Psychology component 1 explain

psychosurgery

Moniz, prefrontal lobotomy, historical psychosurgical procedure, drilling into skull -> prefrontal cortex

leucotome severed white matter -> disrupting connections, treat severe mental disorders

Freeman, transorbital lobotomy, faster variant, ice-pick-like instrument, under eyelid, sever frontal-thalamic connections.

Modern psychosurgery, precise brain scans, targeted interventions. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), electrodes, connected to chest battery, adjustable currents, reversible treatment.

severe depression, DBS, area 25

Stereotactic surgery, 3D coordinates & imaging, target brain regions, modulating neural activity. crucial in modern psychosurgery like DBS.

raine methodology

Quasi-experiment & matched pairs design. IV: status not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI), not manipulated. DV: activity in specific brain regions. Opportunity sample, 82 participants, 41 NGRI (39 men, 2 women; mean age 34.3), 23 brain injury.

Control group 41 non-murderers (mean age 31.7), matched by age, sex, and mental health status, 6 schizo NGRI matched 6 schizo controls (non-murders). Controls screened for physical and mental health, none on medication.

raine procedures

Opportunity sample. 10min before radioactive tracer (FDG) injection, practice trials of continuous performance task (CPT). 30s before injection, CPT start.

After injection, CPT - 32 minutes, glucose metabolised. PET scan, brains scanned in 10mm horizontal slices, clear pictures, activity levels in different brain regions.

raine findings

Raine et al. (1997), significant brain differences in NGRI to controls. NGRI lower glucose metabolism in prefrontal cortex, parietal regions (angular gyrus), and corpus callosum. Abnormal asymmetries, temporal lobe similar.

Reduced activity in left hemisphere in amygdala, thalamus, medial temporal lobe (hippocampus). Occipital lobe higher. No differences in midbrain or cerebellum. CPT performance similar.

Handedness, ethnicity, and head injury noted not manipulated. Left-handedness = less amygdala asymmetry, higher medial prefrontal activity.

raine conclusions

Brain dysfunctions may predispose to violence, do not solely determine it, emphasise social and environmental factors. Not establish causality or support PET as a diagnostic tool for violence. Findings ungeneralise to other offenders, further replication and extension needed.

systematic desensitisation

Systematic desensitisation, phobias are learned through classical conditioning. Counter-condition, associate the phobic stimulus with relaxation. Reciprocal inhibition: two opposing responses (relaxation and fear) cannot occur simultaneously.

Therapist teaches relaxation methods, deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation, used throughout therapy, manage anxiety of phobic stimulus.

desensitisation hierarchy created, ranking feared situations from least to most anxiety-provoking. Exposure: vivo (real-life) or in vitro (online), depending on the client’s needs.

Gradually moving up the hierarchy. Research (Wolpe’s studies) demonstrates: systematic desensitisation reduces phobic anxiety, effectiveness.

watson and rayner methodology

Watson and Rayner, controlled observation, development of phobias. Behaviour observed systematically, controlled conditions, reliable data.

Baseline condition, assess natural responses to stimuli before conditioning. Building blocks etc used as neutral stimuli.

9 month old Albert: “phlegmatic, calm and even-tempered”, “one of the best-developed youngsters ever brought to the hospital”, suitable for the study.

Controlled conditions, systematically pair neutral stimuli with loud noise from steel bar and hammer to study formation of conditioned fear response.

watson and rayner procedures

Watson and Rayner, Little Albert study to investigate classical conditioning on fear.

8 months and 26 days, fear response (crying, crawling away…) to loud noise, hammer struck against steel bar (unconditioned stimulus).

9 months, neutral stimuli: white rat, rabbit, dog, monkey, masks with and without hair, cotton wool, and burning paper, no fear.

11 months, conditioning began: white rat + with loud noise = fear. Responses recorded on motion picture camera, different locations, generalised to other fluffy objects.

1 year and 21 days, responses persisted, no systematic attempt to extinguish fear.

watson and rayner procedures

Watson and Rayner's "Little Albert" study demonstrated conditioned emotional responses. Initially, Albert was startled by a loud noise. During conditioning, the pairing of the noise with a rat led Albert to cry and crawl away even when the rat was presented alone.

In the second stage, Albert generalised this fear to other stimuli like a rabbit, dog, and cotton wool. Reactions varied, less fear to cotton wool initially. Lecture hall reduced his immediate fear, but stimuli avoidant.

After time, Albert still fear. He cried when fur coat touch him. Initially stared at the rat, withdrew hand and body when touched. Pushed rabbit away, wailed when it approached.

watson and rayner conclusions

Watson and Rayner: most phobias conditioned, learned directly or through transferred experiences (love, fear, rage). Responses generalise to similar objects and persist over time.

Challenging Freudian views,  emotional disturbances = early infancy experiences, not unconscious conflicts or solely from sex. Thumb-sucking = comfort mechanism, not pleasure.

Theory: persistence of fear depends on individual's willpower, stronger wills overcome conditioned fears.

dream analysis

Freud: dreams = "royal road to the unconscious”, showing hidden desires.

Dreams = unfulfilled wishes, disguised to protect dreamer (primary-process thought). The latent content (dream’s true meaning) —> manifest content (remembered dream). Gun = penis.

Interpreting dreams involves understanding symbols. Dream-work processes: displacement, condensation, symbolisation, projection, and rationalisation. Condensation, a vase = self-esteem & pregnancy.

Therapist helps decode latent content, encourage patient to free associate, various interpretations that fit life experiences, select those that make sense.

bowlby methodology

Bowlby, case studies & interviews at Child Guidance Clinic. Sample of 44 ‘thieves’ (31 boys and 13 girls) age 5 to 17. ‘Thieves’ graded I to IV based on behaviour. IQ scores varied: 50% 85-114, 15 higher IQ, 2 below 85.

Control group of 44 children, same clinic, ‘emotionally disturbed’ but not thieves.

Mothers interviewed to record case history of each child.

bowlby procedures

Opportunity sampling. Mental tests - Binet Scale, intelligence. Social worker interview mothers about child’s history. Psychologist and social worker reported to Bowlby. Psychiatrist (Bowlby) interviewed mother and child for two hours, school reports and other reports analysed for extra evidence.

Emotional issues diagnosed. Children met with Bowlby once a week for 6m for long-term data. Staff reports, family interviews —> assessment of each case.

bowlby findings

6 character types for 44 thieves (normal, depressed, circular, hyperthymic, affectionless, schizoid). ‘Affectionless’ (14), lack normal affection, 13 ‘Hyperthymic’ children. 23 classified as Grade 4 thieves (persistent). 13 of 14 ‘Affectionless’ = Grade 4.

40% of thieves experienced 6 months or more away from mothers, 5% of controls. 12 of 14 ‘Affectionless’ thieves suffered it. Other 60% unstable home environments & hostile fathers. Bowlby —> without treatment, 42 thieves will develop future neurotic or psychotic symptoms.

bowlby conclusions

Bowlby: factors inhibiting relationship development increase likelihood of offence, supporting assumption of early childhood experiences affect later behaviour. However, juvenile crime also linked to social and economic factors. Holistic approach necessary to consider all impacts on delinquency.

Earlier diagnosis better, though slow and difficult. Bowlby: prevention better than cure. Mother-child separation sometimes unavoidable, good substitute emotional care can help. Carers are aware of potential damage, implement strategies to support child and reduce future criminal behaviour.

CBT

CBT integrates a cognitive element (identifying negative thoughts) and a behavioural element (challenging problem behaviours via reality testing).

Dysfunctional thought diary (homework). Clients record events triggering negative emotions, automatic dysfunctional thoughts (I am a failure), rate belief in these thoughts (%), write rational counter-responses (I was sick for 5 lessons), re-rate belief.

Cognitive restructuring. In sessions, empirical disputing (questioning evidence for thoughts), replace them with constructive alternatives, often paired with behavioural experiments (answering in class).

Pleasant activity scheduling. Plan daily pleasant or accomplishment-focused activities (gym, yoga), record experiences, address barriers to generate positive emotions and reduce negative thinking.

loftus and palmer methodology

Loftus and Palmer: two experiments in a laboratory setting.

Independent groups design, participants only experienced one condition. Experiment 1, 45 American students, 5 groups of 9. Experiment 2, 150 students, 3 groups of 50. Participants in Exp1 not in Exp2

loftus and palmer procedures

Experiment 1, 7 films of traffic accidents (5–30s). Questionnaire on speed estimates. Each group, different verb: “hit”, “smashed”, “collided”, “bumped”, “contacted”. The session lasted 1h 30mins

Experiment 2, film of multiple car crash (under one minute). "smashed", "hit", or no question about speed.

One week later, follow-up questionnaire. “Did you see any broken glass?” Testing whether leading questions distorted long-term memory.

loftus and palmer findings

Experiment 1, verb used influenced speed estimates. The highest estimate 'smashed' (40.8 mph), 'collided' (39.3 mph), 'bumped' (38.1 mph), 'hit' (34.0 mph), and 'contacted' (31.8 mph).

Experiment 2, 'did you see any broken glass?' (no broken glass) memory altered. ‘Smashed' group, 16 said yes. ‘Hit' group, 7 said yes. Control group (no speed question), 6 said yes.

loftus and palmer conclusions

Loftus and Palmer: form of a question affects a witness's answer, whereas the actual speed of the vehicles had little effect on speed reporting. Initially, they suggested different estimates might result from response-bias factors, where a verb like ‘smashed’ biased them to a higher estimate.

However, the results of Experiment 2 suggest this was not the case. Question form alters memory.

‘Smashed’ —> recall more severe situation. Leading questions can alter memory.

QoLT

Research by Frisch: building strengths reach happiness. Quality of Life Therapy (QOLT) = positive psychology + CBT, using Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI) assess 16 areas of life —> identify most and least satisfied areas, improve lower, prioritise higher.

CASIO model: Circumstances, Attitude, Standards, Importance, and Other areas, evaluate & improve life satisfaction.

‘Three Pillars’: Inner Abundance, Quality Time, and Meaning and Purpose, building on personal strengths, relaxation, and life goals.

myers and diener methodology and procedures

Myers and Diener (1995) literature review (type of meta-analysis). Systematically searched and selected existing research on ‘Who is happy?’ rather than conducting one new experiment.

Focus on studies using subjective self-report well-being scale, participants rate their own happiness and life satisfaction. Results standardised, identifying consistent patterns.

myers and diener findings

Little difference in happiness across age, gender, or race. Ingersoll (1990) found no notably happier age, predictors change.

Women 2x depression. Men 5x alcoholism. Nationalities —> similar self-esteem levels.

Portugal, 10% very happy compared. Netherlands, 40%. Moderate correlation of happiness and money. Happy people = self-esteem, optimism, extroversion, and a sense of personal control.

Relationships, faith, work also important. Intimate friends, religious faith = higher happiness. Work satisfaction = sense of community, identity, and "flow," increase life satisfaction.

myers and diener conclusions

Age, gender, race, and income do not predict happiness. Subjective Well-Being depends on traits (like optimism), supportive relationships, and faith.

Cultural template and non-conflicting goals = key predictors.

Work, hobbies, and leisure activities increase happiness.