Cognitive approaches to psychology Flashcards
1
Q
Models of memory
A
- Multi-store model of memory
2. Working memory model
2
Q
Multi-store model of memory (MSM)’s creator + year
A
Atkinson & Shiffrin 1968
3
Q
Multi-store model of memory’s concept
A
o 3 stores of memory (sensory memory, STM & LTM)
o All differs in encoding, capacity, and duration
1. Sensory memory:
- Encodes: pays attention to the five sensory
information, if not, it decays, if there’s attention
given it moves into STM
- Capacity: very limited
- Duration: very limited
2. Short-term memory:
- Encodes: rehearsal of information, if not, it’s
forgotten or displaced, if there’s enough rehearsal
it moves into LTM
- Capacity: limited in 7 +/- 2 chucks of information
- Duration: approx. 30 seconds without rehearsal
3. Long-term memory:
- Capacity: unlimited
- Duration: unlimited
4
Q
Glanzer and Cunitz’s year
A
1966
5
Q
Glanzer and Cunitz’s aim
A
to investigate how filler task would affect the serial positioning effect
6
Q
Glanzer and Cunitz’s sample
A
46 army enlisted men
7
Q
Glanzer and Cunitz’s method + procedure
A
Experiment w/ repeated measures
- Researchers read out a set of 5 words in three recalling conditions
- They had to do a free recall task, immediately, 10 sec filler task & 30 sec filler task
8
Q
Glanzer and Cunitz’s findings
A
o Immediately recalling showed both signs of serial positioning effect (Primacy effect - recalling as the individual is able to rehearse and repeated the word enough to transfer it from STM to LTM store. Recency effect - recalling due to it being the last word that was given attention to, which is still active within the STM store.)
o Filler tasks only showed signs of primacy effect (as the information had already been transferred to LTM store, which prevented it from decaying, while the words at the end of the list decayed as the STM store was unable to continuously perform rehearsal)
o This effect was more significant in the 30 sec filler task condition
9
Q
Glanzer and Cunitz’s evaluation
A
+ The study supports the idea of multiple stores (STM and LTM stores)
+ Provides the duration of information that stays in the STM store without rehearsal (~30 seconds)
- Controlled lab study + highly controlled variables, but there is no random allocation of participants to experimental conditions so it is not a true experiment.
- Low ecological validity (participants aren’t usually given a list of 5 words to remember without additional purpose given to remembering it)
- Small + culturally specific sample = low generalizability to other populations
10
Q
H.M Milner’s year
A
1966
11
Q
Milner’s aim
A
to better understand the effects that the surgery (which removed parts of his hippocampus) had had on patient HM
12
Q
Milner’s sample
A
H.M (suffered from severe seizures => medial temporal lobe + hippocampus region got removed
13
Q
Milner’s findings
A
o H.M was unable to acquire new episodic memory of events and semantic knowledge about the world.
o Unable to transfer knowledge from STM to LTM
o Hippocampus area is responsible of the formation of memories
o H.M still retained procedural memories (i.e how to ride a bike)
14
Q
Milner’s evaluation
A
+ provided detailed qualitative information and insight
+ permitting research on unethical situation
+ high ecological validity (no variables were manipulated and HM was observed in his natural environment)
- unable to generalize the results
- difficult to replicate the procedures
- researcher bias
- time-consuming
15
Q
Multi-store memory model’s evaluation
A
+ Large based research supporting the concept of distinct stores (e.g STM store and LTM store)
+ Suggests an explanation of how memory is encoded and displaced/ decayed
- Oversimplifies the process of memorizing information
- Assumes there are only 3 stores, there could be more than 3
- Procedural memory (e.g how to ride a bike) isn’t encoded systematically
- Vagueness surrounding the capacity and duration that LTM store has
- Doesn’t explain memory distortion
- Doesn’t explain the ability to do
16
Q
Working memory model’s year + creator
A
1974, Baddeley and Hitch
17
Q
Working memory model’s concept
A
A more specific and better model to understand the components of the STM store.
Consists of 4 elements:
1. Central executive - in charge of allocating
resources between visuospatial sketchpad and
phonological loop
2. Visuospatial sketchpad - holds visual and spatial
resources/ information
3. Phonological loop - holds auditory information
(Inner ear - holds sound passively + inner voice -
re-words audio prolonging memory)
4. Episodic buffer - integrates information from
sketchpad and loop into LTM
18
Q
Baddeley & Hitch’s year
A
1976
19
Q
Baddeley & Hitch’s aim
A
to investigate whether individuals can use different parts of the working memory model at the same time
20
Q
Baddeley & Hitch’s sample
A
12 people
21
Q
Baddeley & Hitch’s method + procedure
A
Experiment
1. Asked the participants to perform two tasks simultaneously
o digit span task - repeating list of numbers
(increasing)
o verbal reasoning - answering true or false
questions
22
Q
Baddeley & Hitch’s findings
A
o Participants could use different parts at the same time (phonological loop - activated to perform digit span task while the central executive activated the reasoning and logical processing)
o Despite small delays there were no errors
23
Q
Baddeley & Hitch’s evaluation
A
+ easily replicated which would increase the reliability of the results
+ Participants had inform consent
- No external variables were controlled (e.g age, IQ score)
- Can’t generalize the findings
- Small sample size
- Low ecological validity due to the lab environment
24
Q
Working Memory Model’s evaluation
A
+ Explains parallel processing/ doing 2 things simultaneously
+ Model is based on evidence from lab experiments, which controlled for confounding variables
+ Brain scans showed there’s different parts that the brain uses for verbal and visual tasks
- Too simplistic and vague (the function of central executive is unclear)
- Lab experiment has low ecological validity which doesn’t represent everyday life
- Doesn’t explain memory distortion or how emotion affects memory
25
Dual system model's creator
Tversky and Kahneman
| Attempts to explain two systems people use when processing information
26
Dual system model's concept
```
System 1:
o Fast
o Effortless
o Automatic
o Intuitive
o Prone to errors and cognitive biases
o Mental shortcuts
System 2:
o Slow
o Requires a lot of cognitive effort
o Deliberate
o Mental work + concentration
o Not prone to errors
```
27
Bechara et al's year
2000
28
Bechara et al's aim
To compare the decision-making of people with damage to their ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFCs), which has been shown to play a role in regulating behavior, to a healthy control group
29
Bechara et al's sample
17 healthy participants + 8 people with lesion in vmPFC
30
Bechara et al's method + procedure
Quasi-experiment w/ repeated measures
1. Asked the sample to pick a card out of 1/4 decks for 100 trials
- Decks A&C: low initial reward and risk
- Decks B&D: high initial reward and risk
31
Bechara et al's findings
o Healthy participants usually took 20 to 30 trials to see the pattern
o Healthy participants switched from system 1 to system 2 once they saw the pattern
o Those with lesions in their vmPFC continued to choose decks B&D
o Those with lesions in their vmPFC were unable to activate their system 2 thinking and processing
o Suggests vmPFC's role in regulating impulsive and automatic thinking
32
Bechara et al's evaluation
+ Researchers received consent + participant confidentiality & anonymity
+ Brought insight to vmPFC role in human behaviour without causing harm or being too invasive
- Small sample size
- Lowers generalizability
- Low ecological validity (handles fake money)
- No cause-effect inference
33
Alter & Oppenheimer's year
2007
34
Alter & Oppenheimer's aim
to investigate the effect of cognitive disfluency (rational thinking over intuitive thinking)
35
Alter & Oppenheimer's sample
40 Princeton students
36
Alter & Oppenheimer's method + procedure
Experiment
1. The participants were required to take a cognitive reflection test (CBT) with 3 questions in two conditions
- Easy to read font
- Hard to read font
37
Alter & Oppenheimer's findings
o 10% of easy to read font got all the questions correct
o 65% of hard to read font got all the questions correct
o Hard to read font required the participant to pause and think about the statement
o Slowing down activates system 2 processing hence, using a more logical and requires more cognitive effort to think about the answer.
38
Alter & Oppenheimer's evaluation
```
+ Support system 1 and 2 model
+ Controlled certain external variables (e.g the cognitive reflection test questions + answers)
- Small and culturally biased sample
- Low generalizability
- Low ecological validity
```
39
Illusory correlation
Confirmation Bias
The belief that two phenomena are connected when they are not (e.g stereotypes)
Overlooking information that contradicts what they already believe (only pays attention to confirm what they believe about a group while ignoring those behaviors contrary to their beliefs)
40
Snyder and Swann's year
1978
41
Snyder and Swann's aim
To investigate how perception/ reconvened notion (stereotypes) and confirmation bias on people
42
Snyder and Swann's sample
Female college students
43
Snyder and Swann's method + procedure
1. Female participants were told that they would meet a person who was either introverted (reserved) or extroverted (outgoing)
2. They were asked to prepare a set of questions for the person they were going to meet.
44
Snyder and Swann's findings
- Study showed that the participants wrote questions that were consistent with whom they were expecting to meet.
Introvert questions: "What do you dislike about parties?" + "Are there times where you wish you could be more outgoing?"
Extrovert questions: "What do you do in a liven up party?"
- This belief is biased because we pay attention to behaviors that confirm what they believe about a group and ignore those behaviours contrary to their beliefs.
- Researchers concluded that the questions asked confirmed participants' stereotypes of each personality type of each personality type so that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy - for example because they believed he was an introvert they asked him questions which made him appear to be one.
- Evidence for illusory correlation.
45
Synder & Swann's evaluation
– Lab setting
– Low ecological validity (not what commonly happens in real-life)
– No control group
– No cause and effect relationship inferred (does not take into account of other factors that may impact TDM)
– Gender bias
– Lowers representational generalizability (females only = results do not provide how other genders may respond to the task)
46
Hamilton & Gifford's year
1976
47
Hamilton & Gifford's aim
to investigate how the co-occurrence of two distinctive events may result in an illusory correlation
48
Hamilton & Gifford's sample
104 undergrad
49
Hamilton & Gifford's method + procedure
Experiment
1. Read series of sentences describing group A or group B members doing desirable or undesirable behaviors
- Undesirable behaviours were less frequent (9:4 ratio)
- Group B sentences were less likely to occur, depicted as the minority group (1/2 as likely compared to group A sentences)
50
Hamilton & Gifford's findings
o Generally, participants significantly overestimating group B members performing undesirable behaviours
o Due to the perceived correlation with the appearance of sentences describing group B members and sentences describing undesirable behaviours
o Encountering both undesirable and group B sentences makes it more memorable, which is more ingrained within the sample's memory
51
Hamilton & Gifford's evaluation
+ Controlled external variables + fictitous groups
+ Cause and effect relationship
+ Easily replicated with the standard procedure
+ Ecological Validity: The participants could provide their natural opinion (no social desirability) as the people described were not present (imaginary) → established that illusory correlation affected their thinking.
- Due to the lab setting, it has a low ecological validity
- Biased sample size (decreases the generalizability of the results)
- Deception: The participants were lied to (the people described are imaginary)
- Participant Bias: Participants had to read the descriptions of people in the presence of researchers (opinions are sensitive and can be subconsciously affected by this)
52
Schema
a mental representation derived from prior experiences and knowledge
o helps predict things using previous experiences/ consequences
o organizes knowledge to assist recall, guide behaviour and makes us understand the world
o simplifies the world
o a method of assimulating new knowledge to existing knowledge to use it
53
Types of schema
1. Scripts: learned by environmental interactions
2. Social: stereotypes of another community
3. Self: an individuals' images of themselves
Bottom-up: schemas are derived from senses
Top-up: relevant schemas influence behaviour
54
Bartlett's year
1932
55
Bartlett's aim
to investigate how the memory of a story is affected by previous knowledge, whether cultural background + unfamiliarity with a text would lead to distortion of memory when the story was recalled
56
Bartlett’s hypothesis
Memory is reconstructive, not an exact copy, and that people store and retrieve information according to expectations formed by cultural schemas.
57
Bartlett’s sample
Cambridge students (British)
58
Bartlett’s method + procedure
Experiment
1. They were told to read a Native American legend called The War of the Ghosts, twice
2. Then they were allocated into two conditions
o Repeated reproduction: participants heard
the story and were told to reproduce it after a
short time and then to do so again repeatedly over
a period of days, weeks, months or years
o Serial reproduction: they had to recall the story
and repeat it to another person.
59
Bartlett’s findings
o No significant difference between the way that the groups recalled the story.
o Both conditions experienced distortion: a change in the story to remember it
o Three patterns of distortion that took place.
1. Assimilation: The story became more consistent with the participants’ own cultural expectations to fit the norms of British culture (e.g seal hunting --> fishing, canoe --> boat).
2. Leveling: The story also became shorter with each retelling as participants omitted information which was seen as not important.
3. Sharpening: Participants also tended to change the order of the story in order to make sense of it using terms more familiar to the culture of the participants + detail and/or emotions.
o Remembered the main themes in the story but changed the unfamiliar elements to match their own cultural expectations so that the story remained a coherent whole although changed.
o Remembering is not a passive but rather an active process, it's changed to fit existing schemas
o Create meaning in the incoming information
60
Bartlett’s evaluation
+ Has several applications and explains many real-life situations
+ High ecological validity
- Methodology was not rigorously controlled (no standardized instructions. e.g the time after which participants had to recall the story & didn't tell his participants to be as accurate as possible)
- Cause and effect relationship cannot be established, as culture is the IV, making the study a quasi-experiment
- No control group
61
Loftus and Palmer's year
1974
62
Loftus and Palmers aim
to investigate whether the use of leading questions would affect the estimation of speed and their memory of the event
63
Loftus and Palmer's sample
150 students
64
Loftus and Palmer's method + procedure
Experiment
1. Divide participants were three groups.
2. Each group was shown a film of car accidents then they were given a questionnaire, with one critical question "About how fast was the car going when they _____ each other?"
In group 1, had smash (10.46 mph)
In group 2, had hit (8.00 mph)
In group 3, they didn't have the critical question
3. One week later, they came back to answer another critical question of: "did you see any broken glass?"
65
Loftus and Palmer's findings
o 32% participants in the "smash" group said yes
o 14% participants in the "hit" group said yes
o 12% participants in the "no question" group said yes
o Increased emotional intensity of the verb influenced the recall of the severity of the film/ car accident
o Post-event information effect encoding of memory
o Support for the theory of reconstructive memory and schema processing
o People tend to change details of an event when they try to remember it (e.g using smash or hit as a means to recall the situation)
66
Loftus and Palmer's evaluation
+ Establishes cause and effect
+ Variable control and accuracy of measurements, and it is easy to replicate.
+ It is useful for explaining as well as predicting, and it is useful
- Lacks ecological validity, as it was conducted in a laboratory + lack emotional connection (watching the film)
- Biased sample were tested, so you can't generalize the results.
- Convenient sampling
- Assumes the students are able to estimate the speed of the car
67
Schema theory's evaluation
+ Widely used and applied to understand how people categorize, interoperate, and infer information (e.g therapy for MDD and mate selection)
+ Contributes to memory distortions & false memory
+ Has biological research to support the theory (brain classifying information automatically)
+ Applied across cultures with similar results
+ Could be applied to predict behaviours, types of information recalled and that information would be distorted
- Too vague and hypothetical to be useful
- Process of schemas are not observable process
68
Flashbulb memory
A special kind of memory tied an intense emotion (e.g fear), which refers to vivid and detailed (photographic-like) memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain
69
Yuille & Cutshall's year
1986
70
Yuille & Cutshall's aim
To determine whether leading questions would affect memory of eyewitnesses at a real crime scene
71
Yuille & Cutshall's sample
13 Eye-witness to a real-life robbery in Vancouver
72
Yuille & Cutshall's method + procedure
Case study w/ interview
1. The sample was first interviewed by the police about the crime
2. 4 months later, they were called in by researchers to perform the exact same interview (but there were leading questions + misleading information)
3. The two reports were compared for accuracy and similarities
73
Yuille & Cutshall's findings
o Misleading information had little to no effect on the participant's recall (79% and 84% accuracy)
o 10 out of 13 of them said there was no broken headlight or yellow quarter panel, or that they had not noticed those particular details.
74
Yuille & Cutshall's evaluation
+ Naturalistic situation (increases ecological validity)
- Small sample size and culturally specific sample, which limits the generalizability of the results
- Sample bias/ participant bais/ demand characteristics
- Did not control external variables
- Unethical to replicate this study
75
Sharot et al's year
2007
76
Sharot et al's aim
to investigate the potential role of biological factors of flashbulbs memories
77
Sharot et al's sample
24 people who ere in NYC during 9/11
78
Sharot et al's method + procedure
Quasi-experiment
1. 3 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, they were put into an fMRI.
2. While in the scanner, they were presented with word cues on a screen, related to summer holidays or to the events of 9-11.
3. Participants’ brain activity was observed while they recalled the event.
* *Summer recalls = baseline of brain activity for evaluating the nature of 9/11 memories.**
4. Rate their memories for vividness, detail, confidence in the accuracy, and arousal.
5. Asked to write a description of their personal memories
79
Sharot et al's findings
o Only 1/2 reported having what would be called "flashbulb memories" of the event (great sense of detail and strong confidence in the memories accuracy)
o Closer to the World Trade Centre also included more specific details in their written memories
o Activation of the amygdala for the participants who were downtown was higher when recalling 9/11 than preceding summer
o Further away from the event had equal levels of response in the amygdala when recalling both events
o Suggest that close personal experience may be critical in engaging the neural mechanisms that produce the vivid memories characteristic of flashbulb memory
80
Sharot et al's evaluation
+ Demand characteristics are not really possible.
+ Demonstrates the role of the amygdala as a result of proximity to the event
- Correlational in nature
- No cause and effect relationship.
- fMRI environment is highly artificial
- Low in ecological validity
- Does not explain why some people have vivid memories after seeing the events on television or the Internet
- Sample size is small and culturally biased
- Individualistic cultures are more likely to have flashbulb memories than collectivistic cultures
- Difficult to generalize results
81
Neisser & Harsch's year
1992
82
Neisser & Harsch's aim
to investigate whether flashbulb memories are susceptible to distortions
83
Neisser & Harsch's sample
106 Emory University students in an introductory psychology course
84
Neisser & Harsch's method + procedure
Questionnaires
1. The morning after the Challenger disaster( < 24 hours) they filled out a 7 question questionnaire
2. Asked to write a description of how they heard the news
3. 2 ½ years later they were given the questionnaire again (not told the purpose of the study until they arrived)
4. Afterwards, they were asked for each response to rate how confident they were of the accuracy of their memory on a scale from 1 (just guessing) to 5 (absolutely certain)
5. Asked if they had filled out a questionnaire on this subject before
85
Neisser & Harsch's findings
o mean score was 2.95/7.0.
o 11 scored 0
o 22 scored < 2
o Only 3 scored 7
o In spite of the lack of accuracy, the participants demonstrated a high level of confidence
o Average level of confidence for the questions was 4.17.
o Only 25% said yes to having filled this questionnaire before
86
Neisser & Harsch's evaluation
The study was a case study.
+ Both longitudinal and prospective (case study)
+ High ecological validity (did not manipulate any variables + no highly controlled conditions)
+ Naturalistic setting
- Cannot be replicated
- Participant attrition: participants who dropped out of the study over time.
- Difficult to eliminate the role of confounding variables.
- No control over the participants' behaviour between the first questionnaire and the second (e.g how often this memory was discussed/ exposed to media about the event)
- Demand characteristics (higher confidence levels, increased their ratings to please the researcher or avoid social disapproval for claiming not to remember an important day in their country's history)
87
Flashbulb memories evaluation
+ Nautralistic research/ experiments to support the differing of FBM to LTM
+ High ecological validity
- Unable to ethically replicate studies
- Difficult to measure the accuracy of initial memories
- Retrospective research (prone to researcher/ confirmation bias)
- Not the accuracy but one's confidence that defines FBM
- Cultural differences may inhibit the generalizability of the FBM concept (mainly Western culture)
- Cannot measure one's emotional state
88
Digital world on cognitive processing
1. Lack of performance --> inability to store or process information
o Easier to forget
o Shorter retention time
2. Cognitive processing of information
o Increases one's ability of fine motor skills and attention
o Increase ability to encode verbal information translation to abstract spatial representation
89
Rosser et al's year
2007
90
Rosser et al's aim
to investigate whether playing video games would result in a better surgery performance in laparoscopic surgeons
91
Rosser et al's sample
33 surgeons
92
Rosser et al's method + procedure
Correlational study
1. Assessed the game mastery through self-reported questionnaires on the duration of gaming and summing the total scores of 25 min gameplay of 3 games (required fast and precise movements)
2. Then measured the number of errors and completion time of training drills as an indicator of performance during surgery
93
Rosser et al's findings
o Higher videogame mastery correlated with lower time and fewer mistakes
o 3+ per week made 37% fewer errors and 27% faster in surgery drills
o Increased fine motor skills and attention needed within the drills
o Highly specific within the situation, application to wider domain is unknown
94
Rosser et al's evaluation
+ Speed and error reduction were both measured
+ Recorded and compared both previous and current videogame performances were accounted for
- Correlational study
- Small and biased sample size
- Low generalizability
- Relies on participant's honesty for self-reported experience of videogame
95
Sanchez's year
2012
96
Sanchez's aim
to investigate how transferable the effects of playing videogames are in a wider domain (e.g science learning)
97
Sanchez's sample
60 university students
98
Sanchez's method + procedure
Experiment
1. Randomly divided the sample into two groups, special gaming group (played first-person shooters) + non-spacial gaming group (played word combination games)
2. Asked to read a 3500 worded text with no illustration on plate tectonics (theoretical model for volcanic eruptions)
3. Assessed understanding by student writing an essay and scored by independent scorers
99
Sanchez's findings
o Spatial group scored higher and better understanding on concept of plate tectonics
o Reading large amounts of text without illustrations requires encoding + translating verbal information into an abstract spatial representation
o Skills developed within videogames could be applied/ generalized to wider domains
100
Sanchez's evaluation
+ Controlled experiment setting
+ Established cause-effect relationships between the variables
+ Relatively standardized procedure which allows replication
- Low ecological validity
- Participant variability (e.g ability to understand science concepts or the subjects taken in their course)
- Sample biased of university students
- Only depicts short-term/ immediate effects
- Construct validity (the aim is to prove something)
- Low ecological validity
101
Rosen et al's year
2011
102
Rosen et al's aim
to investigate whether the amount of multi-media tasking and response delay would impact on attention and academic performance
103
Rosen et al's sample
185 college students
104
Rosen et al's method + procedure
Experiment, independent measures
1. Students viewed videotaped lecture while receiving texts requiring a response
Condition 1: small amounts
Condition 2: medium amounts
Condition 3: large amounts
2. They took a test to assess their understanding of the lecture
105
Rosen et al's findings
o More text (condition 3) overall had lower test scores
o Performance on the test also depended on response delay (whether they chose to respond immediately or not)
o Those replying immediately had worse test scores
o Overriding instant gratification of immediately reading & replying the text requires a lot of cognitive effort
106
Rosen et al's evaluation
+ Controlled for external variables, with clear IV and DV
+ Establishes cause-and-effect relationship
+ Large sample size
+ Standardized procedure (increases replication --> reliability)
- Low ecological validity (taped lecture = artificial)
- Participant variability (independent measures design)
- Biased sample size
- Low generalizability
107
Loh & Kanai's year
2014
108
Loh & Kanai's aim
to investigate whether media-induced multi-task has a physiological effect
109
Loh & Kanai's sample
75 healthy adults
110
Loh & Kanai's method + procedure
Correlation study; fMRI scans + self-reported questionnaires on media multi-tasking
111
Loh & Kanai's findings
o Those with more multi-tasking generally had lowered ACC grey matter density
o ACC = emotional + motivational regulation, cognitive control & selective attention
o Bidirectional explanation
1. Smaller ACC = more prone to media multi-tasking
2. More incidence of media multi-tasking = smaller ACC
o Smaller ACC --> less cognitive control to regulate emotions on anticipating emotional gratification (from texts/ leisure activities)
112
Loh & Kanai's evaluation
+ Found certain biological + cognitive effects of multi-tasking
- Relies on participants being honest (self-reported)
- Bidirectional ambiguity (correlational study)
- Small sample size
- Low generalizability
- Invasive procedure (fMRI scan)
- Potential exposure to radiation & harm to participants (fMRI scan)
- No external variables were controlled
- No before and after
113
Empathy
Cognitive ability to take, understand and analyse perspectives and feelings of other people
114
Konrath et al's year
2011
115
Konrath et al's aim
to examine the changes in empathy scores in US college students over time
116
Konrath et al's sample
72 samples of US students (1979 to 2009 = ~14,000 people)
117
Konrath et al's method + procedure
Cross-temporal meta-analysis; correlational study; Interpersonal Reactivity Index (measure cognitive (perspective taking) and emotional (empathic concerns) components of empathy)
o IRI correlated with years of data collection
118
Konrath et al's findings
o More recent generations reported lower scores on both aspects of empathy
o Most dramatic change is between 2000 to 2009 (correlated with when major social media sites became popular + use of cell phones)
o People use media to remove themselves from potential interpersonal social situations
o People become immersed within isolated online environments --> distancing themselves from other people
119
Konrath et al's evaluation
+ Large sample size (increases generalizability of the results within the US)
+ Longitudinal case study (able to see the long-term effects of technology on our cognition)
+ Measures both emotional and cognitive aspects of empathy
+ High ecological validity
- Correlational (no cause-effect relationship inferred)
- Culturally biased sample
- No controlled external variables
- Time consuming and difficult to replicate the exact study
120
Carrier et al's year
2015
121
Carrier et al's aim
to investigate the relationship between digital activities, virtual empathy & real-world empathy
122
Carrier et al's sample
1726 participants born after 1980
123
Carrier et al's method + procedure
Correlational study
| 1. Used anonymous online questionnaire on daily media usage and empathy scores (both emotional and cognitive)
124
Carrier et al's findings
o Engagement in online activities which led to face-to-face communication (social networking sites, email, Facebook, etc.) had higher IRL empathy scores
o Engaging in online activities which didn't lead to face-to-face communication (videogames) had lower IRL empathy scores
o Not technology itself, but how we use technology that impacts our empathy scores
o Technology increases our exposure to personal stories which increases our mutual understanding of one another.
125
Carrier et al's evaluation
+ Large sample size
+ Participant confidentiality (online questionnaire)
+ Reduced demand characteristics (online questionnaire)
+ Longitudinal study (able to show the long-term effect and progression of technology's effect on our cognition)
- Difficult to replicate
- Culturally biased sample
- Correlational study (no cause-effect relationship)
