Unit 2: core studies, areas, perspective's, and debates Flashcards

Question

why was a pilot study done before Banduras main study ?

Answer 1

to ensure that the study was credible for investigating sensory deprivation.

Answer 2

preliminary stage the task

Answer 3

the participants met a researcher in the lab of the university. the researcher was: -formally dressed -stern demeanour the researcher asked them to write down the names of 5 fellow students and then gave them a fake cover story of the research he was conducting. participants were debriefed and asked not to discuss this research with friends and colleges

Answer 4

participants are taken into a new room, are sat in front of a computer and asked to write a statement for their fellow student's recommending the research. there was also a research committee form they ere given to tick if they wanted to blow the whistle on the study. the researcher then left the room for 7 minutes. this gave the participants an opportunity to write the statement or not, and report the research to the committee.

Answer 5

some different university students precited that the majority of the students would whistleblow (65%)

Answer 6

77% were obedient

Answer 7

participants completed a personality questionaire called a HEXACO PI-R

Answer 8

there are no personality differences between those that do and don’t whistle-blow/those who obey or disobey

Answer 9

Participants were told the study wasn’t real and were probed for suspiciousness about the nature of the study. Debriefed by the researcher, to ensure they didn’t feel uncomfortable about their performance and that they had been deceived “Please do not discuss this research with friends and colleagues” Participants fill out a second consent form to allow their data to be used Given an email address to ask questions about the study, or to complain

Answer 10

(blowing the whistle) is challenging for people, even when it appears to be the easiest path to follow Most people will obey when asked to do an unethical thing by an authority figure People’s personality and individual characteristics don’t seem to influence how obedient they are

Answer 11

Following the murder of Kitty Genovese, social psychologists began to investigate why people fail to help someone in need.

Answer 12

This study was designed to investigate how a group of people would react if they saw a person who collapsed on a train. Would an ill person get more help than a drunk person? (the type of victim) Would people help others of the same race before helping those of different races? If a model started helping the victim, would that encourage others to also help? Would the number of bystanders who saw the victim influence how much help was given?

Answer 13

where people fail to act and help someone in need when others are present.

Answer 14

where there is a victim and lots of bystanders are present, each individual takes less responsibility so no one helps (thinking someone else will)

Answer 15

Participants were passengers who were on board the 8th Avenue subway express train in New York. They did not know they were taking part in a study, gave no consent and were not debriefed. Approximately 4,450 participants took part in the study over three months. 55% of them were white and 45% were black.

Answer 16

The study took place daily on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. over three months. The experiment always took place between the same two stops on the train as there was a 7.5 minute period with no interruptions. Using teams of university students, a situation was created on the train to see how passengers would react to it. 70 seconds into the journey, one of the university students (male) would stagger forwards and collapse on the train. The student would always collapse in the same spot – designated the ‘critical area’. The other side of the carriage was called the ‘adjacent area’. Participants’ reactions were then observed covertly by two observers. On some trials the victim would appear to be ILL and hold a walking cane. On other trials the victim would appear DRUNK and smell of alcohol. He would always be dressed the same way (in a military style jacket called an Eisenhower jacket) The RACE of the victim would also vary. Sometimes he was white, and other times black. In some groups, a MODEL (one of the students, who was acting) would help the VICTIM. The number of passengers on the train would also vary.

Answer 17

A number of different factors were observed: The race, gender and location of passengers on the train. The race, gender and location of passengers who helped the victim. How long it took passengers to help the victim. What passengers said to each other when they noticed the victim. At the end of the three months, the teams had conducted 103 trials on the train. Most of these were ill trials rather than drunk though (they didn’t like doing the drunk trials).

Answer 18

Spontaneous help given on 62/65 cane (ill) trials compared to only 19/38 drunk trials. Help was offered more quickly to the cane victim (a median of 5 seconds compared to 109 seconds delay for the drunk victim). 90% of the first helpers were males.

Answer 19

“It’s for men to help him” “I wish I could help- I’m not strong enough”

Answer 20

The state of the victim affects how likely people are to help Males are more likely to help than females There was no diffusion of responsibility (help came quicker and in greater numbers when more people were present on the carriage), which contradicts the previous research into bystander apathy.

Answer 21

previous research has found that people in urban areas tend to be less likely to help, than those in rural areas.

Answer 22

- to see if cultures vary in levels of help offered ti people in need -to see if a tendency to help is stable across different helping situations - to identify characteristics of cultures, where strangers are more or less likely to be helped

Answer 23

. Data was collected in 23 different cities around the world (north america, south america, Africa, europe, asia) (New York, Amsterdam, Rio De Janeiro) . in most of the cities, it was one student - usually returning home for summer vacation - who collected the data. All the experimenters were Male, college age, and dressed neatly and casually

Answer 24

(drop a pen whilst walking) (drop a pile of magazines whilst walking with a heavy limp, and wearing a large and clearly visible leg brace) (act like a blind person needing help to cross the road) - these conditions were all done in the city center on a clear day, during business hours (9-5) - these scenarios were not done in front of children or elderly people with disabilities

Answer 25

1). there was a significant variation between cultures and helping behaviour (93% helped in Rio De Janeiro, only 40% helped in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia) 2). overall, a cities helping rate was relatively stable across the 3 measures

Answer 26

: population size of the city : average income and its purchasing power : how collectivist or individualistic a country was : pace of life

Answer 27

average income and its purchasing power pace of life

Answer 28

+ levels of help offered does vary across different cultures + this is related to the wealth of different cultures + sympatia cultures

Answer 29

behaviour develops over time throughout a persons life. upbringing and childhood experiences affect adult behaviours.

Answer 30

external influences on children's behaviour moral development stages of development social learning theory operant conditioning

Answer 31

Bandura investigated how children might learn behaviour. the study shows that a childs external environment can have a large influence on their later behaviour. children will learn behaviour simply through observing others (adults, role models), and will imitate beaviour they see. this can be both positive or negative behaviours.

Answer 32

Kohlbergs study suggests that children's moral reasoning changes as they get older and develop in fixed stages. kohlberg suggested these stages follow an invariant development developmental sequence which is not affected by cultural or social differences.

Answer 33

shows that children can learn behaviour through positive and negative reinforcement (e.g. Funhaler). more positive attentions towards the funhaler and it was used more.

Answer 34

suggests that cultural differences DO impact moral reasoning and judgments about lying and truth telling as Chinese & Canadian children showed differences in how they judged lying and truth telling in pro-social situations (Chinese children believed it was acceptable to lie about doing a good deed as it shows modesty).

Answer 35

+ often uses longitudinal research so we can see how behaviour develops + helps investigate whether behaviour is influenced by nature or nurture

Answer 36

- often we use children which can break ethical guidelines - research can be socially sensitive (parents blamed in Banduras study)

Answer 37

One feature which made the study seem realistic was the use of the shock generator, which appeared realistic as it looked genuine with its switches, wires, and sounds. Also, the participants were given a sample shock of 45 volts which made them believe the shock generator was administering real shocks – again, making it seem real to life.

Answer 38

The experiment was carried out at a prestigious university (Yale) so the participants believed the research had a worthy purpose and that it was important that they continue. The participants felt obliged to continue and therefore give the shocks as they had volunteered and been paid $4.50 to take part.

Answer 39

The participants were in a position in which they had to respond to the competing demands of two people: the experimenter and the learner. They had to decide whether to follow the demands of the experimenter, or consider the harm being caused to the learner and stop giving shocks. The participant is unable to satisfy both the experimenter and the learner, and this leaves them stressed and under emotional strain.

Answer 40

One problem with measuring obedience in this way is that the task of giving electric shocks as a punishment lacks ecological validity. We cannot assume that the level of obedience shown here would reflect the level of obedience found in a real-life situation.

Answer 41

All 40 of the participants (100%) were prepared to give electric shocks to the learner up to the 300-volt level. Of the 40 participants, 26 of them (i.e. 65%) were prepared to give electric shocks to the learner up to the maximum level of 450 volts.

Answer 42

Milgram called an ambulance to help the participant

Answer 43

Moray believed that we all had an international barrier allowing us to block out other conversations we are not listening to. - Moray's study wanted to provide evidence for Cherry's previous study using a dichostic listening task, where he found that people tended to fail to notice the details of the unattended messages.

Answer 44

is where 2 messages are played simultaneously, one in each ear and asks participants to repeat aloud one of the messages.

Answer 45

where when our name is called, our attention is likely to switch, even if we were not paying attention to them beforehand.

Answer 46

To replicate Cherry's findings and provide evidence for the cocktail party effect in a more rigorous and scientific way.

Answer 47

Male and Female Oxford University Undergraduate Students

Answer 48

dichostic listening tasks

Answer 49

where there are two different messages playing in either ear

Answer 50

participants had to repeat a piece of prose that they could hear in one ear. (attended message) in the other ear another passage was played reading a list of simple words. (rejected message) at the end of the experiment participants completed a recognition task.

Answer 51

the participants were showed a list of 21 words, that they didn't know ere split into 3 categories - from shadowed passage - from rejected passage - from neither participants they had to choose the words they recognised

Answer 52

participants were much more bale to recognise words from the shadowed passage

Answer 53

they added names in the passage to see if personal messages grabbed participants attention

Answer 54

participants were far more likely to hear the instructions if they were personal (included the participants name)

Answer 55

in this experiment the rejected passage or shadowed passage was spoken number digits

Answer 56

there was no significant difference in the number digits recalled by the 2 different groups (rejected/ shadowed passage)

Answer 57

1). almost none of the verbal content from the rejected passage penetrated the participants intentional barrier 2). a short list of simple words wasn't memorised, even when it was repeated several times

Answer 58

previous research suggested that children will imitate behaviours of role models, but only when the adults are present

Answer 59

to investigate whether children would imitate a models aggression when the model was no longer present and if they would show the behaviours in a different way also Bandura wanted to investigate if gender of the model or the child would impact on children's aggression

Answer 60

72 children from Stanford University Nursery 3-5 yrs old 36 boys 36 girls

Answer 61

Matched participant design

Answer 62

a matched participant design is one where the participants are matched based on similar characteristics

Answer 63

Pre-Testing

Answer 64

tested the children on specific characteristics (physical aggression, verbal aggression) before putting them into 3 different groups

Answer 65

children were taken individually into a room in the nursery and started playing with toys - some children saw an aggressively acting adult - some children saw a non-aggressive adult playing - some children did not see an adult role model

Answer 66

after 10 mins the children were taken into a 2nd room, with lots of colorful fun toys to play with 2 minutes later the researcher came back in to tell the children that these toys were not for them to play with this was an attempt to anger the children

Answer 67

the children were then taken back into a room with lots of toys to play with and a smaller version of the previous bobo doll from stage 1 the toys included normal toys such as crayons and animals, as well as aggressive toys such as guns and a hammer they observed for 20 mins, too see if they imitated the behaviour shown by the adults in stage 1

Answer 68

children who saw an aggressive model were more likely to show aggression (boys watching an aggressive model gave 25.8 aggressive acts vs only 1.5 when watching a male non-aggressive model)

Answer 69

"that aint no way for a lady to behave."

Answer 70

- children can learn to imitate behaviours of role models - children are more likely to imitate a role model of the same sex

Answer 71

involves learning through the consequences of your actions

Answer 72

Asthma is a chronic condition that effects about 1 in 4 people in Australia even though, there are treatments for asthma, the problem is some people, i particular children, do not use their inhalers correctly which can lead to risks to their health

Answer 73

To investigate whether operant conditioning (rewards), could be used to encourage children to adhere to using their asthma medication

Answer 74

- 32 children - from Australia - Between 1.5 - 6 yrs old - 75% over 3 yrs old

Answer 75

. the aerochamber inhaler . the breath-a-tech inhaler

Answer 76

The Funhaler

Answer 77

the toy ball spins more and the whistle blows louder when the inhaler is used correctly by the child

Answer 78

children and parents will know when it is being used correctly and so it reduces anxiety and stress

Answer 79

parents filled out an initial questionnaire about the standard inhaler, measuring: . how effectively it was used . problems with it . children's attitude towards it

Answer 80

- parents were given the funhaler to use with their child for 2 weeks - the parents were then randomly contacted by telephone and asked if they had used the Funhaler the previous day

Answer 81

a second questionnaire was given to the parents to measure: . the effectiveness of the Funhaler . problems with the Funhaler . children's attitude towards using the Funhaler . parents attitudes towards the Funhaler (acceptance etc)

Answer 82

> 73% of the parents were successfully able to medicate their child when using the Funhaler, compared to 10% when using the ordinary inhaler > only 3% of the children screamed when the Funhaler was brought close to them, compared to 48% when the ordinary inhaler was given to them

Answer 83

* children were more likely to use their Funhaler correctly compared to ordinary inhalers (this suggests operant conditioning is an effective way of treating children with Asthma)

Answer 84

Kholberg looked at other psychologists had thought about moral development before he created his own research.

Answer 85

people learn morals through their parents (role models, imitation, positive and negative reinforcement)

Answer 86

your morals are a result of your superego (your conscious)

Answer 87

To investigate how children move throughout different stages of moral development, as they get older and to see if there are any cultural differences in how this happens.

Answer 88

. 75 american boys . study went on for 12 years . started when they were 11-16 yrs old . finished when they were 22-28 yrs old

Answer 89

1). every boy was presented with a moral dilemma every 3 years for 12 years 2). using answers they gave, kholberg ranked them in 6 categories (1 least morally developed, 6 most morally developed) he did this in 6 different countries (Malaysia, UK etc) this formed Kholbergs moral stages of development

Answer 90

as we grow up our moral thinking develops in stages, as it develops our moral development grows

Answer 91

Pre-Conventional Level Conventional Level Post-Conventional Level

Answer 92

people (usually children) are well behaved only because of the physical consequences

Answer 93

people conform to the social norms and expectations of society, because rules must be followed

Answer 94

people set their own personal moral principles which may differ from those of their social group

Answer 95

1). obedience & punishment 2). self-interest 3). interpersonal accord & social conformity 4). authority and maintaining social conduct 5). social contract (Tom gets beaten up in school for beating up a year 1 girl) 6). universal ethical principles (justice)

Answer 96

* kholberg discovered that peoples moral development follows an invariant developmental sequence (meaning that everyone regardless of culture, social background, religion, move through the same 6 stages of moral development in the same order, a stage is never skipped)

Answer 97

longitudinal study

Answer 98

You follow the same set of children as they get older and test them at different ages

Answer 99

investigating different children in each age group and compare their results on a test

Answer 100

+ participant variables are controlled (same participants) + a large amount of data can be collected + researchers can record the precise moments in which children change/develop

Answer 101

- participants may drop out of the study - It will take a long time before all the results are in, which may limit the replicability of the study and can make it expensive - Demand characteristics - It is likely to be done with a relatively small sample, meaning results can be distorted by anomalous (atypical) individuals within the cohort being studies

Answer 102

+ Results are obtained more quickly than longitudinal research + It is likely that there will be less attrition of the sample + It is easier to do with a large sample of participants, meaning the researcher can establish if they have got reliable results (a consistent effect

Answer 103

- There will be participant variables - You only get a snapshot of development and do not see changes in an individual over a long period of time

Answer 104

To investigate whether the culture a child grows up in (individualistic or collectivist) affects their views about truth-telling and lying. (they also wanted to investigate whether this changed as the children got older)

Answer 105

societies that emphasis the individual, their rights, attitudes, and needs.

Answer 106

societies that emphasise the group, its decisions and needs and the duties of the individual to that group

Answer 107

Chinese children Canadian children

Answer 108

Honesty Modesty

Answer 109

120 children (aged 7,9,11 yrs old) CHINA 108 children (aged 7,9,11 yrs old) CANADA

Answer 110

1). children were all tested individually 2). each child was read 4 different stories 3). the stories were designed to represent & reflect situations that would be familiar to them 4). the children were randomly split into 2 groups 1/2 children were read social stories (individual interacting with others) 1/2 children were read physical stories (individual interacting with objects)

Answer 111

doing something good and telling the truth about it

Answer 112

doing something good and not telling the truth about it

Answer 113

doing something bad and telling the truth about it

Answer 114

doing something bad and not telling the truth about it

Answer 115

by using a rating scale

Answer 116

. children from China came to view this less positively as they got older

Answer 117

. children from China came to view this more positively as they got older

Answer 118

- culture had no influence (both cultures rating telling truth about doing something bad, positively)

Answer 119

Chinese children believed that: "one should not leave ones name after doing a good dead."

Answer 120

Lee concluded that there are differences in moral development between different cultures, and it is because of social and cultural rules.

Answer 121

the failure to see an event or object that is in your field of vision because you are so focused on other elements pf what you can see

Answer 122

Neisser did a study in the previous years of Simon and chabris study, which looked at a similar scenario whereby there were 2 teams playing a game involving a basketball, then randomly a lady with an umbrella walked through the middle of the game. Many of the participant's and viewers did not recognise/see the lady.

Answer 123

1)> To investigate if inattentional blindness would be more likely if the unexpected event was similar to the attended event. 2)> To investigate if particularly unusual events would be more likely to be seen. 3)> To investigate whether participant's would have trouble noticing the unexpected event when the task was more difficult. 4)> To investigate the effect of the 'transparent' video and to compare if the same level of blindness would occur in a more realistic 'opaque' video.

Answer 124

228 observers undergraduate students

Answer 125

a video clip of two teams (Black and White) passing a ball around, and to count the number of passes of the ball.

Answer 126

Difficult: (the participant kept sperate mental notes of the number of ariel passes ad the number of bounce passes that their team made) Simple: (the participant kept a mental note of all the passes made by their team)

Answer 127

- the type of video (transparent or opaque) - the type of event (umbrella woman or gorilla) - the difficulty of the focused task (easy or hard)

Answer 128

record the no. of passes on paper Then, answer a number of questions

Answer 129

1). While you were doing the counting, did you notice anything unusual ? 2). Did you notice anything other than the 6 players ? 3). Did you see a gorilla or a woman carrying an umbrella, walk across the screen ?

Answer 130

. The overall level of inattentional blindness was 46% . the type of video had an effect on the level of inattentional blindness . the type of difficulty of the task had an effect on the level of inattentional blindness

Answer 131

that inattentional blindness occurs in dynamic events that are sustained, lasting more than 5 seconds.

Answer 132

Bartlett (a psychologist) stated that our memory is not like a film where the event is played back exactly as it happens. Instead, he believed that we reconstruct the event, which is affected by our past-experiences and pre-existing beliefs about what typically might happen. (reconstructive memory) Our memories can get distorted from what we already know.

Answer 133

mental representations of what actually happens in different situations, based on passed experiences. they allow us to make sense of the world.

Answer 134

To investigate the effect of language (in particular leading questions) on memory.

Answer 135

Participants watched video clips which included staged car crashes. Following the clip, they were given a questionnaire which included several smokescreen questions to disguise the aim, and the critical question.

Answer 136

About how fast were the cars going when they ___________ each other? (smashed, bumped, collided, hit, or contacted)

Answer 137

IV: verb used in the critical question (smashed, bumped, collided, hit, or contacted) DV: the estmated speed (mph)

Answer 138

that the verb did change the speed estimate

Answer 139

1). [response bias] Participants were not sure whether to say 30 or 40mph but the verb smashed biased them towards giving a higher estimate. 2). [the verb affected their memory] The verb used caused a change in the participants’ memory for the event so “smashed” led them to remember the event as being more serious than it was.

Answer 140

was to see which of the explanations were correct

Answer 141

The exact same as in experiment 1 however: - A new set of participants watched one video clip containing a multiple car crash. - One group heard the word smashed, another heard the word hit, and a third group acted as a control and were not asked about the speed. - they were asked a week later whether they had seen any broken glass (there wasn't any)

Answer 142

smashed- 40.8 mph contacted- 31.8 mph

Answer 143

participant's in the 'smashed' condition were more likely to give a 'yes' response to the question about broken glass

Answer 144

questions asked subsequent to an event can cause a reconstruction in ones memory of that event. the verb used in a question can affect the speed a witness estimates a vehicle to have been travelling at and also whether they recall any broken glass.

Answer 145

is where memory is improved if the environment that the learning takes place in is the same as the environment where memory is recalled.

Answer 146

is when you have to remember information with no prompts to remind you.

Answer 147

recognising something that triggers your memory.

Answer 148

predicted that context dependent memory will benefit recall but not recognition tasks

Answer 149

a previous study was done investigating context-dependent where some deep sea divers learned words underwater and some learned them on land. When the divers were tested on the words they had learnt, when the environment matched they could better recall the words.

Answer 150

to investigate context-dependent memory effects on both recall and recognition for meaningful information (as opposed for just a list of words)

Answer 151

(8 psychology students for Iowa State University acted as experimenters in the study.) They recruited 5 acquaintances as participants in this study. However, one particpants results were not included in the final analysis leaving a final sample of (39 participants). (Aged 17-56 years old) (17 females 23 males)

Answer 152

1). participants were asked to read once through a 2 page academic article on the subject of psychoimmunology while wearing a pair of headphones. 2). 1/2 of the participants did it while listening to background noise taken from a ui cafeteria. 3). 1/2 the participants did it in silence 4). they then had a 2 min break 5). The participant's then completed 10 recall questions and 16 multiple choice questions on what they had read. they did this again with headphone but this time 1/2 of each study group did it listening to background noise and the other 1/2 in silence.

Answer 153

mean number of correct answers were higher when they completed the recall tests in the same conditions that they completed the reading task in.

Answer 154

. the results supported the idea that context-dependent memory is found for meaningful information rather than just lists . both recall and recognition of information is better with context matches

Answer 155

. epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects about 600,000 people in the UK, causing seizures . seizures can be debilitating, and one treatment for severe epilepsy involves surgery to cut the nerve fibres connecting the 2 hemispheres of the brain. . Sperry has previously investigated this surgery with cats and monkeys , where he found that you could teach one hemisphere of the brain a task whilst the other was unaware of the information learned, suggesting the brain is made up of 2 separate modules.

Answer 156

where each hemisphere has a different function (the left specializing in language processing)

Answer 157

each hemisphere of the brain controls the operate side of the body and visual field.

Answer 158

a bundle of nerves that allow communication between the 2 brain hemispheres.

Answer 159

surgery carried out on the brain, to cut out the corpus collosum

Answer 160

- sperry aimed to investigate the function/abilities of each hemisphere of the brain. - sperry also wanted to investigate the effects of disconnecting the 2 hemispheres of the brain

Answer 161

11 participants in total, who had had a comissurtomy to treat their epilepsy - 2 had been operated on years before - 9 had only recently been operated on there was also a control group fro comparison

Answer 162

2 Tasks (visual task) (tactile task)

Answer 163

. it involved investigating what the patients could do when information was flashed on a screen in front of them to one visual field. 1). participants sat down in front of the tachistoscpope with one eye covered 2). they were asked to stare at the fixation point on the screen in front of them and images were flashed up on the screen for 1/10th second. 3). participants were asked to either: - name the object - draw the object - point to the object from a collection of photos

Answer 164

. involved investigating what patients could do when touching an object with one hand 1). participants sat down with their hands shielded from view 2). they were asked to pick up objects with one hand from behind the screen 3). they were then asked to either: - name the object - point to it from a collection of photos - or pick up the object again

Answer 165

. the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right visual field, vice versa . participants could pick up any of the same objects again if they used the same hand as before

Answer 166

- with the corpus callosum cut, one side of the brain doesn't know what the other side of the brain is doing - left hemisphere also controls speech, writing, and language

Answer 167

The Marshmallow Test: - Mischel tested 4 year old children by putting a marshmallow in front of them, the child was told by the researcher that once they had left the room the children could either eat the marshmallow or wait another 15 mins, until the researcher returned to redeem another marshmallow.

Answer 168

1). to see if those who did the marshmallow test at 4 and who struggled to delay gratification at that age, still struggled with resisting temptation in adulthood. 2). to examine activity in areas of the brain thought to be associated with the ability to resist temptation.

Answer 169

562 four-year-olds took part in the initial marshmallow test they followed up these children who were now in their 20s using a self-report measure they followed up these people again in their 30s using a self-report measure finally, they followed up the participants in their 40s now and were asked to take part in the study . only those who were consistently high delayers or low delayers were contacted

Answer 170

participants who consistently gave into temptation

Answer 171

participants who consistently resisted temptation and could delay gratification for longer period of time

Answer 172

2 tasks (cool task) (hot task)

Answer 173

participants completed an impulse control task called the Go/No-Go task . they would have to press a button when they saw one stimulus (e.g. a female face) and not press the button when they saw the other stimulus (e.g. male face)

Answer 174

in this task, faces with happy expressions acted as 'hot' stimuli, so would be alluring or tempting to adults in the same way marshmallows were to 4-year olds. this time the 2 stimuli were happy or fearful faces. . participants had to press a button when they saw one of the emotions (happy/fearful)

Answer 175

1). Participants were tested individually and completed the test on a laptop computer that was sent to their home. 2). Participants took part in a impulse control task – also known as a “Go/No-go” task. 3). Participants are told on screen that they will be shown a series of male and female faces. 4). Each face appeared on screen for 500ms. 5). Participants are instructed to push a button every time a certain type of face appears e.g. a male face (this is a “go” face) and NOT to push a button if the female face appears (a “no go” face). 6). Participants are told to complete the task as quickly and accurately as possible. Their reaction times and accuracy were recorded afterwards. 7). Every time the participants see a new face is called “a trial”. 8). Every participant did 4 sets of 160 trials. 9). 2 of the sets were “cool” versions of the task The other 2 sets were “hot” versions of the task

Answer 176

there was no difference between high delayers and low delayers

Answer 177

the low delayers made more errors than the high delayers

Answer 178

Low delayers (people who struggled to resist temptation as 4-year olds) showed more difficulty suppressing responses to happy faces in their forties.

Answer 179

to find an answer to his 2nd aim (to investigate the ability to resist temptation is due to the activity of the brain, if so which regions of the brain might be implicated in the ability to delay gratification)

Answer 180

The prefrontal cortex, (the inferior frontal gyrus)

Answer 181

The limbic system, (the ventral straitum)

Answer 182

monitored brain activity whilst completing a task

Answer 183

- the Low Delayers showed lower activity in the frontal gyrus, but more activity in ventral straitum - the High Delayers showed higher activity in the frontal gyrus, but less activity in the ventral staritum

Answer 184

. being able to delay gratification is a useful ability that can help with long term decision making and goals . the results showed us a biological reason why some people have better self-control than others

Answer 185

- resisting temptation/ or not is a relatively stable individual characteristic - (people who struggled with self-control aged 4, generally still struggle with self-control) - the study suggests that the ability to delay gratification is made more difficult by happy faces

Answer 186

. our behaviour is driven by internal mental processes (such as attention, memory) . the mind processes like a computer, with inputs from senses, processing information, and retrieval

Answer 187

- context-dependent memory - reconstructive memory - schema theory - inattentional blindness - the cocktail part effect

Answer 188

- investigated auditory attention - showed we are unable to process information we are n0t attending unless its meaningful to us - participants failed to notice information in the rejected passage unless it was direct to them

Answer 189

-investigated an internal mental process (memory) - showed that this can be distorted by info gained after an event - participants gave higher speed estimates and reported less broken glass seen after the crash when the verb "smashed" was used in comparison to the word "contacted".

Answer 190

- provides evidence for inattentional blindess - participants often failed to notice the person on the gorilla outfit -this is even more likely to be missed if the task is more difficult

Answer 191

- investigated memory - showed this is influenced by the environment in which information is learned and retrieved in - when the environment we learn information in is the same as the environment we recall it in, we will have better recall, due to context-dependent memory

Answer 192

+ Research has practical applications (e.g. for students wanting to remember material) + Research is often scientific (highly controlled and replicable) + Findings are unlikely to be ethnocentric (i.e. the mind can be expected to work in the same ways in all cultures)

Answer 193

- Research often lacks ecological validity - Cognitive processes can’t be studied directly, and the reliance on self-report can raise problems with demand characteristics or socially desirable answers

Answer 194

. Do revision sessions for students in the exam hall . In an emergency, use someone’s NAME (e.g. smoke alarms) Ban mobile phones for people who are driving

Answer 195

Brain Plasticity

Answer 196

the idea that your brain adapts and changes according to what your doing your life and the demands placed on it.

Answer 197

investigated the visual cortex of the brain in kittens. . kittens wore special goggles so they could see only horizontal and vertical stripes in the other eye . when the goggles were removed, the kittens showed visual defects and that their visual neurons had adapted to the environment they had seen in each eye.

Answer 198

1). investigate the effects of being raised in restricted visual environments on kittens 2). investigate the effects of this environment on behaviour 3). investigate the neurophysiological effects on the kittens neurons and visual cortex (to measure brain plasticity)

Answer 199

. like humans, cats eyes are binocular and see in colour. both species have good vision . cats brains have a visual cortex which is located in similar place to that in the humans . it would be ethical to do the experiment on human infants

Answer 200

a part of our brains which receives and processes visual information from the retinas of the eye

Answer 201

the automatic reaction to sudden or threatening stimuli (e.g. flinching when an object is hrusted towards your face)

Answer 202

the tendency of kittens to reach out and place their paws in front of them when being carried towards and surface (ready to touch down on the surface)

Answer 203

1). newborn kittens were raised in a completely dark for 2 weeks. 2). after 2 weeks the kittens were placed inside a 2m high x 46cm diameter cylinder for 6 hours a day. (then returned to the dark room) 3). the kittens were only able to either horizontal or vertical lines until they reached 5 months old. 4). After 5 months (this was thought to be the critical period for brain development) they were put in a well lit room with furniture (including chairs and tables) and their behaviour was observed over several weeks.

Answer 204

. lid placed on top of the cylinder and illuminated above . wore a collar around their neck to restrict vision . stood on clear glass platform so they could only see stripes above and below them . cylinder had either vertical or horizontal lines

Answer 205

. wore a collar so they could not see their body . kept in a completely dark room when not in cylinder for 1st 2 weeks . same amount of time each day (5hours) in the cylinder . both tested after 5 months in the same environment

Answer 206

. no visual placing when carried towards a table . no startle reflex was shown when objects were thrusted towards them . each individual neuron in the visual cortex will only respond to objects at specific orientations (rod held horizontally could see but not held vertically, vice versa)

Answer 207

. they would navigate their way around using touch . would often bump into objects . they were frightened when they reached the edge of the surface they were standing on

Answer 208

. they always followed moving objects with very clumsy, jerky head movements . they often tried to touch moving objects that were at the other side of he room, far from their reach . continued to bump into objects when scurrying around the room

Answer 209

- the visual environment had chnaged the kittens brain(the neurons of their brains had rewired themselves based on the environment they were exposed to (so the horizontally raised cat could no longer see vertical lines and vice versa).

Answer 210

. easier to control than humans . less likely to change their behaviour ad show demand characteristics . can be used if it would be unethical to carry the study out using humans

Answer 211

the ability of the brain to adapt to changes in demand from our environment

Answer 212

. The Hippocampus is an important part of the brain, which is involved in memory and navigation . Case studies have shown that damage to their Hippocampus revealed difficulties in memory and navigation

Answer 213

- To investigate the differences in the Hippocampus of London Taxi Drivers compared to controls - To investigate functions of the Hippocampus in Spatial Memory

Answer 214

. 50 right handed healthy males aged 32-62 years old, selected from the MRI data base

Answer 215

. 16 male London Taxi Drivers . all right-handed . all medically healthy . aged between 32-62 years old . licensed for at least 18 months . all passed 'The Knowledge' (taxi routes and locations exam)

Answer 216

* they compared the 16 taxi drivers brain scans to 16 scans from the control group, who was matched for age * data was collected through the 2 techniques used to analyse MRI scans

Answer 217

Voxel-based morphometry Pixel Counting

Answer 218

3D measure of the volume of Grey matter in the brain

Answer 219

2D measure of the volume of white & grey matter in the brain using pixels

Answer 220

- significantly increased volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus taxi drivers compared to the control group - however, they showed lower volume in the anterior hippocampus

Answer 221

. the study showed that regional differences between the hippocampus in London Taxi drivers and in the control group . it seems that relying on navigational skills in your job, increases your posterior hippocampus

Answer 222

an illness that alters our normal, physical or mental functioning

Answer 223

Freud believed that sexual instincts are already present in newborn children. In children, the sexual instinct is directed towards their own body through a series of different erotogenic zones.

Answer 224

In this stage, the child derives satisfaction from sucking at the mother’s breast or other substitutes (e.g. a dummy/their thumb)

Answer 225

The child receives pleasure from the anus and from holding back their stool until it builds up and brings about violent muscular contractions

Answer 226

where children become aware of their genitals and differences between boys and girls (i.e. in their genitals).

Answer 227

A subconscious sexual desire where a boy desires his mother and wants to possess her, this leads the boy to compete with his father in a hostile way but also fear castration because of the sexual desire.

Answer 228

A boy’s fear that his penis will be chopped off as punishment for his unconscious desires for his mother

Answer 229

An intense fear of an object, activity or situation which is out of proportion to the danger presented and causes an impairment in functioning

Answer 230

Type of therapy involving talking to the patient and analysing their thoughts and dreams to bring the unconscious conflicts into the open

Answer 231

To investigate the case of Little Hans, a young boy who was experiencing a phobia, and to provide evidence to support his theory of psychosexual development.

Answer 232

nearly 3 year old boy, from Vienna Austria.

Answer 233

1). Hans’ father recorded details of Hans’ behaviours and conversations, and made his own interpretations. He would then send these in a weekly letter to Freud 2). Freud replied with his own interpretations of the behaviours and conversations, and would give guidance on what Hans’ father should be discussing with Hans, and which behaviours to look out for.

Answer 234

This is shown through his attempts to seduce his mother. The giraffe fantasy: This is further evidence of Hans experiencing the Oedipus complex as the big giraffe represents his dad (long neck representing the penis) and the crumpled giraffe is his mother (her vagina). In his fantasy, there were 2 giraffes. A big one and a ‘crumpled’ one. As Hans takes the ‘crumpled’ one away the big one calls out. Then Hans sits on top of the ‘crumpled’ one until the big one stops calling.

Answer 235

While having a bath, Hans reported ‘the plumber came and unscrewed it. Then he took a big borer and stuck it in my stomach’. Later that day he admitted that he was scared that his mother would let go of him and his head would go under water. This is evidence of his fear of being punished for his fantasies and desires for his mother.

Answer 236

Hans had a fear of being bitten by a horse, particularly white horses with blinkers. Hans’ father had a black moustache and wore glasses.

Answer 237

- His psychosexual stages of development. - That boys during the phallic stage develop an Oedipus complex (little Hans wanted his father ‘out of the way’ so that he could have the affections of his mother all to himself) - That phobias are the result of unconscious anxieties which have been displaced onto external objects (the fear of his father finding out about his desires displaced into a fear of horses)

Answer 238

a model illustrating the difficulties autistic people share: - social communication (ability to read facial expressions) - social interaction (ability to behave normally around others) - social imagination (ability to predict what may happen next to anticipate danger)

Answer 239

To develop an advanced test of the theory of mind", but this time with adults to test Autism.

Answer 240

1). predicted that participants in Group 1 would show improvement in the Eyes Task. 2). predicted that 'normal' females would perform better in the eyes task than 'normal' males.

Answer 241

two groups

Answer 242

.16 people . with High-functioning Autism or Aspergers . mean age 29yrs

Answer 243

. 50 people . considered 'normal' . half male, half female . mean age 30yrs . selected at random

Answer 244

individually in a quiet room either at home, or a researchers clinic

Answer 245

. participants were shown 25 photographs in Black & White of different peoples eyes . participants were then asked "which word best described what the person is feeling ?" . they were given 2 mental state terms to choose from

Answer 246

photographs were shown to 4 judges, where they all came to the same agreement on what they believed the person was feeling they then all decided on the Foil (opposite word), to be used for the 2nd option for the particpant to choose from

Answer 247

. participants were presented with 2 examples of 12 story types (lie, white lie, joke, figure of speech, and irony) . in each story the character would say something which is not litter ally true, and the participant would be asked to explain what the character said or did . the answers were marked either 'correct' or 'incorrect'

Answer 248

control tasks

Answer 249

in order to ensure The Eyes Task, was indeed tapping theory of mind. it it was then there would be a correlation between the 2 tasks.

Answer 250

those with autism or asperges syndrome scored lower on The Eyes Task (16.3), compared to the 'normal' participants who scored (20.3).

Answer 251

* that despite autistic or Asperger syndrome usually have above average intelligence, they have a subtle defect in their mindreading ability * females had a better mindreading ability than males

Answer 252

Gould wanted to find out whether intelligence could be altered by environmental factors such as education

Answer 253

To prove that psychology could be as rigorous a science as physics.

Answer 254

1.75 million men from the US Army (from WW1)

Answer 255

Alpha Test Beta Test Individual Examination

Answer 256

. written examination given to literate recruits . included 8 parts . took less than 1 hr to complete . included (sequences, scrambling)

Answer 257

- test designed for illiterate recruites and those who failed the Alpha Test - 7 parts - took less than 1 hr to complete - included (maze running, cube counting) and a picture section

Answer 258

it was a test that the recruits who failed both the Alpha and Beta tests

Answer 259

from E to A (recruits who scored less than than C-, were considered to have low intelligence)

Answer 260

the administration of the tests was inconsistent amongst all the camps those who were illiterate in English or those who failed the Alpha test,were required to complete the Beta test. however many did not also, those who failed the test were required to take a individual examination, however again many did not.

Answer 261

- the average mental age of white american adults was 13 (just above the level of a 'moron') - immigrants and darker people of southern Europe were found to be less intelligent than white people - black Americans and Jews were least intelligent

Answer 262

. due to systematic errors many minority groups were considered to have low intelligence (jews, african americans etc), leading to the introduction of many immigration laws . when WW2 happened, many tried to flee europe but were unable to because of the new restrictions leading to what Gould (Yerkes) believed caused the death of millions of people

Answer 263

people who often come across as charming, intelligent and articulate. however underneath they lack any empathy and see other people as there to be used in order to achieve their own personal ends they are extremely self-centered and manipulative make up 1% of the general population

Answer 264

the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

Answer 265

To investigate whether psychopaths use language different to non-psychopaths. (can we detect whether someone is a psychopath based on how they speak)

Answer 266

52 male murderers from Canadian prisons volunteered to take part - 14 were psychopaths - 38 non-psychopaths

Answer 267

Assessed by a trained prison psychologist using the PCL-R The cut off for psychopathy was 25 or above (standard cut off for research) Factor 1 - Interpersonal and affective traits Factor 2 – Anti-social lifestyle and behavioural problems 10 randomly picked files checked by another psychologist - IRR = 0.94

Answer 268

participants were asked to describe their homicide offence in as much detail as possible 25 mins (2 senior psychology graduates & 1 research assistant) dialogue was transcribed

Answer 269

The speech was analysed using two computer programmes: - WMatrix - DAL

Answer 270

analysed the percentage of subordinating conujuctions used (use of nouns, verbs, disfluencies, etc.)

Answer 271

compared used of emotional language (positive vs negative emotions, high vs low intensity, etc.) by each individual

Answer 272

. Psychopaths (1.82% of their speech) used more subordinating conjunctions (because, since, as, so that) than controls (1.54%). This suggests a more causal view – I committed the murder because… . Psychopaths talked more about basic needs (sex, food, shelter) and less about higher level needs (meaningful relationships, family, spirituality) . Psychopaths tended to use less pleasant and less intense emotional words, as well a using significantly more disfluencies in their speech

Answer 273

The language that psychopaths use to describe emotional events like their crimes is different from non-psychopaths. - they seem to operate on a lower emotional level

Answer 274

Our behaviour and feelings are strongly influenced by our unconscious mind (which we are not aware of) There are 3 parts to our personality - the Id, ego and superego The ego uses defense mechanisms to protect us from feelings of anxiety or guilt

Answer 275

suggests our behaviour is a result of our physiology (genetics, hormones, or brain structure and functioning).

Answer 276

Brain plasticity Lateralisation of function Delay of gratification Regions of the brain (and their specialist functions) Genetic predisposition

Answer 277

Patients who had undergone a commissurotomy (split-brain surgery) participants could not say what they saw or felt when objects were presented to the right hemisphere of the brain. Shows language is processed in the left hemisphere. Also shows the role of the corpus callosum in communication between the two hemispheres.

Answer 278

Provided evidence for brain plasticity as the kittens visual neurons had adapted to the pattern of stripes they saw in the cylinder. The kitten in the vertical cylinder could no longer see horizontal orientations and the brain did not respond to them (and vice versa for the horizontal cat).

Answer 279

Showed that there are brain differences between people who are high and low delayers (high and low self-control). Suggests that the inferior frontal gyrus is important for self-control, whereas the ventral striatum responds to rewarding stimuli.

Answer 280

Provided evidence for brain plasticity. London taxi drivers had larger posterior hippocampus compared to the control group, and a smaller anterior hippocampus. Their brains had changed based on the demands of their job.

Answer 281

+ Highly scientific approach using standardised, replicable procedures + Lab experiments allow higher control over extraneous variables (cause and effect can be established) + Experimental methods are reliable Avoids ethnocentrism

Answer 282

- May be of limited practical use as biological factors are difficult to change - Can often involve studying a single biological cause of complex behaviour (reductionist) - Low ecological validity when lab experiments used

Answer 283

.Genetic screening for disorders .Rehabilitation after brain injury to restore functioning (based on brain plasticity) .Biological treatments of disorders such as SSRIs, ECT or TMS to treat depression

Answer 284

focuses on what makes people unique, often investigating those who behaviour is abnormal.

Answer 285

. measuring differences . understanding mental disorders . native intellectual ability . theory of the mind

Answer 286

investigates thecase of a boy experincing a phobia of horses and getting in the bath (abnormal behaviour). Freud tried to explain this through his theory of the oedipus complex(the phobia was result of an unconscious desirefor his mother anda fear of his father

Answer 287

investigated differences in people with autism in their ability to recognise complex emotions (as a result of a deficit in their mind ). participant with autism found it difficult to identify complex emotions from peoples eyes.

Answer 288

yerkes developed the Alpha and Beta tests of intelligence to measure differences between US army recruits. he suggested that people differ in native intellectual ability (people from some cultures are less intelligent than that of other cultures due to genetics.) gould was criticising the validity of these tests due to cultural bias in how they were developed.

Answer 289

it measured differences in people with psychopathy in how they use language. the finding's showed that psychopaths who have commited murder tended to use more disinfluences (hesitating in speech) and used more subordinate conjunctions and refermore to basic level needs. the results indicated they operate on a lower level of emotional development.

Answer 290

.teaching children with autism about the the theory of the mind and how to recognise different emotional states . developing effective psychometric test which can be used in recruitment . developing psychological treatments for disorders . psychometric tests to determine sporting success

Answer 291

+useful in developing treatments for individuals with disorders + holistic approach means we can get a fuller understanding of how factors interact to produce complex behaviours

Unit 2: core studies, areas, perspective's, and debates Flashcards

(324 cards)