Schachter and Singer

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

1. To test the Two Factor Theory of Emotion.
2. To research whether people turn to cognitive factors to help in describing feelings if provided a state of physiological arousal with no explanation.

Question 2

Research method, Design

Answer 2

Lab experiment, Independent measures design

Question 3

Independent variable

Answer 3

1. Knowledge about the injection symptoms (informed, misinformed, or ignorant).
2. The emotional situation following the injection (euphoria or anger). There was a control group that was injected with a saline solution rather than epinephrine.

Question 4

Dependent Variable

Answer 4

1. Observational data was recorded by two observers through a one-way mirror during the emotional arousal. The observer had to measure to what extent the participant acted in a euphoric or angry way.
2. The self-report that participants completed following the emotional arousal.

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

185, college students, received course credit, health records checked prior, self-selecting sample

Question 6

Procedure (informed)

Answer 6

told the correct side effects of the injection, ‘your hand will start to shake’. Participants would have an explanation for any feelings.

Question 7

Procedure(misinformed)

Answer 7

told the wrong side effects of the injection, ‘your feet will feel numb’. Participants would not have any explanation for the actual side effects they would experience. This group was introduced as a control.

Question 8

Procedure (Ignorant condition)

Answer 8

told that they would experience no side effects. They would not have an explanation for the actual side effects they would experience.

Question 9

Stooge behaviour euphoria condition

Answer 9

stooge made icebreaker comments and played with the items. The stooge suggested that the participant join in, and the stooge played with the things.

Question 10

Stooge behaviour (anger condition)

Answer 10

stooge was instructed to create a feeling of anger in the room. Comment made: ‘this really irritates me.’ Comments increased in intensity as the questions became more personal. The stooge crumpled up the questionnaire at the end and stomped out of the room.

Question 11

Hypotheses

Answer 11

1. If a person is aroused with no immediate explanation, they will describe their feelings in terms of the cognitions available.
2. When an individual is aroused and has an explanation, they won’t label their feelings in terms of the cognition available.
3. If an aroused person is in a situation that in the past could have made them emotional, they would be emotional again.

Question 12

Result

Answer 12

1. 1 participant did not agree to the injection. 11 people had their data excluded due to suspicion. 5 had no physiological arousal to the injection so their data was excluded, and in the end, there were 169 participants left.
2. Participants who received adrenaline were significantly more sympathetically aroused (showed by pulse rate and self-rating) compared to the placebo participants. The misinformed group only took part in the euphoria condition as it was a control. Making them take part in just the euphoric condition still allows us to make an evaluation of the impacts, plus, it helps save time.
3. In all the adrenaline conditions, participants’ pulse rate increased, whereas the pulse rate for the placebo group decreased.
4. From the self-report measure, the euphoric misinformed group was the happiest. Euphoria ignorant group was the second happiest. The informed group was the least happy as they had an explanation for what they were feeling. Participants in the anger ignorant condition were the angriest, and those in the placebo group were the second angriest. They were susceptible to the stooge as they had no explanation. Their behaviour was observed through a one-way mirror and the behaviour matched their self-report.

Question 13

Conclusion

Answer 13

An aroused person with no explanation for the arousal describes their feelings in terms of the cognition available. The study is useful in treating people with anxiety or panic attacks as they can identify the environmental triggers that cause them to be aroused. Individuals do not explain arousal by only looking at the behaviour of those around them. They use past experiences to explain arousal.

Question 14

Strengths

Answer 14

1. High internal validity

Question 15

Weakness

Answer 15

1. Low external validity
2. Low ecological validity