Summative Essay

Coursework Assessment Guidance

1.   Learning outcomes of the assessment

Demonstrate writing skills, literature search and critical thinking appropriate to Level 4.

2.   Rationale for assessment

• Literature searches and finding articles in paper and electronic journals
• Scientific communication and writing
• Referencing and citation skills
• Evaluating the quality of literature and understanding the contribution made by different sources of knowledge, distinguishing between media-related articles, primary and secondary research sources of knowledge

3.   Instructions

Word length: 1500 words

Your essay should include the following sections (but no subheadings):

1. Introduction: Provide a brief definition of modern Psychology and how it emerged as an empirical science. Mention the first known laboratory experiments in the field of

Psychology in the 19^th century, their authors, and how these experiments contributed to Psychology being acknowledged as an empirical science.

• Overview of the contribution of behaviourism to modern Psychology: Provide an historical and theoretical overview of behaviourism, considering how it built upon and/or departed from what had come before (outlined in the introduction). Introduce the contributions of key behaviourists in the early 20^th century (e.g., Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner) and indicate how their work contributed to Psychology being acknowledged as an empirical science.

• Empirical evidence: Describe the experiments conducted by these authors, their main findings, and the theorical approaches that emerged from that evidence. Provide information about what these authors tested (hypotheses), how they tested it (methods), what they found (results), what their conclusions were, and what the limitations and strengths of their studies were.

• Contribution to the field: Now explain how these authors advanced the empirical field of Psychology from its roots in the 19^th century and reflect upon the continuing influence of their work.

• Conclusion: In relation to the essay question, briefly summarise the aim of your essay and what you conclude with regards to the theory and empirical evidence discussed.