Studies Flashcards
Maguire 2000
Aim: Investigate if London taxi drivers’ brains differ due to their extensive knowledge of the city.
Procedure:
Participants: 16 male London taxi drivers (average age: 44)
Scans: MRI scans of taxi drivers’ brains compared to 50 subjects from an MRI database.
Analysis: Compare hippocampus size between groups.
Results:
Taxi drivers: Larger posterior hippocampus, associated with spatial memory and navigation skills.
Control subjects: Larger anterior hippocampus.
Correlation: More years as a taxi driver, larger right hippocampus.
Conclusion:
Plasticity: Hippocampus adapts to environmental demands.
Gray matter changes: More posterior, less elsewhere.
Memory impact: Expertise may compromise acquiring new spatial information.
Neuroplasticity: Brain functions can adapt during adulthood
Crockett et al (2010)
Aim: Investigate the effect of serotonin on prosocial behavior.
Procedure:
30 healthy subjects in a repeated measures double-blind laboratory experiment.
Condition 1: Participants given citalopram (serotonin reuptake inhibitor).
Condition 2: Control condition with a placebo (harmless substance).
Moral dilemmas: Participants faced scenarios involving utilitarian outcomes and aversive harmful actions.
Aversive harmful scenarios: Personal (pushing a man off a bridge) or impersonal (diverting a train).
Measurements: Examined moral judgments and reactions to emotionally salient situations.
Results:
Serotonin enhancement made subjects more likely to judge harmful actions as forbidden.
Subjects showed increased harm aversion and promoted prosocial behavior.
Conclusion:
Serotonin promotes prosocial behavior by enhancing harm aversion.
Serotonin activates brain regions responsible for emotional processing, emphasizing the “do no harm” moral principle.
Baumgartner et al (2008)
Aim: Investigate the role of oxytocin in creating trust.
Method:
49 participants in an fMRI study.
Oxytocin or placebo via nasal spray.
2 tasks - Trust game (with a partner) and risk game (against a computer).
Trust breaches and failed gambles.
Results:
Placebo group: Decreased trust after breach.
Oxytocin group: Maintained trust despite breach.
Brain responses: Oxytocin group showed decreased responses in amygdala and caudate nucleus.
Specific to trust game: Oxytocin effects observed only in interactions with real people.
Oxytocin encourages trust by reducing emotional responses to betrayal.
Cutler, Friedmann, and McCoy (1998)
Aim: Investigate the effect of synthesized male pheromones on sociosexual behavior in men.
Method:
Participants: heterosexual men aged 25-42 recruited through local press.
Aftershave usage: Participants used their own aftershave lotion with added pheromones or placebo.
Behavioral calendar: Daily recording of petting, affection, kissing, sleeping next to a partner, sexual intercourse, informal dates, and formal dates.
Results:
Pheromone group: More men reported increased petting, affection, kissing, sleeping next to a partner, sexual intercourse, and informal dates compared to placebo.
Sexual intercourse: 47% increase in pheromone group vs. 9.5% in placebo group.
Masturbation frequency unaffected by pheromone application.
Conclusion:
Synthetic pheromones increased sociosexual behaviors related to interactions with female partners.
Pheromones enhanced attractiveness to women rather than just increasing libido.
Kendler et al (2006)
Aim: Determine genetic role in major depressive disorder.
Method:
Participants: 15,000 twin pairs from Swedish Twin Registry.
Interviews: Telephone interviews assessing lifetime major depression based on DSM-IV criteria.
Environment assessment: Shared and individual-specific environments explored.
Results:
Higher depression rates in women.
Higher concordance in monozygotic twins.
Living together years had no impact.
Major depression heritability estimated at 0.38 which was significant
Feinstein et al (2011)
Aim: Investigate the role of the amygdala in fear by studying SM, a patient with amygdala damage.
Method:
SM, who had a genetic disorder causing damage to her temporal lobes and amygdalas.
SM was exposed to live snakes, a haunted house, horror movies, and multiple interviews.
Brain scans conducted before and after the study to confirm amygdala damage.
Results:
Due to amygdala lesions, SM was unable to experience biological fear.
Study confirms that the amygdala is critical in triggering fear response to threatening stimuli in the environment.
Supports the understanding of the amygdala’s involvement in fear processing.
Sperling (1960)
Aim: Investigate iconic memory, which pertains to the memory of visual stimuli and is part of sensory memory.
Method:
Participants Shown a grid of alphanumeric characters for 50 milliseconds.
2 conditions: Whole report and partial report conditions.
Whole report: Participants asked to recall all 12 characters in their correct positions.
Partial report: Participants instructed to recall a specific row indicated by a unique sound.
Results:
Whole report: Participants recalled an average of only 4 out of 12 characters.
Partial report: Participants recalled an average of 3 or 4 characters from the designated row.
The findings of Sperling’s study provide support for the Multi-Store Model of memory.
In the partial report condition, where participants focused on a specific row, higher accuracy in recalling characters was observed.
This suggests that reducing the information load allows for better attention allocation and encoding into short-term memory.
The whole report condition, which required attending to the entire grid, encountered capacity limitations of short-term memory, resulting in difficulties in encoding and storing all the information.
Overall, Sperling’s study highlights the role of attention and information processing in the formation and retention of iconic memory, supporting the theoretical framework of the Multi-Store Model.
Landry and Bartling 2011
Aim:
Investigate the impact of articulatory suppression on the recall of phonologically dissimilar letters.
Procedure:
The study involved undergraduate psychology students.
The participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group.
Experimental Group: required to engage in articulatory suppression by rapidly repeating numbers (‘1’ and ‘2’) while attempting to recall the phonologically dissimilar letters.
Control Group: Participants in the control group did not perform the articulatory suppression task and solely focused on recalling the letters.
Recall Task: Both groups were presented with lists of seven phonologically dissimilar letters and were instructed to recall the letters in the correct order.
Results:
Control Group: The control group, which did not engage in articulatory suppression, demonstrated a significantly higher percentage of accurate recall. They had an average recall accuracy of 76%.
Experimental Group: The experimental group, which performed articulatory suppression, exhibited lower recall accuracy compared to the control group. They had an average recall accuracy of 45%.
Loftus and Palmer 1974
Aim:
To investigate the influence of leading verbs on participants’ speed estimates in a memory task.
Procedure:
Participants: 45 undergraduate students.
Watched a video sequence of vehicle crashes and provided descriptions of the accidents.
Asked to estimate the speed of the vehicles, with different groups receiving different leading verbs (“smashed,” “collided,” “bumped,” “hit,” or “contacted”).
Results:
Different leading verbs influenced participants’ speed estimates.
“Smashed” led to the highest average speed estimate (40.5 mph).
“Contacted” led to the lowest average speed estimate (31.8 mph).
Conclusion:
The choice of leading verb in the question influenced participants’ speed estimates, demonstrating the impact of schemas on memory recall. The use of more intense verbs influenced participants to perceive higher speeds in the accidents.
Albarracin et al 2009
Aim:
To assess the effectiveness of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) in predicting condom use behavior.
Procedure:
Meta-analysis of 42 published articles, comprising 96 data sets.
Examined the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms, and condom use.
Results:
Supported the TRA’s predictions.
Attitudes and subjective norms significantly influenced behavioral intentions for condom use.
Positive attitudes towards condom use and perceived social pressure from important others were associated with stronger intentions to use condoms.
Conclusion:
The findings demonstrate the applicability of the TRA in predicting condom use behavior. Positive attitudes and subjective norms play crucial roles in shaping individuals’ behavioral intentions and decisions regarding condom use.
Loftus and Palmer exp 1 & 2
Aim:
Loftus and Palmer conducted two experiments to investigate the effects of leading questions on memory reconstruction.
Experiment 1:
Participants watched traffic accident films and were asked about the speed of the vehicles.
The critical question contained different verbs (“hit,” “smashed,” “collided,” “bumped,” or “contacted”).
Results showed that the choice of verb influenced participants’ speed estimates, indicating memory reconstruction based on question wording.
Experiment 2:
Participants were asked about broken glass in the films.
Different groups were exposed to the verbs “smashed,” “hit,” or no verb (control group).
Participants exposed to the verb “smashed” were more likely to report seeing broken glass, even when it was not present.
This highlights the reconstructive nature of memory, as misleading information influenced participants’ recollection.
Overall, the study demonstrates the malleability of memory and how suggestive questions can alter individuals’ recollection of past events.
Tversky and Kahneman (1986)
Conducted a study to examine how the framing of information influences decision-making.
Method:
College students were presented with hypothetical scenarios and asked to make choices.
Two framing conditions were used: positive frame and negative frame.
In the positive frame, options were presented emphasizing potential gains.
In the negative frame, options were presented emphasizing potential losses.
Results:
Participants exhibited risk aversion in the positive frame, preferring options that offered certain gains.
In the negative frame, participants showed a tendency to take risks, selecting choices that offered a chance to avoid potential losses, even if the outcomes were uncertain.
Conclusion:
The study demonstrated that the way information is framed can significantly impact decision-making.
Positive framing promotes risk aversion, while negative framing encourages risk-taking behavior.
These findings highlight the role of cognitive biases in decision-making processes and suggest that people’s choices are influenced by the framing of information.
Brown and Kulik 1977
Aim:
The aim of the study was to investigate the formation of flashbulb memories in response to surprising and personally significant events, specifically public figure deaths.
Procedure:
40 black and 40 white American male participants were selected.
Participants completed a questionnaire that focused on the deaths of public figures (e.g., JFK, Martin Luther King Jr.) and the death of someone they personally knew.
The questionnaire included questions about various details of the events, such as location, company, activity, source of information, emotions, importance, and frequency of discussions.
Results:
Approximately 90% of the participants recalled detailed information about the events.
Participants had particularly vivid memories of the death of someone they knew personally. Personally significant events.
A difference was observed in the formation of flashbulb memories for public figure assassinations based on personal relevance.
75% of black participants reported having flashbulb memories of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
In contrast, only 33% of white participants reported similar flashbulb memories for that event.
Berry’s 1967
The aim was to measure the level of conformity in hunting and fishing societies (individualistic) compared to agricultural societies (collectivistic) using a modified version of the Asch Paradigm.
Procedure:
Two cultures were selected: Temne (rice farming society), Inuit (hunting and fishing society)
Each group consisted of participants living traditionally and those in transition with exposure to Western culture.
Participants were shown a set of lines and asked to match the line below that closely resembled the line on top.
In subsequent trials, participants were given hints about what others in their culture believed about the correct line.
The researcher recorded the number of lines participants deviated from the correct response.
Results:
The Temne, a collectivistic culture, displayed a higher rate of conformity when told what other Temne believed, even if it was incorrect.
The Inuits, an individualistic culture, showed a lower rate of conformity
No significant differences were found within groups based on traditional or Western exposure.
Fagot 1978
Aim:
Fagot (1978) aimed to investigate parental behaviors towards boys and girls and understand the socialization of sex roles in young children.
Method:
The sample consisted of families with children aged 20 to 24 months, including both boys and girls.
Observations were conducted over several weeks, with multiple observations completed for each family. Two observers were used to ensure reliability.
Checklist: Observers used a checklist to note child behaviors and parental reactions during the observations.
Results:
Parents showed differential behaviors towards boys and girls. Boys were more likely to be left alone, while girls received more positive responses during certain activities.
Girls received more positive responses for playing with dolls, while boys received more criticism during certain physical activities.
Parents reacted more favorably to children when engaged in behaviors aligned with their own gender.
Parents showed differential responses to boys and girls when they asked for help.(more positive responses for girls)
