Exam Flashcards
1b
Independent measures
1c
One improvement that could be made to the independent measures design of the study is to use a repeated measures design. This would improve the experimental design as it would mean that individual differences between the groups and participants could not effect the results
2
Agency theory explains that Tom will carry out the photocopying orders as mrs smith holds a position of authority over Tom as she is his teacher. This will push Tom to experience the agentic shift into the agentic state where he will obey her rules for photocopying. Furthermore, agency theory explains that Toms obedience may be a result of an external opus of control as he may believe that Mrs Smith will take responsibility for her orders over him of doing her photocopying and preparing the classroom as he is disregarding the previous tasks he was doing as he was busy. Moral strain may further play a role wihtin Tom’s obedience as agency theory explains that close proximity and the position of authority the individual giving the instructions holds, which in this case is Mrs Smith, will push Tom int a sense of moral strain as his mind is conflicted between what to do.
3!
Research into obedience is arguably hard to be conducted without violating ethical guidelines as animals commonly have to be used, while ensuring ethical guidelines are kept in place which state that no harm or very minimal harm should be executed on the animals howver, this is nearly impossible to follow through with as seen with skinner’s box, the rats had to be given shocks in order to test their reaction to reinforcement techniques and there would have been no other more ethical y of carrying out his experiment. Furthermore, wihtin Milgram’s study obedience, Milgram strayed from he ethical guideline as he lacked on informed consent due to the inability to disclose the true test and instead stated it was a est f memory and punishment. Instead, the ps wereled to believe that they were harming the ‘stduent’ and even killed them in some case sof when thy did not withdraw as they were insisted to carry on from an authority figure who created a scenario of moral strain. This led to much p distress and even in some cases panic attacks and laughing fits, leaving ps in a state of paranoia. Howver, it can alternatively be argued that Milgram did in fact do all that was wihtin his ethical power to maintain a valid experiment by providing debriefing for up to a year after the study. Similar t this, Burger replicated Milgram sstudy what a more ethical approach and ensured and ensured that a screening process took place where everyone was ensured out be sound of mind, therefore accepting the ethical guideline of disclosing risks and ensuring everyone is in the best potion to take part. Nevertheless, burger was unable to amke his study fully ethical as deception was till involved to ensure no ones behaviur chnaged from the reality of the experiment, it is not possible to conduct research into obedience wihtout deception as individuals will feel obliged to skew their behavior according to the task and this will make it less reliable and therefore showing how it is not possible to conduct research into obednce without the violation of ethical guidelines
6a
Independent measures ensures that the investigation aims can be completed to its full demands as if repeated measures were used, the under 30 year olds would have to swap the position with the over 50 year olds. Making the experiment invalid as it is a test of age not the types of words used.
7
The key question of are eye witness testimonies reliable an be assessed throughout cognitive psychology Nd is an important question to debate as the witnesses of crimes can be the only useful information in. Trial but can easily also be skewed . Eye witness testimonies can be seen on one hand as unrealizable when evidencing loftus and palmer who aimed to examine the importance of questions while using different wording on the effect of eye witnesses. Results showed that those who heard the question of ‘how fast was the car going when it sashed’ recorded an Vera get speed of 40.8 mph unlike hose who heard collided who gave an answer of 39.3mph. Therefore, loftus and palmer present the idea that eye witnesses can easily be influenced through he wording of questions used by police when recalling events as the wording used can influence the schema and a response that fits accordingly that word will be provided. Someone who hears the word ‘smash’ will more likely to think of a high speed car than those of collided an therefore are less likely to provide accurate statements. However, the cognitive interview has since been developed which allows eye witness testimonies to be more open and relieble as context reinstatement aids the ew by rejogging the memory and taking them back to the place the crime took place or showing a picture and ensuring recollective assistance and making EWT more reliable. Reconstructive memory is also a key pa of EWT that can skew the response sprovided as Bartlett explains that the memory is not a reliable source as we fill in gaps and use reconstruction to piece together events that don amp sense Personal experiences and stereotypes like the weapon focus effect explain that as in tv shows certain weapons are expected o be seen like a gun at a bank robbery, the ew may be ead to think this was the same fo their crime when actually it is inaccurate. Nevertheless, wmm supports the idea f EWT asit suggests that the multiple components of the memory focus on different areas f an event for example the Visio spatial sketch pad focuses on the visual informaytion and therefore the witness is able to visualise the criminal, location and specifics of the crime. Hereford, it is certainly true that cp ha aided the understanding of reliability of EWT as the cognitive interview has since been developed to ensure more open questions then commanding and EWT have still been reliable sources in most cases in court.
8
Brendgen assessed 234 pairs of MZ and Dz twins. The teachers’ questionnaires asked them to rate each child on a 3-point scale (0 = never, 1 = sometimes, 2 = often) on these 6 statements:
tries to make others dislike a child. Furthermore, The scores for social aggression and physical aggression were added together to produce two overall scores.For the peer ratings, the children were given a simpler task. They were shown photos of their classmates and asked to circle the photos of 3 children who best fit these 4 descriptions:
tells others not to play with a child
8b
One strength of Brendgens study is hat he used questionnaires in order to measure aggression levels. This is a strength as it menas the study can be easily replicated, making it therefore reliable
One weakness of Brendgen is that it has been said that the study was not generalizable as it looked only a 6 year olds. This is a weakness as although at this age a shift from physical to social aggression takes place, some children may be slow developers and it doesn’t explain all twins.
11a
I believe there will be a difference in aggressive behavior in school children when in an inside environment eg lunch hall and an outside environment eg exercise equipment when observed
11c
One conclusion that i made form my uantitative data is that students were more likely to show levels of social aggression when in enclosed spaces as results showed children shouted 12 times wihtin the observation period where as outside only had 7 unlike when in outside environment where physical aggression was observed as results showe children were more likely to hit throw thins at each their with a score of 9 times where as inside only ha two
12
Systematic desensitisation could be used to help Suraj as gradual exposure is used to allow the patient to become desensitized to the phobia which i the case would be birds and he would be shown a picture until eventually his fear hierarchy is conquered and Suraj is able to come in contact with a bird without feeling distress. Secondly, relaxation techniques will be taught to Suraj to reduce the likelihood of panic attacks and phobic reactions when n contact with a bird. The hierarchy should start from pictures and develop to Suraj being able to hold a bird eventually howver, through relaxation techniques, each step should not be rushed and Suraj’s fears and causes should be fully discussed and is closed beforehand.
13
Social learning theory states that children learn behavior through observing the behavior of role models, Holly’s role model would be her father Tom and she would show admiration and attention to his own behavior and actions like how he holds a fork and he would therefore be encouraging the modeling of this behavior. Holly would furthermore have developed behavior through repetition and retention as she would store the information so that she can later repeat her father’s behavior when eating with a fork. Direct reinforcement of ‘well done’will then encourag eHolly to keep using the fork correctly as her father is clearly proud of her which makes her feel happy as she smiles and laughs, giving her motivation for reproduction of the behavior which eventually becomes habit.
12
Legal Requirements: Research must not break the law regarding endangered and protected species. This particularly restricts research involving great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans).
Replacement: Where possible, live animals should be replaced with research alternatives, like videos and computer simulations. Animals should only be used as a last resort.
Choice of Species: Species bred in captivity are ethically preferable to creatures taken from the wild; research should be minimised if it involves highly sentient (thinking, feeling) animals, like the great apes
Reduction: The number of animals used should be minimised as much as possible; this involves carefully designed experiments and good use of statistics to get the maximum amount of data from the smallest number of animals
Animal Care: When not being studied, animals must be housed, fed and watered in a suitable way as well as being given space and companionship appropriate to their species
Disposal: When the research is over, animals should be disposed of humanely; ideally they should be kept alive for breeding or as pets
Procedures: Animals must be treated humanely during research. The BPS gives special consideration to these three areas:
Caging: Distress should be minimised during caging; social species need companionship and animals unused to other animals may be distressed if caged with them
Deprivation: Some food deprivation is allowable (and may be normal and healthy for animals) but distress should be minimised
Pain: Anaesthetics should be used to minimise pain; animals should be given medical treatment after research; humane killing must be considered if suffering cannot be reduced
One of six monkeys isolated for three months refused to eat after release and died five days later… the effects of six months of total social isolation were so devastating and debilitating that we had assumed initially that twelve months of isolation would not produce any additional decrement. This assumption proved to be false; twelve months of isolation almost obliterated the animals socially - Harry Harlow
Replace the use of animals with different techniques; virtual simulations on computers or studying videos of past research are recommended.
Reduce the number of animals used to a minimum; in a well-designed study, the maximum data can be extracted from the minimal number of animals.
Refine the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as possible. This includes better housing and improvements which minimise pain and suffering.
-choice of species and deprivation- Harlow with the monkey
-caging and pain-skinnners box
-reduction- not generalizable without large sample
-replacement- learning theories can not be simulated and humans are likely to second guess or experience pain through the testing of reinforcement so not ethical but how is it ethical however to do on animals who cannot consent
16
Obedience is the process of following a direct order from an authority figure.
Social impact theory assumes multiplicative factor of strength, immediacy and number influence social behavior.
Biological psychology includes the evolutionary element of human behavior.
Hormones such as testosterone can lead to aggression.
AO2 Matt may have been told by a gang leader to hit another person.
Matt may be influenced by a high-status friend to be aggressive.
He may be fighting to show that he is stronger than other males around him.
As Matt is 16 years old, he has increased levels of testosterone.
AO3 Blass (2012) suggests that obedient behavior is similar cross-culturally and therefore is a plausible explanation of Matt’s behavior.
Social impact theory does not consider individual differences like personality and sees humans as passive so may not fully explain behavior.
Raine (1997) suggests that brain activity is different in convicted murderers so biological explanations that focus on the brain rather than evolution may be a better explanation.
Freud suggests that unconscious processes play a significant role in aggression not hormonal imbalances, therefore it may be that neither social or biological explanations can explain Matt’s aggression
