Psychology Paper 1 Research

Question 1

Normative Social Influence & Informational Social Influence

Answer 1

Deutsch & Gerard (1955)

Question 2

Little Albert Study

Answer 2

Watson & Rayner (1920)

Question 3

Stanford prison experiment

Answer 3

Zimbardo (August 1971)

Question 4

Shock Experiment

Answer 4

Milgram (1963)

Question 5

Asch Reasearch percentages

Answer 5

75% of participants conformed to group pressure at least once

Question 6

Cons of asch study

Answer 6

• Artifical situation = experiment has low ecological validity meaning the results cannot be generalised to other settings
• Deception = participants were not aware the other participants were confederates which may have made them feel stupid once they found out
• Participants knew they were in a reasearch study and might have gone along with the demands of the situation (demand characteristics)
• Limited application of findings only Men were tested and women are said to be more likely to conform. They were all from the united states (individualist culture), studies shown in collectivist cultures such as China have shown different results.
  Findings only apply to certain situations as participants had to answer out loud which might have influences the results

Question 7

Perrin & Spencer (1980)

Answer 7

They repeated Asch’s study and found only one student conformed on 396 trials suggesting when Asch’s study took place it was an incredibly conformist time in America and that therefore the study lacks temporal validity. The percentage who confomed may have been lower also due to the fact that the students taking part in the experiment were engineering students who may have been more confident in their answer

Question 8

Positives of Asch’s study

Answer 8

Laboratory setting meant that variables were heavily controlled which means that the experiment could be replicated/repeated easily and that the influence of extraneous variables could be minimised.

Question 9

Asch’s study purpose

Answer 9

To see whether individuals would conform to a group’s wrong answer even if the answer was unambiguous

Question 10

Eagly & Carli (1981)

Answer 10

ASCH = Before the 1970s many psychologists thought that women would be more likely to conform than men. Howvere research by Eagly & Carly in 1981 analysed conformity reserach data and found inconsistencies in sex differences and found that males and females differed the most in studies where audiences created group pressure.

Question 11

Eagly (1987)

Answer 11

ASCH = Eag;y (1987) believed that men and women show different levels of cobformity because of their different social roles. They said that women are more likely to conform because they dont like group conflict and that men are less likely to conform because they are expected to show independence and assertiveness.

Question 12

Autokinetic Effect Experiment

Answer 12

Sherif (1935) in CGP textbook page 2, tried to show that people conformed to group norms when they are performing an ambiguous task. Partcipants were influenced by informational social influence.

Question 13

Klaus & Kennel (1976)

Answer 13

CAREGIVER - INFANT INTERACTIONS = compared mothers who displayed extended physical contact with their babies with mothers who only contacted with their infants during feeding in the three days after birth. After one month, the mothers who displayed greater physical contact were found to cuddle their babies more and make greater eye contact with them than the mother who made less contact. These effects were still evident a year later, suggesting that a greater physical contact leads to an attachment bond that is closer and stronger. Led to the real world effects as hospitals now place mothers and babies in the same room in the days following birth to encourage attachment formation.

Question 14

Isabella et al (1989)

Answer 14

CAREGIVER - INFANT INTERACTIONS = found that infants with secure attachments demonstrated interactional synchrony during the first year of life.

Question 15

Meltzoff and Moore (1977)

Answer 15

CAREGIVER - INFANT INTERACTIONS = discovered that infants aged two to three weeks displayed a tendency to mimic adults facial expressions and hand movements, indicating that mimicry is an innate ability that helps in the formation of attachment.

Question 16

Papousek et al (1991)

Answer 16

CAREGIVER - INFANT INTERACTIONS = found that the use of caregiverese was cross-culturak, suggesting that is is an innate device

Question 17

Condon & Sander (1974)

Answer 17

Interactional synchrony evidence= aimed to investigate interactional synchrony (turn taking) in newborns and their parents. They took videos of parents talking to their newborns and analysed them frame by frame the behaviour of the newborn was also noted.

Question 18

Condon & Sander results

Answer 18

They noticed that even newborns co-ordinate their movemtnts and gestures in time with human speech. There was an element of tun taking and the babies seemed to repsond to the one-sided conversation. This study shows that interactional synchrony starts at an early age. Meltzoff and Moore (2977) say this begins as early as two weeks old.

Question 19

Condon & Sander evaluation

Answer 19

Strengths:
- Ecological Validity = parents and babies in their own environment
- Ethical study
Limitations:
- The behaviour of newborns is open to interpretation e.g. is it a smile or wind

Question 20

Attachment Big Study

Answer 20

Schaffer & Emerson 1964 = observed babies and their interactions with those around them. They concluded that the development of attachment could be divided ito a number of specific stages. Aim of study was to find the age at which attachments start and how intense these were.

Question 21

Schaffer & Emerson Method

Answer 21

CGP textbook page 26

Question 22

Schaffer & Emerson results

Answer 22

between 25 & 32 weeks of afe 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult usually the mother this is called a specific attachment.
By the age of 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments

Question 23

Schaffer & Emerson Evaluation

Answer 23

• Because babies were observed in their own homes (a natural environment) we can assume that the study is high in ecological validity; the findings can be generalised to the real world.
• Data was collected by direct observation by the mother. This could have been prone to bias and inaccuracy.
• There were large individual differences when attachments formed. This added uncertainty to the process of attachment formation being exclusively biological.

Question 24

Rutter (1995)

Answer 24

proposed a model of multiple attachments that stated that all attachments are of equal importance and attachments combine to help form a child’s internal working model. There is an evolutionary advantage to multiple attachments and it is that if a child loses one of its attachments it still has others to rely on and take its place.

Question 25

What are the factors of the father-child dynamic

Answer 25

1) The degree of sensitivity 2) Single - Parent fathers (often grasp the need for sensitive respinsiveness) 3) Maritial intimacy 4) Supportive co-parenting

Question 26

Geiger (1996)

Answer 26

Found that the way that fathers play with their children is more exciting and pleasurable than mothers. This supports the view of the father as a playmate.

Question 27

Lamb (1987)

Answer 27

found that children often interact with their fathers when in a positive emotional state and so are seeking stimulation rather then comfort. Also discovered that once a father becomes the main care provider, he quickly develops more sensitivity towards his children's needs, suggesting sensitive responsiveness isn't a biological ability limited to women.

Question 28

Hardy (1999)

Answer 28

found that fathers are less able than mothers to detect low levels of infant distress, suggesting that males make unsuitable primary attachment figures.

Question 29

Belsky et al (2009)

Answer 29

found that secure father infant attachments to be associated with high levels of maritial intimacy, suggesting that the closeness of the relationship between fathers and partners affect the type of attachment a father has with his children.

Question 30

Pedersen (1979)

Answer 30

has argues that outcomes could be due to socio-economic background, as many of the studies have focused on female single mothers and poorer familie

Question 31

What is depression considered?

Answer 31

Depression is considered episodic as its symptoms are usually present at their full magnitude for a period of time and them gradually reduce.

Question 32

Little Albert

Answer 32

Watson & Rayner (1920)

Question 33

The two process model of phobias

Answer 33

Mowrer (1947)

Question 34

Counterconditioning

Answer 34

Where a client learns a new response to a stimulus that has previously elicited an undesirable behaviour. Examples of this are aversive conditioning and exposure therapy

Question 35

Ost et al (1991)

Answer 35

Support for behavioural therapy

Question 36

Ost et al method & results

Answer 36

81 blood phobics and 56 needle phobics were asked to complete a questionnaire on their memories of the possible origins of their phobias. 52% of the patients attributed the onset of their phobias to conditioning experiences, while 24% recalled vicarious experiences, 7% instruction/information and 17% could not remember any specific onset circumstances. The majority attributed their phobias to conditioning - a learnt response A strength is that it has applications and a weakness is that is relies on memory.

Question 37

Barlow & Durand (1955)

Answer 37

support for the behavioural explanation of phobias, reported that 50% of people with a phobia for driving could remember a specific incident (car accident) that had triggered their fear, again supporting the theory that phobias are learned however, about 50% of people with phobias cannot recall a specific event that triggered the fear.

Question 38

Bandura & Rosenthal (1966)

Answer 38

supported the social learning explanation. In an experiment, the model acted as though he were in pain whenever a buzzer sounded. Later on those participants that has observed this showed an emotional recation to the buzzer, demonstrating an acquired 'fear' response. If a phobia can be learnt, then it can be successfully unlearnt by counter conditioning. So, the theory has practical applications.

Question 39

DiNardo (1988)

Answer 39

Not everyone bitten by a dog develops a fear of dogs so some phobias can be explained by evolution.

Question 40

Davey (1992)

Answer 40

Found that individuals with a fear of spiders had very different personal characteristics to those that were not. This suggests that fear of spiders was not learnt, but innate and related to certain personality traits.

Question 41

Goldfarb (1947)

Answer 41

found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care.

Question 42

Affectionless psychopathy

Answer 42

Bowlby suggested as an emotional development effect of maternal deprivation. This is where a child has the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality.

Question 43

Bowlby's 44 thieves study

Answer 43

Consisted of 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing. All 'thieves' were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy. Their families were also interviewed in order to establish whether the thieves had prolonged early separations from their mothers. A control group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people was set up to see how often maternal deprivation occurred in children who were not thieves.

Question 44

Bowlby's 44 thieves study results

Answer 44

Bowlby (1944) found that 14 of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths. Out of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of life. In contrast out of the control group, only 2 out of 44 had experienced long separations. It was concluded that prolonged early separation caused affectionless psychopathy.

Question 45

Jarmila Koluchova (1976)

Answer 45

The critical period is more of a sensitive period. Koluchova reported the case of twin boys from Czechoslovakia who were isolated from the age of 18 months until they turned seven years old (their step-mother kept them locked in a cupboard). Subsequently they were looked after by two loving adults and appeared to recover fully. Cases like this show that the period identified by Bowlby may be a 'sensitive' one but it cannot be critical.

Question 46

Romanian Orphan studies - method

Answer 46

Rutter et al (2007), 111 Romanian orphans who were adopted by British families were compared with a group of 52 UK adoptees and followed over a prolonged period. Some of the orphans were adopted before they were 6 months old and some were older than 6 months. Each child was assessed at ages 4, 6 and 11.

Question 47

Romanian Orphan Studies - results

Answer 47

The children who were younger than 6 months when they were adopted had the same level of emotional development as other UK children who were adopted at the same age. However, the Romanian orphans who were older than 6 months at adoption showed signs of insecure attachments and social problems. The UK childresn who were older than 6 months at adoption didn't show the same problems. This may be due to a lack of stimulation with the older children in the orphanages.

Question 48

Romanian Orphan Studies - Conclusion

Answer 48

The effects of privation can be reversed if an attachment starts to form before the age of 6 months. Long-term effects are more permanent if attachment doesnt start to occur within 6 months. Maternal deprivation on its own doens't cause permanent effects because the UK adopted children had been separated but sisn't show any problems. The mean IQ of those children adopted before the age of six months was 102. compared to 86 for those adopted between 6 months and 2 years and 77 for those adopted after two years. These differences remained at age 16 (Beckett et al. 2010)

Question 49

Romanian Orphan Studies - Evaluation

Answer 49

The results with the older children may be due to the lack of stimulation in the orphanage. As a longitudinal study, Rutter was able to investigate the children over a long period of time, meaning the results provide a better insight into the long-term effects of privation. However, they collected mainly qualitative data which, although detailed, is more difficult to create generalised laws or theories from.

Question 50

Kerns (1994)

Answer 50

Securely attached infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood relationships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties.

Question 51

Rowan Myron-Wilson & Peter Smith (1998)

Answer 51

assessed attachment type and bullying involvement usuing standard questionnaires in 196 childresn aged 7-11 from London. Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying. Insecure-avoidant were the most likely to be victims and insecure-resistant children were most likely to be bullies

Question 52

Gerard McCarthy (1999)

Answer 52

Studied 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants to establish their early attachment type. Those assesssed as securely attached infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships. Adults classes as insecure-resistant as infants had particular problems maintaining friendships whilst those classed as insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.

Question 53

Bailey et al (2007)

Answer 53

considered the attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and to their own mothers. Mother-baby attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation and mother-own mother attachment was assessed using an adult attachment interview. The majority of women had the same attachment clasification both to their babies and their own mothers.