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THE MENTAL MODEL OF PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS FOR NEUROPSYCHOLOGY COURSE

Violeta Rotarescu

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the way Psychology students (N = 161) are constructing and modifying a mental model regarding the Neuropsychology course. Following previous studies (Albrecht and O’Brien, 1993; Radvansky, Spieler & Zacks, 1993; Slama-Cazacu, 2002), we elaborated a questionnaire comprising a set of mental dimensions necessary for information processing (memory, emotion processing, motivation, temperament, character, context processing). For assessing their mental model, subjects were asked to answer, on a 5-step Likert scale, about the way they mentally represent, information, emotions, schemas and context (internal and external) for the Neuropsychology course. The questionnaire was administered two times: before the classes started and after the final exam. Results from the first administration were collected and analyzed in order to adjust the information and teaching to the collective mental model. The changes, if any, were measured via a second administration of the same instrument. The first administration of the instrument had high values for explicit context (m = 4.1/5), temperament (m = 4.2/5) and motivation (m = 4.2/5) and low values (less then 2.5/5) for semantic memory and teaching style. A conceptual map was taken into account, for the correction of the initial scores via taught information and teaching style. The second administration of the questionnaire showed significantly improved values for semantic memory, internal context and motivation (p < .05 for each), compared to the first administration, and lowered levels of temperament and emotion (not statistically significant). Results support the idea of changeability of the mental model in educational process through psychological analysis of the components involved in its structure. This instrument could be a useful tool for teachers interested in the quality of the act of teaching, the identification of powerful ways of forming solid conceptual base for each discipline

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