Often, when we are presented with a case it can be difficult to find a way forward. To aid clinical decisions, it is sometimes necessary to break down the decision making process into stages. The problem based learning task below does just that. Here I was given a case study and we methodically worked through […]
Behavioural Activation – self reflection on a CBT intervention
When learning to carry out therapeutic interventions or treatments, it’s important to understand the mechanisms of the task in detail, and what better way to get to the bottom of that than by using the technique on yourself? Here I practiced a standard CBT intervention for depression, Behavioural Activation, and reflected so that in the […]
Cognitive Restructuring – self reflection on a CBT intervention
When learning to carry out therapeutic interventions or treatments, it’s important to understand the mechanisms of the task in detail, and what better way to get to the bottom of that than by using the technique on yourself? Here I practiced a standard CBT intervention for depression, Cognitive Restructuring, and reflected so that in the […]
Thematic analysis in research
Thematic analysis is a technique used by qualitative researchers to understand the material they gain through interviews, focus groups, texts and multiple types of media. Â Thematic analysis aims to understand the key themes that occur in a transcript of these interactions. A theme is a pattern or idea which runs throughout and across a set […]
Qualitative Research – what I’ve learnt
Qualitative research focuses on understanding the meaning behind a situation with words and images, rather than simply the numbers that you could use to measure or predict the phenomenon. Its roots are in the 19th and early 20th centuries with Wundt and Freud who used case study and introspective techniques however its popularity and use […]
Personality, Intelligence and Stress
We all experience stress, right? But does the kind of person we are have an impact on how we experience that stress? McCrae & Costa (1987) originally defined 5 personality dimensions on which every individual’s personality can be measured via the NEO-PI-R test: OPENNESS, CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, EXTROVERSION, AGREEABLENESS and NEUROTICISM. The type of personality we inhabit […]
The language of growing up
Developmental psychologists study how we grow and develop throughout our lives; and it is the application of this information which can benefit society by helping ensure that we fulfil our developmental potential. It is a diverse topic, and so this post focuses only on the benefits it has brought through its discoveries within the field of […]
Identifying, Categorising and Recognising
We often take it for granted, don’t we? How we see something and instantly know what it is. But there’s some clever science behind it and during my MSc I conducted an experiment to demonstrate how some of it works. Prototype theory (Rosch & Mervis, 1975) aims to explain how we recognise and identify the […]
Everyday mind-reading – the theory
Attribution is the process by which someone decides why an event occurred. Gilbert (1998) explains that Heider (1958, cited in Gilbert, 1998) sees it as being as vital as the need to eat or sleep. Hewstone (1983) suggests that we use it to preserve our self-esteem and to portray ourselves in a positive light. Psychologists […]
Motivation – the theory
Attempts to define motivation are varied, but it can be understood as a dynamic state which drives us to act and behave in a particular way. Here we will detail and critically analyse the principal theories of motivation to understand, in more depth, this complex concept. If we think of a human, stripped back to […]