Methods Section

In addition to following the basic structure of an APA method section, there are also certain things you should remember when writing this section of your paper. Consider the following tips when writing this section:

Use the past tense : Always write the method section in the past tense.
Be descriptive : Provide enough detail that another researcher could replicate your experiment, but focus on brevity. Avoid unnecessary detail that is not relevant to the outcome of the experiment.
Use an academic tone : Use formal language and avoid slang or colloquial expressions. Word choice is also important. Refer to the people in your experiment or study as "participants" rather than "subjects."
Use APA format : Keep a style guide on hand as you write your method section. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the official source for APA style.
Make connections : Read through each section of your paper for agreement with other sections. If you mention procedures in the method section, these elements should be discussed in the results and discussion sections.
Proofread : Check your paper for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.. typos, grammar problems, and spelling errors. Although a spell checker is a handy tool, there are some errors only you can catch.

After writing a draft of your method section, be sure to get a second opinion. You can often become too close to your work to see errors or lack of clarity. Take a rough draft of your method section to your university's writing lab for additional assistance.

A Word From Verywell

The method section is one of the most important components of your APA format paper. The goal of your paper should be to clearly detail what you did in your experiment. Provide enough detail that another researcher could replicate your study if they wanted.

Finally, if you are writing your paper for a class or for a specific publication, be sure to keep in mind any specific instructions provided by your instructor or by the journal editor. Your instructor may have certain requirements that you need to follow while writing your method section.

Frequently Asked Questions

While the subsections can vary, the three components that should be included are sections on the participants, the materials, and the procedures.

Describe who the participants were in the study and how they were selected.
Define and describe the materials that were used including any equipment, tests, or assessments
Describe how the data was collected

To write your methods section in APA format, describe your participants, materials, study design, and procedures. Keep this section succinct, and always write in the past tense. The main heading of this section should be labeled "Method" and it should be centered, bolded, and capitalized. Each subheading within this section should be bolded, left-aligned and in title case.

The purpose of the methods section is to describe what you did in your experiment. It should be brief, but include enough detail that someone could replicate your experiment based on this information. Your methods section should detail what you did to answer your research question. Describe how the study was conducted, the study design that was used and why it was chosen, and how you collected the data and analyzed the results.

Erdemir F. How to write a materials and methods section of a scientific article ? Turk J Urol . 2013;39(Suppl 1):10-5. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.047

Kallet RH. How to write the methods section of a research paper . Respir Care . 2004;49(10):1229-32. PMID: 15447808.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

American Psychological Association. APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards . Published 2020.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

DualShockers

Baldur's gate 3 and dragon age communities have very different atmospheres, and it's because of the writing.

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A contrast in how characters are written has shaped the community atmosphere of these two games.

BG3's light-hearted party dynamics foster a supportive community, unlike Dragon Age with its ideologically-driven conflicts that spark endless debates.
Characters in BG3 rarely oppose each other, presenting personal objectives; contrast this with DA's party members openly disagreeing with the player.
The contentious writing in DA prompts heated debates, leading to toxicity among fans; BG3's community remains broadly supportive thanks to lighthearted characters.

Dragon Age (specifically Dragon Age: Origins) and Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) are two games I’ve always compared. Both are CRPGs in the classical vein with a strong focus on characters. Both also have very passionate communities that adore these characters. A difference though, is the atmosphere of these two communities can be wildly different, and it’s because of the contrast in how both games’ respective characters and narratives are written.

The presentation of Baldur’s Gate 3 is classic Forgotten Realms fare. The player’s party displays a sort of easygoing, irreverent attitude towards situations that are ostensibly very serious and dangerous. It’s intended to replicate the experience of a group playing tabletop Dungeons & Dragons. That’s not to say there aren’t emotionally charged moments or that Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t deal with serious themes, but if someone is revealing their trauma, they’re usually quick with a witty follow-up immediately after.

A Tale Of Two Communities

Additionally, the Baldur’s Gate 3 party members don’t oppose one another in any serious manner. Even if the player plays as The Dark Urge and commits horrible atrocities, the party won’t have any real problem with the player’s actions. I remember confessing to Shadowheart that I heard voices telling me to murder everything in sight all of the time during our second-ever conversation and she just brushed me off.

The characters of Baldur’s Gate 3 have their objectives separate from the player, but they’re mostly personal, and not ideological. You can finish Baldur’s Gate 3 with a world state that leaves every party member relatively pleased. Sure, some of them like Karlach and Lae’zel still have trials ahead of them, but they’ve made progress on their journeys and they’re glad to have met the player.

Contrast this with Dragon Age, where most of the party is somewhat ideological or factional. A lot of them will openly disagree with the actions of the player. Even though you’re all facing down a world-ending threat (as is also the case in BG3), people can and will turn on one another over matters they feel strongly about.

"I'm Scared Of Having My Dreams Crushed" - Dragon Age Fans Are Nervous Ahead Of Summer Game Fest

In Dragon Age: Origins, every single member of your party except your trusty canine companion can leave you over a disagreement. The majority of these moments are dependent on your decisions during main quests. The religious party member isn’t going to allow you to defile the remains of her prophet and the mage won't allow you to condemn all of her peers to death without a fight. An air of conflict in Origins isn’t as prevalent in Baldur’s Gate 3.

This has led to differing psychologies among both of these communities. Fans of each of Baldur’s Gate 3’s characters can co-exist easily, as none of these characters come into significant conflict with one another. Even the rivalry between Shadowheart and Lae’zel is endearing for fans, rather than anything that provokes intense emotion. Sure, some are critical of Astarion’s apathy and express as much to his ardent lovers, but nobody gets riled up about the whole thing.

Contrast this with characters like Anders and Solas, who are liable to spark typing contests at their mere mention on a forum post. Anders is an extremist, willing to do anything to secure the emancipation of mages from the Chantry. His character arc in Dragon Age 2 was so polarising that his writer left BioWare after receiving terrible abuse and death threats from so-called fans. Solas, the subject of the upcoming Dreadwolf, wants to remake Thedas into an Elven paradise, a group that faces significant persecution from humanity. This, as you can imagine, is a contentious topic for people.

The lighthearted writing of Baldur’s Gate 3 has created a community broadly supportive of everyone within it, while the more serious, contentious writing of Dragon Age has its community engaged in a never-ending debate. I’m not suggesting one thing is better than the other as both games remain true to their respective narrative visions. It’s just an interesting aspect of fandom - writing complex and flawed characters sparks discussion, especially when these characters conflict with one another, and this discussion can become toxic.

BioWare Reportedly Pleased With Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, Possible Launch This Year

Best Practices for Emailing Instructors and Professors

by acburton | May 22, 2024 | Communication Resources , Resources for Students , Writing Resources

While it may seem like a no-brainer to “count” the emails you send as very important pieces of writing, things like purpose, tone, and punctuation matter significantly when crafting email correspondence. Even the subject matter, flow, and having audience awareness matter, much like they would when writing an academic paper!

Here are a few things to keep in mind when emailing an instructor/professor. Don’t forget to use the checklist below before hitting ‘Send!’

Before Getting Started

If possible, email your instructor/professor from your official university email. That official university email clearly identifies you by the same name as course rosters, making it easier to figure out who sent the email. This is especially helpful early in the semester, when names might be harder to match to faces.
If you have a question about the course, an assignment, due dates, etc., be sure to check the course syllabus, assignment prompt, and/or other resources (like a course website or Canvas) before sending an email. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, mention that you looked through the syllabus/other course materials (and perhaps even acknowledge that you might have just missed it), and that you can’t find an answer to your question/concern.
Check to see if your instructor/professor has a policy about when they will respond to emails. This doesn’t mean that you can’t send an email whenever you need, but keep in mind if your instructor has said in a syllabus or in class that they won’t respond to emails after 6 pm, don’t expect a response during that time.

Helpful Hint! If possible, email your instructor/professor BEFORE a problem comes up, rather than during. It’s much easier to make arrangements or talk through problems in an assignment if you let your instructor/professor know a week, or even an hour ahead of time, rather than five minutes before the assignment is due!

Crafting the Email

Email structure.

The email structure when emailing a professor should look, for the most part, like a letter. This means it should have a salutation (an opening), a body (the content of your email), and a closing (a sign off).
If this is your first time emailing the professor, be sure to fully introduce yourself by your preferred name, student ID number, including what class you are in, and what section.
Always use a salutation/opening with at least the first email in a thread and never assume formality with a name. Only address an instructor/professor by their preferred title and name, and if you don’t know their preferred title and name, use a default, like Dear [Full Name], or at the very least, [Title (i.e., Dr., Professor, Instructor)] [Last Name].
Be as clear as you possibly can about why you’re emailing your professor as simply and briefly as you can. Do not write a long email if you can avoid it. Remember that your instructor might be responding to dozens of emails a day (not including emails they have to send themselves), so try to keep it as short and to the point as possible without sounding too informal or rude.
Be careful not to overshare or over-explain; most professors will believe you if you say that you’re sick or that it just wasn’t possible to make it to class that day, with no further explanation needed. Similarly, don’t feel the need to apologize more than once (if an apology is appropriate! ex: Sorry that I missed class today…). Remember that answering your questions and responding to your concerns is part of their job.
If the reason you’re writing the instructor/professor is time-sensitive, it’s good to let them know that as politely as you can. For example, if you would like a letter of recommendation, “It would be great to have it by X/X/XXXX in order to get it in by the deadline.” However, be sure to give an instructor/professor enough time to respond without being rushed or feeling pressured!

Helpful Hint! Make sure to email instructors at least 2 weeks ahead of a due date if you’re asking them for materials or documents like a letter of recommendation.

Always have some kind of closing. Great options include, “Sincerely,” or “Best”. It also never hurts to thank someone again for taking the time to help you out, especially if they’re not currently an instructor/professor for one of your classes, or if you’re asking for a favor they aren’t obligated to do.

Email Etiquette Checklist

Use a subject line that clearly and briefly identifies what the email is about?
Include some kind of greeting?
Identify the instructorby preferred title and name?
Check course syllabus and resources to see if you could solve your problem through those?
Introduce yourself, if this is your first time emailing an instructor?
Clearly and briefly describe your question, concern, or reason for emailing in the first couple lines of the email?
Explain the situation quickly without oversharing/overexplaining?
Identify a time you need to hear back by, if email is time-sensitive?
Include some kind of closing and thank the instructor for their help?

Subject Line: “Question regarding the due date for the midterm assignment”

Hello [Dr…],

I’m emailing you because I had a question about the due date for our midterm assignment. I was looking through the syllabus and other course materials, but I have not been able to find it. I might have missed it in our materials, but I thought it pertinent to email you since the end of the quarter is a few short weeks away.

Sincerely, [Your Full Name]

If you’re writing an email to someone other than your instructor, many of the tips above can be used when writing any professional email. Here are some ways to adjust your email accordingly and some final tips before sending!

While many emails will have a similar structure, you’ll want to recognize that you’ll have to approach each email differently, depending on the reason for the email, your relationship with/to the recipient, and your previous contact with them.
Never assume the gender of an instructor or recipient, regardless of their name, unless you’ve been explicitly invited to address them as Mr./Ms./Mrs. [Name].
Always use a subject line, and be sure to explicitly state the reason for the email. For example: “Missing class on Thursday, October 13th” or “Question regarding my thesis for the essay due Friday, September 24th.”
Don’t flag an email as important in the subject line unless it’s an email that needs to be responded to as soon as possible.

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To write your methods section in APA format, describe your participants, materials, study design, and procedures. Keep this section succinct, and always write in the past tense. The main heading of this section should be labeled "Method" and it should be centered, bolded, and capitalized. Each subheading within this section should be bolded ...
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Do not write a long email if you can avoid it. Remember that your instructor might be responding to dozens of emails a day (not including emails they have to send themselves), so try to keep it as short and to the point as possible without sounding too informal or rude. Be careful not to overshare or over-explain; most professors will believe ...