PAPER 1 ALL CONTENT Flashcards

Question

(P2. 5) - A01. Explanations of forgetting: Interference.

Answer 1

Forgetting refers to a person's loss of ability to recall information and store memories. Proactive interference occurs when an older memory interferes with a newer memory. Retroactive interference occurs when a new memory prevents the recall of an older memory.

Answer 2

✅ * Interference occurs in real-life situations (Baddeley & Hitch, 1977) ◦ Rugby players were asked to recall names of teams they had played against over one season ◦ Players who had played in the most games had the worst recall ◦ The researchers found that the later, more recent games had interfered with recall of the earlier games ◦ Baddeley & Hitch concluded that interference had occurred to prevent accurate recall ◦ The use of real players recalling real games gives this study good ecological validity * Interference may explain why it is often more difficult to learn a language (e.g. French) if a previous language has been learnt (e.g. Spanish) ◦ The above observation gives the theory good external validity ❌ * Interference can be temporary, using hints or cues can help with remembering previously forgotten information (Tulving & Psotka 1971) * Much of the research used for studying interference is lab-based using artificial tasks (such as recalling word lists) which means the research has low ecological validity.

Answer 3

A cue is a hint or trigger that can help retrieve a memory * Cues can be meaningful or indirect. If there are not enough cues a person may forget certain memories, this is called retrieval failure: ◦ The memory is still available but it is not accessible, due to the absence of cues. Tulving 1983 proposed that if a cue is to be helpful, in remembering information, then it must be: ◦ present during encoding ◦ present during retrieval * Context-dependent forgetting occurs when recall depends on an external cue, e.g. the environment/surroundings * Research carried out by Godden & Baddeley (1975) investigated the effect of contextual cues on deep-sea divers: ◦ The researchers aimed to investigate whether memory was better for words learned and recalled in the same environment or in different environments (the contexts being land or water) ◦ The sample comprised 18 participants (13 males and 5 females) from a university diving club ◦ Participants were asked to learn a set of words either on land or under water and were then asked to recall these words underwater either on land or underwater ◦ There were four conditions to the independent variable: ▪ 1) learning words on land/recalling on land ▪ 2) learning words on land/recalling underwater ▪ 3) learning underwater/recalling underwater ▪ 4) learning underwater/recalling on land ◦ The results showed that words learned underwater were better recalled underwater and words learned on land were better recalled on land ◦ In short, context is key for retrieval to happen, the flip side of which is that without the right context for retrieval, forgetting is more likely * State-dependent forgetting occurs when recall depends on an internal cue, e.g. ◦ the feelings/emotions involved (feeling happy, sad, angry, distressed etc.) ◦ the physiological state of the person (feeling drunk, drugged, tired etc.) * Alcohol is often used to induce certain emotions or feelings: ◦ Goodwin et al. (1969) investigated the effect of recall when participants were under the influence of alcohol or when they were sober: ▪ Male participants learnt a set of words either drunk or sober and were asked to recall the set of words 24 hours later when either drunk or sober again ▪ The results showed that information learned when under the influence of alcohol was recalled better when the participant was under the influence of alcohol (i.e. in the same state = drunk!) * Carter and Cassaday (1998) performed a similar experiment involving antihistamine drugs which have a sedative effect ◦ They found that recall of lists of words was higher when within the same state (i.e. learning word lists on antihistamine and recalling word lists on antihistamine)

Answer 4

✅There is good real-world application to the theory, e.g. ◦ studying for exams should be conducted in the same room in which the exam is to take place to aid recall ◦ This means that the theory has good external validity ❌ * Baddeley (1977) argued that the effect of context is not very strong in real-world situations ◦ It would be difficult to find such extremely contrasting contexts as land and water (Godden and Baddeley) in real life ◦ This means that retrieval failure due to a lack of contextual cues may not be a good model to explain forgetting * Many of the studies involve learning lists of words which is an artificial task, meaning that the studies lack ecological validity and real-world.

Answer 5

* Leading questions are those that suggest a certain answer in the way that they are worded * When dealing with eyewitness testimony (EWT) it is vital not to use leading questions as this could affect the memory of the eyewitness and the accuracy of their testimony.Leading questions are a form of misleading information (also known as post-event information) as they can prompt the eye witness.Leading questions may result in response bias . * Loftus & Palmer (1974) investigated the effect of leading questions on eyewitness recall * Procedure: ◦ Forty-five student participants (split into five groups) were shown films of car traffic accidents ◦ After the films, each group was given a questionnaire to complete which included a critical question in which the verb used to describe the car accident was changed: ▪ 'How fast was the car travelling when it _____ the other car? ▪ The verbs were: hit, contacted, smashed, collided, bumped ▪ Each group had a different verb as part of their questionnaire ▪ Each verb constituted one condition of the independent variable * Findings: ◦ The dependent variable was measured as estimated speed in miles per hour: ▪ The lowest estimated speed was for 'bumped' = 38.1 mph ▪ The highest estimated speed was for 'smashed' = 40.8 mph ◦ The researchers concluded that information after the event in the form of a leading question can result in unreliable EWT * Post-event discussion (PED) is another type of misleading information * This involves eyewitnesses discussing the events and their experiences after it has occurred * PED can occur in multiple forms such as: ◦ discussion with other eyewitnesses ◦ questioning by legal/crime teams and interviewers * Research by Gabbert et al. 2003 investigated the effect of PED * Procedure: ◦ Pairs of participants (students and older adults) each watched a different film clip of the same crime so each had a unique view of the event ◦ Pairs were able to discuss what they had witnessed before carrying out a recall test of the event seen in the video * Findings: ◦ A large proportion (71%) of eyewitnesses who had discussed the crime made mistakes when recalling the events ◦ In pairs where no discussion had taken place 0% of mistakes in recall were made ◦ This suggests that PED can lead to inaccurate eyewitness testimony * An explanation for the effect PED can have on an eyewitness is memory contamination: ◦ Eyewitness testimonies can become altered and distorted because of discussions with other eyewitness ◦ Information from all eyewitnesses is thought to combine forming incorrect memories ▪ This 'pooling' of ideas and opinions could lead to groupthink.

Answer 6

✅ * There is real-world application with studies into the effect of leading questions as the findings can be applied to legal fields and the criminal justice system ◦ This means that there is importance to the accuracy of EWT to ensure that innocent people are not convicted of crimes due to poor recall of events from a witness * Supporting evidence comes from further research that shows memories of childhood visits (to Disneyland) can be altered or falsified by the presence of misleading information (pictures of incorrect Disney characters) ◦ This suggests that misleading information can create inaccurate memories of events which could falsify an EWT ❌Lab studies (such as Loftus & Palmer 1974) lack ecological validity because they do not represent real-life situations: ◦ Eyewitnesses to car accidents are likely to experience high levels of stress which does not happen with lab-based research ◦ Participants in lab studies may not take the experiment seriously or give the same motivation if they were witnessing a real-life situation. EWT research does not account fully for individual differences. ✅ * Two different populations were investigated as part of the study by Gabbert et al., students and older adults, which gives the study high population validity ◦ This suggests that PED affects people in all populations in a similar way * The research performed by Gabbert et al. was a lab study ◦ Lab studies are easy to replicate; this means there is high reliability to the findings of the investigation. ❌ * There is low ecological validity because the participants as part of Gabbert et al. knew they were taking part in a study ◦ Participants were likely to have paid close attention to the details of the video clip ◦ This means that the results do not reflect a real-life crime had it been witnessed * Gabbert et al. could not explain why the effects of PED occurred so the memory distortion could be due to: ◦ pressure to conform to other eyewitnesses ◦ poor memory, where people build new information into their memory of the event and are unable to distinguish between what they have seen and what they have heard.

Answer 7

* Anxiety is an emotion that brings on feelings of tension, worry and physical changes such as raised blood pressure * Stressful events such as witnessing a crime can trigger anxiety * Anxiety can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (EWT). * Anxiety may have negative effects on recall and the accuracy of EWT due to the weapon focus effect (WFE) * WFE tends to happen during the commission of a crime in which a weapon is used ◦ The eyewitness may fixate on the weapon due to fear or the fight-or-flight response etc. ◦ Due to this intense focus on the weapon, the person wielding it is not really noticed (the eyewitness does not take in their height, hair colour etc.) ◦ Thus, recall of the details of the perpetrator is virtually non-existent * Johnson & Scott (1976) researched the weapon focus effect * Procedure: ◦ Participants were told they were taking part in a lab study and were asked to sit down in a waiting area ◦ Participants were split into a low-anxiety group or a high-anxiety group (the two conditions of the independent variable) ◦ While the participants were in the waiting area they witnessed one of the following: ▪ The low-anxiety group overheard a casual conversation from a room and saw a man walk out with a pen and grease on his hands ▪ The high-anxiety group overheard an argument from the room and saw a man walk out with a knife and blood on his hands ◦ Participants were asked to identify the man from a set of photographs * Findings: ◦ The low-anxiety group correctly identified the man with a mean accuracy of 49% ◦ Accuracy dropped to 33% in the high-anxiety group ◦ The researchers concluded that anxiety focuses attention on the weapon and away from other details of the event * Anxiety may have a positive effect on the recall of events during a stressful situation * This positive effect may be due to an increase in the hormone adrenaline which triggers the 'fight, flight or freeze' response which results in a state of high alertness.

Answer 8

✅ * Studies support the idea that anxiety leads to less accurate recall: ◦ Valentine & Mesout (2009) found that participants' recall of actors in the London Dungeons was less accurate with high-anxiety compared to low-anxiety ◦ This study used an objective measure of heart rate to measure anxiety and so has high validity. ❌ * The Yerkes-Dodson Law does not take into account all the factors that contribute to anxiety, such as cognition, emotional state and physical health which would all affect the accuracy of EWT ◦ This suggests that the Yerkes-Dodson Law may be too simple * It is argued that Johnson and Scott did not test anxiety but instead fear or surprise ◦ Other research has found that EWT is less accurate when unusual objects are involved (such as chickens) as well as weapons ◦ This suggests that the weapon focus effect is due to surprise rather than anxiety * Yuille & Cutshall, and Christianson & Hubinette used a real-life context and real-life crime as part of their investigations ◦ This observation invalidates their findings as there is a lack of control over confounding variables which can influence recall of the crime and accuracy of EWT.

Answer 9

* The cognitive interview (CI) is a procedure used in police investigations when interviewing eyewitnesses * The CI was developed by Geiselman et al. (1985) to: ◦ improve the effectiveness of police interviews were ◦ use results of psychological research (Loftus) in the area of police interviews on witnesses and their memory of events * The CI has four components: 1 Mental reinstatement of original context 2 Report everything 3 Change order 4 Change perspective * The first stage of the CI involves the eyewitness being asked to recall and recreate the physical and psychological environment of the incident mentally * The purpose of this stage of the interview is to make the memories more accessible by giving contextual and emotional cues ◦ This is related to context-dependent forgetting. * During the second stage, the eyewitness is asked to report all details of the event without any editing of seemingly irrelevant details ◦ One specific memory may connect to another and may act as a cue for other important memories * Piecing together lots of small, irrelevant details may create a clearer idea of the whole event * The eyewitness may be asked to recall events in reverse order to how they occurred at the time * The purpose of this is that schemas influence the perspective and recollections of events ◦ Recalling events in reverse order prevents preconceived ideas from influencing what can be recalled * Recalling events in a different order can also prevent people from lying as it is harder to be dishonest when asked to describe events in an alternative order * During the final stage of the CI, the eyewitness is asked to recall events from the perspective of other witnesses or the perpetrator * The purpose of this stage is to disrupt the effect of the schemas and prevent a schema overlaying the memory.

Answer 10

✅ * Supporting research on the effectiveness of CI is a meta-analysis carried out by Kohnken et al. (1999) who analysed 55 different studies comparing CI and standard police interviews ◦ The findings showed that CI improved the accuracy of EWT by 41% ◦ This suggests that the CI is an effective procedure to aid witnesses in recalling accurate memories that are available but not immediately accessible following an event * The CI may aid elderly witnesses in recalling accurate details of events ◦ Mello & Fisher (1996) compared younger and elderly participants who witnessed a simulated crime ◦ The CI was more effective for the older participants ◦ This suggests that the CI can be used for different individuals where a standard police interview may have limited effectiveness in the accuracy of EWT ❌ * Kohnken et al. (1999) found an increase in the number of inaccuracies in memory recall of events ◦ This suggests that CI may improve the quantity of details recalled but limit the quality (accuracy) of these memories * Not all components of the CI are useful and effective at recalling accurate details of an event ◦ Milne & Bull (2002) found that combining the stages 'report everything' and 'reinstate the context' gave better accuracy than the other stages of the CI when used alone ◦ This suggests that some components of the CI are more effective than others * Carrying out a CI is a time-consuming process ◦ Police officer's time is limited and there may be resistance to carrying out a full CI due to the time constraints involved in not only conducting the interview but also training police officers in the technique ◦ This suggests that carrying out a full CI is not a realistic procedure for police officers to use.

Answer 11

Attachment: A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals, in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security. Reciprocity: Occurs from around 3 months old between baby and caregiver and involves intense, frequent interactions based on close attention to each other’s verbal and facial signals (Feldman, 2007). Alert phase: Babies have periodic alert phases where they signal that they are ready for a spell of interaction (eye contact). Interactional synchrony: Feldman (2007) describes this as “the temporal co-ordination of micro level social behaviour”. It takes place when caregiver and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror each other. Meltzoff and Moore (1977) conducted the first systematic study of interactional synchrony and found that infants as young as two to three weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures. - The study was conducted using an adult model who displayed one of three facial expressions or hand movements where the fingers moved in a sequence. - A dummy was placed in the infant’s mouth during the initial display to prevent any response. - Following the display, the dummy was removed, and the child’s expression was filmed. - They found that there was an association between the infant behaviour and that of the adult model.

Answer 12

✅The Still Face Experiment: Dr Edward Tronick’s still face experiment provides evidence to support the view that interactional synchrony and reciprocity are innate behaviours that are necessary for successful attachment. ✅Meltzoff & Moore's study on interactional synchrony was filmed. This means that observations can be analysed later and there is no ambiguity to the baby's responses as researchers will not miss any behaviours. Therefore, data collected will have high validity. ❌Using infants and babies in research can make it difficult to test their behaviours. Infants lack coordinated movements and tend to move their limbs randomly. Infants 'test' out facial expressions independent from any interaction with an adult or caregiver. It is difficult to distinguish between their general behaviours and specific actions in response to an adult. This means that there is no certainty to the findings. ❌The Still Face Experiment was a lab procedure. This means that it is likely to lack ecological validity and so findings of the experiment may not give an accurate prediction of what would be seen in the real world.

Answer 13

Stages of attachment. Asocial stage - birth to two months. Behaviours towards humans and inanimate objects are similar (asocial). Indiscriminate attachment - two to seven months. show a clear preference for being with humans instead of inanimate objects. Babies in this stage recognise their caregivers. Specific attachment - From seven months. formation of attachment to a specific caregiver. This person becomes known as the primary attachment figure. Multiple attachments - the age of one year. other people that they spend time with, such as fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. These are called secondary attachments. Glasgow baby’s study. Schaffer & Emerson (1964) studied attachment in infants and caregivers in Glasgow, 60 infants (ranging from 5 to 23 weeks of age) and their mothers in Glasgow, Scotland the families were mainly of working-class status The mothers were visited every four weeks for the first year of the baby's life and again at 18 months of age. During these visits, the mothers were asked questions regarding their infant's reactions to separation in seven everyday situations

Answer 14

✅It has good external validity. Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers. ✅It has practical application in day care. In the asocial and indiscriminate attachment stages day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult. ❌Validity of the measures they used to assess attachment in the asocial stage. Young babies’ movements could be misinterpreted & due to such little movement they make; it could be invalid. ❌On the other hand, there are issues with asking the mothers to be the 'observers'. They were unlikely to be objective observers. They might have been biased in terms of what they noticed and what they reported, for example they might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety, or they may have misremembered it.

Answer 15

Grossman et al. (2002) Carried out a longitudinal study where babies attachments were studied until they were into their teens. The researchers found that the quality of a baby's attachment with their mothers were related to attachment in adolescence but not fathers. However, Grossman found that the quality of fathers play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. Fathers have a different role (stimulation and play) rather than emotional development (mothers). Primary and secondary attachment: Field (1978) Filmed 4-month-old babies in face- to- face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. Primary caregiver fathers like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than the secondary caregiver fathers (Reciprocity and interactional synchrony). This suggests that fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary attachment figure – but perhaps only when they are given the role of primary caregiver.

Answer 16

✅ There is good real-world application to the research on the role of the father. Research into the role of the father can be used to help parents or prospective parents make decisions about who is to be the primary caregiver. This means that families can make informed decisions about which parent(s) returns to work following the birth of the child which has implications for society and practical applications * Paternity/maternity leave * Custody of children in the case of divorce * Role modelling parental skills in young men * More societal acceptance of the single father ❌ Grossman's study into the role of the father does not take into account non-heterosexual partnerships. If fathers play a key role in the development of attachments, then it would be expected that children from same-sex parents or single parents would develop differently from the children of heterosexual parents (which is unlikely). ❌ It is difficult to research the role of the father because many factors influence it. For example, work-life balance, age, health, and attitudes toward the father's gender roles, social roles of men and women. This means role of the father is not clear or definitive. Therefore it is unclear whether fathers become primary attachment figures less often because of the different factors involved or because women have a biological predisposition (driven by hormones) towards being the primary caregiver.

Answer 17

Harlow’s study * In one experiment he reared 16 baby rhesus monkeys with two wire model mothers. * In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain-wire mother whereas in a second condition the milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered mother. * The monkeys cuddled the cloth-covered mother in preference to the plain-wire mother and sought comfort when frightened regardless of which mother had dispensed milk. (Contact comfort more important than food). * Harlow followed the monkeys who had been deprived of a 'real' mother into adulthood to see if this early maternal deprivation had a permanent effect. * Dysfunctional, social abnormalities, aggressive, bred less often, neglected their young even killing some. * Critical period - 90 days for an attachment to be formed – damage would be irreversible. Lorenz's study Investigated the effects of a phenomena he termed ‘imprinting’ in animals that were mobile from birth. His chosen participants were a flock of baby geese. Lorenz’s – research has been invaluable in the study of human attachment. - Lorenz was interested to find out why one of his goslings hatched and began to follow him around. - He randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs and left one half to hatch in their natural environment with their mother, and the other half to hatch with him. - The first moving objects the goslings would see was Lorenz, who stayed near their incubator. - The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere, whereas the natural group stayed by their mother. - This phenomenon is called imprinting, where animals attach to the first moving object they see. - Lorenz identified a critical period which could be as brief as a few hours after birth. If the goslings did not imprint in this time, they would not form an attachment. Sexual imprinting - Lorenz investigated the relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences. The geese who imprinted on Lorenz displayed courtship behaviour towards humans. Lorenz termed this sexual imprinting.

Answer 18

✅Harlow’s work has real world value. For example, it has helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes (Howe, 1998). ✅Generalisability. Rhesus monkeys are much more similar to humans than Lorenz's birds, and all mammals share some common attachment behaviours. However, the human brain and human behaviour is still more complex than that of monkeys. ✅Animal care can also be improved in settings such as zoos, wildlife centres and breeding programmes. ✅The experiments carried out by Harlow on monkeys raised many ethical issues. Harlow's research caused severe and lasting damage to animals that found it difficult to form relationships with other monkeys and displayed unsettling and abnormal behaviour. This means that Harlow's study is not ethically sound. It is important to question whether the effects on the monkey outweigh the findings of the study and gains to attachment research. ❌The ability to generalise findings and conclusions from birds to humans. The mammalian attachment system is quite different and more complex than that in birds.

Answer 19

Classical conditioning - Learning to associate two stimuli together so that we respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other. Before conditioning the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is the food and the unconditioned response (UR) is pleasure from the baby. The mother is currently not involved as the neutral stimulus (NS). During conditioning, the UCS is still the food however the mother (the NS) is added, and the result is baby pleasure. After conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is now the mother, and the conditioned response is baby pleasure. Operant conditioning- Aswell as conditioning, learning theory draws on the concept of drive reduction. Hunger can be thought of as a primary drive – it's an innate, biological motivator. Sears et al. (1957) suggested that, as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them. Attachment is thus a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive. Therefore, the babies behaviour (crying) is being reinforced through the process of positive reinforcement. Baby then directs crying for comfort towards caregiver, who respond with comforting behaviour (facilitates attachment) This reinforcement is a two-way process. At the same time as the baby is reinforced for crying, the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops (escape from unpleasant noise). This interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment.

Answer 20

✅Elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment. ❌Explanations for attachment is lack of support from studies conducted on animals. ❌Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that babies formed their primary attachment to their mother despite the mother not being the caregiver who usually fed them.(food is not the main factor). ❌Interactional synchrony and reciprocity are considered the foundations for building an attachment between caregiver and infant (Isabella et al. 1989) (food is not the main factor).

Answer 21

John Bowlby’s theory proposed an evolutionary explanation based on Harlow and Lorenz’s research. That attachment serves a purpose in survival & emphasis on a child’s attachment to one primary caregiver. Bowlby applied the findings of animal studies to humans to suggest that emotional bonds had evolutionary functions. Evolution - infants became genetically programmed to behave towards their mothers in ways that would increase their survival chances (social releasers). Monotropic - Mono means ‘one’ and tropic means ‘leaning towards’. This indicates that one primary attachment is different from all others, and it is of central importance to a child's development. Bowlby previously recognised this as the mother-figure. However now the terminology is primary attachment figure. - Law of continuity - more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment. - Law of accumulated separation - zero separation from the mother is the preferable dose. Social releasers: Social releasers are innate species-specific attachment behaviours. Which can include: - Smiling, Cooing and vocalising - to maintain parental attention and interest. Following and clinging - to gain and maintain proximity to parents. - Bowlby saw attachment functioning as a control system to maintain proximity to the mother. When this state occurs babies can explore and play. However, when danger occurs either through separation or stranger anxiety attachment behaviours are activated to restore proximity. Critical period: - Babies have an innate drive to become attached. Innate (biological) behaviours tend to have a fixed time - critical period for development. - Critical period for attachment - 6 months to 2 years - Sensitive period – 6 months - If the attachment is not formed during this time the child may have difficulties forming attachments later. - Supported by reciprocity and interactional synchrony.

Answer 22

✅Studies supporting. Lorenz (1935) found that goslings formed attachments to the first moving thing that they saw after hatching, which suggests that attachment is an innate process This supports Bowlby's idea that attachment has developed as an evolutionary process to aid survival. ✅There is evidence to support the idea of social releasers. Caregivers were instructed to ignore their baby's social releases whereby the babies then became increasingly distressed. This suggests that babies use social releasers as a way to elicit attention and attachment to their caregiver.These findings support Bowlby's theory of social releasers and their importance in forming an attachment to a caregiver. ❌Research suggests that babies form multiple attachments rather than one attachment. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) propose that children form multiple strong attachments to a variety of caregivers from the age of 10- 11 months. ❌Infants can form attachments after the critical period. Rutter et al. (2010) found, during studies of Romanian orphans, that although it is less likely that attachments are formed after the critical period of three to six months, attachments can form.

Answer 23

Ainsworth was interested in individual differences – the different types of attachment an infant can form with their caregiver. Supports Bowlby with an explanation that the attachment figure is a secure base for an infant to explore the world from. The strange situation - the accepted observational testing method for measuring attachment types. Aim: - To observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver. Sample: - 106 middle class American caregivers and their babies aged 12-18 months (Baltimore studies, 1971 and 1978). Procedure: Controlled observation- The researcher decides where the observation will take place, at what time, with which participants, in what circumstances and uses a standardised procedure. This makes the study easy to replicate and thus increases its reliability. Behaviours recorded every 20 seconds in 7 different 3 minute ‘episodes’ (whole experiment approx. 30 minutes. Conducted in a room with controlled conditions where a psychologist could observe the infant's behaviour through a two-way mirror. Controlled conditions - variables that can affect the data collected from an experiment are monitored and held constant. Proximity - seeking - a baby with a good quality attachment will stay fairly close to a caregiver. Exploration and secure base behaviour - good attachment enables a baby to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base. Stranger anxiety - one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches. Separation anxiety - another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from the caregiver. Response to reunion - babies who are securely attached greet caregivers return with pleasure and seek comfort. Findings: (Three types of attachment) - Type A - Insecure - avoidant - Infants are willing to explore, have low stranger anxiety, are unconcerned by separation and avoid contact at the return of their caregiver. Caregivers are indifferent to infant’s needs. - Type B - secure attachment - Infants are keen to explore, have high stranger anxiety, are easy to calm and are enthusiastic at the return of their carer. Caregivers are sensitive to infant’s needs. - Type C - insecure - resistant - Infants are unwilling to explore, have high stranger anxiety, are upset by separation and seek and reject contact at the return of their caregiver. Caregivers are ambivalent to infant’s needs, demonstrating simultaneous opposite feelings and behaviours. Main and Solomon (1986) - Re-analysis of Strange situation – a fourth attachment type - Insecure disorganised (Type D) – lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour - Doesn’t deal with separation well. - Shows strong attachments, then avoidance, then fearful towards caregiver.

Answer 24

✅Good inter-rater reliability. Bick et al. (2012) tested inter-rater reliability for the strange situation for a team of trained observers and found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases. This high level of reliability may be because the procedure takes place under controlled conditions and because behaviours (such as proximity seeking and stranger anxiety) involve large movements and are therefore easy to observe. ✅Its outcome predicts a number of aspects of the baby’s later development. A large body of research has shown that babies and toddlers assessed as Type B tend to have better outcomes than others, both in later childhood and in adulthood. ❌It may not be valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts. The strange situation was developed in Britain and the USA. It may be culture-bound.

Answer 25

- Collectivist – group effort, interpersonal development and less anti-social behaviour - Individualist – personal achievement, praising innovation and independence and more anti-social behaviour. A collectivist culture is one which emphasises family and work goals above individual needs and desires, there is a high degree of interdependence between people. An individualistic culture is one which emphasises personal independence and achievement at the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Key case study - Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) Aim: To look at the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries, and within countries. Procedure - Located 32 studies where the Strange Situation had been used - Secondary evidence. These studies were conducted in 8 countries (18 in the USA). Overall sample was 1,990 children. Data for the 32 studies were meta-analysed. Findings - Overall attachment was Type A - 21%, Type B - 67% and Type C- 12%. Secure attachment was the most common in all countries. Insecure-resistant was overall least common (with some exceptions). Variations within countries (Intra-cultural differences) were greater than between cultures (Inter-cultural differences). Conclusions - Secure attachment is the norm in a wide range of cultures. However, cultural practices have an influence on attachment type. Simonelli et al (2014) - Conducted a study in Italy. - 76 babies aged 12 months using the strange situation. - 50% secure, 36% insecure- avoidant. - The researchers suggested the results are due to increasing numbers of mothers of very young children working long hours and use professional childcare. - Societal changes influence attachment types. Mi Kyoung Jin et al (2012) - Conducted a study in Korea. - 87 babies were assessed using the strange situation. - There was a similarity in findings to that of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg for japan with a high number of insecure-resistant. - Since Japan and Korea have similar child -rearing styles this similarity might be explained in terms of child-rearing style.

Answer 26

✅All studies assessed used the Strange Situation as a way of classifying attachment. Comparisons made are therefore using a standardised procedure. This means there is high reliability to the findings of Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg. ❌Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg compared countries and not cultures. Within each country are many different cultural variations. ❌There are likely to be many confounding variables by carrying out a meta-analysis across different cultures. Different countries may have performed the Strange Situation with a varied methodology Confounding variables that may have impacted the findings are characteristics such as: ▪ age ▪ social economic status (poverty or wealth) ▪ social class ▪ urban or rural living This means that the findings may lack validity and conclusions cannot be drawn due to the non-matched studies assessed.

Answer 27

Institutional care - Institutionalisation refers to the behaviour patterns of children who have been raised in institutions. In institutions, children may have relationships with a variety of staff. However, they may not have a one-to-one attachment in the same way as a child raised in a family. Context – - Romania was a communist country until 1989. There were high levels of poverty at this time. Abortion and contraception were forbidden —> an increase in the birth rate —> an increase in children being abandoned in orphanages. Institutional neglect was common, as was physical and sexual abuse. Drugs were frequently used to control the children’s behaviour. Orphanage conditions declined in an attempt to save money. In 1989, 100-170k children were raised in communist orphanages. Effects of institutionalisation – Physical underdevelopment - Children in institutional care are usually physically small; research has shown (Gardner, 1972) that the lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is the cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism. - Intellectual under functioning - cognitive development (IQ) is also affected by emotional deprivation (Rutter, 2011) - Poor parenting - Harlow showed that monkeys raised with a surrogate mother went on to become poor parents (internal working model). Quinton et al (1984) found the same with women who were reared in institutions. Disinhibited attachment disorder (DAD) – The child is indiscriminately sociable and excessively familiar with strangers. The usual anxiety and concern with strangers is not present, and the infant or child superficially accepts anyone as a caregiver (as though people were interchangeable) and acts as if the relationship had been intimate and life-long. Rutter et al (1998) – Rutter and his team were interested in seeing whether the effects of institutional care and it could be overcome by the long-term provision of a more nurturing and enriching environment. Aim - To assess whether loving and nurturing care could overturn the effects of deprivation the children had suffered in Romanian orphanages. Procedure – - Longitudinal study - Quasi experiment (IV = age of being adopted). - 165 adopted Romanian children were used in the study - they had all suffered the effects of institutionalisation. - A control group of 52 British adopted children were also studied (They were all adopted before the ages of 6 months). - The adoptees were assessed/tested at regular intervals (ages 4, 6, 11 and 15) to assess their physical, cognitive and social development. - Information was also gathered from parents and teachers. Findings – - When they first arrived in the UK, half the adoptees showed signs of delayed intellectual development and the majority were significantly undernourished. - At age 11 the children showed differing rates of recovery which were related to the age of adoption - In terms of attachment, there also appeared to be differences depending on the age of adoption. - Children adopted after 6 months showed signs of a disinhibited attachment (symptoms included: attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed Research into Institutionalisation: Zeanah et al (2005) conducted the Bucharest early intervention project, assessing attachment in 95 Romanian children aged 12 - 31 months (90% of their life in institutional care). Compared to 50 children in a control group. Measured using the strange situation and questions to parents about disinhibited attachments. 74% of the control group - secure and only 19% of the institutionalised group were. Disinhibited attachment 44% institutionalised and only 20% control group. Attachment type and childhood relationships: Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood. Kerns (1994) securely attachment infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached infants are more likely to have friendship difficult. Wilson and Smith (1998) assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionaries in 196 children 7-11 from London. Bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type. indiscriminately towards all adults - familiar and unfamiliar). - In contrast, those adopted before the age of 6 months rarely displayed the disinhibited attachment. Deprivation can be reversed if an attachment starts to form before 6 months. Long-term effects are more permanent if attachment doesn’t occur before 6 months. Maternal deprivation on its own doesn’t cause long term effects as the UK infants showed no signs.

Answer 28

✅There is good real-world application of the Romanian orphan studies. There is a greater understanding now of how institutionalisation can affect the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of children. This has led to improvements in conditions of looked-after children in orphanages and foster care. Institutional care is now avoided, Adoptions are aimed to happen within the first week. ❌The Romanian orphan studies do, however have some confounding variables. The Romanian children that formed part of the studies did not just suffer from emotional neglect. There was a lack of physical care and intellectual stimulation. ❌The data was not followed into adulthood. There is a lack of data from the Romanian orphans in their adult lives. This raises questions about the long-term impacts of institutionalisation.

Answer 29

Maternal deprivation- The continual presence of nurture from a mother or a ‘mother figure’ is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers, both intellectually and emotionally. Separation = not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure. This is only an issue if the child is deprived i.e. they lose an element of her care. Brief separations, particularly if there is a substitute caregiver, are not significant for development but extended separations can lead to deprivation. Deprivation - Long term effects Emotional – Bowlby (1944) identified ‘affectionless psychopathy’ as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the individual from forming ‘normal’ relationships and is associated with criminality as they fail to empathise with victims and lack remorse. Intellectual – Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care would experience delayed intellectual development (abnormally low IQ). Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered (with higher levels of emotional care). Dwarfism – Silver (1967) Infants who experience emotional and psychological deprivation were shorter, had a larger appetite; were delayed in sexual development and were known to have sleep problems. Infants that were placed into a foster home showed significant improvement in growth and personality structure. Anaclitic Depression – Spitz (1945) visited poor orphanages in South America. Infants received little affection or warmth from staff, and many suffered from anaclitic depression. Privation – concerns children who have never formed an attachment bond. Privation is more likely than deprivation to lead to lasting damage. Evidence: brain scans of severely private children show physical differences in their brain structure. Psychological abnormality / permanent physical and psychological effects. Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves Bowlby used the opportunity of his work as a practising psychiatrist to collect data about children attending his child guidance clinic. His most famous study is about juvenile delinquency – children persistently in trouble with the police.

Answer 30

❌The poor quality of the evidence it is based on. Bowlby's 44 thieves' study is flawed because it was Bowlby himself who carried out both the family interviews and the assessments for affectionless psychopathy. This left him open to bias because he knew in advance which teenagers, he expected to show signs of psychopathy. ❌ His confusion between the different types of early experience. Rutter (1981) drew an important distinction between two types of early negative experience. Deprivation strictly refers to the loss of the primary attachment figure after attachment has developed.

Answer 31

Hazen & Shaver (1987) Love quiz: Analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ in an American newspaper. The quiz had 3 sections. - Current and most important relationship. - General love experiences (number of partners were included). - Attachment type was assessed. Findings: 56% of respondents were securely attached - 25% insecure avoidant - 19% insecure resistant. - Those with secure attachments were most likely to have good and longer lasting romantic experiences. - Insecure - avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy in their adult relationships. Internal working models also affect the child’s ability to parent their own children. People tend to base their parenting style on their IWM, so attachment style tends to be passed on through the generations of a family. McCarthy (1999) studied 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were babies to establish their early attachment type. Those assessed as 'secure' had the best adult relationships/ friendships. Insecure – resistant had difficulties maintaining friendships and insecure- avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relations. Bailey et al. (2007) studied the attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and to their own mothers. Mother-baby attachment was assessed using the strange situation and mothers' attachment to own mother (interviews). Majority of women had the same attachment to their babies as they did to their own mothers.

Answer 32

✅There is supporting evidence of childhood attachment and later relationships. A meta-analysis on early attachment and its role in socio-emotional development concluded that early attachment patterns are predictors of later attachments and relationships. ❌Relies on retrospective assessment. Most of the studies involve assessing adult participants through questions about their early life, relationships with parents, peers and partners. Childhood attachment types are then identified from these findings. This method lowers the validity of the findings. confounding variables involved in the assessment of attachment types ❌Confounding variables may lower the validity of the findings, e.g. attachment quality in childhood may be affected by genetic influences such as personality type.

Answer 33

✅ * Using deviation from social norms is a useful tool for assessing behaviour, e.g.: ◦ someone who constantly behaves in an anti-social manner could be termed socially deviant: ▪ their socially deviant behaviour may in fact be symptoms of schizophrenia thus a proper course of treatment can be prescribed for them * Social norms are in place to ensure that societies are harmonious and run smoothly: ◦ Identifying socially deviant behaviour is one way of protecting members of a society from distressing or harmful acts committed by others ❌Deviation from social norms is not generalisable across cultures; the same behaviour may be viewed as normal in one culture and abnormal in another culture e.g.: ◦ Hsieh-ping (ghost sickness) is a Chinese/Taiwanese culture-bound syndrome in which the sufferer believes that they are possessed by an ancestral ghost ▪ People experiencing hsieh-ping may go into a brief trance-like state, become delirious, experience tremors, hallucinations, crying and laughing ▪ In Chinese culture hsieh-ping has positive connotations, but the syndrome would be viewed as deviating from social norms in Western cultures and likely result in a diagnosis of mental illness. ✅ * his measure of abnormality provides clear guidelines for the classification and diagnosis of abnormality as it is focused on observable signs that an individual is not coping e.g. lack of hygiene, clear behavioural distress signals ◦ These observable signs allow for the individual to receive help * Checklists such as those provided by Rosenhan & Seligman (1989) can be used to assess the degree of FTFA, which increases the reliability and objectivity of the measure ❌ * FTFA is an overly subjective measure as one person’s lack of hygiene may be another person’s ✅ * Statistical infrequency as a measure of abnormality provides clear points of comparison between people, making it easy to test and to use as an analytical tool e.g.: ◦ if person X scores 70 on an IQ test this falls a long way below the mean average for the population ▪ This statistically infrequent score indicates that extra help or interventions may be required for the person in question * Applying statistical infrequency as a measure includes the use of a standardised tool which means that the measure has built-in reliability ◦ Standardised measures are replicable i.e. they can be applied repeatedly to analyse data sets ◦ Replicability means that large data sets can be included in the calculation ◦ The larger the data set, the less likely it is to be affected by outliers/anomalous results thus consistent patterns/trends are highlighted and consistency = reliability ❌ * Statistical infrequency as a measure of abnormality provides clear points of comparison between people, making it easy to test and to use as an analytical tool e.g.: ◦ if person X scores 70 on an IQ test this falls a long way below the mean average for the population ▪ This statistically infrequent score indicates that extra help or interventions may be required for the person in question * Applying statistical infrequency as a measure includes the use of a standardised tool which means that the measure has built-in reliability. ✅DIMH is a holistic measure of abnormality as it takes into account all facets and behaviours of a person ◦ The person is not viewed simply in terms of their innate, biological traits or their internal cognitions ◦ The person's place in the world, their lifestyle and their individuality are all components of this measure * DIMH is a positive measure of abnormality and has useful real world application ◦ This measure can be used as the basis for therapy and treatments with its emphasis on the whole person and on positive mental health and wellbeing. ❌ * Jahoda's (1958) criteria of ideal mental health is almost impossible to live up to as it requires each individual to reach the highest levels of positive mental wellbeing ◦ Constantly self-actualising would be exhausting and may ultimately lead to self-doubt and disappointment ◦ Being completely free of stress is not particularly desirable as stress is a necessary motivator in daily life ◦ Being successful in love, work and leisure time may actually lead people to feel demotivated and low in self-esteem if they do not live up to their own high standards ◦ The definition's unrealistic characteristics would mean that many individuals would be classed as deviating from ideal mental health, and therefore abnormal * This measure is also prone to culture bias as it emphasises the importance of the individual which is not aligned with the attitudes and beliefs of collectivist cultures ◦ Collectivist cultures.

Answer 34

Deviation from social norms is one of the four definitions of abnormality. Social norms are a set of unwritten rules which people use in order to abide by what is deemed 'normal' behaviour. * If a behaviour goes against social norms it may be viewed as abnormal * Some behaviours are deemed to be desirable. * Someone who performs undesirable behaviours may be labelled as socially deviant * Social norms are dependent upon time and culture. Failure to function adequately (FTFA) is a definition of abnormality that refers to the point at which someone is unable to continue their daily routine, or cope with everyday life * Coping with everyday life (a characteristic of good mental health) means being able to manage daily tasks and take care of the self in terms of: ◦ good personal hygiene ◦ regular eating habits ◦ attending work or school ◦ socialising with others. * Statistical infrequency (or statistical deviation as it is also known) defines abnormal behaviour using statistical measures * A behaviour is regarded as abnormal if it is statistically uncommon/rare in that it is not present often or regularly per society e.g.: ◦ The average IQ is approximately 100 ▪ 95% of the population have an IQ which falls between 70 to 130 ▪ approximately 2.5% of the population have an IQ below 70 ▪ approximately 2.5% of the population have an IQ of. * Deviation from ideal mental health (DIMH) is based on the idea that there are distinct markers that signal 'wellness' or ideal mental health * The DIMH measure assumes that if someone is mentally well then they will possess all of the markers of ideal mental health ◦ To diagnose abnormality/mental illness it is only necessary to look for the lack of ideal mental health signals/behaviours in someone * Marie Jahoda (1958) suggested a model of mental health in which there are six characteristics an individual should display if they have ideal mental health. Positive attitudes towards the self * High levels of self-esteem and a strong sense of identity * Knowing where you fit in the world Self actualisation * Personal growth and development * Developing yourself and achieving the goals you set yourself in life * E.g. Completing your exams to the best of your ability, buying a house, getting a job Autonomy * Autonomy and the ability to act independently from others * Self-regulation * Being able to work on your own and solve problems that may arise Resistance to stress * Resisting stress and being able to cope in stressful situations * E.g. coping with tight deadlines, celebrations, and moving house Accurate perception of reality * Having a realistic view of the world and your place in it * Understanding how the world works * E.g. if you were to be unsuccessful at a job interview, you could see that it may be that the other candidate was a better fit for the job and it is not about you as a person Environmental mastery * Adapting and meeting the demands of the environment and situation you are in * The ability to adapt to your different environments and feel at ease in them

Answer 35

* Phobias fall under the category of anxiety disorders * A phobia is an extreme fear (often irrational) of specific objects/organisms. Behavioural characteristics of phobias include the ways in which the phobic person responds to the phobic stimulus: avoidance & panic. Cognitive characteristics of phobias involve irrational thinking, cognitive distortions and selective attention: Irrational thinking and cognitive distortions & Selective attention involves the phobic person becoming fixated Emotional characteristics of phobias revolve around the primary feelings and emotions experienced in the presence of a phobic stimulus. ◦ anxiety ◦ A phobic response is an extreme emotional response which is usually out of proportion to the threat posed by the phobic stimulus

Answer 36

* The Two-Process Model (TPM) assumes that behaviour is learned through experience via environmental stimuli * Behaviourism is key to understanding the TPM * The key assumptions and mechanisms of behaviourism are: ◦ Behaviour can be conditioned (learned) via classical conditioning and operant conditioning ◦ Classical conditioning explains the development of phobias and operant conditioning explains the maintenance of phobias ◦ Classical conditioning involves the transformation of a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus e.g. the bell rung by Pavlov which produced salivation in dogs ◦ Classical conditioning is learning by association e.g. the association of the bell with food (which is the unconditioned stimulus as dogs - and people - do not have to learn to want to eat food) ◦ Operant conditioning involves the role of reinforcement in behaviour e.g. the rats in Skinner’s experiments learnt to tap a lever in order to be rewarded with food (positive reinforcement) or to tap a lever in order to avoid an electric shock (negative reinforcement) ◦ Operant conditioning is learning via consequences * The TPM states that behaviours (such as phobias) are originally learned via the mechanisms of classical conditioning and are then maintained via the mechanisms of operant conditioning.

Answer 37

✅ * The case study of Little Albert (Watson & Rayner, 1920) offers research support for the development of phobias ◦ Little Albert (9-month-old baby) showed no anxiety or fear when initially presented with a white rat ◦ As part of the conditioning process, when the white rat was presented to Albert it was accompanied by a loud, frightening noise (made by banging an iron bar close to Albert's head) ◦ The noise (UCS) created a fear response (UCR) in Albert ◦ The pairing of the rat (NS) with the noise (UCS) initially created the fear response ◦ Albert started to display fear when he saw the rat (NS) without the noise (UCS) ◦ The rat became the CS producing the CR of fear ▪ Thus the findings suggest the phobia was established via classical conditioning * The TPM sets out the mechanisms via which phobias are conditioned, resulting in the development of therapies such as systematic desensitisation which work to reverse this process to successfully treat phobias ◦ This means the TPM has useful application to treating phobias. ❌ * The TPM only focuses on conditioning as a determinant of phobia development which does not account for phobias which may have an evolutionary origin, e.g.: ◦ fear of snakes (snakes may harm or kill humans thus it makes sense to fear them) ◦ heights (falling from a height will result in injury or death) ◦ the dark (an enemy or predator may attack at night) * The TPM cannot explain why some people may have continuous aversive experiences and yet do not develop a phobia, e.g.: ◦ people who were physically punished at school who do not develop school phobia (scolionophobia) ◦ someone who was bitten by a dog as a child who does not develop cynophobia.

Answer 38

* The most commonly used behavioural therapy to treat phobias is known as systematic desensitisation (SD) * SD takes place over weeks or even months as it a gradual, stage-based process, putting the patient in charge of their own progress * SD works along the principles of classical conditioning as follows: ◦ The phobic stimulus was originally a neutral stimulus i.e. before it became the conditioned stimulus, triggering the conditioned fear response ◦ By reversing the mechanisms of classical conditioning it is possible for the conditioned phobic stimulus to revert to being the neutral stimulus again i.e. it produces no fear response in the person ◦ By gradually exposing the phobic person to the phobic stimulus as process of 'unlearning' happens - they are conditioned to view the stimulus without fear * The three stages of systematic desensitisation are: ◦ Anxiety Hierarchy ▪ The patient and therapist work together to construct an anxiety hierarchy, which is a list of situations that involve the phobic stimulus from least to most frightening, e.g. for a phobia of spiders: ◦ Relaxation ▪ Breathing exercises help to calm the patient physiologically by slowing down and controlling the breath ▪ Visualisation involves the patient placing themselves, mentally in a relaxing, calming environment e.g. a beach or a meadow ▪ Drug therapy may also be used as a biological treatment e.g. diazepam ◦ Exposure ▪ Whilst in a relaxed state the patient is exposed to the phobic stimulus starting at stage 1 of the anxiety hierarchy ▪ The patient moves up the hierarchy stage by stage, continually checking for signs of panic and slowing down if necessary ▪ The aim of exposure is for the patient to move to the top of the hierarchy, whilst remaining relaxed and in control * A less widely-used and more controversial behavioural treatment for phobias is flooding * Flooding involves a sudden, extreme exposure to the phobic stimulus without any prior build-up or gradual stage-by-stage approach * Unlike SD, flooding is an 'all or nothing' approach: ◦ It does not place the patient in a calm state or have them practice relaxation techniques ◦ It may take place in one session lasting a few hours ◦ The sudden exposure to the phobic conditioned stimulus is designed to extinguish the fear.

Answer 39

❌It's not a treatment it only helps. ❌It started a lab setting so it doesn't replicate real life therefore may not be able to deal with real life situations. ✅Gradual exposure means that it's better ethically. ✅ * lFooding is cheap compared to all other forms of phobia therapy ◦ Although individual flooding sessions are usually longer than SD sessions, fewer sessions are needed overall which equals a lower cost to the patient. ◦ Thus the cost-effective nature of the therapy means that it has beneficial economic implications. * Flooding works well with 'simple', straightforward phobias e.g. arachnophobia and acrophobia which means that those needing the therapy can be easily identified. ❌ * Flooding can be traumatic for the patient (even though they will have given informed consent prior to the therapy) so it may be ethically compromised. ◦ Schumacher et al. (2015) found both patients and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD. ▪ This means that the therapy may lack ethical validity. * Flooding is less effective with more complex phobias, such as social phobias. ◦ Social phobias involve a variety of different interpersonal interactions dependent on the occasion ◦ To be able to navigate the different demands of social events takes some skill and training which flooding cannot provide.

Answer 40

* Depression is a mood disorder (also known as an affective disorder) characterised by low mood, lack of energy and motivation and loss of interest in activities that were once pleasurable * Symptoms of depression must have been present for no less than two weeks for a diagnosis to be determined. Behavioural characteristics of depression * A shift in activity levels: either an increase in activity such as restlessness, or a decrease seen via withdrawal from daily life e.g. not going to work * Affected sleep: either an increase in time spent sleeping/in bed or a decrease seen via insomnia or waking very early * Affected appetite: either an increase in food consumption or, a decrease seen via an inability to eat/lack of appetite * Aggression and self-harm: the depressed person may become aggressive towards others and/or self-harm seen via cutting themselves possibly culminating in suicidal behaviours Emotional characteristics of depression * Sadness: a consistently low mood is the key defining emotion of depression and may bring with it feelings of hopelessness * Anger: there may be angry outbursts and unpredictable mood swings * Loss of interest: the depressed person may lose all interest in activities or hobbies that once brought them joy, which in turn can lead to increased sadness * Low self-esteem: this may involve self-loathing which is likely to exacerbate sadness and feelings of hopelessness Cognitive characteristics of depression * Negative view of the world: thoughts that everything will turn out badly and that there is no hope * Irrational thoughts: thoughts which do not accurately reflect reality but instead mirror the negative mindset of the depressed person * Poor concentration: concentration may be disturbed so that there is the inability to focus on one specific task * Inability to make decisions: the depressed person appears almost 'paralysed' with indecision, seemingly unable to commit themselves to one course of action * Catastrophising: an 'end-of-the-world' mindset in which even the smallest setback is viewed as a tragedy or emergency.

Answer 41

Beck's negative triad * The cognitive approach to explaining depression (Beck, 1967) involves the role of internal mental processes in determining behaviour ◦ Thoughts, information processing and perception are examples of internal mental processes ◦ Irrational thoughts, faulty information processing and distorted perceptions thus forms the cognitive approach to explaining depression * The cognitive approach to explaining depression assumes that depression is a result of faulty or irrational thought processes and negative schema. * Beck (1963) developed an explanation of depression known as the negative triad * The negative triad is divided into the following: ◦ Negative view of the self: I am worthless/ unimportant/ useless/ a waste of time ◦ Negative view of the world: Everyone is against me ◦ Negative view of the future: I am never going to amount to anything Negative self-schema are also a component of Beck's cognitive theory of depression: ◦ A schema is a shortcut that acts as a mental framework which people use to organise their ideas and experience of the world into easily-categorised 'packets' of information * Ellis' ABC model (1962) offers another cognitive explanation of depression * Ellis claimed that irrational thoughts interfere with happiness ◦ Ellis placed the emphasis on good mental health being the result of a lack of irrational thinking, therefore any thoughts which obstruct happiness are irrational * Ellis developed the ABC model to explain how irrational thoughts affect mood and behaviour: ◦ A = Activating event: ▪ The activating event is any occurrence which someone perceives as negative e.g. * losing one's job * a relationship breakdown * being 'ghosted' by a friend ◦ B = Beliefs: ▪ These beliefs are irrational thoughts associated with the event, and why it happened e.g. * Losing one's job leads to irrational thoughts such as, 'I lost my job because I'm so useless' * A relationship breakdown leads to irrational thoughts such as, 'This is proof that I'm unlovable and will die alone' * Being 'ghosted' by a friend leads to irrational thoughts such as, 'This person hates me, they've seen through me, I'm not worthy of their friendship' ▪ Ellis identified 'musturbation' (e.g. 'I must never fail') and 'I-can't-stand-it-itis' (e.g. 'I can't stand this jerk being my boss') as features of B ◦ C = Consequences: ▪ The consequences of A + B will lead to C e.g. * Rational beliefs lead to healthy consequences, such as, 'So, I lost my job, no big deal, I'd better start looking for another one' * Irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy consequences, such as, 'I lost my job which means I'll never find another one which means I'll lose my home and my marriage will collapse' * Ellis claimed that unhealthy consequences always lead to depression.

Answer 42

Beck's theory has good application for treating depression, e.g.: ◦ CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is used to identify, challenge and change irrational thoughts so that depression symptoms recede ▪ this is a strength of the theory as it demonstrates its external validity i.e. it can be used in real settings to help real people suffering from depression * There is strong supporting evidence for Beck's theory: ◦ Grazioli & Terry (2000) found that pregnant women who showed vulnerability for depression were more likely to suffer post-natal depression than those without that specific diathesis ▪ this means that the cognitive approach could be used to identify vulnerability in people and trigger interventions to delay or prevent the progress of depression. * Beck’s theory is useful for highlighting what characterises irrational thinking but not why such thoughts occur, or where they come from ◦ The above observation means that Beck's theory lacks explanatory power * Beck’s theory does not consider the influence of biological factors in depression ◦ There is ample research which indicates that genetics and neurotransmitters (particularly serotonin) play a key role in the development of depression ▪ this means that Beck's theory does not take a fully holistic approach to explaining depression, viewing it as cognitive only * he ABC model assigns responsibility for the individual to manage their thoughts, allowing some degree of control as to how to manage the consequences of activating events and beliefs ◦ This means that the theory takes an idiographic approach which is useful in the study of mental illnesses as no two experiences of depression are identical * Ellis developed Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT, a form of CBT) which has been successful in treating depression and changing irrational thought patterns ◦ This means that the therapy, based on cognitive theories, has good application * Research suggests that depressed people are examples of the 'sadder but wiser' effect ◦ This effect can be seen in the tendency for depressed people to give more accurate estimates of the likelihood of disaster than the non-depressed.

Answer 43

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used psychological treatment for depression * CBT includes the following : ◦ Cognitive restructuring/reframing: this involves turning negative thoughts into positive thoughts ◦ Guided discovery: this involves challenging negative thoughts and irrational beliefs ◦ Keeping a journal: this involves the recording of thoughts, feelings and actions between sessions ◦ Activity scheduling and behaviour activation: this involves acting on decisions and avoiding procrastination ◦ Relaxation and stress reduction techniques: this involves exercises such as muscle relaxation, deep breathing, visualisation ◦ Role-playing: this involves working through different scenarios which the patient finds difficult or challenging * REBT extends Ellis's ABC model to ABCDE (D is for Dispute and E is for Effect) * REBT (as for CBT) aims to help the client to identify and challenge irrational thoughts, e.g.: ◦ A client tells their therapist, 'Everything I do ends in failure or disaster' ◦ The REBT therapist presents robust arguments to dispute this idea ◦ The therapist's role is to break the link between negative life effects and depression by changing the client's irrational belief ◦ The two types of arguments identified by Ellis are: ▪ empirical arguments: disputing if there is real evidence to support the irrational belief ▪ logical arguments: disputing if negative thought follows logically from the facts.

Answer 44

CBT is one of the most popular and successful therapies for treating depression ◦ March et al.(2007) found that CBT was more successful at treating depression in adolescents than drug therapy ▪ This means that it has good application as CBT is effective in reducing symptoms of depression * CBT allows the patient to develop at their own pace with the therapist tailoring the sessions to suit each individual ◦ Thus, CBT embraces, to some extent, free will in its approach * The emphasis on ‘here-and-now’ may not be appropriate for some people who need to revisit past events as part of their journey to wellness ◦ This limits the usefulness of the therapy as it may not be effective for all individuals as a treatment of depression * CBT, as with all 'talking therapies', does not work very well for people who do not like to express themselves freely or who lack the verbal or intellectual skills to do so ◦ This means that the therapy lacks an idiographic dimension as it ignores the experience of the individual to some extent.

Answer 45

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder which is characterised by persistent, intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours. Behavioural characteristics of OCD * Compulsions which tend to be repetitive and time-consuming, and are adhered to obsessively by the person with OCD, e.g.: ◦ hand-washing (a highly prevalent OCD behaviour) ◦ continual organising or re-arranging of food cupboards or bookshelves ◦ switching a light on and off a set number of times * Compulsions are performed to reduce anxiety ◦ Repetitive hand-washing may reassure the person with OCD that they will not contract a disease ◦ Checking that the door is locked several times before bed may reassure the person that they and their family are safe * Avoidance is a key characteristic of OCD ◦ Someone with OCD is likely to try and avoid situations that may trigger their obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours ▪ People may avoid all social engagements due to their fear of contracting a germ-borne disease ▪ Avoidance may lead to the OCD person becoming cut off from friends, family and contact with the outside world Emotional characteristics of OCD * Extreme levels of anxiety, fear, and feelings of being overwhelmed * Guilt directed towards themselves or as a result of neglecting friends, family, work etc. * Disgust directed towards themselves or the outside world * Depression (having more than one mental illness at a time is known as comorbidity) due to feeling 'trapped' by their obsessions and compulsions Cognitive characteristics of OCD * Obsessive thoughts (these affect 90% of people with the illness) * The use of coping mechanisms to deal with the obsessive thoughts, e.g.: ◦ identifying the obsessive thought as it occurs (e.g. 'There's that feeling of panic about germs again') ◦ using a grounding object such as a pebble or wristband to remind the person that they should stop their obsessive thoughts.

Answer 46

A genetic explanation of OCD assumes that mental illnesses are heritable (i.e. they are generationally transmitted) * The risk of developing OCD is higher for first-degree relatives (siblings or children) and the risk of inheriting OCD is higher in some families than in others (though research so far cannot explain why this is so) * Researchers have identified candidate genes as genes that code for vulnerability to OCD ◦ OCD is polygenic, it is not caused by one single gene but by a combination of genetic variations that together cause significantly increased vulnerability * A specific gene variation or group of genes may result in OCD in one person, but not for everyone with that genetic profile * OCD-relevant genes include those involved in serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways ◦ Both dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters linked to mood, emotion and motivation * Research suggests a variation of the COMT gene is linked to OCD ◦ COMT plays an important role in de-activating dopamine ▪ Irregular dopamine levels are implicated in OCD ▪ COMT gene helps to balance dopamine levels ▪ Hence, COMT gene variation may contribute to OCD as it may help to control compulsive behaviours * The SERT gene has also been linked with OCD, affecting the transport of serotonin ◦ Lower levels of serotonin activity are implicated in OCD ◦ Serotonin plays a role in balancing mood which in turn may help to regulate obsessive thoughts * A neural explanation of OCD assumes that neurotransmitters play a role in the development of the disorder * The two key neurotransmitters here are serotonin and dopamine (see the section above for the relevance of gene variations linked to these two neurotransmitters) * Serotonin is known to play a role in regulating mood ◦ Low or disrupted levels of serotonin have been implicated in mood disorders such as depression ◦ Low mood may also be accompanied by cognitive disturbances such as faulty information processing ◦ Faulty information processing can be located to the frontal cortex of the brain ▪ The frontal cortex has been linked to executive functioning ▪ If serotonin levels are irregular/low in the frontal cortex then it is likely that someone will experience difficulty in applying logic, reason and rationality to their thoughts and behaviours ▪ Obsessive thoughts are thus more likely if serotonin levels in the frontal cortex are irregular/low * Dopamine is also implicated as a neural explanation of OCD ◦ Dopamine activity in the dorsomedial striatum (DSM) has been linked to the development of compulsive behaviours ◦ Neural circuits connecting the cerebral cortex to the DSM are thought to control movement and reward-seeking behaviours ◦ There is good evidence to suggest that dopamine plays a key role in movement and reward ◦ High levels of dopamine in the DSM increase compulsive reward-seeking ▪ This reward-seeking may explain OCD as compulsive behaviours are performed to decrease obsessive thoughts by reducing anxiety ▪ Thus, dopamine reinforces the compulsive behaviours which are necessary to reduce obsessive thoughts.

Answer 47

* There is some strong research support for a genetic explanation of OCD ◦ Nestadt et al. (2010) found that 68% of monozygotic (MZ; identical) twins both had OCD compared to 31% of dizyogotic (DZ; non-identical) twins ▪ This increases the validity of the theory, suggesting that OCD can be partly explained by genetics * Twin studies are a useful way to investigate the heritability of OCD ◦ Each twin acts as the control for the other twin which means that individual differences are accounted for to some extent ◦ Twin studies tend to use large samples which results in robust quantitative data i.e. the research has good reliability Limitations * Ignoring the role that the environment plays in the development of a mental illness means that a genetic explanation is prone to biological reductionism ◦ Twins are reared in the same environment which means that they are likely to respond to upbringing, family life etc. similarly ◦ If the environment also contributes to OCD then a genetic explanation lacks fully explanatory power * Pato et al. (2001) noted that although there does seem to be a genetic explanation for OCD, there is insufficient understanding of the actual genetic mechanisms surrounding OCD ◦ The above observation means that a genetic explanation alone may lack validity * Antidepressants such as SSRIs, which are used to regulate serotonin levels, have been effective in reducing OCD symptoms ◦ This finding supports the idea that irregular levels of serotonin are linked to the development of OCD, which increases the validity of the theory * Research into a neural explanation of OCD tends to use objective, clinical methods such as fMRI scanning which is high in reliability Weaknesses * Not all OCD sufferers respond positively to SSRIs which reduces the external validity of the theory ◦ If SSRIs cannot treat all individuals with OCD, then the cause may not be solely neural * Although sophisticated apparatus (such as fMRIs) are used to measure brain activity this in itself is not 100% evidence of neurotransmission ◦ The brain activity measured in an fMRI may be the result of other factors e.g. excitement/nervousness at being in the scanning machine ◦ It is not yet possible to track and measure 'live' neurotransmission ◦ Thus, it is only possible to claim that OCD have neurological correlates, there is no absolute 'proof' that irregular serotonin and dopamine levels cause OCD.

Answer 48

Drug therapy for OCD * The biological approach to treating OCD in A Level Psychology assumes that the disorder is the result of low levels of serotonin in the brain * Serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with mood ◦ Low or irregular levels of serotonin may lead to an imbalance in mood e.g. feeling down, feeling manic, feeling anxious ◦ An imbalance in mood may interfere with rational thinking and could lead to obsessive thoughts - a key characteristic of OCD Antidepressant drugs * Antidepressant drugs used to tackle low levels of serotonin are known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) ◦ Reuptake occurs when molecules of serotonin do not cross the synaptic cleft i.e. they have not been transmitted to the postsynaptic neuron ▪ The ‘spare’ molecules of serotonin are then taken back up into the presynaptic neuron ◦ SSRIs work by preventing (or inhibiting) the reuptake of serotonin in the synaptic cleft back into the presynaptic neuron ◦ Prevention of reuptake makes serotonin more accessible in the brain ◦ More serotonin is then available to improve the transmission of messages between neurons ◦ SSRIs are called selective because they mainly affect serotonin, not other neurotransmitters such as dopamine ◦ SSRIs are commonly used to treat depression but they have also been found to be effective in the treatment of OCD OCD may also be treated using benzodiazepines (BZs) ◦ BZs are anti-anxiety drugs designed to induce a feeling of calm (one well-known brand is Valium) ◦ BZs encourage the transmission of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) ◦ GABA is a neurotransmitter which works to control neuron hyperactivity which is associated with fear, anxiety and stress ◦ BZs thus help to 'quieten' the brain by reducing neurotransmission ◦ This quietening effect has been linked to the reduction of obsessive thoughts in someone with OCD.

Answer 49

* Drug therapy is cost-effective and widely available ◦ Drugs are cheaper and more readily available than other psychological treatments such as CBT ◦ The impact on the economy is lessened ▪ This is good in terms of health service budgets ▪ If more people are treated, they may return to work quicker which positively impacts the economy * There is good research support for the efficacy of drug therapy ◦ Researchers (Greist et al., 1995) conducted a meta-analysis where they reviewed placebo-controlled trials ▪ They found that drugs in each study were significantly more effective than the placebo at reducing the symptoms of OCD Limitations * Drug therapies can come with potentially serious side effects ◦ SSRIs may cause blurred vision, loss of libido, irritability, indigestion, and sleep disturbances ◦ BZs may cause drowsiness, light-headedness, confusion, dizziness and slurred speech ▪ This limits the usefulness of these drugs in the treatment of OCD * Positive results of drug trials are more likely to be published than trials in which the outcome of the drug was less successful (known as publication bias) ◦ Goldacre (2013) found that drug companies selectively publish positive outcomes for the drugs their sponsors are selling ◦ As well as being unethical, the above practice lessens the validity of drug therapies ▪ If only positive results are published, is the drug truly effective in treating OCD.

Answer 50

Once a researcher has an initial idea about an area of interest, the next step is to narrow the focus of our research to produce an aim.

Answer 51

Predicts the nature of effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable (faster or slower; more or less; increase or decrease).

Answer 52

Predicts that the independent variable will have an effect on the dependent variable, but the direction of the effect is not specified (unsure of the difference that will be caused). This would be used when there is no previous research or there is contradicting evidence in the area.

Answer 53

A small scale trial run of an experiment to test variables, conditions and methods.

Answer 54

Participants will not be told the aim of the experiment, which condition they are in, or even if there is another condition at all.

Answer 55

Both researchers and participants will not be told the aim of the experiment. Double blinds are an important feature of drug trials in which the drug will be administered by a third party.

Answer 56

✅ It can save a lot of time and money, It allows the researcher to decide whether or not to go through with a study or not. Also prevents repeat studies. ✅Can lead to improvements in the phrasing of hypotheses and the creation of totally new ones.

Answer 57

❌Completing a pilot study does not guarantee the success of a main study. ❌Disadvantages-Predictions Researchers can make inaccurate predictions about the main study based on the results of the pilot study. ❌Time consuming, the process delays the start of the main study.

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