exam review paper 1 Flashcards
For this study, the researchers had to use different participants in each condition and this could have affected the results. Outline one way in which the researchers could have addressed this issue.
for random allocation of participants to each condition.
each participant is assigned a number or identified by name
the numbers/names are placed into a random number generator/hat/lottery method
the first participant drawn is assigned to condition 1, the second to condition 2, etc. OR the
first 15 participants are assigned to condition 1 and the next 15 are assigned to condition 2.
Outline one alternative explanation for obedience.
accept situational factors/variables that affect obedience if these are presented as explanations eg proximity; location; uniform.
Name three of the stages of attachment identified by Schaffer.
• asocial/pre-attachment stage
• indiscriminate/diffuse attachment/stage
• the beginnings of attachment/attachment in the making • specific/discriminate attachment/stage
• multiple attachment/stage
Use your knowledge of the effects of institutionalisation to advise Anca’s new
parents about what to expect
delayed intellectual development/low IQ/problems with concentration – Anca may struggle more at school than other children/may not learn new behaviours, concepts as quickly
disinhibited attachment – Anca may not know what counts as ‘appropriate’ behaviour towards strangers
emotional development – Anca may experience more temper tantrums, etc.
lack of internal working model – Anca may have difficulty interacting with peers, forming close relationships, etc.
quasi-autism – Anca may have a problem understanding the meaning of social contexts, may display obsessional behaviour, etc.
credit the idea that
Anca may have been adopted before the age of 6 months and therefore any effects may not be as severe/long term had she been adopted later.
credit the suggestion that effects may be reversed with sensitive parenting.
Outline what is meant by ‘agentic state’ as an explanation for obedience.
when a person acts on behalf of an authority figure/person of higher status
the actor feels no personal responsibility/does not feel guilty for their actions
the opposite of an autonomous state in which people act according to their own principles
Using your knowledge of minority influence, explain how Jenny might be able to persuade the rest of the department to accept her view
Jenny should demonstrate consistency by not deviating from her view that not grading work is a good idea despite social pressure – she could point out that this is a view that she has held throughout her teaching career
Jenny should demonstrate commitment by placing herself at some risk/inconvenience – she may volunteer to field criticisms from students, parents, other departments, etc. This will draw more attention to her ‘cause’ (augmentation principle)
Jenny should demonstrate flexibility by adapting her view/accepting other valid counterarguments. Perhaps some pieces of work could be ungraded but not all – for instance, grading mock exams but not homework
over time, the rest of the department may become ‘converted’ (snowball effect) – for example, if Jenny’s students start to perform particularly well
Briefly evaluate learning theory as an explanation of attachment.
strengths: plausible and scientific as founded in established theory, ie likely that association between the provision of needs and the person providing those needs can lead to strong attachments; reinforcers clearly delineated
• limitations: reductionist – the focus on basic processes (S-R links, reinforcement) too simplistic to explain complex attachment behaviours; environmentally deterministic such that early learning determines later attachment behaviours; theory founded in animal research and problems of inferring on the basis of animal studies
• evidence used to support or refute the explanation: Schaffer and Emerson – more than half of infants were not attached to the person primarily involved in their physical care; Harlow – rhesus monkeys attach for contact comfort rather than food; sensitive responsiveness may be more influential in forming attachments (Ainsworth); infants are active seekers of stimulation, not passive responders (Schaffer)
• comparison with alternative explanations, eg Bowlby’s theory.
The investigation in question 09 is an example of a ‘naturalistic observation’.
Briefly discuss how observational research might be improved by conducting observations in a controlled environment.
• controlled environment affords the opportunity for control of extraneous variables
• examples of extraneous variables that might be controlled and how/why they could affect
the outcome of a study if not controlled
• exclusion of extraneous variables allows for greater inference about cause and effect • exclusion of extraneous variables means researcher can replicate the observation to
check for reliability of the effect.
Explain how this study could be modified by checking the sleep questionnaire for
test-retest ability.
• the same participants would complete the sleep questionnaire on more than one occasion • each participants’ scores from the first occasion should be correlated with his/her results
from the later occasion to be shown on a scattergraph to describe the correlation, with scores from the first test plotted on one axis and the scores from the second test plotted on the other axis
• the strength of the correlation should then be assessed using either a Spearman’s rho test (or a Pearson’s r test)
• the degree of reliability is then determined by comparing the correlation with the statistical table to determine the extent of correlation – there should be a (strong) positive correlation between the two sets of scores.
Outline the procedure and findings from Hazen and Shaver’s study into romantic relationships
Researcher analysed 620 responses to a love quiz. The quiz assessed 3 different aspects of relationships: respondents current and most important relationship, general love experiences, and attachment type.
56% of respondents were identified as secure, 25% avoidant, 19% resistant.
Secure respondents were most likely to have good and longer-lasting romantic relationships. Avoidants tended to be jealous and fear intimacy.
Outline problems with the concept of an internal working model.
Unconscious - can’t get direct evidence from self-report methods, which require conscious awareness. At best these research methods give us indirect evidence of internal working models. This is a weakness of most research involving the IWM.
Describe Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment.
Attachment is innate. Attachment gives a survival advantage - makes the infant stay close to the mother. There is a primary attachment figure. This attachment is different and more important than others.
More time spent with mother-figure is beneficial. The law of continuity and the law of accumulated separation. Babies are born with social releasers. ‘Cute’ behaviours are designed to elicit a response. Their purpose is to activate the adult attachment system, i.e. make an adult feel love. There is a critical period. More of a sensitive period - if that attachment is not formed in this period it will be harder to form later. The first attachment forms an internal working model of relationships. Child will form a mental representation of the relationship with their primary caregiver, which will serve as a template for what relationships are like.
Outline the two-process model.
Acquisition by classical conditioning. US - something that already produces fear. NS - Something that does not produce fear. NS becomes CS when paired with the US. CS produces the CR. Maintenance by operant conditioning. Avoidance behaviour reinforces the behaviour through negative reinforcement.
describe two things that can influence the inter rater reliability of this study
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Explain how using stratified sampling might improve the design of this study.
stratified sampling could ensure that various groups are represented in terms of their proportionality in the population
• this would improve the generalisability of the results.
