Psychology Flashcards
Outline vicarious reinforcement
- reinforcement that works by seeing someone else, usually a role model being rewarded for their work.
- if this is someone they find as a role model, eg a celebrity, they are more likely to imitate their behaviour.
- eg positive reinforcement likely will mean that they will imitate their role models’ behaviour
- this is because the role model’s behaviour is associated with their feelings and outcome of the task.
State one assumption of the cognitive approach
- the idea that psychology should be focused on studying internal mental processes through models, such as the computer model.
Outline one strength and one limitation of using SLT to explain different attitudes.
- One strength is that it recognises the role of mediational process (ARMM) and the cognitive processes involved in it. This shows that it provides a higher level explanation that just association, and highlights that cognitive processes are involved in imitation behaviour.
- However, it does ignore biological factors - eg doesn’t take into account if a gene is inherited for attitude, or aggression in boys. Thus, it might be considered reductionist for ignoring the interaction between biology and environment.
How might the biological approach explain different attitudes of people?
- inherited genes that may influence cognitive processes
- balance of hormones - eg boys might be more aggressive than girls due to more testosterone
Outline and briefly discuss what is meant by cognitive neuroscience (8)
- the idea of studying internal mental processes through analysing the relationship between brain structures and cognitions
- aims to understand how certain brain areas may contribute more to tasks such as attention, memory, problem solving etc.
- also aims to understand how neurochemicals may contribute to cognitions - eg dopamine in pleasure and motivation.
- uses scanning techniques such as f-MRI and PET scans to help discover localisation of certain mental processes - eg the role of the frontal lobe in memory and emotion.
- good thing is that it is scientific and objective - allows for conclusions to be made backed by imaging data.
- however it can only establish correlational relationships and cannot establish causal relationships. This show that it cannot reveal the complex mechanisms that go into cognitive processes in real life.
Outline the differences between endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers
- EPs are internal biological mechanisms that regulate rhythms - eg the SCN that regulates the 24 hour sleep-wake cycle.
- EZs however are external cues that regulate rhythms - eg light.
Outline the fight or flight response
- involves a combination of different physiological processes that is triggered by a perceived sense of threat.
- eg heart beat and breathing rate increases, increasing blood flow to muscles and vital organs needed for potential escape
- the response is carried out by the CNS - which involves impulses being sent through the spinal chord and back (sympathetic nervous system)
- Adrenaline released from adrenal glands that can trigger responses like dry mouth and shaky hands
- This may potentially trigger cognitive thoughts - either heightened ones or making it difficult to put together thoughts and ideas.
- after threat, Parasympathetic nervous system kicks in, counteracting the F/F response and restoring normal function, inducing a feeling of calmness again.
Discuss research into plasticity and functional recovery after trauma. (16)
A01:
- Phineas Gage case study - fact that he suffered such extensive damage to his frontal lobe and recovered with almost full function shows evidence that neuroplasticity was at play - such as axonal sprouting or other parts taking over functions
- Maguire et al - taxi driver case study - found correlation with the time that they had been driving and the size of their hippocampus. Shows that brain may have gone through structural changes to adapt to the demands of navigation - showing that the brain can reorganise itself and its neural circuits to compensate for underutilised areas.
A03:
+: Phineas Gage pioneered our understanding of the fact that the brain can actually repair itself - triggered further research etc. Shows that he was a major contributor to the field
- Case study only provides evidence, not proof, and very specific case, so not generalisable to population.
-: Maguire study very specific to one group of people and demographic, so might not tell us about plasticity in mathematicians for example
-: several factors can affect plasticity and recovery: eg age, education which were not taken into account, so could be considered reductionist.
Consider why a repeated measures design is better than and independent groups design
- each participant can participate in both conditions, which makes comparison easier than if it were 2 different groups
- so effects of individual difference are minimised, so more emphasis can be placed on the conditions rather than differences between pps which might be confounding.
Describe how counterbalancing works
- a technique used to deal with order effects
- divide the group in half - lets say group 1 and 2
- group 1 would first experience condition A, then B
- group 2 would then experience condition B then A
Describe how self reported data might effect validity
- could reduce validity (wether the investigation is answering what its supposed to)
- as pps may lie or make up something, or if it is retrospective, then they may have trouble remembering
- exaggeration may occur
- ## social desirability bias might affect accuracy of self reported data.
Explain one strength and one limitation of quantitative data
+: easier to collect and spot patterns, allows for easier comparison as it is numerical data, eg calculating means and Stnd devs.
-: may lack detail and insight, ignoring factors such as stress during experimentation etc. Thus it might result in conclusions being made too quickly without considering individual differences.
Explain one limitation of using range
- takes only 2 extremes of the data into account while ignoring the numbers in between.
- so better to use the mean or other measures of spread to provide a more accurate understanding of the pattern shown in the data.
Explain how random sampling would be carried out.
- number each pp from 1- how many ever there are
- use random number generator online to assign groups/pick pps
- eg every even number picked goes into group 1 and every odd number goes to group 2, or first eg 10 numbers picked would be your sample.
Give one advantage of random sampling
- not biased, so likely that it will be representative of the entire population. Thus conclusions will be more generalisable to the population.
