Faculty of Health & Society – Psychology
 
Assignment Brief
 
Module title: Biological Psychology Module code:  
Assignment code/title: AS1 Assessment weighting: 100%
Module co-ordinator/

tutor:

   
Student name/id:   Word count (Maximum 2000)  
Submission guidance:
1.This assignment must be submitted electronically.

2.To submit electronically you must upload your work to the e-submission area within the NILE/Blackboard module concerned. Click Submit> Browse (find the correct file to upload) Upload> Submit

3.You can resubmit your work as many times as you like until the deadline. If you choose to resubmit, your earlier submission will be replaced, and you will NOT receive an Originality Report until 24 hours from when the submission was made.

4.Do not e-mail tutors to check if your assignment submission has been successful. For Turnitin submissions, a digital receipt will be emailed to you, but do not wait for your email. Return to the assignment and from there, you can use the download icon to save a copy of your digital receipt to your computer.

5. If submitting through Turnitin, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission. This will be sent to your registered e-mail address; please keep this for reference.

6. You are reminded of the University’s regulations on cheating and plagiarism (refer to the University’s assessment and feedback policy). In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations.

7. Late submission within seven days of the deadline will result in the mark being capped at a D-. Beyond this time the work will not be marked.

8.You are reminded that it is your responsibility to keep an electronic copy of your assignment for future reference.

9.Ensure that you have read the assignment brief thoroughly and included all elements stated within. You must submit this assignment brief with your final assignment submission.

Assessment and feedback:Delete any that do not apply and ensure that alternative instructions are entered in the box above.
You will be assessed on your ability to successfully address specified module learning outcomes. Feedback on the academic/professional quality of the submission will be provided no later than 20 working days from the initial submission. Feedback will be provided via NILE. You can also book in to see your tutor in their office hours to discuss feedback.

This assignment tests the following learning outcomes:

·Demonstrate knowledge of the key terms and concepts of the topic areas within biological psychology.

· Evaluate key empirical research within key areas of biological psychology

· Demonstrate autonomy and initiative in learning.

· Acquire independence in research skills and apply research findings to common neuropsychological disorders.

Assignment task:
 

Title: “Contribution of biological psychology to the study of behaviour, emotions and cognition in [insert your chosen disorder – without the brackets]”

 

Assignment guidance:
You should consider the following when preparing for your assignment:

PSY2011 AS1 Assessment brief

You can choose ANY disorder; you can also choose a special population group (e.g. musicians, athletes, etc.). The choice is yours, just make sure it is not so obscure there is no available literature on it.

The aim:

The aim of the essay is two-fold: (1) you will become an expert in your chosen area; and (2) you will have an in-depth understanding of different concepts of biological psychology, because you will cover them one by one in your essay.

Description:

After a brief (one paragraph) introduction to your chosen disorder, you need to critically evaluate how different aspects of biological psychology are affected in your chosen disorder:

1.  Motivation (for example, do sexual desires, eating, wanting/liking etc. change when people suffer from this disorder? How?)

2.  Emotion and stress (What do we know about changes in emotions or stress levels in this disorder?)

3. Sleep (which sleep patterns are affected in your chosen disorder? How? Why do they think sleep patterns change in this disorder? How is it treated?)

4. Learning, memory and perception (again, do these change if people suffer from the disorder you’ve chosen to investigate?)

5. Neurotransmitters and brain areas (which brain areas and neurotransmitters are usually affected in your chosen disorder?)

You need to cover ALL FIVE (5) AREAS in your essay. Please check the rest of the criteria on NILE under Assessment Information tab as well as the learning objectives, as stated in the module handbook; all learning objectives are assessed in the assignment.

Important tip: The most common way of losing marks is by focusing on the disorder itself rather than the title: How did Biological Psychology contribute to our understanding of, say, sleep in depression? What are the implications of the research? Any limitations, suggestions for future studies, contradicting results, future treatment venues, etc. etc.? Rather than digging out 200 articles on the disorder, critically evaluate the importance of the key studies and how they inform us about the contribution of Biological Psychology.

Assignment brief internal moderation approval:

Signed:

 

Undergraduate Marking Rubric Template

Student Name   Student Number   Word Count  
Module PSY2011 Assignment & Date AS1; 17th Jan 2020 Overall Grade  
  Grade A Grade B Grade C Grade D Grade F
Content & Coverage • Content is all relevant, accurate and in appropriate depth, breath and detail

 

*

• Content is nearly all relevant, accurate and in appropriate depth, breath and detail

*

• Much of the content is relevant, accurate and in appropriate depth, breath and detail

*

• Content is reasonably relevant, accurate and in appropriate depth, breath and detail

*

• Little of the content is relevant, accurate and in appropriate depth, breath and detail

*

Argument • Excellent rationale, well-reasoned and insightful explanations, implications and conclusions

 

• Excellent argument, evidence, conclusions, critical evaluation and focus on question

*

• Good rationale, fairly well-reasoned and insightful explanations, implications and conclusions

 

• Very good argument, evidence, conclusions, critical evaluation and focus on question

*

• Reasonable rationale, some reasonable explanations, implications and conclusions

 

• Good argument, evidence, conclusions, critical evaluation and focus on question

 

*

• Adequate rationale, weak explanations, implications and conclusions

 

• Reasonable argument, evidence, conclusions, critical evaluation and focus on question

 

*

• Absent or weak rationale, absent or irrelevant explanations, implications and conclusions

 

• Poor argument, evidence, conclusions, critical evaluation and focus on question

*

Communication Skills • Excellent readability, structure & referencing.

 

•  Follows conventions of psychological reports very closely

 

•  Highly competent grammar/sentence construction/spelling/proof-read essay

*

• Very good readability, structure & referencing.

 

•  Follows conventions of psychological reports closely

 

•  Competent grammar/sentence construction/spelling/proof-read essay

 

*

• Good readability, structure & referencing.

 

•  Often follows conventions of psychological reports

 

•  Satisfactory grammar/sentence construction/spelling/proof-read essay

 

*

• Reasonable readability, structure & referencing.

 

•  Sometimes follows conventions of psychological reports

 

•  Adequate grammar/sentence construction/spelling/proof-read essay

*

• Poor readability, structure & referencing.

 

•  Rarely follows conventions of psychological reports

 

•  Inadequate grammar/sentence construction/spelling/proof-read essay

 

*

Research Skills • Well planned conscientious research practice

 

• Uses appropriate scientific sources (e.g. journal articles)

 

*

• Largely well planned conscientious research practice

 

• Largely uses appropriate scientific sources

*

• Reasonably well planned conscientious research practice

 

• Occasionally uses non-scientific/secondary sources

*

• Adequately well planned conscientious research practice

 

• Largely relies on secondary sources

*

• Poorly planned, lack of conscientious research practice

 

• Hardly any evidence of appropriate scientific literature

 

*

Independence & challenge • Strong evidence of independent thought, originality and effort

*

• Good evidence of independent thought, originality and effort

*

• Reasonable evidence of independent thought, originality and effort

*

• Some evidence of independent thought, originality and effort

*

• Little or no evidence of independent thought, originality and effort

*

Suggestions for Improvement