PAPER 2 REVISION

Operationalisation definition

Making the variables in an investigation detailed and specific in a way they can be measured.

Extraneous variables

Variables in the environment that may affect the results of the study.

• Situational Variables (In the environment)

• Participant Variables (In the participants)

Situational Variables

• Stimulus (Light/Sound)

• Order Effect: The order in which tasks were completed

• Demand Characteristics: Participants behaviour is altered to the perceived aim of the study

• Investigator Effect: The investigator unintentionally gives hints to the participants as to the aim of the study, altering their behavior

Participant Variables

Extraneous variables specific to the participant of the study

• Mood

• Tolerance

• Life experiences

Hypothesis

• Null hypothesis: No relation

• Directional hypothesis: Specific relationship

• Non-Directional hypothesis: Non-specific

• Experimental hypothesis: For experiments conducted in laboratory/field experiments

Sampling Methods

• Random sampling: Target population has an equal chance of being chosen

• Stratified sampling: Ensures sub-groups of target population is proportionally represented

Sample error: When a sample differs in qualities it intends to represent

• Volunteer sampling: Those willing

• Opportunity sampling: Participants readily available

Reliability

The consistency of the outcome

Validity

Whether the study measures it intended to measure

Operant Conditioning (Skinner) (Cognitive theory of criminality)

• Positive Reinforcement: Receiving repeating

• Negative reinforcement: Avoiding repeating

• Positive punishment: Receiving avoiding

• Negative punishment: Removing avoiding

Primary & Secondary reinforcers

Operant conditioning (Criminality) SW

1. Implies criminality can be reversed

2. Can explain a wide range of crimes but not all

3. Crimes still happen in the absence of reinforcers

Social learning theory (Criminality)

Behaviour is modelled by those around us

1. Attention

2. Retention

3. Reproduction

Vicarious reinforcement

Social learning theory (Criminality) SW

1. On the basis that children learn by observing

2. Explains why those exposed to criminality are more likely to become criminals

3. Not all crimes can easily be explained by observation (murder)

4. Evidence to support (Bandura Ross)

5. Evidence from these studies only measure the short term effect

Biological explanation (Criminality) (Eysenck)

Suggests that criminality is biological.

Eysenck’s PEN score

Psychotism, Extraversion, Neurcotism

Those with high PEN score are more likely to be criminals

Biological explanation (Criminality) (Eysenck) SW

1. Assumes that personality is always constant

2. Evidence that most criminals have high PEN scores

3. Takes into account psychological, social and biological factors

4. Self report questionnaires lead to subjective results

Bandura Ross (Transmission of aggression)

Aggression is imitated.

36 girls 36 boys. 37-69 months old.

Separated into groups based on aggression levels

Boys are more likely to copy physical aggression

Girls are equally likely to copy verbal aggression

Bandura Ross (Transmission of aggression) SW

1. Unnatural environment

2. Demand characteristics

3. Standardised procedure

4. Unethical (Did not protect participants)

5. Children were unaware they were being observed

6. Data confirmed by their teacher

Charlton (TV)

Video recording of children in playground 4 months before and 5 years after introduction of TV on the island.

Behaviour was counted by tally marks. (Pro-social/anti-social)

No overall effect of TV on children

Charlton (TV) SW

1. Used the same primary school

2. Close-knit community

3. Not the same programs as the mainland

4. Natural experiment

5. No demand characteristics as children were not aware they were being watched

Prison sentencing

1. High recidivism rates (Ineffective)

2. Protects the public

3. Prevents crimes from being committed while in prison

4. Can have bad influence due to negative environment

5. Serves as negative reinforcement for public

6. Ethical issues

Community sentencing

1. Cannot replace punishment due to ineffectively

2. Low completion rates

3. Prevents further influence in prison environment

4. Contradictory because can still be exposed to criminal behaviour outside

5. Provides a second chance as appropriate punishment for smaller crimes

Restorative justice

1. Causes emotional distress

2. May prove to be helpful to the victim but not to the recidivism rates

3. Requires willingness

4. Because of this willingness, it is hard to tell whether the criminal had been considering crime free life already

5. Costly and time consuming

Token economy

1. Ineffective outside of prison

2. Effective inside prison

3. Strong social influences

4. Requires to be maintained by prison

5. Easy to implement

Anger management

1. Not all crimes are committed due to anger

2. Criminals are carefully selected for this program

3. Can be abused by criminals (Psychopaths)

4. Requires willingness to change

5. Mixed results

Stages of sleep

4 stages of sleep + REM sleep

REM - Rapid eye movement sleep

• Muscle inhibition

• Sensory blockade

• Dreaming

1 Cycle = 90m

Benefits of sleep

• Evidence that sleep is needed for survival (Rats)

• Stimulates learning

• Growth

• Avoid breakdown of proteins

Bodily rhythms

Circadian rhythms - 24h+ Ultradian rhythms >24h

SCN (Suprachiasmatic Nuclei) is responsible for the rhythms

Internal influences of sleep

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) are affected by both internal and external influences.

Hormones:

• Melatonin produced by the pineal gland is triggered by darkness

• ACTH produced by the pituitary gland stimulates alertness

External influences of sleep

Zeitegerbers: Meaning time givers

Mainly light. Light comes into the retina alert the body clock.

SW Internal influences of sleep

1. Blind man has a internal body clock of around 24hours

2. There are different types of blindness, so this can be ineffective

3. Evidence from animals to prove SCN controls the circadian rhythms

4. Animal studies cannot be generalised to humans

5. Studies support that melatonin influences sleep

SW External influences of sleep

1. Practical applications such as working shifts

2. Evidence for external cues

3. Differences in findings

4. Unnatural experiments

Sleep disorders

Insomnia

• Difficulty in sleeping

• Not feeling refreshed on waking

• Irritable and difficulty concentrating

HIGH ACTH

Narcolepsy

• Excessive day time sleepiness

• Cataplexy (Loss of muscle power)

• Hallucinations

• Sleep paralysis

LOW HYPOCRETIN

Freud (Unconscious mind)

1. Id: I want

2. Ego: Balance

3. Superego: You cannot have (Moral conscious)

Freud’s theory of dreaming

• Manifest content: the story the dreamer is telling

• Latent content: the meaning behind the dream

Dream work is the way the mind keeps unconscious thoughts hidden while dreaming to protect the individual

• Condensation: many ideas into one

• Displacement: focus is being taken away by something less relevant

• Secondary elaboration: building a story

Freud’s theory of dreaming SW

1. He was able to study the unconscious mind

2. Considered to be unscientific because he was not able to objectively measure it

3. Cannot easily be tested

4. Non-generalisable

5. Qualitative data

6. Evidence to support dreams guard sleep

Hobson & McCarley (Activation Synthesis)

Neurobiological explanation of dreaming.

Activation - Random firing of the pons

Synthesis - The brain receives these random signals and tries to make sense of it

Internally generated information due to sensory blockade in REM sleep

Hobson & McCarley SW

1. Model has been built on many times

2. Still being used today

3. Most say that their dreams make sense

4. Evidence from animals cannot be done on humans due to ethical reasons

5. Evidence from animals cannot be applied to humans

Little Hans + SW

1. Scientific procedure

2. Qualitative data

3. Non-generalisable

4. Could be biased

5. Fear could be explained by learning theory instead

Siffre 6 Months in a cave

Siffre wanted to see the body’s natural rhythm without external cues

Sleep-wake cycle varied, he was unable to tell the difference between these periods of time.

He developed symptoms of depression, psychological problems, bad eyesight and memory issues.

Siffre SW

1. Non-generalisable

2. Longitudinal study

3. Qualitative and quantitate

4. Artificial lighting acting as cues