Unit 1: Memory, Social Influence and Psychopathology

Question 1

Introductory Topics:

Answer 1

-revise Conrad
-revise Baddeley
-revise Glanzer and Cunitz

Question 2

what is the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 2

-the multi-store model of memory is the most well-known and influential model of memory, proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968
-they saw memory as a flow of information through a system of interacting memory stores
-each store has a different purpose, and each varies in terms of capacity and duration

Question 3

MSM: sensory, STM and LTM memory

Answer 3

sensory register
-duration: 1/2 to 1/2 a second
-capcity: alll sensory experience (v.larger capacity)
-encoding: sense specific (e.g. different stores for each sense)
short-term memory:
-duration: 0-18 seconds
-capacity: 7+/-2 items
-encoding: mainly acoustic
long-term memory:
-duration: unlimited
-capacity: unlimited
-encoding: mainly semantic (but can be visual and acoustic)

Question 4

Sperling Study: sensory register

Answer 4

1960
-Sperling’s experiment showed that iconic memory has a very short duration and limited capacity
-Participants brifely saw a 3x3 grid of letters for 50 milliseconds and could only recall 4-5 letters but reported seeing more (whole report)
-When cued with tones to recall specific rows, they remembered 75% of letters in the cued row, demonstrating that iconic memory decays quickly (partial report)

Question 5

Derwin et al. : sensory register

Answer 5

1972
-Darwen et al-studied echoice memory using auditory stimuli
-Participants heard three lists (letters or numbers) from different directions and were cued to recall one list after delays of 0-4 seconds
-Recall decreased as the delay increased, and after 3 seconds, cues no longer improved performance
-This suggests echoic memory stores auditory information briefly in raw, unprocessed form for about 3 seconds before it fades

Question 6

STM: capacity studies

Answer 6

-Jacobs (1887) measure this using a digit span technique, finding that participants could recall about 9.3 digits but only 7.3 on average
-Miller (1956) suggested that STM capacity is better understood in terms of “chunks” can vary; Simon (1974) showed that the complexity of chunks affects memory span
-Cowan (2000) noted that long-term memory can influence STM perfomance, as repeated sequences often improve recall, additionally, reading sequences aloud can enhance recakk by briefly storing information in the echoic store, as proposed by Baddeley (1999)

Question 7

STM: duration studies

Answer 7

-Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that information is held in STM through rehearsal, which involved repeating the information to keep it in STM and strenghten it for LTM storage
-Craik and Tulving (1973) argued that it’s not just the amount of rehearsal, but how it’s done that affects long-term retention. They identified two types of rehearsal: maintenance rehearsal, which involved simple repetition and doesn’t lead to LTM, and elaborative rehearsal, which involved processinf information meaningfully, such as linking it to existing knowledge
-Peterson and Peterson (1959) showed that without rehearsal, even small amount of information are quickly forgotten, with recall dropping to 5% after 18 seconds

Question 8

STM: encoding studies

Answer 8

-Conrad (1964) found that STM encodes information acoustically. In his study, participants struggled more with recalling sequences of similar-sounding consonants compared to those with different sounds, indicating that even visually presented information was converted to an acoustic code in STM
-Supporting this, Posner and Keele (1967) showed that participants took longer to recognize visually different letters as the same if the letters were similar in sound (e.g., B-b) versus identical (B-B), suggesting STM initially encodes information visually but quickly transforms it to an acoustic form
-However, not all STM encodingis purely acoustic. Shulman (1970) found that semantic encoding, where meaning rather than sound or sight is used, is also possible in STM. Participants could quickly identify words based on meaning (synonyms, hononyms) as well as on sight and sound

Question 9

LTM: duration studies

Answer 9

-Bahrick et al. (1975) studies the long-term memory (LTM) of 392 American high school graduates, aged up to 74, by testing their recall of former classmates using yearbook photos and names. Participants performed well, with 90% accuracy up to 34 years after graduation and 80% accuracy after 48 years. Recognition tasks (like identifying photos) yielded better results than recall tasks (remembering names without cues), showing the durability of LTM. The study highlighted that memory retention is influenced by cues and how well information was originally learned. For example, Bahrick and Hall (1991) found that people who studied advanced math had better recall of algebra and geometry even 55 years later

Question 10

LTM: encoding studies

Answer 10

-Baddeley (1966) found that participants had difficulty remembering similar sounding words when tested immediately, but after 20 minutes had greater difficulty remembering words of the same meaning. Baddeley considered this good evidence for semantic encoing in LTM
-Researchers are quick to point out however that while semantic encoding is its preferred method, this is not the only type of encoding in LTM. Everyday experience tells us that we readily recognise sounds such as police sirens and ringing telephones, suggesting that we also encode LTMs acoustically. Similar arguments could be made for the other modalities; that visual and haptic (touch) encoding in LTM is possible from our immediate recognition of what we see and touch

Question 11

evidence supporting a distinction between STM and LTM: KF

Answer 11

Shallice and Warrington (1970), The Case of KF:
- KF, a 28 year old man who sustained brain injuries after a motorcycle accident
-he had an impaired STM, working alongside a fully functioning LTM
-intact LTM -> he was able to learn new information and recall stored information
-reduced capacity STM -> he was only able to store a couple of bits or chunks of information rather than the normal 5-9 chunks

Question 12

evidence supporting a distinction between STM and LTM: HM

Answer 12

Milner (1966), The Case of HM:
-HM, a young man who suffered from epilepsy
-he underwent brain surgery to alleviate his epilepsy, which involved removing parts of his temporal lobes, including the hippocampus
-this operation left him with severe memory problems -> he could only recall events in his early life and was unable to recall events for about 10 years before the surgery. He could also not learn or retain new information
-however, he repeatedly read the same magazine without realising he had read it before and he was unable to recognise the psychologists who has spent long periods of time with him
-this suggests HM had a normal STM, but his LTM was detective and that it was no longer possible for him to lay down new memories in it, or if he could, he was unable to retrieve them

Question 13

limitations of the MSM: oversimplified

Answer 13

-human memory is extremely complex and it is highly unlikely that such a simple model could reflect this
-for example, the model doesn’t consider the different types of things we have to remember
-while it greatly emphasises the amount of information we can handle, it disregards the nature of the information
-everyday experience tells us that some things are easier to remember than others and this can simply be because we find it more interesting, relevant, funnier, etc.

Question 14

limitations of the MSM: the role of rehearsal

Answer 14

-there is considerable evidence that simple repetition is one of the least effective ways of passing on information
-there is also a strong evidence that long term memories can be formed without any apparent rehearsal
-Brown and Kulik (1977): they have described this type of remembering “flashbulb memory” which is where the insignificant details surrounding highly emotional and shocking events are imprinted directly into LTM without any rehearsal

Question 15

what is the working memory model?

Answer 15

-by the early 1970s it was becoming clear that traditional information processing models, suchas the MSM, could not account for some of the findings from memory research
-it was clear that the STM store was far more complex than existing theories could account for
-Baddeley and Hitch (1974) contested the idea that STM was a single and entirely seperate store
-they referred to the case of KF who, while only having a digit span of two, could transfer new information to his LTM, suggesting that though there had been some disruption to STM, other aspects of his STM must have continued to function-there must be several components of STM

Question 16

the working memory model: actual model

Answer 16

-according to Baddeley and Hitch, working memory is a complex and flexible system comprised of several interacting components
-Central Executive
-Phonological loop- phonological store, articulatory control processes
-Visuo-spatial sketchpad- inner scribe, visual cache
-Episodic buffer

Question 17

the central executive:

Answer 17

-> is the supervisory system of working memory, itr controls and manages attention, planning, task switching, but has limited capacity
-it can process information from any sensory system (e.g. sight, sound) and coordinates the activity of other components in working memory
-it uses ‘slave systems’ like:
-phonologival loop (for verbal information)
-visuo-spatial sketchpad (for visual/spatial information)
-episodic buffer (for integrating information)
-these free up space for complex, allowing us to do more than one thing at a time, such as listening and watching
-the central executive is the most flexible but hardest to study, since it is less well understood compared to its slaves systems

Question 18

phonological loop:

Answer 18

-> often called the “inner voice”, temporarily holds verbal information in a speech-based form, it has two parts:
1. phonological store: passively stores sounds
2. articulatory loop: repeats words in your head (subvocal repetition) to keep them active

Question 19

phonological loop: Baddeley et al. study

Answer 19

Baddeley et al. (1975) Study:
-aim: investigates how word length affects the phonologival loop’s capacity
-method: participants were shown lists of 5 words (either short, single-syllable words or longe, multi-syllabic words) and asked to recall all of them
-findings: short words were recalled better than long words
-conclusion: the phonological loop’s capacity is based on the time taken to say words, not the number of items (about 1.5 seconds) this is known as the word length effect

Question 20

visuo-spatial sketchpad:

Answer 20

-> is reffered to as the “inner eye”, it temporarily holds visual and spatial information, it has two components:
1. visual cache: passively stores visual data
2. inner scribe: actively rehearses spatial information
-Klauer and Zhao (2004) Study
Brain Imaging Findings:
-the left brain is more active during visual tasks
-the right brain is ore active during spatial tasks (Todd and Marois, 2004)

Question 21

visuo-spatial sketchpad: Klauer and Zhao Study

Answer 21

Klauer and Zhao (2004) Study:
-aim: tested whether visual and spatial components are distinct
-method: participants completed eother a visual task (remebering Chinese ideographs) or a spatial task (remembering locations of dots) while also doing interference tasks (visual or spatial)
-findings: spatial tasks were disrupted more by spatial interference than visual, visual tasks were disrupted more by visual interference than spatial

Question 22

episodic buffer:

Answer 22

-> is a general storage system that integrates information from the visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop, central executive and long-term memory
-it was added to the working memeory model by Baddeley in 2000, as the original model couldn’t explain how people remember coherent chunks of information, like prose, better than unrelated words
-combines information across different parts of working memory and from long-term memory
-studies show that people with intact central executive function but amnesia could immediately recall prose but forgot it shortly after. This suggests the e.b. temporarily stored information before it fades
-helps explain why memory for coherent information (e.g., sentences) is better than for random words, it allows information to be structured and processed using both working and long-term memory

Question 23

Baddeley and Hitch study:

Answer 23

-aim: to test whether short-term memory (STM) has more than one component
-procedure: participants were given a six-digit number (e.g., 863492) to repeat out loud while also completing a reasoning task (e.g., judging sentences like “A follows B- AB” as true or false)
-hypothesis: if STM is limited to simple storage, doing two tasks at once should impair perfomance on the reasoning task
-findings: participants performed well on both tasks, although the reasoning task was slightly lower, errors were minimal
-conclusion: STM involves more than one component, as people can perform multiple tasks simultaneously if they use different parts of memory. Baddeley and Hitch saw STM as a “working memory” that actively processes information, rather than just storing it. They also viewed long-term memory (LTM) as a passive store accessed by STM when needed
-this study helped develop the Working Memory Model

Question 24

weaknesses of the working memory model:

Answer 24

-the central executive has not been precisley defined: for example, the term “process” is vague, and the central executive may be made up of several sub-components or even be part of a larger component itself in working memory
-this lack of a comprehensive explanation for each component of WMM draws doubts about the accurazy of its depiction of working memory
-Lieberman (1980) critisizes the working memory model as the visuospatial sketchpad (VSS) implies that all spatial information was first visual (they are linked)
-however, Lieberman points out that blind people have ecellent spatial awareness, although they have never had any visual information
-Lieberman argues that the VSS should be seperated into two different components: one visual information and one for spatial

Question 25

strengths of the working memory model:

Answer 25

-Shallice and Warrington’s study of KF provides support for the WMM because their findings show that KF had very poor STM recall for auditory stimuli but increased STM recall for visual stimuli -this suggests that the components of memory which process auditory and visual stimuli are seperate (thus, STM is not a single, unified system), as described in the WMM through the phonological loop and VSS -Studies of dual-task perfomance, where each participant must undertake a visual and verbal task simultaneously, shows decreased perfomance for such tasks and so supports. the idea that the central executive has a very limited processing capacity (as predicted by the WMM) and that the slave systems are in competition with each other for these tasks and resources

Question 26

Types of LTM:

Answer 26

-research into LTM has shown that it is not a single unitary store, but rather it appears to have a number of different components which may be represented by separate brain systems -a major distinctions between two types of LTM: 1. The conscious memory we have for facts and events (declarative) 2. Memory that is not open to conscious recollection, but rather what we see in our skilled behaviour and habits (procedural)

Question 27

Procedural and Declarative Memory: HM Milner

Answer 27

1962 -Milner discovered that HM was able to learn to trace a shape using a mirror image, and retain this skills over a number of days -however, he head no conscious recollection of ever having done mirror drawing tasks before, thus acquiring the skill -it appears that while HM was able to use procedural memory to learn this skill, his operation had damaged his ability to use his declarative memory to consciously recollect this experience

Question 28

Semantic Memory and Episodic Memory:

Answer 28

-semantic memory consists of our abstract and general knowledge about the world, e.g. facts we learn in school -in addition to the facts and concepts that make up semantic memory, we also store memories for the things we have though and experiences we have had -these personal recollections of episodes of our lives make up episodic memory

Question 29

The effects of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT:

Answer 29

-memories witnesses create at the time of an event appear to be quite fragile and subject to distortion by things that happen after the event -consequently, serious errors in EWT can occur -it’s been found that witnesses who encounter inaccurate information after an event can absorb this into their memory, thus distorting the actual memory of the event -> Loftus (1992) calls this “misinformation acceptance” -research algo suggests that there is a tendency for the misinformation effect to become stronger as the time between the witnessed event and recall of it becomes greater

Question 30

Loftus and Zanni:

Answer 30

-1975 -participants were shown as brief video of a car accident and then asked a series of questions -half of the participants were asked -> had they seen “a” broken headlight -half of the participants were asked -> had they seen “the” broken headlight -there was no broken headlight in the film -17% of those asked about “the” broken headlight reported seeing one -7% asked about “a” broken headlight reported seeing one -those in the “the” condition -> gave fewer uncertain responses, such as “I don’t know” -> suggests they had greater confidence in memories for events that never occurred -using “the” implanted the idea that there was indeed broken glass, leading some participants to change their recall accordingly -in practical terms -> suggests that the way questions are asked following a crime can lead to innacuracies in witness recall, and brings into question the reliability of EWT -this misinformation effect through the use of leading questions has been replicated in many studies

Question 31

Loftus and Palmer:

Answer 31

1974 -showed 45 participants a film of a car accident -following this they were asked to describe events as though they were eyewtinesses -they were then asked a series of specific questions about events leading up to the accident -one critical questions was asked 'How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?' Other groups of participants were asked the same question, but, in each case, the verb was changed to either 'smashed', 'bumped', 'collided', or 'contacted'

Question 32

Loftus and Palmer: good things and bad

Answer 32

-because it was a controlled laboratory experiment, the study has been accused of being artificial, i.e. the conditions of testing do not resemble those in real life so therefore the behaviour of participants is not natural behaviour -a film clip would not have the same emotional impact as witnessing a real-life accident, and because a witness would not be prepared to observe carefully (as they were in the experiment) it could be argued that their recall of a real accident would not be as complete -there are a number of reasons why memories are affected by leading questions -one possibility -> due to the constructive nature of LTM, leading questions actually change a witnesse’s perception of the event -> the storage of inaccurate memory -whether or not accuracy of eyewitness memory is influences, storage or retrieval factors around the event itself can also influence recall

Question 33

Loftus:

Answer 33

1979 -gave participants a set of slides that showed a red purse being stolen from a handbag -they were later given an account of the theft that included several errors, i.e. “the purse was brown” -in a subsequent recall test, all but two of the participants resisted the misinformation about the colour of the purse, although they were influences by misinformation about less central elements of the theft -Loftus concluded that memory for information that is particularly striking at the time of an event is less suspectible to misinformation acceptance than memory for more peripheral details -another important factors appears to be -> the amount of anxiety caused by witnessing a crime -it has long been established that states of high emotional arousal can influence memory functions, and a number of lab studies have demonstrated impaired memory in people who have witnessed particularly unpleasant and anxiety-inducing events

Question 34

Possible extraneous variables in research:

Answer 34

-variations in individual memory capacity may influence how participants recall details of the event -previous knowledge or experiences: some participants may have prior knowledge of the event or may have been involved in similar situations, which could affect their recall -participant attention during the event: if participants are not paying equal attention to the event being recalled, this could affect recall -social desirability bias: participants may alter their answers to conform to what they think is “right” answer or to please the researcher -emotional state of participants: a participant’s mood or stress levels may influence how they recall details

Question 35

More possible extraneous variables:

Answer 35

-ambiguity in the even presented: if the event being shown to participants is ambiguous, this may influence recall -question wording consistency: variations in how leading questions are phrased beyond the intended manipulation could introduce bias -time delay between event and recall: the length of time between witnessing the event and being asked the leading questions may affect recall accuracy -particpant’s age: age can affect memory recall, with younger and older participants possible recalling details differently -environmental conditions: factors like lighting, sound, or other distractions in the environment may impact how well participants remember details

Question 36

Fisher et. Al:

Answer 36

1987 -over a 4 month period, they studied real interview conducted by experienced detectives in Florida -found that witnesses were frequently bombarded with a series of brief, direct and close questions aimed to elicit -the sequencing of these questions often seemed out of sync with the witnesses’ own mental representation of the event -witnesses were often interrupted and not allowed to talk freely about their experiences -Fisher felt these interruptions were unhelpful because they broke the concentration of the witnesses and also encouraged shorter, less details answers

Question 37

Geiselman et. Al:

Answer 37

1985 -> developed a technique to improve the accuracy of eyewitness recall during police investigations which they called cognitive interview -context reinstatement (CR): mentally reinstate the context of the event, recall the scene, the weather, thoughts and feeling at the time -report everything (RE): report every detail possible even if it seems trivial or irrelevant -recall from a changed perspective (CP): try to describe the episode as it would have been seen from different points of view -recall in reverse order (RO): change the order of recall so that the event is reported in different orders, moving backwards and forwards in time

Question 38

The cognitive interview:

Answer 38

-> designed to enhance retrieval of the original memory by providing extra cues that might help jog witnesses’ memory for more central details -subsequent research led to a version of the technique called the enhanced cognitive interview -after looking at current police practice through detailed analysis of taped interviews, Fisher et. Al(1987) suggested adding several extra features to a more structured process

Question 39

Support for the cognitive interview:

Answer 39

-Geiselman et. Al (1985): found that the cognitive interview resulted in more information being drawn from witnesses compared to other interview techniques -Fisher et. Al (1989): also demonstrated the effectiveness of thecognitive interview technique in real police settings in Miami in the US -they trained detectives to use the enhanced cognitive interview techniques with genuine crime witnesses and found that its use significantly increased the amount of information recalled -Kebbell et.al (1999): carried out a survey of UK police officers and found that there was widespread use of cognitive interview -Milne and Bull (2002): tested all cognitive interview procedures either singly or in combination -they found that all 4 procedures snugly produced more recall from witnesses than standard interview techniques -however the most effective combination appeared to be the use of CR and RE instructions, which is in line with that practising police officers had suspected

Question 40

Opposition to cognitive interview:

Answer 40

-Kohnken et.al (1999): found that witnesses questioned using the cognitive interview also recalled more incorrect information than those questioned using the standard questioning technique -this is possibly because the cognitive interview procedure elicits more information overall than other procedures For Kebbell: however, while officers found it useful, they expressed some concern about the amount of incorrect recall generated and the amount of time it took to complete an enhanced cognitive interview -in practice, it seemed like officers were using the RE and CR instructions, but rarely the CP and RO

Question 41

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Cognitive interview:

Answer 41

Advantages: -improved recall accuracy -> increases the amount of accurate info recalled -reduces false memories -widely applicable Disadvantages: -time intensive -> CI requires a longer time to conduct -training demands -inconsistent effectiveness

Question 42

conformity:

Answer 42

-> conformity is the tendency to change our behaviour or attitudes to align with those of a group -conformity cab be explicit (clear rules) or implicit (unspoken social norms)

Question 43

Asch’s study on conformity:

Answer 43

1951 aim: -to investigate whether individuals conform to group pressure in a situation where the answer is clear procedure: -123 male American students participated in a line judgement task -participants were placed in groups of 7-9 people; only 1 was a real participant, while the other were confederates -confederates were instructed to give incorrect answers on 12/18 trials (called critical trials) -the task involved compairing 3 lines to a “standard line” and selecting the one that matched in length findings: -37% conformity rate on critical trials (participants have the same incorrect answer as the confederates) -25% of participants never conformed in any trials -5% always conformed, while the remaining varied conclusions: -people conform to avois social rejection or embarassment, even when the correct answer is clear (normative social influence) -however, many participants remained independent, suggesting some individuals can resist group pressure

Question 44

Asch: evaluation

Answer 44

positives: -internal validity -easily replicated negatives: -biased sample -generasibality -ecological validity -population validity -reductionist -ethics: deception and protection from harm -> Back et al. (1963) found that participants in the Asch situation had greatly increased levels of autonomic arousal

Question 45

Perrin and Spencer:

Answer 45

1980 -suggested that the Asch effect was a "child of its time", they carried out an exact replication of the original Asch experiment using engineering, mathematics, and chemistry students as subjects -they found that in only one out of 396 trials did an observer join the majority -they argue that a cultural change has taken place in the value placed on conformity and obedience and the position of students -in America in the 1950s, students were unobstructive members of society, whereas now, they occupy a free questioning role -however one problem in comparing this study with Asch is that very different types of participants are used -Perrin and Spencer used science and engineering students who might be expected to be more independent by training when it came to making perceptual judgements

Question 46

factors affecting conformity: based on Asch

Answer 46

-unanimity: if the group’s unanimity is broken (e.g., a dissenter gives a different answer), conformity drops significantly -conformity fell to 5.5% when there was a dissenter, even if their answer was wrong, this highlights how unanimity strengthens social pressure -group size: conformity increased as group size increased but leveled off at three confederates (32%) -task difficulty: increasing task difficulty (e.g. making line lengths more similar) increased conformity due to informational social influence-participants doubted their judgement and relied on the group for guidance

Question 47

types of conformity:

Answer 47

-compliance: individual conforms publically but privately disagrees with the view they express -internalisation: some views are adopted at a deeper, permanent level and they become part of a person’s way of viewing the world

Question 48

explanations for conformity:

Answer 48

normative social influence: conformity bades on the desire to be liked and accepted -person conforms because of their need to be accepted by and belong to the group, as belonging to the group is rewarding -groups have the power to punish or exclude people who do not fit in -this might fall into compliance as they may privately disagree but publically conform informational social influence: conformity based on the desire to do the right thing -individuals copy other people bc they don’t know what to do, say or think about an issue -the majority viewpoint is likely to be right, if it’s not, at least the individual will blend in with the group instead of standing out and feeling embarrased

Question 49

obedience:

Answer 49

-obedience involved following direct orders from an authority figure, especially within a hierarchy where the authority holds power -it often required individuals to carry out actions they may not choose independently

Question 50

explanations for obedience: agentic state

Answer 50

agentic state: individuals see themselves as agents for authority, not personally responsible -autonomous state: individuals act independently and accept responsibility -agentic shift: shift occurs when individuals follow orders due to authority -moral strain: internal conflict experienced when actions go against personal morals

Question 51

explanations for obedience: legitimate authority

Answer 51

-legimitacy of authority: authority figures are seen as credible due to societal roles, uniforms, or institutions -legitimate authority: a person or organisation in which social power is invested, e.g. police officer -in Milgram’s experiments, the experimenter (wearing a lab coat) was perceived as a legitimate authority figure, this increased participants’ willingness to administer shocks, as they believed the authority figure knew best -the setting (Yale University) also played a role in establishing credibility and authority, leading to higher obedience rates, significance -> the concept shows how people are more likely to comply with orders if they believe the authority is legitimate and morally justified + when Milgram moved the study to a less presitgious location, obedience rates dropped, illustrating how perceived authority influences behaviour

Question 52

Milgram:

Answer 52

1963 -aim: measure how far participants can go in obeying an authority figure who instructed them to unethical practices -procedure: 40 male volunteers, all American randomly selected between the ages of 20 to 50 -participants would play the role of teacher and the student would be a confederate -participants would ask a series of questions and the confederate would answer wrong, so the participant would have to give gim an electric shock -the electric shocks weren’t real, the confederates were acting but participants didin’t know -electric shocks increased up to 450V and 330V was marked as lethal, the learner would complain of a weak heart at 180V and at 300 they would demand to leave and bang on the wall, at 315V he became silent to give the illusion that they were unconscious -shock were demonstrated prior to the study -participants were assessed on how many shocks they were willing to give the confederate -if they wanted to leave: 1) ‘please continue’ 2)’the experiment require you to continue’ 3) ‘it is absolutely essential that you continue’ 4) ‘you have no other choice, you must go on’

Question 53

Milgram: results and conclusion

Answer 53

-results: participants went up to 300V, 12.5% stipped when there were signs of distress, 35 participants went up to 450V -participants showed intense signs of distress and anxiety including nervous laughing gits, groaning, digging fingers into flesh and convulsions, one participant started to have a seizure -Milgram’s experiment proves it is normal to obey an authoratitive figure -conclusion: participants obeyed the authority figure when asked to go against their judgement -all study participants had been informed at the start that they could leave at any point -Milgram argued that it is normal to give in to destructive obdeince when pressured -participants obeyed even in absense of force or threat

Question 54

Milgram: evaluation

Answer 54

-positives: validity, operationalisation of human behaviour -negatives: ecological validity, debate about internal validity, ethical issues, biased sample -agency theory: social psychological theory that explains how individuals act in situations when they are expected to make decisions on behalf of another person -people can experience two different states of agency, agentic state and autonomous state -agentic state: where an individual carries out order of an authority figure acting as their agent -shift from autonomy to ‘agency’, ‘agentic shift’ -they don’t feel resposible for the action as it is the action of another person

Question 55

Milgram: ethical concerns + response to criticisms

Answer 55

-ethical issues: Milgram’s study caused psychological distress (sweating, rembling, stuttering) -> critics liek Baumrind argued participants faced lasting harm due to deception -Milgram defended his methods, claiming participants were debriefed afterward -response to criticisms: decepction was used to ensure realism; participants learned about themselves -this study influenced ethical standards like informed consent

Question 56

situational factors: Milgram

Answer 56

-proximity: obedience dropped to 30% when participants had to physically push the learner’s hand -obedience also fell when instructions were given over the phone -location: moving the study from Yale to a regular office reduced obedience to 48% -uniform: a person is more likely to obey someone wearing a uniform (lab coat) as it gives them a higher status and a greater sense of legitimacy which was higher

Question 57

situational factors: proximity

Answer 57

-Milgram noticed that the proximity of the teacher and learner affected obedience, in the original version of the experiment, the teacher was unable to see the learner as they were in seperate rooms but could hear his screams, there were several variations: -Milgram removed the experimenter from the room and instructed him to give the teacher orders over the phone. Many more participants resisted the authority of the experimenter, with only 20% going to the full 450V -Milgram brought the learner into closer proximity, placing him in the same room as the teacher where he could be seen and heard, obedience levels dropped -in a variation he reffered to as ‘touch proximity’ the teacher and learner were in the same room and in order to receive the shock, he had to place his hand voluntarily on a shock plate. When he refused to do this, the teacher was instructed to force his hand down onto the shock plate. Under this condition, 30% of participants still continued to 450V

Question 58

situational factors: location

Answer 58

-one factor that Milgram thought may have contributed to the high levels of obedience was the setting of the experiment, Yale University -In order to see if obedience was caused by the prestige of the setting, Milgram packed up his shock generator and moved his experiment into a seedy office above a shop -Calling himself ‘Research Associated Ltd’ he advertised for participants in the paper and replicated the study exactly -Under this condition he found a significant drop in obedience -48% of his participants in this setting continued to 450V on the shock generator -This led Milgram to conclude that the high status of Yale University was one factor that contributed to high levels of obedience

Question 59

Rundown Office Block (experiment 10):

Answer 59

-Milgram aimed to see whether the level of prestige of a location would affect obedience levels -Milgram paid volunteer participants to take part in a study conducted by research associated of Bridgeport -A rigged draw was used to allocate the participant to the role of teacher and confederate to the role of learner -The original apparatus from Milgram’s 1963 experiment was used such as the shock generator which went from 15V to 450V, obedience in the rundown office block dropped to 47.5% -Milgram concluded that reduced prestige of a location led to fewer participants obeying -experiment 10 took place in a more realistic setting of an office block in Bridgeport, which increases the ecological validty of the research for completing an obedience task -It was a more natural setting for testing obedience because the participants are likely to have been in an office before -The study in Bridgeport used Milgram’s standardised procedure, for example, the verbal prods, which increases the reliability of the ibedience study as it can be replicated

Question 60

Telephonic Instructions (experiment 7):

Answer 60

-Milgram aimed to see whether the physical distance between the experimenter and the teacher would affect obedience levels -When instructions were given over the telephone, obedience dropped to 22.5% -Milgram concluded that reduced proximity of the experimenter led to fewer participants obeying -One weakness in Milgram’s experiment 7 is that he placed participants in an artificial laboratory setting to answer the telephone which is not ecologically valid setting for measuring everday obedience to an authority figure giving instructions over the telephone

Question 61

Ordinary Man Gives Orders (experiment 13):

Answer 61

-In an experiment 13 only 20% of participants gave the maximum 450V shock -Obedience level dropped from 65% in Milgram’s original experiment to 20% this demonstrated the dramatic power of uniform -The procedure was standardised so could be replicated to test for reliability -The accomplice was always given the task of recording times at the experimenter’s desk and the experimenter was always called away by a rigged phone call -The participant was deceived so the study has questionable ethics -The experimenter and ordinary man were accomplices of the study which the participant was not made aware of so was lied to

Question 62

Hofling’s study:

Answer 62

1966 -aim: to test whether nurses would follow orders from an unkown authority figure, even if the orders breached hospital rules -procedure: a “doctor” called nurses and instructed them to administer 20 mg of a fictional drug, Astroten -the request broke multiple hospital rules (e.g. taking phone orders, exceeding dosage limits, using unapproved drugs) -findings: 21/22 nurses (95%) complied and prepared to administer the drug -they obeyed despite knowing the risks and rule violations -conclusion: nurses obeyed due to the perceived authority of the “doctor” -highlights how authority figures can override professional training and ethics, even in real-world settings

Question 63

social support:

Answer 63

-social support increases an individual’s confidence that their own view or position is correct -in Asch’s line experiment, conformity dropped when one confederate disagreed with the majority -in Milgram’s experiment, conformity dropped when one confederate disagreed with the majority -in Darley and Latané (1968)- “seizure” experiment -participants in seperate booths discussing health issues via intercom -confederate pretended to have a heart attack during the discussion -1 participant present: helped 85% of the time -2 participants present: helped 62% of the time -4+ participants present: helped 31% of the time -supports Latané’s idea that social impact decreases with more people due to diffusion of responsibility

Question 64

Gamson, Fireman, and Rytina:

Answer 64

1982 -aim: to see if participants would rebel against unjust authority -procedure: advertisement invited participants for a discussion on “community standards” at a Holiday Inn. -groups met a confederate poising as a consultant for a fake human relations company (MHRC) -participants were told the study was about firing a petrol station manager for an “offensive lifestyle” but hinted the real reason was his protest on petrol prices -the discussion was filmed, with the confederate steering it to support firing the manager -participants were later pressured to speak in favor on camera and sign a consent form to use the footage in court -findings: out of 33 groups, 32 rebelled in some way -25 groups refused to sign the consent form -9 groups threatened legal action against MHRC -conclusion: people are capable of rebelling against unjust authority, which contrasts with Milgram’s obedience findings

Question 65

Locus of control, Rotter

Answer 65

1966 -refers to how much control a person feels they have in their own behaviours -two types: internal and external -internal locus of control: you belief to be responsable for their own action, higher probability to rebel -external locus of control: you believe external factors such as luck or fate influence their daily lives and decisions

Question 66

Elms and Milgram:

Answer 66

1974 -investigated background of participants who were classed as dissobedient in first 4 Migrams experiments -they found that disobedient participants had a high internal locus control + scored highly on a social scale

Question 67

Oliner and Oliner:

Answer 67

1988 -they interviewed two groups of non-jewish people who had lived through the holocaust in Nazi German -compared 406 people who had oprotected/rescued Jews from the Nazis with 126 who had not done this -they found that the ‘rescuers’ had scores demonstrating and internal locus of control and scored higher on measures of social responsibility -this studies show that the locus of control and social responsibility are both important factrs in an individuals ability to disobey orders to defy social norms

Question 68

definitions of abnormality: deviation from social norms

Answer 68

-abnormal behaviour deviates from the accepted social rules or expectations of a society -social norms are specific to culture and context (e.g. UK dogs are companions; eating them would be abnormal but normal in other cultures) -context is important (e.g. shouting in public vs. cheering at a football game) -examples: homosexuality -> once considered abnormal in British society but now accepted -dogs as companions in the UK vs. food in other cultures -limitations: cultural relativism -> social norms vary across cultures (what’s abnormal in one may not be in another) -context-dependent -> behaviours depend on the situation and environment -time relative -> norms evolve over time (e.g. shifting views on homosexuality -human rights concerns -> deviation can label noncomformists or minorities unfairly

Question 69

definitions of abnormality: failure to function adequately

Answer 69

-abnormal behaviour occurs when an individual is unable to cope with everyday life, causing personal distress or disrupting daily functioning -features of failure to function (Rosenhan & Selingman, 1989): -unpredictability: behaviour that seems erratic or uncontrolled -maladaptiveness: behaviour that hinders personal or societal goals -personal distress: the individual or others experience emotional discomfort -oberver discomfort: behaviour makes others uncomfortable -violation of moral standards: behaviour breaches societal norms -irrationality: actions that appear nonsensical to others -suffering: inability to manage personal distress and doscomfort -examples: a woman refusing to leave her home due to anxiety is failing to function adequately -limitations: cultural differences -> what is considered “functioning adequately” varies (e.g. behaviours seen an maladaptive in one culture might be valued in another) -normal distress: some distress is normal (e.g. grief after a loss is not necessarily abnormal) -functional abnormality: certain behaviours (e.g. political protests) might cause suffering but serve societal purposes

Question 70

definitions of abnormality: statistical infrequency

Answer 70

-abnormal behaviour is rare and lies at the extremes of a statistical distribution -based on measurable traits or behaviours (e.g. IQ, depression severity) -statistical norms are plotted on a bell curve: most people fall within the middle range, with outliers representing statistical infrequency -example: IQ below 70 or above 130 is considered statistically infrequent -graph: normal distribution curve -> 68% fall within one standard deviation of the mean -13.6% within the second -2.1% at each extreme (statistical infrequency) -limitations: positive outliers -> high IQ or athletic talent are rare but not undesirable -arbitrary thresholds: the boundary for “abnormal” is subjective -cultural bias: some behaviours may be statistically rare in one culture but common in another

Question 71

definitions of abnormality: deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 71

-defines abnormality as the absense of characteristics needed for psychological well-being, as proposed by Jahoda (1958) -key features: positive self-attitude -> high self-esteem and acceptance of oneself -self-actualization: reaching personal potential and goals -stress resistance: ability to cope with stress and adversity -autonomy: independence and self-resilience -accurate perception of reality: realistic understanding of the world -environmental mastery: competence in adapting to demands and relationships -limitations: unrealistic criteria -> most people do not meet all criteria simulteanously -cultural bias: emphasis on Western values (e.g. autonomy) might not apply in collectivist cultures -subjectivity: defining “mental health” is often based on individual and cultural opinions

Question 72

phobias:

Answer 72

-a phobia is an irrational fearful anxiety response to a specific object or situation -psychologically symptoms may include feelings of restlessness and dread, difficulty with concentration, and irrability -physically, symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea, shaking, headaches, palpitations, and muscle tension -5 to 10% of people in the UK have some form of phobia -rates are most likely higher than this as people cope with their problems and do not report it -3 types of phobias: specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia

Question 73

phobias: specific phobia

Answer 73

-sufferers are anxious in the presence of a particular object or specific situation -there are animal types (spiders), natural environment (heights), blood injections (blood), situational types (lifts) and other types (don’t fit into other categories)

Question 74

phobias: social phobia

Answer 74

-sufferers experience innappropiate anxiety in social situations (meetings), even thinking about them -this results in avoidance of these situations, have an effect on their quality of life -7% population approx, tend to be adolescents without an obvious triggering reason

Question 75

phobias: agoraphobia

Answer 75

-is an anxiety disorder where a person has a strong fear of being in places or situations where they feel escape might be difficult or help unavailable if they panic -this often leads to avoiding crowded areas, open spaces, or leaving home alone

Question 76

behaviural explanations for phobias:

Answer 76

Classical conditioning ( Pavlov) -> association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditional stimulus to produce a response Operant conditioning (Skinner) -> learning through consequences such as reward or punishment The two-process model -> theory that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning

Question 77

classical conditioning:

Answer 77

-Something that does not bring about a fear response is paired with something that does bring about a fear response -Association causes the neutral stimulus to become a conditioned stimulus, provoking the fear response

Question 78

operant conditioning:

Answer 78

-maintains the phobias already formed -a phobic response is an unpleasant one, escape fro the object or situation that is causing the fear reduces these feelings. The reduction in anxiety is rewarding so it acts as a negative reinforcement

Question 79

little albert:

Answer 79

1920 -Little albert was shown a white rat -> neutral stimulus -> produced no fear response -Researchers then paired the neutral stimulus with an unconditional stimulus -> showing the rat with a loud noise -> fear response -After several pairings of noise and rat, when shown the rat without the loud noise Albert showed a fear response that he had not shown prior to conditioning

Question 80

Ohman et al.:

Answer 80

1975 - 2 groups -> 1 saw images (spiders and snakes), the other saw another (flowers and mushrooms). - These were paired with and uncomfortable electric shock - then they measured anxiety levels in participants when they were again shown the images without the electric shock - found that fewer electric shocks were needed to condition an anxiety response to fear relevant than fear irrelevant stimul - Also found that while learned responses to the fear irrelevant stimuli disappeared, they persisted with the fear relevant stimuli - suggests that people are more likely to learn fear responses to some stimuli than others - also suggests that bc we have a built-in propensity to fear some things, phobias of such things are likely to be more resistant to treatment resulting in permanent cure Ethical issues - stressful experience, none of the participants had phobic reactions before the study but it is possible that the condition experience triggered an anxiety response to stimuli even after the study

Question 81

behavioural explanations for phobias: strengths

Answer 81

-little Albert , provides support for the theory that fears are learned by associations through classical conditioning -Bandura and Rosenthal (1966) participants observe a confederate receive false electric shocks every time a buzzer sounded to show fear and acted in pain. Participants show fear reaction in response ti the buzzer. ‘vicarious classical conditioning’ -> conditioned emotional response can be acquired by observing another people’s fearful reactions -DiNardo et al. (1988) found over 60% of people with fear of dogs could relate their fear to a frightening experience -Munjack (1984) found that half of people with driving phobia could relate their phobia to a traumatic experience in a car.

Question 82

behavioural explanations for phobias: limitations

Answer 82

Not all people develop a phobia after an identifiable incident - DeNardo et al. (1988) study, in a control group of participants, a similar proportion of participants had experienced a fearful incident with a dog but not developed a phobia Munjack (1984) - half of the people in a control group did not have a phobia despite having had a traumatic experience in a car An association between two events is not enough to induce a phobia in all people there are clearly individual differences in the development of phobias

Question 83

behavioural treatments for phobias:

Answer 83

-behavioural therapies -aim: remove or extinguish the conditioned association between fear and situation/object -systematic disensitisation -flooding therapy

Question 84

systematic disensitisation:

Answer 84

-Joseph Wolpe (1985) -theory based on the principle that one cannot be in a state of relaxation and fear -> reciprocal inhibition 1 step) teach the phobia sufferer relaxation techniques 2 step) therapists works with the individual to develop a hierachy of fear 3 step) person thinks about their feared object and create a list of situation with the phobic object in ascending order 4 step) with help from therapist and in relaxation, they start to think about the situations on the list starting by the bottom, ex: hearing the word spider -they may be presented with the fear situation: -for real (in vivo disensitisation) -imagined (convert disentisisation) -over a period of sessions, the patient will gradually go through the hierarch, they are constantly associating items on the list with deep relaxation -ultimately goal of therapy is to reach the top item on hierarchy while remaining in a state of relaxation

Question 85

flooding therapy:

Answer 85

-Involves putting the phobic individual in a situation where they would be forced to face their phobia. -This inescapable exposure to the feared object/ situation lasts until the fear response disappears -As there is a limit to how long the body can sustain a fear response, there is an assumption with this procedure that as the physical to fear reduces, so too will the high levels of anxiety associated with facing the phobic object / situation -It is important that the session doesn’t end before a reduction in anxiety, otherwise the experience may opposite effect and reinforce the phobia -Flooding is presenting the feared object (vivo exposure). For practical reason it is necessary to use imaginary (in vitro) exposure For example, a person with fear of spiders might be exposed to a continuous bombardment of detailed descriptions of spiders until their reaction had calmed down

Question 86

evalutation: treatments for phobias

Answer 86

Both are most effective when it’s possible to identify the particular situation as the source of the phobia. - For example, it would be possible to treat arachnophobia quite quickly and effectively with both therapies, but not a social phobia where particular source of the phobia can’t be identified Choy et al. (2007) concluded that a range of therapies is effective for the treatment of phobia - For example, people with claustrophobia respond best to cognitive therapy, and exposure to the phobic situation is particularly effective with social phobia and agoraphobia - Behavioural therapies such as systematic desensitisation and flooding appear to be most effective with particular subtypes of specific phobias.

Question 87

limitations: behavioural treatments for phobias

Answer 87

-Systematic desensitisation and flooding therapy need exposure to phobic object / situation -Prospect of this can cause extreme anxiety for someone, therefore individuals have to be highly motivated to take part -Therefore high dropping rate, many sufferers choose to live life coping with their phobia. -Both therapies are highly stressful procedures, many experts believe they should be carried out by training therapists and with medical supervision

Question 88

strengths: behavioural treatments for phobias- Shipley and Boudewyns

Answer 88

1980 -carried out a survey of therapists using flooding to investigate the common view that flooding may produce ‘serious negative side effects’. -Found that 0.2% of 3493 clients undergoing therapy experienced side effects -> mostly brief panic reaction . -Concluded flooding produced the same or fewer side effects compared to other forms of therapy, making it a safe, effective and appropriate treatment for the majority of clients.

Question 89

strengths: behavioural treatments for phobias- Willis and Edwards

Answer 89

1969 -compared the effectiveness of systematic desensitisation to implosion therapy -Their sample consisted of 50 female undergraduate students, all with fear of mice -First group -> systematic desensitisation -Second group -> implosion therapy -Third group -> in a control condition and received no therapy for their aversion to mice -They assessed the degree of aversion to mice in participants 7 to 8 weeks after treatment -They found that those who had received systematic desensitisation showed the best outcome in terms of behaviours related to the avoidance of mice, with implosion therapy being no more effective in this regard than having no treatment at all.

Question 90

cognitive explanation for depression: Beck’s negative triad

Answer 90

1967 - depression is a disorder of thought rather than mood - result of how an individual thinks about themselves, their world and their future -7foundations of thinking in this way are often bc of childhood As result of unhappy experiences, individuals develop negative schemas that lead to automatic negative thoughts and events, an trigger memories in an individual of circumstances that first led them to acquire negative schemas - errors of logic -> cognitive distortions or biases

Question 91

Cognitive distortions or biases:

Answer 91

-overgeneralisation: a tendency to make general conclusions based on single events, e.g. ‘This always happen to me’ -personalisation: the negative feeling of others are attrtibuted to something about you, e.g. ‘He didn’t say hello when he passed; he must not like me’ -minimisation: underplaying positive events and outcomes, e.g. ‘That grade A was just a fluke’ -magnification: exaggerating the significance of event, e.g. ‘I couldn’t do that, I’m just hopeless at everything’ -selective asbtraction: a tendency to focus on some (usually negative) aspects and ignore other things that could lead to a positive conclusion, e.g. despite everything else going well at an interview, you dwell on the one thing you feel did not go so well

Question 92

Shahs et al.:

Answer 92

2008 3 types of negative self schema -Sociotropic -> close interpersonal relationships, see themselves as failing at relationships -Autonomous -> personal achievement + social rank, see themselves as failing to achieve goals in life + work -Self-critical -> person’s perceptions of their shortcomings

Question 93

Ellis’ ABC model:

Answer 93

1987 Irrational thinking-> Emotional problems and associated maladaptive behaviour not a life event that causes difficulty but the way we think about them For Ellis we all have the goal of happiness in all aspects of our life In normal life, these goals are frequently blocked and our reaction can be rational or irrational. Irrational could cause feelings of depression. The consequence is not caused by the activating event, it is caused by the belief. irrational beliefs-> unhealthy negative reaction-> depression

Question 94

cognitive explanation for depression: positives

Answer 94

Lloyd and Lishman (1975) -Participants with depression recalled pleasant or unpleasant past experiences in response to stimulus words. -Those with low-level depression recalled pleasant memories faster than those with deeper depression, with response times slowing as depression severity increased. This supports the idea that depression is linked to automatic negative thinking. -Hamden and Krantz (1976) -Researchers investigated errors in logic among depressed individuals. -Female participants read and interpreted paragraphs about women in difficult situations. -Depressed participants made more errors in logic compared to non-depressed participants, supporting cognitive theory.

Question 95

cognitive explanation for depression: negatives

Answer 95

It is challenging to determine if distorted and irrational thinking causes depression. Although studies show that depressed individuals exhibit more negative thinking than non-depressed individuals, there is no clear evidence that negative thinking precedes depression. Negative thinking might be a consequence of depression rather than its cause. Research into the neurochemistry of depression suggests it may be caused by insufficient levels of certain neurotransmitters. The success of drug treatments, such as those increasing serotonin, indicates that negative thinking might be a symptom of depression rather than its cause, at least for some individuals.

Question 96

cognitive treatment for depression: CBT

Answer 96

-the most widely used is some form of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) -this therapy was developed by Beck and is based on his theory of depression -Beck's CBT was intended to be relatively brief, consisting of about 20 sessions over 16 weeks -it is an active, directive therapy that focuses on the here and now, although, in the initial session, the therapist often asks for background information about the past to shed some light on current circumstances -the therapy aims to identify and alter negative belifs and expectations and to alter dysfunctional behaviours that are contributing to or mantaining the depression -in doing this, the therapist employs a range of strategies

Question 97

CBT: method

Answer 97

-behavuoural activation: encourages the client to identify pleasureable activities that they no longer participante in and to identify and overcomes cognitive obstacles in carrying them out -graded homework assignments: given to allow the client to try out new ways of thinking and to engage in progressively more rewarding activities -thought-catching: the client is encouraged to record ther automatic negative thoughts and thoughts of how they might challenge these -cognitive restructuring: restructuring negative thought processes to overcome cognitive distortions and biases -problem solving: the client is taught ways of thinking more constructively about problems and solutions

Question 98

REBT:

Answer 98

-based on his ABC Model, Ellis developed a therapy called rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) -the main goal of REBT is to challenge irrational beliefs into rational ones so that individuals react to events in healthy ways -however, Ellis points out that this is not necessarily easily achieved, as people cling on to irrational beliefs using 'musturbatory thinking', which refers to the underlying assumptions an individual holds, which Ellis referres to as the 'three musts': 1. I must do well and win approval of others or I am no good 2. Other people must treate me kindly and in the way I expect to be treated 3. Life must be easy and without inconvenience

Question 99

REBT: method

Answer 99

-therapy requires an invidual to tacke these irrational beliefs, so they accept themslves, faulsts and all, they accept others for what they say and that other people will not necessarily to be fair or kind, and accept that life has its ups and downs -the client is helpedd to challenge their irrational beliefs and replace them with rational alternatives -in effect, they are being moved from an unhealthy reaction (C) by changing their beliefs (B) about the activating event (A)

Question 100

Christensen et al.:

Answer 100

2004 -aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions in improving well-being and reducing symtoms of depression and anxiety -method: randomized controlled trials with participants assigned to interventions (e.g., gratitude exercises, mindfulness training) or control groups -findings: participants in the intervention group showed greater improvements in happiness and life satisfaction -there was significant reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety -the benefits were more pronounced in those who activeky participated and mantained the practices over time -conclusion: positive psychology interventions are an effective, low cost method to enhance mental health, particularly when consistently practiced

Question 101

evaluation of CBT: Robinson et al.

Answer 101

limitation 1990 -reviewed 57 studies into the effectiveness of treatments for depression -found that psychological therapies were comparable in their effectiveness and appropiatness to drug therapy, and better than no treatment at all -however, they could find no signficiant evidence that CBT was more effective that other forms of psychological therapy -they also found that while CBT was better than no treatment, it was no more effective in reducing depressive symptoms than a placebo treatment -it seems that, for at least some sufferers, thinking they are in treatment has a similar effect to actually having the treatment -this fits in with a criticsm of psychological therapies in general-that it is a relationship with a therapist that is important rather than any particular technique

Question 102

another limitation for CBT:

Answer 102

-CBT is more appropiate for treatment with some people than others -Simon et al. (1995) found that CBT is not effective for people who have very rigid attitudes and are resistant to change, or for people who have high stress levels in response to genuinly difficult life circumstances that therapy cannot resolve

Question 103

strength for CBT:

Answer 103

-CBT appears to be as effective as medication in reducing symptoms of depression in the acute phase (when depression is at its worst), and some research has shown that CBT is superior to drug therapy in treating the residual symptoms that remain after medication -CBT is often used effectively in conjunction with antidepressant medication -Keller et al. (2000) for example, conducted a large comparison study and found that the recovery rates were 55% using the drug alone, 52% using CBT alone, but 85% using both therapies

Question 104

another strength for CBT:

Answer 104

-a strength of CBT can be seen in how its techniques are appropiate for use in a wide variety of situations and modes of delivery -it has been used successfully with individuals of all ages with degrees of depression from mild to severe -the flexbility of this tretaments and strength of some of its technique can be seen in its success when used remotely -recently, interactive software programmes have been approved for use by NICE, who provide national guidance and advice on healthcare in the UK, and two programmes are currently supported by the NHS