Psychology Matters
Year Eleven Psychology club has started in a flurry of colour, as students have been considering the famous ‘Stroop effect’ experiment (Stroop, 1935).
Have a go at it yourself… is your brain working hard? Actually, it’s your anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex doing all the work here. The Stroop test gives us great insight into brain areas involved in planning, decision-making and real-world interference (e.g. texting whilst driving – not a good idea at all). It is also used to assess processing speed and selective attention.
We have also tested the duration of our short-term memory, through a re-enactment of Peterson and Peterson’s lab study. Reassuringly, the average short-term memory of our Psychology Club members was in line with research findings; coming in at 18 seconds.
(The short-term memory can only actually hold onto information for 18 seconds, when rehearsal is prevented. So, without deeper mental processing, some information is literally ‘in one ear and out the other’. A great reason to make detailed notes in your lessons and focus fully on what your teachers are saying! Peterson and Peterson, 1954).
We are excited about looking at psychological research into many more aspects of human behaviour in future weeks, e.g. how virtual relationships differ from face-to-face connections, the symptoms of OCD, phobias, depression, what causes conformity in crowds, risk factors for addiction. This new club is certainly engaging our pupils and giving them much to think about.
Mrs Mary Stephen
Head of Psychology, EPQ Co-ordinator