extra from ppqs

Question 1

CT scan to investigate the brain for trauma/tumours

Answer 1

A CT is useful for showing abnormal areas of the brain, such as tumours and blood clots. The image quality is much better than an X-ray. Less expensive than PET scan and fMRI’s.

Question 2

PET scan to investigate the brain for trauma/tumours

Answer 2

PET scans can show the brain in action. It can be useful at finding reasons for something like a stroke by using blood flow. They are able to show if there is a blockage or an area of the brain that is not functioning as it should be. However, there is slight risk from radioactivity.

Question 3

fMRI scan to investigate the brain for trauma/tumours

Answer 3

An fMRI shows which areas of the brain is active when a specific task is performed. Produces a 3D image. fMRI’s are safe and do not use radiation. They are quick to carry out and produce very clear and accurate images.

Question 4

AO1 of peer influence

Answer 4

• peer influence is the effect that those who are similar to us can have our opinions, behaviours and choices

Question 5

Social Learning theory AO1

Answer 5

psychologists researching behaviour have found that we learn from observing others and that we often imitate the behaviours we observe - especially if we believe we will be rewarded for doing so.

Question 6

Social Identity theory AO1

Answer 6

we also identify with or look up to the person we are observing. teenagers tend to identify very strongly with their peers

Question 7

AO1 of conformity

Answer 7

• we change our behaviour in order to fit in with the rest of the group
• people may experience a pressure, percieved or real, to fit in with social norms
• research has also shown some personality types are more likely to conform - especially those with low self esteem or low status in the group

Question 8

addiction of substances (in relation to peer influence and conformity)

Answer 8

• Research has found that substance use often starts during the teenage years and that young people whose friends use a particular substance, are themselves more likely to use that substnace
• However, other research has found that teenagers are influenced by their peers not to use substances
• it is possible that teenagers choose their friendship gorups because they see other people behaving the way they already do - and not that they change their behaviour to fit in after they have joined the group
• Although peer influence and conformity may affect how likely it is that someone will start to use a substance, factors like genetics, MHP, personality and experiences of trauma all affect how likley it is for someone to become an addict

Question 9

AO1 of milgrams agency theory of obedience

Answer 9

• we are more likely to obey orders when we are in an agentic state
• because we believe the authority figure will take responsibility for our actions - we no longer feel responsible
• when someone we believe to be an authority figure gives us an order, we go from an autonomous state to an agentic state (agentic shift)

Question 10

AO3 of Milgram’s agency theory

Answer 10

• there is real world evidence to support his theory => the nazi guards in the concentration camps during WW2
• there is research evidence to support his theory => milgram’s ‘electric shock’ study (2000)
• Theory does not explain why some people are not as obeident as others. In Milgram’s study only 65% of the ppts were willing to give the fatal ‘electric shock’ to another person. this may mean that some people are more likely to enter the agentic state than others.

Question 11

Deindividuation

Answer 11

is becoming so immersed in the norms of the group that people lose their sense of identity and self-awareness, resulting in feeling less responsibility for their actions

Question 12

why get physical changes when almost getting hit by a car

Answer 12

• experiencing a fight or flight response => an automatic response to a real or percieved threat (geting hit by car)
• the autonomic nervous system has reacted to the threat of nearly being run over by switching from a parasympathetic activity to sympathetic activity
• there is now adrenaline being released into the blood stream
• changes take place physically - breathe more quickly and heart rate increases => more oxygen in my blood and sweating to cool down my muscles => to run away from the danger
• mouth is dry => in sympathetic state don’t produce saliva => eating not important when faced with threat

Question 13

Synaptic transmission

Answer 13

Synaptic transmission is how neurones communicate. It’s when signals are sent from one neuron to another by NTs crossing the synaptic gap so they can bind with receptors on the next neuron.

Question 14

Excitation

Answer 14

When a NT binds with a receptor on the next neuron and increases the neuron’s positive charge. This increases the likelihood that the next neuron will fire an electrical impulse.

Question 15

Inhibition

Answer 15

When a NT binds with a receptor on the next neuron and increases the neuron’s negative charge. This decreases the likelihood that the next neurone will fire an electrical impulse.

Question 16

Tulvings gold memory study AO1

Answer 16

• aim was to find out where activity occurred in the brain when people were experiencing episodic and semantic memories.
• injected six volunteers with a mildy radioactive gold. They had a type of PET scan that measures blood flow in different parts of the brain
• each brain activity was watched while they thought about an episodic memory or a semantic memory.
• the results of three of the participants weren’t used as their results weren’t consistent enough
• the scans of others showed clear differences in blood flow.
• when experiencing an episodic memory there was more activity and blood flow to the frontal and temporal lobes
• when experiencing a semantic memory there was more acitivity and blood flow in the parietal and occipital lobe
• concluded that semantic and episodic memories are not only different types of memories, but that they also result in different parts of the brain being active.

Question 17

Social factors to explain obedience

Answer 17

• authority is when a person has the right to give orders, or when they are percieved by others to have the right to do so. In many cultures, people are brought up to obey people in authority. Milgram found that percieved authority is an element in whether or not people obey.
• proximity is how near or far something or someone is. When we are close to an authority figure we are more likely to obey. Milgram also suggests that promixity to the consequences of our actions increases the ‘moral strain’ which leads to an increase in personal responsibility.

Question 18

AO1 Adorno’s theory of AP

Answer 18

• theory is that some people have a personality that makes them more likely to be obedient. he calls this the AP.
• people with an AP are likely to ‘look down’ on people they view as having an inferior status.
• they tend to have ‘black and white’ thinking
• adorno based his theory on research using a questionnaire (f-scale). He concluded that people who had a harsh upbringing with strict parenting, were more likely to have an AP

Question 19

Verbal communication

Answer 19

sending and recieving messages using words.

Question 20

Briefly explain localisation of function in the brain

Answer 20

• certain cognitive functions are carried out by specific areas of the brain
• localised functions such as sensations, movements, touch, vision, hearing, and language

Question 21

Briefly evaluate the theory that nurture influences depression.

Answer 21

• there is support from research into learned helplessness that shows the negative effect of certain thinking patterns
• research into negative schemas has eld to effective treatments for mental health disorders like depression through helping people to identify and challenge their negative patterns of thinking (CBT).
• there is evidence to show that biological explanations for depression (eg chemical imbalances, genetics) are also part of the reason people experience depression.

Question 22

AO1 Aversion therapy

Answer 22

• tries to stop people from using the substance they are addicted to by causing them to experience something unpleasant when they carry out the behaviour
• results in a link being made between the unwanted behaviour and the unpleasant experience
• based on the principles of classical conditioning
• one example of this is when an alcoholic is given an emetic to take whenever they have an alcoholic drink

Question 23

Reductionist perspective

Answer 23

the belief that something is only fully able to be understood by simplifying it to its most fundamental and basic parts

Question 24

Holistic perspective

Answer 24

the blief that all parts of something are connected and are only fully able to be understood by looking at the ‘bigger picture’ or referring to the whole

Question 25

why are self management programmes viewed as more holistic?

Answer 25

• they help people work on the ‘bigger picture’
• this is done by not only dealing with smo’s urge to use a substance, but also by addressing other factors that are linked to addiction, such as environmental or social factors
• they also help address things from their past like trauma or loss

Question 26

AO1 hebbs theory of leanring and neuronal growth

Answer 26

• suggests that when we learn, new connections are created in our brains
• suggested that if a neurone repeatedly excites another neurone, neuronal growth occurs and the synaptic knob becomes larger
• during learning, groups of neurons fire and if this happens frequently, neural pathways are developed
• the more we do the task we have learnt, the stronger and more efficient these neural pathways become

Question 27

AO3 of Hebb

Answer 27

• reductionist because it attempts to explain the complex area of learning by mainly referring to the brain
• has a number of practical applications including use in learning

Question 28

AO3 of AD/SSRIs

Answer 28

• number of possible side effects including weight gain, problems sleeping, nausea and anxiety
• do not address the underlying psychological causes, they only address biological causes => reductionist

Question 29

CBT AO3

Answer 29

• to be successful, CBT sessions need to eb attended for some time. it is not always possible for people to commit the time that si required and so they may stop attending before any significant benefit is experienced.
• wile’s study into the effectiveness of CBT found that using CBT and AD was more effective than treating dperession than when Ad were used on their own

Question 30

James lange evaluation

Answer 30

• real life examples back up the theory - for example phobias and panic disorders
• other researchres have challenged the theory. For example, Cannon Bard claim that people actually experience emotions at the same time as the realted physiological arousal.
• it has been suggested that the theory can only be correct if there is a seperate and unique pattern of physiological arousal for every different emotion we experience. there is no resa

Question 31

self management

Answer 31

work best when attended regualrly and for a long time. hwoever some poeple are not willing to follow through with this commitment and thus there’s a high drop out rate of 40% to60%
people need to be willing to share their personal experiences and emotions with others. this type of intervention may not appeal to everyone.