Psychology SL/HL

You will find the discussion forums on the wiki. There are two forums: an Open Forum (you get to choose the topics) and a Closed Forum (I post questions). You most make a minimum of two posts/six weeks in at least one of the forums (you could also make one post to both).

Within the open forums you should include a topic title when you start a new thread. You can reply to whomever you wish. The only caveat for the open forums is that you must related your topic to psychology.

Within the closed forums I will be posting questions. You can respond directly to me or to the replies of one of your peers.

Forum posts are graded using this rubric

Psychological Research Mini-Essay

Research in Psychology
(excerpted from Psychology Course Companion by John Crane & Jette Hannibal)
If you saw a commercial promising that by taking a pill you could “think clearly, maintain focus, and increase memory,” would you buy it?
Jorm, Rodgers and Christensen (2003) found that 2.8% of an Australian sample of 2551 adults aged 60-64 years, said that they used medication such as Ginko Biloba to enhance memory, in spite of strong evidence that suggests it’s ineffectiveness. The people who use it said they took the medication to enhance memory or to prevent memory loss, but in fact none of them showed any objective signs of memory impairment when they started taking the medication.
Danielle Turner, from the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge University, has apparently found a  drug that may enhance not only memory, but also concentration. She conducted research with a drug used to prevent people with narcolepsy from falling asleep all the time. She found that the healthy volunteers who received a drug called Modafinil scored higher on computer games designed to test their mental function than those given a placebo.

1. Discuss the findings of these studies. Would you buy a pill promising you a better memory? Give reasons for your answer.
2. What ways of knowing is scientific psychology based on? How do you know this?
3. What ways of knowing is common sense psychology based on? How do you know this?