Questions IDK

Question 1

Outline dispositional explanation of obedience.

Answer 1

1. Adorno- proposed dispositional explanation as an explanation of obedience.
   An internal explanation for obedience- focus is on idea that certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience.
2. Authoritarian personality= collection of personality traits said to develop from strict parenting during an individual’s childhood
   (e.g. extremely strict discipline, an expectation of loyalty, impossibly high standards, and severe criticisms of failings.)
3. Personality traits inc. showing extreme respect for perceived authority AND submission to people in perceived authority as they see them as superior.
   Also disapprove of individuals perceived as low status AND direct anger towards them as they view them as inferior. They have black and white thinking and fascist views.
4. Assessed using the F-Scale= questionnaire by Adorno on over 2000 American participants. High scores on the questionnaire= authoritarian personality and the characteristics described above displayed.

Question 2

Group size factor affecting conformity

Answer 2

Conformity increase as the size of majority group increases.
Size of the group stops having an effect once the group reaches a certain size.
* 1 real participant and 1 confed conformity= 3%
* 2 confed and 1 real participant conformity= 13%
* 3 confed and 1 real participant conformity=32%
* However, conformity plateaued after this.
* Suggests size of the majority does have an effect on conformity but only to a point (3).

Question 3

Unanimity factor affecting conformity

Answer 3

Unanimity= complete agreement from group about answer/viewpoint.
* Original Asch study= confeds all gave the same wrong answer and conformity= 37%
* Asch varied his study, one confed give the correct answers throughout, conformity= 5.5%
* ‘Lone’ confederate answer both different from majority and correct answer. Conformity= 9%
* Asch concluded- When dissenter breaks the group’s unanimous position conformity decreases.

Question 4

Task difficulty factors affecting conformity

Answer 4

Conformity increases when difficulty of a task increases.
* One variation- Asch made stimulus and comparison lines more similar in length- correct answer less obvious and task was harder. Difficulty of the task increased conformity rates increased.
* Suggests that ISI plays a greater role when task becomes harder. When situations are unclear, we are more likely to look to others for guidance.
* As right answer becomes less obvious, lose confidence in own ability, more likely to conform.

Question 5

Leading question definition

Answer 5

Question that wrongly implies something, and can therefore affect the accuracy of EWT.
E.G. ‘what colour was the youth’s jacket?’ implies the perpetrator was a youth.

Question 6

Leading questions AO1

Answer 6

Aim: To investigate whether the phrasing of a question can affect participants’ memory of an event.
Method: Lab experiment
Sample: 45 American students (split into 5 groups of 9)
Procedure: Participants were shown a video of a car crash and each group was asked same question with different verb: (IV)
“About how fast were the cars travelling when they **** each other?”
Smashed, hit, collided, bumped or contacted.
Loftus and Palmer measured participants’ speed estimates (DV)
Findings: They found participants guessed a higher mean speed when they had ‘smashed’ (40.8mph) compared to contacted (31.8mph).
Conclusion: The phrasing of a question can influence a participant’s memory of an event.

Question 7

AO3 STRENGTH Leading qu.

Answer 7

Has practical applications
Notion that leading questions can affect the accuracy of EWT has led to improvements in the legal system.
For example, police officers need to be very careful about how they phrase their questions when interviewing witnesses, and not use leading questions which has led to the development of COGNITIVE INTERVIEW.
Therefore, the research in to how leading questions affect the accuracy of EWT is an important part of applied psychology BECAUSE it could lead to more accurate testimonies and improve the lives of people affected by crime.
THINK FURTHER: Positive impact on the economy- witness statements more accurate could lead to quicker conviction of correct perpetrator, less tax payers’ money spent on multiple police interviews/ re-trials= money could be used elsewhere to benefit society.

Question 8

Post event discussion

Answer 8

Witnesses of event discuss accounts w eachother
Affects accuracy: memory conformity and contamination

Question 9

Memory contamination

Answer 9

Cowitnesses to crime discuss w each other and EWT becomes distorted/altered.
Combine misinformation from others w own memory of event= MEMORIES OF EVENT CHANGE

Question 10

Memory conformity

Answer 10

Witnesses go along w each other either to win approval (NSI) or they believe the other is right and they r wrong (ISI).
Memory remains UNCHANGED, RECALL is AFFECTED

Question 11

AO3 PED

Answer 11

Skakerberg and Wright- vid of mugging, muggers hair colour dark or light brown
Prone to demand characteristics- controlled environ.

Question 12

Anxiety definition

Answer 12

Has strong emotional and physical effects.
According to research by J and S- negatively affects EWT accuracy as witnesses only recall certain aspects- recall limited

Question 13

Anxiety AO1

Answer 13

Johnson and Scott
Aim: To investigate the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
Method: Laboratory experiment
Procedure:
* Participants were placed in one of two conditions either a high anxiety, ‘weapon focus’ condition or low anxiety condition. (IV)
* Participants were told to wait outside a room before the experiment began.
* In the high anxiety, ‘weapon focus’ condition participants heard an argument and the sound of breaking glass from within the room, and a man walked out of the room carrying a knife covered with blood.
* The low anxiety condition heard the argument from within the room before a man walked out with grease on their hands and a pen.
* Participants then had to identify the person who left the room from 50 photographs. (DV)
Findings:
Found 49% accuracy for the low anxiety condition compared to 33% in the high anxiety ‘weapon focus’ condition.
Conclusion: Anxiety caused ‘weapon focus’ as the witness concentrates on the weapon not the person because of the fear of the situation, reducing accuracy of recall.

Question 14

AO3 Anxiety

Answer 14

Christianson and Hubinette- criticise as real life situation of bank robbery found recall more accurate with bank teller compared to bystander
Valentine and Mesout- London Dungeon Labryinth- recall of actor characteristics better w low anxiety

Question 15

Maternal deprivation definition

Answer 15

Emotional and intellectual consequences of extended separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute, where a child loses an aspect of care, within the critical period.

Question 16

Bowlbly maternal deprivation AO1

Answer 16

Idea that continued nurture from a mother or mother substitute within the first 2.5 years of life (critical period) is important for healthy psychological development. (1) If a child has extended periods of separation from the mother within the critical period, where an element of care is lost, then psychological damage is inevitable and irreversible. (1)
Bowlby proposed two kinds of psychological damage - intellectual damage and emotional damage.

Intellectual damage includes cognitive impairment, such as an intellectual delay, shown by abnormally low IQ. (1)
Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions (less emotional care) compared to those who had been fostered (more emotional care). (1)

Emotional damage includes affectionless psychopathy, this is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. (1) This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. Affectionless psychopaths also lack remorse (cannot appreciate the feelings of victims).(1)

Question 17

Drug therapy AO1

Answer 17

Drug therapy is a biological treatment for OCD. Drug therapy works by balancing levels of the neurotransmitters in the brain in order to relieve symptoms of OCD.(1)

One drug used is an anti-depressant known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor’s (SSRI’s).(2)

SSRI’s are a serotonin agonist.

SSRI’s increase serotonin activity levels by blocking the re-absorption of serotonin to the pre-synaptic neuron, increasing serotonin levels in the synapse, so it continues to activate/stimulate the post-synaptic neuron.(3)

These drugs have been shown to reduce anxiety associated with OCD.(4)

SSRI’s usually take around 3-4 months to aleviate symptoms of OCD and the dosage can vary from person to person.(5)

In the past few years, a different class of anti-depressant drugs,
called SNRI’s (seratonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) have been used to treat OCD. These increase levels of serotonin and noraderenaline activity and can be used if SSRI’s
have not been effective.(6)

Question 18

RTS OCD Drug therapy

Answer 18

P- Research to support the effectiveness of drug therapy as a treatment of OCD was conducted by Soomro et al (2009).
E- Soomro et al reviewed 17 studies of the use of SSRI’s to treat OCD and found that SSRI’s were more effective in reducing symptoms of OCD compared to placebos.
E- Typically, symptoms reduced in around 70% of people taking SSRI’s For the remaining 30% most can me helped with either alternative drugs or a combinations of drugs and psychological therapies.
L- Therefore, showing the effectiveness of drug therapy as a treatment for OCD.

Question 19

Episodic memory

Answer 19

Declarative
Past experiences
Hippocampus
Time stamped

Question 20

Semantic

Answer 20

Declarative
Knowledge/Facts
Temporal Lobe
Not time stamped

Question 21

Procedural

Answer 21

Non declarative
Motor skills
Cerebellum and Motor Cortex

Question 22

Central executive

Answer 22

Attentional process
Monitors incoming data and DECIDES what needs to be done and when and DELEGATES tasks accordingly to the slave systems
Can code any type of information.
Keeps an eye on what is happening in the slave systems and takes over the most DEMANDING task where necessary.
New/requires concentration (attention) tasks will overload the central executive as it has a very limited capacity.

Question 23

Phonological loop

Answer 23

AUDITORY information
Subdivided the PL into 2 parts;
THE PHONOLOGICAL STORE – which stores the words we hear, like an inner ear.
THE ARTICULATORY LOOP – silently repeats/rehearses words that are seen or heard, to keep them in memory, like an inner voice. (maintenance rehearsal)
LIMITED CAPACITY and CODES ACCOUSTICALLY

Question 24

MSM

Answer 24

Atkinson and Shiffrin

Question 25

WMM

Answer 25

Baddeley and Hitch

Question 26

Types of LTM

Answer 26

Tulving

Question 27

Visuo spatial sketchpad

Answer 27

VISUAL information; like an inner eye.
Responsible for setting up mental images and is what you use if you have to plan a spatial task, e.g. GIVING DIRECTIONS.
TEMPORARILY stores VISUAL (what things look like) and SPATIAL (the physical relationship between things) information.
Subdivided the VSS into:
The visual cache – which stores visual data.
The inner scribe – which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field.
LIMITED CAPACITY (3-4 objects) and CODES VISUALLY

Question 28

Episodic buffer

Answer 28

General store, later added by Baddeley and Hitch
The EB collects and combines information from the CE, PL and VSS to record an event (episode).
The EB transfers information to the LTM and is used to retrieve information from the LTM to the STM.
** The EB has a LIMITED CAPACITY (4 chunks) and can CODE ANY TYPE of information**

Question 29

Cog interview AO3

Answer 29

P- Research to support the effectiveness of the cognitive interview in improving the accuracy of EWT was conducted by Koehnken et al.
E- They combined data from 55 studies comparing the cognitive interview with the standard police interview. The cognitive interview gave an average 41% increase in accurate information compared with the standard interview.
E- Only four studies in the analysis showed no difference between the types of studies.
L- This supports that the cognitive interview is an effective technique BECAUSE it helps witnesses recall information that is stored in memory but not immediately accessible.