Paper 2 - Casey on Delayed Gratification

Question 1

What does delayed gratification mean ?

Answer 1

Being able to resist temptation until later

Question 2

What is cognitive control ?

Answer 2

Suppressing inappropriate thoughts or actions

Question 3

What are hot cues ?

Answer 3

Appealing features of something such as the sweetness of chocolate

Question 4

What are cool cues ?

Answer 4

Less appealing features of something

Question 5

What is the aim of this study ?

Answer 5

Investigating whether a delay of gratification in childhood predicts the impulse control abilities in later ages, and investigating sensitivity to alluring cues

Question 6

What is the development of the sample ?

Answer 6

Opportunity sampling
In the 1960/70s 562 4 year olds from the Bing nursery school at Stanford Uni. Their ability of delayed gratification was tested.
In 1993 155 pps now in their 20s were tested again.
In 2003 135 pps now in their 30s were tested again.
In 2011, experiment one: 59pps. High delayers: 20 women, 12 men
Low delayers: 16 women, 11 men

Question 7

What materials were used in this study ?

Answer 7

social cues/ faces with emotional expression
fMRI scanner

Question 8

Describe the procedure of experiment one .

Answer 8

A laptop was sent to pps homes with instructions to complete the preloaded trials of the go/no go task. They completed two versions: hot and cool.
In the trials 160 faces were shown (12o go and 40 no go), they were each shown for 500milliseconds at 1 second intervals.. The faces were either of a man or a woman, the woman being the go target

Question 9

What did experiment one measure ?

Answer 9

reaction time
accuracy

Question 10

What were the results from experiment one ?

Answer 10

No significant differences on reaction time, accuracy of no go and go trials.
Significant difference om the accuracy of the happy face no-go trials
False error rates:
low delayers- Happy face: 15.7%, Fearful face: 12%
High delayers- Happy face: 11.2%. Fearful face: 10.4%

Question 11

What is the sample for experiment 2 ?

Answer 11

26 pps, there was 27 but one pps results were not included

Question 12

What was the procedure for experiment 2 ?

Answer 12

PPs were scanned using an MRI scanner in the hot task.
The stimulus and instructions were the same as in experiment 1. The intervals between the stimulus were jittered. There were 2 runs, one with happy face and one with fearful face. 70 go trials and 26 no go trials for each face.

Question 13

In experiment 2, what 3 things were pps compared on ?

Answer 13

Trial type, e.g. repeated measures design
Emotion (happy, fearful)
Group: high delayer, low delayer

Question 14

What are the results from experiment 2 ?

Answer 14

No significant differences between the high and low delayers reaction time on go trials
The mean accuracy for Go trials was 98.2%
Low delayer group had a higher false alarm rate of 14.5%, high delayers have 10.9%
For low delayers, there was reduced activity in the right inferior prefrontal cortex on no go trials.
In low delayers, there was more activity in the ventral striatum on no go trials when shown the happy face

Question 15

What are the conclusions of this study ?

Answer 15

The ability to resist temptation is a relatively stable individual difference characteristic - many continued to perform as a high or low delayer at each testing over the period of 40 years.
The ability to resist temptation is more to do with the ability to resist alluring cues than cognitive control in general.
Resisting temptation is supported by differences in brain activity, specifically the ventral striatum, showing more activity in low delayers when resisting alluring cues, and reduced activity in the right inferior prefrontal cortex.
Overall, if a stimulus is alluring then the primitive emotional limbic system may interfere with our ability to exert cognitive control

Question 16

Evaluate the research methods used in this study

Answer 16

Strengths: longitudinal study means that experimenters can see how it changes over time, getting more accurate results. Repeated measures design means that participant variables will not effect the study’s reliability. Quasi experiment permits researcher to study aspects of behaviour that cannot be manipulated, its useful as low delayers are prone to undesirable physical and mental health problems, identifying the trait and teaching people to exert better control will improve their lives.
Weaknesses: In quasi experiment random sampling techniques cannot be used causing sampling bias. Extraneous variables in the pps homes may cause distractions, e.g. noise, decreasing accuracy of results. In longitudinal studies, pps inevitably drop out (attrition) this can cause sampling bias. Repeated measures design allows for order effects like practice, boredom and fatigue to take place

Question 17

Evaluate the ethnocentrism

Answer 17

The type of self control is a western orientation. It focuses on controlling individual impulses. More collectivist societies focus on the needs of the community altogether. This means that the results cannot be generalised beyond America

Question 18

Evaluate the sample

Answer 18

Strengths: opportunity sampling means it was quick and easy to collect a large sample, which was suited for the longitudinal study.
Weaknesses: Lacks population validity as Stanford university is a prestigious, middle class place. Growing up in this environment may change your behaviour as these people are middle class so are more likely to be spoilt so have less impulse control. However, families can afford food high in omega 3 which causes less impulsivity.

Question 19

Evaluate the ethics of this study

Answer 19

Adults all gave informed consent,
the study had permission from the institutional review board to be done
The MRI scanner was claustrophobic and noisy so may cause harm.
Labelling people as low delayers may effect their self esteem as being unable to control impulses is seen as undesirable. People can also use it as an excuse for bad behaviour.

Question 20

Evaluate the reliability of the study

Answer 20

Procedure is standardised and replicable.
However, Bennet and Miller questioned the reliability of the fMRI scanner as they found brain activity in a dead salmon.

Question 21

Evaluate the validity of the study

Answer 21

The study has high ecological validity due to mundane realism, It was done in homes and also the go/no go trials are similar to clicking on your phone.
Lacks population validity as Stanford university is a prestigious, middle class place. Growing up in this environment may change your behaviour as these people are middle class so are more likely to be spoilt so have less impulse control. However, families can afford food high in omega 3 which causes less impulsivity.

Question 22

Evaluate the data used in this study

Answer 22

In experiment one, quantitative data was used to collect the reaction time of the pps. This allows for comparisons, statistical conclusions and objective data.
In experiment 2 quantitative data was collected by collecting the activity levels in area of the brain, also accuracy levels on the go/no go trials.

Question 23

How does this study have a deterministic view ?

Answer 23

Activity in certain brain regions determine your impulsive behaviour

Question 24

How does this study relate to the nature/nurture debate ?

Answer 24

Nature: biological brain areas cause behvaiour
Nurture: individuals can be taught to supress impulsive behaviours

Question 25

How does this study have a reductionist view ?

Answer 25

The ability to resist gratification is down to the ventral striatum only.

Question 26

How does this study relate to psychology as a science ?

Answer 26

It has standardised procedures which are replicable.

Question 27

What was the impact of his study on research ?

Answer 27

Enhances knowledge on the frontal lobe in more specific ways, e.g. impulse control.
Develops understanding from the unsafe lobotomy procedures

Question 28

What type of study is this ?

Answer 28

Quasi experiment.