AIMS + CONTEXT OF ALL PSYCH CORE STUDIES

Revision cards for THE AIMS AND CONTEXT of ALL 10 CORE STUDIES.-AS level-Bullet points

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ASCH

  • At the end of WW2 the USA entered a period known as 'The Cold War' this was a struggle of ideas between Communist Russia (USSR) and Capitalist America. 
  • The USA became distrustful of USSR, paranoid that communism would infiltrate USA posing a threat to the american way of life.
  • McCarthyism emerged: USA put suspected communists on trial (usually people of high status) 
  • People in the the USA became scared of deviating from the norm incase of being seen as unpatriotic or a communist.
  • Americans conformed to the group norm (conformity is a type of social influence.
  • There are two types of social  influence: Informational Social Influence (ISI) agreeing with the majority as you believe they know more than you and  Normative Social Influence (NSI) publicly agreeing with the majority but privately dissagreeing as to avoid conflict.
  • Asch aimed to demonstrate normative social influence: 
    - Would P's conform to an incorrect unanimous majority, in an unambigious situation with a clear and definate answer?
    - Would varying the size of the majority influence P's responses?
    - Would having support from a dissenter affect P's responses? 
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MILGRAM

  • Milgram is JEWISH
  • Interested by the nazi soldiers defence at the NUREMBURG TRIALS after the HOLOCAUST autrocity in which over 11 million murdered due to..."just following orders"
  • The theory that GERMANS ARE DIFFERENT was suggested.. Authoritarian Personality
  • ARENDT proposed that Eichmann (creator of the final solution) was just a "cog in the machine" suggesting the rest of us would have behaved in a similar way if given the same circumstances.

    Milgram wanted to...

  • test the proposal that "germans are different" 
  • see if ORDINARY PEOPLE would obey authority in a situational context even when requested to injure another person
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BENNET-LEVY AND MARTEAU

  • SELIGMAN proposed the view that humans are biologically prepared to fear certain animals.  (born with innate fear)
  • He observed  that there is a non-random distribution of phobias (some are more common than others: spiders, snakes etc)  and that the onset of phobia is around 4 yrs (early childhood) suggesting that we are predisposed to fear certain animals as it is significant to the survival of the species. 
  • MINEKA found that wild reared monkets showed considerable fear of real, model, and toy snakes. Whereas, lab reared monkeys only showed a mild fear response when the snakes showed movement. This suggests learning through experience.
  • HINDE'S DISCREPANCY THEORY suggests that it is the strangeness of the animal that produces the fear response. This supports the perceptual characteristics hypothesis that animals visibly different to us are feared and avoided.
     
  •  BENNET-LEVY AND MARTEAU aimed to..
    - investigate if human beings, like animals, are biologically prepared to dear certain fear certain characteristics of animals.
    - test if the percieved characteristics of small harmless animals affect fear and avoidance
    -Explain the non-random distribution of phobias and why certain animals (even harmless)  produce a fear response but not others. 
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RAHE, MAHAN, AND ARTHUR

  • SELYE'S theory of general adaptation syndrome in his work on rats linked stress and illness.
  • HOLMES AND HAWKINS worked in a TB sanitorium. Observed that TB was more common in poor people - linked to the stress caused by poverty.  They found there was an increase in 'disturbing incidents' involving the TB patients in the 2 years prior to their admittance in comparison to the non TB control group. 
  • RAHE made the Schedual of Recent Experience - a standardised measuring tool used to asses stressful life events
    - Each life event had an life change unit (LCU) which suggested how much reajustment would     be needed if it was experienced.
  • Previous studies in to stress and illness had been retrospective so were not always accurate. Rahe wanted to do a prospective test.
  •  Rahe aimed to...
    - Investigate if there was a prospective positive correlation between life changes and future illness.
    - To ask p's about current life stress and the closely monitor their health over the next 6/8 months.
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GARDNER AND GARDNER

  • Like humans animals are also capable of communication this has raised questionsas to whether language is unique to humans
  • CHOMSKY argued that humans have a special part of the brain 'The LAD' ( langage aquisition device) used specifically for aquiring language. All human cultures have this LAD no matter how primative. NO LANGUAGE
  • HAYES+HAYES tried to teach their chimp 'Viki' to speak, however after 6 years she only knew 4 sounds similar to the words 'up, cup, mama, papa'  NO LANGUAGE
  • PREMACK+PREMACK taught their chimp 'Sarah' to use different coloured and shaped chips to represent words, she placed them on a board to make sentences. In the end she knew 130 signs and could make sentences 8 units long. No spontaneous language. Practice alone.
  • BRYAN suggested that chimps do not have the vocal apparatus to use vocal language. Voclisation occurs: stressed / excited. Gardners concluded that vocal was not appropriate. 
  • WHY DID THEY USE CHIMPS? Sociable, intelligent, strong emotional attachments, closest evolutionary predecessor, gesticulation

  • GARDNER AND GARDNER AIMED TO..
    - test if they could teach a chimp to communicate using human language ASL
    - illustrate humans are not the only species capable of language 
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LOFTUS AND PALMER

  • Generally assumed that eye-witness testimony (EWT) was accurate enough evidence for prosecution.... HOWEVER memory can be inaccurate, research by The Innocence Project showed that inaccurate eyewitness testimony is the main cause of false convictions. 75% of convictions overturned by DNA testing.
  • Explains inaccuracy through LEADING QUESTIONS - something is suggested in the question either by its form or its content, leads the witness towards a desired answer.
  • MARSHALL Airforce personnel guessed the speed of a vehicle (travelling at 12mph) their estimates ranged from 10-50 mph. Perception/memory is inaccurate 
  • CARMICHAEL P's given a set of drawings with a verbal description. When they later redrew the image it was affected by/ more similar too the verbal description. Shows memory is reconstructed in terms of current knowledge, beliefs and expectations.
  • BARTLETT P's attempted to reproduce an unfamiliar Native American story "The War of The Ghosts". The story was so culturally unfamiliar that the p's made lots of errors and simplified the events. They did not have the relevant schemas to help them understand and remember.

  • LOFTUS+PALMER AIMED ..to investigate the accuracy/inaccuracy of memory. 
      - Exp 1. Does the wording of a question influence the estimated speed of vehicles?
      - Exp 2. Do leading questions simply bias a persons response, or actually alter the               memory stored?  
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LANGER AND RODIN

  • GOULD the journey from adulthood to old age is perceived as a process of loss, both physically and psychologically. 
  • BENGSTON life situations change in old age and are accompanied by a loss of roles, norms and social groups. This may have negative impact on an elderly persons percieved sense of self-confidence and self competence. 
  • People experience a decline in health when going to live in a home for the elferly.. shows how a loss.. in particular a loss of control can have a negative effect.
  • LANGER ET AL hospital patients with a greater sense of control requested fewer pain killers and were rated by nurses as being less anxious.  A sense of control can be seen to reduce pain and stress. 
  • LEHR + PUSCHNER psychological changes influence physical decline. Memory loss - low self esteem - increased sense of ageing. Loss of control = passive/controlled by others(baby)
  • FERRARE  17 oldies forced into a care home (no other option) 8 died after one month residence, 16 after two and half. ALL DEATHS UNEXPECTED.
  • LANGER AND RODIN AIMED TO...
     - Asses the affects of increased personal responsibility and choice on nursing home p's
     - and its affect on alertness, activity, sociability and satisfaction (AASS)
     - see if LOSS OF CONTROL IS A FACTOR 
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GIBSON AND WALK

  • DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS fascinated by the way in which infants percieve the world.  This has become the focus of the Nature/Nurtute debate... 
       - to what extent are our behaviours the product of our environment (nurture) or the result of our genes/ instincts (nature)
  • NATIVISTS = we are born with innate capacities such as the depth perception. Whereas, NURTURISTS= we aquire certain capabilities through experiences and learning (or conditioning) INTERACTIONISTS = 'nature' and 'nurture' both have an effect.
  • HUDSON - cross cultural research, showed Bantu, European and Indian children in S. Africa an image of a hunting scene (line drawn) two dimensional = at elephant three dimensional = at antelope. By the end of primary all European children correctly said antelope. Some Bantu children still said elephant. Suggests depth perception is learnt.
  • If new borns can percieve depth at birth it suggest the ability is innate. Most infants aquire depth perception by the time they can crawl (6/8 months). However, precocial species should have the ability to percieve depth at birth (LASHLEYS RATS)
  • GIBSON AND WALK INVESTIGATED..
     - depth perception in infants using the visual cliff apparatus innate/learnt/both 
     - depth percepting in kittens, rats, chicks, goats and lambs, Different species allowed Gibson + Walk to make a more definate conclusion on how depth perception is aquired.
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ROSENHAN

  • PSYCHIATRY has been criticised for developing dangerous and inhuman treatments (eg, lobotomy, ECT) 
  • Issues with how mental illnesses are diagnosed  - The DSM ( diagnostic statistical manual) and The ICD ( Classification of mental and behavioural disorders) Manuals are too general and vague.. could lead to an incorrect diagnosis = unnesccessary treatment / have other condition.
  • ANTI-PSYCHIATRY MOVEMENT challenged the claims and practices of mainstream psychiatry. LAING questioned the medical bias towards diagnosis and treatment. Should gain insight into patient rather than just looking at symptoms.  SZASZ argued that "mental illness" was a way of excluding those who fail to conform to societies norms. 
  • ROSENHAN questioned if there really is 'normal' and 'abnormal'  and if so, how do we distinguish between them. He was concerned about the affects of labelling some one as mentally ill (useless, harmful and misleading)
     
  • ROSENHAN AIMED TO..
     - investigate if psychiatrists could distinguish from those who are genuinely mentally ill and    those who arent.
     - examine the validity of the classification system
     - observe the actions of mental health professionals in varying institutions and interactions      with patients. 
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BUSS

  • EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGISTS proposed behaviour can be explained through natural selection. Behaviours that are necessary for survival.
  • DARWIN suggested  that if a trait is beneficial to survival the trait will be passed on to offspring. Eg, a male peacocks tail appeals to females, the bigger tailed males are chosen as mates and therefore the big tail gene is passed on to offspring.
  • SIOBIOLOGICAL THEORY links behaviour to the purpose of surviving..
     - Greater investment from females means they are choosier when picking a partner, they seek a man with good resources (increases the surival of her offspring)
     - Men want fertile young women,with both fertility and reproductive value, usually signalled by full lips, soft skin, thick hair and energetic walk.
     - Men want chastity in a woman so they know the offspring is their own. N/A to females.
  • CAMERON ET AL personal ads showed men sell themselves on status (job, income) whereas women mentioned their appearance more often
  • HARRISON AND SAEED women stressed a need for sincerity and genuiness and wanted an older man. Men sought attractive younger women.
     
  • BUSS AIMED TO...
     - investigate evolutionary explanations for mate preferences across a broad range of cultures
     - use cross cultural studies to test the innate nature of the evolutionary hypothesis.
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