Qcaa psychology key researchers

Hudson 1960

differences in perception of 2D and 3D images, specifically depth perception in Caucasian vs African cultures

Hudson 1960 results

Samples without schooling from both cultures could not perceive 3D images, whereas schooled participants could. Schooled sample showed cultural difference, with Caucasians having a higher rate of 3D perception

Hudson 1960 Strengths

• varied and socially controlled sample- high reliability

• first of its kind to indicate that culture affects visual perception, inspired other research

Hudson 1960 Limitations

• only two groups investigated, can’t be generalised to groups outside of sample

• reasons may have not been solely cultural and were not investigated

Deregowski 1972

Investigates of perception of pictures is due to learning

Deregowski 1972 results

5 experiments, many non- Western people lack pictorial depth perception and prefer split drawings to perspective drawings

due to limited experience 

Deregowski Strengths

• investigates cultural diversity in perception, which had been ignored by mainstream psychology.

• This experiment is an example of cross-cultural research. Undertaking this research often helps researchers to determine whether certain abilities are innate (natural) or learnt (environmental).

Deregwoski Limitations

• don’t include texture gradient

• ethnocentric

• A major concern with cross-cultural research is ensuring that the measures are equally fair for both cultures, so as not to introduce bias.

Deregowski, Muldrow and Muldrow 1972

investigates recognition of pictures in remote populations

Deregowski, Muldrow and Muldrow 1972 results

participants could correctly, with a degree of effort, identify the animals, There were differences between the highland and lowland groups, which may be due to the lowland group not being as familiar with the animals

Deregowski, Muldrow and Muldrow 1972 strengths

• the interviews were conducted by an experimenter who was familiar with the area, the people and their language, and with the help of a local research assistant. This increased the internal validity of the research.

• The study provided experimental evidence in light of previous observations about pictorial recognition in remote populations.

Deregowski, Muldrow and Muldrow 1972 limitations 

• some of the participants seemed to experience stressful responses during the experiment. This may have violated ethical principles.

• Additionally, experimenters tended to get different responses from the participants depending on whether the cloth was lying flat on the ground (horizontal) or hung up (vertical). This may have been an uncontrolled extraneous variable in the experiment.

• The use of pictures in black and white might also have affected participant responses. Some participants had difficulty identifying the tree. Many participants reported seeing a ‘zebra’ in one of the pictures. This may have been an uncontrolled extraneous variable.

Baddeley and Hitch 1974

the multi store model of memory was too simplistic, they developed the working model of memory, which states there are different systems for different types of information

Baddeley and Hitch 1974 results

came up with 3 stores- central executive, visuo-spatial sketchpad and phonological loop, with the episodic buffer being added after revaluation

Baddeley and Hitch 1974 strengths

• that it has generally gained research support since its discovery and it is supported by considerable experimental evidence, including case studies and dual-task studies

• can be applied to real-life tasks, such as reading (phonological loop), problem-solving (central executive) and navigation (visual and spatial processing).

Baddeley and Hitch 1974 limitations 

• Components of the model are criticised by some researchers, e.g. the visuo-spatial sketchpad implies that all spatial information is first visual, but this does not fit with what researchers have discovered about how people with vision impairments use spatial awareness.

• There is little direct evidence of how the central executive works. The capacity of the central executive has never been measured.

Grant et al 1998 

sought to establish whether memory is context-dependent, i.e. whether memory is improved when it is tested in the same environment in which the information was learnt.

Grant et al 1998 results

   •   Performance was found to be better in the matching conditions (silent reading–silent test and noisy reading–noisy test) than in the mismatching conditions (silent reading–noisy test and noisy reading–silent test).

• The researchers concluded that environmental context appears to be important in the retrieval of newly learnt meaningful information. This finding had implications for students and study environments.

Grant et al 1998 strengths

• that the age of the sample was quite variable, suggesting that the result may not be age-dependent

• ­ is highly replicable and applicable to student life, as the research methods used provide context for generalisation to similar environments, giving it high ecological validity

Grant et al 1998 limitations

• has the limitation that it used a relatively small sample size 

  (n = 39), reducing its population validity.

• Additionally, researchers used an independent groups design with a small total number of participants, which means the results could have been subject to individual participant differences

Pavlov 1897

classical conditioning

Pavlov 1897 results

Pavlov found that for associations to be made, the two stimuli had to be presented together in time

Pavlov determined that similar conditioned stimuli (e.g. any bell) can cause a response (generalisation). In some cases, the stimuli were different enough to elicit no response (discrimination).

Pavlov 1897 strengths

• it is seen to be scientific, since it can be tested using an experimental method.

• Subsequent years of empirical evidence provide support for the theory as one way to explain behaviour.

Pavlov 1897 limitations

• ­ that it was conducted with animals, not humans

•  that it may lack historical validity

• theory has been criticised for being too simple and reductionist, as it underestimates the complexity of human behaviour

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Bandura 1977

social learning theory

Bandura 1977 results 

suggests that a number of cognitive and behaviour processes are necessary for learning to occur, including attention, retention, reproduction and motivation

Bandura 1977 strengths

• has the strength of giving credence to other psychologists and professionals who had undertaken similar research

• It built on existing theories of classical and operant conditioning, and gave an explanation for how behaviours are learnt through observation

Bandura 1977 limitations

• has the limitation that it now lacks historical validity, as it was published over 40 years ago

• doesn’t address biological factors such as genetic predispositions

Watson and Rayner 1920

Little Albert experiment

can fear be conditioned

Watson and Rayner 1920 results

concluded that it is probable that many of the phobias in psychopathology are true conditioned emotional reactions, which are either direct or transferred

Watson and Rayner 1920 strengths

• is a good demonstration of the scientific method, and the kinds of direct observations that were made in psychology in the 1920s

• could be used to distinguish between stimulus generalisation and discrimination in classical conditioning

Watson and Rayner 1920 limitations

•  lacked many of the controls that are expected in modern experiments, and it only had one subject, which restricted the validity of the conclusions made

• would be deemed unethical today, especially since there was no opportunity for the researchers to assess the long-term consequences on Albert B’s emotions or behaviour.

Skinner 1948

Operant Conditioning

Skinner 1948 results

behaviour is shaped by consequences

Skinner 1948 strengths

• it was conducted in a highly controlled environment, with multiple observers demonstrating a high level of agreement, increasing the reliability of the observations. 

• multiple trials with varying intervals were conducted, enhancing the validity of the conclusions made by Skinner. 

Skinner 1948 limitations

• it lacks historical validity as it was conducted in 1948

•   the paper does not detail the exact apparatus set up and controls necessary for research today.