OCR Psychology A-Level - Evaluation of Core Studies

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering the evaluation of key psychological studies as per OCR A-Level requirements.

Zimbardo's study

Led to changes in US prison systems such as no mixing of young and adult prisoners and removal of beehive-style surveillance.

Ethical debriefing in Zimbardo's study

Full debriefing was provided to address issues of deception and lack of informed consent.

Impact of Zimbardo's study on ethical guidelines

Resulted in formal guidelines to protect participants in future psychological research.

Ecological validity in Zimbardo's study

Threatened by demand characteristics and participants acting out roles based on films.

Population validity issue in Zimbardo's study

Study cannot generalize findings as all participants were American males.

Methodological strength of Bocchiaro's study

The lab setting allowed for strict control of variables, establishing cause-effect relationships.

Cultural limitation of Bocchiaro's findings

Findings may not apply to collectivist cultures as the study was conducted in an individualist culture.

Importance of pilot study in Bocchiaro's study

Enabled standardization of authority behavior, enhancing internal validity.

'Own age bias' in EWT studies

The tendency to better recall individuals from one's own age group.

Effect of demand characteristics on EWT results

Participants might guess the aim of the study and provide socially desirable answers.

Ecological validity in Loftus and Palmer's research

Low because watching crash clips does not simulate the emotional impact of real accidents.

Real-life implications of the study

Encourages police to avoid leading or confusing language in witness questioning.

Design reliability in Grant et al's study

Independent measures design helps avoid order effects and demand characteristics.

Random allocation impact

Controls for participant variables, increasing internal validity.

Limitation of internal validity in Grant et al's study

Variability in participants' reading ability or prior content knowledge may affect results.

Practical advice from the study

Students should study in quiet environments for better recall.

Biological explanation overlooked in Bandura's study

Boys' higher aggression may be related to testosterone levels.

Criticism of the Bobo Doll's realism

Designed for hitting, reducing internal validity and mundane realism.

Cognitive element of Social Learning Theory

Involves mediational processes such as thoughts and planning in behavior learning.

Reciprocal determinism

The concept that individuals influence and are influenced by their environment.

Ecological validity in Chaney's study

High, due to the study being conducted in participants' homes, leading to genuine behavior.

Influence of social desirability bias in results of Chaney's study

Parents might overreport Funhaler usage during phone calls.

Real-life impact of Chaney's study

Promotes the Funhaler to improve children's medication compliance and reduce healthcare costs.

Generalizability limitations of Chaney's study

Impacted by small sample size and unmeasured asthma severity.

Sperry's sample control limitations

Differences in surgery and medication could influence reliability of the results.

Findings of Sperry's study on brain function

Demonstrated lateralization; left hemisphere for language, right hemisphere for visual-spatial tasks.

Controversy raised by Pucetti regarding brain function

Visual input processing is not strictly lateralized by hemisphere.

Caution in interpreting lateralization claims

Some individuals, like left-handed people, process language in the right hemisphere.

Role of large sample size in Casey et al's study

Increases reliability and reduces the likelihood of chance effects influencing results.

Ensuring standardization in Casey et al's study

Each facial image shown for 500ms with 1s intervals to minimize researcher bias.

Benefits of fMRI in Casey et al's study

Provides objective, reliable measurements of brain activity during tasks.

Outcome of excluding a participant in Casey et al's study

Removing outliers led to more accurate averages and conclusions.