Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

psych

Terms in this set (352)

Phillips and LeDoux 1992
aim: investigate the role of the amygdala and hippocampus in fear conditioning
method: 3 conditions: control (unlesioned), amygdala-lesioned, and hippocampus-lesioned
...
tried to get the rats to associate a sound cue w/ an electric shock
...
results: amygdala-lesioned had resistance to fear conditioning; hippocampus-lesioned could be conditioned to fear context but not the actual cue
...
conclusion: amygdala's role is associative, hippocampus relays sensory info; am. and hc. work together to create emotional memories
...
STRENGTHS: help understand memory and emotion; info that could not have been acquired if non-human animals weren't used
...
LIMITATIONS: reductionist view of fear
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: 3 R's: reduce, replace, and refine
...
Baumgartner et al. (2008)
aim: investigate role of oxytocin in creating trust
method: 49 partic in an fMRI scanner; given either oxytocin or placebo via nasal spray; played as investors in several rounds of a trust game involving financial risk; also played a risk game w/ same parameters but with computer partners
...
results: partic w/ placebo were more likely to decrease their trust after being told that their trust was broken; partic w/ oxytocin continued to invest at similar rates; results only apparent in the trust game, not the risk game, suggesting that these effects are exclusive to interactions w/ real ppl
...
conclusion: OT seems to decrease fear reactions that arise as a consequence of human betrayal
...
STRENGTHS: fMRI could localize effects of OT; design of the study was strong; for an MRI study, 49 partic is high; control group was used
...
LIMITATIONS: trust game played in an MRI machine could lead to demand characteristics and minimize ecological validity
...
Waterland and Jirtle (2003)
aim: investigate role of nutrition in epigenetic processes
method: agouti mice in control and experimental conditions; control was fed a normal mouse pellet diet; experimental was fed normal mouse pellets as well as pellets supplemented with vitamin B12, folic acid, etc., which are high in methyl groups; diet was provided for 2 weeks before mating, as well as during pregnancy and lactation
...
results: agouti mothers gave birth to brown mice who maintained normal weight and lifespan, as opposed to mice who expressed the agouti gene. those that expressed the agouti gene die prematurely of obesity
...
conclusion: genetic expression could be altered simply by a change in diet
...
STRENGTHS: strong support for epigenetics in action; potential to spark future research into developing epigenetic interventions in order to treat diseases.
...
...
...
LIMITATIONS: creating diets which repress genes that are harmful to our existence is not easy
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: 3 Rs: reduce, replace, and refine
...
Maguire et al. (2000)
Aim: To investigate whether or not the hippocampus plays a role in human spatial memory
Procedure: London taxi drivers with a range of age and experience were the participants because their work requires the extensive use of spatial navigational skills, matched pairs design: participants were age and gender matched with a control group, and two different types of MRI scanning were used to assess how the brains of the taxi drivers differed from the control group. It was a quasi-experiment
...
Results: showed significantly more grey matter in both left and right hippocampi of the taxi drivers compared to the control group
...
Evaluation:
...
•No researcher bias
...
•No ethical implications
...
•Only observed males
...
•Only observed 16 matched pairs
...
•Nature vs. Nurture debate: did the driving influence the change in the hippocampus, or did their larger than average hippocampus lead them to become taxi drivers?
...
Passamonti and Crockett 2012
aim: to investigate role of serotonin in regulating emotion in the brain
method: on serotonin depletion day, partic's were given a mixture of amino acids that lacked tryptophan, the building block for serotonin. On placebo day, partic's were given amino acids w/ normal amt of tryptophan
...
scanned their faces w/ fMRI as they viewed faces w/ angry, sad, and neutral expressions; this allowed them to measure how diff brain regions communicated and reacted; also used a questionnaire to det. which partic's had a natural tendency to behave aggressively
...
results: low brain serotonin made communications btw. the amygdala and frontal lobe weaker
...
conclusion: When serotonin levels are low, it may be more difficult for the prefrontal cortex to control emotional responses to anger that are generated within the amygdala.
...
STRENGTHS: control condition; results furthered understanding of serotonin's role in emotional processing
...
LIMITATIONS: artificial enviro of the lab and fMRI can confound results
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Whenever participants' brain chemistry is altered, it is crucial that experimenters take every step to inform and ensure participants of their physical and emotional safety.
...
Corkin et al. (1997)
-Aim: assess damage to H.M.'s brain using MRI technology
method: Corkin's MRI showed the full extent of the damage in HM'S brain; damage to hippocampus, amygdala, and other areas close to the hippocampus; scanner allowed corkin to find which brain regions were related to which areas of memory & skill learning
...
results: link btw. hippocampal damage & HM's memory loss
...
conclusion: this study supports the theory of localization of function
...
STRENGTHS: case study allowed insight into localization of certain elements of memory creation; many tests conducted triangulated each other
...
LIMITATIONS: case study, so confounding v's inherent to the indiv might impact results
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: HM could not provide consent, but his caretakers could, he just couldn't remember it
...
Feinstein et al (2011)
aim: to inv. role of amygdala in fear
method: case study on SM, who suffered a disease which left her with bilateral temporal lesions, which damaged both her amygdala; researchers exposed her to live snakes, took her through a haunted house, and made her watch horror films
...
results: she could no longer exp biological fear
...
conclusion: amygdala triggers state of fear when one encounters threatening stimuli
...
STRENGTHS: example of localization of function
...
LIMITATIONS: issues of generalizability
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Purposively exposing people to fear-producing and arguably dangerous situations raises issues of protection of participants from harm, however informed consent was given.
...
Lazar & Holzel 2011
aim: inv physiological impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs on our brain
method: 16 adults whose brains were scanned by MRIs
...
they then did an 8-week MBSR program, and their brains were scanned again at the end, then the scans were compared
...
results: increased grey matter in the hippocampus, cerebellum, and cingulate cortex as compared to 17 partic's who were 'waitlisted'
...
conclusion: our behavior and enviro can change the shape of our brain
...
STRENGTHS: important implications for future research as well as future non-biomedical interventions for things like PTSD, anxiety,etc
...
LIMITATIONS: small sample size
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Denying people access to a course that is known to reduce stress and increase grey matter by putting them in the 'waitlist' condition, raises issues of protection of participants
...
Wedekind and Furi (1997)
aim: inv relationship btw. similarity of MHC and attractiveness of scent
method: 120 male and female participants assessed the odours of six t-shirts worn by two women and four men for 2 days straight.
...
results: Participants preferred the scent of t-shirts worn by people with the most different MHCs, and this finding was non-gender specific.
...
conclusion: Individual odour plays a role in mate choice and is non-gender specific. Individual odours may differ as a result of both differences in MHC and from differences in pheromones
...
STRENGTHS: supports role of pheromones in affecting behavior
...
LIMITATIONS: highly reductionist view of human mating choice
...
Bos et al (2010)
aim: inv role ^ testosterone has on interpersonal trust
method: double-blind repeated-measures lab exp; partic = 24 young women recruited by opportunity sampling; saliva samples taken to measure baseline testosterone lvls
...
each woman came to the lab on two separate occasions, each time she was given either .5mg of testosterone or a placebo, and each time she engaged in a trustworthiness task
...
results: when the researchers separated the participants, placebo trustworthiness ratings were either 'high trusting' (n=12) or 'low trusting' (n=12) groups, while the testosterone did not affect participants in the 'low trusting' group. Instead, it lowered the trust behaviour in the baseline 'high trusting' group
...
conclusion: Testosterone downregulates interpersonal trust in an adaptive manner in highly trusting people.
...
STRENGTHS: insight into hormone regulation of human sociality; provided insight into how testosterone downregulates interpersonal behavior
...
LIMITATIONS: trustworthiness task had low ecological validity; partic's might have diff ideas abt what 'trustworthy' is
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: partic's ingested something, issue of protection from harm
...
Thorne et al 2002
aim: inv role of pheromones on female ratings of male attractiveness
method: 32 female undergrad students, half of whom were on the birth control pill (opportunity sampling)
...
partic came to lab on 2 separate occasions based on phase of menstrual cycle
...
partic were asked to rate attractiveness of male faces
...
experimental condition was exposed to male armpit secretions (repeated measures, counter-balanced)
...
results: sig. positive correlation btw. exposure to male armpit secretions & ratings of attractiveness. menstrual cycle phase & birth control use had no effect
...
conclusion: exposure to male armpit secretions can increase females' perceived attractiveness of males
...
STRENGTHS: gives external reliability to other pheromone studies
...
LIMITATIONS: studies like these may be prone to false positives
...
Fessler et al. 2005
Participants were women in their first trimester of pregnancy and filled out a web based survey which showed them pictures of off-putting things and asked for their level of disgust. It was found that women in their first trimester of pregnancy have higher sensitivity to disgust. Related to evolution because immune system is suppressed during first trimester so the mother has to be extra careful about getting sick, thus resulting in being disgusted easier.
STRENGTHS: agrees w/ Curtis et al. and these studies triangulate each other;
...
effectively isolated the target pop of women;
...
v's like nausea thru morning sickness were controlled for;
...
clear connections to evolutionary theory
...
LIMITATIONS: it's hard and inconsistent to rank disgust;
...
Effect sizes were relatively small (from a statistical viewpoint), but the researchers believe disgust responses would actually be stronger in real life than they were on a written survey.
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION: exposing people to disgusting images raises issues of protection of partic's
...
Curtis et al. (2004)
Investigated whether there were patterns in people's disgust responses.
77 000 subjects from 165 different countries participated in an internet based survey in which they were shown a series of 20 photographs, and asked to rank each image for how disgusting it was.
...
There were seven pairs in which one was infectious and a matching image was not (e.g. body fluids, coloured liquid).
...
The images containing substances that would most strongly harm the immune system were rated highest on disgustingness.
...
Disgust decreased with age and female were more disgusted than males, which supports the idea that disgust is a form of protection to enhance chances of successful reproduction.
...
STRENGTHS: large # of partic's decreases variability;
...
findings support evolutionary theory
...
LIMITATIONS: hard and inconsistent to rank disgust;
...
survey depends on accuracy of partic response
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: disgusting images raises issues of protection of partic
...
Baddeley et al. 1975
aim: test effect of word length on memory span
method: 1st experiment - lists of 4-8 words, half of the lists had short words and the other half had long words
...
lists were presented to partic in ascending order w/ a 1.5 second delay btw words. partic then asked to recall the words within 15 seconds. this continued until partic failed on all 8 sequences
...
7th experiment - this time the words were visually presented and partic were either part of the silent or the articulation condition (they had to count aloud)
...
results: in the 1st exp, they could recall more of the shorter words and shorter lists
...
in the 7th exp, the silent group recalled more words
...
conclusion: phonological loop has certain limits, word length appears to have an effect on memory span. working memory seems to be modality specific, meaning that visual and verbal inputs are processed by separate parts of the working memory
...
STRENGTHS: clear isolation of WMM components
...
LIMITATIONS: limited in ecological validity
...
Loftus 1997
aim: to see if one could implant a memory of being lost in a mall into others' heads
method: 24 partic were asked to recall childhood events that had been recounted by a relative.
...
the researchers prepared a booklet of one-paragraph stories of these events, plus a story constructed by the researchers about being lost in the mall. After reading the booklet, participants were asked to write what they remembered about the event. Two follow-up interviews were conducted, using parts of the stories as retrieval cues, with a focus on the false memories.
...
results: 25% of partic's claimed to remember the event, even after the third interview
...
conclusion: false memories can be implanted in someone's mind
...
STRENGTHS: design integrated false memory & real memory;
...
contributed to the body of research on reconstructive memory
...
LIMITATIONS: false positives could have occurred
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: truly informed consent was never given b/c partic could not be told the aim of the study or it might lead to demand characteristics; this study required deception
...
Brown and Kulik (1977)
Aim: to investigate flashbulb memory and how it works
40 Caucasian Americans and 40 black Americans answered questions such as 'what were you doing when you heard about...' about 10 events - 9 on assassinations of well known Americans, one self selected personal event of shock
...
Most vivid=JFK assassination (90% had vivid details)
...
African Americans more likely to recall details of the death of Medgar Evers (a civil rights worker)'s death
...
conclusion: culture influences the perceived relevance of an event, which influences the type of memory we have of it
...
STRENGTHS: 80 partic is a solid number for this kind of research;
...
nature of the study was such that partic were likely to give valid info
...
LIMITATIONS: detailed recollections could be b/c of rehearsal or cultural narrative;
...
partic could have produced a cultural narrative or a regurgitated media story instead of their personal memory;
...
researchers may have mistaken partic confidence and supposed vividness for accuracy
...
Canli et al. 2000
aim: inv role of amygdala in strengthening of memory for emotional events
method: 10 partic were shown 96 pics which were neutral or negative. pics were rated for emotional intensity from 0-3 and the amygdala responses were recorded w/ fMRI.
...
partic given a surprise recognition test 3 weeks later which included the 96 pics as well as 46 new pics. they were asked if they remembered the images and if so, where from.
...
results: the more activation of the left am., the more likely the picture would be remembered. there was more am. activation for emotionally intense pics.
...
conclusion: subjective ratings of emotional intensity were correlated w/ amygdala activity
...
STRENGTHS: supports am.'s role in emotional processing
...
LIMITATIONS: fMRI studies are prone to false positives. limited generalizability b/c the partic were all females
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: exposing ppl to emotionally intense pics might be harmful
...
Neisser and Harsch (1992)
Tested theory of flashbulb memory. 106 undergrad psychology participants had to write a description of how they heard a certain shocking event, and answer questions about where they were, what they were doing, their feelings, etc. answered less than 24 hours after disaster, then 44 were asked 2 1/2 years later. Many could not remember most of the things they remembered 24 hours after. Challenged flashbulb memory theory, although no sure way to measure levels of emotional arousal of each individual.
results: Only 11 participants out of the 44 remembered that they had filled out the questionnaire before.
...
STRENGTHS: large initial sample size, but follow-up only had 44 partic;
...
repeated measures design;
...
high ecological validity
...
LIMITATIONS: only 44 of 106 partic completed study;
...
partic were psych students who partic'ed for credit so they may not be representative
...
Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
aim: inv accuracy of eyewitness testimony after a crime
method: Witnesses to a daytime 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 five months
...
conclusion: Eyewitness testimony is more accurate than laboratory experiments have suggested
...
STRENGTHS: natural exp;
...
alternative explanation to reliability of memory
...
LIMITATIONS: only 13 partic, no control group
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: the fact that participants had to recall the shooting incident and doing so could bring them emotional harm.
...
Bartlett (1932)
A: See how memory of a story is affected by previous knowledge (i.e. schema)
P: Used serial production by telling British participants an unfamiliar story- War of Ghosts-
...
R: P's changed story as they tried to remember it: distortion (assimilation, leveling and sharpening), but participants did remember the overall theme
...
C: Remembering is an active process, where information is retrieved and changed to fit into existing schemas to create meaning in the information- supports the reconstructive theory of memory and schema theory
...
E: Lab study (eco. validity), non-rigorous methodology
...
STRENGTHS: isolated the role of cultural schemas on memory encoding
...
LIMITATIONS: no control group of Native Americans;
...
data collection was informal;
...
Results could be more a function of memory processes as a whole than the role of schema in recall in particular
...
Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)
A: tested the hypothesis that short term memory and long term memory are two separate stores in a free recall experiment
method: experiment 1 - words presented to partic at either a rate of 3 sec or 2 sec
...
experiment 2 - Participants were presented with word lists and directly afterwards asked to count out loud. Participants that were asked to count out loud for 30 seconds remembered less of the last words on the list compared to participants that were asked to count out loud for 10 seconds.
...
results: exp 1 - partic w/ the 3 second rate were more likely to remember the first words of the list
...
exp 2 - Participants who were asked to count out loud for 30 seconds remembered fewer of the last words on the list compared to participants that were asked to count out loud for 10 seconds.
...
conclusion: Experiment 1 - This is because they were able to rehearse the first words more, therefore enabling them to enter long- term memory.
...
Experiment 2 - This is because they were unable to retain the words in short-term memory, as they were displaced by the counting out loud step. (Remember that the capacity of the short-term memory is seven chunks or thereabouts).
...
STRENGTHS: supports multi-store model;
...
simple design for easy replicability
...
LIMITATIONS: lab exp so lacks some eco validity
...
Alter et al (2007)
aim: inv cog. disfluency on the use of rational v. intuitive thinking
method: 40 undergrad Princeton volunteers completed the CRT
...
2 conditions of the independent v.: fluent (CRT printed in an easy-to-read font) and disfluent (CRT printed in a hard-to-read font)
...
dependent variable: # of correct test items
...
results: partic answered more questions correctly when the font was hard to read
...
conclusion: The hard-to-read font caused participants to use rational thinking in solving the problem.
...
STRENGTHS: partic were randomly assigned to fluent or disfluent conditions
...
LIMITATIONS: An alternative interpretation for their results is that all the disfluency did was slow the participants down, so it is possible that rational thinking was triggered not by disfluency, but by the slower pace.
...
Loftus and Palmer (1974)
aim: inv whether leading questions can change an eyewitness' memory of that event
method: 45 American 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 40.5mph, while participants with the verb 'contacted' in their question estimated a mean speed of 31.8mph.
...
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 a more serious accident than that invoked by the word 'contacted'.
...
STRENGTHS: order of the 7 videos was randomized to control order effects;
...
IV was effectively isolated;
...
broad application to eyewitness testimony in a courtroom setting
...
LIMITATIONS: generalisability is limited;
...
diff in speed estimates could be due to response bias and not schemas;
...
demand characteristics may have influenced the results
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Exposing participants to videos of car crashes could be considered undue duress, however this is much more ethical than exposing them to car crashes in real life.
...
Shallice and Warrington (1970)
This study looked at patient KF, who suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident.
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 10-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 short-term memory is required to transfer information to the long-term memory.
...
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: contradicts MSM;
...
case study allowed in depth investigation of KF
...
LIMITATIONS: limited generalizability b/c of case study
...
Kahneman and Tversky (1973)
aim: to inv predictions based on representativeness
method: 3 exp conditions, each presenting a diff scenario in relation to Tom W.
...
The base-rate condition (N=69) was asked: Consider all first-year graduate students in America today. Please write down your best guesses about the percentage of these students who are now enrolled in each of the following nine fields of specialisation.
...
Similarity condition (N=65) was given a personality sketch of Tom W and then asked how similar Tom is to the typical grad in each of the 9 specializations
...
Likelihood condition (N=114) given same personality sketch w/ some added info. then asked to rate the likelihood that Tom is now a graduate in each of the specializations
...
results: The likelihood/prediction condition made their intuitive judgments not according to the base-rate and probabilities, but according to similarity.
...
conclusion: Representativeness influenced predictions of majors for fictional students.
...
STRENGTHS: clear evidence of how representative heuristics affect intuitive judgements
...
LIMITATIONS: No explicit mention of the base-rates in the descriptions of Tom W or the instructions.
...
Sherif ( 1935)
aim: inv conformity in an unclear situation
method: used the autokinetic effect - 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.
...
partic's individual estimates of the light's movement was from 20-80cm
...
partic then tested in groups of 3: two ppl had similar estimates and the third person's estimate was far from theirs. everyone had to say aloud how far they thought the light had moved
...
results: 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 unclear situation, one will look to others for guidance & adopt the group norm. observing others might provide info they did not have
...
STRENGTHS: Effective manipulation of social norms by having participants respond in groups, after establishing baseline estimates.
...
The autokinetic effect produced the required ambiguity.
...
LIMITATIONS: limited eco validity;
...
there were no correct answers, so partic couldn't adjust their estimates to accurate info
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Anytime the true aim of an experiment is hidden from participants, issues of informed consent are raised.
...
Berry 1967
aim: to inv whether rates of conformity are higher in collectivist or individualist culture
method: looked at the Temne of Sierra Leone and the Inuit of Canada, both of which are subsistence-level societies. Asch paradigm was applied to both groups
...
results: conformity was higher in the collect. Temne culture. this is apparently b/c agr economy requires more cooperation & conformity while hunting-fishing economy does not need people to work together
...
conclusion: agr economy requires ppl to work together on irrigation, planting, or harvesting. economic independence may shape social norms, and this in turn may impact behaviors like conformity
...
STRENGTHS: cross-cultural study limits ethnocentrism
...
LIMITATIONS: only 2 cultures studied, so generalizability is limited
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Research into conformity requires researchers to deceive participants
...
Berry et al. 2006
aim: inv how well immigrant youth adapt to new cultures, and whether this is related to acculturation strategies and profiles
method: sampled partic from 26 backgrounds in 13 countries. structured q'aires administered in a classroom setting by either a researcher or a trained researchers' assistant & responses were anonymous. questions were related to acculturation and adaptation strategies
...
results: 4 immigration profiles came out --
...
ppl in the integration profile followed integration strategy for acculturation;
...
ppl in national profile followed the assimilation strategy;
...
ppl in ethnic profile followed separation strategy;
...
ppl in diffuse profile followed a mix of separation, assimilation, and marginalization, but NOT INTEGRATION
...
conclusion: integration was the most successful acculturation strategy, linked w/ positive psychological and sociocultural adaptation
...
STRENGTHS: research highlights the size of the diffuse profile as a source of feelings of marginalization in immigrant youth;
...
study could contribute to quality of life in countries receiving immigrants
...
LIMITATIONS: study gathered self-reported data, so it is subject to partic expectations
...
Odden & Rochat (2004)
aim: inv role of observational learning in enculturation
method: 28 children observed longitudinally in the context of village life (family, peers, school, church, etc.);
...
parents and teachers were also interviewed abt. child development & parenting.
...
at the same time, 22 boys were observed in their cultural learning of subsistence fishing;
...
semi-structured interviews were conducted upon the boys and their fishing relatives
...
results: children seem to learn by watching their parents and elder siblings. researchers never observed a parent explaining a chore to a child
...
conclusion: There appears to be a specific role of observational learning in enculturation. Children appear to learn by watching their parents and elder siblings.
...
STRENGTHS: Odden was a member of the culture being studied which gave them access they might not have had otherwise
...
LIMITATIONS: sample is v limited to a narrow pop
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Using children raises issues of parental/informed consent.
...
Bandura (1961)
aim: to inv whether aggression can be learned thru observation + imitation
method: 36 boys and 36 girls aged 3-6 from Stanford University Nursery School
...
children were tested for lvls of everyday aggression --> children were matched to other children w/ similar lvls of everyday aggression
...
led into a room & allowed to play w/ toys in a room
...
Group 1: 24 children who watched a male or female model behave aggressively w/ a Bobo doll
...
Group 2: diff 24 children who watched a non-aggressive model play quietly w/ toys
...
Group 3: control group of 24 kids who were not shown any model
...
then led into another room, children were primed for aggression, then led into a third room where they could play w/ the toys as they wanted
...
results: Group 1 was way more aggressive than the other groups and often showed the same exact behavior as the models. Girls in Group 1 were more likely to show physical aggression if their model was male. Boys were more likely to show aggression no matter what. The kids even showed aggressive behavior that was not seen in the models.
...
conclusion: social learning had taken place & similarity to role models seemed to be a factor
...
STRENGTHS: demonstrated Bandura's Social Learning Theory;
...
dual gender study;
...
matched-pairs design minimized confounding v's
...
LIMITATIONS: not generalizable
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: violence was at inanimate objects, so it was morally acceptable;
...
parents need to consent to childrens' participation
...
Tajfel (1970)
aim: inv minimal conditions under which discrimination btw social groups occurs
method: 48 schoolboys randomly allocated to a Klee group or a Kandinsky group. They were then asked to allocate points (worth 1/10 of a penny each). A matrix was used to allow them to vary how the points were allocated. They worked individually on the matrices in cubicles.
...
results: When they had the option to maximize for their own group, they chose to do so. They preferred to maximize the point differential between the two groups (in favor of their own group) than gaining a greater amount for everybody across the groups.
...
conclusion: discrimination occurred after social categorization occurred. This forms Tajfel's minimal group paradigm
...
STRENGTHS: established bare minimum for group membership;
...
illustrated group bias in the context of resource competition
...
LIMITATIONS: study conducted on 14-15 year old boys so generalizability is limited
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: parents needed to give consent;
...
deception was used to hide the true aim of study
...
Steele and Aronson (1995)
aim: to demonstrate the effect of stereotype threat
method: partic's split into 3 groups --
...
diagnostic: to gauge one's indiv differences
...
non-diagnostic: to gauge one's aptitude only
...
non-diagnostic w/ challenge: preceded w/ a "this is hard for everyone" type message
...
results: sig. diff in the diagnostic scores of whites and blacks, w/ blacks performing worse. In the other two conditions, there was no sig. diff
...
conclusion: this study appears to support stereotype threat
...
STRENGTHS: study's design highlighted the presence of stereotype threat, meeting the aim of the research
...
LIMITATIONS: lab exp --> low eco validity
...
Dobbs and Crano (2001)
aim: inv factors that affect minimal group paradigm-based discrimination
method: used a minimal groups study and asked ppl to justify their in-group favoritism
...
results: there was out-group decrease in favoritism when the allocator was of majority status. Allocators of minority status tended to discriminate more when made accountable to the out-group
...
conclusion: status of group as minority or majority affects discrimination. Asking groups to justify their IG favoritism changed prejudice. IG favoritism increased in the minority group's members, whereas it dereased in the majority group's members
...
STRENGTHS: reflection on prejudice led to reduced prejudice on subsequent repeated measure trials
...
LIMITATIONS: lab exp lacks eco validity
...
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: researching topics like prejudice might lead to partic's suffering from psychological harm;
...
deception has been used to hide the true aim of the study
...
Huesmann et al. (2003)
aim: inv relationship btw children's exposure to TV violence & later violent behavior in adolescence
method: longitudinal study & meta-analysis. Orig study conducted on 557 kids in the Chicago area, follow-up study on the same ppl 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: childhood TV-violence viewing correlated w/ later aggression 15 yrs later.
...
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: 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
...
LIMITATIONS: Chicago has an individualist culture, which might not be generalizable
...
Spencer et al. (1999)
aim: inv stereotype threat as applied to women & math performance
method: 28 men and 28 women taken from an intro psych class @ Univ of Michigan, everyone required to have taken at least a semester (but not more than a year) of calculus and received a B or higher
...
experiment 1 - everyone did an easy or hard math test. everyone was the same when the test was easy, but men outperformed women when the test was hard
...
experiment 2 - all partic completed the same set of math items but they were either told that the test would or would not produce gender differences
...
results: women performed more poorly than men especially when gender differences were highlighted
...
conclusion: ST threat can undermine performance of women in math, esp when there's a challenging task and stereotypical assumptions of gender differences are not dismissed
...
STRENGTHS: partic selected for their maths abilities, so the variable of math skill was controlled for
...
LIMITATIONS: Although women and men were selected for their mathematical ability and randomly assigned, there could still be confounding variables present that contributed to the results.
...
Mullen (1994)
aim: to study earliest memories in 3 cultural groups
method: q'aires used to inv relationships among birth order, gender, culture, and age of earliest memory. 768 undergrad partic. groups were: caucasian, asian, and asian-american
...
results: earliest memories for asians and asian-americans happened on avg. 6 months later than for caucasians. similar results found for first-borns and females
...
conclusion: Individualist cultures encourage children to spin elaborate narratives with themselves as the individual at the centre of the event or retelling, therefore influencing their memories.
...
STRENGTHS: high external reliability & other studies have replicated the findings
...
LIMITATIONS: self-report data was used & the nature of memory is unreliable
...
Ayoun and Moreo (2009)
aim: inv influence of cultural dimension of time orientation on strategic behavior of hotel managers
method: survey q'aire sent to 120 top-lvl hotel managers in US and Thailand
...
results: Thai managers placed more emphasis on long-term strategic plans and tend to involve others when developing business strategy. no sig. diff found btw managers regarding openness to strategic change & 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;
...
large-ish sample size decreases confounding v's
...
LIMITATIONS: survey relies on self-report data;
...
time orientation may not be the only cultural dimension at play
...
Norenzayan et al (2002)
aim: inv whether Western thinking is more rule-governed and less intuitive than E. Asian thinking
method: series of experiments on North American and Asian universities & made comparisons amongst European-American, Asian-American, and East Asian students. Each exp was designed to activate cognitive conflicts that might yield diff responses, depending on whether rational or intuitive thinking was used
...
results: Euro-Am made judgements based on rules while E. Asians switched to intuitive thinking based on family resemblance. Asian-Am were intermediate
...
conclusion: there seem to be effects of acculturation on decision-making
...
STRENGTHS: Helps explain the role of debate in decision-making in Western cultures versus the role of consensus-building in Eastern culture decision-making.
...
LIMITATIONS: Ultimately, it may not be possible to know exactly how or why thought processes appear to differ between Asians and Westerners, so any theories may be more provocative than explanatory at this point.
...
Schwartz and Zamboanga (2008)
aim: inv extent to which Berry's 4 acculturation strategies would be evident in a set of acculturation indices
method: used latent class analysis, which creates categories from stat. analysis w/o any pre-existing assumptions abt which categories emerge - the data clustering determines the categories
...
results: the statistical analysis yielded 6 categories and not 4, suggesting that assimilation and integration strategies could be further subdivided. Separation, integration, and assimilation all clearly emerged. However, some evidence of integration was found to be mixed with separation and assimilation, suggesting that Berry's categories are not neatly independent - they overlap.
...
conclusion: some new categories should be created in Berry's original model.
...
STRENGTHS: Berry's acculturation strategies are mostly validated, but may be in need of further differentiation
...
LIMITATIONS: The study mostly focused on elements of surface culture, such as language acquisition.
...
Social Identity Theory
an indiv's sense of self is developed on the basis of group membership, and this identity is shared w/ other members of the group
Social Cognitive Theory
theory that behavior is acquired by observation or imitation of behavior from other members of a group, based on the observed consequences of a behavior
Stereotype threat
the idea that people feel at risk of conforming to stereotypes about themselves
Multi-store model
one needs to pay attention in order for things to be registered in the sensory memory. paying attention leads to the info being stored in the short-term memory. rehearsal leads to info being stored in the long-term memory.
DECAY: info is lost from the sensory memory b/c an indiv is not paying attention
...
DISPLACEMENT DECAY: info going to the STM might be lost due to something else displacing it
...
INTERFERENCE DECAY: when info is prevented from being transferred to the LTM
...
Working Memory Model
really focuses on the short-term memory:
3 parts: central executive, visiospatial sketchpad, phonological loop
...
CE: monitors and coordinates the VSP and PL
...
VSP: deals w/ visual info and spatial awareness
...
PL: deals w/ operation and comprehension of verbal and written material
...
Enculturation
the process of learning the behaviors, characteristics and norms of the culture that they belong to
Acculturation
the changing of a person's behavior and characteristics as a result of contact btw diff cultures
social categorization
division of social groups into in-groups and out-groups, as an indiv identifies w/ the groups to which they belong
social identification
the process by which an individual identifies strongly w/ an in-group, and co-opts the norms and attitudes of other members w/in that group
social comparison
the process by which an individual favorably compares their in-groups with out-groups
Positive distinctiveness
an indiv's motivation to show that an in-group is preferable to an out-group
Students also viewed