Core Study 18- Casey (B) Flashcards
Delay of gratification
Background
What is gratification?
Pleasure following the satisfaction of a desire
Background
What did Mischel et all suggest about ‘cool’ and ‘hot’ patterns of thought?
They each have their own neurocognitive system
(They are found in different regions of the brain, hence why brain imaging can support his findings)
Background
What is a cool system and where in the brain is it?
Cognitive control (cold) behaviours have been found within the pre-frontal cortex- they help to delay gratification
Background
What is a hot system and where in the brain is it?
Emotional (hot) behaviours have been found within the limbic system - these drive us towards immediate gratification
Background
What famous test did Mischel conduct, which could be argued as a kore accurate representation of immediate gratification?
The marshmallow test- investigated whether children could delay gratification by recieving a second marshmallow if they were able to resist
Aim
What did Casey want to predict in his investigation?
(To investigate) whether delay of gratification in childhood accurately predicts impulse control absilities and sensitivity to alluring or social cues as an adult
Key Term
What is a high delayer?
An individual who can use cooling to resist gratifications for a greater length of time
Key Term
What is a low delayer?
An individual who gives in to hot temptation and gratification faster
Key Term
What is an fMRI?
A brain scanning technique that shows brain activity (blood flow levels) rather than just physical strcutures
Method
What is the IV?
Whether the participant was a high delayer or a low delayer
Method
What is the DV?
- Performance times on the impulse controls task in experiment 1
- Imaging results using fMRI scanning technology in experiment 2
Method
What design was used?
Repeated measures
Method
Was the study snapshot or longitudinal?
Longitudinal- some participants were followed until age 40
Sample
Where were the children in the sample from and how many were there in total at the start?
How old were they?
Stanford’s Bing nursery school- 562
4
Sample
What did the children in the first sample do in the 60’s and 70’s at age 4?
A delay of gratification task
Sample
How many participants where in experiment 1?
59
Sample
How many high delayers were in experiment 1?
How many male how many female?
32
12 male, 20 female
Sample
How many low delayers were in experiment 1?
How many males how many females?
27
11 male, 16 female
Sample
How many males and females were in experiment 1 altogether?
23 males and 36
Sample
How many participants took part in experiment 2?
27
26 in the end- one man was excluded due to poor performnance
Sample
How many high delayers were in experiment 2?
How many males how many females?
15
5 males, 10 females
Sample
How many low delayers were in experiment 2?
How many males how many females?
11
7 males, 4 females
Sample
How many males and females were in expeirment 2?
13 males, 14 females
Procedure- Experiment 1
Why can experiment 1 be considered ethical?
They gave consent before taking part in the study
Procedure- Experiment 1
Why could experiment 1 be deemed as a field experiment?
It took place in participants’ own homes
Procedure
What was the ‘cool’ version of the go/no go task?
- P’s presented with male and female faces with neutral emotional expressions
- One sex was assigned go (hit button), other sex was assigned no go (don’t hit button)
Same as hot except facial expressions
Procedure
What was the ‘hot’ version of the go/no go task?
- P’s presented with male and female faces with happy emotional expressions
- One sex assigned go (hit button), other sex assigned no go (don’t hit button)
Same as cold except facial expressions
Procedure- Experiment 1
How long did the faces appear to participants for, and how long was the interval between faces?
- Faces appeared for 1/2 a second
- 1 second interval between faces
Procedure- Experiment 1
How many faces in total did participants see?
160- (randomised order)
Procedure- Experiment 2
What device were p’s scanned with whilst completing go/no go task?
fMRI scanner (shows blood flow levels)
Procedure- Experiment 2
Which version of the go/no go task did p’s complete in this experiment?
the HOT version
Procedure- Experiment 2
How many faces were p’s shown?
48
Procedure- Experiment 2
How long were faces shown for and how long was the interval between faces?
- Faces shown for 1/2 a second
- Interval of 2-14.5 seconds between faces
Results- Experiment 1
What percentage of accuracy did the high delayers achieve in the go/no go task?
99.8% correct
Results- Experiment 1
What percentage of accuracy did the low delayers achieve in the go/no go task?
99.5% correct
Results- Experiment 1
Which group performed slightly worse in the no go trials (hot version)?
Low delayers?
Results- Experiment 2
Which part of the brain was shown to be less active in low delayers in no go trials?
Right frontal gyrus
Results- Experiment 2
Which part of the brain did low delayers have higher activity in?
Go or no go?
Ventral Striatum
No go trials
Conclusions
Which region of the brain is responsible for impulse control?
Right frontal gyrus
Conclusions
Which region of the brain is responsible for gratification processes?
Ventral Striatum
Conclusions
What was concluded about individuals who had difficulties dekaying gratification as a child (4 years old)?
Which side of the Nature v Nurture debate dies this fall under?
They’ll continue to show reduced self control in adulthood
Nature
GREEDUM
How can reliability be argued as a strength?
Standardised procedure in exp 2- fMRI scanner measured brain activity
GREEDUM
How can generalisability be argued as a weakness?
59 p’s who took part in exp 1 were all previously tested for gratification delaying ability
All attended Stanford Uni nursery- where they completed marshmallow task
GREEDUM
How can data be argued as a strength?
High delayers were 99.8% accurate in exp 1- quantitative data allows direct comparisons
GREEDUM
How can the method be argued as a weakness?
High/ low delayer status was naturally occurring and recorded from previous participation in marshmallow task at SUN
SUN= Stanford Uni Nursery
