ib psych sl review

all the major key studies to know!

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