psychological themes through core studies Flashcards
milgram aim
Milgram
Aimed to investigate how far an individual will obey an authority figure, even when the command breaches moral codes.
milgram method and sample
. Studied obedience in a lab setting. Volunteer sample of 40 men asked to give electric shocks to a confederate in a ‘learning experiment’.
milgram results
65% (26/40) went up to the highest 450V level and 5/40 stopped at 300V.
milgram conclusion
Proposed the concept of an agentic state to explain the high level of obedience. Anyone could be obedient to authority, and the tension witnessed was due to the conflict between the desire to obey and the desire not to hurt another.
bocchiaro aim
Wanted to study the types of people that disobey and their personal characteristics.
bocchiaro method and sample
Studied whistleblowing using 149 students and a comparison group of 138 at VU university in Amsterdam (volunteer sample)- took part for either €7 or course credits. Greeted a stern researcher and asked to endorse an ethically unsound study on sensory deprivation and encourage friends to participate.
bocchiaro results
76% did as asked and only 9% whistle blew. Comparison group said that most would not comply.
bocchiaro conclusion
Behaving against authority is hard even when it seems easy, and people are bad at predicting behaviour.
pillavin aim
Investigated a situational explanation of bystander behaviour by looking at the race and state of the victim and number of bystanders- following the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 with 38 unresponsive witnesses.
pillavin method and sample
Field experiment that took place on the New York subway (opportunity sampling) that lasted 7.5 minutes and studied 4,450 men and woman over two months. IVs- race, state of victim, early/late helping model, and the amount of people in the carriage. Fake emergency involving a drunk or ill victim who was black or white that staggered forward and collapsed.
pillavin results
More help was given to the ill victim (received spontaneous help 95% of the time) compared to the drunk condition (50%).
pillavin conclusion
Did not find diffusion of responsibility but found that behaviour is linked to the arousal-cost-reward model.
levine aim
Looked at whether helping varies across different cultures- studied community variables such as population size, economic well-being, cultural values and pace of life.
levine method and sample
Conducted studies (opportunity sampling) in 23 cities across the world. Three non-emergency situations- a dropped pen, someone with a bad leg picking up magazines and a blind man crossing the road.
levine results
Helping rates in each city were stable across the three measures. Huge cross cultural differences found in the Overall Help Index- 93% in Rio to 44% in New York.
levine conclusion
Simpatico cultures helped more, whereas richer and fast-paced individualist cultures helped less.
loftus and palmer aim
Schema theory proposes memory is influenced by what people already know. Follows Bartlett’s theory of reconstructive memory, which forms the basis for unreliable eyewitness testimonies. Wanted to see if words affect memory recall.
loftus and palmer method and sample
Two studies using video clips of car crashes on 40 and 150 students (self-selected sampling) respectively. Each participant asked a question with a critical verb, and effect on estimate of speed or recall of broken glass was measured.
loftus and palmer results
Smashed- 40.5mph
Hit- 31.8mph
Smashed- 16 said yes to broken glass.
Hit- 7 said yes to broken glass.
loftus and palmer conclusion
Information making up memory is received during and after an event.
grant aim
Interested in whether context-dependency would be found in the type of material and tests used at school.
grant method and sample
Studied context-dependent memory using recall and recognition. 40 participants (snowball sampling) read an article on psychoimmunology wearing headphones in either noisy or quiet conditions.
grant results
Both tests showed context-dependency effects and performed better in matching conditions.
grant conclusion
Context clues are important in the retrieval of newly learned, meaningful information.
moray aim
Conducted three lab experiments into dichotic listening. Aimed to test Cherry’s method of shadowing and the cocktail party effect.
moray method and sample
In the first a list of 35 words was read to one ear whilst participants shadowed a message from their other ear. After 30 seconds they were asked to recall the list but could not.
In the second they were instructed in the non-attended ear to change ears- some had their names called and these paid significantly more attention.
The third experiment had numbers in the messages- some participants were asked to remember the numbers and others just the content- but there was no significant difference in the numbers recalled.
moray conclusion
Only subjectively important messages can penetrate the attentional block.
simons and chabris aim
Studied visual attention and perception using 228 participants (self-selected) in an independent laboratory experiment- testing theories of change blindness and inattentional blindness.
simons and chabris method and sample
They watched one of four 75 second tapes and were asked to count how many times the basketball players passed a ball. After 45 seconds either an umbrella woman or gorilla walked across the screen.
simons and chabris results
46% failed to notice the unexpected event (65% noticed the woman and 44% noticed the gorilla).
simons and chabris conclusion
Shows inattentional blindness as if we are paying close attention to certain aspects of the environment we may fail to notice another.
bandura aim
Investigating Social Learning Theory and imitation of aggression.
bandura method and sample
Studied 72 children (opportunity sampling) in four groups from SU nursery school- saw either an aggressive or non-aggressive model play with a Bobo Doll and were either the same sex or opposite sex- along with a control group. Pre-rated for physical aggression, verbal aggression, and aggressive inhibition.
bandura results
Children in the aggressive condition produced more imitative aggression and a tendency for same-sex imitation.
bandura conclusion
Supports Social Learning Theory as children imitate behaviour of role models.
chaney aim
Aimed to show that positive reinforcement can improve adherence in young asthmatics.
chaney method and sample
Compared adherence to asthma medication using a traditional spacer or a Funhaler. Pilot study involved questionnaires to parents of 32 asthmatic children (random sampling) in Australia, one at the start of the study and one two weeks after use. Had a whistle and spinning disk to reinforce correct use.
chaney results
More success with the Funhaler- 22/30 compared to 3/30.
chaney conclusion
Novelty and reward can improve adherence and operant conditioning can be useful.
kohlberg aim
Inspired by Piaget’s theory of cognitive development with its structural approach.
kohlberg method and sample
Looked at moral reasoning by studying 75 boys from Chicago over 12 years. He also studied boys in Britain, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, and Turkey. They were presented with hypothetical moral dilemmas such as the Heinz dilemma.
kohlberg results
He found three levels and six stages of invariant moral reasoning- preconventional, conventional and postconventional. Not everyone achieves all stages.
lee aim
Wanted to compare how lying and truth telling are regarded in pro and anti-social situations across different cultures.
lee method and sample
Chinese and Canadian children aged 7, 9 and 11 were given four stories- two had intentional good deeds and two had intentional bad deeds where characters told the truth or lied when questioned. Children were then asked to evaluate the deeds.
lee results
Chinese children rates lying more positively in pro-social situations- suggesting emphasis on modesty can override lying. Both groups rated truth telling positively and lying negatively in anti-social situations.
lee conclusion
There is a close relationship between sociocultural practice and moral judgement.
freud method and sample
Studied a phobia of white horses in a five year old boy (opportunity sampling) called Little Hans. Received letters from Hans’ father and replied with his interpretations.
freud results
Hans’ phobia was caused by the Oedipus Complex- a strong unconscious sexual desire for his mother, hatred of his father and fear of castration. His fear of horses was a subconscious fear of his father, the plumber dream was him identifying with his father, and the giraffe fantasy was him wanting to take his mother away from his father.
freud conclusion
Once Hans identified with his father and took on his morals, the Oedipus Complex was resolved, and his phobia disappeared- evidence of the phallic stage of psychosexual development.
baron-cohen aim
Wanted to devise a test for adults similar to the Sally-Anne test for children. Investigated Theory of Mind and autism.
baron-cohen method and sample
Three groups- autistic, ‘normal’, and Tourette’s (self-selected sampling) completed the Eyes task in a laboratory experiment where they had to judge emotion from black and white photographs of eyes. Happe’s Strange Stories established concurrent validity, and they completed a gender recognition test and basic emotion recognition.
baron-cohen results
Found the autistic group had a deficit in Theory of Mind skills- 16.3 vs 20.3 for the ‘normal’ group.
gould aim
Reviewed and challenged the validity of Yerkes’ IQ tests, which were used to test army recruits during WW2 and affected immigration laws.
gould method and sample
Three types of tests- Army Alpha for literate recruits, Army Beta for illiterate recruits and an individual exam for those who failed both.
gould results
Results found that white American adults had an average mental age of 13, Russian immigrants 11.34 and black Americans 10.34. There were inherent cultural biases in the tests and logistical difficulties giving them.
gould conclusion
Systematic bias lowered the scores of black people and immigrants; therefore IQ is political rather than biological.
hancock aim
Statistically analysed the way psychopaths speak about their crimes.
hancock method and sample
Used two text analysis tools to look at narratives (volunteer sampling) from 14 psychopathic and 38 non-psychopathic murderers. Also underwent a psychopathy assessment.
hancock results
Psychopaths included more rational cause and effect descriptors and focused on material needs rather than social needs. Their speech had more disfluencies which suggest difficulty in describing powerful emotional events. They used more past tense than present tense verbs- suggesting detachment from the incident- and used less emotional language.
sperry aim
Investigating the function of independent hemispheres in 11 patients (opportunity sampling) who had their corpus callosum severed to treat severe epilepsy.
sperry method and sample
Devised a test to isolate the visual field and hand controlled by each hemisphere- used a tachistoscope to present visual and tactile information to different visual fields.
sperry results
Found that the left hemisphere was language capabilities whereas the right hemisphere can understand language but not communicate with words.
sperry conclusion
Concluded that patients had ‘two minds in one body’.
casey aim
Studied delayed gratification using 60 individuals in their mid-forties who completed the marshmallow test as a child and either resisted or gave in.
casey method and sample
Completed a hot and cold go/no-go task using faces- children with low self-control showed this as adults, and vice versa. 26 participants agreed to do a go/no-go task in a brain scanner.
casey results
Low delayers had lower activity in the right, inferior frontal gyrus (delaying a response) in no-go trials. Ventral striatum (immediate reward) showed higher activity in happy no-go trials for low delayers.
casey conclusion
There is a neurological basis for differences in ability to show self-control and delay gratification.
blakemore and cooper aim
Wanted to investigate the development of the primary visual cortex and see whether orientation selectivity is innate or learned.
blakemore and cooper method and sample
Kept kittens in the dark from birth- and at the age of two weeks placed them into a special apparatus looking at either vertical or horizontal stripes for five hours a day.
blakemore and cooper results
At five months old they were tested and unable to see the orientation they had not experienced- ‘behavioural blindness’. By studying the neurones of two cats that experienced different orientations it revealed an abnormal distribution of the preferred orientation.
blakemore and cooper conclusion
Visual experience had modified their brains with profound perceptual consequences.
maguire aim
Studied navigational ability in London cabbies to prove the hippocampus is associated with spatial memory and navigation
maguire method and sample
A sample of 16 right-handed, healthy male taxi drivers were given brains scans, which were compared with 50 scans from the MRI database of similar non-taxi driver men.
maguire results
The posterior hippocampus had greater volume in taxi drivers and the anterior hippocampus had greater grey matter volume in non-taxi drivers. Positive correlation between the time a taxi driver had been qualified and the grey matter volume.
maguire conclusion
Suggests the idea of brain plasticity which can be altered by experience.
social approach
Behaviour is caused by interactions with individuals and groups. Different types of social interaction influence daily behaviour- prejudice, attraction, conformity, obedience and minority or majority influence.
benefits of social approach
Helps to improve understanding of human behaviour, particularly the influence of other people.
Practical applications are useful.
High in ecological validity through use of field experiments.
limitations of social approach
May not be true for all time, as social situations change over time, or for all places.
Difficult to stay within ethical guidelines due to socially sensitive nature of research.
cognitive approach
Behaviour is the result of mental processes, which are similar to a computer- input, conversion, output. It has a soft deterministic approach, as behaviour is caused by mental processes, but there is a limited choice in the information they had before the behaviour.
benefits of cognitive approach
Helps understand human behaviour through the way we think and brain processes- along with selective attention (what we do not process).
Practical applications are useful, helps with effective interviewing techniques.
Scientific through establishing cause and effect between variables.
Controlled study increases reliability.
limitations of cognitive approach
May lack ecological validity.
Limitations to the way data is gathered in this area- processes can only be studied by inference.
The use of laboratory experiments increases the chance of demand characteristics- seen in Loftus and Palmer’s lack of ecological validity.
developmental approach
Behaviour changes over time because cognitive, social, and physiological abilities change. Changes fastest during childhood, which has a long term effect on behaviour. More holistic as it focuses on multiple developmental causes of behaviour.
benefits of developmental approach
Many useful applications to childcare and education.
Helps to answer the nature-nurture debate.
Uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to gain useful data.
Studying participants overtime reduces participant variables.
limitations of developmental approach
Researching children raising ethical issues.
Using children as participants highlights practical issues- have to make inferences.
Research may be constrained by time or culture.
Small and unrepresentative samples.
individual differences approach
Looks at differences between individuals, not what they have in common. Focus on differences in personality, normality, and abnormality. Categorises and measures differences, such as introvert-extrovert and IQ tests.
benefits of individual differences approach
Enables psychologists to understand a wider range of human behaviour- both normal and abnormal.
Great social benefit through improving understanding of disorders and treatments.
Helps with the freewill-determinism debate and the extent we control behaviour.
limitations of individual differences approach
Disagreement within the area as it does not have a clear paradigm.
Potential for harm through majority of research being socially sensitive.
Tools for measuring differences may not be completely valid- Gould’s review of Yerkes’ IQ test.
biological approach
Behaviour is dispositional not situational. Brain and genetics are key factors, and abnormalities can cause deviant behaviour. Human body is a complex machine- hormones such as serotonin, genes and CNS all interact to cause behaviour.
benefits of biological approach
Research leads to a greater understanding of the physiognomy of the brain- Maguire’s study- and cognitive neuroscience.
Favouring the scientific method establishes cause and effect and increases credibility.
Controlled scientific studies increase reliability.
limitations of biological approach
Limitations on the way data is gathered- often have to rely on self-report data as brain processes cannot be studied directly.
Objective measuring methods have limitations- MRI scans only show that something is happening, not what.
Reductionist by ignoring other factors.
psychodynamic perspective
Unconscious processes have important influences on behaviour. Psychodynamic conflict- different parts of the mind are in constant dynamic struggle with each other and consequences of this help us understand behaviour. Behaviour is motivated by sex and aggression and personality is particularly shaped during childhood.
benefits of psychodynamic perspective
Offers an explanation for mental disorders.
Suggests ways people can be helped and treated- Freud’s ‘talking cure’ and modern forms of counselling.
Popularised the case study method.
limitations of psychodynamic perspective
Unscientific analysis of human behaviour.
Evidence for psychodynamic theory is taken from Freud’s case study- lacks validity and makes it difficult to generalise.
behaviourist perspective
All behaviour is learned, we are born a blank slate. Learning occurs through life experiences- classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning. We learn through association, consequence, and imitation.
benefits of behaviourist perspective
Highlights the role of nurture and influence of the environment.
Useful in practical applications such as unlearning phobias.
Studying observable behaviour gives psychology scientific credibility.
limitations of behaviourist perspective
Ignores the influence of nature and limitations of genetics and biology.
Difficult to apply and can be used inappropriately.
Lacks ecological validity.
reductionism
Best way to explain behaviour is breaking down complex phenomena into simple components.
benefits of reductionism
Very scientific. Reductionism underlies most psychological research- can test behaviour by reducing it to a set of variables.
limitations of reductionism
Can simplify complex behaviour and is limited in explanation.
holism
Human behaviour is too complicated to be broken down- best way to understand is to look at the system as a whole.
benefits of holism
Considers the complex interactions of phenomena- the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
limitations of holism
Much less scientific and can be difficult to investigate or predict.
determinism
No behaviour occurs by chance- all caused by biology, upbringing and environment- over which we have no control.
benefits of determinism
Isolates variables to examine them under scientific conditions. More credible to society, and emphasis on cause and effect allows positive changes to be made.
limitations of determinism
Often reductionist, views cannot relate to everyday experience. Cannot always predict behaviour as it implies. Does not account for individual differences.
free-will
Everything happens by chance; no behaviour is predetermined. Can become anything we choose.
benefits of free-will
Emphasis on the individual fits in with societal view of individual responsibility.
limitations of free-will
Concept of free will may be culturally relative. Cannot be defined or tested- unscientific.
nature
All behaviour is determined by hereditary, innate factors Present at birth or emerge as people mature.
nurture
All behaviour is result of interactions with the environment- no predispositions at birth.
benefits of nature-nurture
Distinction helps us identify which behaviours are inherited or learned. Can be useful to discover some behaviours are inherited, rather than due to poor upbringing.
limitations of nature-nurture
Reductionist and simplistic to divide explanations. Discovering behaviours are inherited may lead us to ignore the effects of the environment.
individual
Something about the person is used to explain behaviour.
benefits of individualism
Holistic- gives a more complete understanding of an individual. Helps balance the neglect of uniqueness in psychology and is good for counselling.
limitations of individualism
Can replicate and predict, but not generalise to other people- limits usefulness. The idea people are so unique they cannot be compared is contradicted by psychological research.
situational
Something about the situation is used to explain behaviour.
benefits of situationsim
Links to science and determinism- credible. Ability to generalise and compare is useful in predicting and controlling behaviour.
limitations of situationism
Leaves us with a superficial understanding of any person- they might get different question wrong, but still have the same score.
psychology as a science
objectivity, falsifiability, replicability
respect
informed consent, right to withdraw. confidentiality.
competence
work within ability, consult with colleagues.
responsibility
protection of participants, debrief.
integrity
deception.
social sensitivity
Whether your findings will be work any potential harm done to participants- need to use cost-benefit analysis.
Avoid stigma, political consequences, and harm.
usefulness
If research adds to our understanding of psychology and can be applied to real world situations.
