Studied by 23 people
rosenhan
sociocultural
methodology: 12 people went to 12 mental hospitals, acted ‘normally’ after admittance
results: 11 were diagnosed with schizophrenia and 1 with manic depression.
aim: to test the accuracy of diagnosis
considerations: scientist may have confirmation bias himself
johnston
bio
methodology: 42 female participants asked to view male & female faces (the faces were made more or less fem/masc)
results: females in ovulation preferred masc faces; change in hormones affected facial preference
considerations: only done with straight/heterosexual females
buss
sociocultural
methodology: 10,047 participants across 37 cultures asked to rank which traits were most desirable through a questionnaire
results: women placed high value on financial state and older men; men had higher emphasis on good looks
application: describes how evolution has affected attraction
considerations: anonymity ensures more honest answers
hwang
sociocultural
methodology: 2,000 participants over 65yrs old surveyed, grouped by ethnicity
results: african-americans more likely to believe depression results from stress or worry & more likely to receive spiritual advice: latinos more likely to get medication; asians less likely to speak to anyone & seek treatment from someone of the same race
application: medical professionals should be more aware of patient’s cultural background
considerations: culturally sensitive questions may not have provided honest answers; may be a generalisation of culture’s views on mental health
darley & latane
sociocultural
methodology: participants were put in a room that began to fill with smoke. control - participants were alone; other - there were at least 2 confederates
results: when alone, 50% participants sought help after 2mins and 75% after 6mins. with confederates, 10% sought help after 6mins
applications: demonstrates bystanderism
considerations: may have been different reasons participants didn’t ask for help (shock, froze, didn’t know what to do, etc.)
torres
sociocultural
methodology: 669 participants given questionnaires about perceived discrimination, acculturative stress, & psychological distress
results: participants with high levels of discrimination also had high levels of acculturative stress. those with anglo-behavioural orientation experienced lower levels of acculturative stress
applications: can explain how people may feel when moving to a new country
consideration: the study only focuses on latinos in one region in america
berry
sociocultural
methodology: compared cultures deriving from hunting & gathering and agricultural (temne v inuit)
results: the temne (agricultural) people had higher rates of conformity than inuit (hunter & gatherer)
applications: can explain how different cultures may value cooperation (& conformity)
considerations: only compares 2 cultures; cultures are ‘tradition’ and may not be able to be generalised
asch
sociocultural
methodology: 7-9 males were put in a room (all but one was confederate) and participants had to match a line with one of the three cards the experimenter help up. on the 3rd trial, the confederates deliberately gave wrong answers
results: 74% of participants conformed at least once
applications: could explain conformity in social settings; group pressure
considerations: results don’t ‘prove’ group pressure causes conformity
barry
sociocultural
methodology: agricultural (high food accumulation) & subsistence economy (low food accumulation) cultures were assessed in cultural practices
results: agricultural societies focused on obedience while subsistence economic societies focused on achievement
applications: child training affects behaviour
considerations: results may have changed over time as societies did
cohen
bio and sociocultural
methodology: northern and southern white males had testosterone levels tested before and after getting insulted/bumped in a hallway by a confederate
results: southerners are more likely to condone violence if for defence & more likely to use violence when confronted. testosterone in southerners increased 12% while northerners testosterone increased 4%
applications: southern ‘culture of honour’
considerations: differing personalities in each region; only done with white people
radke
bio and cognitive
methodology: 54 healthy females, half were given testosterone, and the other half were given a placebo. they were shown happy and angry faces and had to decide if they were approachable while amygdala activity & pfc were being measured
results: the testosterone group had more activation in the amygdala when approaching angry faces.
applications: testosterone impacts the amygdala when facing a threat
considerations: participants may have had a different level of testosterone before given a dose
desbordes
cognitive
methodology: 3 control and 1 treatment group. the treatment group received 8weeks of mindfulness training, 1 control group got no training, the other 2 had cognitive training unrelated to mindfulness. after 8weeks, they all underwent an fmri testing to record amygdala activity
results: reduced amygdala activity in the group who had mindfulness training when looking at negative pictures
applications: the effect of mindfulness can be transferrable in a non-meditative state
considerations: different levels of mindfulness before the study
passamonti
bio and cognitive
methodology: healthy participants were told to drink something that lacked tryptophan (to reduce serotonin levels). they were put into fmris while looking at images of facial expressions
results: reduced activity in the frontal lobe during low serotonin conditions when seeing an angry face; lower serotonin may affect ability to inhibit impulsive reactions
applications: may explain why low serotonin may lead to aggression
considerations: people may view facial expressions differently
capsi
bio and sociocultural
methodology: 2 groups of participants (one group had a high expressing maoa gene, the other had low expressing). they were put in an fmri and looked at angry & fearful faces
results: the presence of an maoa gene & abuse as a child increases the likelihood of antisocial bahaviour
applications: explains how genes could influence a certain type of behaviour
considerations: childhood experiences were likely to be different between participants
luby
bio and sociocultural
methodology: 145 school children were mri tested once a year, interactions will adults & stressful situations were also recorded. at the end of 3 years, 2 more mri tests were conducted (amygdala and hippocampus)
results: children from poorer areas tend to have less volume in their hippocampi & amygdalae
applications: shows how poverty affects children’s brain development
considerations: only involves children in one area; different levels of poverty
sherif robbers
sociocultural
methodology: 2 groups of 12-year-old boys all from the same background & were strangers. multiple phases: 1st phase, encouraged to form bonds within group and were unaware of another group; 2nd phase, the 2 groups were introduced and forced to compete for prizes; 3rd phase, both groups encouraged to work toward the same goal together
results: conflict is a result of competition over resources
applications: possible origins of conflict (RCT)
considerations: participants were all white & from same background, no diversity
tajfel & turner
sociocultural
methodology: investigated group dynamics; participants were randomly assigned a group and had nothing in common with other members
results: participants ranked in-group members better than out-group members
applications: forms of discrimination & group preferences/bias
considerations: may be an oversimplification of prejudice & discrimination
bransford & johnson
cognitive
methodology: a script schema/instructions of doing laundry. 3 groups: 1st had the passage title; 2nd had the title after; 3rd never had the title. they were asked to rate comprehension of instructions
results: the group told the title before remembered the most details & comprehension
applications: shows hoe procession info & comprehension relies mainly on schema
considerations: people may do laundry differently
rosenswig & bennet
bio and sociocultural
methodology: male rats from different litters were assigned enriched or deprived conditions. in the enriched condition, rats had toys and ‘maze training.’ in the deprived condition, rats were isolated. both conditions lasted 4-10 weeks. after the conditions, the rats were autopsied to determine cell growth & neurotransmitter activity
results: enriched condition rats had heavier & thicker frontal lobes than deprived rats.
applications: sensory enrichment & deprivation may influence brain development
considerations: the rats may have been different ages & different type of rat
bechara/iowa gambling
bio and cognitive
methodology: participants had vmpfc damage or no damage. they were given 4 decks to choose from, the decks were rigged. use of system 1 (impulsive) or system 2 (rational) decision making.
results: participants with no damage learned to avoid the decks that were rigged. those with damage were less able to consider long-term impacts
applications: shows that the vmpfc controls what system is being used when making decisions
considerations: different amount of damage to the vmpfc between participants
loftus & palmer
cognitive
methodology: 45participants in different groups watched clips of car crashes and were asked questions after a week (eg ‘did you see any broken glass?’). there were 2 different verbs in the question (smashed and contacted).
results: 32% said they remembered broken glass (there was no broken glass)
applications: shows how memory can change; information received after an event may effect memory
considerations: may not be necessarily applicable to serious and/or emotional situations
batson
cognitive
methodology: 44 females watched/administered a woman receiving electrical shocks. participants were given an opportunity to take her place. an empathy questionnaire was given beforehand. ease of escape - wouldn’t have to watch if they swapped places
results: high empathy/ease of escape - 98% swap; low empathy/ease of escape - 18% swap; high empathy/difficult escape - 82% swap; low empathy/difficult escape - 62% swap
applications: feelings of empathy will increase the chances of acting altruistically
considerations: the situation doesn’t necessarily relate to the real world/every day setting
atkinson & shiffrin
cognitive
methodology: developed the multi-store model of memory
results: created explanation for processes relating to memory
applications: explains how memory can be formed
considerations: the model may not be true as the model was created decades ago
peterson & peterson
cognitive
methodology: measured duration of short-term store by having participants remember trigrams.
results: after 6secs, the ability to remember the 3 letter stimuli had 50% accuracy
applications: can help explain why memories can be unreliable, especially short-term
considerations: the study was done the multi-store model was proposed, the explanations may need to be updated
buchanan & lovallo
cognitive
methodology: 48 healthy participants some getting 20mg of cortisol or a placebo. pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral images were shown to participants and participants had to rate the emotional impact. face & picture recall one week later
results: cortisol didn’t affect the emotional impact of memory, but increased the memory at highly emotional images
applications: cortisol can enhance the consolidation of emotional memory
considerations: only used healthy participants
baddeley & hitch
cognitive
methodology: phonological loop and articulatory process divided. participants had to recollect info
results: working memory model & slave system
applications: modeled working memory & elaborated on short-term store and multi-store model of memory
considerations: peoples memory works differently
robbins
cognitive
methodology: 20 male chess players were asked to arrange pieces of one chess board, recreate it on a different board
results: when participants used visual-spatial processing, there was more accurate recall
applications: shows how practice can improve mental processing
considerations: only used chess players
garrison
sociocultural and ptsd
methodology: 350 black, hispanic, & white teens were interviewed 6 months after a hurricane.
results: high rates of black and hispanic people had criteria for ptsd
applications: socio-economic disparity between racial gorups
considerations: only interviewed teenagers
urry
cognitive
methodology: 19 participants were exposed to a range of images while in an fmri (from emotional to unpleasant).
results: higher activation in the vmpfc during cognitive reappraisal to decrease the emotional effect of the stimuli led to greater reduction of the activity of the amygdala
applications: vmpfc role in cognitive reappraisal can reduce activation of amygdala during processing of emotional stimuli
considerations: participants may have had different reactions to the images
gilbertson
bio and ptsd
methodology: 34 identical twins (used 2 types). one set had developed war-related ptsd while the other did not; the other set had one go to war but not develop ptsd. used an mri and compared hippocampus
results: trauma unexposed twins of veteran with ptsd had smaller hippocampal volumes than unexposed twins without ptsd
applications: low hippocampal volume may be an existing factor to developing ptsd
considerations: war-related ptsd and other ptsd may have different effects
macnamara
cognitive and ptsd
methodology: 34 male veterans (half with ptsd) had an fmri to measure brain activity during cognitive reappraisal.
results: 70% showed at least a 50% reduction in cap scored
applications: ssris may help treat ptsd by improving function in parts that will help with cognitive processes
considerations: all participants were white or war veterans
felmingham
cognitive and ptsd
methodology: 8 participants of car crashes measured ptsd symptoms using caps over 8 weeks. compared brain activity before and after sessions
results: the higher the anterior cingular cortex (ACC) activation after the treatment, the lower the ptsd answers
applications: able to compare results of drug therapy and psychotherapy
considerations: small sample size with only 2 particular types of trauma
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