all studies for ib pysch exam

Riggs et al

aim: studied the effectiveness of CBT in combination with either a placebo or an SSRI (an anti depressant)

method: used adolescents who had depression who were then rated by physicians

results: majority of the patients in the CBT group + placebo group and patients in the SSRI drug + CBT were judged as “very much improved” or “much improved”

conclusion: treatment with drugs + CBT is effective but that treatment with a placebo + CBT is almost as effective

• limit: low ecological validity due to using only adolescents and potential reseachers bias for being biased towards succesful cases

• strength: low bidirectional ambiguity as it is clear that the presence of the CBT is what is causing the improvement in patient

Cuijpers et al

aim: investigate the overall impact of psychotherapy in the treatment of adult depression compared to no treatment

method: meta analysis based on over a hundred studies and thousands of participants

results: all forms of psychotherapy were found to be superior to not receiving therapy

conclusion: psychotherapy is vital is treatment of depression

• strength: large sample size > easy to apply the results

• limitation: not account how some may have had more severe/milder cases and how that could have impacted the results + does not account for if meds were used along side it and if that impacted the results

Alloy et al

aim: determine if thinking patterns could predict onset depression

method: thinking style was tested at the start of the study > participants placed into positive cog group (low risk) or negative cog group (high risk) based on a number of tests, and then were observed for 6 years

results: only 1% in positive had developed depression compared to 17% in negative

conclusion: negative cognitive thinking styles can influence depression + thinking styles can potentially predict depression

• strength: longitudinal design allows for the researchers to observe the development of depression over time/relapse

• limit: low bidirectional ambiguity: don’t know what causes the depression and low eco validity since it was only Americans

Caspi

conclusion: 5-HTT gene interacts with stressful life events to influence the risk of depression

5-HTT gene plays a role in serotonin pathways that are believed to be involved w mood, emotion, sleep, aggression, and more

• strength: longitudinal design > strengthens findings over time.

• limit: high internal validity due to self reporting nature of methodology (survey)low eco validity due to only being New Zealanders

Ando et al

aim: determine the effect of meditation therapy on anxiety and depression in Japanese patients undergoing anti-cancer treatment

method: used meditation therapy and were supposed to practice at home and completed a survey before and after - pre/post test design

results: anxiety and depression levels decreased significantly

conclusion: argue that a sense of spiritual well-being is what resulted in lower levels of both anxiety and depression

• strength: low bidirectional ambiguity: showed that meditation led to reduced levels and pre/post design allows to track change

• limit: low eco validity due to only having 28 participants that were Japanese > hard to generalize

Griner and Smith

aim: examine effectiveness of culturally adapted treatments of mental disorders

method: meta-analysis of studies of Western therapy that had been adapted to meet the cultural needs of clients.

results: culturally adapted were 4x more effective than non-adapted applied to a range of clients from multiple backgrounds

conclusion: cultural adaptations carried out for specific sub-populations more effective than making treatments more culturally flexible

• strength: large sample size > high eco validity and low bidirectional ambiguity: culturally adapted means more effective

• limit: concerns with comparing studies that are completely different in nature and making conclusions from it and dont account for specifics and make it hard to apply to certain demographics

Maguire

• use for localization of function, neuroplasticity and techniques for studying the brain

• aim: how learning spatial info impacted parts of the brain that may be responsible for memory retention

• method: MRIs (observe gray matter)

• results: drivers (compared to learners) had a bigger hippocampus

• conclusion: hippocamp = memory, MRIs + structure and neuroplasticity

Antonova

• use for neurotransmitters and behavior

• aim: how scopolamine affected hippocampal activity in creation of spatial memory

• method: fMRIs (changes in blood flow) and then a virtual game to test spatial memory

• results: scopolamine caused activation of hippoc to reduce

• conclusion: acetylcholine could play a key role in creation of spatial memories

Newcomer

• use for hormone

• aim:how does cortisol and stress affect memory

• method: received high, low, or placebo dose, cognitive test and plasma testing

• results: higher dosage + worse memory performance on tests

• conclusion: when paired w stress, high amounts of cortisol lower memory capability in healthy ppl

Wedekind

• use for pheromones

• aim: determine how MHC impacted attraction through pleasant and unpleasant odors

• method: men wore shirts > women during peak of period smelled similar MHC, opp, or unworn

• results: women rated scent of one w dissimilar MHC as more pleasant

• conclusion: opp MHC may cause attraction

Caspi

• use for genetics

• aim:determine whether there is evidence for a gene-environment interaction for a mutation for serotonin

• method: looked at a sample with 3 groups and checked in yearly - G1) 2 short alleles, G2) 1 short 1 long, G3) 2 long and asked them to fill out stressful event survey

• results: short allele = more symptoms of depression and suicide when paired with high levels of stress

• conclusion: inheriting the gene was not enough to lead to depression but interaction w stressful event would increase likelihood of developing depression

Buss

• aim: men look for fertile women, but women look for mates for their offspring

• method: survey asking to rank mate characteristics

• results: mates tended to choose younger mates - signals desire for fertility while females wanted higher social status that could lead to more resources to support their young

• conclusion: tentatively supports parental investment theory

Hamilton and Gifford

aim: determine illusory correlation between undesirable behaviors and minorities

methods:

• two groups are created with one having half as many people (minority group) - told beforehand group b was smaller

• each statement about a person was + or -, and both groups has same portion of + and -

• participants ranked member of each based on 20 traits

• given booklet w statements after and asked what group person belonged to - and asked how many statements for each group had been undesirable

results:

• larger group ranked higher for + traits and lower for - traits

• overestimated # of - statements in the minority group

conclusion: - stereotypes may be more common for minority groups than majority

Bobo Doll

aim: determine if children would imitate aggression modelled by adults

method: G1: shown an adult being aggressive towards the inflatable bobo doll, G2: adult playing nicely with the doll and G3: saw nothing > G 1 and G2 - some children watched same-sex models and some opposite-sex ones before put into room with toys, but then told they were for other kids and placed into room with bobo doll
results: children who observed an aggressive model were more verbally and physically aggressive, girls were more likely to recreate verbal aggression and the boys physical.
conclusion: if children observe aggressive behavior they're more likely to exhibit it because of observational learning

Smith and Llyod

aim: wanted to see how gender labeling affected toy choice for children

method: new mothers played w 6months who were cross-dressed/named > put into room w child and collection of gendered toys + interactions were filmed

results: mothers chose toys that matched their perception of gender of children

conclusion: way parents interact w children may plat a role in enculturation, teaching the child what is appropriate behavior in culture

Lueck and Wilson

aim: see which factors would decrease the level of acculturative stress in Asian immigrants to the USA

method: The researchers gave semi-structured interviews to 2095 Asian immigrants: 1271 first generation

results: 70% of participants had acculturative stress

conclusion: bilingual language preference contributes to lower acculturative stress, preference for speaking only English is a predictor of high acculturative stress
negative treatment contributes to higher acculturative stress

Berry

aim: investigate the difference in degree of conformity between cultures

method: took 3 very different cultures - Scottish in reference to the Western world, Inuits from Canada and Temne from Sierra Leone (last 2 have more traditional way of life/not typical Western edu), asked to match the line below that most closely matched the line on the top, 3rd trial they heard: Most Temne (or Inuit or Scottish) people say this line

results: Temne (collectivistic culture) had a much higher rate of conformity during 3rd even though it was incorrect while Inuits had lower rate of conformity than the Scots

conclusion: when reminded of their cultural identity the cultural dimension played a more

significant role in an individual’s level of conformity

Craik and Tulving

aim:determine if levels of processing affects recall (process of retrieving stored info)

method: participants given questions > measured time it took for them to provide answer and how many words they could rmb from a list w distractors - asked to identify the ones they rmbed

results: words were processed semantically (deeper processing requiring assigned meaning) had a higher rate of accurate recall

conclusion: the deeper info is processed, the better rmbed

limits: low eco validity due to word recall being artificial

strength: high construct validity and low directional ambiguity as variables are well defined - questions asked and words correctly identified - clear relationship

Anderson and Pitchert

aim: investigate if schema processing influences encoding (info converted in a way that can be stored)

method: participants - who were students - given same story, but have 2 diff schemas (burglar/buyer) and have ro rmb story. after a delay period, they switch to the other perspective and then had to write down exact story

results: burglar info better recalled better than homebuyer info - due to students not having well developed homebuyer schema

conclusion: schema likely to have influenced schema as mentioned above

limits: lacks eco validity (controlled lab setting)

strength: high replicability and high construct validity (variables defined - IV/schema and DV - amount of info recalled

Brewer and Treyens

aim: investigate how schemas impacts in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memory

method: : participants sat in a room designed to look like an office that had typical items like a desk and unexpected items like a skull and some typical were omitted like books > took a memory test in another room > 3 conditions: draw, recall (write as many decs), and verbal (read a list: was is there yes or no)

results: draw + recall: tended to change the nature of the objects to match their schema and verbal: more likely to identify items not typical to schema of office like skull

conclusion: schema played a role in both the encoding and recall of the objects in the office.

limit: low eco validity due to rigid/not real world scenario aspect of the study and sample bias to them being only college pysch

strength: high replicability due to highly controlled and lab nature

Green et al

aimed to see if anchoring bias affected ppls willingness to pay for public goods - informed ppl abt ongoing damage to the ocean during oil tankers

method: contribute at all, 5, or 400

results: high anchor: avg of 143, low anchor avg of 20 and control avg: 64

conclusion: high anchor too high for ppl, but ppl based donations off of it

limit: demand characteristics as they can be clued in

strength: low bidirectional amb: higher the anchor, then higher the contribution and high eco validity: real world problem or easy to replicate

Tversky and Kahneman

aim:

method: asked high schoolers 1×2×3×4×5×6×7×8 or the reverse of that in 5 seconds. they expected that the ascending would have a smaller answer since anchor is 1 while descending had a higher one bc anchor was 8

results: median for descending group was higher

conclusion: higher anchor = higher number

limit: low eco validity: we dont have only 5 secs in real world to make estimations

strength: high internal validity due to extremely controlled nature of the experiment and low bidirectional a as higher anchor had higher number

Loftus and Pickrell

aim: determine if false memories of personal events can be created through the power of suggestion

method:

before study, parent/sibling asked if they could give 3 childhood memories + time participant got lost at a mall a parent or sibling of the participant was contacted and asked two questions > recieved quentionnare and had to write about 3 real and one “getting lost in mall” and could write idrmb if they didn’t > interviewed twice and asked to recall as much abt 4 memories and rate confidence level and then

results: 25% recalled “false” memory but rated confidence lower and wrote less for it

conclusion: suggestion can create false memories

limit: demand characteristics like social desireability effect to answer in a way that makes themselves look better and low internal validity due to self-reporting nature > could’ve asked someone

strength: high eco validity: talking abt their own memories + childhood ones

Canli

aim: to study the effects of emotion of recognition memory (ability to classify smth as familiar from prior knowledge)

method: participants shown pics that were negative or neutral and rated them from on emo intensity - fMRI recorded amygdala - few weeks later, given surprise test w pics from first round, and new ones > asked to see which they rmbed

results: more emo intensive pics rmbed better and amygdala activated for more emo intensive pics (amygdala specializes in processing on emotion and storage of memory)

conclusion: higher memory performance w higher emo pics

limit: low eco validity due to artifical nature/not real world scenario

strength: high replicability: easy to redo and high internal validity due to structured lab nature

Brown and Kulik

aim: investigate whether surprising and personally significant events can cause flashbulb memories

method: asked male B&W americans to fill out a questionnare abt the death of prominent public figures as well as those they knew personally (asked things like where were you, who was w you, what where you doing, etc)

results: 90% participants recalled a significant detail about the day when these events occurred and most had very detailed memories of the death of a loved one

conclusion: emotions, esp intense ones caused my triggering events have an impact of memories

strength: high replicability: allows us to determine reliability of findings

limit: low internal validity due to self-reporting nature of study - questionnare and low eco validity since onlu B&W males in US - hard to generalize