Studies to Use for Essay Tests Flashcards
Aim of Loftus (1979)
To test if leading questions can influence accuracy if recall
Procedure of Loftus
- Showed participants a film of an accident
- Changed one word in certain critical questions to see if it influenced speed estimates
- About how fast were the cars going when they XXX each other
Evaluation and Results of Loftus
Use of the different word activated different schemas in memory
Mean Speed Estimates:
Smashed - 40.8 mph
Contacted - 31.8
little ecological validity
accuracy of eyewitness testimonials can be influenced by question phrasing
possible to creat false memories
Key Words Loftus
cognitive, memory, schema
Aim of Maguire (2000)
to see if aquiring new knowledge causes structural changes to the human brain
Procedure of Maguire
This was based on the knowledge that London taxi drivers must do a two-year training course where they end up being ableto find their way around the city without a map.
MRI scans were used to scan the structure of the Hippocampus, which were compared to the scans of healthy males who did not drive taxis
Evaluation and Results of Maguire
Results: left and right hippocampus of taxi drivers had a larger volume than non-taxi drivers.
Conclusion: there was a redistribution of grey matter in hippocampus of driver due to regular use of spatial memory skills required to remember roads; neurons are stronger in areas of the brain which are used most.
quasi-experiment so no cause and effect relationship
single-blind to avoid researcher bias
Key Words Maguire
biological, localization, experimental, physiology, brain imaging
Aim of Rosenzwig (1984)
To see if the brain changes with experience
Procedure of Rosenzwig
researchers placed rats into 2 environments to measure the enrichment or deprivation on development of neurons in cerebral cortex.
One environment had interesting toys.
The other had no toys.
rats spent 30-60 days in the environment then they were killed.
Evaluation and Results of Rosenzwig
- dendrites in solitary rat had less growth
- social cage had longer, spiky dendrites
- brain changes with experience
- trying new things changes brain
- abilities in life are not fixed
Key Words Rosenzwig
biological, physiology
Aim of Newcomer et al (1999)
To see whether high levles of the stress hormone cortisol interfere with verbal declaritve memory
Procedure of Newcomer et al
There was a double-blind procedure and students were matched by gender and age
- three conditions: high levels of cortisol, low levels of cortisol, cortisol placebo
- participants listened to and recalled a prose paragraph each day a new one with the same difficulty
- all were tested before and after taking cortisol
- tested 1,4, and 6 days after taking the pill
Evaluation and Results of Newcomer et al
- high cortisol group had worst performance in verbal declaritive memory so high cortisol links to remembering, effects not permanaent
- no significant difference between low levels and placebo group
- baseline eliminated confounding variables
- participants’ outside lives could affect results
Key Words Newcomer et al
biological, hormones, environment
Aim of Bouchard (1979)
To see if genetics affect intelligence
Procedure of Bouchard
- compares MZA to MZT, largest cross cultural study started in 1979
- twins given different types of tests
Evaluation and Results Bouchard
- MZT 88% got same score
- MZA 76% got same score
- fraternal twins got 56% same score
- 70% of intelligence could be genetic
- supports biological roots of disordrs
- could share the same experience if raised together
Key Words Bouchard
biological, observational, genetics
Aim of Wesskind (1995)
To see if MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complax) would affect mate choice
Procedure of Wesskind
- 49 female and 44 male participants typed by MHC
- Chose from different departments at the University of Bern Switzerland
- The men were asked to weat T-shirts for two nights and keep in open plastic bag during the day
- Two days later, the women were asked to rank the smell of 7 t-shirts, each in a cardboard box with a “smelling hole”
- Three of the seven boxes contained T-shirts from men harboring MHC similar to the women’s own, three contained T-shirts from MHC dissimilar men, and one contained an unworn T-shirt as the control
- Alone in a room, every woman scored the odors of the T-shirts for intensity and pleasantness and sexiness (0-10)
Evaluation and Results of Wesskind
- Women scored male body odors as more pleasant when they differed from the men in MHC than when they were more similar
- difference in odor assessment was opposite iwht women taking oral contraceptives
- MHC or linked genes influence human mate choice
- possible confiramtion bias
Key Words of Wesskind
biological, genetics, ethics