IB Psych Exam Paper 1

Wright et al

Aim: To see if ORB (Own-Race Bias) affects identification/recall of a person Parts of the Experiment: lab/field/natural? what's the sample? How are the iv + dv operationalized? IV: Schema (ORB) Condition 1= confederate and participant are the same race Condition 2= confederate and participant are different races DV: Memory: Accurate identification of confederates photo 201 participants FINDINGS: Accuracy higher in condition 1 Strength: Ecological validity Limitations: Hard to replicate exactly More bias from extraneous variables (how they grew up) Deception and no consent till later

Bandura

Aim: To investigate if aggression can be learned through observation and imitation. Method: 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford University Nursery School aged between 3 to 6 years old were tested. The researchers pre-tested the children's level of aggression by observing them in the nursery and judged their aggressive behavior on four 5-point rating scales. It was then possible to match the children in each group so that they had similar levels of aggression in their everyday behavior. The experiment is therefore an example of a matched-pairs design. In the experimental conditions children were individually shown into a room containing toys and played for 10 minutes while either: 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll (by sitting on it, punching it, hitting it on the head with a rubber mallet, throwing it, kicking it, all in a distinctive style, punctuated by verbal exclamations liek, "Sock him in the nose!" and "He keeps coming back for more!"). Another 12 boys and 12 girls were exposed to a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner with a tinker toy for 10 minutes. The final 12 boys and 12 girls were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all. Then, the children were led into another room, and all of them were primed for aggression arousal. The room contained a variety of attractive and exciting toys, and once the child played with them for two minutes the experimenter remarked that "these were her very best toys, that she did not let just anyone play with them, and that she had decided to reserve these toys for the other children." This was meant to frustrate the children and thereby prime aggression. The children were then led to another room, where they were allowed to play with any of the toys in it. In this third room the children were observed through a one-way mirror, and their behaviour was scored for aggression. Results: The researchers found that Children who observed the aggressive models made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups. The girls in the aggressive model conditions also showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was male but more verbal aggressive responses if the model was female. (However, the exception to this general pattern was the observation of how often they punched Bobo, and in this case the effects of gender were reversed). Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls. Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls. There was little difference in the verbal aggression between boys and girls. The children showed evidence of both imitative aggression (being aggressive just like the models) and non-imitativeaggression (being aggressive in new ways, like using a toy gun that the role models never used). Conclusion: All added up, the researchers interpreted this as meaning that social learning had taken place, and that similarity to role models (male or female) appeared to be a factor. Strengths: Clearly demonstrated Bandura's Social Learning Theory Dual gender study Matched Pairs design was a strenth of the study as it served to minimize confounding variables Limitations: Children were used in the study thus results not generalizable to adult population Emic study Demand characteristics may have played a part in the children behaving in ways that they presumed they were "supposed" to behave thus resulting in "false positive" results. Ethical Concerns: Children were used in the study thus parents needed to consent to their participation, which they did. The violence displayed as well as the violence demonstrated by the children was directed at inanimate objects and not humans thus it was morally acceptable.

Schachter and Singer 1962

Aim: To test the two-factor theory of emotion. Method: 184 participants were given an injection (by a doctor) of either adrenaline (epinephrine) or a placebo, which was actually a saline solution, which has no side effects at all. They were all told that the injection was a vitamin injection to test the effect of vitamins on vision. The effects of the adrenaline are an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar level, respiration rate, and blood flow to the muscles and brain, with an accompanying decrease in blood flow to the skin. This is often experienced as palpitations, tremors, flushing and faster breathing. The effects begin after three minutes and last from ten minutes to an hour. The participants were then put in one of four experimental conditions: Group A (Adrenaline ignorant) - participants were given an adrenaline injection and not told of the effects of the drug. Group B (Adrenaline informed) - participants were given an adrenaline injection and warned of the 'side effects' of the drug (hand shake, heart pounding, dry mouth etc.). The participants were therefore prepared for the effects of the adrenaline, even though they thought these were caused by the 'vitamin injection'. Group C (Adrenaline misinformed) - participants were given an adrenaline injection and told to expect side effects but were told these would be numb feet and headache. These participants would, therefore, not be expecting the effects of the adrenaline. Group D (Control group - placebo) - participants were given an injection that would have no effect and were given no instructions of what to expect. Participants were then allocated to either the euphoria condition or the anger condition. In the euphoria situation a stooge in a waiting room carried out a number of silly tasks designed to entertain and amuse the participant. In the anger situation a stooge in a waiting room carried out tasks and made comments designed to annoy the participant. The researchers then made observational measures of emotional response through a one-way mirror, and also took self-report measures from the participants Results: In the euphoria condition, the misinformed participants were feeling happier than all the others. The second happiest group was the ignorant group. In the anger condition, the ignorant group felt the angriest. The second angriest group was the placebo group. The least angry group was those who were informed. Conclusion: This demonstrates that the misinformed participants and the ignorant participants were more susceptible to the stooge because they had no explanation of why their bodies felt as they did. The informed group felt the least happy/angry because they understood why they felt as they did. Therefore this provides evidence for the two-factor theory of emotion, which states that the physiological arousal in different emotions is entirely the same and we label our arousal according to the cognitions we have available. Strengths: Large sample size of 184 participants. Multiple experimental conditions facilitated meeting the aim of the experiment. Results supported the two-factor theory of emotion. Limitations: The use of "observational measures of emotional response through a one-way mirror" was subjective and could lead to false positive results. Self-report data was potentially problematic. Results from the placebo group were not statistically significant in comparison with other groups, suggesting a placebo alone could create a similar effect. Different emotions could have different physiological patterns. Ethical Concerns: Deception regarding the true aim of the study occurred, however this was necessary in order to minimize demand characteristics. Participants' body chemistry was altered thus researchers needed to ensure the physical safety and well being of participants.

Examine the role of one cultural dimension on behaviour.

Berry's (1967) comparative study on conformity in the Temne and the Inuit showed that conformity was higher in the more collectivist Temne culture. In theory, this happens because an agricultural economy demands a higher degree of cooperation, and therefore conformity, while a hunting-fishing economy does not—it's not only possible, but preferable, to do it alone. (This was discussed back in the previous subtopic) Bond and Smith 1996

Bond and Smith (1996)

Bond and Smith (1996) performed a meta-analysis of 133 studies in 17 different countries on the Asch paradigm. They found higher conformity levels in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures. The level of conformity (i.e. percentage of incorrect answers) ranged from 15% in an experiment with Belgian students (Doms, 1983) to 58% among Indian teachers in Fiji (Chandra, 1973). They also found that generally the conformity was higher when the majority group was large.

Newcomer et al. (1999)

Experiment on cortisol and memory Aim: To investigate how levels of cortisol interfere with verbal declarative memory Procedure: A self-selected sample (recruited through advertisement) of 51 normal and healthy people aged 18-30 was used. It was a randomized, controlled, double-blind experiment running for four days. All participants gave informed consent. There were three experimental conditions: 1. A high level of cortisol (tablet of 160 mg per day), equivalent to cortisol levels in the blood as a consequence of a major stressful event. 2. A low level of cortisol (tablet of 40 mg per day), equivalent to cortisol levels in the blood as a consequence of a minor stressful event. 3. A placebo (tablet of no active ingredient) Results: The high-level group performed worse on the verbal declarative memory test than the low-level group. They performed below placebo levels after day 1. the low-level group (mild stress) showed no memory decrease Evaluation: This was a controlled randomized experiment so it was possible to establish a cause-effect relationship between levels of cortisol and scores on a verbal declarative memory test. Ethical issues were observed with informed consent. The negative effect of taking high dosages of cortisol was reversible so no harm was done

Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.

Flashbulb Memory Brown and Kulik Sharot et al. (2007)

Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process.

HM Zanetti et al. 2001

Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior.

Individualism/ Collectivism: Berry Time orientation: Chen et al

Discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behavior.

Informed consent One problem with genetic research is that sometimes it uncovers information that might be distressing to the individual. For example, imagine some thirtysomething adoptee minding their own business and living their life, and then suddenly discovering that they had a long lost twin from whom they were separated at birth. And, they only found out because some researcher from the university came along looking for participants for a study on twins adopted into different homes at birth. Informed consent takes on a whole new magnitude when it comes to genetic research. Bouchard et al Bailey and Pillard

Own-Race Bias (ORB)

ORB impacts memory create schema on where you were raised.

Principles that define the biological level of analysis

Principle 1: There are biological correlates of behaviour Principle 2: Animal research can provide insight into human behaviour Principle 3: Human behaviour is, to some extent, genetically based

Evaluate research on conformity to group norms.

Sherif Asch

Discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes.

The ability of the brain to adapt to the environment is called neuroplasticity, or sometimes brain plasticity. Fundamentally, it allows the brain to change its structure and function, in response to the external environment. Maguire et al Rosenzweig and Bennet

Explain social learning theory, making reference to two relevant studies.

The basic idea is that someone else's behaviour is socially learned and then internalized. Bandura et al. (1961)—the Bashing Bobo study Huesmann et al. (2003)

Discuss two errors in attributions.

The most common attribution error is the fundamental attribution error (FAE), which is sometimes referred to as the correspondence bias. The FAE refers to a bias to attribute others' behaviour to stable internal causes rather than external circumstances Ross et al. (1977)—the game show study Another attribution error is the self-serving bias, which happens when people attribute success to dispositional factors, and failure to situational factors. It's probably easy enough to see how the self-serving bias is well-suited to ego protection—it basically preserves self-esteem. Lau and Russell (1980)—the baseball and football study Heine et al. 1999

Berridge and Kringelbach (2009)

They studied dopamine in pleasure seeking • fMRI scans were used to study brain areas involved in the subjective experience on pleasure ○ They found that the orbitofrontal cortex was active when people reported feeling pleasure • The researchers concluded that: dopamine and the nucleus accumbens is perhaps rather involved in pleasure seeking ○ This could explain addictive behaviour (e.g. nicotine addiction leads to craving) • The orbitofrontal cortex and natural opiods (endorphins) are perhaps linked to the subjective experience of pleasure

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent is one cognitive process reliable?

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) argue that eyewitness testimony is reliable, in contrast to Loftus and Loftus and Palmer (1974).

Acetylcholine (ACh) on memory

• ACh is a neurotransmitter which has been linked to synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and it seems to play an important role in learning and short-term memory via the cholinergic system • The cholinergic system is a system of nerve cells that uses acetylcholine in transmitting nerve cells ○ Memory processing and higher cognitive functioning are dependent on the cholinergic system

Cortisol and memory

• Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal cortex in response to stress and to restore homeostasis (the body's normal balance) • Chronic stress may result in prolonged cortisol secretion and this can lead to physiological changes such as damaged immune system and impairment of learning of memory ○ This is because high amounts of cortisol results in atrophy of the hippocampus

Dopamine and addictive behaviour

• Dopamine is released in the brain's reward system and has been associated with pleasure seeking and addictive behaviour ○ Addictive drugs or substances increase the amount of dopamine in the reward system • Dopamine can be released by environmental triggers (e.g. the sight of a cigarette package, food, or a gambling machine) because this is associated with pleasure (reward) Nicotine is the psychoactive ingredient in tobacco, which increases the level of dopamine in the brain's reward circuit causing feelings of pleasure and relaxation

Quinn and McConnel (1996)

• They asked participants to learn a list of words by using either imagery or rehearsal ○ The task was performed on its own or in the presence of a concurrent visual noise (changing patterns of dots) or a concurrent verbal noise (speech in a foreign language) ○ The results showed that learning words by imagery was not affected by a verbal visual task § The opposite was found in the rehearsal condition ○ This indicates that imagery processing uses the visuo-spatial sketchpad whereas verbal processing uses the phonological loop ○ If the two tasks used the same component, performance deteriorated The study thus lends support to different modality-specific slave systems and the idea of limited processing capacity

Berry

Aim: To see the level of conformity between agricultural and hunting and fishing societies by applying a version of the Asch Paradigm. Parts of the Experiment: lab/field/natural? what's the sample? How are the iv + dv operationalized? IV: Culture (Inuits of Baffin Island in Canada (hunting and fishing), Temne of Sierra Leone (rice farming), and urban and rural Scots) DV: influence on conformity about 120 participants in each group FINDINGS: Culture Sample Average total difference Temne Traditional 9.04 Transitional 8.61 Inuit Traditional 2.75 Transitional 2.25 Scot Rural 4.00 Urban 3.85

Anderson and PItchert

Aim: To investigate if schema processing influences encoding and retrieval. Method: Half the participants were given the schema of a burglar and the other half was given the schema of a potential house-buyer. Participants then heard a story which was based on 72 points, previously rated by a group of people based on their importance to a potential house-buyer (leaky roof, damp basement) or a burglar (10speed bike, colour TV). Participants performed a distraction task for 12 minutes, before recall was tested. After another 5 minute delay, half of the participants were given the switched schema. Participants with burglar schema were given house-buyer schema and vice versa. The other half of the participants kept the same schema. All participants' recalls were tested again. Shorter Method: Participants read a story from the perspective of either a burglar or potential home buyer. After they had recalled as much as they could of the story from the perspective they had been given, they were shifted to the alternative perspective (schema) and were asked to recall the story again. Results: Participants who changed schema recalled 7% more points on the second recall test than the first. There was also a 10% increase in the recall of points directly linked to the new schema. The group who kept the same schema did not recall as many ideas in the second testing. Research also showed that people encoded different information which was irrelevant to their prevailing schema (those who had buyer schema at encoding were able to recall burglar information when the schema was changed, and vice versa). This shows that our schemas of "knowledge," etc. are not always correct, because of external influences. Summary: On the second recall, participants recalled more information that was important only to the second perspective or schema than they had done on the first recall. Conclusion: Schema processing has an influence at the encoding and retrieval stage, as new schema influenced recall at the retrieval stage. Evaluation: Strengths Controlled laboratory experiment allowed researchers to determine a cause-effect relationship on how schemas affect different memory processes. Limitations Lacks ecological validity Laboratory setting Unrealistic task, which does not reflect something that the general population would do Connection of study to question This study provides evidence to support schema theory affecting the cognitive process of memory. Strength of schema theory there is research evidence to support it.

Sharot et al

Aim: To compare brain activity through fMRI for flashbulb memories. Method: The experiment compared brain activity in participants who were in either downtown Manhattan or midtown Manhattan at the time of the 9/11 attacks in New York City. Scans were taken as participants recalled their memories of 9/11 and as they recalled another personally significant event from the same time period (summer of 2001). Results: The fMRI results indicated that participant who were in closest proximity to the attacks (downtown) had activity in their amygdala, and this was not evident in the midtown participants. Strengths: fMRI technology allows researchers to see areas of brain activity as a person remembers. Supports Brown and Kulik's contention that flashbulb memories have an emotional basis (due to amygdala activity). Limitations: Unclear whether amygdala activity is unique to flashbulb memory, because it happens with other memories too. Brain imaging in general tends to oversimplify things—there are many other alternative explanations for patterns in brain activity.

Steele and Aronson (1995)

Aim: To demonstrate the existence and self-fulfilling prophecy effect of stereotype threat. Method: Participants were split into three groups, each with a different condition. Each condition was a description of the intention of the study: Diagnostic—to gauge one's individual differences (deficit finding) Non-diagnostic—to gauge one's aptitude only Non-diagnostic with challenge, preceded by a "this is hard for everyone" type message. Results: In the diagnostic test there was a significant difference between the scores of whites and blacks, with the latter doing worse. In the other two conditions there was no significant difference. Conclusion: The exact mechanism underlying differences in achievement between black and white individuals (esp. students, and in evaluation scenarios) is yet to be fully understood, but a number of viable possibilities exist. Amongst the most convincing is the notion of stereotype threat. Strengths: Study used random assignment to minimize confounding variables Study's design effectively highlighted the presence of stereotype threat thus meeting the aim of the research. Limitations: Laboratory experiment testing performance on a standardized test, thus the ecological validity is low.

Shallice and Warrington 1970

Aim: To illustrate a case where long-term memory remained intact when short-term memory was damaged. Method: Case study of KF, who suffered a motorcycle accident causing damage to his left parietal occipital region of the brain. Results: KF showed very poor memory for numbers (usually less than two), but good performance on tasks that seemed to indicate an intact long-term memory. For example, he was still able to store new information. He could learn a ten word sequence in fewer trials than normal controls and still retained seven of the ten items some months later. The multi-store model predicts that this should not be possible since an intact STM is required to transfer information to LTM. Conclusion: Transfer of knowledge to long-term memory is not a linear process that always requires an intact short-term memory. This therefore undermines the multi-store memory model. Strengths: Case study method allowed for in depth study of KM's memory issues. Findings seem to contradict the Multi-Store model of memory. Limitations: Case study thus results cannot be directly generalized to broader population. Ethical Concerns: There are no real ethical concerns with this research.

Sherif

Aim: To investigate conformity in an ambiguous (unclear) situation. Method: This was a laboratory experiment to study conformity. Sherif used the autokinetic effect—this is the visual illusion where a small spot of light (projected onto a screen) in a dark room will appear to move, even though it is still. It was discovered that when participants were individually tested their estimates on how far the light moved varied considerably, from 20cm to 80cm. The participants were then tested in groups of three. Sherif manipulated the composition of the group by putting together two people whose estimate of the light movement when alone was very similar, and one person whose estimate was very different. Each person in the group had to say aloud how far they thought the light had moved. Results: Over many trials the group converged to a common estimate of the amount of movement of the light. The person whose estimate of movement was greatly different from the other two in the group conformed to the view of the other two. Conclusion: In an ambiguous situation a person will look to others for guidance and will adopt the group norm. They want to do the right thing but may lack the appropriate information. Observing others can provide this information. This is informational conformity. Strengths: Effective manipulation of social norms by having participants respond in groups, after establishing baseline estimates. The autokinetic effect produced the required ambiguity. Limitations: Very limited ecological validity, as the task is quite unusual. There were no correct answers, so participants couldn't adjust their estimates to accurate information. Lack of a control condition to test unambiguous situations.

Cole and Scribner

Aim: To investigate free recall in two different cultures, the US and the Kpelle people in Liberia Procedure: For the test in Liberia, the researchers used objects which would be familiar to the children there. The list of words belonged to four distinct categories. American children were given free recall tests matching their culture. The researchers presented the words to the participants and asked for them to remember as much as possible in any order (free recall). In the second part, the researchers presented the same objects in a meaningful way as part of a story. Results: • In the free recall test, the non-schooled participants hardly improved their performance after the age of 9 or 10. they remembered about 10 things on the first trial, and around two more after 15 practice trials. Liberian school children performed as school children of the same age in the US. They used similar memory strategies. • For the second part of the experiment, the non-schooled Liberian participants recalled objects well because they grouped them according to the roles they played in the story. • School children in Liberia and the US used chunking and recalled items according to categories. The non-schooled Liberian children didn't use the categorical structure of the lists to help them remember. It indicates possible cultural differences in cognitive processes like categorization and memory. Evaluation. The extent to which it's culture or schooling (or both) that influenced memory and categorization in the study isn't entirely clear. The experimental method was used and it can help to establish cause-effect relationship, but since the independent variable was culture (or schooling), it may be difficult to say anything definite about the cause-effect relationships.

Bartlett

Aim: To investigate how memory of an unfamiliar story is affected by previous knowledge. Method: Serial reproduction of a story: students at his English university in Cambridge were told a Native American legend called The War of the Ghosts. They were then asked to rewrite the story from memory several times after a period of days, weeks and in some cases even months and years. Results: Participants changed the story in several different ways as they tried to remember it, by shortening it, and reconstructing it using more familiar words, and in a more logical order in an effort to make sense of it. Conclusion: Memory is reconstructive in nature, as people use familiar schemas to reorganise unfamiliar material. Remembering is an active process, where information is retrieved and changed to fit into existing schemas. This is done in order to create meaning in the incoming information. Strengths: First study to investigate schema's role in memory encoding. Approach was able to isolate the role of cultural schemas on memory encoding. Limitations: No control group of Native Americans present. Results could be more a function of memory processes as a whole then the role of schema in recall in particular. Methodology was not particularly clear, and instructions were not standardized. Data collection was quite informal. Ethical Concerns: There were no real ethical concerns with this study.

Fessler et al

Aim: To investigate if disgust sensitivity in the first trimester of pregnancy was elevated as predicted Procedure: • A Web-based survey was completed by 691 women recruited through pregnancy related Web sites. No compensation was offered for participation, the women's mean age was 28.1 years • On the Web-based questionnaire, the participants (1) indicated their current level of nausea using a 16-point scale and (2) answered questions to test their disgust sensitivity to eight different areas (e.g. food; contact with animals, body products and dead animals; hygiene; contact with toilets) Results: • Overall, disgust sensitivity related to food and body products in women in the first trimester was higher compared to those in the second and third trimesters • Disgust was particularly elevated in relation to wood, which was exactly what the researchers predicted • Food-borne diseases are particularly dangerous to women in the first trimester and therefore it was predicted that disgust sensitivity related to food would be high. This was supported by the results • The results may indicate that nausea and vomiting are evolved behaviour because they limit the likelihood that pregnant women will eat dangerous food Evaluation: • The data was collected through questionnaires. Self-reports may not be reliable. This is not an effective way of measuring disgust. It would have been more reliable to confront participants with real disgust-eliciting objects The effect sizes were not big but significant. The findings are supported by other studies (e.g. Curtiss et al 2004) showing that images that threaten the immune system are judged as more disgusting

Ekman

Aim: To investigate if recognition of certain emotions/facial expressions is universal Method: Asked a group of culturally different or isolated from the western world to identify facial expression corresponding to a story or photograph IV: exposed to western world or not DV: recognition of correct facial expression via photo or story (fear, disgust, surprise, anger, happiness and sadness) Findings: mostly all identified correctly Strength: Ecologically valid Limit: Harder to replicate (not, to find people that are isolated to Western culture is impossible)

Yuille and Cutshall

Aim: To investigate the accuracy of eyewitness testimony after a crime. Method: Witnesses to a day time town centre shooting incident were interviewed by police, and 13 witnesses (aged 15-32 yrs) later agreed to a research interview 4-5 months after the event. The eyewitness accounts provided in both the police and research interviews were analysed. Results: The witnesses were highly accurate in their accounts, and there was little change in amount or accuracy of recall over 5 months, though some aspects of age, height and weight estimations were found to be erroneous. The eyewitnesses resisted leading questions. Conclusion: Eye witness testimony is more accurate than laboratory experiments have suggested and more field research into real-life incidents needs to be undertaken. Strengths: Natural experiment. Ecologically valid as research was based on a real world occurrence. Limitations: No control group present. Only 13 participants. Ethical Concerns: An ethical concern is the fact that participants had to recall the shooting incident and doing so could bring them emotional harm.

Dickerson et al

Aim: To investigate the effects of mindfulness and commitment in changing attitudes and behaviour. Method: 80 female swimmers were recruited as they exited the swimming pool, on their way to the locker room. A female experimenter (Experimenter I), posing as a member of a campus water conservation office, approached each potential participant and asked if she could spare a few moments to help with a water conservation project. Then, depending on the experimental condition, subjects either answered some questions, signed a poster, or both. Participants were thanked for their participation, and their interaction with the first experimenter was terminated. However, unbeknownst to subjects, a second female experimenter (Experimenter 2) was waiting in the shower room where she unobtrusively timed the length of each participant's shower and noted whether subjects turned off the water flow while soaping up. The experiment had two independent variables: mindfulness of sometimes wasteful showering habits commitment to pro-conservation behaviours. This gave the following conditions: mindful-plus-commitment (questions plus poster) mindful-only (questions only) commitment only (poster only) unmindful/ no commitment (control). The dependent variable was actual water use, as reflected by shower length and how frequently water was turned off while applying soap, shampoo, or conditioner. Results: Participants who signed the poster and completed the survey took the shortest showers, and turned off the shower between soapings most frequently. Participants who signed the poster or completed the survey took shorter showers, and turned off the shower more frequently, than the control group. Conclusion: The results suggested that cognitive dissonance was a significant factor in compliance; by the same token, the results indicated that the foot-in-the-door technique effectively increased compliance to a request for shorter showers, because of consistency. Strengths: Blind procedure minimized demand characteristics Use of control group High level of ecological validity Relatively large sample size Implications for behavioral economics Limitations: Results depended on an inperfect measurement technique of "unobtrusively" timing shower length as well as whether or not the shower was turned off. This could have led to inaccuracies in timing. Once again, university students were used as the subjects and thus results are not generalizable to a broader population. It's possible that the swimmers only agreed to participate because they were already committed to water conservation. Ethical Concerns There were no real ethical concerns with this study, as even the recording of shower times was unobtrusive.

Tajfel

Aim: To investigate the minimal conditions under which discrimination between social groups could be brought about. Method: 48 schoolboys all aged around 14 to 15 years old were randomly allocated to either a "Klee group" or to a "Kandinsky group" after they had been involved in an exercise where they were successively shown a series of slides of 6 pairs of unlabelled and unsigned abstract paintings they were told were by the artists Klee and Kandinsky and were asked to express their preferences for one or the other as the slides were displayed. After they had said which paintings they preferred, the boys were told, (on a purely random basis), that they were in the "Klee" group or the "Kandinsky" group. The boys were then asked to allocate points (worth 1/10 of a penny each) to one other numbered rather than named member of the other group and of their own group. Such allocation was anonymous, and the boys were asked to work separately on this allocation in individual cubicles. A matrix was used that allowed them to vary how the points were allocated. Results: When the boys had the choice between maximising the profit for all and maximising the profit for their own group, they chose the latter. They were found to be more concerned with creating as large a difference as possible between the amounts allocated to each group (in favour of their own group), than in gaining a greater amount for everybody, across the two groups. Conclusion: This is evidence of blatant discrimination associated with the categorisation of the boys into apparently meaningless social groups. It forms the basis of Tajfel's minimal group paradigm. Strengths: The study effectively established the bare minimum for group membership. Clearly illstrated in group bias in the context of resource competition Starkly illustrated the occurrance of in-group bias as a result of very insignificant distinctions and minimal emotional invovlement. Limitations: The study was conducted on 15 to 16 year old boys and thus the results cannot be extrapolated or generalized to a broader population. Ethical Concerns: The research was conducted on participants under the age of 18 and thus their parents would have had to give their consent for their children's participation.

Ayoun and Moreo (2008)

Aim: To investigate the potential influence of the cultural dimension of time orientation on the strategic behavior of hotel managers. Method: A survey questionnaire was mailed to top-level hotel managers in the U.S.and Thailand. A usable sample of 120 was used in the analysis. Results: Compared to their American counterparts, Thai managers were found to place a stronger emphasis on longer term strategic plans, have a stronger tendency toward involving others when developing their business strategy, and a stronger reliance on long-term evaluation of strategy. No significant differences were found between the managers concerning openness to strategic change and commitment to strategic decisions. Conclusion: Time orientation is a relevant cultural dimension for explaining the differences between managers from these two countries. Strengths: Etic study Relatively large sample size decreases confounding variables Limitations: Survey as research method thus study relies on the accuracy of respondants Time orientation may not be the only cultural dimension at play Related to the above, confounding variables are present Ethical Considerations: There are no real ethical considerations with this study

Cialidini

Aim: To investigate the rate of compliance to a reduced request after refusal of initial large request. Method: There were three conditions. Rejection-moderation condition. Participant was asked and refused first request (which was to volunteer at a detention center for juvenile delinquents for two hours per week for two years) and was then asked a smaller favour. Smaller request-only control. Participant was asked only the smaller request. Exposure control. Participant was described the big request and then asked for the smaller favour. Results: Large request then small request—50% compliance Both requests at once—25% compliance Small request only—16.7% compliance Conclusion: A smaller request after a bigger request does improve compliance. Just telling participants about the big request isn't sufficient to build compliance. Reciprocity has to be induced by an initial refusal (the door-in-the-face), and subsequent modification of, the first request. Strengths: Illustrates beautifully the "door in the face" compliance technique Ecologically valid as the experiment simulated a real world situation Results have implications for other areas of research such as economics and marketing. Single blind procedure minimizes demand characteristics Reciprocity was effectively isolated by the use of a second researcher to make the second request—compliance was much lower in this variation. Limitations: Emic study that lacks generalizability to other cultures. Arguably, compliance changed for reasons other than door-in-the-face, though it's not clear what these might be. Limited generalizability because door-in-the-face was only tested for face-to-face prosocial requests from a same-sex requester Ethical Considerations: There were no real ethical considerations with this study

Huesmann et al. (2003)

Aim: To investigate the relationship between children's exposure to TV violence and later aggressive and violent behaviour in young adulthood. Method: It was a longitudinal study, including a meta-analysis of the data. The original study was conducted upon 557 children growing up in the Chicago area, and the follow-up study was conducted on the same individuals, now as young adults, in 1992. Four questions were asked by the researchers when examining the data: To what extent does early childhood exposure to media violence predict young adult aggression and violence? Are there gender differences in the predictability? Does the extent to which the child viewer identifies with the aggressive character or believes the plot is realistic affect the strength of the prediction? To what extent does any long-term relation seem to be due to more aggressive children simply liking to watch violence or due to some environmental, family, or personal "third variable" that stimulates both childhood violence viewing and childhood and adult aggression? Results: For both male and female participants, childhood TV-violence viewing correlated significantly with young adult aggression 15 years later. Furthermore: Childhood perceptions that TV-violence reflects real life and childhood identification with same-sex aggressive TV characters significantly correlated with adult aggression 15 years later. Parent factors play a role in influencing both aggression and TV habits. However, the results suggest that the parent factors probably do not account by themselves for the longitudinal relations between TV-violence viewing and later aggression. Conclusion: Social learning appeared to account for aggressive behaviour in young adulthood, as a result of TV-violence viewing, and there were no gender differences in the findings Strengths: This is a rare example of a longitudinal study that looks at the long-term impacts of social learning. The analysis included controls for socioeconomic status, intellectual ability, and a range of parent factors. Supports Bandura's findings, and social learning theory in general. Large sample size Established a clear correlation between exposure to TV violence and adult violence Distinguished between "realistic" and "unrealistic" violence Limitations: It's a correlational study, so it's not possible to know whether exposure to TV-violence caused later aggression, or if other unidentified factors might be involved. The study was based in Chicago, in an individualist culture, so results may not be generalizable to other cultural contexts. Ethical Considerations: There were no ethical concerns with this study as all the variables were naturally occuring.

Bouchard et al

Aim: To investigate the relative influence of environment and genetic factors on human characteristics and behaviours, including intelligence. Method: A cross-cultural correlational study of more than 100 pairs of reared-apart twins and siblings whose data was compared with twins and siblings reared together. The participants comprised identical (monozygotic/MZ) twins and non-identical (dizygotic/DZ) twins, with an average age of 41 years. MZ twins are often used in genetic research because they have identical or almost identical genes. Each participant underwent over 50 hours of psychological testing and interviews. In twin research, the correlation found between each twin and therefore presumably between genetic inheritance and a particular behaviour is called the concordance rate. Results: The concordance rates for IQ were: MZ twins reared together: 86% (0.86) MZ twins reared apart: 76% (0.76) DZ twins reared together: 55% (0.55) Biological siblings reared together 47% (0.47) Conclusion: Bouchard et al concluded that about 70% of intelligence is heritable, meaning that genes account for 70% of the variation in intelligence from one person to the next. Strengths: This study was the largest of its kind and had a large sample size given the strict parameters of the study (mono-zygotic twins reared apart). Had a control group Unique in its approach Longitudinal thus showing change, or lackthereof, over time Limitations: Results remain correlational due to the fact that there are so many confounding variables. For example, environments are seemingly "different" but how different are the environments of two Midwestern upper middle class homes? This actual "sameness" could thus be providing false attribution to genetic causes. Serious potential for confirmation bias in twin studies, as twins seek similarities. Participants were all self-selected volunteers, and therefore may be fundamentally different than non-volunteers (this limits generalizability). Ethical Concerns: There were ethical concerns with the fact that Bouchard made some participants aware of the fact they were a twin. This could have been emotionally disturbing news and thus the ethical standard of protecting individuals from physical and emotional harm was perhaps violated.

Martinez and Kesner (1991) ACh in memory formation

Aim: To investigate the role of ACh in memory formation Procedure: Experimental study using rats. They were trained to run a maze. They were divided into three groups • Group 1: received injection with scopolamine (blocks ACh receptor sites, reducing available ACh) • Group 2: received injection with physostigmine (blocks production of cholinesterase (enzyme) which cleans up ACh from the synapses) leading to more available Ach • Group 3: control group Results: • Group 1 had problems finding their way through the maze and made more mistakes • Group 2 ran quickly through the maze and made few mistakes. The group was quicker than the control group Evaluation: The study shows that Ach is important in memory since the rats showed different memory capacity depending of Ach level. Since this was a controlled laboratory experiment, it can be concluded that the level of Ach is one factor that affects memory but the neurobiology of memory is very complex

Stanford Prison Experiment

Aim: To investigate what happens when good people are put in an evil situation. Method: It was a laboratory experiment. The researchers converted a basement at Stanford University into a mock prison, and participants were randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard. Prisoners were arrested at their own homes, without warning, and taken to the local police station. Guards were issued a khaki uniform, together with whistles, handcuffs, and reflective dark glasses (to make eye contact with prisoners impossible). No physical violence was permitted. When the prisoners arrived at the prison they were stripped naked, deloused, had all their possessions removed, and were given prison clothes and bedding and referred to by their number only. Their clothes comprised a smock with their number written on it, but no underclothes. They also had a tight nylon cap, and a chain around one ankle. There were 3 guards to the 9 prisoners, taking shifts of eight hours each (the other guards remained on call). Zimbardo observed the behaviour of the prisoners and guards through a one-way mirror, and the experiment was video-recorded. There were also follow-up interviews with all of the participants. Results: Over the next few days the relationships between the guards and the prisoners changed, with a change in one leading to a change in the other. As the prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more aggressive and assertive. They demanded ever greater obedience from the prisoners. The prisoners were dependent on the guards for everything so tried to find ways to please the guards, such as telling tales on fellow prisoners. One prisoner had to be released after 36 hours because his thinking became disorganized and he appeared to be entering the early stages of a deep depression. Within the next few days three others also had to leave after showing signs of emotional disorder that could have had lasting consequences. (These were people who had been pronounced stable and normal a short while before.) Zimbardo had intended that the experiment should run for two weeks, but on the sixth day he closed it down. There was real danger that someone might be physically or mentally damaged if it was allowed to continue. After some time, the participants were called back for a follow-up, debriefing session. The researchers concluded that people will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those of the prison guards. The "prison" environment was an important factor in creating the guards' brutal behavior (none of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study). Therefore, the roles that people play can shape their behavior and attitudes. This is an example of situational factors shaping disposition and behaviour. Strengths: Laboratory experiment however great efforts were made to simulate a naturalistic observation thus increasing the ecological validity level from that of a typical laboratory experiment. Participants were screened for mental well-being prior to being chosen for participation in the experiment. This served as a form of "control." Random assignment was used to minimize confounding variables. Limitations: Although great efforts were made to create a naturalistic observation, the study was a laboratory experiment and the participants' behavior could have been altered as a result. Participants were all male and came from the population of university students thus results may not be generalisable to the broader population. The study was ended early due to ethical concerns. Ethical Concerns: Participants gave consent; however,the pre-experimental briefing and consent form failed to outline the degree to which the "prisoner" participants would be subjected to emotional and physical abuse. In fairness, the researchers never expected it to get so severe. The biggest issue is that the study wasn't ended as soon as participants showed signs of distress, which happened within the first 24 hours. From an ethical viewpoint, the study should have ended way sooner than it did. However, the fact that it continued did provide some conclusive insight into how the prison situation influences behaviour.

Maguire et al

Aim: To investigate whether changes could be detected in the brains of London taxi drivers and to further investigate the functions of the hippocampus in spatial memory. Method: Natural experiment. The participants for this study were 16 healthy, right-handed male London taxi drivers. The taxi drivers' MRI brain scans were compared with the scans of 50 healthy right-handed males who did not drive taxis. Results: The posterior regions (back parts) of the taxi drivers' hippocampi were significantly larger than those of control subjects and the anterior (front) hippocampal region was larger in control subjects than in taxi drivers. Also, hippocampal volume of the right hippocampus in each taxi driver correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver -positively in the right posterior and negatively in the right anterior hippocampus. (So the back part of the right hippocampus grew larger and the front part shrank). Conclusion: This study demonstrates the plasticity of the hippocampus in response to environmental demands, suggesting that the changes in hippocampal gray matter, at least on the right, are acquired. Strengths: Natural experiment thus high in ecological validity Control group present (non taxi drivers) Clear variables Limitations: Confounding variables present due to the fact design was natural experiment Small sample size of only 16 participants in experimental condition Ethical Concerns: There were no real ethical concerns with this study

Brown and Kulik

Aim: To investigate whether dramatic and personally significant events can create flashbulb memories. Method: The researchers used a retrospective questionnaire to assess the memories of 80 US participants for the circumstances in which they learned of public events. The questionnaire tested their memories of ten major events, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy, that had taken place 14 years earlier. Results: Memories for such events were particularly detailed, vivid and long-lasting. People remembered where they were, what they were doing and how they heard about the event. However, black participants had a better recall of Medgar Evers' (a civil rights worker) death. Conclusion: Flashbulb memories are qualitatively different from other memories, allowing people to remember minor details of an event that they would otherwise forget. The difference in memory between black and white participants shows importance of relevance of the information - culture influences the perceived relevance of an event, which influences the type of memory we have of it. Strengths: 80 participants is not a large number, but is a solid number of participants for this type of research. The nature of the survey was such that the participants would be likely to provide valid information. Limitations: The researchers presume that all the events listed resulted in flashbulb memories for all the participants when in fact the detailed recollections could instead be a result of confounding variables such as rehearsal or a cultural narrative. The reported memories by the participants could be more a result of regurgitating a media produced or cultural narrative than recalling actual personal memory. Potential problems with self-report in surveys—there were no controls to account for accuracy. Researchers may have mistaken participant confidence and the supposed vividness of flashbulb memories for accuracy. Ethical Concerns: There were no real ethical concerns with this study.

Rosenzweig and Bennet (1972)

Aim: To investigate whether environmental factors such as a rich or an impoverished environment would affect the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex. Method: A series of laboratory experiments. Rats from the same litter were placed in either an enriched environment, an impoverished condition, or a standard condition (control group). For the enriched condition, the researchers placed 10 - 12 rats in a cage containing different stimulus objects to explore and play with. This group also received maze training. In the impoverished condition, the researchers placed each rat in individual cages with no toys or maze. In the control condition, the rats had company but no toys. The rats typically spent 30 to 60 days in their respective environments before they were killed in order for the researchers to study changes in the brain's anatomy. Results: There was an increased thickness and higher weight of the cortex in the rats in the enriched condition compared with those in the other groups. They had also developed significantly more connections in the neurons in the cerebral cortex associated with transmission of acetylcholine, which is an important neurotransmitter for learning and memory. Conclusion: The thickness of the cortex and the overall weight of the brain increased as a result of the enriched environment. Strengths: Experiment with control group facilitated isolation of correlation Experiment investigated a real world problem--impoverished environments Using rats from the same litter helped to minimize the confounding variable of biological causes of cortex size. Limitations: Because the study was a natural experiment, it had high ecological validity but suffers from the limitation of all natural experiments--the presence of confounding variables. Animal research, thus not directly applicable to humans, however animal research can be used to inform understanding of human behavior due to previously established biological similarity. Ethical Concerns: The mice were killed at the end of the experiment in order to have their cortex measured; this is unfortunate but a necessary element of the study. The mice were killed humanely, thus no real ethical violations were present.

Loftus and Palmer

Aim: To investigate whether leading questions asked of eye witnesses after an event can change memory of that event. Method: Forty-five US university students were split into five groups and were shown seven film clips of traffic accidents. Following each film participants were asked to write a brief account, and then to answer questions, one of which was the leading question: About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other? The verb hit was used for one group, and was replaced with either smashed, collided, bumped, or contacted for each of the other groups. Results: The verb smashed yielded a mean estimate of 40.5 mph, while participants with the verb contacted in their question estimated a mean speed of 31.8 mph. Conclusion: External information supplied (or in this case implied) after the fact can change memories of an event. This ties in with schema theory, where the schema invoked by the word smashed is of a more serious accident than that invoked by the word contacted. Strengths: The sequence of the seven videos was randomized to control for order effects. The only difference between experimental conditions was the verb used in one question, so theindependent variable was effectively isolated. The results of the study have a broadapplication to eyewitness testimony in the courtroom, and this has led to increased scrutiny of the reliability and credibility of eyewitnesses, and to important changes in law enforcement procedures such as interrogation techniques. Limitations: University students were used in the study and thus the generalizability of the findings is somewhat limited. Watching a car crash on a television screen is quite artificial, and participants may respond differently when witnessing a real-life car crash with added emotional impact and so on, so...the study lacks ecological validity. The difference in speed estimates could be due to response bias instead of mental representations or schemas.

Zanetti et al (2001)

Aim: To investigate whether training improves procedural memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Method: The experimental group consisted of 11 patients with mild to moderate Alzhiemer's, all of whom were attending a day hospital. These individuals were trained over a period of three weeks (one hour a day, five days a week) in 13 basic tasks of daily life (personal hygiene, using a telephone, getting dressed, reading, writing, etc. The experimental group was compared against a control of 7 Alzheimer's patients who received no training. Both groups performed a baseline test at the beginning of the study, measuring how long it took to perform the 13 tasks, and then after four months both groups were tested again to see the impact of training on procedural memory. Results: The training group performed significantly faster at follow-up compared to baseline, and signficantly faster than the control group at follow-up. Conclusion: The researchers interpreted all this to indicate that procedural memory could be improved through training in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's patients. Strengths: Use of a control group. Standardized procedure and training tasks. Potential benefit and application for Alzheimer's patients. Limitations: The improvement in the training group could have been due to several interacting variables in a circular reaction related to the "caregiver effect".

Asch

Aim: To test conformity to the majority incorrect opinion in an unambiguous situation. Method: 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA participated in a 'vision test'. Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates. Eight participants were seated around a table, with the seating plan carefully constructed to prevent any suspicion on the part of the naive participant that the others were confederates. The task was to estimate which of the three vertical lines drawn on one card matched the single vertical line on the other card. The participants answered one at a time, and on some occasions the confederates unanimously gave an obviously wrong answer. In the original 1951 experiment there were 18 trials in total and the confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 trials (called the critical trials). Results: On average, about 32% of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the critical trials. Over the 12 critical trials about 75% of participants conformed at least once and 25% of participants never conformed. In the control group, with no pressure to conform to confederates, less than 1% of participants gave the wrong answer. When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed. Conclusion: People conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence). Asch repeated the experiment over the years, changing the procedure (including the independent variables) in order to investigate which factors influenced conformity. He found that the size of the group; status of the group; whether a confederate changed their mind and agreed with the naive participant; difficulty of the task, and being allowed to answer privately all affected conformity rates. Strengths: Clearly illustrated normative conformity Easily reproducible The simplicity and obviousness of the task starkly illustrated the ease and willingness of people to conform Limitations: Study was conducted with only university aged men, thus not generalizable to a broader population The simple design is also a limitation as participants may not have seen any negative aspect of conforming. The study lacks ecological validity. Study is old. This is a major limitation as American culture has changed a great deal since then and it is established that culture can have a major impact on behavior. The study's results neglected to be replicated at such a high level in other cultures thus further illustrating its limitations relative to generalizability. Ethical Concerns The participants were deceived and may have felt mild emotional discomfort as an "outsider" however this is not a major ethical concern.

Lau and Russell (1980)

Aim: To test for the existence of self-serving bias amongst sports coaches, athletes, and sportswriters. Method: Meta-analysis of newspaper sports articles from the autumn of 1977, describing 33 major sporting events. A total of 594 explanations (attributions) for the results of these games were collected from 107 articles. The researchers noted whether the attribution for the outcome was from a player, coach or sportswriter. Results: Players and coaches were much more likely to attribute a win to dispositional factors than were sportswriters, and slightly less likely than sportswriters to attribute a loss to dispositional factors. Conclusion: The self-serving bias was shown clearly to operate in terms of when the team won, but not so much as predicted when they lost, whereupon - at least in statements given to the newspaper - coaches and players still favoured dispositional factors over situational ones. Strengths: High level of ecological validity Large data set including 594 unique attributions. Limitations: The attributions studied were those of sports coaches and it is possible that their attribution style is unique from the broader population. There could be ulterior motivations for sports coaches to engage in the attributions they did in a public setting. For example one motivation may be the emotional managment of their team as they know their comments are public and will be viewed by their players as well as the community. Thus the data may not be fully accurate. Based in an individualist cultural context, so may not be generalizable to collectivist settings. Some issues with how attributions were coded, especially whether teammates were internal or external. Ethical Concerns: There are no real ethical concerns with this study.

Heine et al. 1999

Aim: To test the cross-cultural applicability of the theory of self-serving bias. Method: Review of relevant anthropological, sociological and psychological literature regarding the need or otherwise for "positive self-regard" in Japan. Results: There is very little evidence that the Japanese culture has a need for positive self-regard. Instead there is a bias towards self-criticism. Conclusion: The assumed universal need for positive self-regard and protection of one's self-esteem, which is the basis for the self-serving bias, is rooted in North American individualist culture and is not cross-culturally applicable. Strengths: Meta-analysis thus large data set results in more consistent and valid results Etic in its approach Results of the study required psychologists to question the trans-cultural presence of self-serving bias and develop a greater appreciation for culture shaping cognition. High level of ecological validity Limitations: Meta-analysis relies on the methodological validity of other researchers. Ethical Concerns: There are no real ethical concerns with this study.

Ross et al

Aim: to determine if participants would make the fundamental attribution error even when they knew that all the actors were simply playing a role. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to being game show host, responder and observers. The "game show host" designed difficult general knowledge questions for the responder, who of course could not answer all of them. Results: The responder and the observers consistently rated the questioner as more intelligent and knowledgeable than either the responder or the observers. Conclusion: Participants underestimated the situational factors (the game show hosts being allowed to ask questions to which they knew the answers) and over estimated dispositional factors (the hosts' intelligence). This demonstrates what Ross called the fundamental attribution error. Strengths: Laboratory experiment that attempted to mimic a field experiment thus ecological validity is higher than that of a typical laboratory experiment. Results supported the theory of fundamental attribution error. Use of a control group allowed for comparison of situational and dispositional attributions. Counter-balanced design in the confederates taking turns acting as questioner or contestant, which accounted for potential biases. Limitations: Although it was a well designed laboratory experiment designed to mimic a real world situation, it was still a laboratory experiment and thus ecological validity is not as high as an actual field or natural experiment. Limited generalizability. Ethical Concerns: There are no real ethical concerns with this study.

Corkin et al.

Aim: to investigate the extent of hippocampal damage in H.M.s brain Method: Brain scans Took IQ and memory test. Normal IQ Memory 37 points lower Findings: parts of hippocampus and regions surrounding hippocampus were damaged. Due to this short term memory could not turn into long term memory

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behavior?

Bouchard et al Bailey & Pillard (1991)

Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes.

Corkin (1997)—MRI study on HM Sharot et al. (2007)—fMRI study on 9/11

Using one or more examples, explain functions of two hormones on human behavior.

Cortisol (Newcommer)- • Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal cortex in response to stress and to restore homeostasis (the body's normal balance) • Chronic stress may result in prolonged cortisol secretion and this can lead to physiological changes such as damaged immune system and impairment of learning of memory ○ This is because high amounts of cortisol results in atrophy of the hippocampus Oxytocin (Baumgartner et al)- • The hormone oxytocin is secreted by the hypothalamus and released (1) into the blood stream via the pituitary gland or (2) into the brain and spinal cord where it binds to oxytocin receptors. Oxytocin acts primarily as a neurotransmitter in the brain • Oxytocin has been linked to trusting other people. Experimental manipulation of oxytocin levels has shown increase in trust • According to evolutionary psychologists, trust is an important social tool in the relationship between humans. Trust is an adaptive mechanism as it helps humans to form meaningful relationships at a personal and professional level. Betrayal disrupts bonds of trust and may result in avoidance of the person who betrayed you • Learning who to trust and who to avoid is important for survival and the well-being of an individual. Humans should also be able to move on after experiences of breaching trust if long-term relationships and mental well-being are to be preserved • Oxytocin could play a role in reducing fear reactions via the amygdala that may arise as a consequence of betrayal

Discuss factors influencing conformity.

Cultural norms Berry Informational Conformity When an individual turns to members of a group to obtain information about what is right (e.g. when information is ambiguous) Sherif Normative conformity When an individual conforms in order to be accepted or liked by other members of the group; People have a need for social approval and acceptance Asch

Define the terms "culture" and "cultural norms."

Culture It's difficult to define culture, but there are three definitions from cultural researchers: Lonner (1995): Culture can be defined as common rules that regulate interactions and behaviour in a group as well as the number of shared values in the group Hofstede (1995): Culture can be defined as the collective mental programming that guides a group of people in their daily interactions and distinguishes them from other groups of people Matsumoto (2004): Culture can be defined as the dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, that's established by groups in order to ensure their survival Cultural norms Cultural norms can be defined as the rules a specific group uses to state what's seen as appropriate and inappropriate behavoiurs, values, beliefs and attitudes Cultural norms give people a sense of order and control in their lives and a sense of safety and belonging. It may encompass communication style, whom to marry and how, child-rearing practices or interaction between generations Cultural norms may be explicit (e.g. legal codes) or implicit (i.e. conventional practices and rituals)

Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.

Culture and memory: Bartlett Cole and Scribner

Darley and Gross (1983)

Darley and Gross (1983) performed an experiment where the researchers showed videos of a girl to participants. In video 1, the girl was playing in a poor environment (poor stereotype); in video 2, the girl was playing in a rich environment (rich stereotype). Then they saw a video of the girl in what could be an intelligence test. When the participants were asked to judge the future of the girl they all said that the "rich" girl would do well and the "poor" girl would do less well. Based on a few salient details from the first video, participants formed an overall impression of the girl's potential future based on stereotypes

Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of analysis

Deception Although researchers aren't usually allowed to deceive their participants, the use of (justified) deception can make sociocultural research way more valid. Individuals are too prone to alter their behaviour when they know it's being recorded or observed in some way, and they usually change it in favour of some social standard. In sociocultural research, that's a major problem, because researchers need to look at social and cultural variables as naturally as possible. Soloman Asch conducted a study on conformity that required deception. Participants were led to believe they were in a room with several other participants, who were actually confederates employed by the researcher. Further, these confederates deliberately gave incorrect answers on a line test supposedly measuring their perception, while participants believed these other "participants" were responding truthfully. Arguably, this deception was necessary, so that Asch could properly measure the impacts of a unanimous majority on individual conformity, but it's still problematic. Also, Tajfel's study on social identity theory deceived the schoolboy participants into thinking they were divided into social groups based on their preference for the artistic style of Klee or Kandinsky. While this deception was relatively minor, it still raises ethical issues. It's somewhat debatable whether this deception was even necessary for the study. Anxiety, stress, pain, discomfort Unfortunately, the sociocultural level of analysis includes more than a few studies that might be described as "infamous", because of the strain these studies placed on participants. The Stanford Prison Experiment had to be shut down after six days, because of the anxiety and stress it was causing participants. Arguably, it should have been shut down a whole lot sooner, if the lead researcher (Philip Zimbardo) hadn't gotten himself so involved in his own role as prison warden, which seemed to temporarily blind him to some major ethical issues right in front of him. Bandura's (1961) experiment on social learning theory included elements that deliberately frustrated pre-school children (which is a problem all its own), and further ran the risk of making these children more aggressive through exposure to an aggressive role model. The big issue here is that participants should not be changed in any way by their participation in a study, and while these children were debriefed afterwards, it was still an ethical risk. Right to withdrawal Perhaps to most notable violation of the right to withdrawal occurred (again) during the Stanford Prison Experiment. When a participant came to the lead researcher (Zimbardo) and asked to be removed from the study (due to obvious indications of stress and anxiety), Zimbardo instead asked him to stay in the study, and be a "snitch" in the prison. This violates the ethical guidelines on multiple levels: The participant should not have been made to feel stress or anxiety in the first place. He should have been allowed to withdraw for whatever reason, or for no reason. Zimbardo should not have pressured him, in any way, to remain in the study.

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural level of analysis.

Despite the difficulties associated with isolating social and cultural variables, there are many examples of experimental research at the sociocultural level of analysis. That's obviously an important part of keeping sociocultural research scientific, and for establishing cause-and-effect relationships. Here are some examples: The Stanford Prison Experiment Bandura's (1961) Bashing Bobo study There's no shortage of quasi-experimental research at the sociocultural level of analysis. While pre-existing variables (like culture) aren't necessarily ideal for science, they are ideal for sociocultural research. There are few other methods that allow for comparisions between social groups and cultural groups, so quasi-experiments are somewhat indispensable. Berry (1967) compared rates of conformity in two subsistence-level societies to see if conformity was higher in collectivist or individualist cultures. Ayoun and Moreo (2009) compared long-term and short-term orientation (as a cultural dimension) in hotel managers from Thailand and the US, and found that the Thai managers took a more long-term strategic focus to their hotel management. This technique is used whenever researchers want to analyze an existing body of data. The meta-analytic method is extremely useful for drawing big picture conclusions, and taking a step back to see the broader scope of a body of research or some social phenomenon. Lau and Russell's (1980) study on attribution examined newspaper accounts to see how players and coaches attributed the reasons for wins and losses respectively. Bond and Smith (1996) analyzed 133 replications of the Asch paradigm in 17 different countries, to investigate the effect of individualism-collectivism on conformity.

Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior.

Dispositional factors are ultimately internal factors—they are part of the person, like personality. Sometimes this is known as internal attribution. The basic idea is that behaviour is attributed to something the person can control, like their abilities, their emotional states, their beliefs, their attitudes, or their personality traits, and so on. While it's debatable how many of those things a person actually can control, the point is that dispositional attributions are based on personal factors—that's what causes behaviour. In other words, it's completely possible that the waiter's bad mood results from the situation rather than his disposition. Not surprisingly, situational factors are usually external factors. This could refer to a certain circumstance, a particular collection of friends, different environments like school or home, peer pressure, and so on—depending on the situation, a person's behaviour may change. It's possible that someone who's extroverted and open at home becomes introverted and quiet at school, all because of the situation. This type of attribution is sometimes known as external attribution. The basic idea here is that behaviour is attributed to something beyond a person's control—it all comes down to the situation. The Stanford Prison Experiment Lau and Russel Situational: In other words, it's completely possible that the waiter's bad mood results from the situation rather than his disposition. Not surprisingly, situational factors are usually external factors. This could refer to a certain circumstance, a particular collection of friends, different environments like school or home, peer pressure, and so on—depending on the situation, a person's behaviour may change. It's possible that someone who's extroverted and open at home becomes introverted and quiet at school, all because of the situation. This type of attribution is sometimes known as external attribution. The basic idea here is that behaviour is attributed to something beyond a person's control—it all comes down to the situation. More on this in a later section, but the fundamental issue with attribution theory is that people make erroneous attributions all the time. They blame the situation when they should blame themselves, or vice versa. This has all kinds of impacts for human behaviour, and faulty attributions have been to everything from stereotypes to depression.

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the biological level of analysis.

Experiment: Laboratory experiments attempt to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two or more variables. To do this, experiments are performed under highly controlled conditions that limit the influence of extraneous variables. Experiments are generally quantitative, which means they generates numerical data that can be tested for statistical significance, in order to rule out the role of chance in the results. Quasi-experiments are also used to investigate differences between pre-existing groups. Many experiments and quasi-experiments at the biological level of analysis target the influence of specific hormones and neurotransmitters on behaviour, cognition and emotion, but they're sometimes used to examine brain structures too. Maguire et al Rosenswig and Bennet Correlational studies establish a relationship between variables, but the researcher does not manipulate an independent variable (as in an experiment), and therefore, no cause and effect can be determined. However, correlational studies offer one of the only methods psychologists can actually use to study heritability and behaviour. From an ethical viewpoint, it's not possible to manipulate human genes in an experimental setting, nor can psychologists create genetic clones and raise them in different environments to isolate genetic influences, so correlational studies are often the only option for studying genetic inheritance. This is seen in: Concordance Rates Caspi et al

Discuss the use of compliance techniques.

Foot-in-the-door technique argues that when we get someone to agree to a small request, there's an increased chance that the individual will agree to a second, larger request There are several factors involved in why we do this Once we make a choice or take a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment Human behaviour works on "goal gradients"- that is, once we've made a commitment and work toward a goal, the closer we get to the goal, the less likely we are to abandon it We have a fundamental need to belong. As part of this, we desire to see ourselves as fair and honest people. Our self-perception and how we interact with groups is an important factor in why we often will stick to a commitment. Cultural norms are also important. We learn as you people the importance of "our word", promises, commitment Moriarty Dickerson et al The Door-in-the-Face technique is when an offer is made which will surely be turned down, and then a second, more reasonable offer is made The fact that you refused the first offer makes it more likely that you will accept the second offer Why does door-in-the-face work? It is based on the concept of reciprocity- that is, when someone does something for us, we feel that we need to return the favour. Once again, this is a social norm, but it may actually have evolutionary roots. When the person compromises by asking us for something smaller, we feel that we need to reciprocate and accept the second offer. When the other person refuses the first request, they may feel guilty about having refused another person and fear rejection as a result. The second request gives them the opportunity to get rid of the negative feelings and fear of rejection. This, like foot in the door, has to do with our perception of ourselves as good people. The lower request uses the contrast principle, making it seem very small in comparison with the larger initial request and therefore relatively easy to agree with. The first request has to be relatively reasonable. If the first request is too extreme, then the person is seen as not acting in good faith, exploitive or not trustworthy. The second request has to be something that the individual is actually able to do and sees has having some value The second request should be made soon after the first request, before the effects of guilt and other motivators wears off Cialidini Guéguen and Meineri

Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the cognitive level of analysis

Informed consent It's just not ethical to study people without their knowledge and informed consent. As useful as it might be to observe people or experiment upon them covertly, it just can't be done—the integrity of psychology as a social science depends entirely on human participants, and trust is essential. Plus, it's basically a human right. Loftus and Palmer (1974) could tell participants the experiment was on eyewitness testimony, but they couldn't say that the experimental variable was word choice. The study is ethical enough—it's just that informed consent couldn't give away too much. There are always questions about whether HM were even in a position to give their informed consent, given their severe short term memory problems. However, their caregivers did consent, and for his part HM was always a willing participant in the hundreds of studies conducted upon him. Anxiety, stress, pain, discomfort Researchers must ensure that participants will not be put through distress. They must be protected from physical and mental harm. The Sharot et al. (2007) fMRI study on flashbulb memory and proximity to the 9/11 attacks required participants to remember the morning of the attacks, which may be traumatic. The same criticism can be made of Neisser and Harsch's (1987) study on the Challenger space shuttle explosion, and to a lesser degree, Talarico and Rubin's (2003) study on 9/11. However, participants did consent to the studies. Speisman et al.'s (1964) experiment on appraisal and emotion deliberately included a trauma condition, and the subincision video all on its own was potentially stressful or uncomfortable for participants. It was necessary for the experiment, but...it remains problematic.

Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis

Informed consent Researchers conducting experiments on humans are required to inform participants about the nature of the experiment and obtain their formal consent to participate. Participants must not be deceived about the nature of the experiment; confidentiality regarding their identity and their data has to be maintained; they should be debriefed after the experiment; and participants are allowed to withdraw themselves or their data at any time. Most importantly, participants should be protected at all times from psychological or physical harm. Maguire Bouchard Anxiety, stress, pain, or discomfort Usually, there are clear ideas from the outset about how a hormone or neurotransmitter might affect behaviour, but researchers still have to be careful about exposing participants to body chemicals because of the risk of anxiety and stress Newcommer et al

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the cognitive level of analysis.

Lab Experiments: the big advantage of experiments of course is that they're the best method for demonstrating cause-and-effect relationships, while controlling for extraneous variables. Remember that an experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested. In an experiment, an independent variable (the cause) is manipulated and the dependent variable (the effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are controlled. Speisman et al Loftus and Palmer A lot of research at the CLOA is quasi-experimental, meaning that the differences between the experimental groups are pre-exisiting. Usually, any study comparing two cultural groups, for example, is quasi-experimental because the researchers can't manipulate culture. Cole and Scribner's (1972) study on memory in Kpelle and American schoolchildren used different cultures in each experimental condition. Sharot et al.'s (2007) quasi-experiment on flashbulb memory compared fMRI scans for participants who were in either downtown or midtown Manhattan during the 9/11 attacks. The case of HM is almost one in a million, and it happened right when psychologists were taking an interest in the biology of memory. Psychologists could never damage someone's hippocampus just to study memory, but HM came along and provide a perfect opportunity to do so.

Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology. Evaluate 2 relevant studies.

Lazarus (1975) Appraisal theory • According to appraisal theory, cognitive factors can modulate stress responses, i.e. the physiological and psychological reactions involved in the experience • Appraisal can be seen as an evaluation of a situation, including the evaluation of one's psychological and material resources to cope with the stressful event Speisman et al (you connect it saying that the cognition of the soundtracks. Group the greatest physiological response was with the "trauma" condition worried about the boys based on genital mutilation and therefore the stress response is higher. You can't do anything to save the boys and that's why it's higher. As they appraised the situation as dangerous, trauma + video, their response is higher.) Corkin et al

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

LeDoux Speisman et al (you connect it saying that the cognition of the soundtracks. Group the greatest physiological response was with the "trauma" condition worried about the boys based on genital mutilation and therefore the stress response is higher. You can't do anything to save the boys and that's why it's higher. As they appraised the situation as dangerous, trauma + video, their response is higher.) Cognitive- appraisal on situation Physiology- stress response (cortisol, increased heart rate) Schachter and Singer 1962

Explain one study related to localization of function.

Localisation of brain function refers to the theory that psychological functions are located in specific areas of the brain. This essentially means that certain brain structures or brain regions are in charge of particular behaviours, cognitions and emotions. Language, for example, is thought to be localised in the temporal lobe of the left hemisphere of the brain, so damage to that region has been associated with language difficulties. Maguire Corkin et al.

Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between biological factors and behaviour.

MRI: MRI scan: magnetic resonance imaging Can give detailed pictures of internal structures in the body In MRI scanner a radio frequency transmitter is turned on and produces an electromagnetic field Strengths of MRI - MRI scans are particularly to show how the blood flows in the brain and can be used to identify problems with blood circulation. Can be used for early detection of Alzheimers' disease - Safe to use since no radioactive material is used Limitations of MRI - They're very expensive - Movement may affect the pictures - They cannot say anything about cause-effect relationships HM fMRI: fMRI scan: functional magnetic resonance imaging - Measures changes in blood flow in the active brain -Associated with use of oxygen and linked to neural activity during information processing. When participants are asked to perform a task, scientists can observe the part of the brain that corresponds to the function. - fMRI scanning is widely used by cognitive neuroscientists and other researchers and its use had increased enormously over the last 10 years Strengths of fMRI - It doesn't use radioactive substances - It can record activity in all regions of the brain Limitations of fMRI - Focus is mostly on localized functioning in the brain and doesn't take into account the distributed nature of processing in neural networks - Results are correlational so it's not possible to establish cause-effect relationships Baumgartner et al

Explain how principles that define the cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (theories and studies).

Mental representations guide behaviour. Anderson and Pitchert Loftus and Palmer Cognitive processes can be studied scientifically Loftus and Palmer Baddeley et al Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors Cole and Scribner Bartlett

Moriarty

Moriarty's study wanted to see the role of a simple promise to a stranger. He used an independent samples design. A confederate put a towel on a beach and listened to the radio. Then the confederate left the towel to stroll down to the water. In one condition, there was mo contact between the confederate and people near him on the beach. In the second condition, a naive participant was asked if they would keep an eye on the radio for him. After the confederate walked away, a second confederate ran up and stole the radio. In the first group, where no commitment was made, 1/20 risked stopping the crime. When the person was asked to please keep an eye on the radio, the rate of helping went up to 19/20.

Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process

Multi-store model: Strengths: The model pioneered the new approach to memory where humans are seen as information processors The model's conceptualization of memory as multi-stored is supported by research It has been possible to make predictions based on the model and to design experiments The overall model has been modified, for example by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) with their new version of short-term memory, the "working memory" model Limits: The model is very simplistic and it cannot account for how interaction between the different stores take place (e.g. how information from LTM may indicate what is important and relevant to pay attention to in sensory memory) Research into the encoding of LTM has challenged the single-store version of LTM. It is now accepted that LTM contains several stores (e.g. semantic, episodic, procedural) HM Shallice and Warrington (1970) Working Memory model: Strengths: The model has been useful in understanding which parts of the memory system may be linked to underlying problems in reading and mathematical skills The model focuses on the processes of integrating information, rather than on the isolation of the sub-systems This provides a much better basis for understanding the more complex aspects of executive control in working memory Limits: The major criticism of the first models of working memory was the unclear role of the central executive This has been dealt with by including the episodic buffer in the revised model The model has been criticized for its emphasis on structure rather than processing Baddeley and Hitch Quinn and McConnel

Using one or more examples, explain effects of neurotransmission on human behavior.

Neurotransmitters are the body's natural chemical messengers which transmit information from one neuron to another in the brain and body. When an electrical impulse travels down the axon (body) of the neuron, it releases neurotransmitters which then cross the synaptic gap between two neurons. The neurotransmitters are stored in a neuron's terminal buttons. After crossing the synapse, the neurotransmitters fit into receptor sites on the post-synaptic cell, like a key in a lock. Once the message is passed on, the neurotransmitters are either broken down or reabsorbed by the terminal buttons. Acetylcholine is associated with a range of human behaviours, including movement, respiration, learning, and memory. Martinez and Kesner An example of how the neurotransmitter serotonin can affect behaviour was seen by researchers at Tokyo University (Kasamatsu and Hirai, 1999)

Petrova et al

Petrova: Aim: To see whether the cultural dimension of individual vs. collectivism would have an effect on the likelihood of compliance to a request to carry out an online survey. Method: 1287 Asian international students and 2253 randomly selected US students. The students represented a range of departments and levels of education- from first year students to doctoral candidates. The first step of the quasi-experiment was to send an email asking for the students' participation in an online survey called "Schools and Social Relationships." They were told that participation was voluntary and that the survey should take about 20 minutes to complete. One month after receiving the request, all participants- regardless whether they answered the first survey- were asked to take part in another survey. They were told that this one would take about 40 minutes to complete. Findings: 131 Asian students (10.2%) and 185 US students (8.0%) answered the first survey. The researchers say that the FITD technique was more successful in the US students. Of the students who answered the first survey, 21.6% completed the second survey, compared to only 9.9% of the Asian participants. Strengths: The researchers focused on a real request, rather than a hypothetical situation Limitations: The Asian students in the sample may have had more individualistic values than their peers living in their home countries.

Explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (theories and studies).

Principle 1: Human beings are social animals with a basic needs to belong. It means they're motivated to have important relationships with others. Sherif (1936): Experimental investigation of conformity to perceived group norm Asch (1951) Experimental investigation of conformity to the majority Principle 2: Culture influences human behaviour. It means that humans create and shape culture and they're influenced by their culture. Cultural norms give general prescriptions for behaviours that are expected in a given culture or society. Ayoun and Moreo (2008) showed how hotel managers in Thailand took a more long-term strategic focus in their hotel management compared to US managers, and theorized this was because of different cultural values related to long-term/short-term orientation. Berry Principle 3: Humans have a social self which reflects their group memberships. Tajfel (1970) Sherif Robbers Cave Study

Explain how principles that define the biological level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (theories and studies).

Principle 1: There are biological correlates of behaviour There are psychological origins of behaviour like neurotransmitters, hormones, specialized brain areas, and genes Newcomer et al (1999) lab Martinez and Kesner (1991) ACh in memory formation Principle 2: Animal research can provide insight into human behaviour A lab of this is the Rosenzweig and Bennet 1972 lab Martinez and Kesner (1991) ACh in memory formation Principle 3: Human behaviour is, to some extent, genetically based It means that to some extent, behaviour can be explained by genetic inheritance, although it's rarely the full explanation since genetic inheritance should be seen as genetic predisposition which can be affected by environmental factors Identical twins (monozygotic twins- MZ) are 100% genetically identical as they've developed from the same egg. Fraternal twins (dizygotic twins- DZ) have developed from two different eggs. They share about 50% of their genes so they're no more similar than siblings Twin research never shows a 100% concordance rate so it's believed that genes are a predisposing factor rather than the cause of behaviour. It's also important to consider what environmental factors could influence the expression of the genetic predisposition Bouchard et al Caspi

Sherif Robbers Cave Study

Sherif Robbers Cave Study - His main contribution is known as Realistic Conflict Theory, and accounts for group conflict, negative prejudices, and stereotypes as being the result of competition between groups for desired resources - He argued that intergroup conflict occurs when two groups are in competition for limited resources Method: Field experiment with two groups, with 22 boys total that didn't know each other, with 12-year olds ar Robber's Cave State Park. The boys were randomly assigned to one of two groups, although neither was aware of the other's existence. They were then, as individual groups, taken by bus on successive days in the summer of 1954 to the 200 acre Boy Scouts camp. They were kept separate and encouraged to bond through the pursuit of common goals which required co-operative discussion, planning and execution. After they established their own cultures and group norms, Sherif arranged the Competition Stage, which occurred over 4-6 days. It was intended to bring the two groups into competition with each other in conditions would create frustration between them. At first, the prejudice was only verbally expressed, like taunting or name-calling. As the competition wore on, it took more a direct route. The groups became so aggressive with each other that the researchers had to physically separate them.

Guéguen and Meineri

They tested whether the amount of time between the first and the second request made a difference in the level of compliance. In their study, waitresses were told to ask randomly selected restaurant customers whether they wanted dessert at the end of their meal. There were then two conditions if the naive participant refused. In the first condition, the waitresses immediately asked if the person wanted tea or coffee. In the second condition, they left and returned three minutes later to ask if they wanted tea or coffee. The results showed that people were more likely to order tea or coffee in the immediate condition, rather than in the delayed condition.

Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.

Social identity theory (SIT) is the theory that an individual's sense of who they are is developed on the basis of group membership, and this identity is shared by other members of the group. Eventually, this leads to the formation of in-groups and out-groups, which is basically a categorization of people as either "us" or "them". That, in turn, has all sorts of implications for human psychology, because people don't behave the same way around "us" and "them" respectively. Tajfel (1970) Strengths: SIT assumes that intergroup conflict isn't required for discrimination to occur. It's supported by empirical research, e.g. Tajfel (1970) SIT can explain some of the mechanisms involved in establishing "positive distinctiveness" to the ingroup by maximizing differences to the outgroup SIT has been applied to understanding behaviours such as ethnocentrism, ingroup favouritism, conformity to ingroup norms, and stereotyping Limits: Minimal group research has been criticized for artificiality. The experimental set up is so far from natural behaviour that it can be questioned whether it reflects how people would react in real life. This could limit the predictive value of the theory. SIT cannot fully explain how ingroup favouritism may result in violent behaviour towards outgroups. SIT cannot explain why social constraints such as poverty could play a bigger role in behaviour than social identity Sherif Robbers Cave Study

Kasamatsu and Hirai (1999)

The aim of the study was to see how sensory deprivation affects the brain In order to do this, the researchers studied a group of Buddhist monks who went on a 72-hour pilgrimage to a holy mountain in Japan During their stay on the mountain, the monks didn't consume food or water, they didn't speak, and they were exposed to the cold, late autumn weather After about 48 hours, they began to have hallucinations, often seeing ancient ancestors or feeling a presence by their sides The researchers took blood samples before the monks ascended the mountain, and then again immediately after the monks reported having hallucinations They found that serotonin levels had increased in the monks' brains These higher levels of serotonin activated the parts of the brain called the hypothalamus and the frontal cortex, resulting in the hallucinations From thus study, researchers concluded that sensory deprivation triggered the release of serotonin, which actually altered the way that the monks experienced the world

Baumgartner et al. (2008)

The role of oxytocin in trust in economic behaviour Aim: To investigate the role of oxytocin after breaches of trust in a trust game Procedure: • The participants played a trust game used by economists and neuroscientists to study social interaction. The "investor" (player 1) receives a sum of money and must decide whether to keep it or share it with a "trustee" (player 2). If the sum is shared the sum is tripled. Then player 2 must decide if this sum should be shared (trust) or kept (violation of trust) • fMRI scans were carried out on 49 participants. They received either oxytocin or placebo via a nasal spray • Participants played against different trustees in the trust game and against a computer in a risk game. In 50% of the games their trust was broken. They received feedback on this from the experimenters during the games Results: • Participants in the placebo group were likely to show less trust after feedback on betrayal. They invested less. Participants in the oxytocin group continued to invest at similar rates after receiving feedback on a breach of trust • The fMRI scans showed decreases in responses in the amygdala and the caudate nucleus. The amygdala is involved in emotional processing and has many oxytocin receptors. The caudate nucleus is associated with learning and memory and plays a role in reward-related responses and learning to trust Evaluation: • Oxytocin could explain why people are able to restore trust and forgive in long-term relationships • Scanner research is merely mapping brain activity but nothing definite can be said about what it really means at this point in science • Giving oxytocin like this in an experiment may not reflect natural physiological processes. The function of oxytocin is very complex and it is too simplistic to say that it is "the trust hormone"

Examine one evolutionary explanation of behavior.

The theory of evolution, suggested by Charles Darwin, is based on the assumption that living organisms face environmental challenges. Organisms that adapt the best have a greater chance of passing on their genes to the next generations Fessler et al Ekman

Two-factor theory of emotion

The two-factor theory of emotion was developed by Schachter and Singer (1962). Their basic contention was that any emotional state was a function of both physiological arousal and the cognitive interpretation of that arousal. Schachter and Singer (1962) proposed that emotion happened in one of three ways: If someone experiences physiological arousal but can't immediately explain it, that arousal will be labeled in terms of available cognitions. If someone experiences physiological arousal and can immediately explain it, cognitive labeling is unlikely. In similar cognitive circumstances, emotion will only happen if it's accompanied by physiological arousal.

Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

There is a lot of research that has supported schema ○ There is also biological research to support the way in which the brain categorizes input □ These new findings suggest that the wiring that connects different areas of the visual cortex with appropriate regions in the rest of the brain is innate- it does have to form gradually based on visual inputs □ This means that the organization of the brain has to be understood in terms of our evolutionary history • A "schema" is a construct created by psychologists to understand memory processing ○ It does not entirely clear how schemas are acquired in the first place and how they influence cognitive process § It's not possible to actually observe schema processing taking place within the brain Bartlett Wright et al

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

They asked participants to answer increasingly difficult questions about simple letter combinations that were shown at the same time ○ Reaction time increased as the questions became more difficult ○ The participants were then asked to do an articulatory suppression task (e.g. repeating "the" all the time, repeating numbers from 1 to 6, or repeating random numbers) while they answered the question § There was no significant difference in reaction time between the group who was asked to repeat "the" or to repeat numbers from 1 to 6 § The group who was asked to repeat random numbers had the worst performance □ This was interpreted as overload problems for the central executive

Neal et al. (2011)

They conducted a meta-analysis of published studies on the outcome of anti-depressants versus placebo. The study focused on: (1) patients who started with anti-depressants and then changed to placebo, (2) patients who only received a placebo, and (3) patients who only took anti-depressants. • They found that patients who didn't take anti-depressants have a 25% risk of relapse, compared to 42% or higher for those who have been on medication and then stopped it • According to the researchers, anti-depressants may interfere with the brain's natural self-regulation. They argue that drugs affecting serotonin or other neurotransmitters may increase the risk of relapse. The drugs reduce symptoms in the short term but, when people stop taking the drug, depression may return because the brain's natural self-regulation is disturbed

Kirsch et al. (2002)

They found that there was publication bias in research on effectiveness of SSRI in depression. In fact, if the results of all the studies (including those that hadn't been published) were pooled it would seem that the placebo effect accounted for 80% of the anti-depression response. Of the studies funded by pharmaceutical companies. 57% failed to show a statistically significant difference between anti-depressant and a neutral placebo. This and similar studies cast doubt on the serotonin hypothesis.

Ashtari et al (2009)

They used MRI to investigate whether substance abuse (marijuana) can damage the developing brain in adolescents and young adults • Scanned brains of 14 young men with a history of heavy marijuana abuse over a long period. The control group consisted of 14 young men who hadn't used marijuana • Results of scan indicated that there were brain abnormalities in the frontal, parietal and temporal regions of the brains of the marijuana users. The development of white matter (myelin) was affected and it could explain slow information processing in the brain • Researchers concluded that early marijuana use can affect brain development negatively but since study gave correlational data more research needed

Harris and Fisk (2006)

They used fMRI scans to study student's brain processes as a response to being presented with pictures of extreme outgroups. Study in social cognition aimed to find the biological correlates of stereotypes and prejudice • Researchers scanned students while they were watching either pictures of different humans or objects. Predicted that medial prefrontal cortex would be active when participants looked at humans but not when they looked at objects • It was found except when participants looked at pictures of people from extreme outgroups like the homeless and addicts. Brain regions related to 'disgust' were activated and no activity in the prefrontal cortex Concluded that this indicated a dehumanization of the groups. These groups were apparently viewed as 'disgusting objects' and not people

Speisman et al

To investigate the extent in which manipulation of cognitive appraisal could influence emotional experience Parts of the Experiment: lab/field/natural? what's the sample? How are the iv + dv operationalized? • Participants say anxiety-evoking films, (e.g. a film of an aboriginal initiation ceremony where adolescent boys were subjected to unpleasant genital cutting) • The film was shown with 3 different soundtracks intended to manipulate emotional reactions. The "trauma condition" had its soundtrack emphasize the mutilation and pain; the "intellectualization condition" had its soundtrack give an anthropological interpretation of the initiation ceremony; the "denial condition" showed the adolescents as being happy and willing in the ceremony • Each viewing of the film had various objective physiological measures taken, like heart rate and galvanic skin response FINDINGS: Those in the "trauma condition" had a much higher physiological measure of stress than the participants in the other 2 conditions. Results support the appraisal theory in that the manipulation of the participants' cognitive appraisal did have a significant impact on the physiological stress reactions. Those in the "trauma condition" reacted more emotionally. Strength: Ecological validty Limits: Put people in stress/discomfort.

Bailey & Pillard

To see if genes and the environment had an effect on homosexuality Parts of the Experiment: lab/field/natural? what's the sample? How are the iv + dv operationalized? Ask family members or the participant themselves if they were a homosexual Questionnaires to assess the participants' level of Childhood Gender Non-conformity (CGN) Sample: Monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins and adoptive brothers, all were male with the twins living together IV: Type of twin DV: Whether or not they're homosexual FINDINGS: 52% of MZ twins were both self-identified homosexuals, 22% of DZ twins were so, and 11% non-related adoptive brothers were so. Later studies found that non-twin brothers had a rate of 9.2% Childhood gender non-conformity didn't predict homosexuality in any of the three samples, so it didn't appear to be correlated with the development of homosexuality. MZ pairs were very similar in their level of childhood gender nonconformity Strengths: - Ecologically valid Limitations: - It wasn't a random sample which meant the study was open to ascertainment bias o All the people who contacted the researchers already had a gay member in the family Self-reported data might not be reliable

Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior.

We learn stereotypes through daily interactions, conversations and through the media. Social groups are categorized into ingroups and outgroups Once people are categorized as belonging to one group rather than another they tend to emphasize similarities to individuals in that group and exaggerate differences between groups Stereotypes of outgroups are often central to group identity People tend to pay attention to stereotype-consistent information and disregard stereotype-inconsistent information (confirmation bias) Negative stereotypes may be internalized by stereotyped groups (stereotype threat) Darley and Gross (1983) Steele and Aronson (1995)

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI)

• Drugs that interfere with serotonin re-uptake (SSRI) are used in the treatment of depression. They interfere with serotonin levels and affect mood and emotional responses positively in most people. Anti-depressants take 7 to 14 days to relieve depressive symptoms • Currently the most widely used drugs are SSRI. They all increase the level of available serotonin by blocking the reuptake process of serotonin. This results in an increased amount of serotonin in the synaptic gap. The theory is that this increases serotonergic nerve activity leading to improvement in mood in depressive patients • SSRI are popular because they've fewer side effects than previous drugs like the tricyclic antidepressants but not everyone can use them. The most common side effects are headache, nausea, sleeplessness, agitation, and sexual problems

Flashbulb Memory

• Flashbulb memories are a type of episodic memory (explicit memory) ○ It's assumed that they're highly resistant to forgetting, i.e. the details of the memory will remain intact and accurate because of the emotional arousal at the moment of encoding It's controversial

LeDoux

• LeDoux's two pathways of emotion in the brain: 1. The short route The amygdala reacts immediately to sensory input and activates response systems (e.g. the physiological stress response "fight or flight"). It's very useful in the case of immediate danger where a quick reaction can make the difference between life and death 2. The long route The sensory input goes via the sensory cortex to the hippocampus. This route involves evaluation of the stimulus and consideration of an appropriate response. This could link to the concept of "cognitive appraisal" (Lazarus, 1975)

Caspi et al

• Longitudinal study on the possible role of the 5-HTT gene in depression after experiences of stressful events • The 5-HTT gene influences the level of serotonin which is known to play a role in controlling mood • The researchers compared participants with a normal 5-HTT gene and a mutation of the 5-HTT gene with shorter alleles. Both types are quite frequent in humans nut the long allele is slightly more frequent (57%) • The researchers found that participants who carried a mutation of the 5-HTT gene and who had experienced many stressful events were more likely to become depressed after stressful events than those participants who carried the normal 5-HTT gene • The 5-HTT gene could indicate a vulnerability to depression after stress and the researchers speculated whether the gene could moderate individual responses to environmental factors Evaluation • Since a large proportion of the population carries the mutation of the 5-HTT gene that makes them susceptible to depression after traumatic events, it can be difficult to conclude that the gene is a major contribution to depression. People who didn't carry the mutation also become depressed • The study showed a correlation between the presence of a 5-HTT short allele and depression but it isn't possible to establish a cause-effect relationship • Genes contribute to some extent to behavioural traits and disorders but it isn't clear how environmental factors influence genes. Environmental factors were included in the study (stressful events) but there is no evidence against the idea that it could be the stressful events (environmental factors) that made people depressed • Much more research is needed before a clear relationship between a gene and a behavioural trait can be established

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as coping strategy

• MBSR is a group-based stress reduction programme based on Buddhist principles of meditation developed by Kabat-Zinn (1979). The focus in MBSR is on awareness of the present moment, relaxation of the body, meditation and daily practice to learn the technique • MBSR has been used to address adjustment to the stress of chronic illness, pain, anxiety and depression • MBSR can be seen as an emotion-focused coping strategy in that it deals with the physical and emotional aspects of stress. It can also be seen as a problem-focused coping strategy in that an individual learns new skills to prevent the harmful effects of stress in the future MBSR teaches awareness of the moment to avoid automatic negative thinking. The use of gradual relaxation is an attempt to deal with the physiological and psychological aspects of stress.

Oxytocin and trust

• The hormone oxytocin is secreted by the hypothalamus and released (1) into the blood stream via the pituitary gland or (2) into the brain and spinal cord where it binds to oxytocin receptors. Oxytocin acts primarily as a neurotransmitter in the brain • Oxytocin has been linked to trusting other people. Experimental manipulation of oxytocin levels has shown increase in trust • According to evolutionary psychologists, trust is an important social tool in the relationship between humans. Trust is an adaptive mechanism as it helps humans to form meaningful relationships at a personal and professional level. Betrayal disrupts bonds of trust and may result in avoidance of the person who betrayed you • Learning who to trust and who to avoid is important for survival and the well-being of an individual. Humans should also be able to move on after experiences of breaching trust if long-term relationships and mental well-being are to be preserved Oxytocin could play a role in reducing fear reactions via the amygdala that may arise as a consequence of betrayal

The serotonin hypothesis

• The serotonin hypothesis suggests that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin (Coppen, 1967). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter produced in specific neurons in the brain and they're called "serotonergic neurons" because they produce serotonin • Anti-depressants in the form of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) block the reuptake process for serotonin. This results in an increased amount of the serotonin in the synaptic gap. The theory is that this increased serotonergic nerve activity leading to improvement in mood • SSRI drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil are now among the most commonly sold anti-depressants and this has been taken as indirect support of the serotonin hypothesis. According to Lacasse and Leo (2005) this is an example of backward reasoning. Assumptions about the causes of depression are based on how people respond to a treatment and this is logically problematic Evaluation of the serotonin hypothesis of depression • There is some evidence that serotonin may be involved in depression and that this may be linked to stress and stress hormones like cortisol • Scientific research has failed to show a clear link between serotonin levels and depression. The fact that anti-depression drugs like SSRIs can regulate serotonin levels and produce an effect doesn't mean that low serotonin levels cause depression