Studied by 14 people
Types of conformity AO1
compliance → temporary/short term type of conformity when you outwardly go along with the public view but disagree with it in private. Short term
identification → moderate type of conformity where you act in the same way as the group because we value it but might not agree with everything the majority believes in
internalisation → deepest type of conformity where you take on the majority view and now accept it as your own view. Leads to a long term change in behaviour even when the group isn’t present
Explanations of conformity AO1
normative social influence → conforming to a group in order to fit in and be accepted, even if you privately disagree. To avoid rejection and to be liked (compliance/identification)
informational social influence → conforming to a group in order to be right because you think the group is more knowledgeable than you. It’s done to gain knowledge and evidence about reality (internalisation). more likely to occur when the task is ambiguous
Explanations of conformity AO3
informational social influence - research support
in variations of Asch’s study when the the task was made more difficult conformity to incorrect answers increased
this shows that people conform in situations where they feel they don’t know the answer and that we look to other people and assume they know better than us and must be right
this supports the explanation of ISI that we conform in order to be right
Normative social influence - individual differences
NSI doesn’t affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way
people may have more or less of a need to be liked
for example, those in high need for affiliation with others are called nafilliators are more likely to conform
showing that desire to be liked underlies conformity for some people more than others
ISI and NSI work together
not always separate, more often both processes are involved
for example in Asch’s study conformity increased when there was another dissenting participant
this could have been due to NSI because there was social support or because of ISI because there was another source of information
so it’s not always possible to tell whether it’s NSI or ISI or whether they work together
therefore a better explanation may be a two process model where they work together
Asch main study AO1
Procedure:
123 male undergraduates
asked to look at three different lines of different compared to a standard line
only one participant in each group was real, the rest were confederates (6-8 in each group)
they took turns to call out which line they though was the same length as the standard line
the real participant always asked second to last
The aim was to see if the real participants would stick to what they believed was right or go along with the majority decision even when the answer was obviously incorrect
Findings:
conformity was about 30% on average agreeing with the incorrect answer
compared to a control where the incorrect answer was given 1% of the time - unambiguous answers
Conclusion:
interviews showed that they privately trusted their views but went along with the majority to avoid disapproval from the group members
they showed compliance and normative social influence
variables affecting conformity studied by Asch
group size
Asch varied the number of confederates from 1-15
as number of confederates increased so did conformity
only up to a certain point where it stopped increasing (8/9)
unanimity
there was another non-conforming participant
the presence of this dissenting participant reduced conformity by a quarter
task difficulty
the task was made more ambiguous
conformity increased
shows ISI
Asch AO3
Artificial tasks
line task
not representative to everyday situations
lack of ecological validity
can’t generalise to everyday life - only cautiously apply
population validity
only men were studied from US
could be gender differences
could be cultural differences e.g a more collectivist culture rather than an individualist culture may be more likely to conform due to them being more orientated on group needs
can’t generalise
ethical issues
deception - they were told they were taking part in a vision test
although deceived it allowed Asch to collect valid results by avoiding demand characteristics
costs of ethical issues should be weighed up against the benefits gained from the study
conformity to social roles: Zimbardo AO1
The Stanford prison experiment:
Procedure:
a mock prison was set up in the basement at stanford university
male student volunteers where psychologically screened and the 24 most stable were randomly assigned to prisoner or guard
the prisoners were unexpectedly arrested at home
they were given prison uniform and an ID number to dehumanise
guards were given uniforms and reflective sunglasses to prevent eye contact
zimbardo took the role of the prison superintendent
it was planned to run for 2 weeks but only lasted 6 days
Findings:
even during the first few days the guards became more abusive towards prisoners
the prisoners rebelled against this harsh treatment
they shouted and spit at the guards and ripped their uniforms
there were hunger strikes
guards woke prisoners up in the middle of the night for headcounts
prisoners showed signs of psychological disturbance
one prisoner left after the first day
they were depressed and anxious
someone had a seizure
the experiment was stopped after 6 days
Conclusions:
revealed the power of the situation to influence peoples behaviour
the guards and prisoners all conformed to their roles
Zimbardo AO3
ethical issues
zimabardo’s study was considered ethical as it followed the guidelines set out by the university
for example there wasn’t deception as they were told in advance that that some of their usual rights would be suspended
however, the prisoners didn’t know that they were going to be arrested from their homes
he also didn’t protect the Ps from psychological and physical harm
some of them were very clearly distressed
he tried to help this by debriefing the Ps and carrying out sessions for several years after
he concluded that there were no lasting negative effects
demand characteristics
it was quite easy to guess the aims of the study
the participants could have easily guessed what was expected of them in the study
so the behaviour might bot have been due to the environment but rather the demand characteristics
control
they had control over the study
the Ps were screened and the most healthy were selected
then they were randomly assigned
this minimised individual personality differences
improves internal validity
Explanations for obedience: legitimacy of authority AO1
AO1
Legitimacy of authority suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy. Legitimacy is increased by visible symbols of authority, e.g. uniform. The authority they use is legitimate as it is argued by society, helping it to run smoothly. For example, parents, teachers and police officers all have some kind of authority over us at times which is legitimate as agreed by society which allows society to function smoothly. With regard to Milgrams study the experimenter is seen as having legitimate authority as he has scientific status. One of the consequences is that some people are granted the power to punish others.
Explanations for obedience: legitimacy of authority AO3
AO3
A strength of this explanation is that there is evidence to support it. For example in milgrams obedience study there was a variation where the experimenter was played by a ‘member of the public’. In the original study the experimenter wore a lab coat which would have increased the legitimacy of authority due to this visible symbol. Whereas in the variation the experimenter was replaced by a confederate who wore everyday clothes. This would have reduced the legitimacy of authority as the visible symbol of the lab coat was removed and an ordinary member of the public would have been at the same level on the social hierarchy, therefore according to legitimacy of authority they would be less likely to obey. This was proven in this variation of the study as obedience dropped to 20% compared to 65% in the baseline study. Therefore this strengthens the explanation of legitimacy of authority due to evidence to support from Milgrams study.
Another strength is that legitimacy of authority is supported by cultural differences. For example in countries where authority is less valued e.g Australia obedience rates were much lower in replications of milgrams study. In Australia only 16% of participants went to the top voltage scale. Whereas in countries where they value authority figures more such as Germany the obedience rates were 85%. This shows that legitimacy to authority plays a part in obedience as supported from findings from this cross cultural research, therefore increasing the validity of the explanation.
Explanations for obedience: agentic state AO1
the agentic state is a mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure. This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure. The opposite of being in an agentic state is being in an autonomous state where we act according to our own principles and therefore feel full responsibility for our actions.
binding factors (why someone remains in the agentic state)
denying responsibility for the victim or the damage done to them
encouragement/reassurance from authority
Explanations for obedience: agentic state AO3
A strength is that there is research support. Blass and Schmidt showed the film to a group of students and asked them to identify who they thought was responsible for the harm of the learner. The students blamed the experimenter rather than the teachers. This supports the idea that people will act on behalf of the authority and won’t feel responsible and this is recognised by other people. Therefore this evidence strengthens the explanation.
However, it reduces the responsibility of people who might have done bad things. For example, people who were working for the Nazis. They would have passed off their responsibility to the person higher up and giving them orders and claimed that they were just acting on their behalf. Therefore they might feel responsible and not be punished for what they did because they can just claim that they were acting on behalf of someone else. Therefore the agentic state could be used in a bad way as it can reduce the responsibility of some peoples actions.
Milgram study AO1
Procedure:
40 male participants
recruitment from ads in newspapers
told it was a study about memory
rigged draw of teacher and learner (P was always the teacher)
learner was strapped to chair
teacher had to increase electric shocks every time they answered a question wrong on a learning task
15 to 450 volts
The experimenter would give prompts to keep going with electric shocks
Findings:
all participants went to 300 volts
65% of participants continued to highest voltage (450)
many participants seemed stressed and showed extreme tension
Milgram study AO3
Ethical issues
Ps were deceived and weren’t told the true aims of the study
therefore couldn’t give fully informed consent
milgram claimed that Ps were free to leave at any time but the prompts and constant encouragements from the experimenter made it more difficult and some participants felt that they had no choice about continuing
protection from harm - a lot of participants were psychologically distressed
affects the credibility of psychology
weigh up against value of findings
Internal validity
may lack internal validity as many participants may have realised that the shocks weren’t real
so may not have actually been testing obedience
however, a follow up study was done where real electric shocks were given to puppies
despite the real shocks over 50% of men and 100% gave the highest voltage shock
therefore findings of milgram may have been genuine
population
he studied obedience in males
therefore not generalisable to rest of the population
study above suggests that women may be more obedient than men
Situational variables affecting obedience AO1
proximity
the teacher and learner where in the same room
this reduced obedience to 40%
this was because the teacher could experience the learners pain more directly
location
the location was changed from a prestigious university building to a run down office block
obedience reduced to 47.5%
legitimacy of authority - less likely to be in agentic state
uniform
milgram:
changed from a grey lab coat to everyday clothing
obedience dropped to 20%
legitimacy of authority
bickman:
the authority wore either a guard uniform, a milkman uniform or no uniform
experimenters approached 153 adult pedestrians
asked to carry out certain tasks
no uniform - least obedience, guard uniform - most obedience
Situational variables affecting obedience AO3
ecological validity
bickmans study was in real life setting
field experiment
high ecological validity
control
systematically altered one variable at a time
so could see individual effects on obedience
offers an alibi for evil behaviour
some say that it is offensive to the survivors of the holocaust to suggest that the Nazis were simply obeying orders and were victims themselves of situational factors beyond their control
it results in reduced responsibility of those people
Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality AO1
Adorno (!950)
a distinct personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority
they have extreme respect for authority, more obedient
formed in childhood as a result of harsh parenting
strict parenting creates resentment and hostility in the child
fear of parents is displaced onto others who are perceived as weaker
it is measured using the F-Scale
they tend to have fixed stereotypes about people
they are often prejudice
strict adherence to social rules and hierarchy
Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality AO3
research support
elms and milgram interviewed obedient and defiant participants from milgrams study
completed a personality scale and the F scale
they were also asked open questions about the relationship with their parents
they found that those who were obedient had a much higher score in the F scale
and they were less close with their fathers
this supports adorno’s theory that people with more authoritarian type personalities are more obedient
F scale
good way to measure personality type objectively
however, the F scale measures the tendency towards an extreme right wing ideology
therefore a politically biased interpretation of the authoritarian personality
all questions are worded in the same direction so people who are more likely to agree to everything might be classed as authoritarian
not actually testing personlity
correlation not causation
Resistance to social influence AO1
Social support
Conformity:
the presence of social support reduces conformity
Asch found that the presence of social support enables the individual to resist conforming pressures from the majority
in a variation of his study when there was a dissenting participant who didn’t go along with the majority conformity of the real participant decreased to 5%
this is because it breaks the unanimous position of the majority
the presence of social support allows the individual to have an independent assessment of reality that makes them more confident in their decision
Obedience:
when there is social support obedience decreases
this is because it is easier to resist the temptation to obey if people have an ally who is willing to join them in opposing the authority
for example, in a variation of milgrams study when there were three teachers. two of which started to refuse, this lead to a reduction in obedience and only 10% continued to the final shock level
Locus of control:
there are internal and external locus of controls
those with an internal locus of control believe that everything that happens to them is within their own control
whereas, people with an external locus of control think that everything happens out of their control
there is a continuum however so its not simply external or internal but someone can be on the scale e.g you can be a high/low internal
those with more of an internal locus of control are more likely to resist social influence
this is because they will feel more of a responsibility for their actions
someone who has more of external locus of control are more likely to conform or obey because they might feel its someone elses fault and will feel less responsible
Resistance to social influence AO3
research support LOC
milgrams baseline study was repeated
and they tested the participants’ locus of control
they found that those with an internal locus of control where much less likely to continue to the highest shock level
this support the theory that internals are more likely to resist social influence
limited role of the LOC
our past experiences are more likely to determine our resistance to social influence
for example if we have disobeyed to something in the past then we are more likely to do it again regardless of how internal we are
there locus of control may not pay that much of a big role in our lives
Minority influence AO1
a form of social influence where the members of the majority group change their beliefs or behaviours as a result of their exposure to a persuasive minority. They have to adopt a particular behaviour style in order to be successful in persuading the majority.
Consistency:
they must be consistent with their message they are trying to convey and persistently say the same thing. If they change their views and aren’t consistent with what they are saying then they may be seen as less string, therefore less influential
Commitment:
if they are committed to the cause and are willing to make sacrifices then people are more likely to take them seriously, therefore making them more influential
Flexibility:
as the minority is typically powerless against the majority they must be able to consider negotiation in order to win over their view. However, too much flexibility can be seen as being inconsistent
the snowball effect - over time increasing numbers of people will switch from the majority view to the minority. Therefore gradually the minority becomes the majority view
Moscovici et al study AO1
AO1
4 real participants and 2 confederates in each group
shown a series of blue slides that varied in intensity and were asked to judge the colour of each slide
in the consistent experimental condition the confederates repeatedly called the blue slides green
in the inconsistent condition they called the slides green on two thirds of the trials
in the control condition with no confederates participants said blue for every slide
in the inconsistent condition they conformed to green responses less than 1% of the time
in the consistent condition they conformed 8% of the trials
this shows that consistency is important when trying to influence the majority
Minority influence AO3
research support
wood et al carried out a meta analysis of similar studies to moscovici.
they found that minorities who were the most consistent were seen as the most influential
this suggests that consistency is a major factor in minority influence
low ecological validity
artificial tasks
coding of memory AO1/AO3
AO1
the STM is coded acoustically
the LTM is coded semantically
Baddeley gave lists of words to four groups of participants (acoustically similar/dissimilar and semantically similar/dissimilar)
he found that participants had difficulty remembering acoustically similar words in STM but not LTM, whereas semantically similar words posed little problem for STM but were muddled in the LTM
this suggests that STM is largely encoded acoustically whereas the LTM is encoded semantically
AO3
used artificial stimuli so not realistic to everyday life. Lacks ecological validity, less generalisable …
when testing the LTM he waited 20 minutes, so it is questioned as to whether he was really testing the LTM
research has shown that the LTM may not be exclusively semantically coded but rather some memories may be coded visually and that it can vary according to circumstances
Capacity of memory AO1/AO3
AO1
the STM has a capacity of 5-9 items
the LTM has an unlimited capacity
Jacobs digit span technique tested capacity of STM
he gave participants a certain number of digits or letters that they had to repeat out loud in order
he increased the number until they couldn’t accurately recall the list
the average for digits was 9.3 and letters was 7.3
AO3
artificial stimuli…
evidence shows that there may be individual differences in the capacity of the STM. The capacity is shown to increase with age due to the development of strategies and brain capacity
Duration of memory AO1/AO3
AO1
the STM has a duration of 18-30 seconds
the LTM has a duration of a lifetime
Peterson and Peterson studied the duration of STM. participants were given trigrams and 3 digit numbers. They had to recall this trigram after a period of time ranging from 3-18 seconds. During this time they had to count backwards from the number to avoid repetition of their trigram. They found that correct recollection decreased over time. This shows that the duration of STM is very short (up to 18 seconds) when verbal rehearsal is prevented.
Bahrick studied the duration of LTM. He tested participants on their memory of their classmates from their yearbooks. Even after 48 years they were still about 70% accurate. Showing that LTM’s duration has the potential to last a lifetime
AO3
artificial testing p+p…
whereas bahricks test was much more meaningful to everyday situations because real life memories were studied therefore improving the external validity
however, because real life memories were studied it means he couldn’t control for confounding variables such as the participants looking at the yearbook since graduation and rehearsing the photos
MSM AO1
Sensory register
the place where information is held at each of the senses
a stimulus from the environment will pass into the sensory register
two main stores are iconic (visual information) and echoic (acoustic information)
the sensory register has a high capacity but a very short duration
it will only pass further into the short term memory if it pays attention to it
Short term memory
capacity 5-9 items, duration 18-30 seconds, coding acoustically
maintenance rehearsal is when we repeat material over and over again. This keeps information in our STM as long as we rehearse it. If we rehearse it long enough it will enter into the LTM
Long term memory
capacity unlimited, coding semantic, duration lifetime
although material is stored in the LTM, when we want to recall it it has to travel back through the STM by a process called retrieval
MSM AO3
Supporting evidence
controlled lab studies (p+p, bahrick, baddeley, Jacobs) support coding, capacity and duration of memory
however, low ecological validity due to artificial material
Too simple
suggests that the STM and LTM are both single unitary stores. However, counter evidence from the working memory model shows that the STM is more than one store
study of patient KF who had amnesia found that he couldn’t remember digits when read aloud to him but he could when he could read them himself. Therefore showing that there is a different store for visual and acoustic information
there is also evidence that there is more than one type of LTM
So the model is too simple and not a full explanation of memory
More than one type of rehearsal
MSM says that there is only maintenance rehearsal which is repetition of material that if done for long enough can transfer into the LTM. However there is counter evidence that shows that maintenance rehearsal is only what keeps memories in the STM, but elaborative rehearsal is what transfers it to the LTM. This is when you make links to existing knowledge so it becomes meaningful
this is a limitation because it is a process that the MSM can’t explain
Types of long term memory AO1
Episodic
memories from your lifetime that you remember e.g a birthday from your childhood
Procedural
the memory of how to do everyday tasks and skills such as being able to tie your shoelaces or riding a bike
Semantic
knowledge about the world around you e.g the capital of England is London
Types of long term memory AO3
Evidence from case study of HM
HM had his hippocampus removed to try and reduce his epilepsy
he could still remember procedural memories as he could still tie his shoelaces and walk and talk
however he couldn’t remember things that had happened in his life previously so his episodic memory was effected
this supports the fact that there are separate stores of LTM
Brain scans evidence
brain scans can show which areas of the brain are active when different kinds of LTM are active
This research shows that the different types of LTM are physically located in different areas of the brain
therefore supporting the fact the there are three separate stores and types of LTM
WMM AO1
Baddeley and Hitch developed the working memory model after the MSM. They did this to include that the STM is not a unitary store and dual task performance is possible if they use different stores.
Central executive
an attentional process that monitors incoming data, makes decisions and allocates slave systems to tasks
it has a very limited capacity and can’t store information
Phonological loop
one of the slave systems that deals with auditory information
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
the second slave system which stores visual/spatial information
Episodic buffer
sends information to the LTM
integrates the visual, verbal and spatial information
maintains time sequencing (order of events)
limited capacity
WMM AO3
Dual task performance
takes into account dual task performance
it shows that multiple tasks can be performed at once if they used different slave systems
strength because it provides a more thorough explanation than the MSM
evidence from KF
KF had amnesia
when asked to remember digits when read aloud to him he struggled
but when he could read the digits himself he could remember them
supporting the fact that there are separate stores within the STM
central executive
the role of the central executive is unclear and quite vague
doesn’t properly state its role
therefore the WMM can’t be fully explained
evidence from brain damaged patients
a lot of evidence for the WMM is from brain damaged patients such as KF. This is a limitation because:
process of brain injury is traumatic so could in itself change behaviour so that a person performs worse on certain tasks
unusual cases so not generalisable to rest of population
Explanations for forgetting: interference AO1
interference
when one memory affects the recall of another
when one memory disrupts another
Proactive interference
when a past memory disrupts the recall of a recent memory
Retroactive interference
when a more recent memory disrupts the recall of a past memory
it is more likely to occur when the material is similar
Explanations for forgetting: interference AO3
A strength of interference theory as an explanation for forgetting is that there is evidence support from lab experiments. For example, McGeoch and McDonald investigated retroactive interference. They found that the accurate recall of a list of words depended on the nature of the second list they learnt. When the lists were most similar it produced the worst recall. Therefore supporting retroactive interference as an explanation for forgetting. This strengthens the explanation as the evidence comes from lab experiments. This is because they take place in controlled conditions where extraneous variables are controlled therefore being able to establish cause and effect. This shows that interference is a valid explanation for at least some forgetting. Therefore strengthening the explanation due to support from lab experiments.
However a weakness is that these lab experiments use artificial materials; therefore, there is a much greater chance that interference will be demonstrated in the lab than in real life situations. The stimulus materials usually used are lists of words that the participants have to learn. This is unrealistic to the things that we might have to remember in everyday life. Therefore the use of artificial tasks makes interference much more likely to occur in the lab than in real life. Therefore due to the evidence supporting the explanation it might not be a strong explanation for forgetting in real life situations because the evidence used lacks ecological validity.
A strength of interference as an explanation for forgetting is that it has useful real life application. For example, when revising for exams interference theory would suggest not revising similar material to avoid the memories getting mixed up.
Explanations for forgetting: Retrieval failure AO1
Retrieval failure is an explanation for forgetting something because because you don’t have the necessary cues to remember something because the memory is available but not accessible.
A cue is a trigger of information which can allow us to access a memory (they can be external or internal).
Context dependant forgetting is when you forget something because where you learnt the material is in a different environment from where you are trying to recall the information.
State dependent forgetting is when you forget something because you are in a different state when learning and remembering information. For example being sad when learning the material but happy when trying to recall it could cause you to forget it.
Explanations for forgetting: Retrieval failure AO3
A strength of the explanation is that there is evidence to support it. For example Godden and Baddeley carried out a study of deep sea divers working underwater and remembering instructions given to them. The divers learnt a list of words either on land or underwater and had to recall them either on land or underwater. When conditions weren’t matched (e.g. learning on land and recalling on land) accurate recall was 40% lower). Therefore showing the effects of context on recall which strengthens the explanation
The evidence used to support the theory of retrieval failure lacks ecological validity. Most evidence that backs up the explanation is from lab studies that use artificial material. Therefore retrieval failure is much more likely to occur in the lab than it is in real life because you are less likely to be remembering lists of words. Therefore the studies aren’t testing everyday memory so they lack ecological validity. Therefore decreasing the validity of the explanation
Real life application
It has important application for the cognitive interview
by reinstating the context it can help witnesses remember information
improving the accuracy of EWT
Factors affecting the accuracy of EWT: misleading information AO1
Leading Questions
Key Study: Loftus and Palmer
the participants watched film clips of a car crash and then asked them questions about the accident (how fast were the cars going when they “hit” each other?) hit was replaced with other words such as bumped, collided, smashed and contacted.
the mean speed answered for the word collided was about 30 mph and the mean speed answered for the word smashed was about 40 mph
this shows that leading questions can affect the responses given by participants and can lead to bias
this was followed up with another study where the participants where asked “did you see any broken glass?”. There wasn’t actually any broken glass in the film, but those who thought that the car was travelling faster where more likely to think that there was broken glass
they found that those who originally heard ‘smashed’ where more likely to report broken glass (schema)
therefore this shows that leading questions can change the actual memory of the event
Post event discussion
eyewitness testimonies may become contaminated because they combine misinformation from other witnesses into their own memories
Gabbert et al studied participants in pairs. Each partner watched a different video of the same event. In one condition participants were encouraged to have a discussion after they had watched the videos, and in the other they didn’t talk to eachother
they found that when there was a discussion 71% of the witnesses mistakenly recalled events that they didn’t see in their video compared to 0% in the control
Factors affecting the accuracy of EWT: misleading information AO3
Real life application
the consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious as it can lead to wrongful convictions. So research into leading questions and post event discussion can be useful in changing the way interviews are carried out in order to get the most accurate witness account that they can
Artificial tasks
in Loftus and Palmer’s study they used film clips of a car crash. This is very different from witnessing a car crash in real life, because it lacks the stress of a real life accident. Therefore it may not tell us much about how leading questions effect EWT in real life situations
individual differences
there is evidence that older people are less accurate than younger people when giving eyewitness reports. Therefore older people are more prone to the effect of misleading information when giving a testimony
Factors affecting the accuracy of EWT: Anxiety AO1
Anxiety can have both a positive and negative effect on recall. The Yerkes-Dodson model shows that arousal has a negative effect on performance when it is very low or very high, but moderate levels are actually beneficial.
Negative effect on accuracy:
Johnson and Scott. Anxiety might reduce the accuracy of EWT due to the weapon focus effect (the weapon in the criminals hand distracts attention. They asked participants to sit in a waiting room where they heard an argument in the next room. They then saw a man run through the room carrying either a pen or a knife covered in blood. They were then asked to identify the man from a set of photographs
accuracy was almost 20% less in the knife condition. This shows that the presence of a weapon increases anxiety which causes focus on that weapon and therefore not taking in other information. This reduces the accuracy of EWT
Positive effect on accuracy:
Yuillie and Cutshall did a study of a real life gun shop where the owner shot a thief dead. Witnesses who were willing to take part were interviewed 4-5 months after the incident and were compared to the original police interviews. They were asked a series of questions about the event and also how stressed they felt on a 7-point scale .
those participants who reported the highest level of stress where the most accurate
this shows that anxiety can have a positive effect on recall
Factors affecting the accuracy of EWT: Anxiety AO3
ethical issues
creating anxiety in participants creates the ethical issue of causing psychological harm
weigh up of the findings of the study
Weapon focus might not be caused by anxiety
the weapon focus could be due to surprise rather than anxiety
Methodology
demand characteristics in J+S
self report for stress in Y+C
the lab studies don’t create the real level anxiety during an actual crime
Cognitive interview AO1
report everything
include every detail of the event even if they think it is irrelevant
reinstate the context
return to original crime scene (context dependant forgetting)
reverse the order
events should be recalled in a different chronological order (prevents reporting the expectations of the event)
change the perspective
recall from the point of view of another person (disrupts schema)
Why it is used?
revolves around witnesses rather than interviewer
avoids leading questions
avoids discussions during interview contaminate memory
doesn’t encourage witnesses to withhold information
more effective recall
avoids witnesses reporting schemas
Cognitive interview AO3
More effective than standard police interview
a meta analysis showed that the cognitive interview is about 30% more effective in producing accurate EWT. Therefore there is a practical benefit and it gives police a better chance of catching criminals
however, despite its effectiveness the CI is a lot more time consuming because you have to establish a rapport with the witness. And it also requires special training. Therefore it is unlikely that the proper technique is always used. So it has the potential to be effective but is limited due to extra training and time needed
Some elements are more useful than others
research shows that some elements are more useful than others
a combination of report everything and reinstate the context where the most effective.
Therefore some elements can be used alone which combats the time consuming limitation
Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony AO1
interactions between caregivers and infants provide an insight into the type and nature of attachment. Reciprocity is when an infant responds to the actions of another by turn taking. The actions of the primary caregiver elicit a response from the infant and it goes back and forth. Interactional synchrony is when the infant mirrors the actions or emotions in a synchronised way.
Meltzoff and Moore conducted an observational study whereby an adult displayed a facial expression or hand gesture and the expression of the infant was filmed
Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony AO3
Limitation
hard to test children reliably
infants move all the time which is an issue when investigating intentional behaviour
so can’t be certain that they were doing interactional synchrony or reciprocity
can’t tell whether that occurred by chance
therefore validity of research might be questioned
should be cautious when interpreting findings from this research
Limitation
using observational techniques
could be observer bias
they might unconsciously or consciously interpret behaviour to support their findings
recent research using inter observer reliability failed to replicated meltzoff and moores study
showing that there research is unreliable
Limitation
recent research has found that only securely attached infants engaged with interactional synchrony
suggests that not all infants will engage with interactional synchrony and that meltzoff and moores original findings may have overlooked individual differences which could be a mediating factor
Stages of attachment AO1
Key study: Schaffer and Emerson
the study involved 60 babies of working class families on Glasgow. They were visited at their homes every month for a year and then again at 18 months. They assessed separation and stranger anxiety
between 25 and 32 weeks of age about 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety
by the age of 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments
Stages of attachment:
Asocial stage
in the first few weeks of age
the baby’s behaviour towards objects and humans is quite similar
Indiscriminate stage
2-7 months
the babies display more observable social behaviour
they show a preference for people rather than objects
they recognise and prefer familiar adults
don’t usually show separation or stranger anxiety
not different to any one person
Specific attachment
babies start to display anxiety towards strangers and become anxious when separated form one particular adult
formed a specific attachment to one primary attachment figure (65% of the time it was the mother)
Multiple attachments
soon after the main attachment is formed the baby forms attachments with other people they spend lots of time with
secondary attachments
Stages of attachment AO3
Methodological issues
the data collected by Shaffer and Emerson may be unreliable because it was based on the mothers report
this could have been a problem due to social desirability bias as they might not have wanted to appear as a bad mother
some mothers might also be less sensitive to their infants protests so therefore less likely to report them
therefore the validity of the data is challenged
Biased sample
the sample was a working class population, therefore can only be cautiously generalised to other social groups and may not apply
the study was done in the 1960s. Since then parental care has changed significantly. e.g more women go out and work, more fathers are staying home, children are cared for by nannies or at nurseries
therefore the findings may not apply now since the way babies are brought up has changed
Stage theories
stage theories such as this are used to describe how children’s behaviours change
however, they suggest that development is rather inflexible, for example, it suggests that normally single attachments come before multiple attachments
in some situations and cultures multiple attachments may come first. The problem is that this becomes a standard by which families are judged and may be classed as abnormal
Multiple attachments and the role of the father
fathers were far less likely to be a primary attachment figure than the mother in schaffer and emersons study
one explanation for this is that men are just not psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they lack the emotional sensitivity that women offer, due to biological and social factors
there is also evidence that men are less sensitive to infant cues than mothers. However, research has found that when parents were shown videotapes of infants crying and there were no different responses of men and women
men do form secure attachments with their children, which can be seen from single parent families
fathers have an important role to play as secondary attachments
fathers are shown to be more playful, physically active and better at providing more challenging situations for their children
therefore fathers are seen as more of a playmate
Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow AO1
Lorenz:
clutch of gosling eggs divided into two groups
one group was left with their mother in their natural environment and the other was put in an incubator in the presence of Lorenz
the behaviour of who they followed was recorded
he tested the effect of imprinting
when the goslings were put back together in a group they were observed to see who they followed.
the goslings from the incubator followed Lorenz and the other group followed their mother
they attached to the first moving thing they saw
the critical period for this attachment is in the first few days after birth
he tested the long lasting effects of imprinting as well, he found that the process was irreversible and long lasting
Harlow:
in a controlled environment infant monkeys were reared with two mother surrogates
there were two wire mothers each with a different head, one had a soft cloth wrapped around it
for half of the monkeys the milk bottle was on the cloth covered mother and the other half had the milk bottle on the wire mother
they measured the amount of time spent with each mother
they also measured their responses to being frightened
all of the monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth covered mother, even those who were fed from the wire mother only spent a short amount of time there to eat then quickly moved back to the cloth mother
when frightened all of the monkeys went to the cloth covered mother for comfort
this suggests that infants don’t develop to the one who feeds them but to the person offering them contact comfort
they found that this had long lasting effects on how they developed
they were socially and sexually abnormal
they didn’t cradle their own babies and one monkey even killed their own child
there is also a critical period of about three to six months
Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow AO3
generalisation to humans
Although animal studies provide useful information on attachment they differ from humans in a number of ways. Animals are less governed by conscious decisions and have different attachment systems than humans e.g critical period lengths. Despite this harlows study has been backed up by Shaffer and Emerson by supporting the claim that you don’t necessarily attach to the person who feeds you. Animal studies can act as a useful pointer in understanding human behaviour but we should always try and seek confirmation by looking at research with humans
ethical issues
Harlow’s study has been criticised on its ethical issues. This is because monkeys are similar enough to humans to be able to generalise the findings, which also means that their suffering will also be quite human-like. They also suffered long lasting effects.
methodology - Harlow
there was a confounding variable as the two heads were different. This could have been the reason that the infant monkeys preferred one mother over another. therefore the conclusions of this study lack internal validity
Explanations of attachment: Learning theory AO1
learning theory proposes that all behaviour is learnt rather than inborn
when children are born they are blank slates and they are shaped by the experiences they have
behaviourists suggest that all behaviour is learned through either classical or operant conditioning
classical conditioning:
learning through association
before conditioning the food is an unconditioned stimulus and pleasure is an unconditioned response
the mother is a neutral stimulus therefore there is no response
during conditioning the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus is paired
therefore after conditioning the neutral stimulus is now the conditioned stimulus (mother) which produces a conditioned response (pleasure)
therefore the mother is now associated with food which gave them pleasure, so now when the baby sees the mother they associate them with pleasure
this is how they form a strong attachment (mother love)
operant conditioning:
Operant conditioning is learning through reinforcement. For example when a baby cries they will look to their caregiver for comfort. When they comfort the baby they receive positive reinforcement as they know that the mother will comfort them if they cry. And the mother receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops. The interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens the attachment
Explanations of attachment: Learning theory AO3
A weakness is that there is counter evidence from animal studies. They show that attachment is not necessarily formed from feeding, which is what the learning theory suggests. Lorenz showed that the geese imprinted before they were fed and this attachment remained regardless of who fed them. Harlow’s monkeys attached to a soft mother rather than the one who fed them. In both these studies attachment doesn’t result from feeding.
As well as that there is counter evidence from human research. Schaffer and Emerson showed that feeding is not necessarily an important factor in humans. They showed that many of the babies developed a primary attachment to their biological mother even though other carers did most of the feeding. Therefore countering the learning theory as it shows that feeding is not the key element to attachment.
learning theory is largely based on animal studies. For example, Pavlov’s and skinners research on conditioning both used animals. It is useful in understanding the basic principles of attachment and how it may be a part of attachment in humans. However, humans are much more complex in our behaviours. Therefore the learning theory may lack validity as it presents an overly simplified version of human behaviour.
Explanations of attachment: Bowlby’s monotropic theory AO1
Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment placed a great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one particular caregiver and that it is different and more important than others. This was usually the mother according to Bowlby. He said that the more time spent with the mother the better.
There is a critical period of about two years for an infant to attach otherwise it would be hard to form an attachment later on.
Bowlby also proposed that there is an internal working model of attachment. The mental representation we carry from the attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perceptions of what relationships are like
There are social releasers which lead to attachment. For example smiling and having a baby face which all elicit care giving. They are innate mechanisms that explain how attachments to infants form.
Explanations of attachment: Bowlby’s monotropic theory AO3
A weakness is that it is a socially sensitive idea. It has major implications for the lifestyle that the mother and father lead. For example, bowlby states that the mother should spend as much time as possible with the baby in order to form a meaningful attachment. This can have implications for the mother as she might not go out as much and not return to work. Therefore this could lead to postnatal depression and could have economic implications as she won’t return to work. It also places a huge burden on the mother because if something goes wrong later in the child’s life then the mother might be to blame. It also has implications for the father because they might not form an attachment with their baby or spend as much time with them because his theory devalues the role of the father. Therefore they might not have a meaningful attachment.
A strength is that there is research support for the internal working model. There was a study done where they asked 99 mothers with one year old babies on the quality of attachment with their own mothers and assessed the attachment of them with their babies through observation. It was found that mothers with a poor attachment to their own mothers had a worse attachment to their babies. This shows that an internal working model forms a future framework for later relationships.
a weakness of bowlby’s theory is that the critical period might now be more of a sensitive period. according to bowlby it should be impossible to form attachments outside of the critical period. However, research has shown that although it’s unlikely that attachments will form outside of this period it’s not impossible. Therefore the critical period is now usually referred to as the sensitive period
Ainsworth’s strange situation: types of attachment AO1
Ainsworth devises the strange situation to be able to systematically test the nature of attachment.
Procedure:
the caregiver and stranger would alternately stay with the infant or leave. This enabled observation of the infants response to:
separation anxiety
reunion behaviour
stranger anxiety
exploration
data was observed from a video recording or a one way mirror using behavioural categories
Findings:
they combined all the data from several studies
they identified three differences in the infants observed and categorised them into three main attachment types
Secure attachment (type B)
high willingness to explore
moderate stranger anxiety
some separation anxiety but easy to soothe
enthusiastic at return of caregiver
66% of infants in this category
Insecure avoidant (type A)
high willingness to explore
low stranger anxiety
indifferent separation anxiety
avoids contact when reunited with caregiver
22% of infants in this category
Insecure resistant (type C)
low willingness to explore
high stranger anxiety
distressed when separated
conflicting desires when reunited
12% of infants in this category
Ainsworth’s strange situation: types of attachment AO3
(strength) the research is highly operationalised and standardised because the observers have a clear view of how a securely attached infant should behave due to 4 specific criteria
therefore it is replicable
(weakness) the strange situation was designed by an american according to the observation of US children
therefore the criteria used to classify infants attachment are based on US values, so observations of non-Americans will judged according to American standards
this could lead to wrongly assessing attachment type based on different cultural norms e.g in Germany children are encouraged to be independent therefore could be wrongly classified as insecure avoidant because of less separation anxiety
therefore the strange situation is culture bound
(weakness) it only measures the attachment to the mother.
The child may have a different type of attachment to the father or grandmother, for example
This means that it lacks validity, as it does not measure a general attachment style, but instead an attachment style specific to the mother.
Cultural variations in attachment AO1
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
Procedure:
they conducted a meta analysis of the findings of over 2000 strange situation studies
they were interested to see whether there would be evidence for inter and intra cultural differences
Findings:
they found that the cultural variation was small
secure attachment was the most common in every country
insecure avoidant was the second most common in every country except from isreal and japan
this is because of their collectivist culture
global pattern across cultures appears to be similar to that found in the US
secure attachment is the norm and the most common form of attachment in every country
this supports the idea that secure attachment is best for healthy social and emotional development
these cultural similarities support the view that attachment is an innate and biological process
Cultural variations in attachment AO3
a strength is that by carrying out the studies in a number of countries you end up with a very large sample. There were nearly 2000 babies in this study. This increases internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results
(weakness) it only measures the attachment to the mother.
The child may have a different type of attachment to the father or grandmother, for example
This means that it lacks validity, as it does not measure a general attachment style, but instead an attachment style specific to the mother.
(weakness) the strange situation was designed by an american according to the observation of US children
therefore the criteria used to classify infants attachment are based on US values, so observations of non-Americans will judged according to American standards
this could lead to wrongly assessing attachment type based on different cultural norms e.g in Germany children are encouraged to be independent therefore could be wrongly classified as insecure avoidant because of less separation anxiety
therefore the strange situation is culture bound
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO1
bowlby proposed that prolonged emotional deprivation would have long term consequences in terms of emotional development
the value of maternal care
bowlby believed that it wasn’t enough to make sure the child was well fed and kept safe and warm. He believed that infants and children needed a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with a mother (or permanent mother substitute) to ensure continuing normal mental health.
critical period
prolonged separation will only have a negative effect if it occurs before the age of two and a half and if there is no substitute mother person available
bowlby also said that there was a continuing risk up until the age of five
so separation doesn’t necessarily result in deprivation
long term consequences
bowlby believed that there were long term consequences of maternal deprivation
44 thieves study:
Procedure:
bowlby analysed the case histories of 88 children who were in a guidance clinic
half (44) had been caught stealing and the other half were a control group
bowlby suggested that some of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths as they lack normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibility. Such characteristics enabled them to be thieves because it didn’t matter to them that they stole
Findings:
bowlby found that those individuals who were diagnosed as affectionless thieves had experienced frequent early separations from their mothers
he found that 86% of the affectionless thieves experienced frequent separation compared with 17% of the other thieves
and almost none of the control group had experienced early separation
this shows that early separation is linked to affectionless psychopathy and lack of continuous care may cause emotional maladjustment or even a mental disorder
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO3
a strength is that there is real world application. Due to bowlby’s findings about how maternal deprivation can cause long term affects such as affectionless psychopathy, it has influenced the way that children are cared for in hospitals. In the past parents visiting their children in hospital was discouraged or banned, but since this research it has allowed parents to visit children in hospital so that they avoid long periods of separation. Therefore showing that bowlby’s theory has led to major social change in the way children are cared for in hospitals.
bowlby studied the effects of physical separation and as long as the mother was present the child would be fine. However, research has shown that emotional separation can also lead to the same effects. If a mother is present but depressed they are unable to provide the emotional care needed for their child, so this can cause the same effects of affectionless psychopathy. This is a limitation of bowlby’s theory as he didn’t explicitly include this
bowlby said that if separation occurred in the critical period it would cause damage. However, research has shown that that damage isn’t necessarily inevitable. For example, there was a case of twin boys who were isolated and locked in a cupboard until they were 7 years old. They were then looked after by loving parents and received the emotional care they needed after. They recovered fully. Therefore this is a limitation of bowlby’s theory as the critical period seems to be more of a sensitive theory
Romanian orphan studies: Effects of institutionalisation AO1
Procedure:
they studied 165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in Romanian institutions
of this group 111 were adopted before the age of two, and 54 by the age of four
the adoptees were tested at regular intervals during their childhood to assess their physical, cognitive and social development
they were compared to a control group of 52 British children who were adopted before the age of six months
Findings:
at the time of adoption the Romanian orphans lagged behind the British children. they were smaller, underweight and were classified as mentally retarded
by the age of four some of the children had caught up, especially those who were adopted before the age of six months
those who were institutionalised after the age of six months showed disinhibited attachment and had problems with peer relationships
this shows that long term consequences may be less severe than once thought if children have the opportunity to form meaningful attachments
effects of institutionalisation:
physical underdevelopment
low IQ
disinhibited attachment
poor parenting
Romanian orphan studies: Effects of institutionalisation AO3
real life application:
changed the way children are cared for in hospitals, encouraging visits from parents to avoid long periods of separation.
it also highlights the importance of early adoption, so it has changed the care system for children. Now children are adopted within the first week of birth and research showed that adoptive mothers and children are just as securely attached
longitudinal study:
a strength of this study is that it was carried out over many years. Although it will have taken a long time to get the results the benefits were large. It shows the long term effects of institutionalisation and has allowed for better information, therefore better care
The influence of early attachment AO1
Childhood friendships:
internal working model
the quality of the child’s first attachment is crucial because this acts as a template and will affect their future relationships
attachment type is associated to the quality of peer relationships in childhood
securely attached children infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood relationships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties (Kerns)
bullying behaviour can also be predicted by attachment type
Wilson and smith (1998) assessed attachment type and bullying using questionnaires on children aged 7-11
Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying
insecure avoidant were most likely to be victims
insecure resistant were most likely to be bullies
Later relationships:
Key study: Hazan and Shaver - Love Quiz
Procedure:
the put a love quiz in a newspaper
the quiz asked questions about current attachment experience and attachment history
it also asked about attitudes towards love which is an assessment of the internal working model
they analysed 620 responses from a fair cross section of the population
Findings:
the prevalence of attachment styles was similar to that found in infancy
they found a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences
securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting and their relationships were more enduring
they found a relationship between the concept of love (internal working model) and attachment type - securely attached individuals tended to have a positive internal working model
Parenting:
Harlow’s study demonstrated the effects of poor attachment on later life
the monkeys who didn’t form an attachment to their real mother found it difficult in later life to form attachments to their own children
they were often neglected and one mother even killed their own child
The influence of early attachment AO3
Studies might have validity issues
use questionnaires
rely on self report techniques
lacks validity especially with children
depends on them being honest and having realistic views of their own relationships
unlikely to have accurate recollections of ones first attachment as it would have been quite early on
therefore lacks validity and reliability
Empirical research:
the internal working model is an abstract concept which isn’t measurable, observable and can’t be manipulated
therefore can only make an inference which is indirect
Correlation
a strength of this is that direction and strength of a relationship
a number of correlational research has been done on the topic and there are large sample sizes
however, it can’t show cause and effect
there could be intervening variables such as parental divorce and the child’s temperament
as well as that a meta analysis of this research has shown that the correlations are actually quite weak, therefore they have low predictive value
it’s more complex than just one persons attachment style because two people are involved in the relationship
some studies such as the sroufe study are longitudinal and prospective rather than retrospective, so are less likely to be biased
Determinism:
the correlation is too small to say there is any inevitability
have to be cautious about being overly deterministic because its a socially sensitive topic
Definitions of abnormality AO1
Statistical infrequency:
A statistical infrequency occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic than most of the population. It is used when characteristics can be reliably measured. For example intelligence. The majority of results tend to cluster around the average and the further you go above or below the average the fewer the people will get that score. This is called a normal distribution. For example average IQ is 100 and 68% of people are in the range from 85 to 115 and only 2% of people have a score below 70. These people are classed as abnormal.
Failure to function adequately:
Abnormality can be judged in terms of not being able to cope with everyday life. For example, eating regularly, washing clothes, personal hygiene, going to work etc. Not functioning adequately causes distress and suffering for the individual and may cause distress to others. Not being able to carry out these activities and also experiencing distress it is considered a sign of abnormality.
Deviation from ideal mental health:
absence of criteria for ideal mental health indicates abnormality and potential mental disorder. This criteria includes: self attitudes, personal growth and self actualisation, integration, autonomy, accurate perception of reality and mastery of the environment. Ideal mental health would include positive attitudes towards the self, resistance to stress and an accurate perception of reality. Deviation away from this is classed as abnormal.
Deviation from social norms:
Deviation from social norms concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society. Groups of people choose to define behaviour as abnormal in the basis that it offends their sense of what is acceptable or what is the norm and making collective judgement as a society about what is right. Social norms can be different between cultures and generations and there are relatively few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal
Definitions of abnormality AO3
Statistical infrequency:
A strength of statistical infrequency is that it has real life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder. It is a useful part of clinical assessment as it includes measurement of how severe symptoms are as compared to statistical norms. So it is useful when assessing what is abnormal or not based on statistics from the rest of that population
However a weakness is that just because someone lies outside the average is a statistical infrequency it doesn’t mean its a bad thing. For example if someone has a very high IQ we wouldn’t think that this is a problem that needs treatment just because it is statistically abnormal. Therefore this shows a limitation of the definition and means that it can’t be used alone to make a diagnosis
Another weakness is that if someone is living a normal and fulfilled life there is no benefit to them being labelled as abnormal regardless of how unusual they are. For example someone with a very low IQ but who isn’t distressed and quite capable of working wouldn’t need a diagnosis of intellectual disability. If that person was labelled as abnormal then it could have a negative effect on the way others view them or how they view themselves.
Deviation from ideal mental health:
A weakness of this definition is that there are unrealistic criteria, most of us are abnormal according to this. It sets an unrealistic expectation and it's difficult to be able to achieve them all at the same time or keep up with them for very long. This could lead to more people being classed as abnormal, which could lead to people being offered treatment against their will.
A weakness is that the mental health criteria is culture bound. If applied to non western and non middle class cultures you would probably find much higher incidences of abnormality. For example the criteria of self actualisation is relevant to individualist cultures and not collectivist ones.
Deviation from social norms:
A strength of deviation from social norms is that it has real life application to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Therefore it is useful in thinking about what is normal and what is abnormal in relation to social norms. However, there are usually other factors to consider. So in practice, deviation from social norms is never the sole reason for defining abnormality. Therefore weakening the definition as it can’t be used on its own.
Another weakness is that social norms vary a very large amount in relation to different generations and cultures. This means, for example that a person from one culture group may label someone from another culture group as behaving abnormally according to their standards. For example, hearing voices is socially acceptable in some cultures but would be seen as a mental abnormality in the UK. This therefore creates a problem for people from one culture living within another culture group and could lead to some people being wrongly diagnosed as abnormal.
Failure to function adequately:
A strength of this definition is that it recognises the subjective experience of the patient. This allows us to view mental disorders from the point of view of the person experiencing it. As well as being able to view it subjectively it can also be subjective. It is relatively easy to judge because you can list behaviours and therefore be able to judge abnormality objectively. This is useful when treatment is required.
A weakness of the definition is that the definitions of adequate functioning are related to cultural ideas of how one’s life should be lived. It is likely to result in different diagnoses when applied to people from different countries, because the standard of one culture is being used to measure another.
Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of depression
Behavioural:
activity levels
aggression and self harm
disruption to sleep and eating behaviour
Emotional:
lowered mood
anger
lowered self esteem
Cognitive:
poor concentration
dwelling on the negative
absolutist thinking
Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of OCD
Behavioural:
compulsions
avoidance
Emotional:
guilt
anxiety
distress
Cognitive:
obsessive thoughts
Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias
Behavioural:
panic
avoidance
endurance
Emotional:
anxiety
panic/fear
Cognitive:
selective attention
cognitive distortions
irrational beliefs
The behavioural approach to explaining phobias AO1
Two process model
development of phobia through classical conditioning – association of fear/anxiety with neutral stimulus to produce conditioned response; assumes experience of traumatic event; generalisation of fear to other similar objects; one trial learning
maintenance of fear through operant conditioning – avoidance of phobic objects/situations is negatively reinforcing; relief as reward/primary reinforcers.
The behavioural approach to explaining phobias AO3
A strength is that it has good application to therapy
if the phobia is learnt through classical conditioning it means that it can also be unlearnt
systematic desensitisation
A weakness is that it isn’t always a full explanation and phobias might not follow a trauma
e.g evolutionary factors could play an important role
shows that there is more to acquiring phobias than just conditioning
A weakness is that the behavioural approach ignores cognitive aspects of phobias
e.g irrational thoughts and selective attention
The behavioural approach to treating phobias AO1
systematic desensitisation:
gradually reduce phobic anxiety through classical conditioning (counter conditioning)
There are three processes involved in systematic desensitisation
an anxiety hierarchy is put together by the patient and the therapist. It’s a list of things related to the phobia from least to most frightening
the therapist will teach the patient relaxation techniques
finally the patient is exposed to the phobic stimulus in a relaxed state. This takes place across several sessions and gradually moves up the anxiety hierarchy. When the patient can remain relaxed at a certain level then they can move up to the next one. This will continue until the patient is able to remain relaxed in a high anxiety situation and hopefully the phobia is overcome.
Phobias:
it involves the patient having one long session where the patient experiences their phobias at its worse at the same time as practising relaxation
it continues until the patient is fully relaxed
The behavioural approach to treating phobias AO3
Flooding may be traumatic for the patient
the use of flooding is a traumatic experience for the patient as they are immediately exposed to a high anxiety situation with their phobia at its worst
patients will often give consent so its not unethical, but patients often don’t want to see it through to the end
this is a limitation because time and money is wasted preparing patients only to have them refuse to start or complete the therapy
Flooding is cost effective
flooding has been shown to be as effective as other forms of therapy in the treatment of phobias
therefore as it is much quicker than alternatives it means that patients are free of their symptoms much sooner, therefore the treatment is much cheaper
systematic desensitisation is effective:
research has shown that SD is effective in the treatment of a variety of phobias. About 75% of patients respond well to SD. Therefore demonstrating its effectiveness
However, 75% is not 100%. So this suggests that SD might not be an effective form of therapy for all phobias. For example, research has shown that it isn’t the most effective at treating phobias with an underlying evolutionary survival component such as afraid of the dark, or dangerous animals. Therefore this is a limitation of SD because it is not effective at treating all types of phobia.
The cognitive approach to explaining depression AO1
Beck’s negative triad
The negative triad:
negative view of self, negative view of future and negative view of the world
negative schemas
people with depression tend to have acquired a negative schema during childhood (A negative view of the world)
negative schemas lead to systematic cognitive biases in thinking
Ellis’ ABC model
activating event, belief, consequence
the source of irrational beliefs lies in musturbatory thinking
this means that the person thinks that certain assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy
The cognitive approach to explaining depression AO3
the aspects of the negative triad are easily identifiable. Therefore they can be easily targeted by a therapist. They can be challenged and tested whether they are true or not. This is the main principle of CBT, therefore is a strength of the explanation as it translates well into a successful therapy
the cognitive approach suggests that it is the client who is responsible for their disorder. In one sense this is a good thing because it gives the client the power to change the way things are. However, there are disadvantages to this stance. It may lead the client or the therapist to overlook situational factors, for example not considering how life events of family problems may have contributed to the disorder.
a weakness of the cognitive explanation in explaining depression is that there are alternative explanations. For example, the biological approach suggests that genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression. The success of drug therapies in treating depression suggests that neurotransmitters do play an important role. Therefore the cognitive approach does not give a full explanation
The cognitive approach to treating depression AO1
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) involves both cognitive and behavioural elements. The cognitive element aims to identify irrational and negative thoughts, which lead to depression. The aim is to replace these negative thoughts with more positive ones.
There are various components of CBT, including:
initial assessment
goal setting
identifying negative and irrational thoughts and challenging these
either using becks cognitive therapy or Ellis’ REBT
Homework
Beck’s cognitive therapy:
If a therapist is using beck’s cognitive therapy, they will help the patient to identify the negative thoughts in relation to themselves, their world and their future using becks negative triad.
The patient and therapist will then work together to challenge these irrational thoughts, by discussing evidence for and against them.
The patient will be encourage to test the validity of their negative thoughts and may be set homework, to challenge and test their negative thoughts
Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT):
Ellis developed his ABC model to include D (dispute) and E (effect). The main idea is to challenge irrational thoughts; however, with Eillis’s theory this is achieved through dispute or argument
The therapist will dispute the patients irrational beliefs, to replace their irrational beliefs with effective beliefs and attitudes. This includes logical and empirical dispute.
The cognitive approach to treating depression AO3
One strength of cognitive behaviour therapy comes form research evidence which demonstrates its effectiveness in treating depression. Research by March et al (2007) found that CBT was as effective as antidepressants in treating depression. The researchers examined 327 adolescents with a diagnosis of depression and looked at the effectiveness of CBT, antidepressants and a combination of both. After 36 weeks 81% of the antidepressant group and 81% of the CBT group had significantly improved, demonstrating the effectiveness of CBT in treating depression. Therefore showing that CBT is just as effective but a combination of both is most effective.
However, a weakness of CBT is that it requires motivation. Patients with severe depression might not engage with CBT, or even attend the sessions so treatment isn’t effective to patients such as these. Alternative treatments such as antidepressants, do not require the same level of motivation and may be more effective in cases such as these. Therefore CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for severely depressed patients.
Furthermore CBT has been criticised for its overemphasis on the role of cognition. Some psychologists have criticised CBT as it suggests that a person’s irrational thinking is the primary cause of their depression and CBT doesn’t take into account other factors. CBT therefore ignores other factors or circumstances that might contribute to someone’s depression. For example, a patient who is suffering from domestic violence or abuse, does not need to change their negative/irrational beliefs, but in fact needs to change their circumstances. Therefore, CBT would be ineffective in treating these patients until their circumstances have changed.
A weakness of CBT is that the success of the therapy may be due to the therapist - patient relationship. Rosenzweig (1936) suggested that the different methods of psychotherapy such as CBT and systematic desensitisation might actually be quite small. All psychotherapists share one essential ingredient, the therapist patient relationship. It may be the quality of the relationship that determines success rather than any particular technique that is used. Many comparative reviews find very small differences which supports the view that having an opportunity to talk to someone who will listen could be what matters most.
The biological approach to explaining OCD AO1
Neural explanations:
An explanation for OCD is the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps regulate mood
responsible for relaying information from one neuron to another
if someone has low levels of serotonin then normal transmission doesn’t take place
other mental processes are affected
some cases of OCD can therefore be explained by a reduction in functioning of serotonin system in the brain
Some cases of OCD come from impaired decision making
associated with abnormal functioning of the frontal lobes in the brain
this is responsible for logical thinking and decision making
Genetic explanations:
OCD is polygenic - so is caused by many genes
The COMT gene
the COMT gene regulates the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine
one form of the COMT gene has been found to be more common in OCD patients
The SERT gene:
this gene affects the transport of the serotonin, and creates lower levels for it
these genes create a vulnerability for OCD and other factors affect whether the condition develops (diathesis stress model)
The biological approach to explaining OCD AO3
Neural explanations:
A strength is that there is supporting evidence.
some antidepressants work purely on the serotonin system and increase the levels of this neurotransmitter.
these drugs are effective in treating the symptoms of OCD which suggests that serotonin is involved in OCD
There is evidence to say that various neurotransmitters and structures of the brain do not function normally in patients with OCD
however, it is unclear as to whether this causes OCD
they could be as a result of OCD and not what causes it
Genetic explanations:
A strength is that there is supporting evidence that some people are vulnerable to OCD because of their genetic make up. Evidence from twin studies has shown that 68% of identical twins (100% shared DNA) both had OCD whereas non-identical twins (50% shared DNA) only 31% of them both had OCD. Therefore demonstrating that there is a strong genetic link with OCD.
However, although twin studies have shown a strong genetic link, scientists have found it difficult to pin down all the genes involved. This is because several genes are involved and each variation only increases the risk of OCD by a fraction. Therefore this limits the usefulness of the biological explanation to OCD because it provides little predictive value.
The biological approach to treating OCD AO1
use of drug therapy to correct the imbalance of neurochemicals
SSRIs prevent the re absorption and breakdown of serotonin in the brain and continue to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron
this increases the levels of serotonin in the brain
this helps reduce the symptoms associated with OCD
drugs are often used alongside CBT because they reduce the emotional symptoms of OCD such as feeling anxious and depressed, therefore the patients can engage more effectively with CBT
drugs are used on a daily basis for 3-4 months to impact upon symptoms
if SSRIs aren’t effective after 3-4 months then the dosage can be increased or other drugs can be used instead
such as tricyclics and SNRIs
The biological approach to treating OCD AO3
there is evidence that supports the effectiveness of drug therapy in the treatment of OCD. Research which involved randomised trials of the drug against a placebo has shown that drugs are significantly more effective at reducing the symptoms of OCD from 3 months after treatment. Therefore strengthening the approach to treating OCD
A disadvantage of drug therapy is that there are often side effects associated with taking SSRIs. For example, headaches, nausea and insomnia are all common. This could mean that the patient is less likely to take the drug, so could reduce the effectiveness of the treatment
drug therapy may be effective especially in the short term. However, it only reduces the symptoms of OCD and doesn’t address the cause. Therefore it isn’t a lasting cure as research has shown that once medication is stopped, many patients tend to relapse. Therefore this creates a reliance on the medication which may be unpleasant because of the side effects. Therefore psychotherapies such as CBT should be tried first as it addresses the issues, provides coping mechanisms and provides more of a long lasting cure
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