Download VCE Psychology Trail - Unit 1

VCE Psychology at Melbourne Museum
Unit 1 2016/17 VCE Study Design – student trail
Information for teachers
This student-led trail covers content from Unit 1 of VCE Psychology:
Area of Study 1 – How does the brain function?
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Role of the brain in mental processes and behaviour
Brain plasticity and brain damage
Area of Study 2 – What influences psychological development?
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Atypical psychological development
Students will use the Mind and Body galleries at Melbourne Museum to complete the trail.
The trail includes 10 activities (A-J) based around themes covered in the study design. They
do not represent a comprehensive coverage of all of the material relevant to Unit 1 in the
galleries, but a selection of those exhibits most relevant. The trail is organised in order of
location as the students walk through the gallery spaces – first in Mind and then in Body.
Depending on your learning intention, or duration of visit, you may like to edit the document
for your class. The following suggestions are not exhaustive, but may help focus your
students:
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Select certain activities to focus on limited themes and content in line with the
students current areas of study
Give students classroom time prior to visiting to self-select a limited number of
activities, or focus on just one for deeper inquiry
In groups, students may be allocated one activity/theme to present back to the class.
We recommend familiarising yourself with the trail prior to your class excursion. Visiting the
galleries before the excursion will also assist you in directing your students.
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A. Psychology Timeline
Work Station Site
Timeline table at the entrance to the Mind
gallery.
Choose one key event from each time period on the
timeline below. Why did you choose it? Why is it
important?
2000
1950
1900
1800
1300
5000BCE
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B. The Brain and Nervous System
Work Station Site
Entrance to the Mind gallery
1. Observe the wall of twinkling lights at the
entrance of the gallery. What do you think
the lights represent?
2. How accurately does this represent our nervous system as we know it today? Record
your thoughts in the table below:
Similarities
Differences
Enter the gallery to view information panels and interactives regarding brain and nerve cell
function
3. Label the following parts on the diagram below:
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Dendrite
Cell body
Synapse
Synaptic gap
Axon
4. Look at the New Scientist interactive located on the wall. Locate the regions of the brain
responsible for the following activities and mark them in on the diagrams by shading
the appropriate areas.
Vision
Sound
Speech and language
Touch
Decisions
Social interactions
5. After six months the foetal brain contains _______________nerve cells or neurons.
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6. What does it mean when they say that neurons migrate to locations in the brain?
7. How are neural connections strengthened and what causes connections to die off?
8. Write a key feature of brain development in each of the following stages of life:
Stage of development
Childhood
Brain development
By the age of two
Adolescence
Adulthood
Old age
9. Is it true that we only use about 10% of our brain? Explain.
10. What is plasticity of the brain?
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C. Normal and Abnormal Behaviour
Work Station Site – Various
locations
Look at the information about treating
abnormal behaviour in The Mind Exhibition, by
visiting the locations indicated on the map
1. If behaviour is defined as an observable
action made by a person, how would you
define abnormal behaviour?
2. Some abnormal behaviour can be treated. List and explain how three treatments
are administered.
Treatment
Method of giving the treatment
3. How has an understanding of the brain influenced the treatment of mental disorders?
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D. Human Emotions
Work Station Site
Enter the area behind the Human Emotions
wall and watch the video clips.
Complete the table below for the video clips shown
on the ‘Human Emotions’ screens.
•
For each segment list the emotion it
generates in you. For example, does it make you
feel anger, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise or
happiness?
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Look at each segment closely. What ‘cues’
or ‘triggers’ do you think are used in the clip to
evoke this emotion in you? (Hint: consider visual
and auditory cues).
Video Segment
Emotions
experienced
Cues used to
evoke emotion
Laughter
Scream
Dogs
Vomit/maggots
Bullying
Crying people
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List other ‘cues’ from your
day to day life that would evoke
the same emotions
E. Drugs and the Brain
Work Station Site
The wall to the right of the Human Emotions
video wall.
1. These men in this photo are using two drugs –
what are they?
2. What does opium contain?
3. How can this drug be taken?
4. What does it do to the brain?
Next to the men relaxing in the backyard in Bendigo, you will find a television screen. Watch
the video clip on the television screen.
5. Describe how addictive substances work:
6. Which neurotransmitter is involved?
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F. Understanding the brain
Work Station Site
Locate the brain and skull specimens on the
“Differences” wall, and continue around the
corner to the EEG.
1. What has happened to the brain in the
following conditions:
Haemorrhage after an aneurysm:
Alzheimer’s disease:
Neurosyphilis:
2. Alzheimer’s disease is the result of a genetic condition that causes:
3. How are the neurons in the brain of an Alzheimer’s sufferer are affected?
4. The effects of Alzheimer’s disease include:
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Suggest three ways you could stimulate the brain to build reserves of brain cells and
improve brain cell connections:
1.
2.
3.
Looking at this device:
5. What is this device?
6. How does it work?
7. What is it used for?
Anaesthesia is a state in which consciousness is reduced to decrease the sensation of pain.
Anaesthetics exert their effect on the nervous system.
8. What other sorts of medicines effect the central nervous system?
9. How long have anaesthetics been available?
10. Imagine what it would have been like to have an operation without anaesthetics. Why
would you willingly allow a doctor to operate on you without anaesthetic?
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G. Mental Health Case studies
Work Station Location
Enter a booth in the Being: Identity and
Interaction section and listen to one of the
personal stories.
Select and name a condition to focus on for your
investigation
Condition: ___________________________
1. Explain how the mental condition affects the human body or how it manifests itself.
2. How do the symptoms affect the day-to-day lives of people who have this
condition?
3. What do these accounts say about the stigma associated with unusual
mental conditions?
4. In each case, talking to somebody else was important. Why was this the case in the
story that you listened to?
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H. From the Past
Work Station Site
Now move into the Body Gallery
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the Craniometry pillar – head models in
‘Measuring heads’
the Phrenology head
the Palmistry poster.
Throughout recorded history people have grappled
with the human mind and tried to explain the
differences in personality between individuals. Many
of these attempts gave rise to complex explanations
that suited the society of the time, yet have persisted into modern times, despite a lack of
scientific validity. These are often referred to as pseudo-sciences.
1. Define the term pseudo-science
Craniometry pillar
2 . Craniometry was based on the measurement and shape of the skull. What
did this pseudoscience suggest was the link between intelligence and brain
size, and is this actually the case?
3. How did craniometry reflect societal views on racial stereotyping?
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Phrenology head
4. The phrenology head is an example of another pseudoscience. Look at the names
given by phrenology to the regions of the head and write six in the spaces below:
a
b
c
d
e
f
What does this tell you about the characteristics that were thought to be important
when phrenology was popular?
Palmistry poster
5. Palmistry is concerned with both personality and fortune telling. Look at the links that
the followers of palmistry believe exist between hand shape and personality.
Are most of the personality traits positive or negative?
6. How does this help to explain why palmistry is still popular today?
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I. Nervous System
Work Station Site
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The Nervous System board
The Becoming Transparent pillar
The nervous system: Our nervous system receives and
transmits information about everything that goes on
inside us and in our environment. It makes sure that all
of our body systems work together. The nervous system
allows us to think and make decisions, carry out different
actions and store memories.
1. Highlight the components of the central
nervous and peripheral nervous systems in
different colours.
2. Complete the table:
Part of brain
Function
Cerebral cortex
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Hippocampus
Cerebellum
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Part of brain
Function
Brainstem
3. Label each of the following parts of the brain onto the diagram below:
somatosensory cortex, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, thalamus, hypothalamus,
brainstem.
4. Describe how neurons communicate with each other and other parts of the
body.
5. Link up the neurotransmitter to the effect that they have on the body (a
neurotransmitter may have more than one effect).
Neurotransmitter Effect on the body
Seratonin and
Dopamine
Endorphins
Glutamate and
GABA
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Move to the Becoming Transparent pillar
6. Who was Phineas Gage and why is his story so important to the
understanding of how the brain works?
7. Describe two methods that we can use to map and measure the brain and its
electrical impulses.
Brain Device
Description
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J. Our Perception of Mental Illness – reflection
Throughout your visit, you will have developed a historical
perspective on mental illness… how has our perception and treatment of
mental illness changed over time? Reflect on this as you answer the questions below.
Use examples from the gallery or your own research to support your argument.
1. How have people’s perceptions of mental illness changed over time?
2. How has the treatment of mental disorders changed over time?
3. Recall an example of a historical treatment to mental illness (eg. The
confinement cupboard). How would you feel if someone close to you was
to be treated in this way?
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