HL Cognitive psych LAQ Flashcards
Intro to all LAQs
- People between ages of 16-24 spend over 27 hours a week on the internet and adults spend an average of 20.
- Technology has become an essential part of classrooms and personal use worldwide.
- Psychologists are questioning whether technology is in fact good for us.
- It is important to begin research into the effects of technology as it has become such an integral part of modern life.
- (Positive): video games // (negative) laptops and mobiles.
(Reliability of) Cognitive processes (positive) first point.
- Research into the effects of video gaming has shown that it can enhance and improve attention and skill in laparoscopic surgeons.
(Reliability of) Cognitive processes (positive) first study.
Rosser (2007)
Aim - to investigate whether playing video games results in better surgery performance in laparoscopic surgeons.
Method - correlational study, 33 lap surgeons. they participated in a series of drills (lifting and moving triangular objects from one point to another by putting a needle through the top of each triangle). The researchers measure the number of errors and completion time which was an indicator for surgery performance. The video games were assessed in two ways: 1) self-report questionnaire assessed video game experience outside of research, 2) p’s played 3 games for 25 mins and score indicated game mastery. Three games required fast reaction and precise movements.
Results - Overall score was 33% better for video gamers and 42% better if they plated more than 3 hours per week. Video game mastery highly correlated with less time and fewer errors in surgery drills. Surgeons who played for more than 3 hours a week made 37% less errors in drills and performed surgeries 27% faster than those who didn’t.
Conclusion - when playing video games, p’s improved their fine motor skills and attention. They could transfer these skills to other situations.
Rosser evaluation.
Strengths:
- study is focused on the speed and error reduction and this will have the most significant effect on the patient safety.
- Findings can be applied to real life as there has been a cause-effect relationship shown.
Weaknesses:
- Opportunity sample was small and may not be generalisable.
- self-report questionnaire used could have resulted in falsifying information.
(Reliability of) Cognitive processes (positive) second point.
The effects of playing video games are transferable to wider won texts not immediately related to the tasks performed in the game. Thus, video games could improve spatial awareness in other contexts.
(Reliability of) Cognitive processes (positive) second study.
Sanchez (2012)
Aim - to investigate how transferable the effects of playing video games are to wider domains like science learning.
Method - lab experiment, 60 uni student p’s. P’s were put in 2 groups randomly: 1) spatial training group (first person shooter game), 2) non-spatial training (verbal game involving combing letters to form words.
After playing, p’s read a complex text about tectonic plates (3,500 words, no pictures). It described a theoretical model of volcanic eruptions. P’s then wrote an essay. Independent scorers read the essay and assessed the extent to which it demonstrated understanding of the important concepts of plate tectonics.
Results - p’s who played first-person shooter game gained higher scored on the essay = better understanding of plate tectonics.
Conclusion - reading about a model of plate tectonics without illustrations required one to encode verbal information and translate it into abstract spatial representations. This research demonstrates that skills acquired in the game are to some extent generalisable to wider domains.
Sanchez evaluation.
Strengths:
- lab experiment = high control over extraneous variables such as spatial/non-spatial training = cause and effect relationship established.
- uni students may apply new knowledge to what they are learning. Level of work allows them to transfer knowledge across.
Weakness:
- lab experiment = video games may not reflect a neutral environment and this the study lack eco validity.
- the task lacks mundane realism = not applicable to real life.
(Reliability of) Cognitive processes (positive) power paragraph.
Gaming may actually change our brains. Kuhn et al (2013) carried out a study to determine the effects of prolonged video game playing on the brains of young adults. The researchers had participants play Super Mario for 30 mins per day for 2 months. They carried out an MRI scan on p’s before and after and compared to control group.
They found that vol of grey matter in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum had increased and was on average larger than control group.
These findings offer biological support for the other studies and further solidify the effects of technology on cognitive processes.
(Reliability - denser brain matter = stronger cognitive functions due to neuroplasticity)
Emotion and cognition (positive) first point.
Studies have shown that virtual reality may improve symptoms of PTSD.
Emotion and cognition (negative) first point.
Social media can negatively influence our thinking by social comparison.
Emotion and cognition (positive) first study.
Gerardi (2008)
Aim - to evaluate the effectiveness of VRE using a Virtual Iraq programme for treatment of PTSD in an Iraq war veteran.
Method - 29 year old p with 10 years of service with 1 year in Iraq. 6 months after returning, he reported symptoms fo PTSD: intrusive traumatic memories, poor concentration, mood irritability, strong startle response. These met the DSM-IV requirements for PTSD. He completed a series of self-report questionnaires and scales regarding mood, including his anxiety and depression inventories. The memory of one particularly traumatic occurrence was identifies as the primary trauma memory which was the most distressing and intrusive. During the weekly 90 min VRE sessions (4 total) the participant was expense to 2 repetitions of his trauma memory and reported feelings and reactions after each session (including subjective units of distress ratings between 1-100).
Results - the clinician administered PTSD scale score decreased significantly by 56% from a total of 106- to a total of 47. The PTSD self report score also decreased significantly from 35-10.
Conclusion - the veteran demonstrated improvement in PTSD symptoms as indicated by clinically and statistically significant changes in scores on the CAPS and PSS-R before and after the treatment.
Emotion and cognition (positive) Gerardi evaluation.
Strengths:
- both subjective and objective measures of symptoms were see and thus internal validity was high.
Negatives:
Participant still met criteria for PTSD and there was no follow up report so thus no proof of effectiveness over time.
- only one participant and therefore not reliable/generalisable.
Emotion and cognition (positive and negative) second point.
an individuals facebook feed can cause a optional contagion (pos or neg)
Emotion and cognition (positive and negative) second study.
Kramer et al (2014)
Aim - to test the idea that information in an individuals Facebook feed could cause emotional contagion.
Method - altered content of 689,003 FB users using existing Facebook algorithm and software system to identify posts with positive and negative words. For some participants, between 10-90% of negative posts of their friends were omitted, and the same for positive. A control group was used for each condition were a proportion was omitted at random. The researches never viewed or altered any posts manually.
Results - when they had positive content on their newsfeed, they were less likely to use positive language and vice versa.
Conclusion - emotional content to which we are exposed through our fb feed does affect our own emotional state.
Kramer et al (2014) evaluation.
Strengths: - no researcher bias as it was omitted by an algorithm. - large sample size = generalisable. Weakness: - no consent given//deception.
