Study Tips

Psychology and Biology of Emotion
Fall 2004

 

Read the introductory chapter before reading the articles

Keep up with the reading each week

Use the study questions to check your understanding of the material. If necessary, re-read the papers. For the articles that we read, you should be able to identify the purpose of the experiment/what the researchers were interested in, how they went about testing it (the research methods), what was found (the results) and what it means for the topic under study.

Also use class discussions as a study guide. If we are talking about things in class that you can't remember reading or do not understand, this will be an indication that you are not getting the information from the readings that you should. Ask about it in class and/or come talk to me and we can go over how you are reading the material.

Study as you read. Don't just sit down and read pages and pages of material without stopping. Read a page or section, then stop to make sure you can identify the important points. Take notes as you read, write down questions you have as they occur.

Make sure you can explain the difference between similar concepts and ideas. Pay special attention to differing theories that address the same topic. Can you explain the ways in which they are similar and different?

Participate in class. Sharing your ideas, asking questions, and getting feedback will not only ensure that you understand the information, but it will likely make it more memorable.

Remember that we will have short-answer and eassy exams. This means you need to understand the material well enough to explain it to me (which is often harder than just being able to recognize a correct answer on a multiple choice exam). When studying, test yourself on how clearly you can explain the material.  

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