Paper 1 Flashcards
Define social influence
The process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours.
Define compliance.
A person agrees in public with a group of people, but privately disagrees with the groups viewpoints or behaviour. They temporarily changed their views.
Example of compliance.
a person may laugh at a joke that they don’t find funny just because their friends think it is
Supporting evidence for compliance.
Asch’s study.
Define identification.
When someone conforms to the demands of a given social role in society.
This conformity extends over several aspects of behaviour, but there’s no change in personal opinion.
Example of identification.
Social roles, including a policeman, teacher or politicians.
Supporting evidence for identification.
Zimbardo’s prison studies.
Internalisation definition.
Publicly changing behaviour to fit in with the group and agreeing with their views in private. This is both an internal and external change in behaviour and is the deepest level of conformity as the groups beliefs become individuals beliefs.
Example of internalisation.
Someone living with a vegetarian at university decides to become one as they agree with their friends viewpoints.
Supporting evidence for internalisation.
Acsh’s study.
How does informational social influence explain conformity?
The desire to be right. We conform as we are unsure about the situation and lack the knowledge, so we look to others who we believe have more information than us. This leads to internalisation.
Example of informational social influence.
Going to a posh restaurant with different forks: you would look to someone else to see which fork to use first.
Strength of informational social influence.
Supporting evidence: Students answer hard and easy maths questions and were shown incorrect responses. More conformities occured for the more difficult questions, especially among those who were already poor at maths. This shows we are more likely to agree with others when completing a difficult task and we are uncertain of the answer.
Limitation of informational social influence.
Insko suggests that informational social influence and normative social influence are not exclusive, but operate together into order to produce conforming behaviour.
How does normative social influence explain conformity?
The desire to be liked. We conform in order to fit in with the group because we don’t want to look foolish or be left out. This tends to lead to compliance, which is a change in public behaviour but not in private beliefs. This is only a temporary change.
Example of normative social influence.
Someone feeling pressurised to smoke because the rest of their friends are.
Strength of normative social influence.
In a study, adolescents who were told that the majority of people their age don’t smoke were less likely to start smoking than those who had not been given this message. This shows that people conform due to a desire to fit in and be the same as a group that is similar to themselves.
Limitation of normative social influence.
There is conflicting evidence, as science and engineering students were less likely to agree with others who gave the wrong answer in Acsh’s line study. This shows that individual differences can affect whether people are affected by normative social influence.
Procedures of Acsh’s original line study into conformity.
5 to 7 participants per group were presented with one standard line and three comparison lines. Participants were to say out loud which line matched the standard line. There was only one real participant per group, and the rest were confederates who gave the wrong answer on 12 out of 18 of the trials.
Aim of Asch’s line study.
To investigate whether people would conform in situations where the answers were obvious.
Findings of Acsh’s original study.
Participants conformed on 37% of the 12 critical trials. 74% of participants conformed at least once and 5% conformed on all trials. Participants said they conformed as they didn’t want the rest of the group to judge them.
Conclusions of Acsh’s original line study.
People feel a strong pressure to be the same as others and will conform even when they know what they’re doing and saying is wrong. There’s considerable individual variation in how people respond to this pressure.
Strength of line study.
There are practical applications as it helps understand the decision-making of jurors and why people engage in harmful behaviours such as smoking.
Limitations of line study
Considerable ethical issues such as deception and psychological harm.
What are the three variables that are found to affect conformity?
Group size, unanimity and task difficulty.
Group size procedures
They changed the number of Confederates in the group.
Group size findings.
When there is 2 Confederates, there was a 13% conformity rate. When there was three Confederates, there was a 32% conformity rate. And there was little increase inconformity rates for numbers above 3 Confederates.
Group size conclusions.
A group of just three people is sufficient to exert conformity pressures on an individual and that a large majority is not necessary.
Unanimity procedures.
One Confederate gives the right answer or a Confederate gives a different answer that’s also wrong.
Unanimity findings.
when one Confederate gives the right answer the conformity rate was 5% and when one Confederate gives a different answer, the conformity rate was 9%.
Unanimity conclusions.
A majority has influence due to its unanimity. In a group that isn’t unanimous, conformity pressures are lower and people are more likely to act individually.
Task difficulty procedures.
They changed the comparison lines so it was harder to tell which was the correct line - made it look more similar to the standard lines.
Task difficulty findings.
When the line lengths were more similar conformity increased
Task difficulty conclusions.
If a situation is ambiguous or difficult. Then people begin to look to others for the correct answer and assume that others are correct.
Zimbardo study procedures.
Converted Stanford University basement into a mock prison.
Volunteer sample deemed psychologically and physically sound were allocated prisoner or guards in a simulated prison environment for two weeks.
Prisoners were arrested at home, blindfolded, searched, deloused, given a uniform and number and had to obey the guards rules.
Guards given uniform, club, handcuffs, mirrored sunglasses and absolute power over prisoners.
Zimbardo study findings.
Guards became increasingly brutal and aggressive, enjoying the power they had over the prisoners - eg: made prisoners clean a toilet with their bare hands
Within two days the prisoners rebelled but guards responded with severe behaviour
The prisoners became subdued, depressed, anxious and passive - mindlessly complied with guards’ orders
5 prisoners had to be released because they showed signs of psychological disturbance (these reactions began after only two days)
Zimbardo ended the study after 6 days rather than the intended 14.
Zimbardo study conclusions.
People readily conform to the social role that they occupy, and behaviour is strongly influenced by social situations. People who behave badly aren’t always bad people.
Strength of Zimbardo study.
Good control over extraneous variables. For example random allocations to roles. This shows that behaviour was not due to personality.
Limitation of Zimbardo study.
Over exaggerates the power of social roles. for example, some guards behave differently -only a third was sadistic, some were fair and some helped the prisoners. This shows that people choose how to adopt social roles.
Define obedience
This is a type of social influence where an individual follows an order from another person usually an authority figure.
Milgram original study procedures.
The participant will assigned the teacher role and the Confederate was assigned the learner. Teacher and learner will put in separate rooms. The teacher was asked by an experimental to administer electric shocks, increasing from 15 to 450 volts each time the wrong answer was given.
If a participant didn’t want to administer shocks, the experimenter said please continue followed by. The experiment requires you to continue followed by. It is absolutely essential that you continue followed by. You have no choice but to continue.
Milgram original study findings.
All participants shocked up to 300 volts, and 65% went to the full 450.
Throughout the study, participants showed signs of distress such as twitching, giggling nervously and sweating.
Milgram original study conclusions.
People find it difficult to refuse orders from someone with a legitimate authority. When given ordered by authority figures, they enter an agentic state where they lose their moral values and responsibility for their actions.
What situational variables can affect obedience?
Proximity, location and uniform.
Proximity procedure.
Close proximity: teacher and learner was sat in the same room / teachers were forced to put the learners hand on a shock plate.
not close proximity: Researcher gave instructions over the phone.
Proximity findings.
40% gave 450 volts when in the same room. 30% gave 450 volts went pressing the learners hand onto a shock plate and 20.5% gave 450 volts when the researcher was not in the room
Proximity conclusions.
The closer the proximity, the lower the rate of obedience.
Location procedure.
Milgram’s original study was done in a less impressive location than Yale University: A shabby office block.
Location findings.
47.5% gave the 450 volts.
Location Conclusions.
The more prestigious the location, the more confidence in legitimacy of authority so the higher the rate of obedience.
Uniform procedures.
Three male actors dressed as a milkman, security guards or ordinary clothes asked members of the public to either pick up a bag, give money for parking, or stand on the other side of the bus stop where there was an no standing sign.
Uniform findings.
76% obeyed the guard, 47% obeyed the milkman and only 30% obeyed the ordinary man.
Uniform conclusion.
People are more likely to obey when instructed to by someone wearing in uniform, as it implies a sense of legitimate authority.
Do Milgram’s findings accurately reflect how people respond to an authority figure?
No, because the participants did not believe that the shocks were real and because the behaviour of the participants would not be replicated in a situation outside of the laboratory setting.
Milgram’s study supporting evidence.
A study by Sheridan and King involved participants giving a real electric shocks to puppies when ordered to by researcher. 77% obeyed, giving what they thought was a fatal shock. This shows high level of obedience when it is clear that the shocks were real.
Another study in the hospital found that 21 out of 22 nurses followed the orders of a bogus Dr, even if it went against hospital procedure and potentially put a patient at risk. This shows that Milgram’s findings demonstrate obedience to authority in everyday life.
Two ethical issues raised by Milgram’s research.
Deception as participants believed they were shocking a real person and were unaware the learner was a Confederate.
Protection from harm as participants were exposed to extremely stressful situations with the potential to cause psychological harm. They were also visibly distressed as they were trembling, sweating, stuttering and biting lips.
Legitimacy of authority.
People tend to obey others if they recognise their authority as morally right or legally based. This authority often comes from the backing of a social institution who have the ability to give punishments to people who do not obey
Supporting evidence for legitimacy of authority.
In Milgram study, maximum levels of obedience were attributed to the authority of Yale University. This is because obedience levels fell in an office block.
Data of aviation accidents and near misses. In flight recorder evidence, excessive obedience was showing to the captains authority and staff were less likely to challenge risky actions.
The authoritarian personality.
a personality that is disposed to favour obedience to authority and intolerance of outgroups and those lower in status
Adorno’s research procedures.
2000 middle class white Americans completed several personality scales to investigate the attitudes to other racial groups.
They completed the F scale, which assesses tendency towards fascism and measures authoritarian personality.
Adorno’s research findings.
Those who scored highly on the F scale were dismissive of people they regarded as weak, conscious of their own status and the status of others. They respected and were submissive towards those of higher status. They had a rigid cognitive scale and there was a positive correlation between the authoritarian personality and prejudice.
Conclusions from Adornos research study.
Having an authoritarian personality creates a tendency to be very obedient to authority.
Features of the authoritarian personality.
Submissive to and have respect for authority figures.
Contempt of people with inferior social status.
Conventional attitudes towards sex, sexual orientation, gender roles and racial issues.
Believe countries need strong, forceful leaders to apply traditional values such as patriotism, religion and family.
They have fixed views of right and wrong and are uncomfortable with uncertainty.
How does the authoritarian personality develop?
Individuals unable to express hostility towards their strict and critical parents displace the aggression and hostility onto safer, weaker targets such as ethnic minorities.
Strength of the authoritarian personality.
Supporting evidence: Participants completed Milgram’s study in an immersive virtual environment where participants were aware that shocks and the learners reaction was simulated. There is a positive correlation between the score on a measure of authoritarian personality and the shocks they were prepared to give. This shows that obedience can be explained by authoritarian personalities.
Limitation of authoritarian personality.
Some would argue that situational context is a more important in explaining obedience. Levels of obedience varies in relation to proximity, location, and presence of another disobedient Confederate. A dispositional explanation, such as authoritarian personality cannot account for these variations.
Internal locus of control.
the perception that you control your own fate
Are individuals with an internal locus of control more or less likely to resist social influence?
They are more likely to resist social influence.
Why are people with an internal locus of control more likely to resist social influence?
They are less likely to rely on others as they feel responsible for their own actions.
They can with stand the discomfort of resisting pressure to conform / obey an authority figure and would feel more discomfort if they let someone else control their actions
They are more confident and have less of a need for social approval.
External locus of control.
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.
Are individuals with an external locus of control more or less likely to resist social influence?
They are less likely to resist social influence.
Why are people with an external locus of control less likely to resist social influence?
They are more likely to rely on others. They can’t withstand the discomfort of resisting the pressure to conform or obey an authority figure. They are less confident and have more of a need for social approval.
Supporting evidence for the idea that having an internal locus of control helps resist obedience.
Holland. Did a repeat of the Milgram study and found that 37% of those with an internal locus of control refused to carry on to the higher shock level, and only 23% of those with an external locus of control refused to continue until the end. This shows that having an internal locus of control helps individuals resist the pressure to obey authority.
Challenging evidence for locus of control.
Twinge at Al analyse data from obedience studies over 40 years and found that people have become more likely to resist obedience and more external in their locus of control. If resistance to obedience was linked to locus of control, we’d expect to see the opposite. The shift in locus of control might reflect a changing society where it is clear that many things are out of our control.
What has research shown about locus of control and conformity due to normative social influence?
Those with an internal locus of control were less likely to conform and want to be liked and accepted within a group compared to those with an external locus of control. This supports the idea that having an internal locus of control is linked to resisting conformity.
What has research shown about locus of control and conformity due to informational social influence?
Locus of control doesn’t have any link with resisting conformity due to information or processes where people agree with the majority if they thought they were correct. This suggests that locus of control doesn’t always increase resistance to conformity, so it is only a partial explanation.
How does social support help us resist conformity?
If there’s one person in the group who Is not also in agreement, it gives support to an individual who has a different opinion to the group. This occurs even if the opinion is not the same as the other individuals. The other person break some unanimity of the group and offer the potential for a different opinion. This legitimates ways of thinking that gives an individual confidence to act upon their own judgement.
Supporting evidence for social support for a resistance of conformity.
In Asche’s research, conformity rates fell from 32% to 5% when one of the Confederates gave the right answer. Rates also fell to 9% when a Confederate gave a different, incorrect answer. For the strongest social support, the correct answer is given from the person in the first position in the group. If the dissenting Confederate began to agree with the others again, so did the participant. Conformity is dependent on having an ally who also resists.
What do the findings from Asche’s research suggest about social support and resisting conformity?
Resistance to conformity is heavily dependent on having an ally in the group who also resists.
Why does social support help us resist obedience?
Having social support through witnessing another person take a stand and refusing to obey can help an individual to resist the pressure to obey. The disobedient person can act as a role model, and having an ally can help an individual cope with the awkwardness involved in against the social conventions of obeying a person with legitimate authority.
How is the explanation of social support and resistance of obedience supported by Milgram’s research?
One disobedient Confederate refused to continue with electric shocks. This caused obedience rates to fall from 65 to 10%, giving maximum voltage. This supports the social support explanation of resisting obedience.
How is the social support explanation of resisting obedience supported by real life incidents?
A group of German women protested in Berlin against the Gestapo who were holding 2000 Jewish men prisoner. They were ordered to disperse and were threatened. The woman refused to obey and continue to make their demands. Being with other disobedient role models enabled the women to resist the pressure to obey where they would normally be reluctant to show dissent. This caused the men to be released.
What are the three processes involved in minority influence?
Consistency, commitment and flexibility.
What is consistency?
Unchanging interview is more likely to influence the majority. And all members of the minority must propose the same message.
Example of consistency.
All members of an environmental group should not drive cars and should instead use public transport, cycle or walk.
What supporting evidence is there for the role of consistency?
Moscovici study.
What is commitment?
When the majority is confronted with someone with self-confidence and dedication to take a popular stand and refuses to back own, they may assume that he or she has a point. The use of dramatic and dangerous ways to draw attention to their views and demonstrate their commitment to the cause.
Supporting evidence for the role of consistency.
Hogg and Vaughan. Minorities are likely to exert an influence on the majority if seeing is acting from a committed principle and if they’ve made a personal sacrifice.
What is flexibility?
If a minority appears compromising, they are likely to be seen as less extreme, more moderate, cooperative and reasonable.
Example of flexibility.
Environmentalist should acknowledge that some individuals living in remote and rural areas need a car to get to work.
Supporting evidence for the role of flexibility
A simulated jury. Confederate one refused to alter his position and had no effect on the majority opinion, whereas Confederate 2 was prepared to shift a little towards the majority, was able to influence others to agree.
Moscovici study procedures.
172 female participants were told they were taking part in a colour perception task. They were placed into groups of six and showing 36 slides with varying shades of blue. Participants had to say out loud the colour of each slide. Two out of 6 in the group were Confederates in condition 1. The Confederates said that all slides were green, but in condition to they said that 24 slides are green and 12 were blue.
Findings of Moscovici study.
In the consistent condition, participants agreed on 8.2% of the trials, whereas in the inconsistent condition, participants agreed on 1.25% of the trials.
Moscovici study conclusion.
A consistent minority is 6.95% more effective than an inconsistent minority. Consistency is an important factor in minority influence.
How has Moscovici study been criticised for being artificial?
In real life, minorities are often very passionate about their views, unlike the Confederates from the study. Changing the majority’s viewpoints takes many years, whereas the study took place over a short period of time and the study can’t provide an accurate reflection of minority groups in the real world.
What is social change?
Whole societies alter their attitudes and behaviour. The majority of people in a society adopt new ways of behaving and thinking.
Two examples of where the minority has created social change.
Suffragettes and giving women the right to vote. And attitudes towards homosexuality.
How does minority influence create social change?
1- drawing attention
2- consistency
3- deeper processing
4- augmentation principle
5- snowball effect
6- social cryptomnesia
Challenging evidence for the role played by minority influence in creating social change.
Its majority influence that may create deeper processing if you do not share their views. This is because we like to believe that other people share our views and thinking the same ways as us. When we find out a majority believe something different, then we are forced to think long and hard about their arguments and reasoning. This means that a central element of the process of minority influence has been challenged and may be incorrect.
One practical application of research into the role played by minority influence in creating social change.
If minorities want to create social change, they need to avoid behaving in ways that reinforce stereotypes that may be off putting for the majority.
Give two everyday examples where conformity has created social change.
Reducing litter by putting everyone else does on bins. And signs saying most guests reuse their towels to decrease laundry demands in hotels.
How does conformity create social change?
Due to normative social influence, people change their behaviour to fit in with others,
Evidence that supports the role played by conformity in creating social change.
In Montana State University, a programme was used to bring about social change in young adults drinking and driving. The message was - most Montana young adults don’t drink and drive. This caused a 13% reduction in drinking and exposure to social norms led to a social change which supports the role of normative social influence in social change.
Example of evidence that challenges the role played by conformity and creating social change.
In a similar campaign to the Montana State University programme on 14 college sites a postal survey campaign was implemented to reduce alcohol use in students. They compared perceptions of drinking norms and personal drinking behaviour at the time and three years after. They found there was no reduction in perceptions of student drinking and reports of drinking were the same.
define the term duration
The length of time information can be held in memory
Sensory register duration
up to 2 seconds - Sperling
short term memory duration
18-30 seconds (Peterson & Peterson)
long term memory duration
May last a lifetime - Bahrick
define capacity
a measure of the amount of information that can be stored in memory
define coding
the way information is modified/converted to when it is stored
sensory register capacity
75% of data it is presented with (Peterson & Peterson)
short term memory capacity
7 +/- 2 - Jacobs
long term memory capacity
unlimited - no way of measuring
sensory register coding
modality free
short term memory coding
acoustic - conrad & baddeley
long term memory coding
semantically - baddeley
3 assumptions of the multistore model of memory
there are 3 separate stores- sensory register, ltm and stm
each store is unitary and cant be subdivided
information is transferred via rehearsal
what is meant by rehearsal?
repetition over and over again
if this doesn’t occur, information is forgotten and lost from short term memory via decay
example of rehearsal
using flashcards to repetitively revise content will ensure info is transferred to ltm
how is information passed from the sensory register to stm
it must be paid attention to
Peterson and Peterson researched…
short term memory duration
Peterson and Peterson procedures
P’s given a nonsense triad (NTD), P’s count down in 3s for either 0,3,6,9,12,15 or 18s. P’s asked to recall triad they were given.
Peterson and Peterson findings/conclusion
@ 3s: 80% correct recall, 30% @ 9s & 10% @ 18s.
some people can retain info for 30s (max STM duration)
Jacobs researched…
short term memory capacity
Jacobs procedure
letters/digits shown every 0.5s. P’s asked to recall them in correct order. Started @ items, more added 1 at a time until failure. repeated for an average digit span.
Jacobs findings/conclusion
average digit span = 5-9 items
Conrad researched…
short term memory coding
Conrad procedures
P’s shown 6 random consonants & asked to write letters in order. List of letters were either acoustically similar (T,V,P) or different (F,J,R)
Conrad findings
Acoustically similar letters were more difficult to recall - STM uses an acoustic code.
Bahrick researched…
long term memory duration
Bahrick procedure
yearbooks of 392 graduates (17-74yrs) traced. Time since graduation 2 weeks-57yrs. 130 pictures from each yearbook selected for either free recall of names, recognition of names, recognition of pictures, matching names to pictures & naming pictures.
Bahrick findings
Free recall of names: 50% accuracy @ 3mth, 20% @ 40+yrs
Recognition of names, recognition of pictures & matching names to pictures: 85-90% accuracy for all
Naming pictures: 70% accuracy @ 3mth, 60% @ 15yr & 20% @ 40+yrs
Bahrick conclusion
LTM may last a lifetime but access depends on how a person tries to remember. Recognition is superior to info recall.
Baddeley research…
long term memory coding
Baddeley procedure
70 young servicemen asked to recall 1 of 4 word lists in correct order. 1) acoustically similar 2) acoustically different 3) semantically similar 4) semantically different
Baddeley findings/conclusions
No recall difference between acoustically similar & different
accuracy of semantic similar (55%) < accuracy of semantically different (85%)
LTM uses semantic code
HM study aim
Scoville performed surgery on the then 27-year-old H.M. to cure him of his epileptic seizures.
HM study method
Removal of hippocampus
HM study results
Impaired memory: unable to produce long term memory - lost his memory for events that had happened after his surgery
STM unaffected
HM study conclusion
Memory is not one unitary store as STM still functioned.
supporting evidence for the ideal that stm and ltm are separate
HM case study, hippocampus removed, impared memory
HM no longer able to produce long term memories but short term was unaffected
supports theories that all stored are separate and different
supporting evidence for idea that stm and ltm are different
Jacobs found stm capacity to be 5-9 items but ltm’s is thought to be unlimited
baddeley found stm codes accoustically but coding in ltm is scemantic
shows stores are different
Multistore Model of Memory
a model proposing that information flows from our senses through three storage levels in memory: sensory, short-term, and long-term
MSM practical applications
helps students revise - need to rehearse info
helps teaching - teachers regularly revisit topics to continue rehearsal
the ideas put forward have been useful in the real world
evidence that ltm and stm aren’t unitary
consist of multiple components which are able to process different types of information: working memory model and tulvings divisions of ltm
evidence that rehearsal is not always needed for transfer to ltm
we are sometimes able to remember unrehearsed memories but unable to recall rehearsed memories.
Hyde & Jenkins found no difference in the number of words recalled between group that rehearsed and group that didnt - shows rehearsal isnt as important as model claims
episodic ltm
responsible for storing information about events (episodes) that we have personally experienced in our lives - places people and objects
requires conscious though - declarative
episodic ltm example
memory of our first day at school
episodic ltm location
hippocampus
semantic ltm
responsible for storing knowledge of the world - meaning of words and general knowledge
conscious effort required to recall - declarative
semantic memory example
london is the capital city of england
semantic ltm location
temporal and frontal lobes
procedural ltm
responsible for knowing how to do things (skills)
no conscious effort to remember - implicit
procedural memory example
knowing how to ride a bike
procedural ltm location
motor cortex and cerebellum
difference between declarative and implicit memory
declarative require a conscious effort to be remembered (episodic and semantic)
implicit memories don’t require this effort (procedural)
supporting evidence for types of LTM
brain scans show different parts of the brain are active when different ltm tasks are performed: episodic=hippocampus, semantic=temporal+frontal , procedural=cerebellum+motor cortex. this shows tulving was correct in suggesting different types of ltm
case study supporting evidence for types of ltm
clive wearing - some procedural but impaired episodic
vicari et al - some impaired episodic but intact semantic
types of ltm practical applications
helps healthcare professionals treat the elderly with cognitive decline. they are able to isolate specific types of LTM that are in decline and devise strategies to improve
challenging evidence for types of ltm
challenges the distinction between episodic and semantic memory. episodic memories are needed to form semantic memories as we aquire knowledge from personal experiences - they together represent delarative memory
suggests only 2 types of ltm rather than 3 types
limitation of types of ltm: use of case studies on brain damage patients
unique participants - may not be able to generalise to a healthy brain
cant say that people without brain damage have the same ltm divisions
define reciprocity
Infant and caregiver perform turn taking behaviour like a two-way conversation
reciprocity example
caregiver smiles at the Infant and infant responds by smiling back
define interactional synchrony
caregiver and infant behaviour become synchronised in direct Response to each other
Meltzoff and Moore procedure
controlled observation where an adult model displayed different facial expressions and hand movements. was this occurred the child was giving a dummy to prevent responses. when the dummy was removed the infants response was filmed and judged by an independent Observer.
why is it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the role of caregiver interactions in attachments
an infants behaviour may not be deliberate as they can’t communicate to tell us whether it is or isn’t on purpose this means we can’t be certain that infants are engaging in caregiver infant interactions. can’t show cause and effect
example of interactional synchrony
caregiver hums and infant rocks in time with caregiver hums and infant rocks in time with the tune
how can it be argued that research into caregiver-infant interactions is scientific
there are often controlled procedures film from multiple angles this means fine behaviours can be observed and analysed to improve the accuracy of conclusions
explain the procedures of schaffer and Emersons research
visited infants and their homes every month for a year and again at 18 months mother’s kept a diary detailing instances of social referencing strangers anxiety and separation anxiety
Schaffer and Emerson research participants
60 babies from working-class families in Glasgow
what are the four stages of attachment
asocial
indiscriminate
specific
multiple
what are the key features of the asocial stage
they respond to humans and objects in the same way but have a preference for face and eyes
when does the asocial stage occur
0 to 6 weeks
what are the key features of the indiscriminate stage
prefer humans to objects are comforted easily by anyone and can distinguish between people
when does the indiscriminate stage occur
6-weeks to 6 months
when does the indiscriminate stage occur
6-weeks to 6 months
key features of the specific stage
instant forms of specific attachment with a primary caregiver and shows separation anxiety when the primary caregiver isn’t present. infant is also not easily comforted by anyone other than the primary caregiver as they look for to them for Comfort and protection
when does the specific stage occur
7 months +
key features of multiple attachment stage
entrance forms attachments to multiple other people like siblings and grandparents
when does the multiple attachment stage occur
at 10 to 11 months +
schaffer and Emerson findings
most babies show attachment to a primary caregiver by 32 weeks and developed multiple attachments soon afterwards
strengths of schaffer and Emersons research
high ecological validity due to infants being in their natural environments longitudinal design ensures that individual differences are eliminated
weaknesses of Schaffer and Emerson study
can’t control extraneous variables due to it being a naturalistic observation the self-report could be affected by social desirability bias and is under generalizable to the population as only working class families from Glasgow were studied
according to learning theory how does classical conditioning explain attachment
the caregiver (the Neutral stimulus) is associated with food (the unconditioned stimulus) the caregiver becomes the conditioned stimulus
according to learning theory how does operant conditioning explain attachment
crying behaviour is reinforced positively for the infant and negatively for the caregiver
weaknesses of learning theory as an explanation of attachment
Lorenz and Harlow showed that feeding is not the key to attachment in there animal studies it ignores other factors as it cannot account for the importance of sensitivity and interactional synchrony
what does bowlby’s monotropic Theory suggest about attachment
that it is evolutionary
what is the acronym associated with bowlby’s monotropic Theory
ASCMI
in bowlby’s monotropic theory what is meant by adaptive
attachment increases chances of survival as having a caregiver means more protection this shows that the drive to form attachment is innate
in bowlby’s monotropic theory what is meant by social releasers
behaviours that bring about Instinct of caregiving responses in adults such as smiling and crying this explains how attachments to infants are formed
in bowlby’s monotropic theory what is meant by the critical period
from birth to 2.5 years old if an attachment doesn’t form in this time it will never form
in bowlby’s monotropic theory what is meant by monotropy
the tendency to form one special attachment to The caregiver Who responds most sensitively to needs this primary attachment figure acts as a secure base for the infant
in bowlby’s monotropic theory what is meant by the internal working model
a schema created for future relationships based on the first primary attachment
what is the continuity hypothesis
emotionally secure infants who formed strong bonds will be emotionally secure confident adults
supporting evidence for the concept of monotropy
Emerson found that babies do form specific attachment to a primary attachment figure even though they have also from several other attachments within their families
supporting evidence for social releasers
Brazelton et al found that when social releases were ignored babies were upset
Evidence for the internal working model and continuity hypothesis
Harlow found that there were long lasting effects of the monkeys early attachment experiences for example they found it hard to socialise and make with other monkeys and some female Monkeys were abusive towards offspring
how can the temperament hypothesis be used to criticise bowlby’s conclusion that the internal working model influences children’s relationships with others
it suggests that some infants are born trusting in friendly which is the reason they became a securely attached infants and forms secure relationships in the future
in Kern’s study what type of attachment results in the best quality friendship
secure
in Kerns study what type of attachment often creates friendship difficulties
insecure
what is one limitation of using a correlation in Kerns’ research
you can’t identify the cause and effect so you don’t know where the attachment type affected the quality of Peer relationships this lowers the validity of the conclusions
how old were the children involved in Myron-Wilson and Smith studies
7 to 11 years old
in Myron-Wilson and Smith studies, what type were least likely to be involved in bullying
secure attachment
in Myron-Wilson and Smith studies what attachment type were most likely to be victims of bullying
insecure avoidant
in Myron-Wilson and Smith studies what attachment type where most likely to be bullies
insecure-resistant
limitation of using a questionnaire in Myron-Wilson and Smith study
data could be influenced by social desirability bias or demand characteristics which leads to inaccurate results and hence inaccurate conclusions
what did the strange situation measure
attachment quality
strange situation procedure
100 middle class American mother and babies took part in a controlled observation each infant was observed with its mother in especially arranged room with play materials as a series of events took place the infants were assessed on proximity seeking exploration and secure base stranger and separation anxiety and response to reunion
strange situation findings
infants showed consistent patterns of attachment behaviour
what are the three types of attachment identified by Ainsworth
secure avoidant and resistant
209 / 448
secure
avoidant
resistant
secure attachment characteristics
This attachment type is willing to explore, but also seeks proximity to the caregiver. They show moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
insecure avoidant characteristics
they avoid intimacy with caregiver and others are happy to explore without a caregiver and had little or no distress when the caregiver was not present as well as little or no pleasure upon the caregivers return
insecure resistant characteristics
they seek and resist intimacy with caregiver and show extreme distress when caregiver leaves and with the stranger when the caregiver Returns the infant is angry at the caregiver but still wants comfort
strengths of the strange situation
high interobserver reliability practical applications in situations where are insecure attachment begin to form between infants and caregivers interventions and can be put in place
weaknesses of the strange situation
it is culture bound as attachment behaviour may have different meanings in different cultures so the strange situation may be measuring different things there is challenging evidence as later studies of attachment using the strange situation showed that another type of attachment may have been overlooked using it over observation may have influenced the mother’s behaviour which would in turn affect the infants behaviour making results inaccurate.
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg procedure
a meta-analysis of 32 strange situation studies from 8 different countries where findings from each study were analysed
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg findings
there was more variation within countries and between countries secure was the most common attachment type in all countries avoidant was the next most common attachment type in all countries except Japan and Israel
cultural variation study conclusion
it appears that attachment is innate and universal and secure attachment is the norm however cultural practises affect the rates of attachment types
why do we see cross cultural variations in attachment
different countries look after children differently for example independence is considered important in Germany and his emphasise whereas in Japan the mother does everything for her children and rarely leaves them alone
strengths of Van Ijzendoorn study
it has a large sample size to reduce the impact of anomalous results to improve internal validity
weaknesses of Van Ijzendoorn study
it claims to be investigating cultural variations in attachment where is really comparing the percentage of attachment types in different countries the method of assessment is biased as research using the strange situation in poses of the USA test on other cultures
what is deprivation
separation from attachment figure for long periods of time which leads to a loss of attachment
examples of where deprivation may occur
an infant going into hospital a caregiver going into work or losing contact due to a divorce
what did Bowlby mean by the critical period irreversibility and continuous care in the context of deprivation
separation will only cause deprivation if it occurs in the critical period deprivation will be irreversible if the child doesn’t form another attachment within the critical period as attachment can’t form after these points mother should provide continuous care a good standard of food and physical care along with emotional care
according to Bowlby what are the effects of deprivation
long term emotional and social development issues delinquency affectionless psychopathy and low IQ
procedure of bowlby’s 44 thieves research
2 groups of 44 5 to 16 year olds. in the first Group all Thieves and 14 out of these 44 were affectionless Psychopaths. in the second group all children were emotionally disturbed that hadn’t committed any antisocial acts. the children and parents were interviewed about their early lives
bowlby’s 44 thieves research findings
12 of the 14 affectionless Psychopath had experienced long separation from their mother five of the 30 thieves experience separation and only 4% of the other children had done so
bowlby’s 44 thieves research conclusion
early separation from Mother are associated with social and emotional development problems deprivation of emotional care can lead to emotionless psychopathy
strengths of bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
the 44 thieves study supported bowlby’s Theory and and research produced practical applications for example parents were allowed to stay overnight in in a hospital to prevent emotional deprivation to promote a quicker recovery for infants
weaknesses of bowlby’s theory for maternal deprivation
Rata suggest the negative effect of Separation depend more upon the reasons for being parted with the caregiver rather than Just The Separation alone ratta also claim that bowlby’s Theory failed to distinguish between the effects of deprivation and privation
what did McCarthy study
friendships and romantic relationships
what type of attachment did McCarthy find resulted in the best friendships and romantic relationships
secure
what type of attachment did McCarthy find resulted in problems maintaining friendships
insecure-resistant
what attachment type did McCarthy find resulted in problems with intimacy in romantic relationships
insecure avoidant
what is a limitation of McCarthy study
it assumes that adults have very little free will which suggest that in securely attached infants will definitely form and healthy future relationships this shows that this study is socially sensitive
what did hazan and shaver study
romantic relationships
what type of correlation did hazan and shaver find between attachment type and love experiences
positive
how did the love experiences and romantic relationships of securely attached participants differ from insecurely attached participants in hazan and shavers research
they were more positive happy and trusting
what type of correlation did hazan and shaver find between the internal working model and attachment type
positive
describe the findings of one study that challenges the findings obtained by hazan and shaver
study assessed infancy attachment and quality of friendships and romantic relationships there is a weak 0.1 correlation which is less confident about hazan and shavers conclusions
what is meant by institutional care
being brought up in a children’s home on an orphanage rather than within a family
rutters Romanian orphan study procedure
a natural experiment where 165 Romanian children who spent their lives in orphanages before being adopted by British families were compared to a control group of British orphans adopted in the UK around the same time they were assessed on the physical and cognitive development at ages 4 6 11 and 15
rutters Romanian orphan study findings
at the time of adoption the Romanian development was less as children was smaller weighed less and were cognitively impaired children who were adopted before the age of 6-months caught up with the British group physically and cognitively however children adopted after 6-months showed signs of disinhibited attachment
disinhibited attachment
attention-seeking behaviour towards all adults
effects of institutional care
disinhibited attachment emotional and social problems physical underdevelopment and cognitive impairment
strengths of rutters research
has a real life application as both institutional care and adoption practise have been improved using these findings and there was few extraneous variables as the orphans had fewer negative influences before institutionalisation
weaknesses of rutters study
you can’t generalise findings to better institution as the conditions in the Romanian orphanages were so bad
explain the argument that multiple attachments are not important
Bowlby said that a single primary attachment relationship is vital for the Healthy psychological development of a child this is mainly the role of the mother and the father’s role was instead to support the mother financially and to provide emotional support through love and companionship to create an atmosphere for the baby to thrive in
explain the view that multiple attachments are both possible and beneficial
schaffer and Emerson show that many babies have multiple attachment by 10 months old another study investigated the benefit of being attached to a grandparent when a mother had depression as mothers with depression have less engaging interactions with the children the stronger the attachment to the grandchild to a grandparent the less likely the child of a depressed mother is to experience depression in adulthood
explain the view that Father’s are not necessary
schaffer and Emerson found that Fathers were less likely to be the primary attachment figures due to social factors which discourage men from being nurturing insensitive va and biological factors due to a lack of oestrogen so many less caregiving behaviour and are less sensitive to infant cues
research that supports the view that Father’s are not necessary
Hardy states that fathers are less able to detect low levels of infant distress so so I’ll just less important and capable of providing sensitive nurturing attachments
research that challenges the view that Father’s are not necessary
Grossman found that Father’s are more physically active and provide challenging situations to encourage problem-solving and communication which suggests that Father’s have a more play and stimulation based role than nurturing
why is it not possible to draw firm conclusions about role of the Father
some studies show that fathers have a nurturing role and the some suggest they have a different role this therefore makes it hard to draw firm conclusions on the role of the Father
The working memory model
An explanation of the memory used when working on a task. Each store is qualitatively different.
How is the working memory model different from the multi store model of memory?
The working memory model is only an explanation of short term memory, whereas the multi store model is a model for all memory. The working memory model suggests that short term memory is further divided and not unitary.
Central executive role
Direction controls attention. It is involved in planning and decision making. Passes info onto other components and can takeover from an overloaded component for a short period of time.
Capacity of central executive.
Very limited as it can’t attend to many things at once.
Coding of central executive.
Modality free
Phonological loop role.
Process is auditory and speech information.
What are the two subgroups of the phonological loop?
The phonological store and the articulatory rehearsal system.
What does the phonological store do?
Stores words that you have heard.
What does the articulatory rehearsal system do?
Maintains the rehearsal of words.
Coding of the phonological loop
acoustic
Capacity of the phonological loop.
2 seconds
Visuo spatial sketchpad role.
Processes visual and spatial information.
What are the two subdivisions of visuo spatial sketchpad?
The visual cache and the inner scribe.
Visual cache role
Stores and processes information associated with objects such as shapes and colours.
Inner scribe role
Stores and processes information about the arrangement of objects.
Coding of the visuospatial sketch pad.
Visual.
Capacity of the visuospatial sketch pad.
Three to four objects.
Episodic buffer function.
Combines the working memory info with information from long term memory.
Coding of the episodic buffer.
Modality free
Capacity of the episodic buffer.
Four chunks of information.
Use the working memory model to explain why we can do a verbal and visual task at the same time, but not two verbal or two visual tasks.
Verbal and visual tasks use different components of working memory model it so can be performed simultaneously as each has the capacity for one task. Each component can’t perform two tasks at once as it only has the capacity for 1.
Supporting evidence for the working memory model. Dual tasks.
Robbins et al. If participants have to use the same component to complete two different tasks, performances in pairs. This is because each component has a limited capacity and exceeding this capacity leads to poor performance over the tasks. The working memory model provides an accurate account for the short term memory as it can explain and predict the performance of participants, which gives us confidence that the short term memory is subdivided.
Supporting evidence for working memory model. Brain damage, patients.
Case study on KF. Suffered brain damage affecting the short term memory. KF struggled with auditory tasks but could do visual tasks. This shows that the phonological loop was damaged, but the other components were intact, which confirms that each component is separate.
Supporting evidence for a working memory model. Brain imaging studies.
Participant show activity in Wernicke’s area when tasks use the phonological store. Participants show activity in Broca’s area when use the articulatory rehearsal system. This is evidence for the subdivisions of the phonological loop. Verbal memories are located in the left atmosphere and spatial memories are located in the right hemisphere. This gives evidence for the subdivisions of the visuospatial sketch pad.
Practical applications of the working model of memory. practical
Helps understand dyslexia and teaching. Dyslexia involves problems in the phonological loop and the central executive. This helps educationalists target working memory model and help students. Therefore, the theory is useful in everyday life.
Limitations of working memory model. Challenge the use of brain damage patient studies.
Brain injury leads to lots of cognitive difficulties, which explains why some people may struggle with memory tasks. It is hard to generalise findings to those who don’t have brain damage. Therefore the theory may be based on flawed evidence and we must question the extent to which the theory can be supported.
Limitations of the working memory model. Challenge views of the central executive.
The central executive is considered to be the most important part of the model, but knowledge of its functions is limited and its description is too vague.
Some believe that there are several components of the central executive. Patient EVR had a cerebral tumour removed and performed well on reasoning tests but poorly on everyday decision making. Both of these tasks require the central executive. This shows that central to executive is more likely to be more complex than stated by the working memory model.
Term interference in the context of forgetting
Interference is forgetting that occurs when one memory is blocked by another. This blocking / distortion causes forgetting. This occurs when content is very similar, for example old and new phone numbers.
Proactive interference.
When an older memory interferes with a new one, so the new information is forgotten.
Example of proactive interference.
A teacher has learned so many names in the past, she has trouble remembering the names of her current class.
Retroactive interference.
New a memory interferes with an older one, so older information is forgotten.
Retroactive interference example.
A teacher has had to learn a new class of names, so forgets the names of her old class.
Describe what is meant by a cue in the context of memory.
A cure is something that acts as a reminder. Memories can’t be recalled because the correct cues aren’t present.
List three types of cues.
Meaningful links, context cues, and state cues.
meaningful links study
Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) gave participants a list of 48 words to learn, organised into 12 categories of four words each.
In one condition, the lists of words were given a category heading, such as ‘fruit’, followed by the names of the items, for example, banana, apple, pear, orange.
Participants were told that they only needed to recall the items and not the headings.
Participants who weren’t given the headings as cues recalled fewer words than those given the cued headings.
context dependent forgetting
Forgetting is likely to occur when trying to recall information from a different context. For example, a different room, different weather, different temperature will different smells.
State dependent forgetting.
Forget is likely to occur when trying to recall information when in a different state. For example, emotional state (happy/sad), drunk/sober, and alert/tired.
Supporting evidence for interference theory - McGeoch & McDonald
Investigate the effect of similarity of material and retroactive interference. Three groups learned fully a list of 10 words. Had a 10 minute interval and then learned list be. In Group one, words in list B had the same meanings list A. In Group two list B was nonsense syllables and in Group three list B was numbers. All participants were asked to recall List A again. Group One was 12% accurate, Group 2 was 26% accurate and group Three was 37% accurate. This means that all groups experience forgetting and the interferences is at its highest when information is similar.
Supporting evidence for proactive interference. Underwood.
Investigated proactive interference using meta analysis. He found that when participants were asked to learn a list of unrelated words, overall recall of new info declines with each successive list learned. If there was more than 10 lists, p’s recalled 20% of the last list that they learned. If there was only one list, they were called 70% of this list. This means that as you learn more, you can forget more which is an example of proactive interference. Each list makes it more difficult to learn subsequent lists.
Strength of interference theory use of lab experiments.
High control over extraneous variables, which increases confidence in drawing conclusions about cause and effect. Shows that interference is an accurate explanation of forgetting.
Limitation of interference theory. Use of lab experiments.
Studies used meaningless stimulus materials, such as nonsense syllables, and asked participants to learn and recall information over short periods of time. This is rarely encountered in everyday life, so it renders these supporting evidence invalid, and it lacks ecological validity.
Practical applications of interference theory.
Can be used in advertising people exposed to ads from competing brands in a short space of time. In order to reduce interference, the advert should be shown multiple times a day.
Challenging evidence for interference theory.
It isn’t a complete explanation as it can only explain everyday forgetting but not all forgetting
supporting evidence for context dependent forgetting
Godden and Baddeley (1975) discovered that when divers learnt material underwater, they recalled the information better when tested underwater than when on dry land. Recall is 40% lower when the environmental context of learning and recall are different.
This supports the theory of context-dependent memory.
Supporting evidence for state dependent forgetting.
Goodwin asked participants to learn material when either drunk or sober.
Recall was found to be more difficult if the state in which the learner learnt the material differed from that in which it was tested.
For example, participants performed better on a test when drunk if they had learned the material whilst drunk.
Practical applications of cue dependant forgetting.
Help students with revision. Students should make their revision space more similar to the example and make meaningful links and cues when revising.
In the cognitive interview, recall can be improved by recreating the context of the crime, giving support with the importance of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting.
Limitation of retrieval failure.
Can only explain some forgetting. It can’t explain why forgetting continues to happen when the encoded cues are available at time of recall. In real life, retrieval failure due to absence of cues doesn’t actually explain much of forgetting.
Limitation of. retrieval theory. Lacks falsifiability.
It is impossible to empirically test the ideas proposed, as we can’t measure that the queue has been encoded at the same time of learning. This means it is not open to scientific inquiry and doesn’t meet the criteria for a science.
What is meant by misleading information?
Any information that leads you to into giving a particular response rather than an accurate response.
What are the two examples of misleading information?
Leading questions and post event discussion.
leading questions.
a question that prompts or encourages the desired answer.
Post event discussion.
A potential source of misleading information where witnesses discuss what they saw afterwards. This has the potential to influence memory.
Study into the influence of leading questions. Loftus and Palmer, 1974.
45 students were shown films of car accidents and were asked to answer a series of questions. One critical question was about estimating the speed of the car. The phrasing of the question differed. About how fast were the cars going when they (contacted / Hit / bumped / collided / smashed) into each other?
The findings were the estimates vary depending on the verb to use. When the verb smash was used, the estimate was an average of 41 miles an hour, whereas when contacted was used, the average was 32 miles an hour. This suggests that the wording of the question can affect an eyewitness response.
Study into the influence of post event discussion. Gabbert et al.
Participants were studied in pairs. Each pair watched a video of the same crime but each member of the pair saw it from a different viewpoint so members saw different aspects. Participants discussed what they had seen and were individually tested on their recall. They found that 71% of participants incorrectly reported aspects of the crime scene that they hadn’t seen but had discussed. This shows that eye witnesses go along with each other as they think others are correct or in order to gain social approval.
Why can we be unsure about the role of misleading information on the accuracy of eye witness testimony.
Use of lab experiments: Low external validity, so have little relation to a real court scenario. Participants in research may be more likely to anticipate truthful information from the experimenters. Eye witnesses in court cases may anticipate being subject to leading arguments - guilt and innocence is advocated, so they attempt to avoid being misled. Fabrics paraments also lack mundane realism, as watching a video is arguably less emotionally arousing than witnessing real incidents. Some research suggests that emotional arousal can increase and improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
We cannot be certain whether the misleading information actually influences the memory trace itself: Demand characteristics may be driving the change in recall as participants. His behaviour may be affected by how they perceive the experimental purpose. This means that experiments have low internal validity.
What is meant by anxiety?
A state of emotional and physical arousal. Emotional change include worrying thoughts and feelings of tension. Physical changes include increased heart rate and sweatiness.
Why is anxiety so important to EWT?
When we witness these crimes and accidents, we experience physiological and psychological changes due to anxiety, which could affect what we later remember. This could make eyewitness testimony better or worse.
Why might anxiety decrease the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?
Create physiological arousal in the body (fight or flight response) which prevents us from paying attention to important cues so recall is worse. We are also subject to weapon focus, where we are more likely to focus our attention on a weapon rather than the face of a criminal.
Explain the reason why anxiety may increase the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
Anxiety triggers the fight or flight response, which can increase alertness, improve memory as we are more aware of cues in the situation and it would be a survival advantage to clearly report threats to our safety.
Study that found that anxiety decreased accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
Johnson and Scott. A participant is sat in a room waiting to take part in a study hears an argument in the next room. In the low anxiety condition, a man with a pen. and grease on his hands walks in. In the high anxiety condition, there is an argument, broken glass, and a man with paper knife covered in blood walks in. Participants were shown 50 photos and asked to identify the man: in the low anxiety condition. 49% were accurate, but in the high anxiety conditions, 33% were accurate.
Study that found that anxiety increased the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
Yuille & Cutshall: 13 witnesses to an attempted theft from a gun shop in Vancouver, Canada in which at the shopkeeper shot and killed the thief were interviewed. Four months later, the witnesses accounts remained highly accurate and the most distressed witnesses were often most accurate. They were not affected by misleading information and this shows that anxiety may help create more accurate memories.
Problems with Johnson and Scotts lab experiment.
Had poor ecological validity and control, so it is difficult to draw firm conclusions.
Problems with Yuille & Cutshall’s natural experiment.
low control over variables and had a poor cause and effect. Meaning is difficult to draw firm conclusions.
Limitation of the idea that anxiety can worsen Recall.
Poor recall is due to surprise and not anxiety. Pickel arranged for participants to watch a thief enter hairdressing salon carrying: A) scissors=High threat, low surprise. B) a handgun=High Threat, high surprise. C) a wallet=low threat loo surprise. D) a raw chicken=low threat high surprise. participants were worse, identifying the thief with the high surprise items rather than the high threat. This questions weapon focus studies.
Practical application on the role of anxiety.
In the cognitive interview, witnesses are encouraged to be as relaxed as possible in a calming environment in order to increase recall.
Techniques involved in the cognitive interview.
Context reinstatement. Report everything, perspective change and change the order.
What is context reinstatement?
The witness is encouraged to mentally recreate an image of a situation/ shown pictures of / be taken back to the scene of the crime. They are asked to include details of the environment such as weather and other witnesses and their emotional state.
Why is context reinstatement important?
Details recalled may act as cues to trigger more recall. This is based on the encoding specificity principle.
What is meant by report everything?
Witnesses are asked to recall all the details about an event, even if they are saving a seemingly trivial and irrelevant.
Why is the report everything stage important?
It may highlight something that has been overlooked and also removes the influence of leading questions so there is no memory contamination.
What is the change perspective stage?
Witnesses are asked to mentally recreate a situation from different points of view, for example describing what another witness would have seen.
Why is the change perspective stage so important?
It promotes a more holistic approach to the event, which may enhance recall. As well as creating additional context and state cues.
What is the change order stage?
Witnesses are asked to recall this same event in a different chronological order.
Was the change order stage important?
It verifies accuracy and also removes the narrative that is created by schemas.
Geiselman et al. Cognitive interview study.
Participants were shown the police training film of violent crime. They were interviewed 48 hours later using either copies of interview or standard interview. There was no difference in the amount of incorrect information recalled. However, in the standard interview less information in total was recalled, whereas in the cognitive interview more accurate information was recalled. This shows that cognitive interview is an effective tool in increasing the quality and quantity of recall.
Criticism of the cognitive interview time consuming.
Impacts on the cost of using the cognitive interview and training required to deliver it. Police forces may not have the time or money to invest in training.
Criticism of the cognitive interview. Difficult to compare.
Different forces use different techniques with different clients. This means it is difficult to make comparisons between data, and you can’t draw firm conclusions on effectiveness.
Strength of the cognitive interview. Flexible.
Can be modified to suit different witnesses. For example, children don’t use the change perspective stage.
Conflicting evidence for the cognitive interviews.
Kohnken - whilst correct info is increased, so does the amount of incorrect info. Using the cognitive interview, there was a 61% increase in incorrect recall record. Police need to be careful when looking at cognitive interview results and should treat information with caution.
limitation: Not all elements of the cognitive interview are suitable for all the cases.
Change perspective techniques shouldn’t be used with young children until they have passed egocentrism
What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
- Deviation from social norms
- Failure to function adequately
- Statistical infrequency
- Deviation from ideal mental health
- Deviation from social norms
- Failure to function adequately
- Statistical infrequency
- Deviation from ideal mental health
Statistical infrequency.
A persons trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual. Those who are abnormal further away from the mean, median and mode, they will be more than two standard deviations away.
Limitation of statistical infrequency. Doesn’t account for the behaviours that are desirable in a society
For example, some unusual behaviours is desirable, such as a high IQ score. This means that the definition makes it difficult to distinguish between normal and abnormal.
Limitation of statistical infrequency. Doesn’t account for behaviours are undesirable in society.
Some abnormal behaviours are not statistically rare. For example, 37% of teenage females report feeling depressed. This definition cannot distinguish between normal and abnormal behaviours in a society and it can make it difficult to help people who need support.
Limitation of statistical infrequency. The cut off point, the abnormality and normality is unclear.
How far from an average does a behaviour have to be? Some people may believe that the cut off point is different, so this definition is used differently by different people. Therefore it lacks consistency. This definition doesn’t give much detail about the behaviours we are trying to understand.
Deviation from social norms.
A social norm is an unwritten rule that ties behaviour in place. The definition states that if we breach these norms then we are deemed abnormal. This means a person is thinking or behaviour is abnormal if it violates the unwritten rules about what’s accepted or expected in a particular social group.
Limitation in. Deviation from social norms. The definition doesn’t account for acts of choice.
Some people may want to deviate from social norms, such as wearing unusual clothing, being part of minority religions or living in a commune
Limitation of deviation from social norms. Lacks temporal validity and is culturally biassed.
For example, social norms can change overtime in place. For example. Opinions on homosexuality or having children outside of marriage have changed overtime. Personal space distances, or how we respect the dead depends on where you are in the world. This means the definition cannot be applied in a universal or permanent manner making it difficult to use.
Limitation of deviation from social norms.It has been open to abuse by political regimes.
There have been instances where individuals who did not follow the norms of society, for example. Opposing communism were deemed mad and were institutionalised. Therefore, this definition must be used with care, and we must be vigilant that it is not used as a form of social control.
Failure to function adequately.
A person is that normal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life and experience distress as a result, they may be unable to perform behaviours necessary for day-to-day living, for example, self-care, holding down a job, interacting meaningfully with others and making themselves understood.
Rosenhan and Seligman’s signs of not coping
Suffering personal distress, maladaptiveness vividness and unconventionality. Irrationality/ comprehensibility causes observer discomfort and violates moral or social standards.
Limitation of the failure to function adequately. Sets the bar too low.
Criteria are too easy to meet for being abnormal, which means that definition may be inaccurately defining people as abnormal.
Limitation of failures function adequately. Assumes failing to function is always abnormal
Sometimes it is entirely normal for someone to fail to function. For example, during bereavement or exam periods. As a result, this definition may be inaccurately defining someone as abnormal, as they may simply responding normally to abnormal circumstances.
Limitation of failure to function adequately.
It fails to make clear how much we need to fail to function in order to be abnormal.
Limitation of failure to function adequately. Ethnocentric.
The criteria is based on Western capitalist norms and may not be relevant to non Western cultures, so it isn’t a universal definition that could be applied.
Deviation from ideal mental health.
Rather than defining what is abnormal, we define what is normal, and anything that deviates from this is regarded as abnormal. This is a more positive view of defining abnormality.
Jahoda’s characteristics of ideal mental health
Positive view of yourself. Self actualization. Autonomy and independence. Accurate perception of reality. Resistance to stress. Environmental mastery.
Limitation of ideal mental health. Sets the bar too high.
represents an idealised set of expectations that is too hard to meet. This means it defines too many people as abnormal and not enough people as normal.
Limitation of deviation from ideal mental health.
It fails to state clearly how many of the criteria we need to be lacking in order to be abnormal. Therefore, we can argue that this definition does not go far enough in defining abnormality.
Limitation of deviating from ideal mental health. Ethnocentric.
Some criteria such as self actualization of very ethnocentric. So it may not be possible for us to use this definition and non Western cultures.
Limitation of all definitions of abnormality.
The idea that what is considered to be normal in one culture may be abnormal in another culture. This is cultural relativism. This is a problem for those trying to define abnormal, as the definitions cannot be applied universally.
What is a phobia?
A phobia is an extreme, irrational fear leading to intense anxiety and avoidance of an object or situation.
phobia emotional characteristics
A phobia produces fear/ anxiety that is marked, persistent, excessive and unreasonable.
phobia behavioural characteristics
Fear will usually lead to avoidance of the feared object. This avoidance of the feared situation interferes with the person’s normal life.
phobia cognitive characteristics
Cognitive characteristics relate to thought processes. In the case of phobias the person is thinking is irrational although generally the person recognizes that their fear is excessive or unreasonable
Selective attention
behavioural explanation of phobias
The behavioural approach believes that all Phobias are Learned.
two-process model
phobias are (1) acquired (started) through classical conditioning and (2) maintained (kept going) through operant conditioning.
phobia acquisition via classical conditioning
Classical conditioning involves learning to associate something with which we initially had no fear (NS), with something that already triggers a fear response (UCS), from a reflex response.
example of phobia acquisition
*Loud Noise (UCS) =Fear (UCR) (starts as a reflex response)
*Loud Noise (UCS) + Spider (NS) = Fear (UCR) (repeated exposure…)
*Spider (CS)= Fear (CR)
maintenance of phobias
Operant conditioning suggests that phobias are maintained through reinforcement.
*Positive reinforcement - the fear response can be rewarded by attention from family and friends.
*Negative reinforcement - avoiding a feared object means we don’t feel anxious - so we continue to avoid it.
supporting evidence for behavioural explanation of phobias - litlle Albert
Watson and Raynor (1920):
*They deliberately created a phobia in a normal, healthy 11 month-old boy
*They gave him a phobia of white rats by associating the fear of a loud noise with the presence of a rat
*This was the process of classical conditioning.
This gives us confidence that the claims made by the theory are correct
strength of phobias explanation: Classical Conditioning and Generalisation also gives us further confidence that the theory is correct
If a slightly different conditional stimulus (CS) is presented and the conditional response still occurs, then the response has been generalised.
E.g Watson and Raynor found that a white fur coat and white beards also created the fear response in Little Albert.
His fear of white rats had been generalised to similar objects.
criticism of the behavioural explanation of phobias: Not all research supports the idea that we must have experienced an unpleasant event with the phobic object
Munjack (1984) only 50% of people with driving phobia had frightening experience in a car
Thus, we do not have to experience the phobic object
If there are research findings that do NOT support the claims made by a theory then we lose confidence that the theory is correct
criticism of the behavioural explanation of phobias: reductionist
It cannot explain the evidence that suggests many people share the same phobias
e.g. snakes, spiders, heights.
It is believed that an alternative cause is evolution. We are biologically prepared to fear things that could be a danger, for survival purposes.
This is a weakness as the explanation is only a partial explanation of phobias, not being able to explain the influence of evolution.
Strength of the behavioural explanation of phobias: practical applications
Systematic desensitisation and flooding have been useful therapies, based on unlearning, for treating phobic patients
McGrath found that 75% of those with a phobia were successfully treated with SD. Therefore, the theory has been useful in developing ways to ‘unlearn’ a phobia.
Behavioural therapies for phobias
exposure therapies based on unlearning: flooding and systematic desensitisation.
systematic desensitisation
This therapy aims to get rid of phobias gradually through classical conditioning by replacing fear with relaxation (counterconditioning). If the sufferer can learn to be relaxed in the presence of the phobia then they will be cured.
Reciprocal Inhibition
The idea that we cannot experience 2 incompatible emotional states at the same time (anxiety and relaxation)
systematic desensitisation stages
1: The client learns deep RELAXATION TECHNIQUES (breathing exercises, visualising peaceful scene)
2: The client and therapist together draw up an anxiety hierarchy, ranking situations from the least frightening situation (lowest) to the most frightening.(highest)
3: GRADUAL EXPOSURE - The client practises the relaxation technique they learned in step one, whilst being gradually exposed to each step in the hierarchy. Client is encouraged to use relaxation techniques during exposure. Only when comfortable with one stage will they progress to the next. Treatment is successful when the patient can stay relaxed around the object of their phobia.
fear hierarchy example
step one might be looking at a picture of a small spider, going right up to holding a big spider in their hands.
methods of exposure to phobic stimulus
- In Vitro- where the client imagines
- In Vivo- Where the client is actually exposed to the phobic stimulus in real life
evidence to suggest that SD is effective
Gilroy (2003) found that SD was an effective treatment for spider (specific) phobias which seemed to last 33 months later
McGrath (1990) 75% of people were successfully treated with SD
Not all elements of SD are effective
in vitro seems to be less effective than in vivo exposure
In vitro relies on the client’s ability to be able to imagine the fearful situation. Some people cannot create a vivid image and thus systematic desensitization is not always effective (there are individual differences).
The effectiveness of SD might be short term
It may not have long term benefits
Craske and Barlow found that 50% of patients relapsed after 6 months
This might limit how effective it is
Evidence to suggest SD is an appropriate therapy
It is suitable for a wide-range of patients (e.g. those with learning difficulties) unlike other therapies. (so it appropriate for many patients)
It is more ethical than flooding therapy(The progressive structure of systematic desensitization allows the patient to control the steps he/she must make until fear is overcome. This means it is less likely to low DROP OUT rates, meaning more people who access this will be helped. (appropriate for sensitive patients)
SD may not be an appropriate treatment
It may not be possible to expose a client to their feared object/ situation if it is abstract
i.e. if someone is phobic of death / zombies then we cannot expose a client to this to unlearn a fear
This is a weakness because it may not be possible to treat ALL phobias with SD
SD does not treat deeper underlying causes
Wolpe (1973)- it only treats the surface symptoms and thus ignores the underlying psychological / emotional issues- this might lead to symptom substitution (the symptoms come back in another form)
This again might mean that SD is not appropriate at dealing with deep seated phobias
SD requires commitment
It takes a lot of commitment and motivation which may not be appropriate with some abnormalities. In such cases drugs may be a more appropriate choice.
This might limit its appropriateness
Flooding
*Flooding involves immediate exposure to a person’s phobia without any gradual build-up.
The person will become very anxious, but they are not allowed to escape or avoid their phobia.
Their anxiety cannot rise forever, at some point it has to reduce.
They then quickly learn to be calm in the presence of their phobic object
flooding example
someone with a phobia of spiders might have a large spider crawl over them for an extended period.
flooding is effective
Choy & Kaplin both found that it is effective and long lasting when compared with SD
(65% of patients improved after one session & very effective if clients can stick it through to the end!)
Can last up to 4 years!
Flooding isn’t effective
not effective for phobias which are not specific or concrete (death phobia)
Flooding is not appropriate
Not appropriate for those with heart conditions
Not appropriate for children as too distressing
The distressing nature of this means that it may not be appropriate for many clients as the thought is so traumatic that many drop out prior to starting the treatment
Main assumptions of the cognitive approach to depression
All Depression is caused by our thinking patterns.
People’s negative or distorted thoughts cause negative or distorted behaviours.
Therapy should be concerned with altering the way in which a client thinks to make them more rational.
Cognitive theorists involved in depression
Ellis & Beck
Ellis’s ABC Model of Depression description.
explains how irrational thinking affects us. Depression arises as a result of beliefs we have about events in our lives
the ABC model
A - Activating event: Something happens to you
B - Beliefs: You have a belief about this event
C - Consequence: you have an emotional response to this belief
The crucial thing about this theory is that an event must come before the faulty belief.
What is the difference between Ellis and Beck?
That Ellis is arguing that an event occurs before the belief- it is the external event that triggers the irrational thought i.e. I have failed one psych test- I cant do this at all!
Beck suggested that we don’t always need an activating event for depression to occur…sometimes thoughts are automatically negative
so not all depression has to stem from an activating event
Beck’s Negative Triad
Beck identified three forms of automatic negative thinking that were responsible for depression: negative views of the world, the self and the future.
where do automatic negative thoughts must stem from?
These occur due to the development of negative schemas in childhood
This means that we develop a negative framework for processing all information
This leads to automatic cognitive errors, such as;
Overgeneralisation- making sweeping generalisations
Catastrophizing- making a mountain out of a molehill
Selective perception- only paying attention to and remembering those things that support the negative schema
Supporting evidence for cognitive explanation of depression
There is evidence that depression is associated with negative thinking.
Grazioli and Terry (2000) assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after giving birth. Women judged high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression. This shows that negative / distorted thinking occurs before depression
limitation for cognitive explanation of depression - doesn’t explain all depression
Bipolar depression includes periods of mania
Other types of depression involve anger
The cognitive approach cannot explain these symptoms- only the negative thinking and mood. It may therefore only be a partial account of depression
limitation for cognitive explanation of depression - poor cause and effect
The cognitive approach is not effective at telling us whether the negative thinking caused depression or whether negative thinking is caused by being depressed. This means that it does not have a clear ‘direction of causality’
limitation for cognitive explanation of depression - Slightly limited in it’s ability to account for biological evidence
Does not fully account for the wealth of evidence that suggests that depression is biological.
i.e. low levels of serotonin (which is why SSRI’s are given)
Or that depression might be more social i.e living in inner cities
(on the other hand it does account for some social factors, some biological factors and thinking)
Practical applications for cognitive explanation of depression
Therapy based on the cognitive approach has been very effective in treating depression, aiming to alter client’s thinking patterns.
CBT had the second highest rating for success out of 10 therapies (this means that it has positive implications for the economy e.g. more people able to work and pay taxes, less sick pay)
This provides strong support for the cognitive approach.
Main goal of CBT
to challenge & change negative and irrational thoughts.
This therapy is collaborative, talking based and practical
Seek to alter distorted thinking patterns, to make them more rational and to alleviate the symptoms of depression
CBT step 1
Identifying Irrational Thoughts:
To try to identify the negative automatic thoughts or the A B C (activating events triggering distortions, faulty beliefs and consequences of having beliefs)
This is called ‘thought catching’ and is achieved with the following techniques:
*Verbal discussions
*Homework assignments (Beck)
*Thought diaries (Beck)
CBT step 2
400 / 448
Challenging Irrational Thoughts using the ABCDE model (Ellis)
Ellis then suggested that during stage 2, D & E would occur:
D: dispute these beliefs through 3 different methods (logical, empirical and pragmatic disputation)
E: Try to establish whether this is having a positive effect on the client
Logical disputing
getting the client to realise that their self-defeating beliefs are not logical. E.g. does this thinking make sense?
Empirical disputing
getting the client to realise that their self-defeating beliefs are not realistic E.g. where is the evidence that this belief is accurate?
pragmatic disputing
Getting the client to realise that their self-defeating beliefs are not useful E.g. how is this belief likely to help me?
CBT stage 3
Practising new thoughts and behaviours
2 techniques to achieve this are:
1) Role Play: therapist and client can practise implementing new ways of thinking together in small steps using make believe scenarios
2) Behavioural activation: they might also set goals to try and engage in behaviours that they used to enjoy i.e. exercise or social activities
this will take a lot of commitment and effort
CBT is effective
327 adolescents suffering from depression- CBT compared with drug therapy for treatment.
Approx 80% of pps responded well to both- this suggests that CBT is just as good as drug therapy! (This was even more effective when the 2 therapies were combined)
Smith and Glass (1977) did a meta-analysis of therapies and found that CBT had the second highest success rate out of 10 different therapies (second to SD).
CBT effectiveness may depend on the therapist
As much as 15% of the difference in effectiveness might be to do with the therapist NOT the therapy
This is a problem because the techniques should work regardless of who is doing the therapy!
CBT isn’t always appropriate
It requires a significant amount of commitment and motivation from the client, especially with homework. This may be difficult for sufferers of depression
CBT may take a relatively long time to complete. Ellis claimed that clients would need on average 27 sessions to complete the treatment. This means it may not be appropriate for those who need a quick fix.
CBT not appropriate for all clients
As they need to have the ability to rationalise and talk about their thoughts and feelings. For severe depression, this could prove difficult for people who cannot verbalise their thoughts, or who are not willing to.
CBT may be appropriate
CBT does not have significant physical side effects such as drugs (SSRI’s)
This means that it might be appropriate for lots of different types of clients, who are not put off by insomnia, weight gain etc.
How do therapies help save money?
Ensuring that people are able to work: This means that they are contributing to the economy by paying taxes and National Insurance. It also means that the Gov do not have to pay sick pay to these people.
Therapies also help to take the burden off the NHS as people no longer need to stay in hospital for long periods of time, so this means it costs less money.
Behavioural characteristics of depression
Change in activity level; sufferers of depression often experience a reduction in energy and constantly feel tired.
Disturbances with their sleeping pattern, with some sufferers sleeping significantly more, while others experience insomnia, an inability to sleep.
Changes in appetite, which cause significant weight changes. Some sufferers will eat less and lose weight, while others will eat more and gain weight.
Emotional characteristics of depression
depressed mood, feelings of worthlessness and lack of interest or pleasure in all activities.
some sufferers experience anger, which can be directed at themselves, or others. Anger can also lead to self-harming behaviours
Cognitive characteristics of depression
diminished ability to concentrate and tend to focus on the negative.
difficulty paying or maintaining attention and are often slower in responding to, or making decisions.
Focus on the negative aspects of a situation, while ignoring the positives and Recurrent thoughts of self-harm, death or suicide.
What is OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
*2 core elements to this disorder:
*Obsessional thoughts - internal
*Compulsive behaviours - external
OCD Emotional Characteristics
Anxiety
Stress
Shame
Guilt
Embarrassment
Reduction of anxiety when compulsions are performed
OCD Cognitive characteristics
Obsessions: irrational beliefs or persistent recurring thoughts - catastrophic thinking such as: my family is in danger and might get trapped in a house fire’
These are referred to as intrusive thoughts
OCD behavioural characteristics
Compulsions: performing a repetitive action to reduce anxiety such as: switching plug sockets six times.
Avoidance of situations that can trigger anxiety
Genetic research on OCD
Genetic research attempts to establish whether the tendency to develop OCD is hereditary. It focuses on families including twin studies
candidate gene
When geneticists identify a gene thought to be responsible for a behaviour
OCD candidate genes
COMT & SERT
They both have an influence on neurotransmitters
COMT Gene
controls the production on an enzyme that regulates dopamine. Explains why higher dopamine levels are found in OCD sufferers
SERT Gene
A mutation of this gene (which is implicated in the breakdown of serotonin) is found in families who live with OCD
Twin studies
The genetic contribution of an illness is tested using TWIN STUDIES
Taking one set of Monozygotic twins and one set of Dizygotic twins
They measure the number of times the twin without the disorder also gets it. This is expressed in a percentage called a concordance rate.
Supporting evidence for genetic explanation of OCD - Twin studies
Nestadt (2010) reviewed twin studies using a meta analysis, and found 68% of identical twins showed concordance for OCD compared to 31% in non-identical twins.
Limitations of evidence into genetic explanation of OCD: problems with twin studies which makes it difficult to draw conclusions
The concordance rate for MZ twins is never 100%
It is difficult to separate the effects of nature and nurture. MZ twins may be treated more similarly than DZ twins, which may partly account for their higher concordance rates (so it might not be genetic!)
Limitations of genetic explanation of OCD: Searching for one candidate gene is reductionist (oversimplified)
The complexity of the disorder means that it is likely that OCD is polygenic… more than one gene is contributing e.g. Taylor (2013) found that up to 230 different genes may be involved!
More research is required to establish the genetic contribution to OCD
Limitations of genetic explanation of OCD: There’s a better explanation for OCD
The Diathesis-Stress model
Suggests some people inherit a vulnerability to disorders such as OCD, but this must be coupled with environmental life experiences i.e. stress, for the disorder to develop.
Genes + Environment = OCD
Neural explanations of OCD
Low serotonin levels
Biological structures - the worry circuit
OCD due to Low levels of Serotonin (neurochemistry)
OCD may be caused by low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
The disruption of serotonin has a knock-on effect on regulating the levels of other neurotransmitters, such as GABA, and dopamine.
This is based on the findings that OCD can be relieved by using anti-depressant drugs, especially those which increase levels of serotonin in the brain. (SSRI’s)
Strengths of serotonin explanation of OCD
Evidence based on drug therapy seems to support the notion that serotonin plays a role in OCD
Zohar et al (1996) found that drugs which increase serotonin have been beneficial for up to 60% of patients with OCD.
This supports the idea that low levels of serotonin may be associated with OCD.(and why it might be comorbid with depression!)
limitation of serotonin explanation of OCD
Studies have found only 50-60% improvement of OCD symptoms when using medication, suggesting other factors may be involved
*Just because serotonin reduces symptoms of OCD doesn’t necessarily mean the symptoms were caused by lack of serotonin. In the same way aspirin may cure a headache, but this doesn’t mean the headache was caused by lack of aspirin. This is called the Treatment Aetiology Fallacy
Treatment Aetiology Fallacy
the mistaken belief that the effectiveness of a form of treatment indicates the cause of a disorder.
eg: Just because serotonin reduces symptoms of OCD doesn’t necessarily mean the symptoms were caused by lack of serotonin.
OCD due to damage to the basal ganglia (worry circuit)
An area of the basal ganglia(in the frontal lobe) named the Caudate Nucleus may be damaged. This disrupts the transmission of information about worrying events
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) sends signals to the thalamus about worrying things. These are normally supressed by the caudate nucleus
When the caudate nucleus is damaged, it fails to suppress minor worry signals and the thalamus is alerted. This sends signals back to the OFC, acting as a worry circuit.
limitation of worry circuit explanation of OCD
The relationship between OCD and parts of the brain is inconsistent. Brain scan studies have not identified basal ganglia impairments in all OCD sufferers and some people with impairments in the basal ganglia show no sign of OCD. This lack of consistency means that we cannot be confident about the role of the caudate nucleus in all OCD cases.
General issues with the biological explanation of OCD
Problems determining cause and effect- does the biology cause OCD or does OCD cause the biology to change?
Strengths of serotonin explanation of OCD: practical application
The idea that serotonin is the cause of OCD has led to drug therapy
SSRI’s have been used to treat OCD. These increase the level of serotonin at the synapse - Zohar et al (1996) found that drugs which increase serotonin have been beneficial for up to 60% of patients with OCD.
Reuptake
Once a neurotransmitter has been released and diffused across the synapse, any leftover is taken back up to the vesicle for storage.
Excitatory Neurotransmitter
neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to fire
Inhibitory Neurotransmitter:
neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to stop firing
Biological drug therapies for OCD
based on the notion that OCD is caused by chemical imbalances, so these need to be altered through drugs.
Two Antidepressants - SSRI’s and Tricyclics
One Anti - Anxiety drug i.e. Benzodiazepines
SSRI’s
The standard treatment used for OCD is SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) eg fluoxetine.
These block the re-uptake of serotonin in the brain.
This enables serotonin to remain active at the synapse where it continues to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron, reducing the symptoms of anxiety.
Benzodiazepines
Slow down activity of the CNS- creating feelings of calm.
They enhance the activity of GABA which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
BZ’s bind with GABA receptors on the post synaptic neuron,
increasing the flow of chloride ions.
This means that the post synaptic neuron is less responsive to NT’s that are excitatory (it blocks excitatory neurotransmitters so it has an inhibitory effect)
Tricyclics
Tricyclics (an older type of anti-depressant) block the reuptake of both serotonin and noradrenaline back into the presynaptic neuron’s vesicles.
more side effects than SSRI’s
There is evidence for the effectiveness of drugs in the treatment of OCD.
Soomro (2009) reviewed 17 studies of the use of SSRI’s with OCD and found them to be more effective than placebos in reducing the symptoms of OCD up to 3 months after treatment i.e. in the short term.
Zohar - 60% of patients reported an improvement in symptoms
Other research has found that benzodiazepines are more effective than placebos in treating OCD
not all evidence suggests that drugs are effective for treating OCD
Zohar - only 60% of patients improve, 40% do not! There are obviously individual differences in how effective drugs are for OCD- they are not effective for everyone.
drugs may not be appropriate for treating OCD: do not treat the underlying cause
Drugs are not a permanent cure. Once the person stops taking the drug, their symptoms may reappear. (Relapse rates are thought to be as high as 90%. )
Therefore drugs do not provide a permanent (or even long term) ‘cure’ for the disorder- it may not be appropriate to administer drugs to a patient without offering other therapies in conjunction
drugs may be appropriate for treating OCD: fast, less commitment
Drugs might be more appropriate as they are fast acting and require much less commitment and motivation than other forms of therapy
Such forms of therapy require people to develop insight which can be very difficult. In such cases, drugs can be more appropriate (they are appropriate for people who are unable or unwilling to develop insight)
drugs may not be appropriate for treating OCD: negative side effects
SSRI’s = nausea, headaches, insomnia
Benzodiazepines = aggression, memory impairment and addictive (4 wk max)
Tricyclics-weight gain, drowsiness, blurred vision
Might dissuade people from starting treatment in the first place/ create high drop out rates!
