Psychology Studies

Caspi et al (2003)

- "5-HTT Alleles and Depression" - TOPIC: Biological/Diathesis-Stress Explanations of Depression/Epigenetics - AIM: To investigate the role that gene mutation and epigenetics may play in major depressive disorder/To determine whether these is evidence for a gene-environment interaction for a mutation of the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTT - 847 New Zealand 26 y/o that had been assessed for mental health every other year until they were 21. - 3 Groups: (1) Two short 5-HTT alleles. (2) One short and one long allele. (3) Two long alleles. (Roughly 43% of participants had the shorter alleles, the mutation) - Participants filled in a "Stressful life events" questionnaire which asked them about the frequency of 14 financial/employment/health/relationship stressor events between ages 21-26. - Participants were also assessed for depression. - RESULTS: Participants with one or more short alleles demonstrated more symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation in response to stressful life events, the effect was strongest for those with three or more stressful life events. Simply inheriting the gene was not enough to lead to depression, but the genes' interaction with stressful life events increased the likelihood of developing depression. - EVALUATION: (+) Very large sample size. (+) Applicability of this study: preventative measures for people with the gene mutation etc. (+) Holistic as acknowledges both biological and environmental factors in depression. (-) Only New Zealand 26 y/o, lack population validity. (-) Implications: Patients with depression finding out they don't have the gene mutation or people finding out they do have the mutation and developing self-fulfilling prophecy. (-) Only correlational. (-) Assumes that serotonin is associated with depression. (-) Information about life-events was self-reported: could be the salience of the negative life events that play a role in depression rather than the events themselves i.e. people who recall negative events more easily are more likely to develop depression than those who are more resilient.

Talaricco and Rubin (2003)

- "9/11 Memories" - TOPIC: Emotion and Memory/Flashbulb Memory Theory - AIM: To test the durability, accuracy and vividness of 'flashbulb memories' - 54 students from Duke University were interviewed the day after the 9/11 attack and asked to record details about how and when they heard the news. - Follow up sessions where they were asked to recall the same information. - 3 Conditions: (1) 7 days before follow up. (2) 42 days before follow up. (3) 224 days before follow up. - RESULTS: There was a marked decrease over time in the number of consistent details recalled, this pattern was the same for the 'flashbulb' memory as for a more 'everyday' memory. There was also an increase in the number of inconsistent details recalled over time, the 'flashbulb' memory was equally vulnerable to distortion as was the 'everyday' memory. Interestingly, participants' perception of how vivid and certain their 'flashbulb' memory were was much higher than that for the 'everyday' memory. - EVALUATION: (-) Fairly small sample size. (-) Ethical concerns of conducting interviews on a sensitive topic the day after it happened. (-) Participants may have perceived the 9/11 memory as more vivid due to the constant exposure to details through media/storytelling, rather than emotion.

Langer and Abelson (1974)

- "A patient by any other name" - TOPIC: Clinical Bias/Confirmation Bias/Labelling - AIM: To test the effect of existing diagnosis on subsequent diagnosis - 40 clinical psychologists from three schools of psychiatry (Stony Brook, Yale and NYU) viewed a video of a young man being interviewed - In the video, the young man discussed 'complex and ambiguous' aspects of his life including challenges in work and in his personal life - 2 Conditions: (1) Psychologists were told that the young man was a job applicant. (2) Psychologists were told that the young man was a patient. - Participants completed a questionnaire regarding the young man including a broad, open-ended clinical assessment of him. Their responses were analysed to generate an overall score for their assessment of the level of adjustment for the young man: 1 (very disturbed) to 10 (very well-adjusted) - RESULTS: The 'patient' label resulted in a clinical assessment which was more disturbed. 'Patient': 5.98/4.80/2.40. 'Job applicant': 6.26/6.52/5.88. - EVALUATION: (+) They used and compared three schools of psychiatry, increasing population validity. (+) The use of ordinal data allows for comparison. (+) The use of a video as opposed to a vignette. (-) Fairly small sample size. (-) Despite using a video, the task is still kind of artificial, reducing ecological validity.

Ishizawa and Jones (2016)

- "Acculturation and Obesity in Asian Migrants to USA" - TOPIC: Acculturation / Unhealthy Assimilation (when the health of migrants converges to a less healthy new culture norm) as part of Berry's (2008) model - AIM: To compare obesity rates between second and third generation Asian migrants in US and identify potential moderating factors of developing obesity - Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adult Health, this study investigated the linkages between acculturation, neighbourhood characteristics, and obesity among young adults - Included the potential for residing in an immigrant neighbourhood, to mediate the adverse effects of low neighbourhood socioeconomic conditions on obesity - RESULTS: The study found that 2nd and 3rd generation migrants had a higher level of obesity than 1st generation migrants or individuals from their original culture. Living in a neighbourhood with high Asian migrant density and households that retained their original language acted as buffers against the unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. - EVALUATION: (+) Face validity of the model as it seems to work in many cases, both describing attitudes and allowing prediction of the same. The choice of a particular acculturative strategy reflects the attitude that an individual has towards their non-dominant culture of origin and towards the other dominant culture. (-) The study is correlational, not causal. (-) There are risks of individual differences among the Asian migrants studied. (-) Berry's model is not applicable to individuals who belong to more than two culture

Berry (2006)

- "Acculturative Strategies and Stress" - TOPIC: Acculturative Stress - AIM: To determine if there is a correlation between strategies for adapting to cultural change and acculturative stress - A large international study of the acculturation and adaptation of immigrant youth (aged 13 to 18 years) who are settled in 13 societies (N= 5,366), as well as a sample of national youth (N= 2,631) - The study was guided by 3 core questions: (1) How do immigrant youth deal with the process of acculturation? (2) How well do they adapt? (3) Are there important relationships between how they acculturate and how well they adapt? - RESULTS: Integration correlates with low stress levels -- individuals can retain their own original cultural sense of identity whilst adopting some new cultural beliefs/behaviours and integrating some elements of the new culture into their identity, resulting in the best psychological and social adaptations. Marginalisation correlates with high stress levels -- individuals do not feel a sense of belonging anywhere and does not identify with either culture, so their social identity is largely compromised. Assimilation and separation correlate with some degree of stress -- but those with poor new culture language skills and few relationships with the new culture had the poorest adaptation experience. - EVALUATION: (+) Extremely large sample size. (+) Natural experiment (no variables manipulated) so high ecological validity. (+) Important link to Social Identity Theory. (-) Correlational not causal.

Mendel et al (2011)

- "Alzheimer's Vignettes" - TOPIC: Clinical Bias/Validity of Diagnosis - AIM: To test the possibility of clinical bias in psychiatrists and medical students - 75 psychiatrists and 75 medical students reviewed an Alzheimer's case vignette and decide if the patient had Alzheimer's disease or depression. - The vignette was written to encourage the inaccurate diagnosis of depression - Participants could then choose and review up to 12 extra pieces of information (which indicated which diagnosis each extra piece of information might support) before making a final diagnosis - RESULTS: 73 out of 75 psychiatrists and 71 out of 75 gave an initial, inaccurate diagnosis of depression. After reviewing information, 31 psychiatrists and 27 medical students sustained their initial incorrect diagnosis - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size of 150. (+) The option of extra information emulates the process of a doctor getting to know the patient, increasing validity as opposed to just reviewing a case vignette. (-) Low ecological validity due to the artificiality of the experiment.

Strack and Mussweiler (1997)

- "Anchoring Bias" - TOPIC: System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Reliability of Thinking and Decision Making - AIM: To test the influence of anchoring bias on decision making - 69 German undergraduates were recruited from the university canteen at lunchtime; they were asked if they would take part in a general knowledge test about how old Mahatma Gandhi was when he died. - Participants were asked to make a comparative judgment about something, this question acts as the anchor. The anchors were either high or low, plausible or implausible. - 4 Conditions: (1) Low Implausible, 9. (2) High Implausible, 140. (3) Low Plausible, 64. (4) High Plausible, 79. - Participants were then asked to estimate how old Gandhi was when he died. - RESULTS: Anchor 9 = Estimate 50. Anchor 140 = Estimate 99.6. Anchor 64 = Estimate 67.9. Anchor 79 = Estimate 67. - EVALUATION: (+) The use of Mahatma Gandhi as the target information, as he is well-known enough by Germans but not well-known enough that they would know when he died. (+) Low demand characteristics as it was passed off as a general knowledge test. (+) Applicability: Advertising. (-) Fairly small sample size.

Rosenhan (1971)

- "Being Sane in Insane Places" - TOPIC: Clinical Bias/Validity of Diagnosis - AIM: To test the possibility that confirmation bias could lead to misdiagnosis - A quasi-experimental study with an element of observation, no clear IV or DV - 8 perfectly sane 'pseudo-patients' arranged an appointment to see a doctor at one of twelve psychiatric institutions. - Participants reported hearing voices saying "empty", "hollow" and "thud but all other details provided were accurate with no indication of abnormality - If they were admitted to hospital, participants would then state that they were no longer hearing voices and behave in a normal manner at all times, keeping detailed notes of their experiences. - RESULTS: All 8 pseudo-patients were admitted, almost always with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. None were ever recognised by hospital staff as sane. Most cases were eventually released with a note of 'paranoid schizophrenia -- in remission' on their medical record. The duration of hospital stay ranged from 7-52 days with a mean of 19 days. In at least 3 cases the note-taking was recorded as abnormal behaviour. Interestingly, other patients were quick to notice that the pseudo-patients were unwell: for the first 3 admissions, 35 out of 118 patients voiced the opinion that the pseudo-patient was 'not crazy' and was a journalist or a professor. - EVALUATION: (+) Very high ecological validity as this was conducted in real psychiatric institutions, reflecting what happens in the real world. (+) High applicability/relevance as it shows the ethical consequences of misdiagnosis -- schizophrenia misdiagnosis on medical record, being held in a ward for 7-52 days. (-) Ethical considerations. (-) The false reports of hearing voices raises questions about the internal validity: participants lied about symptoms so a misdiagnosis would kind of be inevitable?

Buss (1989)

- "Big Questionnaire Study" - TOPIC: Evolution/Sexual Selection/Sexual Dimorphism/Evolutionary Explanation of Relationship Formation - AIM: To test the predictions of sexual selection for mate choice in humans. - This very large questionnaire study involved participants from 37 different cultural groups in 33 different countries. - Participants completed a survey which collected demographic information as well as asking them to express preferences for a variety of qualities in potential mates including the target characteristics: good looks, ambition, good financial prospects, and age difference. - RESULTS: Males expressed a greater preference for 'good looks' than females in 34/37 cultures. Females expressed a greater preference for 'ambition' than males in 29/37 cultures. Females expressed a greater preference for 'financial prospects' than males in 36/37 cultures. Males expressed a preference for younger females and females expressed a preference for older males in 37/37 cultures. - EVALUATION: (+) Very large sample with 37 cultures from 33 countries, increasing population validity. (+) This also shows that sexual dimorphism is quite universal, supporting the evolutionary theory. (-) Results could have been caused by societal expectations rather than evolution. (-) Results could have been skewed by social desirability bias. (-) As with all evolutionary approaches, the study cannot account for LGBT+ couples or couples not looking to have children.

Kendler et al (2006)

- "Big Swedish Twin Study" - TOPIC: Genetic Etiology of MDD / Influence of Genetics on Behaviour / Twin Studies - AIM: To test gender differences in the heritability of depression using a very large sample of monozygotic/identical (MZ) and dizygotic/fraternal (DZ) twins - Retrospective study in which 15,493 pairs of MZ and DZ twins were identified from the Swedish Twin Registry - The twins completed a computerised data collection system CIDI-SF (Composite International Diagnostic Interview - Short Form) which screens for lifetime incidence of unipolar depression - 5 Zygosity types were identified for analysis - All participants were given full details of the purpose of the research before consenting to take part - RESULTS: Concordance Rates for Female MZ twins = 0.44, Female DZ twins = 0.16, Male MZ twins = 0.31, Male DZ twins = 0.11, Male-Female DZ twins = 0.11. Results clearly showed an increased concordance rate for depression amongst MZ twins relative to DZ twins. Subsequent analysis estimated the heritability of depression to be 42% in females and 29% in males. Interestingly, concordance rates for male-female DZ twins were significantly lower than predicted based on data for female DZ and male DZ twins. - EVALUATION: (+) Very large sample size. (+) Ethics, they were given full details. (-) Fully informed consent might give rise to demand characteristics. (-) Self-reported data may not be fully accurate. (-) Genetic similarity or environmental similarity?

Gloaguen et al (1998)

- "CBT or Antidepressants or Placebo" - TOPIC: CBT/Treatment of Depression - AIM: To compare the efficacy of CBT as compared to no treatment, (placebo or 'waiting list) and the use of anti-depressant medication. - Meta-analysis of 28 studies which were assessed for homogeneity. 17 studies compared CBT and AD while 20 compared CBT and no treatment. 8 studies compared relapse rates in AD and CBT. - RESULTS: CBT was significantly better (29%) than no treatment, but homogeneity of studies was low. CBT was significantly more effective (15%) than antidepressants and homogeneity of studies was high. In 5 out of 8 studies, relapse rate was significantly higher for patients on AD than those on CBT, with only one study suggesting higher relapse rate for CBT. - EVALUATION: (+) Meta-analysis gives very large sample size. (+) Homogeneity was assessed. (-) Ethics of giving depressed patients no treatment.

Keller et al (2008)

- "CBT, Antidepressants, or Combination" - TOPIC: CBT/Treatments of Depression - AIM: To compare the efficacy of CBT alone compared with anti-depressant alone and a combination of both. - 681 patients with at least 2 years of MDD were recruited as a purposive sample - Following a 2 week drug-free period, patients were assessed for initial depression severity and randomly allocated to one of 3 groups for a 12 week trial period - 3 Conditions: (1) CBT. (2) Antidepressant Nefazodone. (3) Combination of CBT and Nefazodone. - Depression severity was recorded every week using the HRSD (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression), patients with a score lower than 15 were regarded as having a significant positive response. - RESULTS: 52% of CBT group had positive response, 55% of AD group had positive response, 85% of combined group had positive response. AD showed a faster rate of improvement than CBT but this difference disappeared after 6 weeks. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size. (-) Demand characteristics (-) Ethically questionable to have a 2 week drug free period.

Luby (2013)

- "Children's Hippocampus and Amygdala" - AIM: To investigate how volume of brain areas are affected/mediated by stressful life events and caregiver support. - TOPIC: Neuroplasticity/Localisation/Gene-Environment Interaction - Researchers followed 145 children in a 10 year study - The children were socially, cognitively and behaviourally assessed each year in addition to having MRI scans - Stressful life events and care giver support was measured - RESULTS: Poverty was associated with less white and grey matter, as well as smaller hippocampus and amygdala volume, demonstrating that poverty in early childhood impacts brain development. However, this effect was mediated by a supportive caregiver environment. - EVALUATION: (+) Practical applications for parental training. (+) Raising awareness about the impacts of poverty. (+) Fairly large sample size and longitudinal study. (-) Low population validity probably -- what about cultures where poverty is the norm? (-) High risk of individual differences in the children. (-) Risk to internal validity if social desirability bias causes false reports of caregiver support.

Zhang et al (2002)

- "Chinese Taoist Cognitive Psychotherapy (CTCP)" - TOPIC: CTCP/Culture and Treatment/Treatment of Anxiety - AIM: To compare the efficacy of CTCP alone compared with a benzodiazepine alone and a combination of both as treatment for Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). - 143 Chinese patients with Generalised Anxiety Disorder were recruited and randomly allocated to one of 3 conditions. - 3 Conditions: (1) CTCP alone. (2) BZ alone. (3) Combination of CTCP and BZ. - Choice and dose of BZ varied according to the severity of the patient's condition - CTCP along and Combination patients attended weekly, hour-long sessions for one month followed by twice monthly hour long sessions for a further 5 months - Symptom scores were measured at the start, after one month and after 6 months. - RESULTS: Only patients in the BZ (113.8 to 46.7) and combined (103 to 53.6) conditions demonstrated a significant reduction in symptoms after 1 month. CTCP patients went from 90.7 to 88.1 after 1 month. Only patients in the CTCP (90.7 to 49.3) and combined (103 to 47.2) conditions demonstrated a significant reduction after 6 months. The symptoms in BZ patients increased from 46.7 at 1 month to 99.6 at 6 months. - EVALUATION: (+) Naturalistic as these are real patients with real symptoms attending treatment. (+) Fairly large sample size. (+) Measuring the symptoms after 1 month and again after 6 months offers greater insight into the efficacy of treatment. (-) Risk of demand characteristics. (-) Ethics of manipulating patients' treatments as opposed to letting them choose. (-) Ethics of using BZ -- addictive in the longterm.

Geiselman and Fisher (1986)

- "Cognitive Interview VS Standard Interview" - TOPIC: Reliability of a Cognitive Process(Memory)/Eyewitness Testimony/Cognitive Interview - AIM: To investigate the effectiveness of the cognitive interview vs a standard interview in eliciting accurate memory recall in a non-student population - 51 non-student volunteers were recruited via newspaper advertisement - Participants viewed police training films of violent crimes and were then interviewed 48 hours later by one of 9 experienced male law-enforcement professionals - Each interviewer would conduct three interviews - 2 Conditions: (1) Questioned using a cognitive interview. (2) Questioned using a standard police interview - RESULTS: The cognitive interview produced 17% more correct items recalled. The average number of correct items gathered across three interviews conducted by the same person was analysed: For Cognitive Interview: 39.2, 40.6, 40.4. For Standard Interview: 32.8, 37.5, 37.5. - EVALUATION: (+) Law-enforcement professionals were used, increasing ecological validity. (+) Evidence of order effects in the average number of correct items gathered across three interviews by the same person. (-) Relatively small sample size. (-) Task is artificial -- participants may not have paid attention to the video in comparison to real eyewitnesses of real crimes.

Kulkofsky et al (2011)

- "Culture and Flashbulb Memory" - TOPIC: Culture and Behaviour/Cultural Dimensions - AIM: To investigate how culture might affect flashbulb memories - 275 adults were recruited from five countries: China (61), Germany (65), Turkey (48), UK (50), USA (50). - Participants were asked to recall important public events from their lifetime as well as if they remembered first hearing about it. - If they did, they were asked the where, when, how, what, who questions - Participants were then asked to rate factors such as the extent of national importance and personal involvement with each of the flashbulb events - RESULTS: Found that culture does moderate flashbulb memories. Participants from China reported significantly fewer flashbulb memories. Participants from Turkey reported significantly most flashbulb memories. The perceived personal importance and emotion of an event predicted the occurrence of a flashbulb memory in all groups except China. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size. (-) Social desirability bias of Chinese participants: collectivist cultures might be less likely to actually report personal relevance, while it may actually predict the occurrence of flashbulb memories in real life.

Lee et al (2010)

- "Dang-ki" - TOPIC: Dang-ki/Treatment and Culture - AIM: To explore the effectiveness of dang-ki in a Singaporean population and understand why dang-ki is effective. - Opportunity sample of 21 patients waiting in line for a dang-ki consultation at one of three shrines in Singapore agreed to take part in this ethnographic interview. - 4 Phases: (1) Pre-healing interview before the consultation and identified the patients' perceived problems as well as their expectations of dang-ki. (2) Overt observation in which the researcher observed the consultation. (3) Post-healing interview immediately after consultation and explored how successful and why. (4) Follow up interview to triangulate data. - Data was analysed using inductive content analysis (a process applied to qualitative data to allow interpretation through the identification of broad themes which emerge from qualitative data) - RESULTS: 15 out of 21 felt that the consultation was effective. A consistent theme was a shared belief that success was dependent on the fact that the dang-ki was able to understand the cause of their problem and suggest realistic interventions which patients agreed would lead to recovery. In some cases, patient response seems to have included an increased ability to accept the problem rather than an ability to change it, but patients reported feeling better as a consequence and regarded the consultation as successful. - EVALUATION: (+) Naturalistic setting of interviews. (+) Use of triangulation. (-) Risk of social desirability bias as patients may report the consultation as successful even if it wasn't. (-) Low population validity.

Joiner et al (1999)

- "Depression and Exam Grades" - TOPIC: Etiology of Depression, Beck, Diathesis Stress Model - AIM: To test the predictive value of a diathesis stress approach to Beck's cognitive theory of depression. - 119 undergrad students participated in this prospective survey study - Completed surveys to measure dysfunctional negative thinking (via DAS) and depressive symptoms (via BDI) 2 weeks before and 2 days after receiving their mid-term grades. - Student grades were classed as 'high' or 'low' and the effect of grades on depressive symptoms was compared for students with either high DAS or low DAS - RESULTS: Showed that students with a high DAS were far more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms, bit only if their exam result was poor. Students with a low DAS score were relatively unaffected by the nature of their result. - EVALUATION: (+) Applicability: support to students with high DAS and low grades could be useful for schools and universities. (+) High ecological validity as no variables were manipulated. (-) Low population validity as all participants were undergrads. (-) Potential risk of social desirability bias in self-reported data.

Parker et al (1996)

- "Depression in Malaysian-Chinese vs. Australian-Caucasians" - TOPIC: Culture and Diagnosis/DSM - AIM: To test the idea that Chinese people will present depression as somatic symptoms rather than the emotional symptoms associated with DSM-5 - 50 Malaysian-Chinese patients and 50 Australian-Caucasian patients diagnosed with unipolar depression completed a questionnaire regarding their symptoms - Questionnaire had two types of questions: (1) Assessing frequency and severity of 'mood and cognitive symptoms', such as loss of self-esteem, helplessness and guilt. (2) Assessing frequency and severity of somatic symptoms associated with Chinese patients with depression generated through discussion with Singaporean doctors who work with Chinese patients, such as shortness of breath, headaches and chest heaviness. - RESULTS: Malaysian-Chinese patients were significantly more likely to report somatic symptoms: hypersomnia, loss of weight, chest pain and an inability to breathe compared to Australian-Caucasian patients. Malaysian-Chinese patients were significantly less likely to report cognitive symptoms: helplessness/hopelessness, sadness, guilt, feeling bad about oneself, feeling dazed, poor concentration and an inability to laugh - EVALUATION: (+) The significant difference was tested using a chi-square test. (+) Fairly large sample size. (+) High applicability and relevance as it shows that depression presents itself differently in different cultures (a limitation of DSM). (-) Symptoms are self-reported, lowers internal validity. (-) The fact that they were still diagnosed with depression anyway shows that DSM does not always have to be used, so why are they downplaying the validity of diagnosis?

Lyubomirsky et al (1998)

- "Dysphoria, Rumination and Distraction" - TOPIC: Rumination / Etiology of Depression / Interaction between Thinking and Emotion - AIM: To test the effect of rumination on recall of negative and positive events in dysphoric and non-dysphoric participants STUDY 1 - 72 volunteers from a USA university were told that they were taking part in a study on "imagination" and assessed for dysphoria - 38 were identified as dysphoric, 34 were identified as non-dysphoric - 2 Conditions, half of the participants (dysphoric and non-dysphoric) in each: (1) Rumination condition -- manipulated to ruminate by being asked to 'think about' 45 items corresponding to rumination e.g. how they feel. (2) Distraction condition -- asked to think about mood-irrelevant things e.g. Mona Lisa. - All participants were then given 5 minutes to recall events from their lives and asked to rate how positive or negative each memory was - RESULTS: Positivity rating of memories for Dysphoric+Rumination = 0.03, Dysphoric+Distraction = 0.98, Non-dsyphoric+Rumination = 2.83, Non-dysphoric+Distraction = 2.77. STUDY 2 - 72 volunteers from a USA university were assessed for dysphoria - 39 were identified as dysphoric, 33 were identified as non-dysphoric - Participants were exposed to the rumination or distraction condition in the same way as in study 1 - All participants completed a memory task where they had to rate how frequently 20 events happened to them -- 10 of them had been previously rated as positive while the other 10 had been rated as negative - RESULTS: Frequency of positive and negative events respectively for Dysphoric+Rumination = 3.64/3.90, Dysphoric+Distraction = 4.22/3.49, Non-dysphoric+Rumination = 4.43/3.04, Non-dysphoric+Distraction = 4.44/2.88. - EVALUATION: (+) Study 1 had 48F+24M participants while Study 2 had 39F+33M participants so there was an improvement in population validity. (+) Individual differences in cognitive style was accounted for by assessing for dysphoria. (+) Deception by omission reduces risk of demand characteristics, albeit slightly ethically questionable. (+) Applications in treating or preventing depression by preventing rumination. (-) Small sample size, only USA participants. (-) Individual differences in terms of how much participants care about memories and how positivity/negativity is subjective.

Gelstein (2011)

- "Emotional Tears" - TOPIC: Pheromones / Evolution - AIM: To determine if female human tears may serve to send pheromonal messages to human males, because mouse tears have been found to deliver pheromonal messages -- the tears of male mice serve to make other males more aggressive towards them - Female 'donors' watched sad films to cry and their tears were collected - 24 male participants then had a swab placed under their nose - 2 Conditions: (1) Swab soaked in tears. (2) Swab soaked in saline solution. - Double blind, repeated measures design with counterbalancing - Blood tests were taken to measure testosterone levels - RESULTS: Testosterone levels in males were significantly reduced after exposure to the tear-soaked swab, but not after exposure to the control saline-soaked swab. - EVALUATION: (+) Double blind design reduces experimenter bias and demand characteristics. (+) Repeated measures design eliminates individual differences while counterbalancing reduced the risk of demand characteristics skewing results. (-) While the results suggest that female tears prompt surrounding males to behave in a less masculine way aiding in sympathy/empathy, this is NOT what the research actually measured -- to what extent does this change in testosterone levels manifest as actual behavioural changes? (-) Small sample size.

Chou and Edge (2014)

- "Facebook and Social Comparison" - TOPIC: Social Media and Emotion / Social Comparison Orientation - AIM: To test the influence of the availability heuristic on what Facebook users remember and whether or not this influences their perception of other people. - 425 undergraduates at an American university (random selection) completed a survey including a 10 point Likert scale allowing them to indicate how strongly they agreed with statements such as "many of my friends have a better life/are happier than me". - They also indicated the intensity of their Facebook usage, their duration as a Facebook user, the time spent actually in company of friends and the number of friends on Facebook they did not know personally. - RESULTS: Participants who used Facebook most intensely were more likely to agree that 'other people are happier than me'. Participants who spent most time out with friends in the real world were very unlikely to feel that 'other people are happier than me' or 'many of my friends have a better life than me'. Interestingly, participants who reported having a larger number of stranger Facebook friends were very likely to agree that 'many of my friends have a better life than me' but did not feel that other people were happier. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size of 425, from a variety of courses to increase population validity. (-) Artificial task of survey + self-reported data may not actually reflect the real world due to social desirability bias/demand characteristics. Also, people can lie.

Loftus and Pickrell (1995)

- "False Memories" - TOPIC: Reconstructive Memory/Reliability of Memory - AIM: To test the possibility that the reconstructive nature of memory will allow the creation of false memories. - 24 participants were recruited as well as a close family member for each participant. - Family member provided three genuine stories regarding the participants' early childhood which were compiled into a booklet with one additional false story added by the researchers. - The false story = lost in shopping mall, cried, found by an old woman, reunited with family. - 3 Phases: (1) Participants were sent the booklet and asked to record the details they could remember about all four stories. (2) Participants were interviewed 1-2 weeks after completing the booklet and asked to recall details of the four events. (3) A second interview conducted in the same way but including a full debrief. - RESULTS: 29% of the participants 'remembered' the false event when they completed the booklet, with 25% continuing to remember the false event during both the interviews. Real events were remembered with more detail and clarity but the detail and clarity of the false event increased between the first and second interview. - EVALUATION: (+) Implications of the possibility of 'implanting' false memories into people. (+) Ethics: a debrief was given. (-) Ethics: 25% left the experiment with a new, false memory. (-) Ethics: Might put a strain on the relationship between participant and family member. (-) Fairly small sample size.

Tversky and Kahneman (1981)

- "Framing Effect" - TOPIC: System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Reliability of Thinking and Decision making - AIM: To test the influence of positive and negative frames on decision making. - 307 US undergraduates were recruited and asked to make a decision between one of two options in a hypothetical scenario where they were choosing how to respond to the outbreak of a virulent disease. - 2 Conditions: (1) Positive Frame. "Program A: 200 people will be saved" or "Program B: 1/3 probability that 600 people will be saved and 2/3 probability that no people will be saved". (2) Negative Frame. "Program C: 400 people will die" or "Program D: 1/3 probability that nobody will die and 2/3 probability that 600 people will die." - RESULTS: For the positive frame, 72% chose Program A (certain) while 28% chose Program B (uncertain). For the negative frame, 22% chose Program C (certain) while 78% chose Program D (uncertain). This is when in actual fact all of the options are mathematically equivalent. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size. (-) Artificial task, very low ecological validity.

Chen et al (2014)

- "Gambler's Fallacy" - TOPIC: System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Reliability of Thinking and Decision making - AIM: To test the operation of the gambler's fallacy in real world, high stakes situations. - Meta-analysis of sequences of approvals and rejections of more than 100,000 decisions made by 412 judges over a 6 year period - Asylum hearings in the US in which judges consider applications for political asylum from foreigners claiming they are at risk of persecution in their home nation (high stakes) - RESULTS: There was a 1.5% reduction in the likelihood of granting an approval following one previous approval and a 2.1% reduction following a 'streak' of two approvals in a row. These figures are significant given the large database. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size. (+) Real world application, this finding may have positively impacted asylum hearings by raising awareness. (+) Real world data, high ecological validity. (-) Only in the US, lacks population validity.

Ratcliffe (2007)

- "Gender and Brain Recovery" - TOPIC: Neuroplasticity/Laterality/Gender - AIM: To test the idea that women recover better from brain injury because their functions are not as lateralised (showing dominance of one side of the brain in controlling particular activities or functions) as male brains. - 325 patients with brain trauma were tested for their level of cognitive skills - All had received rehabilitation and were between 16-45 years old when the injury was sustained - RESULTS: Women performed better than men on tests of attention, working memory and language. However, the study did not control for performance prior to injury. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size. (-) No control for performance before injury, so the difference could be due to individual differences rather than gender differences.

Buchan (2011)

- "Global Culture and Cooperation" - TOPIC: Acculturation / Globalisation - AIM: To examine whether identification with a global culture would motivate global cooperation - Using 1,122 participants from a wide range of cultures - RESULTS: Correlations were found between levels of identification with a global community and sharing behaviour which would bring global good. - (+) Large sample size. (+) Wide range of cultures used. (-) Rosenmann, Reese and Cameron (2015) contrasted this finding by highlighting that the shared culture spreading throughout the world as a result of globalisation is not an all-encompassing human culture, but instead a 'globalised western culture' with an emphasis on US/English-speaking culture which differs from the values and traditions of many cultures around the world, excluding them. (-) Correlational, not causal.

Storm et al (2016)

- "Google Search vs. Memory" - TOPIC: Transactive Memory Systems - AIM: To test the idea that successful use of Google to retrieve information makes it more likely that participants would rely on Google in the future rather than recalling information from their own memory. - 60 undergrad volunteers partook in two phases: (1) Eight difficult general knowledge questions. (2) Eight easy general knowledge questions. - 3 Conditions: (1) Internet. In the first phase, told to use Google search. In the second phase, given access to Google but not explicitly. (2) Memory. In the first phase, told to use their memory. In the second phase, given access to Google but not explicitly. (3) Baseline. They did not take part in the first phase. In the second phase, given access to Google but not explicitly. - RESULTS: In the second phase of the experiment, 83% of 'Internet' condition used Google search. 63% of 'Memory' condition used Google search. 65% of 'Baseline' condition used Google search. - EVALUATION: (+) Lab experiment, extraneous variables controlled. (+) Presence of a control group. (+) High applicability given the importance of Google search in the modern world and how this may be decreasing our effort to remember things. (-) Potential flaw (low internal validity) as the 'Memory' condition may have been simply unaware that they could use Google. (-) Relatively low sample size. (-) Low ecological validity due to the artificiality of the task.

Kato et al (2012)

- "Hikikomori and Psychiatrists from Different Cultures" - TOPIC: Culture and Diagnosis/Validity and Reliability of Diagnosis - AIM: To investigate the incidence, diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of hikikomori symptoms in different cultures. - A purposive sample of 239 psychiatrists from 9 different countries: 123 from Japan, 34 from Korea, 22 from Australia, 19 from Taiwan, 9 from Thailand and 10 each from Bangladesh, Iran, India, and USA. - Asked to complete a questionnaire including two clinical vignettes of hikikomori, asked how they would respond if it was a patient in their clinic. - RESULTS: All participants agreed that this kind of cases occurred in their country. Some psychiatrists from Japan, USA, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand accurately diagnosed the cases as hikikomori, most commonly for the teenage vignette. Other inaccurate diagnoses included social phobia, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia and internet addiction. 50% of psychiatrists from Japan felt the cases could not be diagnosed using DSM-4, only 30% felt that they could. Treatment suggestions varied wildly, ranging from no treatment to hospitalisation in a locked ward. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size with large range of cultures. (+) High applicability, relevance and importance: shows the effect of culture in diagnosis and the unreliability and invalidity of diagnosis. Demonstrates the ethical consequences of misdiagnosis e.g. hospitalisation in locked ward for hikikomori is kind of dramatic. (-) Artificial task: psychiatrists are busy people, may not have treated the vignettes as they would a real patient, low ecological validity. (-) Low internal validity: hard to diagnose based on vignettes. (-) Downplays the importance of DSM-4 to some extent.

Hofstede (1980)

- "Hofstede's 6 Cultural Dimensions" - TOPIC: Cultural Dimensions / Culture and Behaviour - AIM: To discover trends in values and behaviours across cultures - Distributed questionnaires to 117,000 IBM employees across 40 countries, asking abut values and behaviours - He discovered certain trends emerging, which he called "dimensions" - He felt that these could be used to simplify and standardise cross-cultural behavioural analysis and understanding - RESULTS: There were originally 4 dimensions, but with later research, there are now 6. Original dimensions: (1) Individualistic-Collectivist. (2) Power-Distance Index. (3) Masculine-Feminine. (4) Uncertainty Avoidance Index. Newer Dimensions: (5) Long term-Short term Orientation. (6) Indulgence-Restraint. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size. (+) High applicability in cross-cultural understanding, especially with the rise in globalisation, important for international cooperation. (-) Reductionist as different subcultures exist within a country's culture, will not reflect everyone's values and behaviours (Ecological fallacy). (-) Dimensions may be expressed differently across cultures -- Triandis (2001) found that Korean collectivism is different from Kenyan collectivism (horizontal vs vertical). (-) None of the dimensions acts in isolation so it is questionable to examine the effect of one dimension when there is multi-dimensional influence. (-) Risk of social desirability bias.

Lemons et al (2015)

- "How the Environment may Affect Gene Expression in Children with Down Syndrome" - TOPIC: Epigenetics/Gene-Environment Interaction - AIM: To determine whether adapting a particular phonological awareness programme to better align with characteristics associated with the behavioural phenotype of Down Syndrome would increase the children's phonological awareness, and learning of letter sounds and words - 5 Children (4 girls and 1 boy) aged 6-8 with down syndrome partook in this repeated measures design experiment with baseline measurements of their phonological awareness as measured using initial administration of the non-adapted phonological awareness test for two weeks. - The primary adaption supporting the learning of letter sounds was teaching an accompanying target word that started with that letter, using a card printed with the letter, the target word, a second word and 2/3 photographs that represented those words. - Students participated in between 24-45 sessions of the adapted test across 15 weeks, measuring their learning of the letter sounds of the first letter of the word, phonological awareness (matching words with their first letter) and learning of target words. - RESULTS: The 4 girls demonstrated a significant improvement while the boy demonstrated a slight improvement in all 3 measures. - EVALUATION: (+) High reliability as there were multiple researchers and observers, resulting in strong inter-observer agreement. (+) Sessions were video-recorded, also increasing reliability. (+) Implications for helping education for children with special needs. (-) Very small sample. (-) Unable to determine if the boy's results was an anomaly or gender-related. (-) The adaptation which led to improvement cannot be identified, flaw in internal validity.

Clarke and Hatfield (1978 and 1982)

- "I've noticed you around campus, I find you very attractive" - TOPIC: Evolution/Sexual Selection/Sexual Dimorphism/Evolutionary Explanation of Relationship Formation - AIM: To assess differences in 'choosiness' shown by men and women when approached by a stranger offering sex. - Opportunity sample of 48 male and 48 female university students - Confederates were placed at numerous points around Florida State University and approached an opposite sex lone participant whom they found genuinely attractive. - They all opened with the scripted line "I've noticed you around campus, I find you very attractive" which was then followed by one of 3 questions: (1) "Would you go out with me tonight?". (2) "Would you come to my apartment tonight?". (3) "Would you go to bed with me tonight?". - RESULTS: Date = 50% agreement from males and females. Apartment = 69% agreement from males and 0-6% agreement from females. Sex = 69-75% agreement from males and 0% agreement from females. - EVALUATION: (+) High ecological validity as it is an actual reflection of what happens in real life. (+) Eliminates demand characteristics as participants did not know it was a study. (+) Results are consistent across the 1978 and 1982 studies, increasing reliability of findings. (-) High risk of social desirability bias because it is seen as desirable for males to be sexually active but promiscuous for females. Also, females are less likely to say yes to a stranger because historically sexual assault is more characteristic of males. (-) Physical attractiveness of confederates may have been a confounding variable. (-) Individual differences of the participants: their perspective on casual sex. (-) Ethical considerations: actual fear from women who have been taught to be weary of men who approach them for sex, confederates getting offended by participants' response.

Cohen (1996)

- "Insult, Aggression, and the Southern Culture of Honour" - TOPIC: Culture and Behaviour/Acculturation and Enculturation - AIM: To test a theory that southern white males in the USA responded differently to threats and insults than northern white males. - A quasi-experimental study at the University of Michigan - Participants were male university students who either grew up in the south or the north of USA - A confederate bumped into the participant and then insulted him by calling him a derogatory name - RESULTS: The northerners were relatively unaffected by the insult but southerners were found to: (1) Think their masculine reputation was threatened. (2) Be more upset, showing elevated levels of cortisol. (3) Be more physically primed for aggression, showing elevated levels of testosterone. (4) Be more cognitively primed for aggression, completing artificial scenarios with more violent endings. (5) Be more likely to engage in aggressive and dominant behaviour. - EVALUATION: (+) Relevance taking into account the history of white supremacy and aggression in the southern 'honour' states. (+) Applicability in enculturation and acculturation. (-) Ethical consideration: participants might have been genuinely hurt/offended by the derogatory name.

Boothby et al (2016)

- "Invisibility Illusion" - TOPIC: System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Reliability of Thinking and Decision making - AIM: To test the existence of the invisibility illusion. - Study 1: 260 participants completed an irrelevant experiment before using a likert scale to respond to a series of questions rating the extent to which they observe others and the extent to which they are observed. - RESULTS: Participants' scores indicate that they believe they observe others more than other people observe others, as well as that they believe they observe others more than they are observed, confirming two aspects of the invisibility illusion. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size. (-) Risk of demand characteristics/social desirability bias when asked about "observation", may not want to come across as self-centred etc. (-) Self-reported data. - Study 2: 130 participants arrived to partake in same-sex dyads and were asked to sit opposite each other in a "waiting room". After 7 minutes, they were taken to separate rooms and randomly assigned to the role of 'observer' or 'target'. 'Observers' were asked to note down everything they observed about the other person while 'targets' described what they expected the observer to have noticed about them. - RESULTS: In 66% of dyads, 'observers' observed, noticed and thought about the target far more than the targets believed would be the case. - EVALUATION: (+) The 'waiting room' lowers demand characteristics as they would not think that the experiment had begun. (+) This procedure may be more valid than that in Study 1 because they are actually writing down things they observed/believe to have been observed rather than self-reporting. (-) There may still be a risk of social desirability bias in the case of 'targets'. (-) Overall, still an artificial task which lowers ecological validity.

Taylor & Brown (1988)

- "Jahoda's criteria" - TOPIC: Normality - AIM: To argue that clinically depressed individuals may have a more accurate view of themselves than healthy individuals who may have a inaccurate, positive self-esteem and self-efficacy, contradicting Jahoda's criteria for ideal mental health - Conducted an extensive meta-analysis. - Positive Illusions: They argued that healthy individuals display an inaccurate view of themselves. Healthy individuals demonstrate better recall for positive facts about themselves than negative facts, dismissing flaws as common problems while identifying character strengths as special/unique. These positive illusions are absent from depressed individuals who seem to have a more accurate view of themselves than healthy people. These positive illusions, despite being inaccurate and contradictory to Jahoda's criteria "accurate perception of oneself", may actually be essential for personal growth and mastery of our environment. We may undertake challenging activities allowing personal growth only because we have an unrealistically optimistic view of our ability to be successful. We may be able to maintain positive relationships with others because of an unrealistically positive view of ourselves and others. - Perception of Control: They argued that healthy individuals often demonstrate an unrealistically positive perception of the world. People often perceive that they have control over situations which are in fact governed by chance, contradicting Jahoda's criteria "accurate perception of the world" of ideal mental health. - EVALUATION: (+) Meta-analysis, large sample size, arguments are founded on a lot of data. (-) Takes away from the fact that Jahoda's 6 criteria are still kind of useful.

Tajfel et al (1971)

- "Klee and Kadinsky" - TOPIC: Social Identity Theory (Social Categorisation) / Discrimination / Minimal Groups - AIM: To investigate if intergroup discrimination would take place based on being put into different groups, hypothesising that categorisation and discrimination operate automatically without any prior prejudice - 48 14-15 y/o boys from Bristol, UK were asked to rate 12 paintings by abstract painters Klee and Kadinsky - They were then randomly allocated into 2 groups and were told that they had preferred either Klee or Kadinsky - They then participated in some tasks requiring them to allocate points in different combinations to boys who were members of their groups or to boys in the other group - Points were converted into cash and the groups could spend the money - RESULTS: When it was simply division of points, the boys typically favoured their in-group, allocating them more points than they did the out-group. In a more complex task in which the out-group stood to gain if the in-group was allocated a high number of points, the boys chose the sacrifice the points to their own group so that the other group could not benefit. - EVALUATION: (+) High level of control, participants were of similar background, lab experiment. (+) Implications for schools and housing to reduce in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination. (-) Prospect of financial gain is a big incentive. (-) Artificiality of the task means that the results might not reflect what would actually happen in a real-world situation, the boys may have seen it as a meaningless game, low ecological validity. (-) Risk of demand characteristics high due to artificiality of the task and controlled lab environment. (-) Sampling bias, 14-15 y/o boys tend to be more competitive, low population validity.

Luminet and Curci (2009)

- "Larger-scale, 9/11 version of Kulkofsy et al" - TOPIC: Culture and FBM/Cultural Dimensions/Social Identity - AIM: To investigate how social identity might affect flashbulb memories - 839 participants from 5 countries (USA, Belgium, Italy, Romania, The Netherlands) completed questionnaires soon after the 9/11 attack and again after a longer period - They recorded information: who/where/what/when, as well as details of the event. - They were also asked to rate their sense of shock, surprise, personal connectedness and emotional response to the event on a 7 point likert scale - RESULTS: Although both US and non-US participants formed flashbulb memories, the process seemed to be different. For US participants, the formation of FBM seems to have been been most significantly linked to an emotional response characterised by surprise or shock (that this could happen to their in-group), not novelty of experiences of similar things happening to their in-group. For the non-US participants, a FBM was more likely following cognitive appraisal of personal relevance (thinking about whether this event has relevance to them) followed by an emotional response characterised by sadness and a cognitive process of rehearsal. - EVALUATION: (+) Very large sample size. (+) Use of Likert scale. (-) Ethical considerations regarding sensitive topic such as 9/11.

Loftus and Palmer (1974) Experiment 2

- "Leading Questions and Broken Glass" - TOPIC: Schema/Reconstructive Memory/Eyewitness Testimony - AIM: To test the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of memory recall (based on the reconstructive nature of memory) - Lab experiment with independent groups design - 150 participants watched a film of a major traffic accident before completing a questionnaire recalling what they had seen. - 3 Conditions: (1) "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" (2) "About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" (3) No question about speed. - One week later, participants returned to answer more questions about the video, including the critical question "Did you see any broken glass?" - RESULTS: 16 out of 50 in the "smashed: condition, 7 out of 50 in the "hit" condition and 6 out of 50 in the control condition saw broken glass. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size of 150. (+) Use of a control condition. (+) Use of independent group design. (+) Better than Experiment 1 in the sense that their ability to estimate speed is irrelevant. (-) Lab experiment, low ecological validity, also, people are more likely to have an emotive response when actually witnessing a major accident. (-) Individual differences as seen in the fact that majority of the people actually did not recall broken glass.

Asch (1951, 1955, 1956)

- "Line-judging Task" - TOPIC: Conformity - AIM: To determine whether people would conform to the answer of the majority even if it was obviously wrong - 50 male participants partook in a line judgment task disguised as a vision test - A naive participant was placed in a room with 7-9 confederates - Each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison (A, B, or C) was most like the target line (the answer was always obvious) - 18 trials altogether, confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 critical trials - There was also a control condition with no confederates - After the experiment, interviews were conducted - RESULTS: For the experimental condition, participants conformed to the incorrect answers on 32% of the critical trials on average, 75% of participants conformed at least once, 25% never conformed. For the control condition, <1% of participants gave the wrong answer. During the interviews, some participants stated that they did not believe their conforming answers were right but did not want to be "peculiar" (Normative Influence) while others states that they really did believe that the group's answers were right (Informational Influence). - EVALUATION: (+) Disguised as a vision test, lowers the risk of demand characteristics. (-) Nevertheless, it is still an artificial task which lowers ecological validity, people may not actually conform in real life situations. (-) Ethical issues: deception and discomfort participants may feel. (-) This was carried out during the Cold War where suspicion was prevalent and it was important to fit in, nonetheless, later repeated studies reported similar findings.

Danelli (2013)

- "Living with Half a Brain" - TOPIC: Neuroplasticity/Localisation - AIM: To investigate if a lone right hemisphere is sufficient. - A case study of a boy, EB, who had one functioning hemisphere. - At the age of 2, a large tumour in his left hemisphere was removed, causing issues with his linguistic ability as this was in the left hemisphere of 95% of right-handed people. - Following this, he underwent a 6 year intensive rehabilitation programme. - At 17 years, he was tested and compared to 'control' participants who had not suffered brain damage. - RESULTS: It appeared that his remaining right hemisphere had compensated for the loss of the left hemisphere and there were only minor issues with grammar processing and speed of oral response to naming objects. During brain scan, there was little difference in processing between EB and control participants. Now in his 20s, EB has regained all previous linguistic ability and there are very few deficits in it now, indicating that hemispheric lateralisation can be compensated by the other hemisphere, even though it is not usually used for certain functions. - EVALUATION: (+) Case study so very detailed and longitudinal. (+) Presence of a control group. (-) Case study so findings cannot be generalised (sample size of only one). (-) Very young brain, Marquez de la Plata (2008) found that brain trauma patients aged 40+ regained less function than younger patients.

McGuire (2000)

- "London Taxi Driver Brains" - TOPIC: Neuroplasticity/MRI Brain Scan Technology/Localisation - AIM: To investigate brains of London taxi drivers and determine if the structure of the hippocampus would be different because prior animal studies had shown the hippocampus to be involved in spatial abilities - MRI brain scans were taken of 16 right-handed healthy male licensed taxi drivers with mean 2 years training and 14.3 years experience - MRI brain scans were also take of control subjects, 50 right-handed healthy male non-taxi drivers - RESULTS: An increased brain matter volume in the brains of taxi drivers as compared to control subjects in the posterior hippocampus. Control subjects had greater volumes of grey matter in the anterior hippocampus. No difference between the groups in terms of the general volume of the hippocampus but there was a significant redistribution of grey matter from the anterior to posterior hippocampus. - Alternative explanation would be that people with larger grey matter volume in posterior hippocampus are naturally predisposed to choose professions depending on navigational skills. To test this, McGuire examined the correlation between hippocampal volume and amount of time spent as a taxi driver. Grey matter volume in the posterior hippocampus correlated positively and significantly with experience as a taxi driver (r = +0.6) and there was a reverse relationship with grey matter volume in the anterior hippocampus (r = -0.6). - EVALUATION: (+) Presence of a control group. (-) Quasi-experiment as IV was not manipulated. (-) Results are merely correlational and do not imply causation. (-) Sample size could be larger.

Waynforth and Dunbar (1995)

- "Lonely Hearts" - TOPIC: Evolution/Sexual Selection/Sexual Dimorphism/Evolutionary Explanation of Relationship Formation - AIM: To test the idea that mate choice in humans reflects the predictions of sexual selection theory for males and females. - Natural experiment which used content analysis to analyse 'Lonely Hearts" advertisements from two national and two local publications - 479 advertisements from men seeking women and 402 advertisements from women seeking men - Advertisements were sorted into age groups (of the seeker) and scored for the frequency with which they mention key terms associated with the following characteristics: physical attractiveness, wealth/status, family commitment, and fidelity. - Data regarding the preferred age difference as well as the number of traits offered and requested by each advertiser was also collected - RESULTS: Men were significantly more likely to offer resources, but women were more likely to request resources. Women were significantly more likely to offer attractiveness, but men were more likely to request attractiveness. Interestingly, men became more demanding as they got older whilst women in the 40-49 age group were far less demanding than younger women. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size. (+) Natural experiment, high ecological validity/what happens in the real world. (-) Does not account for LGBT couples. (-) There's still a risk of social desirability bias when it comes to non-anonymous advertising.

De Martino et al (2006)

- "MRI and Framing effect" - TOPIC: Somatic Marker Hypothesis/Emotion and Decision-making/System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Localisation/fMRI - AIM: To explore the interaction of emotion and the framing effect in a financial decision making task - 20 British undergraduates completed a simple financial decision-making task while brain activity was measured using an fMRI scanner - Information was presented to participants in either the positive frame (a gain) or the negative frame (a loss). The outcome in both frames is in fact the same. - In the positive frame, participants were offered a chance to gamble their £50 (risky) or keep £20 (certain win). Loss aversion predicts that people will prefer the certain option. - In the negative frame, participants were offered a chance to gamble their £50 (risky) or lose £30 (certain loss). Loss aversion predicts that people will prefer the risky gamble option. - RESULTS: Participants were far more likely to choose to gamble in the negative frame (61.6%) than in the positive frame (42.9%) even though the options are exactly the same. fMRI results demonstrated a pattern of activity in the amygdala (a structure in the brain central to emotion) -- participants recorded a significant increase in activity whenever they selected the loss aversion option (certain gain in positive frame or gamble in the negative frame) regardless of the frame in use. - EVALUATION: (+) Use of fMRI prevents demand characteristics from affecting data collected -- participants cannot knowingly control brain activity. (-) Low ecological validity due to artificiality of task. (-) Low population validity.

Torelli et al (2011)

- "McDonald's and Mooncakes" - TOPIC: Globalisation/Bicultural Exposure/Exclusionary Reaction - AIM: To test the effect of bicultural exposure on decision making and also to test the relative importance of system 1 and 2 in these decisions. - 117 Hong Kong Chinese undergraduates - 3 Conditions: (1) American Culture Exposure, shown two advertisements for McDonald's burgers. (2) Chinese Culture Exposure, shown two advertisements for Mooncakes. (3) Bicultural Exposure, shown one of the McDonald's adverts and one of the mooncake adverts. - All participants then rated the 'likability' of the adverts and indicated how strongly they felt both European-Americans and Hong Kong Chinese would agree with statements about the relative influence of individual disposition (characteristic of individualistic cultures) and the situation (characteristic of collectivist cultures) - All participants then completed a 'need for cognition' scale which measures the tendency for individuals to engage system 1 or system 2 when making decisions. - RESULTS: Bicultural exposure participants expected Chinese and American people to have very different beliefs about the importance of disposition and situation -- these beliefs were much less evident in the other conditions. However, bicultural exposure only had a significant effect on those participants identified as having a low 'need for cognition' (tending to rely on system 1). Participants with a high need for cognition were not influenced by bicultural exposure and like other participants, continued to believe that preferences for disposition or situation would not be dependent on culture. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size of 117. (+) The use of the 'need for cognition' scale in order to identify this potential confounding variable. (+) The implications of globalisation. (-) Low population validity. (-) Low ecological validity due to artificiality of tasks. (-) Potential of social desirability bias, not wanting to seem xenophobic.

Smith and Bond (1996)

- "Meta-analysis of Asch's Line-Judging Tasks" - TOPIC: Individualism-Collectivism and Behaviour / Conformity / Cultural Dimensions / Culture and Behaviour - AIM: To investigate how Individualism-Collectivism affects conformity - A meta-analysis of 133 studies across 17 countries of Asch's experiment - Asch's original experiment: - 50 male participants partook in a line judgment task disguised as a vision test - A naive participant was placed in a room with 7-9 confederates - Each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison (A, B, or C) was most like the target line (the answer was always obvious) - 18 trials altogether, confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 critical trials - There was also a control condition with no confederates - After the experiment, interviews were conducted - RESULTS: Generally speaking, people from more individualist cultures (usually Western) conformed less often than those from more collectivist cultures (usually Eastern, Asian cultures). The conformity identified by Asch and investigated cross-culturally is Normative Conformity, that is when a person conforms to the group norms in order not to be isolated. - EVALUATION: (+) Meta-analysis so very large sample size. (+) Disguised as a vision test, lowers the risk of demand characteristics. (-) Nevertheless, it is still an artificial task which lowers ecological validity, people may not actually conform in real life situations. (-) Ethical issues: deception and discomfort participants may feel. (-) More modern research has called into question the idea of associating individualist cultures with Western societies and collectivist cultures with Asian societies, and also criticised the idea that this degree of individualism or collectivism in a culture directly affects the conformity of individuals to others.

Sullivan et al (2000)

- "Meta-analysis of Family Studies" - TOPIC: Genetic Etiology of MDD / Influence of Genetics on Behaviour / Family Studies - AIM: To identify the risk of MDD in first degree relatives of a proband with this disorder - Meta-analysis of 5 family studies assessing the concordance of probands with MDD and their first degree family members (siblings, parents, children) - Studies met strict criteria to establish high internal validity (e.g. blind assessors) - In all the studies, the risk of MDD in first degree relatives of a proband (with MDD) was compared with the risk of MDD in first degree relatives of control participants (without any psychiatric ill health) - RESULTS: All studies confirmed that first degree relatives of a proband with MDD were significantly more likely to have MDD than the first degree relatives of the controls. The aggregate relative risk was calculated to be 2.84 (the relative of a proband is 2.84 times more likely to have MDD than the relative of a control). This study also analysed the data from twin studies and estimated the influence of genetic factors on MDD to be 31-42%. There was no difference in genetic heritability of MDD between males and females, even though the prevalence of MDD in females is often much higher. - EVALUATION: (+) Implications: Family members of probands should be careful and seek help when needed as their risk is higher. (+) Implications: If genetic heritability is consistent across males and females but the prevalence is higher in females, this means that the environmental risks of MDD to females is higher than males. (+) Meta-analysis so large sample size. (+) Internal validity of included studies assessed. (-) Attributed to genetic heritability but could it be the result of spending time together?

Rosenzweig, Bennett and Diamond (1972)

- "Neuroplasticity in Rats" - TOPIC: Neuroplasticity / Animal Models - AIM: To investigate the effects on rats' brain growth and chemistry of a highly stimulating environment when compared with the effects of an impoverished environment - 3 male rats were chosen from each of 12 litters and randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions - 3 Conditions: (1) One rat remained in the laboratory cage with the rest of the colony -- several rats in an adequate space with food and water always available. (2) One rat was assigned to the 'enriched' environment cage -- 6-8 rats in a large cage furnished with a variety of objects for play. (3) One rat was assigned to the 'impoverished' environment cage -- slightly smaller cage isolated in a separate room in which the rat was placed alone with adequate food and water. - The rats lived in these environments for 4-10 weeks after which they were humanely sacrificed and autopsied. - RESULTS: The brains of the enriched rats were different from the impoverished rats in many ways. The cerebral cortex of the enriched rats was significantly heavier and thicker (the part of the brain that responds to experience and is responsible for movement, memory, learning and sensory input). While there was no significant difference in the number of neurones, the enriched environment produced larger neurones and 50% larger synapses. The brain tissue of the enriched rats also showed higher levels of an enzyme facilitating faster transmission of impulses along neurones. - EVALUATION: (+) Implications -- human children need enriched environments in order for their brains to develop to their fullest potential. (+) The rats were humanely sacrificed. (-) They were sacrificed though. (-) Ethical concerns of leaving a rat alone in a small cage. (-) Questionable if the results are fully applicable to humans.

Sroufe (1983)

- "Non-gender-conforming kids are the least popular" - TOPIC: Enculturation (horizontal) / Cultural Norms - AIM: To explore the nature and importance of gender boundaries as an individual differences construct and to show that gender identity is enculturated - Ratings of gender boundary violation and gender boundary maintenance were made of 47 10-11‐year‐old children participating in a series of summer day camps. - These ratings were supported by videotapes and live observations - Considerable external validation of these individual differences was obtained. - RESULTS: Children low on gender boundary violation and high on boundary maintenance were independently judged by camp counsellors to be socially competent. They also were found to be higher on a friendship variable, based on observation. Those who violated boundary were especially unpopular with peers, based on a child interview. Finally, boundary violation and maintenance were related to attachment history and to early measures of parent‐child generational boundary distortions. - EVALUATION: (+) Naturalistic videotapes and observation in a summer camp, high ecological validity. (+) Usefulness in the context of schools/preventing bullying/promoting acceptance etc. (-) Only in western culture, hard to generalise that this is a cultural norm anywhere else.

Calcagnoli et al (2015)

- "Oxytocin and Rats" - TOPIC: Hormones / Animal Models - AIM: To investigate possible anti-aggressive and pro-social effects of intranasal administration of oxytocin to male rats - 4 cohorts of adult male rats were divided into 2 groups and each group was assigned to either neutral or oxytocin treatment - The rats were then split again into those tested using the Resident Intruder (RI) test and those tested with the Partner-Preference (PP) test - The RI test measures offensive behaviours, social explorative behaviours, non-social behaviours and inactivity - The PP test measures investigation of the partner female, investigation of the new female and inactivity - In both tests, the activity was filmed on behaviour and the duration of each displayed behaviour was expressed as a percentage of the total duration of the test - RESULTS: A single intranasal application of oxytocin changed the behaviour of the rats in the RI test into more positive explorative interaction with the resident invader rat compared to the neutral control group. A single intranasal application of oxytocin strengthened the attention for the female partner in the PP test compared to neutral control group. - EVALUATION: (+) Demonstrates that oxytocin decreases aggression and increases pro-social behaviour. (+) The use of control groups. (-) Ethical concerns for rats.

Fagot (1978)

- "Parent/Child Interaction and Gender Identity" - TOPIC: Enculturation (vertical) / Cultural Norms - AIM: To determine how gender identity is learned and to show that gender identity is enculturated - 24 families, each having only 1 child aged 20-24 months, participated in this series of naturalistic observations of parent/child interactions - Toddlers and their parents were observed in their homes using an observation checklist of 46 child behaviours and 19 reactions by parents - The parent behaviours were categorised as positive, negative, or neutral, and parental reactions to specific child behaviours were examined to determine if the sex of the child or the actual behaviour influenced the type of parental reaction - The researchers wanted to examine the parental reaction when when the behaviour of the child was not "gender appropriate" - RESULTS: Parents reacted significantly more favourably when the child was engaged in gender appropriate behaviour and were more likely to give negative responses to "gender inappropriate" behaviours. Boys were encouraged to be independent and active whereas girls were encouraged to be dependent and passive. Parents' self-report data and the observation of parents' reactions did not correlate highly. - EVALUATION: (+) Naturalistic observations so high ecological validity. (+) Implications of gender identity and how it is learned. (-) Only 24 families in America (western culture), may not be generalisable. (-) Even though it's meant to be "naturalistic observations", the parents' behaviour may be influenced by the presence of the researcher. (-) The study was conducted in 1978, may not be applicable in modern times.

McClintock (1998)

- "Pheromones and Synchronisation of Menstrual Cycle" - TOPIC: Pheromones / Biological Explanation of Behaviour / Evolution - 20 females with regular ovulation cycles participated - 9 'donor females' provided underarm sweat swabs during the follicular stage (before ovulation) and ovulatory stage (during ovulation) of their menstrual cycle. Cotton wool swabs were worn under the donors' arms for 8 hours a day. - These were then used to administer a daily swab under the nose of the participants - A control group of participants was administered with an alcohol swab under the nose every day - Luteinising hormones (which trigger ovulation) and length of menstrual cycle were measured daily with a urine sample - RESULTS: 32% of women in the experimental condition showed no change in their cycle. For the other 68%: Exposure to the follicular stage swab caused a surge in luteinising hormone, advancing ovulation and shortening the cycle. Exposure to the ovulatory stage swab caused a delay in the luteinising hormone, delaying ovulation and extending the cycle. - EVALUATION: (+) Well-controlled as female participants had reliable, regular cycles. (+) Control group used. (+) No risk of demand characteristics as participants cannot manipulate their menstrual cycles. (-) There are a number of factors that influence menstrual cycles that may not have been controllable within the study e.g. stress levels. (-) Pheromones by definition must be present and admitted in the same way by all members of the species but 32% of women showed no change in their cycle -- individual differences? (-) Ethics: while participants gave consent, it is still unpleasant to have underarm sweat wiped under your nose.

Sacchi, Agnoli and Loftus (2007)

- "Photoshopped Pictures of Protests" - TOPIC: Schema/Reconstructive Memory - AIM: To investigate how doctored photographs of past public events (post-event information) affect memory of those events - 187 Italian participants viewed either original images or misleading digitally doctored images depicting the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest and a 2003 Rome protest against the war in Iraq - They subsequently answered a multiple-choice questionnaire about those events - 4 Conditions: (1) 2 original images. (2) 2 doctored images. (3) Original Beijing, Doctored Rome. (4) Original Rome, Doctored Beijing. Independent groups design and the sequence of presentation was counterbalanced. - RESULTS: Viewing the doctored images affected the way participants remembered the events. Participants who viewed the doctored image of the Beijing event estimated a larger number of protesters (as in the doctored image) than those who viewed the original photograph. Participants who viewed the doctored image of the Rome event rated the event as more violent and more negative, and were less inclined to participate in future protests than those who viewed the original photograph. - EVALUATION: (+) Independent groups design. (+) Counterbalancing. (+) Fairly large sample size. (-) Procedure gives rise to a risk to internal validity as participants may have thought they were answering questions about the photographs. (-) High demand characteristics as they would study the images more closely than they would in the real world, even more so if they realised that the images were doctored. This decreases ecological validity. (-) Individual differences: lack of prior knowledge of the actual event.

Paulesu et al (2003)

- "Positron Emission Topography (PET) scans" - TOPIC: Working Memory/Localisation - AIM: To use PET scans to identify neural correlates of the articulatory store and phonological store of the working memory model. - 6 right-handed European males completed a series of tasks while the activity levels in their Brodmann's Area 44 (BA44) and supra-marginal gyri (BA40) were monitored using a PET scan - 2 Conditions: (1) Rhyming. Participants had one second to decide if a letter would rhyme with 'B'. This utilises the articulatory loop (sub-vocal rehearsal system). (2) Memory. Participants saw a series of six consonants that sound different for one second. They were instructed to rehearse the letters silently for two seconds then asked to decide if a single letter had been in the previous six. This utilises both the articulatory loop and the phonological store (short term memory of letters). - RESULTS: The rhyming task increased activity in only the BA44. The memory task increased activity in both the BA44 and the BA40. This suggests that the articulatory loop is localised in the BA44 while the phonological store is localised in the BA40, supporting both theories of localisation and working memory. - EVALUATION: (+) Lab experiment, high internal validity. (+) Use of PET scans increases accuracy of results as it greatly reduces the risk of demand characteristics or observer effects (participants can't force their activity levels to change accordingly). (+) High application for localisation, useful for brain surgery. (+) High application for memory in the context of education. (-) Very small sample size, very low population validity.

Eylon and Au (1999)

- "Power-Distance Index and Behaviour in a Workplace" - TOPIC: Culture and Behaviour / Cultural Dimensions - AIM: To research power distance and empowerment in the workplace as well as the effect of culture on the amount of supervision and management required to maximise work performance - Researchers examined the effects of empowerment on work satisfaction and performance on 135 participants who were MBA students from a Canadian university - Participants were divided into high and low power distance groups based on language and country of origin but the 2 groups were similar in work experience and demographics - Members of the 2 groups were each put through 3 Conditions: (1) Empowered. (2) Disempowered. (3) Control. - RESULTS: All participants were more satisfied when empowered than when disempowered, regardless of the score on the PDI. However, differences were seen in work performance. There was no difference in work performance for low power distance group but the high power distance group did significantly less well in the empowered condition. - EVALUATION: (+) Highly relevant and useful for multi-national companies managing staff from different backgrounds in order to maximise work performance -- place high PDI workers in disempowered situations and low PDI workers in empowered situations. (-) Assigning groups based on language and country of origin may lower internal validity as different subcultures exist within countries.

Glanzer & Cunitz (1966)

- "Primacy and Recency Effect" - TOPIC: Multi-store Model of Memory - AIM: To test the MSM explanation for the occurrence of the serial position curve - Study 1: Male participants were asked to free recall lists of 20 words. 3 Conditions: (1) 3 second gap between words. (2) 6 second gap. (3). 9 second gap. - RESULTS: Primacy effect increased as gap between words increased. Primacy effect refers to the accuracy of recall of words being greater at the start of the list. - Study 2: Similar task. 2 Conditions: (1) Started free recall immediately. (2) Count out loud for 10 seconds before starting free recall. (3) Count out loud for 30 seconds. - RESULTS: Recency effect reduced as delay before starting free recall increased. Recency effect refers to the accuracy of recall of words being greater at the end of the list. - Extension: In Study 1, they added a repetition of the word during the pause before the next word. This had no significant effect on the serial position curve other than the already-demonstrated effect of an increased pause. - EVALUATION: (+) Lab experiment, high internal validity. (+) Applicability of models of memory in the context of education. (-) Low population validity as all participants were male participants taken from the military as an opportunity sample. (-) Lab experiment also means low ecological validity.

Cahill et al (1994)

- "Propanalol, Emotion and Memory" - TOPIC: Flashbulb Memory Theory/Hormones - AIM: To test the effect of of a β-blocker (which blocks adrenaline receptors) on memory for emotional stimuli. - 35 volunteers were given either a placebo (n=15) or propanalol (n=20) before seeing slides with either the neutral or emotional version of a story - 4 conditions: (1) Placebo+Neutral (2) Placebo+Emotional (3) Propanalol+Neutral (4) Propanalol+Emotional - Propanalol is a β-adrenergic receptor antagonist which blocks adrenaline receptors - RESULTS: Participants taking placebo demonstrated much better recall for the emotional story compared to the neutral story. Participants taking propanalol demonstrated no improvement in recall for the emotional story compared to the neutral story. Participants in all four conditions reported the same subjective sense of emotional engagement with the different versions of the story. - EVALUATION: (-) Fairly small sample size, hard to generalise results.

Steele and Aronson (1995)

- "Race and Standardised Tests" - TOPIC: Stereotype Threat/Stereotypes - AIM: To see how stereotype threat (being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group) affects test performance in African Americans - 76 male and female, black and white undergraduates from Stanford university. - 2 Independent Variables: (1) Race of participant. (2) Test descriptions. - Participants were given a standardised test of verbal ability and were told one of 2 things: (1) It is a test to diagnose your intellectual ability. (2) It is a test of your problem-solving skills. - Participants were equally and randomly assigned to on of the conditions. - RESULTS: African American participants did poorly when they believed that the test was a test of their intellectual ability, but did just as well as the white Americans when they believed that it was a test of their problem-solving skills. - EVALUATION: (+) Applicability and relevance in real life, it is an important issue. (+) Fairly okay sample size. (-) From 1995, so are these stereotypes still prevalent? (-) Risk of individual differences.

Martinez and Kesner (1991)

- "Rats, Neurotransmitter Acetylcholine and its Role on Memory Formation" - TOPIC: Animal Models / Neurotransmitters / Memory - AIM: To investigate the role that acetylcholine has on memory formation on lab rats - All rats were placed in a maze individually and completed the maze with a food reward at the end. - Rats were given their respective treatment - They were placed in the maze individually again and the time taken to complete the maze was measured - 3 Conditions: (1) Rats were injected with scopolamine which blocks acetylcholine receptors on the post-synaptic neurones so no nerve impulse is sent across neurones. (2) Rats were injected with physostigmine, an acetylcholinesterase antagonist which increases acetylcholine levels in the synapse as acetylcholinesterase removes acetylcholine from receptor proteins on the post-synaptic neurones. (3) Rats were no injected. - RESULTS: Rats that were injected with scopolamine took the longest to complete the maze. Rats that were injected with physostigmine took the shortest time to complete the maze. Rats with no treatment had maze-completion times intermediate of the previous 2 conditions. - EVALUATION: (+) Lab experiment so a causal effect could be established. (+) Easily replicable. (+) Applicable to humans as results could be extrapolated to them for memory loss patients. (-) Ethical concerns as rats were harmed. (-) Results cannot be completely applied to humans until a human experiment is conducted.

Alloy et al (2006)

- "Risk of Depression and Symptoms" - TOPIC: Etiology of Depression, Beck - AIM: To test the predictive value of Beck's cognitive theory of depression. - Random sample of university students were identified as either high risk (n=172) or low risk (n=175) based on their scores on the DAS (Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale) and CSQ (Cognitive Style Questionnaire) - No participants were currently depressed, strict exclusion criteria removed participants with ill mental health from the sample. - Their depressive symptoms were measured every six weeks using the BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) - RESULTS: Individuals rated as high risk (16.2%) in terms of cognitive style were far more likely to develop depression than those rated as low risk (2.7%) for participants with no prior depression. This pattern remained consistent for participants with prior depression (high risk 28.6%) , even those who had experienced depression before were unlikely to do so again if they did not currently have a negative cognitive style (9.4%). - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size. (-) Ethics: were students with depressive symptoms offered help? (-) Social desirability bias in self-reported data.

Vogel et al (2015)

- "SCO and Facebook" - TOPIC: Social Comparison Orientation/Social Media and Mood - AIM: To test two basic ideas; a) people with high SCO will be more likely to engage intensely with Facebook as it provides more opportunities for social comparison and b) increased social comparison will have a negative effect on their self-esteem and mood as comparisons are likely to be upward. - Study 1: 145 undergrad completed online surveys regarding social media usage. Surveys measured the intensity of Facebook use as well as the psychological impact of facebook. SCO was measured with a standard survey tool. - RESULTS: There was a strong positive correlation suggesting that people with a higher score for SCO are likely to make more intense use of Facebook. - Study 2: Designed to assess the impact of FB on high and low SCO individuals using a lab experiment. 120 undergrads were randomly allocated to one of 3 Conditions: (1) Facebook, spend 5 minutes viewing friend's profile. (2) Facebook Control, spend 5 minutes looking at their own profile. (3) Control, unrelated internet research task. SCO, Self-perception, Self-esteem and Emotional balance were also measured. - RESULTS: Scores on all measures were similar for low SCO participants in all three conditions; viewing FB profiles did not seem to influence their self-perception, self-esteem or emotional state. High SCO participants in the FB condition recorded very much lower scores for self-perception and self-esteem than either of the other two conditions. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size. (+) Applicability and relevance of this study given the widespread usage of social media nowadays. (-) Only undergraduate students to whom socialisation is important, lacks population validity. (-) Lacks ecological validity in Study 1 (self-reported data) and Study 2 (lab experiment).

Harmer et al (2011)

- "SSRI, SNRI and MDD" - TOPIC: Neurotransmission/SSRI as an Indirect Agonist/Serotonin Hypothesis - AIM: To test the effect of an SSRI (citalopram) and an SNRI (reboxetine) on perception and memory of emotional information. - 42 healthy participants were recruited for this double blind randomised 7-day trial period. - 3 Conditions: (1) Citalopram, a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor which increases serotonin levels in neurotic synapses. (2) Reboxetine, a specific noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor which we are not required to know for IB. (3) Placebo. - Baseline mood was measured before participants were exposed to their conditions and measured again after 7 days. A daily record of mood was also kept - On the 7th day, participants completed 2 tasks: (1) A facial expression recognition task where they had to decide if the facial expression in a photograph indicated happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, anger or disgust. (2) An emotional memory task where they were asked to recall 60 personality characteristics which they had previously categorised as positive or negative. - RESULTS: For task (1), participants taking citalopram (SSRI) were significantly less likely to accurately identify negative facial expressions but there was no difference in their ability to recognise positive facial expressions, compared to participants taking placebo. For task (2), the total number of words recalled was similar in all three groups, but the proportion of characteristics which were positive was much higher for those taking citalopram (SSRI) and reboxetine (SNRI) than those taking placebo. - EVALUATION: (+) Shows that low serotonin levels could lead to negative emotional bias which could potentially lead to MDD, some application in abnormal psychology. (+) Double blind and randomised, reducing risk of demand characteristics and individual differences respectively. (-) Small sample size and all female, low population validity.

Odden and Rochat (2004)

- "Samoan Children Learning How to Fish" - TOPIC: Social Cognitive Learning Theory (observational learning) / Cultural Influences on Attitudes and Behaviour / Enculturation - AIM: To study the role of Social Cognitive Learning Theory on the development of cultural norms in Samoa, in particular the behaviour of line fishing and conceptual understanding of rank and hierarchy - Longitudinal study of 25 months on 28 children in a single Samoan village - Samoan culture is very hierarchical (high power distance index), including the rank of parent and child, as such, social norms limit the time spent between adults and children - Parents have a non-interventionist approach to children and their learning whereas Samoan children are left to learn things on their own - In this Samoan village, fishing lines, spears and nets are limited so children do not participate in fishing with adults - RESULTS: Through interviews and observations, the researchers noted that young males spend a lot of time watching the adult ales fish without any direct instruction. Children aged ~10 would borrow the adult's fishing equipment and experiment on their own without adult supervision. Most children aged 12 could fish on their own. It appeared that this is also how they learn the social rules regarding how to behave with people of higher rank and the island's chief system: there is no direct instruction about the system until high school but children observe and overhear their parents' conversations. Through a multiple-choice test about the system on 46 children aged 12, majority of the children had a broad understanding of the concept and rituals of society. As such, the results found that cultural norms are not taught directly, but rather learned through active observation by children of adults in the community. - EVALUATION: (+) Longitudinal study with presumably large sample size: the entire village. (+) Implications of the Social Cognitive Learning Theory: parents have to set good examples for their children as they learn via observation (-) Only one village, hard to generalise the results.

Brewer and Treyens (1981)

- "Schema for Office Furniture" - TOPIC: Schema/Reconstructive Memory - AIM: To investigate the role of schema in reconstructive memory of places - 30 student volunteers were shown into an office space one at a time where they were asked to wait prior to further instruction - The office was filled with object apt to an 'office schema' such as a desk and typewriter but also contained some objects not normally expected in an office space such as tree bark and a skull - After 35 seconds, participants were moved to a different room and asked to write down everything they could remember from the office - RESULTS: Recall was good for objects expected to fit in with an office schema (e.g. desk) but many participants added objects which could be in an office schema but were not actually present (e.g. stapler). Interestingly, recall for some incongruent objects was also good (e.g. skull) whereas others were barely remembered (e.g. picnic basket) - EVALUATION: (+) Participants did not know that the waiting room was part of the experiment, reducing the risk of demand characteristics and increasing ecological validity. (+) High applicability such as in Eyewitness Testimony. (-) Fairly small sample size and they were all students, low population validity.

Lagerspetz (1979)

- "Selective Breeding in Rats" - TOPIC: Genetics / Selective Breeding / Genes and Behaviour - AIM: To investigate how selectively breeding rats affect the behaviour and characteristics of the offspring across generations - Mice were isolated immediately after weaning (mice reared in isolation tend to be aggressive when later placed with other mice) - Based on subsequent ratings of aggression when placed with another mouse, each mouse was either classified as either Aggressive or Non-aggressive - These mice were then interbred -- Aggressive mice were bred with other Aggressive mice and Non-aggressive mice with other Non-aggressive mice - RESULTS: By the 19th generation of interbreeding, rates of aggressive biting behaviour in the Aggressive mice were 52% compared to 5% in Non-aggressive mice. Aggressive mice also had heavier testes and forebrains and altered levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the forebrain and noradrenaline in their brainstem. These results support the notion that genes influence both the structural and functional aspects of an animal's biology which in turn influences its behaviour. - EVALUATION: (+) The applications of the findings -- not in humans but rather in breeding of pets. (-) Ethical concerns for the rats.

Draganski (2006)

- "Student Brains and Exams" - TOPIC: Neuroplasticity/Brain Scan Technology - AIM: To determine how the size of the parietal cortex and hippocampus (areas involved with memory formation) is affected by medical students studying for an exam - 38 medical students and 12 controls matched for age and gender underwent 3 brain scans: (1) 3 months before the exam. (2) 1 or 2 days after the exam. (3) 3 months after the exam and holiday. - RESULTS: There was no baseline difference between students and controls after scan 1. There was an increase in parietal cortex and hippocampus in medical students after scan 2, which remained until the third scan, suggesting the studying had a lasting effect (keeping with the belief that these areas are involves with memory formation). There was an increase in grey matter in the posterior hippocampus which increased between each scan (even from scan 2 to 3). This could be explained by the fact that stress reduces hippocampal grey matter, so in scan 2, learning had increased grey matter but stress was decreasing it simultaneously. In scan 3, the negative effect of stress was removed so the hippocampal matter lost due to stress was restored. - EVALUATION: (+) Presence of a control group. (+) Use of brain scan technology eliminates demand characteristics. (+) Relevance in the field of education/importance of learning and education. (-) Presence of individual differences/other extraneous variables. (-) Relatively small sample size.

Wedekind (1995)

- "The Adaptive Value of Pheromones" - TOPIC: Pheromones / Sexual Selection / Evolutionary Psychology / Relationship Formation - AIM: To discover whether a female would rate a sweaty T-shirt as more attractive if it had been worn by a man who had a different immune system from her - 49 females and 44 males were tested for immune system type - Women were asked to identify if they were on the contraceptive pill - Males were asked to wear a plain white T-shirt for 2 days and minimise behaviour which might influence body odour (e.g. scented deodorants or spicy food) - The shirt was then put in a closed box until females were asked to smell them and rate them for "pleasantness" and "sexiness" - RESULTS: Women rated T-shirts as more pleasant and sexier if they came from a man with a different set of MHC genes. - EVALUATION: (+) Although there is debate about the existence of human pheromones, there is growing evidence that chemicals within sweat, breast milk and tears could act as if they were pheromones. (+) Wedekind replicated this finding in 2005. (+) Standardised procedure makes the study easy to replicate. (+) Double blind procedure reduces the risk of experimenter bias and demand characteristics. (-) Pheromones by definition must be present and admitted in the same way by all members of the species while this study relies on individual body scent. Human sweat does not only have the scent of MHC but also bacteria and lifestyle. "Pleasantness" and "sexiness", especially of sweaty T-shirts, is very subjective. (-) Humans do not have a vomeronasal organ or an accessory olfactory bulb, calling into question the relevance of pheromones in relation to human behaviour. (-) Findings of replicated studies have been mixed and inconclusive, suggesting that this finding is merely by chance.

Kramer et al (2014)

- "The Facebook Study" - TOPIC: Social media/Emotional contagion - AIM: Tested if information on Facebook could cause emotional contagion - Collaborated with Facebook to design a field experiment in which content on feed was altered - Involved 689,003 unknowing, real Facebook users - 3 Conditions: (1) 10-90% of positive posts were omitted. (2) 10-90% of negative posts were omitted. (3) Control in which 10-90% random posts were omitted. - RESULTS: When participants had positive content reduced, they were less likely to use positive language (and vice versa for negative content) - EVALUATION: (+) Field experiment, high ecological validity. (+) Applicability of these findings, given the importance of social media in the modern world. (-) Ethical concerns.

Darley and Gross (1983)

- "The Hannah Study" - TOPIC: Schema and Social Cognition - AIM: To find out if the way we judge others is based on pre-existing mental representations, cognitive schema - 2 Conditions: (1) Positive expectancy group. Participants were told that Hannah's parents were college graduates and professionals, as well as that Hannah lived in a wealthy area and attended a good school. (2) Negative expectancy group. Participants were told that Hannah's parents were high school graduates working in a factory and dressmaking, as well as that Hannah played in a less privileged environment and attended a less prestigious school. - All participants were then shown a video of Hannah delivering a fairly mixed performance answering IQ-type questions, answering some difficult questions well but struggling with easy tasks. - They then rated her performance in the IQ test - RESULTS: Participants in the positive expectancy group felt that Hannah performed above average while participants in the negative expectancy group felt that her performance was below average. - EVALUATION: (+) Applicable and relevant, think the White/Black Sports thing. Sheds light on an important social issue and potentially raises awareness about it. (-) Low ecological validity: High risk of demand characteristics as well as the fact that people are less likely to judge someone's intellect or academic performance based on their background than in this lab experiment.

Scheele et al (2012)

- "The Role of Oxytocin in Fidelity - TOPIC: Hormones / Relationships / Biological Explanation of Behaviour - AIM: To show that oxytocin modulates social distance between men and women - 86 heterosexual men participated -- some of them were single and others were in a stable monogamous relationship - Double-blind, independent measures design - A researcher administered either oxytocin or placebo intra-nasally before the participants participated in 2 independent tasks - Task 1: "Stop-distance paradigm" in which participants were positioned at one end of the room with their toes on the mark on the floor, while an attractive female experimenter was positioned on the other side of the room. The participant was then told to move slowly towards the female experimenter and stop at a distance that made him slightly uncomfortable. The experimenter maintained the same appearance over all trials. - Task 2: "Approach/avoidance task" in which participants viewed a series of pictures which were flashed for 2 seconds each. There were 4 types of picture shown in random order: (1) Positive social -- attractive women. (2) Positive non-social -- beautiful landscapes. (3) Negative social -- mutilations. (4) Negative non-social -- dirt. Participants had a joystick, and if they liked the picture they were instructed to pull the joystick which zooms in the picture. Conversely, if they disliked the picture, they pushed the joystick which zoomed out the picture, simulating approach or avoidance. - RESULTS: For the first task, oxytocin stimulated men in a monogamous relationship, but not single ones, to keep a greater distance between themselves and an attractive women (Placebo single = 57cm, Oxytocin single = 59cm, Placebo bonded = 57cm, Oxytocin bonded = 71cm). For the second task, the only group of pictures affected by oxytocin and relationship status was the positive social group (pictures of attractive women). Participants who received oxytocin had a slower reaction time -- pulled the joystick more reluctantly -- in response to those pictures, but only if they were in a relationship. - EVALUATION: (+) Double-blind design reduces the risk of experimenter bias and demand characteristics. (+) Independent measures design further reduces the risk of demand characteristics. (+) Presence of placebo control group. (-) There is a high risk of individual differences as some men are just more comfortable with approaching or avoiding attractive women regardless of their relationship status. Furthermore, if you put the results of the first study in context, the difference between 57cm and 71cm is very small even if statistically significant. (-) The tasks are very artificial which reduces ecological validity. (-) Barely any applications of these findings other than academic interest -- it's not like we're going to start administering oxytocin to people intra-nasally to prevent them from cheating.

De Dreu et al (2011)

- "The Role of Oxytocin in Human Ethnocentrism" - TOPIC: Hormones / Biological Explanations of Behaviour / Human Relationships / Prejudice and Discrimination / Social Identity Theory - AIM: To determine if oxytocin promotes human ethnocentrism, a type of inter-group bias where one's own ethnic group is perceived as superior to others which may lead to xenophobia - Double-blind placebo-control independent measures designs were used - Participants were indigenous Dutch males - Participants self-administered either oxytocin or a placebo intra-nasally - Experiments involved exposing participants to images of people belonging either to their in-group (Dutch males) or out-group (Middle Easterns or Germans) - Participants were given a series of "ethical dilemma" tasks where a decision had to be made as to whether one person should be killed in order to save five other people (i.e. the famous trolley problem) - In some of these tasks the target person was a member of the participants' in-group, while in other tasks it was a member of their out-group - This was achieved by manipulating the name of the target person, either a typically Dutch name (e.g Dirk/Peter) or a typically Middle Eastern name (e.g. Ahmed/Youssef) or a typically German name (e.g. Markus/Helmut) - The other 5 people were unnamed so their ethnic backgrounds were not indicated - RESULTS: Under oxytocin, participants were more likely to sacrifice an out-group target than an in-group target, while under placebo there was no significant difference. Further analysis of the data showed that, compared with participants under placebo, participants under oxytocin were less likely to sacrifice an in-group member, but were not more likely to sacrifice an out-group member. This suggests that oxytocin promotes in-group favouritism, not out-group derogation. - EVALUATION: (+) Double-blind design reduces experimenter bias and demand characteristics. (+) Independent measures design reduces risk of demand characteristics. (+) Presence of a placebo control group. (-) Incredibly high risk of social desirability bias -- most people would not like to come across as racist or xenophobic. (-) The name manipulation runs the risk of lowering internal validity, likely that the results are due to chance.

Carerre and Gottman (1999)

- "Thin Slicing -- Couples" - TOPIC: System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Reliability of Thinking and Decision making - AIM: To test the usefulness of SPAFF to predict long term relationship success based on thin-slicing of interaction between couples. - Prospective natural experiment involving 124 newlywed couples reflecting a range of economic and ethnic demographics in the Seattle area - Each couple completed a survey (husband and wife separately) and then discussed the results with a researcher in order to identify one or two problematic issues in their relationship - These issues were then used for a 15 minute discussion which was recorded and coded using SPAFF (Specific Affect Coding System), generating a total score for each individual husband and wife. A positive total score indicates that there are more positive emotions than negative emotions and vice versa. - Couples were checked once a year for 6 years to find out if they were still married. - RESULTS: Based entirely on the first 3 minutes of the discussion, Married husbands = 52.2, Married wives = 45.9, Divorced husbands = -13.7, Divorced wives = -20.9. The SPAFF scores significantly predicted whether or not the couples would stay married or get divorced. - EVALUATION: (+) Large sample size. (+) The use of ordinal data. (+) Good applicability in marriage counselling? (+) Attempt to increase population validity by recruiting couples from different backgrounds. (-) Ethics/Ruining a marriage. (-) However, couples were only from Seattle.

Ambady and Rosenthal (1993)

- "Thin Slicing -- Teachers" - TOPIC: System 1/Biases and Heuristics/Reliability of Thinking and Decision making - AIM: To test the ability of strangers to accurately estimate the quality of teachers based on thin-slicing. - 9 students watched 30 second videos of 13 university teachers (not their teachers), each video was made of three 10 second clips randomly selected from an hour long lesson - Students were the asked to rate the teachers in terms of 15 non-verbal characteristics such as warm, competent and likeable - At the end of the year each teacher asked their actual students to rate their effectiveness as teachers - Correlational analysis was conducted to analyse how well the thin-slice data would have predicted the actual rating of effectiveness - RESULTS: 10 out of 15 variables measured during the thin slice element of the study significantly predicted the overall assessment of teachers by their actual students. The overall correlation coefficient between the thin slice score and the actual effectiveness was 0.76, a very strong positive correlation. - EVALUATION: (-) Super small sample size. (-) Correlational not causal. (-) High risk of social desirability bias.

Dunham et al (2011)

- "Toddlers and Discrimination" - TOPIC: Social Identity Theory / Discrimination - AIM: To determine whether in-group effects are innate from a young age or developed - 33 female and male participants with a mean age of 5.4 years and primarily European American background (79%) - Each child was randomly assigned to the red or blue group by choosing a hidden red or blue coin from the researcher's hand before putting on either a red or blue T-shirt - The stimuli were 8 head and shoulders photos of European American children of similar attractiveness, wearing either red or blue T-shirts - The participants were seated in front of a computer and taken through tests comprising measures of: (1) Attitude, expressing their like/dislike for the children in the photos. (2) Coin allocation, both group membership and gender were manipulated and participants had to distribute coins between them. (3) Behavioural attribution, a short behaviour was described (either positive or negative) and participants decided who did it. - RESULTS: In all 3 tasks, participants showed a significant preference for their own gender. In the attitude task, girls rated their own gender 2.2 points above boys, while boys rated their own gender 0.3 points higher. In all 3 tasks, there was evidence for minimal in-group preference. In the attitude task, participants preferred children from their red/blue in-group, with a mean in-group rating of 4.3 and a mean out-group rating of 3.8 (statistically significant though less than the gender preference). - EVALUATION: (+) Reinforces the central importance of gender as an organiser of social relations in this age range and shows that minimal in-groups are weaker organisers than gender. (+) Suggests that in-group biases may be innate, supporting Social Identity Theory. (-) Small sample size. (-) Very artificial task, low ecological validity.

Sparrow et al (2011)

- "Trivia facts and Computer" - TOPIC: Transactive Memory Systems - AIM: To test the idea that the internet has become an enormous transactive memory store, reducing effort invested into encoding of new information into LTM - Participants were asked to type 40 trivia facts into a computer, including new knowledge and more well-known knowledge. - They were then asked to recall the facts based on memory. - 4 Conditions: (1) Save and Remember. Computer will save the information, told to try and remember the information. (2) Save. Computer will save the information, not told to try and remember the information. (3) Erase and Remember. Computer will erase the information, told to try and remember the information. (4) Erase. Computer will erase the information, not told to try and remember the information. - RESULTS: 'Save and Remember' had 0.19 recall, 'Save' had 0.22 recall, 'Erase and Remember' had 0.29 recall, 'Erase' had 0.31 recall. The results showed that being asked to remember the information made no significant difference to subsequent recall, but the belief that information would be stored made a significant difference. Participants who believed they would be able to retrieve the information from the computer appeared to make far less effort to remember the information than those who knew they would not be able to. - FOLLOW-UP STUDY: They tried to measure how well people recall where information can be found compared to recall for the information itself. Participants were asked to read and type trivia facts, after which they were given the name of the folder that this information would be stored in. - RESULTS: Most participants remembered nothing, followed by remembered where but not what, followed by remembered what and where, followed by remembered what not where. They were much more likely to remember the name of the folder than the information itself. - EVALUATION: (+) Lab experiment lends itself to high internal validity. (+) High applicability and relevance in modern world. (-) Low ecological validity due to artificiality of experiment. (-) Risk of individual differences skewing results.

Smith et al (1997)

- "Tryptophan and Depression" - TOPIC: Neurotransmission/Biological explanation for MDD/Serotonin Hypothesis - AIM: To test the effect of reducing serotonin levels in recovered MDD patients - Volunteer sample of 15 female participants were recruited for this double blind, repeated measures with counterbalancing lab experiment - Participants had experienced at least two episodes of MDD but were currently asymptomatic - In the informed consent, participants were explicitly made aware that participation could result in relapse - All participants were judged to be fully recovered at the time of the trial and had not taken any antidepressants for at least 6 months - 2 Conditions: (1) Participants consumed a mixture of amino acids containing tryptophan, an essential building block for the synthesis of serotonin found naturally found in a balanced diet. (2) Participants consumed a mixture of amino acids containing no tryptophan at all. - Depressive symptoms and blood plasma tryptophan levels were measured before the procedure started and 7 hours after taking the mixture. - RESULTS: Blood plasma tryptophan levels dropped by 75% 7 hours after taking the tryptophan-free nutrient mix. Participants taking the tryptophan-free mixture displayed a significant increased in depressive symptoms after 7 hours. Participants taking the tryptophan-containing mixture had no increase in depressive symptoms. - EVALUATION: (+) Ethics: informed consent, currently asymptomatic, 'fully recovered'. (+) High internal validity: use of repeated measures with counterbalancing. (-) Repeated measures increases the risk of demand characteristics but this is reduced by double blind and counterbalancing. (-) Very small sample size and all females, low population validity.

Cooper et al (1972)

- "US-UK Diagnostic Project (Pie Charts)" - TOPIC: Reliability of Diagnosis - AIM: To test the reliability of diagnosis for schizophrenia by psychiatrists in New York and London - Natural experiment which used video recordings of 8 unstructured interviews with schizophrenic patients - Psychiatrists from New York and London were asked to view the video and make a diagnosis based on the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) diagnostic criteria as well as a variety of diagnostic tools such as the IMPS (Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Scale) - RESULTS: Diagnosis was consistent between New York and London in some of the video interviews, but not in other cases. They differed wildly for 5 out of 8 of the cases. - EXTENSION: Psychiatrists working for the US-UK Diagnostic Project were allowed to provide a secondary diagnosis for patients already diagnosed with either schizophrenia or affective mood disorder and subsequently admitted to a hospital in London and a matched hospital in New York. - RESULTS: New York and London Psychiatrists working for the project were consistent in their diagnosis, and were also consistent compared to the hospital diagnosis in London. Hospital diagnosis in New York was very different. - EVALUATION: (+) Useful because reliability/consistency sets the stage for validity -- if a diagnosis is unreliable, it is logically impossible for it to be valid i.e. which one is valid? (+) Large-scale cross-national project. (+) The use of unstructured interviews mimics a real psychological consultation. (-) Linking directly with the aforementioned point, however, these unstructured interviews cannot fully emulate a real psychological consultation as the psychiatrists cannot ask the questions they want, reducing ecological validity.

Reed and Lave (1979)

- "Vai/Gola arithmetic system VS Western arithmetic system" - TOPIC: Enculturation/Effect of Culture on Behaviour - AIM: To investigate the role of culture on counting and arithmetic problem solving - Observation and informal interviews were conducted on 140 males of the Vai and Gola tribes working as tailors in Liberia - Interviews covered apprentice's personal history, family background, and beliefs about teaching and learning - Some tasks were aimed at understanding arithmetic skills - Tailors used either the apprenticed Vai/Gola arithmetic system (a spoken numeration system done in the head or using markers, seldom going above 20) or the school-taught Western arithmetic system - RESULTS: Demonstrated consistent differences in the methods employed by tailors who had learned arithmetic as an apprentice in the tailor shop and those who had learned arithmetic in school. Problem solving procedures were closely related to the tailors' culture-dependent learning experiences. The traditionally taught (apprenticed) tailors used counters (e.g. pebbles or marks on paper) to count and conduct arithmetic problem solving as well as mental arithmetic problem solving. The tailors trained in the Western school system used algorithmic manipulations and strategies learnt in school using number names. Data from the problem solving, interviews, observations and recordings of verbal protocols showed that the 'folk arithmetic system' was as systematic as the school-taught system. All except the least experienced apprentices had a clear understanding of arithmetic problem solving consistent with their arithmetic system. - EVALUATION: (+) High ecological validity as it was conducted in context. (+) Interviews and experiments supported the researchers observations. (-) Lack of a laboratory setting also means that other variables were not controlled.

Bechara et al (1999)

- "Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Damage and Iowa Gambling Task" - TOPIC: Somatic Marker Hypothesis/Emotion and Decision-making/Localisation - AIM: To test the impact of damage to the vmPFC on decision making in the Iowa Gambling Task - 18 participants in total: a control group of 13 healthy volunteers and a purposive sample of 5 participants identifies as having vmPFC damage. - MRI Scanning was used to identify the precise location and scale of damage to the vmPFC - All participants completed the Iowa Gambling Task individually while the research team recorded SCR (Skin Conductance Response, a measure of somatic anxiety/the biological signs of stress) for each individual - Iowa Gambling Task: Participants are asked to select a card from one of 4 decks A/B/C/D and then decide which deck to select a card from in a further 100 trials. The cards resulted in either financial reward or penalty. The decks were not random -- A and B would return high rewards initially then deliver larger losses (bad, so participants should learn to avoid them) while C and D would deliver small rewards initially but also have very small losses (god, so participants should learn to favour them through experience of game) - RESULTS: Participants with vmPFC damage failed to 'learn' to avoid the bad cards and continued to make poor decisions despite negative experience. Participants with vmPFC damage also displayed much lower levels of SCR prior to selecting a card -- when they remember their previous choices they are not experiencing 'somatic markers' to indicate the risk of a poor decision. - EVALUATION: (+) The use of SCR, which participants cannot knowingly manipulate themselves, therefore demand characteristics cannot affect this element of data collection. (+) Comparison to a control group. (-) Relatively small sample size. (-) Low ecological validity due to the artificiality of the task. (-) Risk of individual differences.

Loftus and Palmer (1974) Experiment 1

- "Video of Cars and Speed Estimate" - TOPIC: Schema/Reconstructive Memory/Eyewitness Testimony - AIM: To test the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of memory recall, based on the reconstructive nature of memory - Lab experiment with independent groups design - 45 participants watched films of traffic accidents before completing a questionnaire recalling what they had seen - Questionnaire included a series of questions including one critical speed question: "About how fast were the cars going when they [hit] each other?" The verb [hit] was changed for some participants - 5 Conditions: (1) Smashed. (2) Collided. (3) Bumped. (4) Hit. (5) Contacted. - RESULTS: Smashed = 40.5 mph. Collided = 39.3 mph. Bumped = 38.1 mph. Hit = 34 mph. Contacted = 31.8 mph - EVALUATION: (+) High applicability in Eyewitness Testimonies. (+) Low demand characteristics: difficult for participants to guess the aim of the experiment due to the presence of non-speed questions. (-) Individual differences: Ability to estimate speed based on their recall. (-) Low ecological validity as participants due to the artificiality of the experiment (using a video, completing a questionnaire as opposed to witnessing the event first-hand and answering an interview). (-) Potential ethical problems.

Siy and Cheryan (2013)

- "When Compliments Fail to Flatter" - TOPIC: Positive Stereotypes/Stereotype Lift/Stereotype Threat/Effect of Culture on the Occurrence of Stereotype Life - AIM: To investigate how Asian Americans will react to being positively stereotyped - 41 Asian American university students were told they were taking part in a study on work styles - Each participant was paired with a white American confederate and had to complete 2 activities together: one maths problem and one English language problem - The distribution of the tasks was rigged such that the white confederate always received the language problem and Asian American participant always received the maths problem - 2 Conditions: (1) "I know all Asians are good at maths, so how about you take the maths problem". (2) "How about you take this packet". - RESULTS: All participants in the experimental condition (1) evaluated their partners more negatively, felt more negative emotions and reported a greater sense of being depersonalised when questioned afterwards. - EVALUATION: (+) Presence of the control condition (2). (+) They were told that it was a study on work styles, reducing the risk of individual differences. (-) These were only Asian Americans brought up in individualistic cultures, subsequent resarch found that such adverse effects were not present in collectivist cultures. (-) Kind of small sample size. (-) Ethical considerations: could the Asian participants feelings have been hurt? Potentially, they were insulted thinking that the white confederate undermined their language ability.

Tong et al (2011)

- "Ya Kun Takeover By McDonald's" - TOPIC: Globalisation/Bicultural Exposure/Exclusionary Reaction - AIM: To test the effect of bicultural exposure on decision making and also to test the relative importance of system 1 and 2 in these decisions. - 207 undergraduates in Singapore (58% Singaporean) took part in this lab experiment. - 3 Conditions: (1) Transactional, were asked to answer questions focused on the best economic options in a series of scenarios. (2) Categorisation, were asked to answer questions focused on categorising people. (3) Control, no questions asked. - All participants were asked to read an article describing a possible takeover of Ya Kun by McDonald's. They indicated how similar they felt the companies were, how they felt about the proposed takeover and how they would feel about Ya Kun following any takeover by McDonald's. - RESULTS: Singaporean participants who felt the two organisations were very dissimilar were significantly influenced by the condition. Participants were more fearful if they had been primed with the categorisation task (4.10) as compared to the transactional task (2.73). Non-Singaporeans were not influenced by the priming tasks, regardless of how similar or dissimilar they felt the organisations were. - EVALUATION: (+) Fairly large sample size. (+) High applicability in the real world.