biological approach Flashcards
aim of canli et al?
aimed to show that emotive images will be remembered better than those that have little emotional impact on an individual.
The central questions addressed by the canli et al study
- whether the amygdala is sensitive to varying degrees of emotional intensity to external stimuli
- whether the level of intensity enhances memory for the stimuli.
what are structural scans
they take detailed pictures of the structure of the brain
what are functional scans
are able to show activity levels in different areas of the brain.
whats an fmri
Functional magnetic resonance imaging; neuroimaging procedure using MRI technology that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.
what is the amygdala responsible for?
plays a key role in the processing of emotions such as pleasure, fear and anger.
and responsible for determining where memories are stored in the brain and which ones are kept.
what type of experiment was the canli et al study?
laboratory experiment
what type of experimental design was the canli et al study
Repeated measures design as participants contributed to each of the four conditions depending on their rating of each scene
describe the scale used in canli et al to measure emotional arousal
had to choose from four buttons to indicate emotional arousal on a scale from 0 (‘not emotionally intense at all’) to 3 (‘extremely emotionally intense’).
what was the IV in canli et al
The independent variable the intensity of the emotional arousal to each of the 96 scenes that were presented to each participant.
what were the two DV in canli et al
- the level of activation of the amygdala measured by fMRI during the first stage of the experiment when the participants were exposed to each of the 96 scenes.
- measure of memory when participants had to recognise the images three weeks after the initial experiment.
how many frames were captured per trial in canli et al
11
how many scenes were there in canli et al
96
was the order of the scenes randomised in canli et al
yes
how long was each picture presented for in canli et al
2.88 sec
how long were the intervals in canli et al
12.96 sec
after how many weeks did the pps have to come back in canli et al
3 weeks
what did the pps have to do when they came back the second time in canli et al
they viewed all of the 96 previous scenes and 48 new scenes (foils).
Participants were asked whether they had seen each scene before and for images judged as previously seen, participants reported whether they remembered with certainty (‘remember’) or had a less certain feeling of familiarity (‘know’’)
results for emotional intensity in canli et al
emotional intensity-
- 29% of scenes were rated as not emotionally intense (1 mark: data)
- There was a positive correlation between emotional intensity and arousal (2 marks; 1 if just ‘correlation).
- The r value was +0.68 (1 mark: data)
- There was a positive correlation between emotional intensity and (left) amygdala activation
results for the ‘remembered scenes’ in canli et al
- 42% of scenes rated 3 were ‘remembered’ (1 mark: data)
- The scenes which had higher emotional/intensity ratings were remembered more (1 mark) than those with a low emotional/intensity rating (2 marks total: comparison)
what are the studies in the biological approach?
- canli et al (2000)
- dement & kleitman (1957)
- schachter & singer (1962)
strengths of canli et al
talk about:
- lab exp, standardised env and given the same items to rate in each condition.
- It was incredibly standardised to the level of the time that each item was presented for and the duration of the interval between presentations.
- had internal validity s the researcher can be more confident that there are fewer confounding variables affecting the variables that they are measuring.
- quantitative data- data relating to the activation of the amygdala, enabling them to carry out statistical analyses such as correlational analysis about the level of activation and subsequent memory of the scene.
- Using fMRI scanners to measure the biological response on the brain of the different images gives an objective finding for each participant as it does not need the research to interpret any results.
weaknesses of canli et al
- The sample in this research consists of right-handed females only and therefore introduces participant variables that could distort the outcomes of the research reducing the validity of the research.
- Therefore, we must be cautious in generalising the results of this to males and to left-handed individuals, as they may respond differently.
what was the sample in canli et al
Ten right-handed healthy female volunteers were scanned. Females were chosen in this study because it was thought that they are more likely to report intense emotional experiences and show more physiological reactions to the stimuli.
aim of schachter and singer study?
- The aim of the study was to test the Two-Factor Theory of Emotion.
- Schachter and Singer (1962) wanted to research if, given a state of physiological arousal for which the individual has no adequate explanation, cognitive factors can lead the individual to describe their feelings with any of a number of emotional labels
what was the two factor theory of emotion
that physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation leads to an emotional experience
how many IVs were there in the s&s study
2
describe the first IV in s&s
it concerned the knowledge about the injections; whether they were informed, misinformed or ignorant.
describe the second IV in s&s
it was the emotional situation that the participant was placed into following the injection; either euphoria or anger.