ib psychology revision

******contains content about depression, EDs, and other potentially triggering studies and conditions, please be careful!****** nothing on this blog reflects my personal views, it is used purely for exam revision purposes only. this is a work in progress

[effyeahibpsychology]

Paper III

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Homogenous focus group:  Focus group where participants all share key features (e.g. race, gender, age, occupation, social class etc.)

Heterogenous focus group:  Focus group where participants are different

Semi-structured interview:  Uses both closed and open-ended questions

Reflexivity:  The fact that a researcher reflects upon their own involvement in the research process

Coherence theory of truth:  The theory that truth is not absolute but consensual

Representational generalisation: Findings from qualitative research can be applied to populations outside of the population of the study

Inferential generalisation:  Findings of the study can also be applied to settings outside the settings of the study

Theoretical generalisation: Theoretical concepts derived from the study can be used to develop further theories

Participant anonymity: Nobody outside the research team should know the identity of the participant(s)

Researcher bias: Researcher's own beliefs may influence the research process - possibly because the researcher does not pay enough attention to results and only looks at results that confirm their hypothesis

Participant expectations: The participants'ideas of what the researcher wants / the aim of the research can affect the trustworthiness of the results

Trustworthiness: When the findings of the research reflect the intended (natural) meanings of the participants

Method triangulation: The comparison of data which comes from different methods - e.g. both qualitative and quantitative research

Interviewer effects: The effects that the presence of a particular interviewer may have on the interview

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SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

Random sampling – In random sampling everyone in the population has the same chance of getting chosen. This is easy because it is quick and can even be performed by a computer. However, because it is down to chance you could end up with a unrepresentative sample, perhaps with one demographic being missed out.

Systematic sampling – an example of a systematic sample would be picking every 10th person on a list or register. This carries the same risk of being unrepresentative as random sampling as, for example, every 10th person could be a girl.

Stratified sampling – this method attempts to make the sample as representative as possible, avoiding the problems that could be caused by using a completely random sample. To do this the sample frame will be divided into a number of smaller groups, such as social class, age, gender, ethnicity etc. Individuals are then drawn at random from these groups. 

Quota sampling – In this method researchers will be told to ensure the sample fits with certain quotas, for example they might be told to find 90 participants, with 30 of them being unemployed. The researcher might then find these 30 by going to a job centre. The problem of representativeness is again a problem with the quota sampling method.

Cluster sampling – This is taking a random sample at various stages of the sampling process. For example you might take a random county, take random schools from this county and take random pupils from this school to find your sample.

Snowball sampling – With this method, researchers might find a few participants, and then ask them to find participants themselves and so on. This is useful when a sample is difficult to obtain. For example Laurie Taylor used this method when investigating criminals. It would be difficult for him to find a sample as he didn’t know many criminals; however these criminals know a lot of people who would be willing to participate, so it is more efficient to use the snowball method.

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TRIANGULATION

Is the application and combination of several research methodologies in the studying of the same phenomenon

Combining multiple observers, theories, methods, empirical materials, we can aim to overcome the weaknesses / biases / problems that come from single-method / single-observer / single-theory studies

Often the aim of triangulation is to obtain confirmation of findings through the overlap / convergence of different perspectives

Point at which everything converges is seen to represent reality

Types of Triangulation

There are four basic types:

Data triangulation - involving time, space, people

Investigator triangulation - involving use of multiple observers rather than just one

Theory triangulation - using more than one theoretical idea in the interpretation of results / phenomena

Methodological triangulation - using more than one method 

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CASE STUDIES

Holistic approach into the study of an individual

Use the person's own memories, the memories of relatives and friends, and records of different types e.g. diaries / photos

Based upon the principle of methodological triangulation

Uses a combination of interviews, questionnaires, observations, tasks

Involves observing what happens to a person / reconstructing case history of the participant

 Data Collection in Case Studies

Researchers gather info in different ways

Interview is widely-used but not the only method

Clinical neuropsychologists use memory tasks / drawing tasks / brain scans to investigate people with distinctive brain injuries or conditions (e.g. Sperry - hemisphere disconnection)

These tasks are designed to reveal if there are neurological deficits as a result of their condition

Characteristics of a Case Study

Highly descriptive

Data collected describes psychological processes / events, and the contexts in which they occurred

Because many case studies are longitudinal (over a period of time) a high level of detail can be obtained

Narrowly focused

Offers descriptions of a single person or small group, e.g. in a school or a firm

Case studies focus on a limited aspect of the person or group, e.g. any unique psychological conditions they have or symptoms of stress in their workplace

Combine objective and subjective data

All data regarded as valid for analysis and as basis for inferences

Process-oriented, not outcome-oriented

Enables researcher to explore / describe nature of processes which occur over time (e.g. development of language in children)

Advantages

Stimulate new research - can highlight extraordinary behaviour

May contradict existing theory 

New insight into phenomena - because they are so rich in information, they can give us insight into phenomena that we may not be able to study in any other way

Permit investigation of otherwise inaccessible situations - unique and distinctive conditions that happen e.g. with Genie, Clive Wearing 

Disadvantages

Replication of studies is not possible

Researcher expectation / subjective feelings may influence case

Heavily dependent on self-report data which is subject to memory distortions and social desirability effect

Most case studies are retrospective, not prospective

Impossible to generalise from a case study of an individual or small group to the general population

Ethical considerations

Privacy / confidentiality - protection of identity

Sensitivity

Informed consent

No deception

Right to withdraw

Debriefing

No psychological / physical harm

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REFLEXIVITY

Important that the researcher is aware of his / her own beliefs so they do not affect the interpretation of behaviour

Researcher must reflect on his / her own beliefs and attempt to separate them from data

Willig (2001)'s two forms of reflexivity

Personal reflexivity - values, beliefs, political faction, socioeconomic class, personal interest

Epistemological reflexivity - related to how data is gathered, limited understanding of a particular group of people can restrict amount of data gathered

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INTERVIEWS

Semi-structured Strengths

Good for collecting data on socially sensitive subjects (e.g. sexual preferences, views on racism) because it is one-on-one

Should be less biased by researcher's preconceptions

Because it is an open-ended approach, participants can elaborate and clarify

The theme is chosen in advance so non-relevant material is avoided

Limitations

Data analysis is time-consuming

One-on-one situation can be considered artificial which calls into question ecological validity

Focus Groups Strengths

Fast and convenient way to collect data from individuals concurrently

Provides natural setting which can give ecological validity

Uncovers knowledge and experience about what, how and why they think about a particular topic through the register (vocabulary, metaphors, sentence structure) they use

Can reveal cultural values and group norms

Limitations

Not always appropriate for a research question (e.g. sexual preferences or fetishes)

Participants may not disclose all relevant information for fear of embarrassment or being judged

Conformity can confound the results

Ethical issues in conducting focus groups in non-free environments like prisons and nursing homes (informed consent, no freedom to choose)

Narrative Interviews Strengths

Good at elucidating complexity of individual experience because it shows how humans construct meaning in their lives

Can be used for all kinds of people as it only requires everyday speech - education level

Limitations

Lots of data to analyze which is time-consuming to transcribe

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OBSERVATIONS

Naturalistic

Watching the behaviour of humans or animals in a natural environment

Strengths

More natural (therefore more credible / trustworthy) behaviour occurs when people are unaware that they are being observed

Study of situations that cannot be artificially recreated in a lab

Limitations

Observer may affect behaviour if detected

Difficult to replicate

May need for more than one observer to ensure nothing is missed

Breaches participant privacy

Participant Observation

Where the researcher joins in with the group they are studying. Easier to understand the meaning behind the behaviour of the group being observed. 

Strengths

Primary source of data - first-hand information

Participants likely to develop truthful relationship with subjects

Rich, insightful qualitative data

Limitations

Gaining entry can be difficult

Presence of researcher may affect behaviour of the group

Observations may lack structure - makes it unreliable and difficult to replicate

Only a small number can be observed fully at one time - unrepresentative

Ethical issues - subject privacy, deception

Non-Participant Observation

Carried out without the researcher participating, because it may eliminate the risk that people will be affected by their presence, or because subject group are unwilling to cooperate with the researcher participating.

Strengths

Reduce the risk of Hawthorne effect (observer effect - where participants modify an aspect of their behaviour in response to a change - presence of researcher - in environment)

More convenient for recording of data

Limitations

If the observation is overt then you are more likely to trigger Hawthorne effect

You do not gain as much info as participant observations - you are not immersed in the group 

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Guba and Lincoln proposed four criteria for judging qualitative research as opposed to the more quantitative criteria. 

Credibility

Involves establishing that the results of quali. research are believable from perspective of participant

Since purpose of qualitative research is to describe / understand behaviour or phenomena from a "civilian" point of view, participants are the only ones who can judge the legitimacy of results

Transferability

Refers to degree to which the results can be generalised into wider / other contexts

Dependability

Traditional quantitative view of "reliability" is based on the ability to replicate / repeat the study, however the concept of dependability emphasizes need to account for the evolving context that the research occurs in

Researcher is responsible for describing changes in setting and how these changes affected the way the researchers approached the study

Confirmability

Quali. research tends to assume that each researcher brings a unique perspective to the study

Confirmability refers to extent to which results can be confirmed / corroborated by others

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[effyeahibpsychology]

Research Studies for Health Psychology

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

Discuss the extent to which biological, cognitive, and sociocultural factors influence health related behavior

Kiecolt-Glaser et al. 1984 - T-cells before and after stress

Aimed to investigate changes in the number of T-cells before and after a stressful period of exams, took blood samples from volunteer medical students who also completed scales of life events, bodily symptoms, satisfaction with interpersonal contacts

Second blood sample had significant decrease of T-cell activity, stress decreased effectiveness of immune system, student scoring high on stressful life events also had lowered T-cell activity

Reed et al 1999 - HIV and pessimism

HIV positive people with more pessimistic expectations developed symptoms more quickly and died of AIDS sooner

Kamen and Seligman - attribution style and poor health

Attribution style (pessimistic / optimistic approach to life) can predict poor health later in life, pessimism may be health-related through decrease in T-cells and suppression in immune system

Direct effect of attribution style and beliefs on physiology

Taylor 2002 - gender and social support

Aimed to see whether there is a difference between gender and how much social support one uses to cope, meta-analysis of research into stress and coping

Women had more social support and drew on support networks to cope with stress - tend and befriend theory, men generally engaged in individual pursuits 

Evaluate psychological research (theories and / or studies) relevant to health psychology

Shapiro et al (1998) - mindfulness-based stress reduction

Aim was to test whether MBSR is efficient, participants were premed students who were either offered an MBSR course or were put on a waiting list to be in the course, equal number of males and females, asked to fill out self-report on stress at start and end of course (after exam period)

No difference between two groups at beginning of term, wait list expressed more anxiety than those who had MBSR course

Speca et al (2000) - cancer patients using MBSR

Aim to test whether cancer patients would benefit from MBSR, controlled test of cancer patients put into 2 groups: experimental and waitlist, asked to fill out a stress symptom questionnaire

Experimental group had reduction in total mood disturbance (anxiety, anger, depression) of 65%, with 35% reduction in stress symptoms, no change in average score of control group

STRESS

Describe stressors

n/a

Discuss physiological, psychological and social aspects of stress

Steptoe and Marmot - differences in physiological stress response

Looking at differences in physiological stress responses to a number of stressors, used 7 questionnaires each related to different stressor; blood samples taken 

Participants who had a high mean score across all seven questionnaires had blood tests indicating high-risk of developing heart problems

Kiecolt-Glaser et al. 1984 - T-cells before and after stress

Aimed to investigate changes in the number of T-cells before and after a stressful period of exams, took blood samples from volunteer medical students who also completed scales of life events, bodily symptoms, satisfaction with interpersonal contacts

Second blood sample had significant decrease of T-cell activity, stress decreased effectiveness of immune system, student scoring high on stressful life events also had lowered T-cell activity

Reed et al 1999 - HIV and pessimism

HIV positive people with more pessimistic expectations developed symptoms more quickly and died of AIDS sooner

Kamen and Seligman - attribution style and poor health

Attribution style (pessimistic / optimistic approach to life) can predict poor health later in life, pessimism may be health-related through decrease in T-cells and suppression in immune system

Direct effect of attribution style and beliefs on physiology

Smith et al 1992 - hostility and likelihood of social support

Adults whose interpersonal interactions were marked with hostility and cynicism were less likely to report having social support

Negativity may be a result of early experiences in the family - they were unsupportive / many conflicts

Evaluate strategies for coping with stress

Neuling and Winefield - social support in female cancer patients

Longitudinal study where patients had to answer questions about frequency and type of emotional support

Patients needed lots of emotional support from family, higher levels of social support were beneficial, participants wanted informational support from doctors

Taylor 2002 - gender and social support

Aimed to see whether there is a difference between gender and how much social support one uses to cope, meta-analysis of research into stress and coping

Women had more social support and drew on support networks to cope with stress - tend and befriend theory, men generally engaged in individual pursuits 

Shapiro et al (1998) - mindfulness-based stress reduction

Aim was to test whether MBSR is efficient, participants were premed students who were either offered an MBSR course or were put on a waiting list to be in the course, equal number of males and females, asked to fill out self-report on stress at start and end of course (after exam period)

No difference between two groups at beginning of term, wait list expressed more anxiety than those who had MBSR course

Speca et al (2000) - cancer patients using MBSR

Aim to test whether cancer patients would benefit from MBSR, controlled test of cancer patients put into 2 groups: experimental and waitlist, asked to fill out a stress symptom questionnaire

Experimental group had reduction in total mood disturbance (anxiety, anger, depression) of 65%, with 35% reduction in stress symptoms, no change in average score of control group

SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR

Explain factors related to the development of substance abuse or addictive behaviour

DiFranza et al - whether people get addicted to cigarettes

Aim was to find whether people get addicted to cigarettes, longitudinal study of 217 (mean age of 12) in USA; performed psych. evaluation and reported history of tobacco use, answered questions about attitudes, environment, all participants have smoked at least once

Those who had immediate feeling of relaxation after first puff (67%) more likely to become addicted, 91% of first-puff addicts claimed they could not stop, 60% claimed they'd lost control

Unger et al - adolescents influenced by friends to smoke

Cross-cultural survey on US adolescents

White-Americans who had friends who smoked were more likely to smoke than Asian / Hispanic teens, individualist culture - more rebellion, setting themselves apart from parents, collectivist culture - bond between family and child more important; demonstrated SLT / SIT

Examine prevention strategies and treatments for substance abuse and addictive behaviour

Hanewinkel and Wiborg (2002) - school-based campaign

Longitudinal study into school in Germany, students had a mean age of 13; classes had to decide to be "smoke-free" with a chance to win prizes, control groups were not in competition, smoking status assessed before and after

Control group had higher prevalence of smoking, competition delayed onset of smoking as they had knowledge of it, aimed to maximise difference between them and outgroup (smokers)

Bullen et al (2010) - e-cigarettes vs nicotine inhaler

Aimed to examine short-term effectiveness of e-cigarettes on desire to smoke and withdrawal symptoms vs. nicotine inhaler, single-blinded controlled experiments, participants had not smoked overnight and were given either e-cigarettes or nicotine inhaler

E-cigarette had fewer side-effects than inhaler, both produced low desirability to smoke

Pisinger (2008)

Test effectiveness of different methods of treatment

Found that most effective was individual / group smoking cessation intervention, professional consultations, drug / nicotine replacement treatments; least effective were leaflets / brochures / internet sites

Jorenby et al (1999)

Examine effectiveness of nicotine patches and Zyban, double-blind experiment where participants had either nicotine patch, zyban, or placebo

16% of placebo group did not smoke after 1 year, 30% on other 2 groups did not smoke after 1 year

IN PROGRESS

[effyeahibpsychology]

Research Studies for Abnormal Psychology

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

To what extent do biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence abnormal behaviour? (22 marks)

Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression

Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression

82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk

Lewisohn et al. (2001) - Negative attribution

Studied adolescents who experienced many negative life events over 12-month period

Those who had strong negative attribution / attitudes more likely to develop depression

Prince - Depression in Africa and Asia

Study claims there are no signs of depression in Africa and Asia

Prevalence rose with Westernisation

Teuting - Depression and serotonin study

Individuals with depression asked to provide urine samples

There was a significantly lower level of serotonin recorded in depressed participants' urine samples

Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) - twin studies into depression

Conducted 7 twin studies, concordance rate consistently higher for monozygotic twins (65%) than dizygotic twins (14%)

Depression may be a result of genetic vulnerability

Seligman - learned helplessness in dogs

Aimed to prove that learned helplessness in dogs can lead to depression; dogs were placed in an enclosure where the floor was lined with electrodes, electrodes were activated periodically and the dog would jump over a low wall that would slowly be raised by the researcher

When the wall was too high the dog could no longer jump and even after the wall was lowered again the dog made no attempt to jump and was shocked by the electrodes

Evaluate psychological research (studies / theories) relevant to the study of abnormal behaviour. (22 marks)

Rosenhan - being sane in insane places

Aimed to challenge the reliability of diagnosis / investigate effects of labelling, 8 participants (5 male 3 female) attempted to gain access to various hospitals' psychiatric ward by claiming they were hearing voices at phone-made appointments, 7 diagnosed with schizophrenia, 1 with manic depression

Once they entered hospital, stopped all "symptoms" and acted normal, took notes during their stay; took between 7-52 days to discharge all of them

Follow-up study: Rosenhan - being sane in insane places (II)

Informed previously-used institutions that one or more "pseudo-patients" will attempt to be admitted, staff members were asked to rate them on a 10-pt. scale of how likely they were to be pseudo-patient; no pseudo-patients were sent

193 patients judged, 41 confidently identified as pseudo-patients by one staff member, 23 suspected by psychiatrist, 19 suspected by psychiatrist and staff member

CONCEPTS AND DIAGNOSIS

Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality (22 marks)

Szasz (1962) - psychological [ab]normality is a culturally-defined concept

Taylor and Brown (1988) - those with depression are more accurate in their perception of reality

Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis (22 marks)

Cooper et al. (1972) - New York / London diagnosis

Psychiatrists in London and NY were shown the same videotaped clinical interviews, psychiatrists in NY twice as likely to diagnose schizophrenia while London psychiatrists twice as likely to diagnose mania / depression

Beck et al. (1962) - Psychiatrists' agreement

Agreement between two psychiatrists for 153 patients' diagnoses was 54%

Di Nardo et al. (1993) - reliability of DSM

Studied reliability of DSM III for anxiety disorders, two clinicians separately diagnosed 267 people seeking treatment for anxiety / stress-related disorders

80% reliability for OCD, 57% for generalised anxiety disorder GAD; may be because how excessive someone's anxiety is is subjective

Rosenhan - being sane in insane places

Aimed to challenge the reliability of diagnosis / investigate effects of labelling, 8 participants (5 male 3 female) attempted to gain access to various hospitals' psychiatric ward by claiming they were hearing voices at phone-made appointments, 7 diagnosed with schizophrenia, 1 with manic depression

Once they entered hospital, stopped all "symptoms" and acted normal, took notes during their stay; took between 7-52 days to discharge all of them

Temerline - Authority on diagnosis

investigate effect of authority on diagnosis - 2 groups of participants listened to same tape of a person describing their normal life (happy marriage, work satisfaction etc.

An authority figure told one group that person in the tape was psychologically healthy, told other that the person was psychotic

Those who were told he was normal gave normal diagnosis, those told he was psychotic agreed with the psychosis diagnosis

Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis (22 marks)

Erinosho and Ayonrinde - Nigeria Yoruba tribe study

Aimed to investigate cultural differences in criteria of normality and abnormality, participants were tribesmen of Nigerian Yoruba tribe, presented with information of schizophrenic patients

Only 40% of tribespeople actually identified patients as mentally ill, 30% of tribesmen said they would marry a person like the patient

Bintie - Schizophrenia in Nigeria

To investigate cultural differences in criteria of normality and abnormality, participants were Nigerians living in a city, information about schizophrenics were presented to them

Most participants identified patients as being mentally ill, 31% expressed aggression and suggested patients should be expelled / shot

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Describe symptoms and prevalence of one anxiety / affective / eating disorder (8 marks)

Brown's vulnerability model

Losing a parent at a young age, unemployment

Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression

Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression

82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk

Analyse etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive and / or sociocultural factors) of one anxiety / affective / eating disorder. (8 marks)

Lewisohn et al. (2001) - Negative attribution

Studied adolescents who experienced many negative life events over 12-month period

Those who had strong negative attribution / attitudes more likely to develop depression

Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression

Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression

82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk

Prince - Depression in Africa and Asia

Study claims there are no signs of depression in Africa and Asia

Prevalence rose with Westernisation

Seligman - learned helplessness in dogs

Aimed to prove that learned helplessness in dogs can lead to depression; dogs were placed in an enclosure where the floor was lined with electrodes, electrodes were activated periodically and the dog would jump over a low wall that would slowly be raised by the researcher

When the wall was too high the dog could no longer jump and even after the wall was lowered again the dog made no attempt to jump and was shocked by the electrodes

Teuting - Depression and serotonin study

Individuals with depression asked to provide urine samples

There was a significantly lower level of serotonin recorded in depressed participants' urine samples

Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) - twin studies into depression

Conducted 7 twin studies, concordance rate consistently higher for monozygotic twins (65%) than dizygotic twins (14%)

Depression may be a result of genetic vulnerability

Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders (22 marks)

Williams and Hargreaves (1994) - prevalence of depression in women

Women are 70% / 2-3 times more likely to develop depression, perhaps because on average women experience more major life events (e.g. childbirth), women also more likely to develop several episodes of depression

Women are more outwardly emotional than men, more vulnerable to emotional fluctuations, more likely to report their depression

Brown's vulnerability model 

Losing a parent at a young age, unemployment etc. 

Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression

Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression

82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk

Koss et al. - discrimination against women

Found that discrimination against women begins early in their lives

Women make up the majority of victims of physical and sexual assault, domestic abuse / violence

Prince - Depression in Africa and Asia

Study claims there are no signs of depression in Africa and Asia

Prevalence rose with Westernisation

Fallon and Rozin - body image perception

Aimed to discover gender difference in body image perception, showed US undergrad students figures of own sex and asked them to indicate ones that looked most like themselves, their ideal figure, and most attractive to opposite sex; men asked to choose female figure they found most attractive

Men selected very similar body shapes to their own, women selected thinner as "most attractive" / ideal shape, figure that men chose as most attractive was heavier than figure women chose

Makino et al. - prevalence of EDs in Western / non-Western countries

compared prevalence of EDs in Western and non-Western countries and found that although it seems to be on the rise in non-Western countries, it is till lower than W countries

Development of EDs in non-W countries may be because of perceived social pressure to conform to W beauty standards, thinness seems more popular in post-WWII beauty ideal

IMPLEMENTING TREATMENT

Examine biomedical, individual and group approaches to treatment (22 marks)

Neale et al. (2011) - meta-analysis of antidepressants vs placebo

Analysis of published studies on outcomes of antidepressants vs placebo, focused on patients who started with real then switched to placebo, patients who only had placebo, patients who only recieved real

Found that patients who do not take anti-depressants have 25% risk of relapse compared to 42%+ for those who were on medication and then stopped; antidepressants may interfere with brain's natural self-regulation

Paykel et al. (1999) - therapies to prevent relapse

Conducted controlled trial of 158 patients who experienced one episode of major depression, patients received antidepressants, some received CBT

Relapse rate for those who had CBT much lower compared to those who only had antidepressants

Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual, and group approaches to the treatment of one disorder (22 marks)

Neale et al. (2011) - meta-analysis of antidepressants vs placebo

Analysis of published studies on outcomes of antidepressants vs placebo, focused on patients who started with real then switched to placebo, patients who only had placebo, patients who only recieved real

Found that patients who do not take anti-depressants have 25% risk of relapse compared to 42%+ for those who were on medication and then stopped; antidepressants may interfere with brain's natural self-regulation

Paykel et al. (1999) - therapies to prevent relapse

Conducted controlled trial of 158 patients who experienced one episode of major depression, patients received antidepressants, some received CBT

Relapse rate for those who had CBT much lower compared to those who only had antidepressants

Discuss the use of eclectic approaches to treatment (22 marks)

Keller et al. (2004) - antidepressants

Nearly 50-60% of depressed outpatients experience improvements in mood in first trial of antidepressants, however only 1 in 3 make full recovery with no symptoms

Klerman et al. (1974) - treatment of depression with drugs and / or psychotherapy

Aimed to test efficacy of treatment with antidepressants and psychotherapy  alone or in combination, participants were 150 females diagnosed with depression split into 4 groups - antidepressants alone, antidepressants and psychotherapy, no antidepressants but more psychotherapy, placebo and no psychotherapy

Relapse rates highest in placebo group (36%), psychotherapy alone relapse rate of 16.7%, antidepressants alone relapse rate of 12%, combination of drugs and psychotherapy 12.5%

Pampallona et al. (2004) - meta-analysis of efficacy of drug treatment alone vs with psychotherapy in depression

Aimed to analyse whether combining anti-depressants and psychotherapy was more effective in treating depression, 16 random controlled studies including 932 patients taking antidepressants only and 910 receiving combined treatment

Patients in combined treatment improved significantly more than those in drug treatment alone

Discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic approach in relation to one disorder (22 marks)

Teuting - Depression and serotonin study

Individuals with depression asked to provide urine samples

There was a significantly lower level of serotonin recorded in depressed participants' urine samples

Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) - twin studies into depression

Conducted 7 twin studies, concordance rate consistently higher for monozygotic twins (65%) than dizygotic twins (14%)

Depression may be a result of genetic vulnerability

Kirsch et al. (2002) - effectiveness of SSRIs

Aimed to find out whether new generation of SSRIs were effective in treating depression, using Hamilton Scale for Depression on patients with different levels severity of depression, patients either taking placebo or SSRI

SSRIs did not appear to have any effect on those with mild / moderate depression, had positive effects for those with severe

Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression

Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression

82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk

Paykel et al. (1999) - therapies to prevent relapse

Conducted controlled trial of 158 patients who experienced one episode of major depression, patients received antidepressants, some received CBT

Relapse rate for those who had CBT much lower compared to those who only had antidepressants

[effyeahibpsychology]

Research Studies for the Cognitive Level of Analysis

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

Outline (at least) two principles that define the cognitive level of analysis. Explain how and why these principles are connected to the research at this level of analysis. (8 marks)

n/a

Explain how principles that define the cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (8 marks)

Glanzer and Kunitz - primacy / recency

Aim to test the primacy - recency effect, participants asked to read a list of 20 words then asked to recall as many as possible; in one variation they were asked to do a distraction task before recall

Participants tended to remember the first and last few words better due to rehearsal / last few words being in STM

Clive Wearing brain scans

Aimed to look at how Clive Wearing's condition affects brain activity

Showed significant damage to hippocampus and frontal cortex - affects emotional and memory

HM case study

HM showed damage in hippocampus and amygdala

Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghosts

Aim was to prove that memory is reconstructive / to investigate whether cultural schemas influence recall, asked White-American participants to read a Native American folk story then asked to recall / reproduce 

First method - serial reproduction: one person reproduces original story, then second person reproduces reproduction etc. 6 / 7 times

Second method - participants asked to read story then asked to reproduce from memory after 15 minutes

Found that culturally-specific details were sometimes missed out / replaces

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the cognitive level of analysis (22 marks)

Loftus and Palmer - car crash study

Participants shown a clip of a car crash then were asked to estimate speed of the cars when they "smashed / collided / bumped / hit / contacted"

Speed estimates varied, with "gentler" words having lower speed estimates

Tali Sharot - 9/11 flashbulb memory

Aim to investigate the existence of flashbulb memories, 24 people who witnessed 9/11 were used, asked to recall events of the day and also asked to recall summer holiday as a control and then scanned using an fMRI machine

People closer to event had greater depth of recall, detail of 9/11 much higher than control

Areas responsible for LTM retrieval (parahippocampal gyrus) was more active in control, amygdala (emotional memory) more active recalling 9/11

Clive Wearing brain scans

Aimed to look at how Clive Wearing's condition affects brain activity

Showed significant damage to hippocampus and frontal cortex - affects emotional and memory

Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the cognitive level of analysis. (22 marks)

Loftus and Palmer - car crash study

Participants shown a clip of a car crash then were asked to estimate speed of the cars when they "smashed / collided / bumped / hit / contacted"

Speed estimates varied, with "gentler" words having lower speed estimates

Seligman - learned helplessness in dogs

Dogs were placed in an enclosure where the floor was lined with electrodes, electrodes were activated periodically and the dog would jump over a low wall that would slowly be raised by the researcher

When the wall was too high the dog could no longer jump and even after the wall was lowered again the dog made no attempt to jump and was shocked by the electrodes

COGNITIVE PROCESSES

Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies (22 marks)

Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghosts

Aim was to prove that memory is reconstructive / to investigate whether cultural schemas influence recall, asked White-American participants to read a Native American folk story then asked to recall / reproduce 

First method - serial reproduction: one person reproduces original story, then second person reproduces reproduction etc. 6 / 7 times

Second method - participants asked to read story then asked to reproduce from memory after 15 minutes

Found that culturally-specific details were sometimes missed out / replaces

Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies (22 marks)

Glanzer and Kunitz - primacy / recency

Aim to test the primacy - recency effect, participants asked to read a list of 20 words then asked to recall as many as possible; in one variation they were asked to do a distraction task before recall

Participants tended to remember the first and last few words better due to rehearsal / last few words being in STM

Craik and Tulving - levels of processing study

Aimed to test the theory of LOP, participants presented with 60 words and 3 questions about words designed to activate different levels of processing (structural, phonetic, semantic)

Then given a list of 180 words in which the original words were mixed and asked to pick out the original 60

Participants were more likely to pick out words that were asked about using the semantic level of processing

Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process (8 marks)

Clive Wearing brain scans

Aimed to look at how Clive Wearing's condition affects brain activity

Showed significant damage to hippocampus and frontal cortex - affects emotional and memory

Discuss how social and cultural factors affect one cognitive process (22 marks)

Cole and Scribner (1974) - free recall

Investigated free recall in USA and Kpelle people of Liberia, schooled and unschooled Liberian children and schooled US childrens had to recall a selection of culturally-specific words gouped into 4 lists

In second part, words were meaningful objects in a story, Kpelle children performed well in this task

Schooled Liberian and US children performed similarly in recall, schooled participants used chunking

Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghosts

Aim was to prove that memory is reconstructive / to investigate whether cultural schemas influence recall, asked White-American participants to read a Native American folk story then asked to recall / reproduce 

First method - serial reproduction: one person reproduces original story, then second person reproduces reproduction etc. 6 / 7 times

Second method - participants asked to read story then asked to reproduce from memory after 15 minutes

Found that culturally-specific details were sometimes missed out / replaces

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent is one cognitive process reliable? (22 marks)

Loftus and Palmer - car crash study

Participants shown a clip of a car crash then were asked to estimate speed of the cars when they "smashed / collided / bumped / hit / contacted"

Speed estimates varied, with "gentler" words having lower speed estimates

Brown and Kulik - flashbulb memory

Aimed to investigate whether events with an emotional connection are remembered better, interviewed 80 US participants, 40 white and 40 African-Americans, had to answer questions about 10 events, 1 personally chosen

African Americans recalled more FBMs about civil rights leaders than White Americans; assassination of JFK had most FBMs

Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes (22 marks)

Montague - pepsi / coke challenge

Aimed to examine customer preference of brands (coke and pepsi), given blind tests and known tests of each while being given fMRI scans

In blind tests, scans showed that customers preferred pepsi but in known test, they stated they preferred coke

Clive Wearing brain scans

Aimed to look at how Clive Wearing's condition affects brain activity

Showed significant damage to hippocampus and frontal cortex - affects emotional and memory

COGNITION AND EMOTION

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion? (22 marks)

Ledoux - fear in rats experiment

Investigate the role of the amygdala, rats were conditioned to feel fear when they heard the sound of a bell, researchers injected tracers to establish a pathway

Rats were lesioned and had their auditory thalamus removed and were tested again using the bell

Found that rats no longer felt fear after their thalamus was removed

Speisman et al. - audio track interference

Aimed to prove Lazarus's theory of appraisal's interference with emotions, participants shown an unpleasant documentary about circumcision of boys, split into 3 groups

1 - trauma group, soundtrack accentuated pain, 2 - denial group, soundtrack suggested ritual was joyful, 3 - intellectualisation, no emphasis on pain / anthropological approach

Found that participants reacted more emotionally in trauma group

Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process (22 marks)

Brown and Kulik - flashbulb memory

Aimed to investigate whether events with an emotional connection are remembered better, interviewed 80 US participants, 40 white and 40 African-Americans, had to answer questions about 10 events, 1 personally chosen

African Americans recalled more FBMs about civil rights leaders than White Americans; assassination of JFK had most FBMs

Neisser and Harsch - challenger study

Based on Challenger shuttle incident, 24 hours after incident subjects were asked about what they remembered, asked again 3 years later and asked to rate confidence level on accuracy of recall

3 of 44 participants had perfect recall, 25% had completely inaccurate recall, 40% had distorted memories

Challenges existence of FBM

[effyeahibpsychology]

Research Studies for the Sociocultural Level of Analysis

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

Outline principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis (8 marks)

n/a

Explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (8 marks)

Solomon Asch - Asch's Paradigm experiment on conformity

Aim was to investigate the exitence of conformity by placing a participant in a room with 6 confederates before asking which line on one card matched the line on another card

Confederates answered correctly on some but incorrectly on most

Those who wished to identify themselves with the majority in-group conformed

Smith and Bond - meta-analysis of 133 conformity studies

Found that conformity is lower in individualist cultures (America, UK) and higher in collectivist cultures (China, Africa, South America)

Albert Bandura - Bobo doll experiment

Aim was to demonstrate that learning can occur through observation (vicariously) of role models

36 boys / 36 girls divided into 3 groups, 1 that observed an aggressive model, 1 that observed a no-aggression model, and control group that did not see any models

children who observed the aggressive model were more aggressive physically and verbally

Henry Tajfel - intergroup discrimination experiment

Aim was to test Tajfel's Social Identity Theory; 48 boys divided based on their preference for Klee or Kandinsky and were asked to rate in- and out-group on qualities e.g. likeability

Found that out-groups were rated less likeable

Lee et al. - Audience and game show experiment

Aim was to demonstrate fundamental attribution error, subjects were randomly split into hosts, audience, and contestants, and hosts were asked to design their own intelligence for the contestants while audience watched the show

Asked audience to rank intelligence of hosts and contestants

Audience consistently rated hosts as being smarter, failed to acknowledge the situation

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural level of analysis. (22 marks)

Philip Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment

aim was to prove situational factors can affect behaviour, 22 male participants were randomly assigned as prisoners or wardens, not given any instructions except to maintain order without physical violence

Situation affected behaviours of all participants involved, prisoners believed they were prisoners / wardens believed they were wardens

Supports SIT - categorisation, development of identity within each in-group

Charlton et al. - St Helena TV violence

Investigate the effect of the introduction of television on aggression in children, covert observation through cameras set up in the playgrounds of 2 primary schools

After 5 years, level of aggression had not increased

Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of analysis (22 marks)

Philip Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment

aim was to prove situational factors can affect behaviour, 22 male participants were randomly assigned as prisoners or wardens, not given any instructions except to maintain order without physical violence

Situation affected behaviours of all participants involved, prisoners believed they were prisoners / wardens believed they were wardens

Supports SIT - categorisation, development of identity within each in-group

ethics - psychological harm, deceived, could not give informed consent, but were debriefed

Charlton et al. - St Helena TV violence

Investigate the effect of the introduction of television on aggression in children, covert observation through cameras set up in the playgrounds of 2 primary schools

After 5 years, level of aggression had not increased

ethics - deception, privacy / confidentiality, no informed consent, no right to withdraw

SOCIOCULTURAL COGNITION

Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour (8 marks)

Philip Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment

aim was to prove situational factors can affect behaviour, 22 male participants were randomly assigned as prisoners or wardens, not given any instructions except to maintain order without physical violence

Situation affected behaviours of all participants involved, prisoners believed they were prisoners / wardens believed they were wardens

Supports SIT - categorisation, development of identity within each in-group

Milgram - Obedience study

Situational factors - the participants were under pressure from the authority figure to continue, many said they would never have continued if the researcher wasn't there

Solomon Asch - Asch's Paradigm experiment on conformity

Aim was to investigate the exitence of conformity by placing a participant in a room with 6 confederates before asking which line on one card matched the line on another card

Confederates answered correctly on some but incorrectly on most

Those who wished to identify themselves with the majority in-group conformed

Lee et al. - Audience and game show experiment

Aim was to demonstrate fundamental attribution error, subjects were randomly split into hosts, audience, and contestants, and hosts were asked to design their own intelligence for the contestants while audience watched the show

Asked audience to rank intelligence of hosts and contestants

Audience consistently rated hosts as being smarter, failed to acknowledge the situation

Discuss two errors in attribution (22 marks)

Lee et al. - Audience and game show experiment

Aim was to demonstrate fundamental attribution error, subjects were randomly split into hosts, audience, and contestants, and hosts were asked to design their own intelligence for the contestants while audience watched the show

Asked audience to rank intelligence of hosts and contestants

Audience consistently rated hosts as being smarter, failed to acknowledge the situation

Jones and Harris - Castro essay evaluations

Aim was to demonstrate fundamental attribution error, participants were university students split into 2 groups, asked to read pro- and anti-Fidel Castro essays, then asked to rate pro-Castro attitudes of writers

When they believed writers had free choice, rated them as having a more pro-Castro view, when participants were told the writer's stances were determined by coin toss, they still rated writers as being pro-Castro

Kashima and Triandis - Cultural differences in self-serving bias

Aim was to identify cultural factors that affect attribution in Japanese and American students, students were given pictures of unfamiliar countries and asked to remember details from images

American students attributed success to their own dispositions, while Japanese students attributed failures to their dispositions

Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies (22 marks)

Henry Tajfel - intergroup discrimination experiment

Aim was to test Tajfel's Social Identity Theory; 48 boys divided based on their preference for Klee or Kandinsky and were asked to rate in- and out-group on qualities e.g. likeability

Found that out-groups were rated less likeable

Cialdini et al. (1976) - football game observation

Aim was to demonstrate social comparison, observed the responses of student fans of winning school football team by observing what they wore the day after a successful match

Students more likely to wear clothing representative of school's colours / symbols the day after a successful match

Philip Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment

aim was to prove situational factors can affect behaviour, 22 male participants were randomly assigned as prisoners or wardens, not given any instructions except to maintain order without physical violence

Situation affected behaviours of all participants involved, prisoners believed they were prisoners / wardens believed they were wardens

Supports SIT - categorisation, development of identity within each in-group

Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour (8 marks)

Aronson and Steele - African- and European-American study

Aim was to demonstrate the effect of stereotype threat where African-Americans and White-Americans were asked to take a difficult multi-choice test

Split into 2 groups, one was told it was a genuine test while the other was told it was a lab test to study how certain problems are solved

African-Americans scored lower in group 1, scored equal in group 2

Spencer et al. - Stereotype threat maths experiment

Aim to demonstrate the effect of stereotype threat, gave a difficult maths test to male and female students, it was predicted that women would underperform - stereotype threat stems from common negative stereotype that women are less capable at mathematics

Women underperformed compared to equally qualified men, however a literature test yielded both groups performing equally well because neither groups were under stereotype threat

SOCIAL NORMS

Explain social learning theory making reference to two relevant studies (8 marks)

Albert Bandura - Bobo doll experiment

Aim was to demonstrate that learning can occur through observation (vicariously) of role models

36 boys / 36 girls divided into 3 groups, 1 that observed an aggressive model, 1 that observed a no-aggression model, and control group that did not see any models

children who observed the aggressive model were more aggressive physically and verbally

Charlton et al. - St Helena TV violence

Investigate the effect of the introduction of television on aggression in children, covert observation through cameras set up in the playgrounds of 2 primary schools

After 5 years, level of aggression had not increased

ethics - deception, privacy / confidentiality, no informed consent, no right to withdraw

Discuss the use of compliance techniques (22 marks)

Dickerson et al. (1992) - "Take a Shorter Shower" (FOOT IN THE DOOR)

Aim was to investigate the effect of compliance on behaviour by using foot-in-the-door technique, asked university students to sign a poster saying conserve water by taking shorter showers

Students who signed had a significantly lower shower time than the average across dorms

Cialdini - juvenile day trip / social worker study (DOOR IN THE FACE)

Aimed to investigate the effect of door in the face on compliance, experimenters pretended to be officials from a youth counselling programme and stopped uni students, asking if they would look after some juvenile delinquents on a day trip

Another day, experimenters asked if they would be willing to take part in a "2 hours per week, for 2 years" counselling programme before asking them the first request

83% refused request A, 100% refused request B but then 50% accepted the follow-up request

Evaluate research on conformity to group norms (22 marks)

Solomon Asch - Asch's Paradigm experiment on conformity

Aim was to investigate the exitence of conformity by placing a participant in a room with 6 confederates before asking which line on one card matched the line on another card

Confederates answered correctly on some but incorrectly on most

Those who wished to identify themselves with the majority in-group conformed

Moscovici and Lage - shades of blue study

Aimed to investigate whether a minority group can influence majority through conformity, 4 subjects placed in a room with 2 confederates and were asked to judge if different shades of blue / green were blue or green, confederates instructed to give wrong answer consistently

Minority were able to influence 32% of participants to give wrong answers, and these subjects continued to give wrong answer even after confederates had left

Discuss factors influencing conformity (22 marks)

Solomon Asch - Asch's Paradigm experiment on conformity

Aim was to investigate the exitence of conformity by placing a participant in a room with 6 confederates before asking which line on one card matched the line on another card

Confederates answered correctly on some but incorrectly on most

Those who wished to identify themselves with the majority in-group conformed

Moscovici and Lage - shades of blue study

Aimed to investigate whether a minority group can influence majority through conformity, 4 subjects placed in a room with 2 confederates and were asked to judge if different shades of blue / green were blue or green, confederates instructed to give wrong answer consistently

Minority were able to influence 32% of participants to give wrong answers, and these subjects continued to give wrong answer even after confederates had left

CULTURAL NORMS

Define the term culture and cultural norms (8 marks)

n/a

Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behaviour (22 marks)

Geert Hofstede (1971) - IBM employee correlation study

Aimed to identify traits through the classification of behaviour according to culture, had 60,000 IBM employees from over 50 different countries as participants, asked to fill out surveys

Hofstede found 4 bipolar cultural dimensions: individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance

Smith and Bond - meta-analysis of 133 conformity studies

Found that conformity is lower in individualist cultures (America, UK) and higher in collectivist cultures (China, Africa, South America)

Kashima and Triandis - Cultural differences in self-serving bias

Aim was to identify cultural factors that affect attribution in Japanese and American students, students were given pictures of unfamiliar countries and asked to remember details from images

American students attributed success to their own dispositions, while Japanese students attributed failures to their dispositions

Mead - New Guinea anthropological study

Aimed to compare masculine and feminine traits in different cultures in New Guinea, used covert observation on 3 different tribes

In tribe 1, both male and females were more aggressive / ruthless, in tribe 2 both males and females were more sensitive, in tribe 3 females were more dominant and males had more feminine traits

Using one or more examples, explain “emic” and “etic” concepts (8 marks)

World Health Organisation Study on Depression (ETIC)

Studied diagnosis and classification of depression in Switzerland, Canada, Japan and Iran, 576 patients studied using one standard diagnosis system

40% of patients displayed symptoms that were not in standard classification system

Smith and Bond - meta-analysis of 133 conformity studies

Found that conformity is lower in individualist cultures (America, UK) and higher in collectivist cultures (China, Africa, South America)

[effyeahibpsychology]

Research Studies for the Biological Level of Analysis

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

Outline principles that define the biological level of analysis (8 marks)

n/a

Explain how principles that define the biological level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (8 marks)

Money - sex change case study

Longitudinal study on David Reimer, a boy who lost his penis in a circumsicion accident

Advised his parents to give him a sex change; real aim was to prove that nurture determines gender identity, not nature

Proves that psychosexual development is determined by chromosomes and hormones

Rosenzweig, Bennet and Diamond (1972) - role of environmental stimulation on brain plasticity

To investigate whether environmental factors affected development of neurons in cerebral cortex

Brains of enriched environment rats were denser

Clive Wearing case study

Kasamatsu and Hirai - Japanese Monks serotonin study

Investigation into how sensory deprivation affects the brain

Found that sensory deprivation triggered release of higher levels of serotonin

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the biological level of analysis (22 marks)

Rosenzweig, Bennet and Diamond (1972) - role of environmental stimulation on brain plasticity

To investigate whether environmental factors affected development of neurons in cerebral cortex

Brains of enriched environment rats were denser

Clive Wearing case study

Suffered damage to hippocampus due to encephalitis, suffers retrograde and anterograde amnesia

Cannot form new memories, but remembers emotional and procedural memories

Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis. (22 marks)

Money - sex change case study

Longitudinal study on David Reimer, a boy who lost his penis in a circumcision accident

Advised his parents to give him a sex change; real aim was to prove that nurture determines gender identity, not nature

Proves that psychosexual development is determined by chromosomes and hormones

Lindstroem et al. Schizophrenia and dopamine

Aim was to determine whether or not schizophrenic patients had differences in dopamine levels compared to non-schizophrenics

Schizophrenics had higher levels of dopamine production in their brains

PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR

Explain one study related to localization of function in the brain (8 marks)

Sperry (1968) - hemisphere disconnection

A natural experiment with the aim of investigating behavioural, psychological and neurological effects of disconnecting brain hemispheres

After a brain disconnection surgery, patients were shown visual information for 1/10th of a second on each eye (so eye has no time to focus / adjust) - information seen by left eye goes to right hemisphere etc.

Tactile stimulus only to left or right side, screen covered to remove vis. ID, information about object felt by left hand goes to right hemisphere etc.

Brain is localised - speech and writing in left, processing of visuals in right

Using one or more examples, explain the effects of neurotransmission on human behaviour (8 marks)

Kasamatsu and Hirai - Japanese monks serotonin study

Investigation into how sensory deprivation affects the brain

Found that sensory deprivation triggered release of higher levels of serotonin, triggering hallucinations

Using one or more examples, explain the functions of two hormones on behaviour (8 marks)

Marucha (1997) the effects of stress on time taken to recover

To investigate the link between stress levels and the body's ability to recover

11 dental students had their soft palates punctured during a) summer holidays and b) before exams began

Took longer to heal under stress

Rosenthal - melatonin study

In countries where low-light periods in winter are very long, people produce higher levels of melatonin for prolonged periods of time

Causes Seasonal Affective Disorder

Discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes (22 marks)

Genie - feral child

Locked up for 13 years with little to no stimulation, cannot speak or walk properly

Psychologists have been trying to restore her ability to speak and think like a normal child but the "window" of learning has passed

Rosenzweig, Bennet, Diamond (1972) - the role of environmental stimulation on brain plasticity

To investigate whether environmental factors affected development of neurons in cerebral cortex

Brains of enriched-environment rats were denser

Bremner et al. (2003) - Stress, PTSD and memory problems related to reduction of hippocampal volume

Aim was to measure the volume of hippocampus based on theory that prolonged stress (raised cortisol levels) may reduce its volume

Found that hippocampus was smaller in PTSD patients than control

Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of behaviour. Evaluate two relevant studies. (22 marks)

Clive Wearing case study

Suffered damage to hippocampus due to encephalitis, suffers from retrograde and anterograde amnesia

Cannot form new memories, but remembers emotional and procedural memories

Milner and Scoville - case study of HM

HM suffered from severe epilepsy, had a surgery to remove parts of his temporal lobe but surgery also accidentally removed parts of hippocampus, suffers from retro- / anterograde amnesia

Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between biological factors and behaviour. (22 marks)

Lindstroem et al. - schizophrenia and dopamine

Aim was to determine whether or not schizophrenic patients had differences in dopamine levels compared to non-schizophrenics

Schizophrenics had higher levels of dopamine production in their brains

Raine et al. (1997) - brains of murderers

To discover if murderers who plead not guilty for reasons of insanity (NGRI) showed evidence of brain abnormalities

NGRIs had less activity in the pre-frontal cortex (self-control / emotion) and amygdala / medial temporal hippocampus (inhibition of violence, fearlessness, unable to perceive consequences)

Milner and Scoville - case study of HM

HM suffered from severe epilepsy, had a surgery to remove parts of his temporal lobe but surgery also accidentally removed parts of hippocampus, suffers from retro- / anterograde amnesia

GENETICS AND BEHAVIOUR

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behaviour? (22 marks)

Caspi et al. (2003) - gene mapping study

Analyse possible role of (mutated) 5-HTT gene (responsible for serotonin production) in depression, longitudinal study using self-report of feelings after stressful event

Those with mutations were more likely to experience depression than those with normal gene

However, 43% of the world population has this mutation

Could be triggered by event - Nurnberg - 80% of women who have traumatic life events experience depression

Price - bipolar disorder in twins

Investigate relationship of BP in 216 pairs of DZ and MZ twins raised apart

MZ twins raised together - 68% concordance rate, MZ twins raised apart - 67% c.r., DZ twins 23%

Scarr and Weinberg - is intelligence genetic?

Trans-racial adoption participants, Afro-American children adopted by white families with existing biological children

Adopted children showed no significant IQ difference to biological children

Class may influence intelligence (due to quality of education)

Discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behaviour (22 marks)

Lindstroem et al. - Schizophrenia and dopamine

Aim was to determine whether or not schizophrenic patients had differences in dopamine levels compared to non-schizophrenics

Schizophrenics had higher levels of dopamine production in brains

Raine et al. (1997) - brains of murderers

To discover if murderers who plead not guilty for reasons of insanity (NGRI) showed evidence of brain abnormalities

NGRIs had less activity in pre-frontal cortex (self-control / emotion) and amygdala / medial temporal hippocampus (inhibition of violence, fearlessness, unable to perceive consequences)

Rosenzweig, Bennet and Diamond (1972) - role of environmental stimulation on brain plasticity

To investigate whether environmental factors affected development of neurons in cerebral cortex

Brains of enriched environment rats were denser

Examine one evolutionary explanation of behaviour (22 marks)

Fessler et al (2006) - disgust sensitivity in pregnant women

To investigate disgust sensitivity in first trimester of pregnancy, conducted a web survey where women had to indicate disgust levels in different scenarios

The weakened immune systems of pregnant women in first trimester made them more sensitive to dangerous foods

Curtis et al (2004) - similar to Fessler et al.

But used male and female participants of various ages from 165 different countries

Females had higher disgust ratings than men, disgust levels increased with age

Disgust helps protect those in situation where immune system was being hindered (pregnancy, age)

[effyeahibpsychology]

Examine prevention strategies and treatments for substance abuse and addictive behaviour (22 marks)

Command term "EXAMINE" - consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue.

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITIONS

Substance: anything ingested that alters mood / cognition / behaviour; e.g. alcohol, drugs, nicotine

Substance abuse: continued use of a substance despite knowing problems associated with it / unsuccessful efforts to control use

Addictive behaviour: being physically dependent on a substance because of repeated use over time

Psychological addiction: craving, strong desire to smoke / drink / take drugs

Situations associated with smoking / smoker’s mood and psychological state triggers craving

Physiological addiction: display symptoms such as tolerance

Person needs more of the substance to achieve the same effect

Withdrawal symptoms if substance not taken - nausea, irritability, anxiety

Prevention strategies - preventing people from beginning the addictive behaviour

Treatments - therapies to help someone stop

MAIN BODY

PREVENTION

Part of primary prevention.

Most European countries have put bans / restrictions on advertising. The WHO (World Health Organisation) wants to put a complete ban on tobacco advertising / promoting / sponsorship

Tobacco companies always market products for youths

They now target youths in developing countries - too difficult to market in most Western countries

Have a campaign called MPOWER:

Monitor tobacco use / prevention policies (build strategies)

Protect people from tobacco smoke (smoke-free areas)

Offer help to quit (counselling, national services)

Warn about dangers of tobacco use

Enforce ban on tobacco in ads, promotions, sponsorships

Raise taxes on tobacco

STUDY: Hanewinkel and Wiborg (2002)

AIM: to investigate the effectiveness of a school-based campaign in Germany

PROCEDURE - Longitudinal study - Participants were German students with a mean age of 13 - Classes had to decide to be a "smoke-free" class or not with the chance to win prizes - Control groups weren't in the competition - Smoking status assessed before and after

FINDINGS - After the competition, control pupils had a higher prevalence of smoking than experimental students 

CONCLUSION - Competition delayed the onset of smoking as they had knowledge about it - Aimed to maximise the difference between them and the outgroup (smokers)

EVALUATION - May have been social desirability effect - Bias - teenagers, one culture - Couldn't stop smokers, just prevented potential start

TREATMENT

Part of secondary prevention

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Products like gum, patches, spray can help to some extent

Helps prevent short-term relapse

Not large enough doses to get the pleasure feeling, but enough to make smoking less addictive

Some people may become dependent on the gum

Electronic cigarettes may be used so that people can inhale nicotine vapour and not the other harmful toxins in cigarettes

STUDY: Bullen et al. (2010)

AIM: To examine the short-term effectiveness of e-cigarettes on desire to smoke and withdrawal symptoms vs. a nicotine inhaler

PROCEDURE - Single-blinded (they did not know which they were being given) controlled experiment - Participants were smokers who had not smoked overnight - Given either cigarettes, e-cigarettes or a nicotine inhaler

FINDINGS - E-cigarette had fewer side-effects than  inhaler - Both produced a low desirability to smoke

CONCLUSION - The e-cigarette stimulated the smoking behaviour - Positive associations achieved without the addiction

EVALUATION - Bias of self-report - Reductionist - Ethnocentric

Drug Treatment

Zyban is a drug used in the 1990s to help people give up smoking

Originally an antidepressant, works on the sites in the brain affected by nicotine

Helps people quit by relieving withdrawal symptoms

Blocks effects of nicotine if people resume

STUDY: Pisinger (2008)

DESCRIPTION - Analysed different methods of treatment - Found that the following were most effective:

Individual / group smoking cessation intervention

Professional consultations

Drug / nicotine replacement treatments

- The least effective were:

Leaflets / brochures / internet sites

STUDY: Jorenby et al. (1999)

AIM: to examine the effectiveness of nicotine patches and Zyban

PROCEDURE - Double-blind experiment - Participants either had nicotine patch, nicotine patch and zyban, or a placebo

FINDINGS - 16% of placebo groups did not smoke after 1 year - 30% in the 2 other groups didn't smoke after a year

CONCLUSION - Zyban altered neurochemistry

[effyeahibpsychology]

Explain factors related to the development of substance abuse or addictive behaviour (8 marks)

Command term "EXPLAIN" - give a detailed account, including reasons or causes

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITIONS

Substance: anything ingested that alters mood / cognition / behaviour; e.g. alcohol, drugs, nicotine

Substance abuse: continued use of a substance despite knowing problems associated with it / unsuccessful efforts to control use

Addictive behaviour: being physically dependent on a substance because of repeated use over time

Psychological addiction: craving, strong desire to smoke / drink / take drugs

Situations associated with smoking / smoker's mood and psychological state triggers craving

Physiological addiction: display symptoms such as tolerance

Person needs more of the substance to achieve the same effect

Withdrawal symptoms if substance not taken - nausea, irritability, anxiety

MAIN BODY

Abuse leads to significant impairment of a person's ability to meet obligations in employment, relationships, and their community. People use a range of substances in hopes of achieving an effect (induced self-confidence, having fun, relaxing).

BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

The active ingredient in tobacco is nicotine

A psychoactive drug

Ingested through inhalation

Nicotine stimulates an adrenaline release - increased HR and BP

Stimulate dopamine release - brain's reward circuits, pleasurable feeling causes smoker to continue and avoid withdrawal symptoms

Acetylcholine release - enhances memory and cognition, acts as a natural neurotransmitter

STUDY: Difranza et al. (2006)

AIM: To find out whether people get addicted to cigarettes

PROCEDURE - Longitudinal study of 217 teens (mean age of 12) in America - Performed psychological evaluation and reported history of tobacco use - Answered questions about attitudes and beliefs, social / environment / family / community - All participants have smoked at least once

RESULTS - Those who had an immediate experience of relaxation after first puff were more likely to become addicted - 67% claimed relaxation after first inhale, 29% did not - 91% of first-puff addicts claimed they could not stop - 60% of them said they'd lost control

CONCLUSION - There is a significant correlation between biological factors and addiction - Takes far less to become addicted than what participants previously thought - Positivity associated with smoking - Unknown to why some are more sensitive to nicotine

EVALUATION - Sample bias - Physical harm involved - Self-report is subjective - Culture bias

HEATH AND MADDEN 1995 - twin studies suggest that addiction may be genetic

COGNITIVE AND SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

Some people have negative schemas about smoking - associated with its negative health issues. Others associate it with a positive schema - it makes you "cool".

Charlton (COGNITIVE):

Young smokers associate it with fun and pleasure

Social Identity Theory - some do it to fit in

Advertisements manipulate beliefs, self-image (if you believe smoking is cool then you are more likely to smoke)

SOCIOCULTURAL Bauman (FAMILY):

80% of sampled US adolescents aged 12-14 whose parents never smoked have never smoked themselves

If parents smoked, half the children have tried smoking 

Longitudinal studies in the UK confirm this

FRIENDS / CULTURE:

Peer-pressure, source of social identity and learning social norms

STUDY: Unger et al 2001

AIM: To investigate whether adolescents smoke more when their friends do

PROCEDURE - Cross-cultural survey on US adolescents

FINDINGS - White-Americans who had peers who smoked were more likely to smoke than Asian / Hispanic teens

CONCLUSION - Individualist cultures - more rebellion, creating their own youth to set themselves apart from their parents - Collectivist cultures - the bond between parent and child is more important, they are more likely to conform to family norms - Demonstrated SLT - smoked to fit into friendship group

EVALUATION - Bias of self-report - Social desirability effect - Although it is cross-cultural, it only studies cultures within American society - reductionist  - Also reductionist to say that it is only due to norms

[effyeahibpsychology]

Evaluate strategies for coping with stress (22 marks)

Command term "EVALUATE" - make an appraisal by weighing up strengths and limitations

INTRODUCTION

Some strategies for coping with stress include:

Problem and emotion-focused coping

Social support

Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Yoga and meditation

MAIN BODY

EMOTION- AND PROBLEM-FOCUSED COPING

Based on Transactional model of stress by Lazarus and Folkman

Assumes that the stress involves a transaction between individual and external world

An event is only stressful if it is perceived as being stressful

This model introduces the importance of psychological factors such as appraisal (cognitive and emotional evaluation of the situation)

Primary appraisal - the event is judged to be irrelevant / positive / negative to one's well-being

Secondary appraisal - different relevant coping strategies are considered before one is chosen, confidence / doubt are considered

These two processes influence each other Continuous and interdependent People may reappraise situation / coping strategies in order to choose a new / more efficient way of coping Folkman and Lazarus suggested that there are 2 main ways of coping: problem-focused and emotion-focused coping

It is difficult to distinguish between the two, and they influence each other

Problem-focused coping

Deals with the stressor itself

Trying to change the problematic situation

More likely to happen if the person feels in control of the stressor

May end in the reduction of unpleasant emotions

Emotion-focused coping

Ability to manage / handle emotional aspects of stress as opposed to changing the situation

E.g. movies, relaxation exercises, social support, drugs

Most likely in cases where people feel like they have no control over the stressors The situation is perceived as one that must be endured Aim is to reduce the negative feelings associated with the stressor e.g. drinking, which is ineffective in the long term and leads to addiction (avoidance coping)

TEND AND BEFRIEND THEORY OF COPING

Proposed by Taylor (2002)

Suggests that there are gender differences in managing stress

Evolution has provided men and women with different challenges

Males - fight / flight response due to adrenaline

Females - tend / befriend due to oxytocin

Tend - engage in nurturing activities

Befriend - seek social support

Women use and provide more social support than men Thoits - women are more likely to give / receive social support to / from other women 

SOCIAL SUPPORT AS A COPING STRATEGY

Related to emotion-focused coping

The experience of being part of a social network with access to mutual assistance and obligations

One is cared for by others

Can come from partner / relatives / friends / various social support groups 

Acts as a bugger against physiological and psychological stress

Gives a feeling of belongingness - belonging to an in-group

Can come in the forms of:

Emotional support - understanding, warmth, empathy

Informational support - helping a person understand / cope better

Practical support - tangible help: transport, money

STUDY: Neuling and Winefield (1988)

AIM: to examine the effectiveness of social support as a coping strategy in female cancer patients

PROCEDURE - Longitudinal study - Had to answer questions about frequency of emotional support

FINDINGS - Patients needed lots of emotional support from family - Higher levels of social support beneficial to participants - Participants wanted a lot of informational support from doctors

CONCLUSION - Social support lead to decreased stress levels - Could be beneficial in the long term - lowers stress and boosts immune system

EVALUATION - No control group, cannot establish cause and effect - Qualitative data hard to analyse

[Allen - people with pets are less stresses than those without. They had lower blood pressure and heart rate - pets have a calming influence on stress symptoms, which is why using animals in therapy (veteran dogs for PTSD, horses etc) is highly effective and good for people with limited social networds]

EVALUATION OF SOCIAL SUPPORT

Good in collectivist cultures as the place a lot of emphasis on social support, but Taylor suggests that it may affect interpersonal relationships negatively

More effective for women

People may not have access to this support

Supported by research

MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR)

Based on Buddhist teachings and meditation

Cultivate mindfulness - an awareness that manifests from paying attention to the present moment

People worry too much about the past / future 

Mind is related to body, relaxation and learning to concentrate on one thing at a time can reduce stress

MBSR aims to teach people how to approach stressful situations mindfully

Response to situation instead of reacting immediately

Individual can develop the ability to calmly step back from thoughts and feelings instead of engaging negative thinking

Proactive coping - learning new skills to prevent future stress Teaches us to avoid automatic negative thinking Can also include more physical activities e.g. yoga 

Creates awareness of physical sensations and warnings

Meditation - awareness of body, allowing the mind to wander

STUDY: Shapiro et al. 1998 - MBSR

AIM: To test whether the MBSR method is efficient

PROCEDURE -Participants were university (medical) students, equal no. of males and females - Randomly assigned offered an MBSR course or put on the "waitlist"for it - Both groups had to fill out self-report questionnaires assessing stress at the start of the term (before course) and during end-of-term exams (after course)

RESULTS -No difference between two groups at beginning of term - Waitlist participants expressed more anxiety than those who had MBSR classes - MBSR less anxious than they were at the start - MBSR scored higher on empathy questionnaire than controls; less depressed and had fewer symptoms of psychological stress

CONCLUSION - The course taught them to cope effectively with the stress of exams

EVALUATION - Cannot be generalised - med students - Participated for course credit - Not representative - People have to be willing to learn - Recent / needs more research - A combination of all methods may be more beneficial as there are overlaps and many of them address different aspects of stress

[effyeahibpsychology]

Discuss physiological, psychological, and social aspects of stress (22 marks)

Command term "DISCUSS"- a considered and balanced review, including a range of arguments, factors, or hypotheses. Any conclusions are presented clearly, supported by appropriate evidence.

INTRODUCTION

STRESS

Stress is a negative emotional experience accompanied by various physical, cognitive, and behavioural changes

Body both consciously and subconsciously reacts to stressors

Beliefs and expectations of a situation play a role on the intensity of the person’s coping method

Failure to respond appropriately to emotional / physical threats

Stress is caused by stressors

MAIN BODY

PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT THEORY - Canon

The "fight or flight" response is believed to be an evolutionary response to acute stress

The hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis (H-P-A Axis) is the process of creating the response

The stressor is acknowledged by the hypothalamus

The pituitary gland activates the endocrine system

At the end of the H-P-A Axis the paths split:

Adrenal medulla - autonomic nervous system

Adrenal cortex - secretes cortisol

Adrenaline increases heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating

Cortisol increases blood sugar and lowers digestion and immune functioning

GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS) - Selye

States that there are 3 stages in the stress process

Initial stage: alarm stage - equivalent of flight or fight response;

adrenaline and cortisol surge - increase in heart rate and blood pressure

energy reserves are mobilised

Second stage: resistance stage - coping, attempting to reverse effects of alarm stage;

body adapts to demands

Third stage: exhaustion - reached after the individual is no longer able to further cope;

body cannot maintain nomal functioning

autonomic nervous system may reactivate, increasing sweating and heart rate

Immune system deteriorates

Damage to adrenal gland

May result in illness - ulcers, depression etc.

The exhaustion stage explains the fatigue that people feel after long-term stress

This model does present one weakness - psychological (and not solely physiological) factors play a minor role in the model

STUDY: Cohen et al.  (1993)

AIM: To find out if stress effects the immune system

PROCEDURE - Patients were infected with a cold virus and underwent different levels of stress

FINDINGS - Participants were more likely to develop other illnesses when experiencing high levels of stress - The longer the duration of stress, the higher the risk of this

CONCLUSION - They were in the exhaustion stage of GAS - The stress lowered their immune system's ability to function - Explains Holmes and Rahe's findings

EVALUATION - Everyone has different levels of resistance - Caused physical harm - infected them with virus - Ethnocentric - Can't establish cause and effect

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF STRESS

Cognitive processes determine whether an event is perceived as being stressful or not

If it is not, then it is unlikely that there will be a physiological stress response

Lazarus’s Theory of Appraisal

An appraisal must be made in order for emotions to happen

Emotions are influenced by personal characteristics and how these characteristics affect the appraisal

Then they act according to the interpretation / appraisal

Their reaction will be what they suppose to be the best response to the situation

Primary appraisal 

An evaluation of the nature of the situation

Is it relevant to my goals? 

Is it favourable to my situation?

Who is responsible for it?

Secondary appraisal

Evaluation of ways of coping with the situation

Changing it by making it less threatening

How capable am I of coping with this?

STUDY: Speisman et al. - Audio track interfering with emotion

AIM: to prove the Lazarus’s theory that appraisal can interfere with emotions

PROCEDURE - Participants were shown an unpleasant documentary of a traditional coming-of-age ritual of performing a circumcision on boys - Three groups:  1. Trauma group ~ Shown the documentary with a soundtrack emphasising the pain 2. Denial group ~ With a soundtrack that suggested the ritual was joyful - the boys anticipated entering manhood 3. Intellectualisation group ~ With an anthropological interpretation that ignored the pain

FINDINGS - Participants reacted more emotionally in the trauma group compared to other two

CONCLUSION - Because they evaluated the situation as being painful through the soundtrack - Thought it was appropriate to display more negative emotions - as the situation showed potential harm - Shows that through appraising the situation, different emotional responses can be displayed to the same stimuli

Reed et al. (1999) 

HIV-positive patients with more pessimistic expectations developed HIV-related symptoms faster

They died of AIDS sooner

Expectations also seem to predict some of the immune changes associated with HIV

SOCIAL ASPECTS OF STRESS

Humans are social animals

We can be affected by social stressors like unemployment, homelessness, lack of education, financial troubles, domestic violence

Holmes and Rahe's social readjustment rating scale

Evans and Kim - long-term exposure to poverty in children lead to increased cortisol levels. This lead to higher chances of heart problems

[effyeahibpsychology]

Describe stressors (8 marks)

Command term "DESCRIBE" - give a detailed account

STRESS

Stress is a negative emotional experience accompanied by various physical, cognitive, and behavioural changes

Body both consciously and subconsciously reacts to stressors

Beliefs and expectations of a situation play a role on the intensity of the person's coping method

Failure to respond appropriately to emotional / physical threats Stress is caused by stressors

STRESSORS

Adverse / challenging event - psychological / psychosocial - that causes a stress response

Factors that cause stress can include noise, pain, violence, job stress etc.

Sapolsky - imagined stressors can also lead to the same physiological arousal as external stressors (anxiety from overthinking) Stressors are subjective and depend on someone's capacity to cope with them Stressors can be acute or chronic Acute stressors

Sudden - sudden diagnosis, death of loved one, receiving a university rejection letter

Call for immediate attention

Don't last long

Body changes in a state of alert in order to deal with stress, before returning to normal

Chronic stressors

Persist over a long period of time - social stressors (poverty, unemployment, living in a violent environment), long-term illness, may lead to substance abuse / smoking / illness

Constant source of worry

Can damage the body in many ways

Constant elevated state of cortisol hormone can lead to illness

Body does not return to normal because stressor is constant

HOLMES AND RAHE

People with a serious illness often have a severe life event that triggers it

Events could be positive or negative but were stressful as the person needed to adapt to it

Asked people to rate life events on a social readjustment rating scale

Found that the top 5 most stressful events were: death of spouse, divorce, marital separation, jail term, death of a close family member

This result demonstrates the sociocultural principle that humans are social animals. However, the scale seems to be ethnocentric, and has views from a Western perspective, and also demonstrates historical bias - attitudes change over time.

[effyeahibpsychology]

Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process (22 marks)

Command term "EVALUATE" - make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations

Flashbulb Memory (FBM)

Developed by Brown and Kulik

Suggests that memory is stronger when there is an emotional impact, if it is relevant to oneself, and has consequences on one’s life

When an event is highly emotional, there may be very detailed recall of it

The term “flashbulb” is used as it indicates the level of detail in the memory - as if the flashbulb of a camera is going off

In terms of eyewitness testimonies, a crime would have to have an emotional impact in order to be more detailed (leading to flashbulb, rather than reconstructive)

Emotional memories are more reliable as they are stored separately in the amygdala rather than the hippocampus

Brown and Kulik also hypothesised that a specialised neural mechanism exists in the brain which stores information permanently in a memory system devoted solely to FBMs

STUDY: Brown and Kulik - Flashbulb Memory

AIM: to investigate whether events with an emotional connection are remembered better

PROCEDURE:  - Interviewed 80 participants: 40 White Americans and 40 African Americans - Had to answer questions about 10 events: 9 were assassinations / attempts of well-known American personalities - Last event was self-selected out of personal events (e.g. death of family member) - Asked how much they rehearsed the events overtly (discussing with others) or covertly (private rehearsing / ruminating)

FINDINGS - Found the assassination of JFK lead to the most flashbulb memories (90%) - African Americans recalled more FBMs about civil rights leaders more than White Americans (e.g. Martin Luther King) - For last event, most participants recalled shocking events e.g. death of a perent

CONCLUSION - Supported FBM theory in that

FBMs form in situations where we encounter surprising / highly emotional information

Maintained by overt and covert rehearsal

Differ from other memories in that they are more detailed, accurate, and they last longer

FINDINGS - Participants had vivid memories of events that were surprising / highly emotional - Maintained by overt and covert rehearsal - Are more detailed, last longer, more consistent than other memories

EVALUATION - High ecological validity - recollection of real event - People might interpret from their current perspective and not in the highly emotional context in which the memory was formed - Emotions may make memories less reliable

Neisser (1962) refutes FBM by saying that they are only vivid because an event with high emotional impact is rehearsed a lot. This large amount of rehearsal may distort the memory as well as make it seem more descriptive.

STUDY: Neisser and Harsch - Challenger Study

AIM: Evaluate the theory and existence of FBM

PROCEDURE - Study was based upon the Challenger space shuttle incident - 24 hours after the incident, subjects were asked about what they remembered - Similar questions were asked 3 years later - They were also asked to rate their confidence on the accuracy of recall

FINDINGS - 3 of 44 students had perfect recall - 25% had a completely inaccurate memory - 40% had distorted memories, possibly influenced by post-event information - Subjects were confident in their recall

CONCLUSION - Challenges the existence of FBM and the reliability of memory - Backs up the theory that memory is reconstructive (Bartlett) - FBMs may just be ordinary memories but seem more vivid due to a lot of rehearsal

EVALUATION - Memory may not have had personal relevance - Only students were used - age and culture bias - Emotional arousal may be different from person to person (subjective)

Freud theorised that deeply emotional / traumatic memories may be repressed, both a subconscious and conscious attempt to avoid the emotions brought up by the event. This may be to protect ego.

Evaluation

Explains why some memories can be vivid

Has been supported by some studies

Studies that disprove FBM failed to show immediacy between event and subject

Is not entirely reliable (eyewitness testimony), memory distortions present when there is a lot of rehearsal

Emotions may effect memory negatively - repression

Depression and other disorders may affect memory

Many studies disprove FBM

Better recall / vivid detail may be due to multiple rehearsals

[effyeahibpsychology]

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion? (22 marks)

Command term "TO WHAT EXTENT" - consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument

INTRODUCTION

Damasio (2000) defined emotions as being physiological signals that are a reaction to external stimuli, and feelings arise when the brain interprets the stimuli.

There are different components that comprise the experience of emotion:

Physiological changes - the arousal of automatic nervous systems and endocrine system that are not conscious

Subjective feelings of a person's emotions (e.g. happiness)

Associated behaviour (e.g. smiling)

Ekman et al. identified 6 fundamental emotions

Fear

Anger

Disgust

Surprise

Sadness

Happiness

These emotions are universal, suggesting that emotion is biological rather than cognitive.

Emotions such as fear are caused by adrenaline and cortisol. Anxiety / phobias / panic disorders are a malfunction in the brain's ability to control the reaction.

MAIN BODY

BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

LeDoux's Theory of Emotional Pathways

Suggested that there are two routes of emotion in the brain

Discovered through testing the theory on rats (may be incorrect to generalise to humans)

The two pathways are:

Fast Route - thalamus to amygdala - there is less of logical throught processing, and causes an instinctive motor response (e.g. flight or fight), this is useful in situations of immediate danger

Long Route - thalamus > sensory cortex > hippocampus > amygdala - evaluates and analyses stimuli in order to give a suitable reaction, the thought process takes over the instinctive emotional response

STUDY: LeDoux - Fear in Rats experiment (biological factors in emotion)

AIM: investigate the role of the amygdala

PROCEDURE - Rats were conditioned to feel fear when they hear the sound of a bell (through the use of electric shocks) - Used tracers to establish a pathway - Lesioned and removed the auditory thalamus - Tested again to see if they displayed fear at the bell

FINDINGS - Rats no longer showed fear when the bell rang after their thalamus was removed - In further studies, found that lesions on one site of the amygdala was able to stop blood pressure from rising

CONCLUSION - Biology interacts with emotion

EVALUATION - Low ethical validity - induced fear in the subjects and caused mental harm; caused irreversible physical trauma - Subjects did not have a right to withdraw - It is difficult to generalise to humans

COGNITIVE INTERACTION

Lazarus's Theory of Appraisal

An appraisal must be made in order for emotions to happen

Emotions are influenced by personal characteristics and how these characteristics affect the appraisal

Then they act according to the interpretation / appraisal

Their reaction will be what they suppose to be the best response to the situation

Primary appraisal 

An evaluation of the nature of the situation

Is it relevant to my goals? 

Is it favourable to my situation?

Who is responsible for it?

Secondary appraisal

Evaluation of ways of coping with the situation

Changing it by making it less threatening

How capable am I of coping with this?

STUDY: Speisman et al. - Audio track interfering with emotion

AIM: to prove the Lazarus's theory that appraisal can interfere with emotions

PROCEDURE - Participants were shown an unpleasant documentary of a traditional coming-of-age ritual of performing a circumcision on boys - Three groups:  1. Trauma group ~ Shown the documentary with a soundtrack emphasising the pain 2. Denial group ~ With a soundtrack that suggested the ritual was joyful - the boys anticipated entering manhood 3. Intellectualisation group ~ With an anthropological interpretation that ignored the pain

FINDINGS - Participants reacted more emotionally in the trauma group compared to other two

CONCLUSION - Because they evaluated the situation as being painful through the soundtrack - Thought it was appropriate to display more negative emotions - as the situation showed potential harm - Shows that through appraising the situation, different emotional responses can be displayed to the same stimuli

EVALUATION - Low ecological validity - lab conditions, controlled environment

Overall, there are different theories about how the two factors interact in emotions. Many argue that Lazarus's theory may be inaccurate, as in situations of immediate danger, the time taken to appraise the situation, a person may not be able to react on time. 

However, Lazarus's theory makes sense in situations where the danger is not immediate, as shown in the Speisman study, where the danger is in a video and not something that is directly happening to the participant. 

It is very difficult to tell if biological or cognitive factors take place first. The way these factors interact may depend greatly on the situation and whether or not the situation poses an immediate threat to the person or not. In cases of immediate danger, biological factors seem to take over, and instinctive responses such as fight or flight (the release of adrenaline and cortisol) take place.

[effyeahibpsychology]

Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes (22 marks)

Command term "DISCUSS" - give a considered and balanced review, including a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions and conclusions presented clearly supported by appropriate evidence.

INTRODUCTION

The use of scanning technologies has brought about many discoveries and developments in the field of psychology. The use of technology at the cognitive level of analysis enables psychologists to utilise these different methods to examine the human brain, and to study the active brain. Technology also allows us so see where specific processes take place (localisation of functions).

MAIN BODY

TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY

MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Uses magnetic field and radio waves

Produces a 3D image

Used to detect structural changes

Can discern between different types of tissues

fMRI - Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Detects changes in blood oxygen concentration

Is a real-time feed of brain activity - patients are often presented with a stimulus

PET - positron emission topography

Radioactive tracer isotopes injected (non-toxic)

Monitors glucose metabolisation

Allows for levels of brain activity to be seen

DECISION-MAKING

Involves the pre-frontal cortex

STUDY: Montague - Pepsi / Coke Challence

AIM: to examine customer preferance

PROCEDURE - Patients were given fMRI scans - Were given blind taste test of Pepsi and Coka Cola - Were given taste tests again, except they were told which was which

FINDINGS - Blind taste test - reward centre of the brain became active, the brain showed that the majority favoured the taste of Pepsi - In the second test, the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus became active, and 3/4 of the participants preferred coke

CONCLUSION - Using fMRI, psychologists discovered that despite Pepsi being the one that tasted better, people made the conscious decision and preferred Coke when they knew which was which - Activation of the pre-frontal cortex in the second test shows that decision-making happens there - When schemas about each brand were retrieved from the LTM, the hippocampus became active - Senses were influenced by schema - It is a "cultural norm" that Coke is better than Pepsi - conformity

EVALUATION - Low ecological validity - being under the machine may have caused some pressure - Ethnocentrism - Western values - Ethics of neuromarketing - breach of privacy - Does not explain the details of thought processing, it only showed that it happens

The fMRI machine illustrated the relationship between reasoning / decision making and different areas of the brain.

MEMORY

Episodic and semantic memories are stored in the hippocampus

Procedural and emotional memories are stored in the amygdala

STUDY: Clive Wearing Brain Scan

AIM: To look at Clive Wearing’s brain and whether his retrograde and anterograde amnesia can be seen using scans

FINDINGS - Scans showed damage to Wearing’s hippocampus and frontal regions

EVALUATION - Would have had to be conducted under sedation, otherwise the confusion would have caused him significant psychological trauma - Low ethical validity

STRENGTHS OF TECHNOLOGY

Sometimes it is the only way that data can be retrieved

High ecological validity

Data is easily measured (quantitative)

Significant help to researchers

Can help identify symptoms and diseases

WEAKNESSES OF TECHNOLOGY

Requires interpretation - qualitative data can be ambiguous

Closed / confined spaces of scanner - problems for claustrophobes and obese people

Fear could affect results (loudness may scare children)

Not suitable if pregnant / if you have metallic implants

Could be seen as invasive (PET scans - injection)

Expensive 

[effyeahibpsychology]

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent is one cognitive process reliable? (22 marks)

Command term "TO WHAT EXTENT" - consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence.

INTRODUCTION

Some factors that may affect the reliability of memory include emotions and schemas. 

Emotional distortions to memories frequently occur, especially if the emotion is highly negative. Schemas frequently produce distortions in memory because we use schemas to rationalise information according to our own experiences, which may or may not be incorrect.

The reliability of memory is highly important in eye-witness testimonies that must be given in court. False convictions based on faulty testimonies can be devastating.

MAIN BODY

Schemas

Schemas can be unreliable

Loftus - memories can be distorted in the process of retrieving them

Eyewitnesses reconstruct memories based on schemas

Based on Bartlett's Theory of Reconstructive Memory (Schema Theory) 

Humans are active information processors

The theory explains memory distortions

Schemas that are stored in the LTM are used to fill in gaps of memories when they are recalled into the STM

People have to encode memories to get them into the LTM

Memories are often stored in a way so that they make sense to the person

This is demonstrated in Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study, where White-Americans use their own cultural upbringings to rationalise culturally-unfamiliar elements of the story

STUDY: Loftus and Palmer - Schemas

AIM: to see if changing the verb used in the leading question had an effect on speed estimations

PROCEDURE - Participants were shown a clip of a car crash - They were asked to estimate the speed of the cars when they “smashed / collided / bumped / hit / contacted” 

FINDINGS - Speed estimates varied, with “gentler” words (contacted, hit, bumped) resulting in lower speeds

CONCLUSION - The use of different words activates different schemas in each participants’ memory - The schema of the word “smashed” will make the participant think of higher speeds, and makes the participant think that the event is more severe when compared to “contacted”

This study seems to indicate that memory is not very reliable. However, memory can be reliable in the presence of emotions.

Flashbulb Memory (FBM)

Developed by Brown and Kulik

Suggests that memory is stronger when there is an emotional impact, if it is relevant to oneself, and has consequences on one's life

When an event is highly emotional, there may be very detailed recall of it

The term "flashbulb" is used as it indicates the level of detail in the memory - as if the flashbulb of a camera is going off

In terms of eyewitness testimonies, a crime would have to have an emotional impact in order to be more detailed (leading to flashbulb, rather than reconstructive)

Emotional memories are more reliable as they are stored separately in the amygdala rather than the hippocampus

Brown and Kulik also hypothesised that a specialised neural mechanism exists in the brain which stores information permanently in a memory system devoted solely to FBMs

STUDY: Brown and Kulik - Flashbulb Memory

AIM: to investigate whether events with an emotional connection are remembered better

PROCEDURE:  - Interviewed 80 participants: 40 White Americans and 40 African Americans - Had to answer questions about 10 events: 9 were assassinations / attempts of well-known American personalities - Last event was self-selected out of personal events (e.g. death of family member) - Asked how much they rehearsed the events overtly (discussing with others) or covertly (private rehearsing / ruminating)

FINDINGS - Found the assassination of JFK lead to the most flashbulb memories (90%) - African Americans recalled more FBMs about civil rights leaders more than White Americans (e.g. Martin Luther King) - For last event, most participants recalled shocking events e.g. death of a perent

CONCLUSION - Supported FBM theory in that

FBMs form in situations where we encounter surprising / highly emotional information

Maintained by overt and covert rehearsal

Differ from other memories in that they are more detailed, accurate, and they last longer

FINDINGS - Participants had vivid memories of events that were surprising / highly emotional - Maintained by overt and covert rehearsal - Are more detailed, last longer, more consistent than other memories

EVALUATION - High ecological validity - recollection of real event - People might interpret from their current perspective and not in the highly emotional context in which the memory was formed - Emotions may make memories less reliable

Memory is reliable in the following ways:

Can be reliable if emotional, as supported by Brown and Kulik's FBM theory and flashbulb study

May mean that eyewitness testimonies can be reliable

But are not reliable because:

Memory is a reconstructive process, every time a memory is recalled it is distorted / changed

We fill in gaps in STM with pre-existing information in schemas (Bartlett)

Schemas can be activated through the use of leading questions (Loftus and Palmer Car Crash Study)

Strong emotional responses to memories may lead to denial or repression (Freud - repression in order to protect ego)

Biological factors may effect reliability of memory - Clive Wearing's brain damage

Situational factors - stress of being in court may affect retrieval of information

[effyeahibpsychology]

Discuss how social and cultural factors affect one cognitive process (22 marks)

Command term "DISCUSS" - give a considered and balanced review, including a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions and conclusions presented clearly supported by evidence.

INTRODUCTION

Sociocultural factors: the way we think is affected by our social and cultural upbringings

Cultures may be defined using the following cultural dimensions (Hofstede 1971):

Individualism: the encouragement of emotional expression, emphasis on individuality and distinction, based on achievements

Collectivism: discourages the expression of emotions as they are seen as irrelevant or unimportant, emphasis placed on social bonds

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HOW CULTURE AFFECTS MEMORY

Culture is both a system and a process, it affects what a person remembers and why they remember it based on how important it is within their culture and what areas are emphasised

Cross-cultural research into memory is often ethnocentric

Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghosts study: demonstrated that recall can be affected by culture and social demands

Cognitive processes like memory are universal, but how they are used is not

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STUDY: Cole and Scribner (1974)

AIM: to investigate free recall in the USA and of the Kpelle people in Liberia

PROCEDURE - Schooled and unschooled Liberian children and schooled American children were used as participants - Had to recall a selection of words grouped into 4 lists - Words were culture-specific - Recall repeated several times - Part 2: Words were meaningful objects in a story

FINDINGS - The schooled Liberian students had similar results to the schooled American children - Liberian children remembered the objects in the story well, as they grouped them according to the role they played in the story - Schooled participants used chunking to group together informatoin

CONCLUSION - Western schooling emphasises chunking / clustering, something unfamiliar in the Kpelle culture - However, Kpelle children performed well in the culturally-familiar task (story) - Free recall has no significance in the Liberian tribe - Cognitive skills are present across cultures, but they depend upon the environment the person lives in

EVALUATION - Ethnocentrism - focused on American ways of thinking - Hard to establish a cause and effect relationship because schooling is subjective - It is not entirely clear how culture influences categorisation - Education is also influenced by social interactions at home - Age bias - children - hard to generalise to everyone

Another way in which culture influences information processing and memory is described in Bartlett's Schema Theory

STUDY: Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghosts

AIM: To prove that memory is reconstructive, and to investigate whether cultural schemas influence the participants’ ability to recall stories

PROCEDURE - Participants were White-Americans - Bartlett asked them to read a Native American folk story (The War of the Ghosts) twice - Asked to recall / reproduce using two methods (conditions): - First method - serial reproduction: one person reproduces original story, then second person reproduces first reproduction etc. (goes on for 6 / 7 reproductions) - Second method: participants asked to read the story twice, then after 15 minutes were asked to reproduce the story from memory

FINDINGS - Story appeared to get shorter after 6 / 7 reproductions - Tended to leave out or replace details that were specific to Native American culture (e.g. canoe was replaced with boat) - Tended to fill in the gaps in their memory with their own cultural schemas

CONCLUSION - People reconstruct the past by trying to remember things in terms of their own existing schemas - People try to associate unknown / vague / foreign concepts to their own understanding / experiences, people use their own schemas to fill in gaps - The more complicated the story, the more distortions there were

EVALUATION - Low ecological validity - not a natural experiment - Very few standardised rules, messy / unstructured - No control group - Cultural bias - European Americans - Emic approach - difficult to generalise

Although memory is universal, how we process, encode, learn, and remember things are not universal and are context-bound.

[effyeahibpsychology]

Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process (8 marks)

Command term "EXPLAIN" - give a detailed account, including reasons or causes

INTRODUCTION

A number of different biological factors could affect memory, such as:

Viruses

Infections

psychological disorders - depression, schizophrenia

Alzheimers

Dementia

Brain damage

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One of the most iconic cases of how biological factors can effect memory is that of Clive Wearing. His episodic and semantic memory was lost due to a severe viral infection of the brain (encephalitis). The virus destroyed much of his hippocampus and the frontal regions of his brain, areas which are in charge of memory, and as a result suffers from severe retrograde and anterograde amnesia. 

Wearing can still play the piano, conduct music, and remember his wife, but has a memory span of approximately 7-30 seconds.

STUDY: Clive Wearing Brain Scan

AIM: To look at Clive Wearing’s brain and whether his retrograde and anterograde amnesia can be seen using scans

FINDINGS - Scans showed damage to Wearing’s hippocampus and frontal regions

These scans illustrate how the hippocampus is vital for encoding and transferring information from STM to LTM. It demonstrates how explicit (semantic and episodic) memories are linked to that area of the brain, but how implicit (procedural (piano playing) and emotional (memories of his wife)) memories are not.

Another case would be the study of HM, who suffered memory loss after a surgery to stop his epileptic seizures lead to accidental removal of tissue from the temporal lobe, hippocampus, and amygdala. As a result, HM cannot form new memories and cannot recognise people who visit him regularly, but can still have a normal conversation.