paper 1 Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of experimental psychology, developed introspection, opened the first lab in Leipzig

Biological

MRI scans meant there was an increased understanding of the brain

Watson/ Skinner

Behaviourist, introspection is too subjective, interested in observable behaviour

Freud

Psychodynamic approach, unconscious mind, and behaviour

Cognitive

Studying mental processes

Maslow, Rogers

1950s

Cognitive neuroscience

2000s

Cognitive neuroscience

Brought together biological and cognitive approach, how biological studies influence mental states

ACTH

A hormone released by the pituitary gland. Stimulates the adrenal glands to release adrenaline into the bloodstream

Action potential

A spike in electric charge in an axon caused by sodium ions crossing cell membranes.

Adrenal glands

Small glands on top of each kidney that produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol

Adrenaline

Key hormone in the stress response that is produced by the adrenal glands and increases heart rate, breathing rate ect…

Approaches (5)

Biological, Behavioural, Psychodynamic, Cognitive, Humanistic

Automatic nervous system

Sub-division of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary responses such as breathing and heart rate.

Axon

A single long slender fibre that carries the nerve impulses away from the cell body.

Axon terminal

The end of the axon that contains neurotransmitters and makes synaptic contact with the next neuron in the chain

Behaviourism

The theory that human and animal behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without considering thoughts and feelings

Central Nervous system

Sub-system of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal chord

Chromosome

Hold the genetic material that is passed between parents and offspring. Humans have 23 pairs.

Classical conditioning

Learning through association when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together.

Cognitive neuroscience

An academic field that studies the influence of brain structures on mental

Quantitative reasearch

measures amount of behaviour using numerical values

Qualitative reasearch

measures what behaviour is like using descriptive data

laboratory experiment

experiments conducted in controlled and artificial setting, researchers try to control all variables, low ecological validity.

Field experiments

experiments conducted in everyday environments, more natural than lab, sometimes participants are not aware they are being studied e.g. school, hospital.

Natural experiment

experiments conducted in a naturally occurring environment high ecological validity, no control.

Naturalistic observation

People or animals observed in their natural environment without any intervention

Controlled observation

The researcher manipulates the behaviour, control over some variable so it is easier to establish cause and effect relationships. e.g. Milgram study

Overt observation

Participants know they are being observed. Reduces ethical issues, but reduces validity due to increased demand characteristics

Covert observation

Participants are unaware they are being observed, this increases ethical issues and increases validity by reducing demand characteristics

Participant observation

The researchers get involved with the group

Non-participant observation

Participants are observed from a distance

Demand characteristics

Things that might indicate the aim of a study to participants These can lead to participants changing their behaviour based on what they think the research is about.

Self-report

A participant is asked about their behaviour, this can be affected y social desirability bias.

Structured interviews

All participants are asked the same questions in the same order, they can be replicated and responses can be compared.

Unstructured interveiws

Participants can discuss freely, this gives detailed information but cannot be replicated.

Questionnaires

Ask the same questions in the same order, easy to obtain lots of results quickly, can be replicated.

Correlation

Used to calculate the correlation coefficient to quantify the relationship between two variables, although this doesn’t meant that one causes the other.

Perfect positive correlation (number and graph)

1+ as variable X increases variable Y increases

Perfect positive correlation (number and graph)

1- as variable X decreases variable Y decreases

Case study

Detailed study into the life of one person

Content analysis

Studies human behaviour indirectly through magazines and TV shows.

8 Ethical guidelines (BPS)

Consent, Deception, Confidentiality, Debriefing, Withdrawal, Protection of participant, Observational research, Giving advice

Consent

Deception

Misleading participants in unacceptable

Confidentiality

Information obtained from an experiment should be confidential unless agreed otherwise

Debriefing

No an ethical concern but a method of preventing ethical issues, after the experiment participants should be told the purpose of the research

Withdrawal

Participants should be aware they are able to withdraw from the experiment at any time including after the experiment.

Protection of participants

Insuring participants are protected from any physical of mental harm during the experiment.

Research aim

General statement of the purpose of the study

Hypothesis

States precisely what the investigator believes to be true about the target population. Generated from a theory and is testable

Null hypothesis

A statement of no difference or no correlation, if the data means the null hypothesis must be rejected then the alternative hypothesis should be accepted

Experimental hypothesis

States that some difference will occur

Directional hypothesis

‘one tailed‘ predicts the direction in which the experiment will go

Non-directional hypothesis

‘two tailed‘ the researcher expects a difference but doesn’t know which direction it will go

Random sampling

Pulling names out of a hat, gives everyone an equal chance.

Opportunity sampling

Asking whoever is available and willing to participate e.g. friends and family

Volunteer sampling

People who volunteer to participate, not very representative

Systematic sampling

Selecting participants in a systematic way e.g. every tenth person on a list

Stratified sampling

Working out the proportions needed to make a representative sample, time consuming but accurate

What did Wilhelm Wundt open in Germany?

The first experimental psychology laboratory

What approaches did Wundt use?

Structuralist and reductionist

What is introspection?

looking into your mind by analysing your own thoughts and feelings.

What are the disadvantages of introspection?

It doesn’t explain how the mind works, it is subjective, doesn’t produce reliable data.

What 5 features make psychology a science?

Objectivity, control, predictability, hypothesis testing, replication.

Give an example of an argument for psychology being a science?

Allport said psychology has the same aims as science.

Behaviourist, cognitive and biological approaches all use scientific procedures to investigate theories.

Give an example of an argument against psychology being a science?

Some approaches don’t use objective methods of research, they can be biased and unrepresentative.

Psychological experiments are also open to extraneous variables such as demand characteristics.

What is social influence?

Changing your behaviour because of what other people are saying or doing.

What is conformity?

Yielding to group pressure (majority influence)

What are the three types of conformity?

Internalisation, compliance, identification

What is internalisation?

Public and private acceptance of majority influence, through adoption of the majority groups beliefs.

What does ISI stand for?

Informational social influence - A motivational force to look to others for guidance in order to be correct.

What is compliance?

Publicly but not privately going along with majority influence in order to gain group acceptance.

What does NSI stand for?

Normative social influence- A motivational force to be liked and accepted by a group.

What is identification?

Doing what is expected of you by changing your behaviour to fulfil a social role. Public and private.

What is cognitive dissonance?

The unpleasant feeling that comes from simultaneously holding two contradictory ideas.

What was Sherif’s 1935 experiment on social influence?

Conformity and the autokinetic effect. Participants viewed a stationary light and were told it was moving, they made repeated estimates of how far the light moved in groups and individually. Sherif showed informational social influence.

Was Sherif’s experiment ambiguous or unambiguous?

Ambiguous (there is no clear answer)

What was Asch’s 1951 experiment on normative social influence?

Participants judged the length of a line, the groups had 1 real participant and the others were confederates. The participant hear the others read out the incorrect answer, participants conformed 37% and said afterwards that they didn‘t want to look different.

Was Asch’s experiment ambiguous or unambiguous?

unambiguous (The answer is obvious)

What situational factors influenced Asch’s participants?

Group size, task difficulty, confidence, unanimity (social support), gender

What dispositional factors influenced Asch’s participants?

Confidence and gender

How does gender affect normative social influence?

Females are more likely to conform than males. Women are more concerned with group harmony, males are attributed with independence and assertiveness. (social role)

What are social roles?

The parts individuals play as members of a social group which meet expectations. These expectations of a role are internalised and shape how we behave.

What was Zimbardo’s 1973 experiment?

He studied conformity to social roles. He randomly assigned men the role of prisoner or guard in a mock prison to see how they acted. The prisoners were obedient and the guards were aggressive.

What was Orlando’s 1973 experiment?

To study conformity to social roles in a mock psychiatry ward.

What was Reicher and Haslam’s 2006 experiment?

They recreated Zimbardo’s prison study for the BBC.

What was Milgram’s 1963 experiemnt?

He studied obedience to authority

What is obedience?

Complying with the demands of an authority figure

What did Milgram study?

Obedience to authority

Who were the three people in Milgram’s experiment?

Researcher, teacher, Learner

Who was Jerry Burger?

He repeated Milgram’s experiment finding an obedience rate of 70%

What was Hofling’s experiment?

He phoned up 22 nurses giving them instructions as an authority figure. 21/22 obeyed.