Hancock: Measuring Differences (Individual Differences) Flashcards
What different beliefs were there about the relationship between thought and language prior to Hancock’s study?
-Thought is dependent on, or caused by, language
-Language is dependent on, and reflects, thoughts
-Thoughts and language are initially quite separate activities
-Language and thoughts are one and the same
What other theories were there prior to Hancock’s study?
-Words can reveal significant insights about psychological functioning
-Underlying cognitive and emotional processes can be revealed through subtle patterns in word choice
-Quantitative word counts can be used as a tool in the identification and examination of abnormal psychological processes
-Psychopaths have specific combinations of cognitive, social, and emotional characteristics that differentiate them from the general population
What is the background to Hancock’s study?
- Previous research found psychiatric patients used fewer words pertaining to optimism, basic cognitive functions, references to the future, and communication with others compared to a sample of community volunteers
-Limited examination of speech of psychopaths
-Psychopaths found to have a selfish orientation
-Previous research revealed that psychopaths’ language appears to be less cohesive than non psychopaths
What did Hancock’s study set out to do?
-Examine psychopathic language using statistical test analysis tools, looking at 3 major characteristics: instrumental nature, unique material and sociomotional needs, and their emotional deficit
-The aim was to examine whether the language of psychopaths reflected an instrumental/predatory world view.
What was the research method of Hancock’s study?
- Psychopathy measured using Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R)
- Semi-structured/open ended interviews which employed the Step-Wise Interview technique
-Narrative were transcribed and analysed through content analysis using the Wmatrix and the DAL
What was the sample for Hancock’s study?
- 52 male murderers (14 psychopaths, 38 not) in a Canadian prison
- Volunteered
- 8 for 1st degree murder, 32 for 2nd, and 10 for manslaughter
- Two groups did not differ on age or the amount of time since the homicide
What was the procedure for before the interview in Hancock’s study?
- Potential participants were asked if they would be interested in taking part in a research study
-Underwent a Psychopathy assessment using the Psychopathy Checklist Revised and a cut off score of 25/40 rather than 30/40
What was the procedure of the interview in Hancock’s study?
-At the beginning of the interview, the purpose of the study (to examine the manner in which homicide offenders recall their homicide offence) and the procedure were verbally explained
- While being audio taped, participants were asked to recall their homicide offences in as much detail as possible using a semi structured interview and Step wise approach
-Interviewers were 2 senior psychology graduate students and one research assistant who didn’t know the scores from the psychopathy test
-Interview was about 25 minutes
What was the procedure for after the interview?
-Narratives were transcribed, interviewer comments were deleted and proper nouns and abbreviations were spelled out
-Wmatrix was used to compare parts of speech and to analyse semantic concepts contained in the psychopath and control corpora
-DAL software programme was used to examine the affective tone of the words
What were the key findings from Hancock’s study?
-No significant difference in number of words
-Psychopaths produced more subordinating conjunctions eg. because, since, so that
-Psychopaths used approximately twice as many words related to basic physiological needs, including eating, drinking, and monetary resources when describing their murders
-Controls used more language related to social needs, including family, religion, and spirituality
-Psychopaths used more past tense verbs, fewer present tense verbs, and a higher rate of articles
-Psychopathic language was significantly less fluent
-Further analysis showed psychopathy to be associated with less positively valenced and less emotionally intense language
What possible conclusions can be drawn from Hancock’s study?
-Psychopaths are more likely to describe cause and effect relationships when describing their murder
-More likely to view their crime as a logical outcome of a plan
-Focus more on physiological needs than higher level social needs
-Focused on a lower level of necessities in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
-Linguistically frame their homicide as more in the past
-Give less emotionally intense descriptions of their crimes
-Less fluent language
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research method used in Hancock’s study?
-Quasi experiment so can’t establish cause and effect
-Independent measures so participant variables
-Semi structure interview so not all participants were asked the exact same questions, decreasing reliability
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the type of data collected in Hancock’s study?
- Qualitative data analyses in a way that generated quantitative data
-Easy comparison between conditions
What are the ethical considerations for Hancock’s study?
-Weren’t deceived regarding the purpose of the interview, but it’s unclear if the prisoners knew they were being assessed for psychopathy
-Gave consent as they volunteered (though this may not be fully informed)
-No mention of the offenders being told that they could withdraw their data
-Confidentiality was maintained
What was the validity like in Hancock’s study?
- Deception of the IV meant that participants were less likely to change their normal way of speaking
-Double blind procedure reduced researcher bias
-As the boundary was 25 for being psychopathic rather than the usual 30, there is a chance that those classified as psychopaths actually weren’t
-Wasn’t analysing general language, only in the context of describing their murder
-Results could reflect their level of education, culture, or how pedantic they are, rather than being a psychopath
