Sapolsky (1990, 2005)

Question 1

Where can you use this study? (2)

Answer 1

• Animal research
• Hormones and behaviour
• NEED TO MENTION IT’S ANIMAL BASED

Question 2

Aim

Answer 2

A case study to see the effect of a naturally occuring hierarchy on the health of baboons

Question 3

Subjects

Answer 3

Baboons chosen due to having few predators - exclusion of stress
* live in troops of 50-200 with a social hierarchy
* dominant alpha male has more access to food, social grooming, sexual partners, free time
* mostly males - any given time 80% of female were pregnant or lactating (unethical to anesthetise them)

Question 4

Method

Answer 4

Observed in random sequences (to avoid bias)
* observed by point sampling (one by one randomly) NOT by event sampling (when doing something)
* males were anesthetised with phecyclidine injected with a syringe fired by a blowgun
* darted at same time of day to eliminate circadian fluctuations in hormone levels
* blood sample taken within a few minutes to avoid an increase in glucocorticoids as a result of darting

Question 5

Results

Answer 5

Subordinate male had higher concentrations of cortisol than dominant males
* meaning those subjected to submission have greater stress levels

Question 6

Strengths

Answer 6

• high ecological validity - the sample was wild
• sample gathered using different research methods - method triangulation increases credibility

Question 7

Limitations (3)

Answer 7

• lack generalisability to human hierarchies due to greater mobility
  
  • stress response in baboons may differ from humans
• low internal validity due to naturalistic setting: allows many extraneous variables
• correlational study that suffers from bidirectional ambiguity: personality of baboons could play a role (those able to manage stress can rise to the top)