Evaluation for paper 1 (Memory and Psychopathology)

Coding

- Baddeley’s study used artificial materials- word lists had no personal meaning and thus limited application.

Capacity

- Miller’s research may have overestimated STM. Cowan (2001) concluded capacity of 4 chunks

Duration

- Peterson and Peterson’s study material was artificial- low external validity

+ Bahrick’s study had high external validity. HOWEVER p’s may have looked at year book/ rehearsed

Long term memory - evaluation

• Clive Wearing & HM both had severely impaired episodic memory but semantic & procedural was relatively unaffected

• Neuroimaging evidence. PET scans show semantic recalled from left prefrontal cortex & episodic from right (hemisphere) prefrontal cortex.

• Psychologists can target certain kinds of memory to better people’s lives. Study showed episodic memories could be improved in older people with a mild cognitive impairment.

The working memory model

+ Clinical evidence – KF poor verbal STM ability but could process visual info. Supports separate STM stores. HOWEVER such unique brain-damaged cases may not be reliable.

+ Dual task performance- Baddeley showed there's more difficulty doing two visual tasks than a visual & a verbal task. Supports existence of separate slave systems.

- Lack of clarity over central executive- Most important, least understood- Thus WMM is not a full explanation.

Forgetting: Interference Theory

+ Evidence from lab studies consistently demonstrated interference in memory- gives confidence in validity

+ Real-life studies – rugby players recall depended on number of matches in-between rather than time since.

- Artificial materials- word lists not realistic to birthdays, faces, studies etc. Interference more likely in a lab.

Reduced cues

+ Wealth of supporting evidence- both from lab& real-life studies like (deep sea divers study) - increased validity

+ Context-related cues have useful everyday applications- cognitive interview, exams, could help people to perform better in exams, age-related memory losses.

- Evidence to show that context effects are not very strong in real-life- moving room to room will not have same effect as water to land (lacks ecological validity)

Post-Event Discussion and Leading questions

+ Real-life application- police officers need to be careful about phrasing of q’s- improves accuracy of legal system

- Artificial materials- no emotion, responses don’t have important consequences- little real life meaning

- Individual differences in accuracy of EWT- 18-45s more accurate than 55+. Also showed own age bias

Factors affecting recall - Anxiety

Study found high anxiety group of p's remembered less details about the actor at the London Dungeon's compared to low-anxiety group

Real-life gun shop shooting. Witnesses were very accurate and there was little change after 5 months. (positive effect)

Johnson and Scott (1976)

49% of participants in the low-anxiety (pen) condition were able to identify the man in the line up. High anxiety condition (paper knife) 33% (negative effect)

EWT: The Cognitive Interview

- Time consuming- takes longer than standard interview, requires training

- Research may be unreliable because of variations of the CI

+ Research suggests some elements are very useful- report everything & context reinstatement reinstatement produce best recall = credibility

Behavioural approach to explaining phobias 1 positive 2 negative

Little albert study (case study) - left afraid of anything furry

Biological preparedness better explanation. Genetically learn associations between fear & stimuli that’s life-threatening, Explains why fear is easier to condition to certain things

Explanation requires cognitive aspect of irrational thinking, can’t be explain just by behaviourists.

Behavioural approach to treating phobias one positive and 2 negative

SD - Costly and takes devotion and time more resources

Flooding - highly traumatic and may not work making symptoms worse, whereas SD is less traumatic

Flooding - cheaper and faster process

Cognitive approach to explaining depression 2 pos 2 neg

◦Practical application for both- forms basis of CBT, i.e. all components of triad easily identifiable and thus able to be challenged. Strength as translates well into a successful therapy.

Beck’s & Ellis’ doesn’t explain all aspects of depression. Explains basics but it’s complex, can’t explain deep anger, hallucinations, delusions or Cotard syndrome (delusion they are zombies).

◦Ellis’ a partial explanation. Some cases of depression follow activating events (reactive depression) but what about those that don’t?

REBT support- Ellis claimed 90% success rate, average 27 sessions.

Bio approach to explaining OCD

Twin studies evidence – Nestadt 68% MZ twins & 31% DZ twins experience OCD.

Reductionist – suggested classical/ operant conditioning- hand washing reduces anxiety reinforcing compulsions.

Real life application, led to development of SSRI

Family studies research support- Lewis (1936) 37% had parents with the disorder

Bio approach to treating OCD

Soomro et al. (2008) drugs more effective than placebos in all 17 studies.

Drugs cost effective & non disruptive

All have unpleasant side effects. SSRIs = indigestion, headaches, insomnia, lack of sex drive.

Drugs effectiveness likely exaggerated for economic gain, Goldacre withhold lots of evidence.