Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit an Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology assignment and presentation. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the
programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing the module you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the basic structure and function of the nervous system.
2. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts in cognitive psychology.
3. Recognise distinctive approaches and methods employed by biological and cognitive psychologists.
4. Communicate ideas effectively.

Guidance

Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list (see referencing section for more information).You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.

Maximum word count: 2000 words (Part 1) and 15 minute presentation (Part 2)

Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies section here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework

Please note the following:

Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment.

The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count.

Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a 10-percentage point deduction.

Assignment Task

Part 1: Essay on Biological Psychology

It has been suggested that the brain keeps changing throughout life. This is often referred to as brain plasticity. Explain the nature of neurodevelopment and factors that can affect brain development before birth. In your answer, you should make reference to research on stem cells, grey and white matter, arborisation and dendrites, and other relevant topics. You need to state how these topics explain the nature of neurodevelopment.

(50%)
(2000 words)
(LOs: 1, 3 & 4)

Part 2: Narrated PowerPoint Presentation on Cognitive Psychology

Explain what operant conditioning is. Your presentation should highlight strengths and weaknesses of operant conditioning as a model of human learning. Your presentation should also refer to alternative (cognitive) models of human learning.

The duration of the presentation should be 15 minutes.

Guidance on how to submit is avalible on the ilearn page

(50%)
(LOs: 2, 3 & 4)

Formative Feedback

You have the opportunity to submit 30% of your draft to receive formative feedback for Part 1 (essay). For Part 2 (Narrated PowerPoint), you can submit a 200-word assignment plan for feedback.

The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.

If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work via Turnitin. Please check your iLearn module pages/forum for the formative feedback deadline and submission link.

If you are a blended learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further details. If you have a confirmed extension to your summative (final submission) deadline, please contact your lecturer for information on extensions to the formative feedback deadline.

Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the published date or the date specified by your tutor (if a blended learning student).

Referencing Guidance

Guidelines for students studying BSc (Hons) Psychology:

– You need to support your arguments with scientific research papers. You can find these papers in the lessons, and you will still get good marks for doing so, but you will be awarded extra marks for finding some of your papers through independent wider reading. Here is a video that will guide you through the process of finding your own research papers:https://youtu.be/4x58znfNUm0
– When discussing scientific research papers, it is worth mentioning the methods used by the researchers and their main findings. You do not have to relay all of the technical and statistical information here. Rather, you just need to clearly present ‘what they did’ and ‘what they found’. For example: What were the different conditions in the study? What kind of data were they recording (fMRI, EEG etc.)? Which areas of the brain were involved?

You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the APA system(s).

Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library

Guidelines for students studying

BA (Hons) Criminology and Psychology
BA (Hons) Criminology and Psychology with Foundation Pathways
BA (Hons) Criminology and Law
BA (Hons) Criminology and Law with Foundation Pathways
BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology
BA (Hons) HRM and Psychology
BA (Hons) Psychology and Sociology
BA (Hons) Psychology and Sociology with Foundation Pathways
BA (Hons) Psychology and Human Resource Management
BA (Hons) Psychology and Law
BA (Hons) Social Science

You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system(s).

Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library

Submission Guidance

Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.

Your assessment can be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file, or, as multiple files.

If you chose to submit multiple files, you must name each document as the question/part you are answering along with your student number ie Q1 Section A STUXXXX. If you wish to overwrite your submission or one of your submissions, you must ensure that your new submission is named exactly the same as the previous in order for
the system to overwrite it.

You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is available on the A-Z key information on iLearn.)