SOCIAL APPROACH -Perry et al (PERSONAL SPACE) Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

What was the background of the study

A
  • Perry wanted to investigate peoples personal space based on several factors with one of them being interpersonal distance.
  • oxytocin: a hormone that affects social bonding between people. He wanted to test the effect of OT as well on social interactions
  • the Amygdala
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Describe the Amygdala as part of the background

A
  • This is a brain structure involved in processing emotions
  • they trigger strong emotions when it comes to following personal space violations and so it regulates interpersonal distance in humans
  • Oxytocin also regulates amygdala activity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What was the psychology being investigated

A
  • Interpersonal distance- the physical space between interacting people
  • social salience- the attention someone gives to social cues from another person such as body expressions
  • Social salience hypothesis- this suggests that oxytocin improves someones attention to these social cues and respond differently depending on the social setting.
  • Effect of OT in social interactions and Empathy
  • Personal space: the invisible boundaries around our bodies and if crossed can lead to feelings of uncomfortableness or threat
  • Empathy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

List different zones of space

A

public
intimate
social
personal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is empathy

A

The ability to recognise ones thoughts and emotions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what is an interaction effect

A

This is the effect of two or more IVs affecting ONE DV and in which the performance of both IVs is greater than their own

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is a placebo and Why were Placebos given

A
  • Any substance that has no effect on the body with no chemical additives
  • This was in order for it to act as a control to compare the effects of the treatment of OT
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What was the aim of the study

A

testing the differential effect of the social hormone OT on personal space preferences in relation to a persons empathy ability.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What were the 3 IVs of the study

A
  • Empathy
  • OT
  • conditions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What was the DV of the study

A

Personal space preferences
(IPD)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How were the OT and Placebo saline solutions administered

A

-They were self administered through the nasal pathway by a solution of 24 international units of 250ml
- this was done with a nasal dropper with 3 drops in each nostril
-this was a double blind technique as neither the participants nor the researcher knew which solution was administered to who

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What type of experiment was it and where did it take place

A

University of HAIFA
It was a Lab experiment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What’s a weakness of using a lab experiment

A

-Demand characteristics
-Low ecological validity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

when they allocated participants, which design was used

A

Repeated measures design- participants took part in 2 conditions with an without O.T
Independent measures design- whether they were in the “high” empathy or “low” empathy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

For the IV empathy, how was it operationalised

A

-HIGH (X > 40 SCORE) Mean age of 24
-LOW (X <33 SCORE) Mean age of 26

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

In both experiment 1 and 2, they used a repeated measures design, what’s a weakness of this

A

Order effects

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

How many participants took part

A

54 male participants

18
Q

Give 5 features of the sample used

A

-All were male
-ages ranged from 19-32
-Normal vision
-fifty four in total
-No history of neurological disorders
-All were undergrad students from University of Haifa
-were given course credit or paid (volunteer sampling)

19
Q

How far apart was each experiment

A

a WEEK

20
Q

Describe the IRI questionnaire

A

-online
-Interpersonal Reactivity Index
5 point scale from A= does not describe me well to E=does not describe me well
-28 item self report measures
-7 item sub scales
these subscales included;
perspective taking, (difficult to see others POVs)
fantasy empathy (I daydream and fantasize about my future)
, empathic concern, ( I often have tender concerned feelings for those less fortunate than me)
personal distress (In emmergency situations I feel ill-at-ease)

21
Q

How were the participants counterbalanced

A

-1st week half the participants did exp 1 and the other half did the exp 2 next week and vice versa for the 2nd half

22
Q

What’s an advantage of using the counterbalancing technique

A

-In order to ensure internal validity by controlling potential confounders

23
Q

The experiment 1 had a third IV known as conditions, what were the 4 conditions

A

-Authority
-friend
-ball
-stranger

24
Q

Describe the procedures done in experiment 1 the CID

A
  • Use of the CID (comfortable interpersonal distance) paradigm
  • A circle was presented on the screen and were told to imagine that they were at the centre of the room
  • One of the conditions was then introduced for 3 seconds
  • their name was on the screen for a second followed by a fixation point of 0.5 seconds
  • at one of the 8 entrances, a figure appeared
  • The participants were told when to indicate when the persona approaching should stop along the radius on the screen by pressing the space bar
  • each protagonist would appear 3 times from the 8 entrances available
  • this would be in total 96 trials
25
Q

How many trials in total were done in Exp 1

A

96 trials

26
Q

What was the DV in Exp 1

A

-The preferred distance measured between participants and an approaching person/ball
-the percentage score was collected for the remaining distance measured by the CID

27
Q

describe the procedures done in Experiment 2 The “Choosing rooms task”

A

-Participants were told that they Will be in a room where they will talk about intimate topics
-They were shown rooms on a computer screen and were told to chose which they’d like the conversation to happen in’
- each participant was shown 84 pairs each repeated twice
- the 2 picture sets were shown for 2 seconds
-The stimuli in the experiment was distance between chairs and angles of the chairs

28
Q

What was the DV of Exp 2

A

The preferred distance and angle between two chairs in a room.

29
Q

what is a differential effect

A

This is when one or more individuals experience a difference in outcome when exposed to the same stimuli

30
Q

list 3 findings found in Experiment 1

A

-The administration of OT showed differential effects on high and low empathisers with high empathisers having a closer distance compared to low empathisers
-There was a big difference in friend vs authority in both the placebo and OT conditions ( 12% VS 34%)
-There was also a big difference in ball vs stranger (20% VS 39.8%)

31
Q

list the finding found in Experiment 2

A

-The administration of OT on high empathisers showed a closer preferred distance with the two chairs compared to those who were low empathisers and had the opposite effects.

32
Q

Give 2 conclusions found in the study

A

-The administration of OT enhances social cues in OPPOSITE ways for those with different empathetic levels which supports the idea of social salience
-The study confirmed that individuals preferred a closer distance between friends than it did with a stranger
-The distance preferences in the CID are determined by the degree of perceived threat from each protagonist

33
Q

what is 1 weakness that the study had

A

It lacked ecological validity- mundane realism. Personal space between people could depend on complex cues such as tone, gestures etc

34
Q

List 3 strengths of the study

A
  • Counterbalancing improved the internal validity of the study
  • Highly standardised and controls i.e used the same CID paradigm for all participnts
  • The double blind technique reduced researcher bias and demand characteristics
  • quantitative data
35
Q

How was the study ethically strong

A

> gave Informed consent
Were deceived however was less likely to cause any psychological harm
No side effects from the solutions given
Participants were debriefed

36
Q

List some situational factors that could affect personal space

A

-culture
-the type of relationship
-social cues in the situation & environment
-Gender and age

37
Q

List some individualistic factors that could affect personal space

A

-The nature of the relationship
-The empathy levels
-the individuals characteristics

38
Q

How can this study be applicable/ Useful

A
  • The study showed the effect of administering OT. With those who have social difficulties, administering OT may not have a positive outcome as seen by the results, those with low empathy on OT showed a greater personal distance compared to the placebo.
  • social distance applied in jobs
  • teaching boundaries between teachers and students
39
Q

Examples of controls in the study

A
  • all waited the same 45 mins
  • used counterbalancing
  • they used double blind technique
  • fixation point of 0.5 seconds was for attention
  • same CID used
  • use of IRI
40
Q

What was the control condition in experiment 2

A

“preferred distance between table and plants” (200-320cm)