IGCSE Psychology Notes

Development
3-4 weeks Adults

Midbrain
Forebrain Midbrain Cerebrum
(hidden)

en
-
&
-
Hindbrain

d -
-

2)
Spinal Cord
Cerebellum
Medulla
Development
3-4 weeks Adults

Midbrain
use the
Forebrain Midbrain Cerebrum
(hidden)
previous
en
-&
-
Hindbrain

d -
page !
Spinal Cord

Medulla
E) Cerebellum

Piaget Stages of Development

. Sensorimotor
1 Stage (0-2)
-

using senses and movement to get information

learn by grasping and sucking objects

-

after 6 months understand that object is permanent

-

>
-

2
. Pre-Operational Stage (2-7)

2 7 .
Symbolic Function (2-4)

use object symbols

-

as

beginning of language development

-

seeing the world from their point of view not others legocentric
,

believe objects are alive

 2 2 . Intritive Thought (4-7)
-

start of reasoning
-

ask lots of questions

-

consider one aspect of situation

-

Unable to conserve

. Concrete Operational (7-12)

3
-

seriation

classification

reversibility
-

conservation

decentration
-

(knows what
-

morality is
right or
wrong)

4. Formal Operational (12 + )

see person as a whole

-

understand sequence of events

understand consequences of actions

Piaget's theory of Cognitive Development

key words :

schema-plans pattern of experience

-

mental structure make us understand the world

,

experiences into existing schema

assimilation -

incorporating new
accommodation -
schema no longer works

has to be changed to deal with new experience

<
Piaget suggests that early schema are external physical e .

g
. sucking ,
Face schema This allows the
.

children to interact with it's environment and build knowledge . Overtime

,
schema becomes internal

and cognitive
·
When child's schema can explain all of their experience state of mental health balance called equilibrium
,

·
children develops through adaptations using assimilation and accommodation to make sense of the world
,

Evaluate Piaget's Theory

strength
-

practical applications v
-

generated great deal of research

Weakness

ignores influence of social interactions or cultural settings

,
effect development of pattern of thoughts
-

data came from interview and observation ,

his findings may be biased

Dweck's Theory
mindset-set of beliefs we have about our abilities to succeed in life

~ Fixed Mindset

~ Growth Mindset
Fixed Mindset
-

our abilities are fixed and unchangeable

-

can develop through thinking that they don't have a certain abilitya give up
>
stop trying

Growth Mindset
-

our abilities are unfixed and changable

effort brings success
-

Praise and Development

children can be praised for being good at something BUT it is better to praise children for their efforts

makes children believe they can archieve anything if they have the efforts
-

Evaluate Piaget's Theory

Strength
-

there are supporting theories to the mindset theory

the theory have practical applications
-

Weakness
-

it is conducted in artificial settings may,

make results differ from real life

children may be too focused on if there's a problem with their progress

Willingham's Learning Theory
factual knowledge proceeds skills
-

learning and developing skills comes from knowledge

previous knowledge free up space in our working
-

memory
-

visual and sound information are stored processed separately

-

what someone already knows leave them more processing power to solve problems and aids understanding

practice and effort

-

help us master our knowledge and skills

practice until it is automatically done

-

skills should be repeated many times

-

building knowledge
-
short term
memory
=
>
practice and rehersing

-big term
memory = has to be reviewed and practiced
=>
unlikely to forget

building skill
-

problem-solving and creative thinking

Support Development

1. Cognitive Development
-

how children think ,

explore and figure things out

~ consider children's development stage when planning activities

& new activities within the children's effort
2 .
Physical Development
of brain and
growth body
-

~ suitable movements to carry out

~ make muscle command automatic

3
. Social Development
-improving the well-being of everyone in the society
~ role model for children to imitate

~ stop impulsive behaviour by organising environment e .

g classroom .

Evaluate Willingham's Theory

Strength
real life applications e
g. education promote children's development
-

supporting evidences from other studies

-

Weakness
-

didn't acknowledge that individuals have different ways of learning

his ideas
cannot gather data as are not one singular theory
-

Piaget and Inhelder (1956)

~ Three Mountains Task

aims : which children of different ages were able to take the view of another person legocentrism)
children's system of
putting number of different views of what they see
procedures :
-

700 childrens (4-72 years old

Age 4 -
6 5
.
6 5-8
. 8-9 5.
. 5 72
9 -

no .
of children 21 38 33 16

model of 3 mountains

"

78 pictures were taken around the model

results :

Pre Operational Stage (4-6 5) . chooses pictures and places the cardboard to show their own view of the 3
,

mountain model they cannot view other than their own show egocentrism
,

Concrete Operational Stage

7-9 years old started to see that others can see the world
differently
-

9-70 years old can understand that the doll have a different perspective from their own
Conclusion :
-

children in the pre-operational stage were egocentric

-

children in the concrete operational stage could see a different views from their own

Evaluate Piaget and Inhelder

Strength
-

the qualitative data were of great details about the children's cognitive development
-

the study was carefully controlled (same model , same question for each children)

Weakness
-

task may be too hard for the children ,

some may not understand the task
=>
they may not be egocentric
-

the stage of development was challenged by other researcher

, suggesting18 months children may be nonegocentric

Gunderson et al (2013)
aim : if the way participant praise their children will have an impact on children's mindset

Type of praise :

1 Process Praise what

praise on was
being done
-

praising behaviour and efforts

-

lead to children seeing a link between effort and success

ability is
changable keep trying to do better
,

desire to learn from difficult tasks

2 Personal Praise praise on individual (containing a label for the child) e girl boy you
.
g
-

.
.
, ,

lead children to believe born with

they are or without
ability
-

-children have fixed and positive quality

aim :
investigate whether the type of praise given by their parents in early childhood predicts a child's

reasoning 5
years later about what motivates and causes behaviou

procedure : -

study a
group of children over a long period of time

look at parent's use of

praise at home, when their child were : 74 26 38 months
, ,

five years later ,

children's ideas about behaviour was measured , relating to type of praise received when

young

participants : -

29 boys + caregivers
-

24 girl
64 % White , 77 % African-American 77 % Hispanic 8% multicultural backgroud
-

,
,

results :- 3% of comments from parents were praise

-

process praise 78 %

person praise 76 %

-
more
process praise were
given to boys /24 4 % )
. than girls (10 3 %)
.

more process praise in their early childhood the more likely children will believe that efforts will bring
,

success

conclusions :- clear relationship of parents use of process praise and how child believes that ability is changable
-
didn't find that parents use of process praise lead to entity motivational framework
Evaluate : Gunderson et al (2013)
Strength : - Ounderson's study shows that Dweck's
study findings ,
which was done in artificial settings were also found in

natural environments

Researcher who videotaped and transcribed the data didn't know that parential praise was the point of interest,

this prevents bias

Weakness : -
the ethics of the study could crticized
be
,
participants were not told that the study is about the

the of praie and the effect child

type on a

parents may change their style of because they being observed the data unnatural
praise making
-

are
,

and lacks
validity

Morals
· standards of right and wrong behaviour or beliefs

Morality -

system of values and principles distinction between right and wrong good or bad behaviour
,

Moral Development individual development of right and

wrong
-

Piaget's Stage of Moral Development

. Heteronomous
1 Stage (5-70)
-

believe that adult set rules are unchangeable

-

focused on the consequences (action with bad consequence a

bad actions)

don't understand that actions with bad consequences be good action if the intention is good
-

can a
2. Autonomous Stage (10H
-

rules are changable if it benefits everyone

understand that actions with bad consequences be a

good action if the intention is good
-

can

Kohlberg (1938)
1 Preconventional
.
Morality (8-9)

rules cannot be
changed
-

consequence of action makes it

good or bad

2. Conventional Morality young adults

(most
-

sees themselves as good member in

society
liked by others
-

conform to social rules

3
. Post Conventional Morality (10 % of people
has ideas about what and
is
right
-

own
wrong
morals are universal not for society
-

Evaluating Kohlberg
~ inclusive and comperhensive with 6
stages of moral development
Kohlberg uses artificial story lacks ecological validity
-

,
 .
2 Memory Short-Term and ong-Term Memory
Memory and Information Processing Duration and Capacity

I
Information Input :
· Duration ength of time information in the short term or long term memory
·
Capacity Amount of information in the short term long term memory
Sensory information received from the environment
or
·

input from the environment by the senses Short-Term

Information is Memory
Examples Sight Hearing Touch Taste Smell
:
, , , ,
·Initial memory store that is temporary and limited
Sensory information first enters the short term memory store
Encoding formation
Temporary store
urning sensory information into a form that can be used and stored
by the brain Has a duration of 18 seconds
Unconciously deliberately storing sensory information
or Has a capacity of around 7 items
storage The retension of information in the memory system Encodes information acoustically through repetition of information by rehearsal
Requires encoding the sensory input into an electrochemical memory trace that can be stored in
the brain Rehearsal The repetition of information again and again to make it stick
Memories can be stored for a few seconds or for an entire lifetime Information be transferred into the
can
long-term memory
· conscious control over how
long the information is stored
sometimes putting a lot of effort into
remembering information ong'erm Memory
-Initial
memory
store that can potentially hold limitless amount of information for up to a lifetime
3 Way of
Encoding Information:
Has a duration for a couple minutes to an entire lifetime
Acoustic Encoding Process of storing sound information the Has a
capacity of potentially unlimited amount of information
memory system
in

Encoding
isual Process of storing
sig ht seen information in the
memory system
Is
mostly semantic but can sometimes by visual acoustic
,
or

Process of storing the of information in the

Semantic
Encoding meaning memory system Why we
Forget Things
Information could be forgotten by displacement
OutputingInformation Cisplacement When the short term becomes full and pushes out old information
memory new

Refers to the information that we recall behavioral response

·
When it exceeds the limited interference
His stored
,
capacity ,
could be due to decay or

memory that is retrieval nterference When new information overwrites older information
Retrieval The recall of stored
memory

Strength-Supported by other studies

Weakness= Emphasises rehearsal
Too simplistic Leaves out other variables Decay
Displacement
Amnesia
- Forgetting or memory loss especially after a brain trauma
- There are 2 types that affect long term memory
- Anterograde Amnesia
- Retrograde Amnesia

Anterograde Amnesia
- Inability to store any new long term memories following a brain injury
- However they have perfectly intact and normal short term memory
- Can process sensory information in that moment in time but unable to remember
memories that lasts over a few minutes
- Ability to transfer information from short term memory to long term memory is damaged
- Anterograde Amnesia only affects the memory following the brain injury, so patients
retain their long term memories before the incident

Retrograde Amnesia
- Patient who suffered a brain injury cannot remember information from before the injury
- It can be specific to one memory such as the incident that caused the injury or lit can be
limited to a specific timeframe
- In severe cases, patients can forget who they are and where they come from
- It is possible for people with retrograde amnesia to regain some/all of their lost memories

Bartlett’s Theory of Reconstructive Memory (1932)

Bartlett believes that…

- Our memories are an brief outline of the event
- When we recall memories we simply retrieve the notes and elaborate them using our
existing “schemas”
- Our memories are not an exact copy of an event but rather an interpretation of it, this is
called “Active Reconstruction”

How are Schemas formed?

Schemas are formed throughout our lives, we build schemas through personal experiences,
some schemas are shared within in particular culture while others are unique and personal to us

How Schemas affect Memory

- Bartlett found out that overtime, people recalled pictures and stories differently because
they were influenced by schemas
- Schemas influences us to ignore or change details when recalling information

The recalls displayed

- Omissions -> leaving out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details
- Transformation -> details are changed to make them more familiar and rational
 - Familiarization -> change unfamiliar details to align with our own schema
- Rationalizing -> add details into our recall to give a reason for something that doesn’t fit
with the original schema

Evaluating Bartlett’s theory of Reconstructive Memory

+ It have real world applications which helps us understand how memories become
distorted
+ Bartlett’s research have ecological validity because remembering stories is a realistic
use of memory
- Bartlett’s findings could be seen as subjective because Bartlett may have a different
interpretation of the story which is different to the participant’s view
- Bartlett didn’t use standardized procedures and scientific methods which meant that his
theory could be seen as unscientific.

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Multi-Store Model of Memory (1968)

Atkinson and Shiffrin believes that there are 3 different stores of memory
- Sensory Register (Sensory Memory)
- Short-Term Memory
- Long-Term Memory
They differ in the way information is encoded, capacity, duration and how information is
retrieved

Sensory Register
- Images that your eyes see and sound heard from your ears, we register these
informations very briefly but we don’t pay attention to all of it
- Receives all sensory information and keeps it very briefly, if we do pay attention, these
information are passed into the short term memory, if we don’t pay attention these
information will decay quickly
- Iconic Memory -> sensory register for visual information that lasts around 1 second
before visual information decays
- Echoic Memory -> sensory register for auditory information that lasts for a few seconds
before sound information decays
Other Sensory Register includes
- Gustatory (Taste)
- Olfactory (Smell)
- Tactile (Touch)

Short Term Memory

- When we pay attention, information is passed to the short term memory where it can be
stored for around 15 to 30 seconds
- If we rehearse the information, we are able to retain it longer
- Short term memory is modality free, meaning it can keep any of the 5 senses sensory
information
 - Average short term memory can hold between 5-9 chunks of information (7+/-)
- These chunks of information are usually done by grouping e.g. 999-999-9999

The role of Rehearsal

- Repeating the information over and over helps retain it in the short term memory for
longer
- If it is rehearsed for long enough, the information is transferred to the long term memory
store
- Rehearsal -> repeating things out loud or in our head for us to remember

Long Term Memory

- Can hold information from minutes to lifetime depending on the importance and uses
- Potentially limitless capacity
- Long term memory are mostly semantic

Evaluating Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Multi Store Model of Memory

+ There are lots of supporting evidences for the theory, for example amnesia patients
whose short term memory remains intact while their long term memory are damage
- It is criticized for overstating the role of rehearsal as a means of transferring information
into long term memory storage, sometimes we remember the information because it is
meaningful to us and not that it’s rehearsed a lot of times
- It is highly unlikely that we only have 1 type of long term memory store as some amnesia
patients have lost their memories about childhood and university but are still able to play
the piano

Murdock’s Serial Position Effect

- Participants are able to recall more words at the start and the end rather than the
middle, this is because the words at the start has been rehearsed and transferred into
the long term memory while words at the end are in the short term memory, the words in
the middle are not recalled sufficiently enough meaning that was displaced from the
short term memory by later words

Peterson and Peterson (1959) - Study of the Short Term Memory

Aim: Test the true duration of short term memory

Procedures:
- 24 students were tested individually
- They were asked to repeat out loud the set of 3 letters heard (trigrams) and they have to
read out loud the three digit number read to them by the experimenter
- They have to count back from that number by ¾ e.g. HKT 709, 706, 703 …
- When signaled by the red light, the student have to recall the trigrams
- They did it with delays of 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds
- The procedures were repeated 48 times using different trigrams
 - A second experiment asked the participants to do the same but they were given time to
recall the trigrams before counting backwards

Results:
- The longer each student have to count backwards, the less accurately they are able to
recall the trigrams
- When asked to count backward after 3 seconds, they remembered over 80% of the
trigrams correctly
- However after 18 seconds the correct recalls of the trigrams are less than 10%

Conclusion:
- Peterson concluded that information in our short term memory fades rapidly with only
10% correct recall of trigrams after 18 seconds

Evaluate Peterson’s Study of Short Term Memory

+ Peterson uses standardized procedures and have good control of the experiment, for
example they eliminate all disturbing noises which could have an effect on the memory
and recall of the participants, furthermore it can be replicated and reliability of Peterson’s
findings are able to be checked
+ Practical application as it demonstrates how interference such as verbal distraction can
affect our ability to retain information
- Peterson’s use of trigrams are to eliminate extraneous variables by using trigrams,
however trigrams are criticized for not being how we use memory in everyday life

Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghost

Aim: Test the nature of reconstructive memory using an unfamiliar story, looking at whether or
not personal schemas influences what was remembered from the story

Procedures:
- Participants were asked to read the story of “War of the Ghost” twice and were later
asked to recall it
- Bartlett used serial reproduction and repeated reproduction to test the recall of the story
- Serial Reproduction -> participants retell the story to another participant to form a
chain
- Repeated Reproduction -> participants are asked to recall something again and
again
- For serial reproduction
- Participants were asked to read the story and retell the story to the second
participant in 15-30 minutes, the second participant then tell the story to the third
participant and so on
- For repeated reproduction
- The same participant who red the story are asked to write it out after 25 minutes
 - They then were asked to recall the story several minutes, hours, days, months
and years later

Results:
- Bartlett used qualitative analysis (look for patterns in behaviors) to look for and interpret
changes to the story that were recalled. He found out that repeated reproduction tend to
follow a similar pattern and form with same themes or outline as the first reproduction
- Rationalization has occurred for both groups, participants tried to make sense of the odd
story by giving it meanings, interpretations and connections
- Participants tend to leave out unfamiliar parts of the story especially unfamiliar names,
lots of details became familiarized and simplified e.g. canoes -> boats

Conclusion:
- Bartlett concluded that the results give supporting evidences for the active and
constructive nature of memory
- Participants did not correctly recalled the full story accurately
- Participants leave out details that doesn’t fit their schemas where some details are
altered or change by their schemas

Evaluate Bartlett’s War of the Ghost

+ /- Remembering a story is more naturalistic than remembering nonsense trigrams which
gives Bartlett ecological validity however the story was not familiar, it was illogical containing
strange words and concepts so the story is not an everyday task or realistic use of memory after
all

+ Bartlett’s findings could be seen as reliable because he used various stories and pictures
and participants have the same tendency to adapt and transform the story when
remembering, this also were found from other studies
+ The result of the study was gathered using qualitative data, it can be seen as strengths
because the real nature of reconstructive memory can be understand through it’s
meanings
- Some regarded that qualitative data could be seen as unscientific as Bartlett could have
interpret the participant’s recalled stories in light of his own theory and ideas on
reconstructive memory, (Bartlett could be biased by making it fit with what he believes
reconstructive memory is)
- Bartlett’s theory lacks control and standardized procedures as participants are allowed to
read the story at their own pace and didn’t recall the story at same intervals which shows
that Bartlett is not as scientific as he could’ve been
 Severe Episode
.
3
Psychological Problems Not everyone with a family member with depression become depressed

symptoms displayed There needs to be a trigger from the environment

Unipolar Depression
Feelingworthless This means that some people have a genetic predisposition to get depressed
Unipolar Depression A type of mood disorder
causing period of sadness Genetic Predisposition Abiological tendency to develop particular
May have suicidal thoughts engage in self harm
a
or a

and the lack of motivation to do

everyday activities
behavior as a result ofa gene someone has
ncidence of Depression Over Time
His called unipolar' because the personality is pulled in one direction
There are more people They only become depressed ifput into stressful situations
diagnosed with depression nowadays
can

Mental Health Problems A form ofa psychological problem characterised

More people are aware of the symptoms This triggers the to effect their mood
gene on

by symptoms affecting the mind and behavior This combination explanation fordepression is called diathesis stress model
Or the modern lifestyle is more stressful
Symptoms of Unipolar Depression The was large increase diagnosis teenagers young adults
a in in or
Diathesis Stress Model An explanation for depression that claims
Extreme tiredness that is not relieved by sleep people have a that makes them more
Are likely to be diagnosed along with other problems
more
can
gene
Change in appetite Could increase decrease
or
How Depression Affects Individuals and likely to develop depression but only if they
Society
,

lack of self-esteem face a stressful situation that triggers depression

Can cause an increasing risk of suicide
Feeling of guilt blaming themselves
or
The feeling ofworthlessness and sadness makes them want a out Strengths and Weaknesses of Genetic Explanation
way
Feeling suicidal or attempting to commit suicide 10-15% of patients with severe depression commit suicide Strengths
of normal activities Hwe explain depression by looking at people's inherited genes
enjoying Patients could miss workthey lack the motivation to get up and do work
, ,
we can
Poor sleep Having difficulty to sleep They find work demanding ifthey tired, they behind work Feels guilty
are so are on . take away stigma of being diagnosed with depression This . means that
Main be more accepting ofthe disorders
Symptoms There cost implications for the company they have to
are asthe workload cover it is uncontrollable and society
may
lowered mood: Feeling very sad There are cost oftreatment the antidepressant drugs are expensive to prescribe
,
There is lots of research evidence that supports the idea that some
Lack ofenergy even after resting for a long time
Councilling can be offered but therapists need to be trained
, people are more
prone
to depression In Caspi et. al study found that
. .

Lack of motivation to do normal activities people with a variation of serotonin transporter gene were more likely
Genetic Explanation of Unipolar Depression
to react negatively to stressful life events.
Diagnosis There is evidence that you have a higher risk ofgetting diagnosed ifa family member has
For a diagnosis the ICD 10 requires at least one
· Serotonin A neurotransmitter associated with controlling mood
,
Suggests that unipolar depression might be inherited through genes Weaknesses
of the main symptoms
present for at least 2 weeks Twin Studies
And another one of the main symptoms should be present His very deterministic because it assumes that if you have a certain gene ,

Twin Studies Research that compares behaviors in groups of twins to if there are similarities likely to get depression and there is no to
Features of Unipolar Depressions
see
you
are
way change that. However ,

Twin studies useful for looking at the influences ofgenes people believe that there should be free wiIl to choose whether to get depressed
·

are

Approximately 1 in 15 people will have an episode of depression

every year Monozygotic Twins Twins developed from fertilised egg that has split in two genetically identical
one
,
· Deterministic Ouractions come with what we are born with and experience
Depression is twice as likely in females DizygoticTwins Twins developed from two fertilised Free Will
eggs, genetically
non-identical ·
Explanations of behaviors that claim we have the ability to
Mild Episode Monozygotic twins share 1000 o of the same
genes control exactly how want to show behaviors
we our

4 symptoms displayed Dizygotic twins share 500 o ofthe

same
genes, same as siblings normal His explained in a reductionistic way
,
it fails to take other factors into account ,

Find their symptoms upsetting but will be able to with daily life A study by Peter McGuffin 1996 found that ifa monozygotic twin has been diagnosed there is a 46% depression often linked to life events. His too simplistic to be due to
only
,
carry on
,
is
genes

Moderate Episode chance that their other twin develops depression However, ifa dizygotic twin has been diagnosed
. ,

there is a 2000 chance that their other twin develops depression

5 or 6 symptoms displayed
Might problems completing everyday tasks School or work Suggests that depression might be genetic
Cognitive Theory as an Explanation of Depression Strengths and Weaknesses of the Cognitive Theory Explanation How does (BT Help

Cognitive Theory An explanation that focuses on how Strengths The person attends therapy and considers their thought processes

thought processes influence behavior Takes into account the events in a person's life By considering this they challenge their
,
own irrational thoughts
The cognitive theory states that behaviors be explained by
can
·
Recognises that events could also explain the development of depression If they think more rationally , they will begin to feel better
There is likely to be a trigger When they feel better they will go out
looking at how the brain processes information and how think and improve symptoms
·
we more
,

Beck's Cognitive Triad Uses the combination of nature and nurture

Stages of CBT Treatment
·

Aaron Beck believes that depression is explained by 3 negative patterns ·

ature Explanations of behaviors that focus It Stage A patient will discuss their symptoms with a therapist
Pattern of people's thoughts about themselves the future and world innate factors Things born with
They explain how they feel and what makes them this way
,
on we are ·

They are all negative thoughts and think the future is bleak · uture Explanations of behaviors that focus 2nd
Stage Challenging the irrational thoughts
Beck feels that the negative triad developed from bad experiences on environmental factors Things that happen to us · When patients recognise their own negative thoughts
they ,
can

egative Triad A set of three thought patterns where people feel bad
,
It has been applied to therapy take action to replace those thoughts with positive thoughts
about themselves the future and the world
,
·
Cognitive behavior therapy CBT is of the leading treatments ofdepression
one
3rd Stage Series of sessions that changes how person thinks a
Once they have negative thoughts they will continue to perceive things
,
·
Cognitive Behavior Therapy A therapy for mental health disorders that aims to change Usually involves writing diary and discussing thought process
a
that happen to them in an abnormal and negative
way their thought processes in order to reduce symptoms
leads to negative self-esteem · It challenges their irrational thoughts to make them Strengths and Weaknesses of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Patients are prome to magnification stop feeling depressed and reduces antidepressantdrug use Strengths
Magnification A form of cognitive bias that makes people see problems
Weaknesses There is evidence that it is effective
as far
bigger than they actually are It is difficult to tell whether the negative thoughts are a cause or symptom ofdepression
·

Suggests that it helps reduce symptoms

Ellis's ABC A
Ellis suggests that there are 3 stages that
· Most patients are monitored after diagnosis this makes their behaviors unclear
,
longer lasting treatment
Patients learn to control
could cause the development of negative thoughts
Some cases ofdepression are caused by similar events
·

symptoms and change thoughts

·
Examples Family member's death after birth due to hormone changes Helps depressed patients feel better
Activating Event
:
or
A Patients learn to deal with their own
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT
·

symptoms
·
Something happens to a
person makes
,
them feel unsettled Triggering event Weaknesses
B Beliefs
Cognitive behavior therapy CBT is a
type of therapy used to treatmentaldisorders Relies on patients wanting to change
·
Thoughts the person associates with the event Rational Irrational
CBT is based on the understanding that how we think can influence on how we behave · Patients
may
lack motivation
C Consequences Ifa person changes the way they think their behavior should also change Ethical issues > Abuse of
power
Rational thoughts person Have positive thoughts
,

to improve next time

·
,
try Main Aims of CBT
·
Therapists makepatients think their thought process has
·
Irrational thoughts Have negative thoughts thinks they are worthless
person ,

Help the patient change the they think

a
problem and that they need to change
way
Help the patient change the way the act to improve symptoms that they have
egative Views of the Future
The person feels depressed
Feeling depressed makes them feel down
Feeling depressed makes them shy away from social situations more
Symptoms according to the ICD

ICD - International Classification of Disease

1. Depressed Mood
2. Loss of Interest and Enjoyment
3. Reduced Energy - increased fatigability, diminished activities
4. Reduced Concentration and attention
5. Reduce Self esteem and confidence
6. Idea of guilt and unworthiness
7. Bleak and pessimistic views of the future
8. Ideas / acts of
- Self Harm
- Suicide
9. Disturbed Sleep
10. Diminished Appetite

For a diagnosis, 2 of 1-3 symptoms must be present for 2 weeks

+ 2 symptoms from 4-10 must be present for 2 weeks

Facts about Depression

● In 2016, 268 million people globally were battling with depression

● 1 in 15 people suffer from severe depression every year (according to the WHO)
● Females are more vulnerable to depression (twice as many)
● Depression are also common in elderlies

3. Caspi et al (2003)

Background:
- Depression was linked to the number of stressful life events however not ALL who went
through stressful life events developed depression
- The diathesis stress model suggests that those who developed depression are due to
environmental and biological factors
- Therefore Caspi wanted to test does “genetic vulnerability” have an effect on developing
depression
- Researchers investigated the role of a gene involved in Serotonin, the 5-HTT gene

5-HTT gene and Serotonin

Serotonin: regulates moods - hormone, neurotransmitter
5-HTT: transports Serotonin, plays a role in serotonin activity, there are long and short alleles of
the 5-HTT genes
Aim:
1. Why stressful life experiences lead to depression in some people but not others
2. Investigate the role of a gene involved with serotonin to see if it contributes to
depression

Procedures:
● 847 participants selected from 1037
○ Caucasian (white skinned), non Mauri participants
○ Selected from previous health study group in New Zealand
● Divided into 3 groups depending on the length of their 5-HTT gene alleles
○ Group 1: Short (s) / Short (s) = 17%
○ Group 2: Short (s) / Long (l) = 51%
○ Group 3: Long (l) / Long (l) = 31%
● The study lasted over a long period of time “Longitudinal”
● Investigated participants at age 3,5,7,9,11,13,15,18,21 and again at 26
● 14 stressful life events occurred between the participant’s 21 and 26 Birthdays
● At 26 depressive symptoms from the past year was measured using a questionnaire to
give a quantitative depression score

Results:
● The short (s) / short (s) alleles of the 5-HTT gene interact with stressful life events
making the people with this allele more vulnerable to depression
● Stressful life events between age 21-26 were more likely to be diagnosed with
depression at age 26, more likely to develop suicidal thoughts
● Participants with the short (s) / short (s) allele experienced the most number of stressful
life events and self reported the most number of depressive symptoms when compared
with the 2 other groups (short (s) / long (l), long (l) / long (l))
● Childhood maltreatment (violent/cruel) was predictive of depression in adulthood but
ONLY in adults with 1/2 short (s) alleles

Conclusion:
- The 5-HTT gene (nature) interacts with stressful life events (nurture) to predict
depressive symptoms and risk of suicide
- This suggests that both nature and nurture worked together to increase the likelihood of
a person developing depression
- A person need to have both a specific gene and stressful life events to become
depressed
4. Evaluate : Caspi et al (2003)

Strength:
● High population validity - Caspi’s sample of 847 is large - large sample, more
representative of the population - more generalisable to the wider population
● Results can predict about who may be more vulnerable to developing depression

Weakness:
● Participants can lie about their symptoms in the questionnaire - participant may not admit
about the symptoms as they believe that it’s not socially desirable to have depression -
bias from participant to make them look better - unvalid measure of depressive
symptoms, questioning the usefulness of the findings
● The results were only correlational - it is impossible to manipulate the length of a
person’s 5-HTT genes allele - without manipulation of an IV - there is a effect
relationship on IV which meant DV cannot be established - not possible to conclude that
5-HTT gene causes depression

Make Caspi better

● Use interviews instead of questionnaires as the participant are more likely to tell the truth
Extra : Research Methods and Psychological Problems

● Independent Variables (IV) - variable that is manipulated by the researcher

● Dependent Variables (DV) - variable that it’s effect is measured in an experiment
● Hypothesis - prediction of the result or outcome of a study

● Opportunity Sampling (used in Caspi et al) - they sampled participants from another
study
○ Less effort on the researchers in identifying and selecting sample
○ Less representative not everyone in a target population will be around
● Reliability - consistency of an outcome or result of an investigation. If the study is
reliable, the result should be the same every time
● Validity - did the study measure what it intended to masure

Notes:
Psychological Problems - Addiction (10.11.2022)
● Incidence of mental health (addiction)
● Addiction
● Genetic Explanation of Addiction
○ Carmelli et al (1992)
○ Martinez et al (2004)
● Learning Theory Explanation of Addiction
● Drug Therapy Treatment
● Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
● Young (2007)
● Nature VS Nurture

1. Incidence of Mental Health (Addiction)

- Incidence of Mental Health can change overtime due to changes in Psychology and
Society
- E.g. Changes in how addiction is classified in society - the amount of alcohol
consumption to be classified as an addict may decrease overtime. This could lead to an
increase in incidence
- NHS estimated that 2 million people in the UK are suffering from addiction
- The most common addiction is opiate addiction = drug addiction
- Addiction can be both substance related or behaviour related
- Women are just as likely as men to develop substance use addiction

2. Addiction

A psychological problem that means people are dependent on a particular thing

ICD-10 called it “dependence disorder” > addiction

Symptoms
● Conflict
● Tolerance
● Denial
● Withdrawal
● Relapse
● Compulsion

Addiction changes overtime

- Addiction will increase overtime
- NHS spent 488 million/year on addiction
- Lost working days
- Cocaine and heroin used to be used as medicine, nowadays are justified as drugs
 - Drugs became more affordable overtime and drugs related crime increases

3. Genetic Explanation of Addiction

Diathesis Stress Model - looking at the combined influence of biological and environmental
factors (Nature and Nurture)

3.1 Carmelli et al (1992)

- examined the concordance rates in twin for developing addiction
- Found that monozygotic twins (MZ) was a smoker, there was a higher chance of the
other twin smoking, than if the twins were dizygotic (DZ)
- Therefore addiction to smoking could be genetically related

3.2 Martinez et al (2004)

- Background information: D2 gene - regulates the release of dopamine
- Drug addiction increases = Dopamine increases
- Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of happiness and pleasure
- aim: to investigate the role of a D2 receptor gene (DDR2 gene) to see if it contributes to
addiction
- Result: heavy uses of cocaine were more likely to have the A1 varying of the DDR2 gene
- This means that they had fewer dopamine receptors in the brain
- This could explain the abuse of cocaine as it increases the release of dopamine
- Conclusion: Certain gene variants could lead to vulnerability to developing drug
addiction
3.3 Evaluate : Genetic Explanation of Addiction

Strength
● Removes blame from patient - cannot manipulate person’s gene
● Scientific evidence and real life applications leads to treatment

Weakness
● Reductionist - doesn;t consider environmental factor e.g. stressful life experiences
● No cause-effect - gene cannot be manipulated

4. Learning Theory Explanation of Addiction

Addiction is a learnt behaviour which can be learn through 3 processes

● Social Learning Theory
● Operant Conditioning
● Classic Conditioning

Social Learning
● Learning from observing and especially from role models
● Can explain how addiction is initiated
● E.g. child grow up with parent who smoke, they may copy this behaviour because they’re
exposed to it at home

Operant Conditioning
● Learning from the consequences of action
● Can explain how addiction is maintained
● E.g. punished for coming home later, you will try to be on time in the future

Classical Conditioning
● Learning through associations
● Can explain why addicts relapse
● E.g. they become addicted to substance that give them positive feelings

Evaluate : Learning Theory

Strength
● Useful for therapy such as CBT
● More holistic, recognize learning process and thought patterns of patient

Weakness
 ● Focus too much on role of nurture, no genes and nature / environmental factors
● Cannot show cause-effect relationship from positive consequences and addiction

5. Drug Therapy as Treatment

Neurotransmitter
- chemical that is released from a neuron (nerve cell) which thereby transmits on impulse
to another nerve, muscle, organ or other tissue

Neuronal Transmission
- neurons transmit electrical signals called action potentials

Treating Addiction
● Drugs are used to help people with addiction to avoid relapse
● People with substance addiction may relapse because their withdrawal symptoms are
unpleasant when they go through detoxification
● E.g. they may experience severe headaches, insomnia. Shaking and lack of appetite
● Drugs such as methadone for heroin addiction can help reduce withdrawal symptoms
● Another reason why people with addictions relapse is because they cannot resist their
cravings
● Naltrexone has been found to reduce cravings in people with alcohol, heroin and
gambling addiction
● It works by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain so that the dopamine reward
pathways is no longer stimulated

Evaluate : Drug Therapy

Strength
● There is research evidence : Suck Won Kim (2001) shows 75% successful rate of
gambling addicts improving their addictions
● Helps patients access other treatments in the long term (prevent relapse giving patient
with addiction a better chance of completing CBT)

Weakness
● Supporting evidence on its effectiveness is mixed (Naltrexone could lead to anxiety and
depression)
● Could make the problem worsen in the long term (addicted to the drug used to cure)

6. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

- Thoughts and behaviour changes

- A therapy for mental health disorder that aims to change thought process in order to
reduce symptoms
Aims of CBT
To help people change the way they think
To help patient change the way the behave

Evaluate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Strength
● There is supporting evidence from studies e.g. Young (2007) that claim that CBT is
useful
● CBT treatment is more effective than drugs e.g. patient can control their symptoms

Weakness
● Relies heavily on the patient being motivated to change their behaviour
● Focuses too much on the role of nurture, not considering the biological factors

7. Young (2007)

Aim: how effective Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) would be for those suffering from
internet addiction

Procedures:
114 participants from the Center for Online Addiction in the USA
● Males (58%)
● Females (42%)
● Caucasian (84%)
● Mean age of 38 years for male
● Mean age of 46 years for females
● All participants completed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and shown to have an
addiction to using the internet

Method:
Participants have sessions with a principal investigator over a number of weeks involving CBT
- First few sessions: Functional Analysis (information about the participant’s background
e.g. when their symptoms started)
- Following sessions: Skills training (stop the use of online applications that are causing
problems)
- Therapist work to solve issues that increase internet use e.g. home, work and school
“Client Outcome Questionnaire” was given to the participants at the 3,8,12 sessions after 6
months.
Designed to measure how well the CBT worked to treat causes of internet addiction
There were 12 questions which use 5 point Likert scale
Results:
● Sex Differences in what online applications they were addicted to
● Males = pornography, chat (sexual), gambling and gaming
● Females = chat (sexual), general chat, online shopping and gaming
● There were improvements over the 12 weeks of CBT.
● No significant drop in these improvement rating 6 months after the CBT has ended

Conclusion:
CBT can be an effective treatment for internet addiction as it enables clients to decrease
thoughts and behaviours to do with internet use.

It also have long term effects because relapse prevention was achieved by participants after 6
months

Evaluate Young (2007)

Strength
● Online sessions of CBT may be effective in treating internet addiction
● Young uses the same question and rating scale across all of his measurements so the
results are standardised and consistent

Weakness
● Clients filled in questionnaires about their own feelings and behaviour, which might not
be accurate (Results lacks validity)
● There were different types of internet addiction and it’s not clear whether all achieved the
same effects from the treatment

8. Nature and Nurture

Nature
● Explain mental health problems through biological factors such as genes
● Biological factors are in place since you were born and cannot be changed, sometimes
this may make you vulnerable to psychological problems such as depression and
addiction

Nurture
● Explain mental health problems through environmental factors such as life experiences
● Environmental factors may happen over a course of their lifetime which changes the way
they think which may cause mental health to develop

Diathesis Stress Model

 ● BOTH environmental and biological factors worked together to increase a person’s
vulnerability to depression

Notes:

Notes:
 · The crease that separates the
4 Brain and europsychology Functions ofthe Brain Parietal Lobe
.

frontal lobe from parietal lobe

Frontal Lobe · The area at the top ofthe brain
Structures and Functions of the Brain Central Sulcus
· The are a at the front of the brain ·
Responsible for perception and sensation of touch
Responsible for decision making and impulse control -

e- T u
head

n
Brain which was made up of Responsible for face recognitions To know who it is

j
(
san in

3
·

--
organ your
·
·
,

that processes information and controls behaviors

EGi
j
Central sulcus is responsible for the sense oftouch
1 ! s C (E
nerves · Also helps control problem solving skills ↑
·

x
In order for the to be able to do complex functions the brain must Helps concentrate and to pay attention - · This part is known as the somatosensory cortex
Y Occipital
·
,
&

T
be carefully structured to efficiently use the available space ( -
-

Motor Cortex ' obe

The brain is split into two halves Left and right hemispheres ·
His towards the back of the frontal lobe L - E
-
· The area at the back of the brain that controls vision
Hemispheres His half of the brain
- -
·

Large infront of the central sulcus

-- Helps to process visual information from our
· ·
area us
eyes
Cerebrum The largest part ofthe brain where higher processing
Responsible for voluntary movements
occurs
, · · Lobe is often called the visual cortex
-His the upper part ofthe brain
Contains an outer cortex Temporal Lobe Cerebellum
-Cortex The outer layer ofthe brain has lots of folds to increase surface area
,
· The area on the side ofthe brain that controls hearing and memory · An area ofthe brain near the brainstem that controls movement
- Increased surface area to allow more nerves More functions ·
Helps with hearing understanding sound understanding speech and creating speech: Has
, ,
a vital role in movement coordination and balance
,

The brain communicates with the body through the spinal cord Contains important are as involved in producing and Takes information from different senses
processing sound
· ·

·
Spinal Cord A pathway ofnerves inside the spine ,
which connects the brain Contains the auditory cortex It controls hearing and combines to coordinate behavior
to the rest of the body through the peripheral nervous system · Also has areas that controls functions
memory
Information passes through the brainstem which controls reflexes
,

Brainstem The part of the brain that connects to the upper brain Role of the Left Hemisphere Role of the Corpus Callosum
> Reflexes Actions that are automatic and don't require a conscious decision Control of the right side of the body The left hemisphere is responsible for processing language Is a thick bundle ofnerves

aterisation of Functions in the Hemispheres Right visual fied Broca's Area A part ofthe left hemisphere of the brain that controls speech Used to connect the right and left hemispheres

Understanding the written language · Controls speech production Allows messages to directly pass
aterisation offunctionThe differentjobs that are done by each hemisphere of Understanding what heard is Linked to nerves in the face to help us speak
·

itemit is
the brain, each hemisphere has different specialist roles ogical thinking Other areas can control our to write and understand
ability language
Asymmetrical Functions
Asymmetrical The two hemispheres of the brain aren't equal in terms of their Role of the Right Hemisphere
functions. Each hemisphere controls different functions Control of the left side of the body The right hemisphere is responsible for spatial awareness
Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body eft visual fied Spatial Awareness The ability to negotiate space and navigate our
way
Left hemisphere controls the right side ofthe body
Spatial language
·
around our environment
·
Right hemisphere controls the left side ofthe body Creativity Also controls the ability to
recognise and perceive faces
Corpus Callosum A thick bundle ofnerves helps connects the two hemispheres
Recognition of faces His involved in the
processing ofmusic
to allow them to communicate work together as a
,
so
they Musical ability Processing visual information
whole organ. Corpus Callosum
Difference between Male and Female Synaptic Functions Prosopagnosia
Females Messages are passed throughout the nervous system, Prosopagnosia The inability to recognise faces Face blindness
Females are better at language skills from one neurone to the next by synaptic transmission The eyes can send information to the brain but the brain can't recognise faces
,

Have thicker corpus callosum Synapticransmission The process by which neurotransmitters released by a neurone, They are unable to recognise whotheface belongs to
· Uses both sides moves across the synaptic gap and then taken up another neurone Caused by damage to the part ofthe brain near the back ofthe temporal lobe,
Males Synapse A between two neurones that allows messages to pass next to the occupital lobe called the Fusiform Face Area FFA
gap
Males are better at spatial awareness A electrical impulse is triggered inside the next cell FusiformFaceArea FFA A part of the temporal lobe and is close to the
Shows dominance for one hemisphere for the same task The impulse is sent along the towards the end of the nerve fibre
axon occipital lobe ,
which helps with face recognition
Evaluation of the Male and Female Laterisation of Function Axon The long structure that connects the cell body to the terminal button Symptoms of rosopagnosia
Strengths Terminal Button The end of the nerve fibre Patients find it difficult to identify people from their faces
&

#
Supported by other studies Harasty et al and Rilea et al
. . . · Is filled with sacs called vesicles containing the neurotransmitter Patients can't tell faces apart All look the same
There plenty ofevidence to support differences
are ·
Vesides Small sacs that contains neurotransmitters
mpacts ofdamage to the pre frontal cortex
· Uses scientific methods Brain scans and laboratory experiments When the impulse reaches the terminal button the ,
're Frontal Cortex The area ofthe brain's cortex at the very front ofthe
·
Allow research to be well controlled and prevents extraneous variables resicles releases neurotransmitters into the -
-

synapse frontal lobe which is immediately behind the forehead

Weaknesses The neurotransmitter molecules diffuse the synaptic
,

Helps control our impulses and keep our emotions balanced

across
gap us
Some studies used the method and shows inconsistent results The neurotransmitters bind with receptors on the next neurone
wrong
Ifthis part ofthe brain is damaged the person becomes
There are no strong evidence Sommer et al. that are designed to absorb neurotransmitter molecules aggressive impulsive
Receptors A special site
,
.
on neurones
Makes itdifficult for people to control their emotions
An impulse is generated on the next neurone
Role of the Central ervous System · akes their personality change
The Impact of eurological Damage Are more likely to commit crimes
Central Consists of the brain and spinal cord which relays
·

ervous System
Less activity in the pre-frontal cortex More impulsive and
,

messages
from the brain to the rest of the body eurological Damage Is damage to the body's central and peripheral nervous system aggressive

The brain processes information and sends impulses to the rest of the body Refers to any kind ofdamage to parts ofthe nervous system
Ifthe brain is it can cause to be interrupted
Peripheral ervous System The system ofnerves that connects the central damaged ,
passing messages
nervous system to the skin muscles and isual Agnosia
organs ,

Function of eurotransmitter Agnosia An ability to interpret sensations and thus recognise things
eurotransmitter Arechemicals found within the nervous system that passes isual Agnosia An inability to recognise things that be can seen

from one neurone to another across synapse Is problem in the way the brain processes sensory information
a
messages a

eurone Is a nerve cell that transmits information Means that the brain is unable to make of the information but
sense
they still see perfectly
,

eurotransmitter Results in person not being able to recognise something that is presented to them
a

Is disorder in which people can't understand what they see

Dopamine Playsarole in attention learning. Ifthere is not enough dopamine, a

it will make it more difficult to concentrate on certain tasks Is the result ofdamage to the parietal lobe because it is disorder of perception
a

Serotonin Playsarole in mood. If there is too Symptoms of isual Agnosia

little serotonin , people become depressed Patients might not be able to recognise colors of object an

GABA Gamma Aminobutyric Acid Playsarole in

calming us down. When Patients might not be able to recognise objects and them name

we are stressed GABA is produced

, Patients might not be able to recognise places they familiar withare
2 .
Prosspagnosia
can see
perfectly well but cannot
recognize faces
-

brain unable to make sense of information from the eye

-caused by damageb part of the brain near the back of the temporal lobe ,
Fusiform Face Area

symptoms :
·

difficult to identify people from their faces

-

unable to tell faces apart

3
. Pre-Frontal Cortex
-

difficult tis control over impulsive behaviou keep ,

emotions balanced

symptoms :
-

impulsive aggressive
,

more
likely to commit crime
-

Damasio et a (1994)
I

Phineas Jage (1848) works on a

railway line
,
where a
explosion caused
a iron rod to be fired through his head ,
it caused damage to his
-

face and frontal lobe of his brain. Gage survived but his, personality
-

changed permanently. ,
Before the accident sage was calm and responsible

however
, after the accident he was irresponsible and rude

I sam
aim :
-identify which part of Phineas Jage's brain are most likely
to be
badly damaged in the accident
↑ 189cm I
-
if other area of his brain is damaged by the accident to
procedure : -

built a virtual 3D replica of Jage's shull using modern day technology

tested possible entry and exit points of the rod order to
in
map out which
-

area was

damaged
of the brain would most
20 entry , 16 exits were found map out which area
likely be
-

damaged(5 paths)

results : -

accident is most likely to only affect the frontal lobe in

Jage's brain ,
no other areas affected

-both right and left hemisphere of the frontal bobe was damaged
-damage was worse in the middle of underside (ventromedial region) top edges /dorsolateral
,

of frontal lobe less likely to be affected

regions) were

damage to the hemisphere than the right frontal

more
underlying white matter in the left lo be
-

conclusion : ventromedial area of frontal lobe is important or

making sensible decision, controlling impulse
-

around people and control of emotions

Evaluate : Damasio et al (1994)

strength : v increase scientific understanding in Phineas Jage by using modern day technology such as

computer modelling
~ possible to make predictions to changes in behaviour after the damage to the frontal lobe,

help medical professionals provide suitable treatments for patient

weakness : X the accident occured over 150

years ago, technologies used for keeping records were

basic the report

, reading may
not be as accurate as it should be
,
affect reliability
X cannot generalize the results from this case to other people. This case is a unique
accident to
dage and might not apply to other patient with damage to frontal lobe
Sperry (1968)
Epilepsy (SSNazOn) -

likelihood (tendency) to have recurrent seizures (sudden uncontrolled electrical

,

disturbance in the brain)

split brain patient the brain caused sudden burst of electrical
-

causes : seizure in
by excess
activity
in the brain
, casing tempray disruption in normal
message passing
between braincells
be controlled
can
through medication
-

most severe "Grand Mal" >

-
uncontrollable movements
>
-
lose conscientiousness
>
-
million of brain cells fire extensively
begin 1 hemisphere and transported to the next
>
-
in

the Callosum
through Corpus

aim : how the split brain works when compared to a normal brain
small sample size & rid corpus callosum
L

procedure : 77 epileptics who have

undergone "split-brain" surgery take part in the experiment
-given visual and tactile tash

Visual task procedure :

-

participants focused on the center of the screen

-
into presented to left and right side of the visual field at the same time

2 different word pictures presented at the center the

one one at
right
-

, ,

left side of each eye 7 image

-

side of each eye 7

right c
image
-

-info from right visual field <

left hemisphere
-

into from left visual fielda right hemisphere

-

they are asked to identify word pictures on the screen

 -

info in right hemisphere = cannot identify

-

info in left hemisphere =

> can
identify
same side of the different side of
brain
L the brain

X X

results identify word visual field

:
participant can on
right
-

participant cannot identify word on left visual field

have no trouble selecting object shown on left visual field

-

-
have trouble selecting object shown on
right visual field
-

can recognize object when touched by right hand

-difficult to recognize object when touched by left hand

conclusion : each hemisphere can work perfectly

-

left hemisphere (language)

right hemisphere (Spatial
·

they have different roles

cannot share because there's
they memories
corpus callosum
-

no

Evaluate :
Sperry (1968)
Strength : -

gathered lots of data from small sample size

standardized procedures well controlled

,

Weakness : artificial tash looking at object with <

eye (mundane realism)
-

77
participants > not
enough
-
-
 Cost of Helping Crowd Behavior
Bystander Effect
4

Apathy
.

· If the cost of
helping is too high Choose to not help There are different types of crowds
Bystander Intervention When an individual helps another in need · If we could
gethurt: We don't risk ourselves · Could be
peaceful or destructive
·
Because they feel similar could have the same fate
,
· If the cost of
helping is small Likely to help Prosocial Behavior Peaceful Behaviors that are seen

Bystander Effect Apathy When we fails to help another in need · Cost to victim Cost to ourselves We Intervene as helpful ,
kind , co-operative and peaceful
Because they diffuse responsibility onto others If we don't help: Feel
guilty Likely to help Antisocial Behavior Destructive Behaviors that
· ·
:
are

Factors
·
High cost of helping Likely to help seen as unhelpful destructive and
aggressive
Situational Affecting Bystander Intervention
,

·
Low cost of helping Likely to not help Members in the crowd lose their identity
among
the others
1 )iffusion of Responsibility Personal Factors
.

Affecting Bystander Intervention ·

Are likely to conform to the behavior of the majority
·
Feels less responsible when there are more people No longer acting like individuals
Competence
·
1
Others could have potentially helped instead
.

·
Do things in crowds that
they wouldn't do alone
·

arger
Crowd Feelsless responsible Lesslikely to intervene ·
Depends the type of help we give
They lose their identities and feel anonymous within
on
crowd
Smaller Crowd Feels more responsible> More likely to intervene
·
·
a
· If we are trained for CPR and the victim has stopped ·
Form identity with the crowd
new

.
2
oticing the Event breathing , likely to help since
we are more we are
·
Views becomes strong othersas as
skilled at it and others might not be
·
Crowd Tend to keep to ourselves and ·
Conforms to the group's
arger pay norms

less attention to our surroundings

Without
any competence
·
An authorative
We less likely to intervene offer indirect help
figure can exert an influence on a crowd
· Less likely to notice ·
are ·
If closer to the crowd Greater Influence
·
Smaller Crowd Tend to notice things around us more
·
More competence More likely to intervene ·
Higher proximity legitimacy and power of authority
, Greater Influence
Less competence Less likely to intervene
More likely to notice
·

Authorative figure control whether a crowd is peaceful or aggressive

·
·
can

Puralistic 2 Mood
.
3
Ignorance
.

Good Mood More likely to intervene

Often looked at others and react based on what others are
·
·

doing Look outwards and pay attention to those around

Interpret the situation from others
·
·

Bad Mood Less likely to intervene

large
·
·
num ber of people not helping
Assumethat it's not an
·
·
Keep to ourselves and focus our attention on ourselves
emergency
·
Small number of people helping .
3 Similarities
·
Likely to offer assistance as well
Similar in appearance , personality ,
situation etc .

·
See that the same fate could have happened to us

· More Similar More likely to intervene

· Less Similar Less likely to intervene
 Studies Results Evaluations
62 out of 65 Victims with a cane
passengers helped
,
before the model planned to aturalistic Environment
1. Pliavin Et. Al 1969 Good Samaritanism 19 out of 38
Passengers helped drunk victims before the model planned to
Passengers regular environment
.

·
were in a
8) out of 103 Victims helped before the model planned to intervene
Investigator Bystander Behavior More than aid the victim
·
Ecological Validity
passenger came to
60 % 1
Studies why people fail to be 'Good Samaritans'
Reliability
·

90 % 1st helper was a male Male are more likely to be the first helper
Aims 1st helper was white
- 2 observers
64 %

68 Helpers who came to help white victims were white too

· Different view points
To
investigate helping behavior in natural environment and to %
Could have been
psychologically harmful to passengers
a

passengers came to help black victims

50 % White
understand the condition in which people are more
likely help
to
Race seems to effect when it came to drunk victims ·
Passengers were un aware that they were being observed
Procedure Not consentual
There tendency for the same to help drunk victims
-
·
is race
Could feel afterwards
Influenced by the number of people in the
·

guilty or
pressure
passengers passed by
4500 men and women group Gender Biased
Located the New York Subway
· Tends to diffuse responsibility onto others
in 11am-3pm ·
Victims were only males , people could have helped women
·
Participants are covertly observed Conclusion - Results could have been different
4 groups of students from Columbia University People are more
likely to help
I 4 students If the victim is perceived ill compared to
being drunk
·

group · as

· 2 Female Observers · Most likely when the cost of helping is low

2 Males Victim Pretend Model Passenger Men
likely to help than
·
are more women

Observe what would happen when victim collasped the train

on
helping is higher
a
·
Women's cost of
Conducted 103 trials ·
Women aren't expected to respond in medical situations
Observers Small
tendency for same race
helping Similarities
Observers records multiple features of the
passengers larger groups are more
likely to help than smaller groups
· Race of the helped
person
who Less likely to see the situation as ambigous Clear that help is needed
·
Sex of the
person
who helped ·
Cost of helping in large groups is low Victim is seen as harmless
Time it took to help Cost of not
helping is high:Feels guilty
· ·

Victims Model's offer of help didn't influence other passengers

Longer time to help Greater likelyhood that discussed or left
·
Carries a cane passengers
·
Act drunk Carries a bottle in a brown paper
bag
·
Either white or black
Model
· Planned to help at 70 seconds 4th Stop
· Planned to help at 150 seconds 6th Stop
2 .

Haney ,
Banks and Zimbardo 1973 Simulated Prison Results Evaluations
Set
up of a mock prison Guards became
increasingly agressive and controlling Participants weren't acting
Prisoners are punished with verbal assult solitary confinement
Investigate the condition under which people become aggressive , ·

Mostly talking about prison life rather than their personal lives
2nd day
To understand the conflict between
prisoners and guards prisoners rebelled
, Were immersed in the situation
funded the research: They wanted to understand too
·
Prisoners barricaded themselves in their cell Prisoners were distressed
avy
Aims
· Guards used fire
extinguishers to break in ·
Physically and Psychologically Harmed
Ring leader was put into confinement
solitary They knew that it
·

3 just
was simulated
To Could have been
investigate prisoner guard conflict in simulated environment 35 hours , removed I
participant ,
was
emotionally distressed They knew that it would only last for 2 weeks an act
Procedure Next few
days guards increasingly
,
intimidates the prisoner ·
Lowers the ecological validity
Some prisoners are actively rebellious
Advertised in the
newspaper
passive or aggresive of generalisable
Individual Differences
participants selected Only male college students
·

75 responded 22 ·

Some
guards reluctant to conflict or
· All are
psychologically healthy males
are
engage in
aggressive
Individual Differences
All college students
·
·

< 10
prisonerroles I dropped out Study was stopped at 6 days
Il
·
Behaviors were getting out of control
·
guard roles
Prisoners showed signs of anxiety depression
Each paid S15 day
·

,
a

Conclusion
Simulated Prison
Prisoners and guards both conformed to their roles
Located in the basement of Stanford
University
3
Prisoners became submissive and passive Behavior

· EcellsWithsteeldoorsBardarentinent
Guards became
aggressive and hostile changes
nee Lose their and adopted the identities that are
identity
·

given
Prisoners were stripped of their personal identities
Planned to last for [ weeks
Never referred their name but identification number
by
·
,

Guards ·
Were humiliated and brokedown through menial tasks
Guards were briefed to maintain order
of exact instructions
·

Dressed in
military-styled uniforms and given batons
Prisoners
Arrested by real officers Polo Alto City Police
·

Stripped and deloused

Given a muslim smack and identification number
Spent lots of time in cells
·
Allowed privileges watching movies family visits
, ,
3
.
Milgram's Electric Shock Experiments 1963 7.
Payment Gets paid and obeys for the sake of the experiment Preventing Blind Obedience
An obedience experiments .
8 Pain Were told that its painful but not harmful
,

Participants thought they were taking part in memory study a ·

Thought the damage wasn't long-term
Took place in Yale University .
a
History ever taken part in a
psychology experiment before
Mr. Wallace Confederate was
given increasingly higher shocks Compliance to the study
·

·
Ihe failed to learn and remember word pairs he is shocked
. Momentum of
10
Compliance
,

Shocks weren't real Participants thought they were

Mr. Wallace was in a different room
·

Only increased by 15 volts

·
Small amount
· Can't be seen , but could be heard through speaker
a

Mr. Williams Experimentor Personality Factors of Obedience

·
In the same room as the participants Gave instructions 1 .

Personality Types
External Locus of Control
Situational Factors of Obedience
·
Affected by what others say
.
1
Proximity of the ictim Mr. Wallace Student's Location
.
·
Takes less responsibility for their own actions
· Different Room Lesslikely to obey Fell by 40 % · More likely to obey
·
Same Room More likely to obey Internal Locus of Control
Self direct
Proximity of the Authority Figure
·
.
2
·
Doesn't follow orders of an authoritive figure
· Different Room Lesslikely to obey Fell by 20 5 %
They independant
.

·
are
Same Room More likely to obey 65
gave highest
the shock
Lesslikely to obey
%
·
·

.
3
Authority Figure Authoritarian
·
Wearing lab coats More likely to obey Looks official and legitimate
.
2
Personality
Tends to respect authority
·
Wearing normal clothes Lesslikely to obey Fell by 20 %
People with an authoritarian personality,
4.
Legitimacy of the context ·
Respect for authoritive figures
·
Morelikely to obey Is prestige and legitimate
Yale University ·
Rigid beliefs and attitude
· Office Blocks Lesslikely to obey Fell by 47 5% .
·
A
strong belief in justice
5 .
Personal Responsibility
·

Right-wing politics
You Shock Lesslikelytoobey Aggressive to those inferior to themselves
·

· Feels responsible
:
more
More likely to obey
·

They Shock More likely obey

to Rose to 90 % over

.
6
Support from others
· Influenced by other's behavior
· More Supporters More likely to obey
· Less Supporters Lesslikely to obey
Issues and Debates Ceindividuation Deindividuation
ose our personal identity Occurs
equally in allcultures
Social Issues in Psychology soldiers wore uniforms
azi
Bystander Effect
·

Society A group community

of people in a ·

Anonymised as individuals ndividual Cultures esslikely to obey

Social Psychology Investigates how these groups exerts an
·
Becomes more aggressive ·
Not form close bonds within groups
influence behavior Bigger group More aggressive More likely to obey
Collective Cultures
·
on our

SocialIssue A social problem or conflict that affects a

Bystander Effect ·
Strong bond within groups
community of people Germans failed to help the Jews ·
Lesslikely if not part of the group
Examples · Diffuse responsibility onto others
In world war 2
·
Didn't want to intervene
· Anti Semitism discriminating Jews
· Pluralistic ignorance
Rioting · Cost of helping was too high
·
Involves members of a social group · Could have been killed or imprisoned for helping
Obedience
Cultural Issues in Psychology
Milgram's research helps us understand the
atrocities commited against Jews by German soldiers Culture A sets of traditions beliefs and values shared by
, a
group
of people

ndividual Cultures Aculture that emphasises independence Western

·
High level of obedience towards authority
Collective Cultures Aculture that emphasises in cooperations Eastern
Soldiers are no different to
anyone else
·

Found themselves in the situation

Obedience
·
,

which determines their behavior

ndividual Cultures esslikely to obey
Conformity ·
Stress the role of independence and equality
Helps us understand riots Collective Cultures More likely to obey
· Informative Social Influence ·
Stress on the importance of respect forauthority and group goals
·
People were unsure how to react
on
Mostly depends on the situation rather than the culture
· Look to each other for information on how to behave Children are more likely to obey
· Incrowds , they observe other members Conformity
If they loot or cause damage the person might internalise norms dividual Cultures esslikely to obey
·
,

ormative Social Influence

Individualism is not feared, no need to fit in
·
·

·
People want to fit in , joined
so in with rioting
Collective Cultures More likely to obey
·
Seen as distinct from others Conform
.
6 Criminal Psychology

learningTheories Explain Criminality Strengths of Operant Conditioning Strengths of Social Learning Theory
Theory There is lots of evidence to support the
Learning theories explain behaviors as a result of our experiences can be used to explain a wide
range
of crimes
theory
Theories reinforcers of peer Positive reinforcement Bandura 1960s found that
suggest that criminal behaviors result of learning approvals encourges criminal behaviors children copied from role models
·
are a e
g. aggression in
a
was
.

group

Similarly, criminal behaviors be result of rewarding observing models murdering friend , the adhesive situation Negative reinforcement Especially if role model is the same the child o r rewarded for behavior
· ·
a e removes
g.
can or .
a - sex as

Operant Conditioning Burrhus Frederic Skinner 1948

Explains that punishment can remove undesirable behaviors Observation is the main
way
children learn new behaviors

Operant Conditioning earning

from the
consequences
of actions ·
e .

g.
criminal justice
systems remove offender' civil liberties - Positive punishment ·

Theory can explain the absence of reinforcements

Behaviors displayed are likely to be repeated if reinforced Some behaviors are not learned
g. prison systems
can reward for
good behavior with tokens which be
exchanged for privileges through but imitated
·
e
consequences
.
can
, ,

Behaviors displayed are likely to be extinguished if punished Weaknesses of Operant Conditioning Explains why some
people exposed to criminality become criminals but others don't

Positive Reinforcements Receiving something pleasant for behavior, Not all crime Behavior be observed but motivation to
repeat it receiving reinforcements punishments be absent
is commited due to behavior
a so we or
may , copy may
·
Receive pleasure or
rewarding consequence for a behavior , likely to repeat it ·

Theory neglects other factors such as

genetics and personality type
Weaknesses of Social Learning Theory
·
e .

g. family praise for fighting or vandalism ,

they are likely to repeat behavior Behaviors can be reproduced in the absence of reinforcers and punishments It is unethical to see how explosure to aggression affects in the long term

Avoidance of something unpleasant, Reasons for commiting things like personality and motivation Bandura 1960s studies how children learn ressive behavior from a model
egative Reinforcements repeat it be due to other
· ·
crimes e
so we can .

g. agg

· Behavior we
display is
strengthed by the avoidance of unpleasant experiences ·
Operant conditioning does not consider alternative motivations for crime -
Experiment cannot be tested in real-life situation
·
e .

g.
if punching stops a
bully they
,
are
likely to use their fists to solve
problems
Social LearningTheory Some criminal behaviors can't be explained by observational learning
Operant Conditioning also explains that punishments are a form
consequence
Social Learning Theory earning through the observation and imitation of role models -
.
e
g.
murders are
rarely witnessed in real life but still
, happens

Positive Punishments Receiving something unpleasant for behavior, not repeated Albert Bandura 1977 explains behaviors of and
modelling others Cannot explain opportunist that has not been observed by the criminal
observing
-
crime
a so as a
consequence

Receiving negative consequence for

a a behavior , likely to not repeat it Modelling earning
from
paying attention, retaining reproducing the behavior of
or a role model Biological Explanations of Criminality

receiving fine imprisoned they likely to not repeat behavior Observational earning behaviors from watching and modelling role model
Biological explanations don't take learning experiences into account
·
e .

g.
a or
,
are
earning new a

egative Reinforcements Removal of something pleasant, so we don't repeat it People are motivated to
copy
those whom we share similar characteristics with Criminality is explained to be a result of biological factors
·
Taking away something pleasant as a
consequence
for an undesired behavior Role Models A
person ,
who we admire or share similar characteristics with ·
e .

g.
Brain ,
nervous
system , genes
and hormones

·
e child shorts at his mother and is punished by taking away his toys
dentification and Modelling Process Genetic Explanations of Criminality
g.
.
a

Operant Conditioning also explains the types of reinforcers to strengthen behaviors Attention Studies have found that criminality families
<
Paying attention to be able to learn new
things runs in s
May also be affected by upbringing
Primary Reinforcers A reinforcer that satisfies a
biological need e .

.
g
food ,
water Retension s
Abilty to store or retain the new behaviors in
memory Monozygotic twins have a
higher concordance rate than dizygotic twins
·

Receiving biological need for

a a behavior , likely to repeat it Reproduction Ability to reproduce behavior that had been observed >
Male
monozygotic twins have a 35% concordance rate

Motivations More likely to behavior if reproduce Female

extreme
poverty may resort to
stealing to satisfy basic needs model have observed do if motivated to
monozygotic twins have 21 % concordance rate
· ·
e crime
g.
or a someone a
you
.

Motivation Male
Secondary Reinforcer Reinforcers that have no survival value , but learnt to be dependent on s
can be intrinsic to gain pleasure from copying behaviors such as an award >
dizygotic twins have a 13 % concordance rate

·
Commor reinforcers such as alcohol and grades are associated as a
primary reinforcer
> Vicarious Reinforcements Motivation to model a role model who is seen to
,
receive a reward Female dizygotic twins have 8 % concordance rate a

Identification Temporarily adopting the behaviors beliefs and values of a role model Identical twins are
credit card itself has survival value , but is used to
buy basic goods likely to be raised similarly> Explain the higher concordance rate
·
e
g.
no more
group
or
,
.
Bandura et al (1961)
·
transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models

Aim : if children learnt aggressive behaviour through observation and imitation of role models

Participants : 72 children

Jaged
· 36 male
3-5 (from Stanford University Nursery
,

· 36 female
-

divided into 8 experimental groups (6 children each)

24 that remained forms a controlled group

Procedures :
-4 role model while the other4 didn't
bobo doll groups saw aggressive
male
~
+ female observed either male female role model
-

n a or
.....
3 conditions : experimental non-aggressive and aggressive condition
-

&
,

role model in non-aggressive conditions played other boys instead of the bobo dell
-

1
model bobo doll
role in
aggressive condition played with the
aggressively
-

role models show their

aggression through behavious e .

.
g hitting it with a mallet
, pushing it down
,
sitting on it
,

it
punching , throwing it

they were also "Kich him"

verbally aggressive e
-

g.
taken to not allowed to
after78 minvites participant were another room with attractive boys, they were play
-

it , which
they display mild
aggression
-

they then were taken to another room which contains non

aggressive toys and a bobo doll
,
the childrenc
behaviou observed through mirror at 5 seconds intervals (verbal physical aggressive
was a one
way , , ,
imitative and imitative
non-aggressive ,
non
Results :

-participants who observed the aggressive role model reproduce more

physical more verbal agression when
,

compared to the non-aggressive group

boys imitate more
physical aggression than girls however there were no
significant differences in
-

verbal aggression
-

boys imitate more

physical and verbal aggression when observing a male role-model when compared
to a female one aggressive)
(both are

non-aggressive participants group played with the bys non-aggressively while some just sat there
quietly
-

Conclusion :

-childrens learn observation without indicates that it supports Bandwa's

through any reinforcements which
social learning theory
-

children can learn

aggression from an adult role model , especially if they are the same sex
imitation of could from unknown model suggesting that aggression could be imitated
aggression an
-

occur

by any aggressor

Strength :
-

researchers used standardised procedures which means that

they were able to control the environment
and that all children experienced the conditions throughout
exactly same

matched normal levels of aggression which

-

childrens were in groups according to their ensures that one

is not more less than the other

group or
aggressive
demand characteristics
Weakness : L

-children were tested in unfamiliar environments and have guessed the researchers aims which led to
may
children
understanding that they were supposed to
copy the role model rather
than
imitating them naturally
-

the researchers
deliberately exposed small children to aggression and couldn't predict the long term effect on

the child's behaviou suggesting ethical issues

Charlton et al (2002)
background
-

research was conducted on the Island of St. Helena

the island is a British colony in the South Atlantic Ocean (off the coast of Africa
-

the island doesn't have access to television

Fiena
-

the island is very remote

Charlton wanted to experiment the influences of television would have children the island
-

on on

Aim :
investigate the effects of television on children's behaviour

would television cause children to be more aggressive

natural experiment
2
the researcher didn't directly manipulate
-

Behaviour Checklist the IV (introduction of TV)

controlled -
DV =
children behaviour before and

structured after the introduction of DV

Procedures :

researchers went to the island 1994

in

-
recorded behaviours of children age
between 3-8 years 4
,
months before TV is introduced

set up video playground to observe children's behaviour

cameras in 2
primary school
-

the observation was done accross 2 weeks

-the video was 256 minutes long ,

recorded during their free time

Playground Behaviour Observation Schedule was used

PBOS -

made a tally of acts displayed by the children in 60s intervals

-

averaged the mean number of acts displayed by children in 30

minutes period
 -

5 years after the introduction of TV the researchers returned

,

gathered video footages over 2 weeks

lasting 344 minutes

they used the PBOS again

-

they also noted if it was done by :

s
a single girl boy
>
pairs of girls boys
·
groups
of 3+
girls boys mixed

Results :
-

9 significant differences were found

5 decline in prosocial behaviours in boys/girls (single ,

pair , groups)
-

2 increase in prosocial boys playing alone

-

2 decrease in antisocial behaviour in boy/girl

-

no change in antisocial behaviour

boys display more antisocial behaviour than girls

Strength
·
the same
primary school was used before and after TV was invented on the island

natural experiment
it was conducted under natural occuring circumstances
s a
,

Weakness

·
Finding of the study may be limited to this particular community (St. Helena) * data lacks validity
· Tannis Williams (1987) conducted similar study in Canada and found that TV increase aggression in children

~
other researchers pointed out that the television watched on the island is different to the one watched on the

mainland suggesting it
may contain less violent content
Evaluating Eysend's theory :

Strength :
associated with criminal
there supporting evidences that people with these
personality traits
·
are are

behaviours the PEN for those who committed than those who didn't
,
as score crime are
usually higher
·
Eysench's theory combines biological psychological
,
and social factors into one
theory which therefore
makes his theory holistic

Weakness :

>
Eysench assumes personality
that traits are fixed and stable however in
reality it is possible that
,

we
change our behaviours according to the situation we're in

<
Eysench's theory involves self-report questionnaires which the evidence may be flawed because people
tend to questions about themselves in the that reflect their desirable characteristics
answer way

Punishments
Recidivism :
an offender who has been caught and punished for a crime and then goes on to commit another crime

after being released

7 7 Prison
.

most common and well known

offender placed in prison and denied civil liberties (freedom +
privileges
a period of time is determined by the court
7 2 .

Evaluating Prison
strength removing -

criminal from public life so

they don't have the opportunity to commit crime
-

keeps public safe while offenders are locked

away ,
reinforce morals that criminal will be

punished

weakness ineffective exposed to criminal role models which imitate it

as
prisoners are
they might
-

raise ethical issues because civil liberties are removed from prisoners

2
.7 Community Sentencing
have to do community service rather than to prison
going
common for minor offences first offences if court believes custodial sentence is
inappropriate
voluntary work unpaid work for the community
e .

g.
litter picking painting community buildings
,

offenders are
given a curfew restrict from certain areas report to officer
,

if don't meet the requirements will be sent to

they they prison

2 2
.
Evaluate Community Sentencing
strength-offenders given second a chance to make up for their crime by giving something back to the
community
-

they are
only given under appropriate circumstances, it could be seen as a more suitable punishment than

prison

weakness-soft option, with recidism rate of over 30% this punishment is seen as ineffective and that it
couldn't replace imprisonment
criminals could still commit crime as
they aren't locked
away from society meaning high
-

a
,

likelihood of
reoffending
3 7 Restorative Justice
.

offender meeting with the victim

effect of their actions help them accept responsibility

offender can realize the negative ,

conducted in neutral environment

.2 Evaluate Restorative Justice

3

strength-high victim satisfaction rate of 85 % as victims gets the opportunity to

express their point of views
-

it is not a form of punishment but reduce recidiusm by 74 %

weakness-cause distress to both victim and offenders as it involves personal contact sometimes face to face
,

time
consuming and costly

Treatment
> reduce antisocial behaviours and encourage prosocial behaviours

7 7 Token
.

Economy Program
prisoners are given tokens for prosocial behaviours as a form of reward

behaviours includes prisoners and compliant prison staff

prosocial being cosperative with a

collected tokens to certain amount they exchange them for rewards

once
they a
,
can

e .

g. telephone calls
,
TV time visits
,
and food privileges
-

in order for this system to work , the reward must be genuinely valuable to the prisoners so
they
are determined to collect and embrace prosocial behaviours
1 2 Evaluate Then
.

Economy System
strength there has been evidence short term increase prosocial behaviou within the prison
suggesting a in
-

can
easily be administrated by prison staff

weakness -

design to control and manage prisoners behaviour ,

not to reduce recidivism
-

token
economy are not found in
everyday life which suggests that it
only promotes prosocial
behaviou inside the prison

27 .

Anger Management Program

-

for offenders who committed violent crime because of their anger

working with therapist in small

groups
-

-
find new
ways of coping with feelings and gaining ability to resolve conflict better than
anger
3
stages
-

scognitive preparation -
reflect on their own
anger
>
-
shill acquisition -

learning new shills to cope with anger

>
-
application practice -
role play in anger triggering situations

2 2 Evaluate
.

Anger Management Program

weakness-assumes that violent crime is linked with anger ,
not all are committed due to anger
offenders abuse the program, control and manage anger to commit
can crime more
effectively
-

offenders must be highly motivated

strength -

reducing recidivism
 Sleeping and Dreaming
2 hours
improves memory day
- -

increase energy everyday

-
-

8 hours for an adult -

different times shorter than actual time
,

REM Sleep : NREM Sleep :

-

part of the sleep cycle -non-rapid eye movement

eye movements behind eyelid
-

dreaming occur
during this period
-

some it's stage 5 of the sleep cycle

-

say

Sleep Cycle
1 .

Stage 7 :
Sleep Onset (light sleep) 3
. Stage 3: deep sleep
-

can be easily woken up -

slow delta brainwaves some fast waves

muscles are less active -

between light sleep and deep sleep

slow sudden twitch
eye movement +
-

alpha + theta brainwaves 4 .

Stage 4 : deep sleep
V
-

almost all are slow delta waves

restful per between
-hard to wake up stage
idling awake sleep especially in 3 and 4

no
eye movement
-

2 .
Stage 2: late night stage
brainwaves slower ,
are
mainly theta waves eye
-

movement stop
bursts of brain activity (spindles)
-

body temperature start to drop , slow heartrate

-
Biological Rhythms
sleep Cycle is made up of 5
cycles
a) ultradian last 24hrs 90mins of REM
rythm +
NREM sleep
-

Brain

sleep-Wake Cycle daily biological cycle

* ,

-
awake to sleep => 24 Hours

circadian rythm last 24hr

day
,

Jetlag Suprachiasmatic Nuclei (SCN)

found in center of brain controls

·
occurs when our internal body clock is out of sync with external factors circadian rhythms
that internal biological clock endogenous pacemaker
jetlag shows have
· -
we an

· it is influenced by external factors exogenous zeitgebers

..

·...
C

Hormones Cortisol -

make you feel alert

release in the
morning
-

also release when we get stressed , interfere with sleep

Melatonin -

signals need for sleep

darkness triggers it to release from the Pineal sland

levels are highest at night

-
Evaluate : Internal and External factors

Strength : useful real life applications -

understanding role of melatonin lead t developments of

supplements to treat

insomnia

explanation is supported by research -

animal research supports role of SCN + Siffres care
study support roles of

exogenous zeitgebers

Weakness :
supporting animal research lachs
generalisability -

animals are
biologically different to humans
,
so the SCN

in animals differ to humans

may

human research lacks done artificial

supporting ecological validity in
settings such as a care where
-

artificial lights are used rather than sun

Siffre (1975)
&
... aim : to investigate the effects of living without the influence of exogenous zeitgebers such

as light had on his normal sleep-wake cycle (circadian rythm)

perhapsSiftee
procedures : -

Siffre went into the Midnight care

,
Texas USA
,
on the 14th of
February 1972 and came out on

the 5th of September spending

,
over 6 months inside the care
=> no daylight
indication of the time of
no
day
-

everytime after Siffre is awake , he calls his team to open the lights for him ,
when he' ready to
sleep
he calls his team to close the lights
he tosh blood pressure tests test and physical tests
, memory
-

he calls the night time when he felt tired

results : -

Siffre became depressed and upset he also is desperate for companionship

,

he have suicidal thoughts after his book and record player broke
-

effects of darkness + loneliness was severe

worsen
eyesights psychological problems and short term affected
memory was
-

he didn't get the days and night right

sleep-wake cycle longer than 24 hours

ranging from 18 to 52
-

conclusion : -

variations in the sleep-wake cycle due to the absence of natural

light
-

his
endogenous pacemaker were still able to manage the endogenous pacemater but with the absence

24 how circadian rythm should be

exogenous zeitgebers it was not
of the a as it
,

unable to understand the concept of time without external

we are
(exogenous zeitgebers)
-

cues

Evaluate : Siffre
Strength : -Siffre's study collected both quantitative and qualitative data which gives the researchers great amount

of details

the long period of time of 6 months

study was done over a
-

Weakness : evidence suggested that the strong artificial lights used when Siffe woke up and go to sleep will effect
-

his internal body clock

not generalisable as it is on off case

study with lots of disturbances
-

a
Sleeping Disorder

Primary Disorder : the disorder is the problem

Disorder of another disorder . depression
Secondary : problem with sleep are the symptom e .
g

. Insomnia
7

short
common
long term problem
-

sleeping at night cause difficulties during the day

-

affects around7/3 people

-

affect older people more often

> acute insomnia-brief period of sleeping problems

week for at least 3 months
chronic insomnia -

3 or more
nights a

Symptoms : -

difficulty sleeping waking , up during the night

-

frequently lying awake at night ,

not
feeling refreshed when woken up
-

hard to fall asleep during the day even

though they are tired

feeling irritable, unable to concentrate

-

Explanations : -
lifestyle e .
.
g jetlag ,
shift at work
health problems e
g. mental +
physical problems- > depression anxiety and heart problems
-

-
medicine food and drink
,
e .

g. caffeine , alcohol and anti-depressant

2 .
Narcolepsy
less common
long term neurological disorder
-

cannot control sleeping and walking experience involuntary daytime sleeping

-

cannot control sleep-wake cycle

T in ,
2
000 people
-

neurological disorder problems with brain functions

-

,
Symptoms : -

excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)

-

hallucinations and vivid dreams (seeing things that aren't there

-

difficult to know what's real or what's not

70 % suffer from cataplexy (loss of muscle power tone) due to

strong emotions can occur time
any
-

sleep paralysis and abnormal REM sleep

keep us awake and regulates sleep cycle
Explanations : -

lack of chemicals "Hypocetin ,

genetics i variations in chromosomes

-
stress trauma :
trigger by stressful life experiences

Dreaming : Freud (1908)

we're aware of small
concious -

everything that we are aware of e .

g. see
,
hear

part of our mind What we are

currently thinking about
-

preconcious -
able to make ourselves aware

requires thinking +
recalling memories into the concious mind

sexual

thoughts
inaccessible of the mind, affect behaviou and
unconcious -

part feelings
-90 % of our thoughts + wishes are repressed(hidden) in our unconcious

Personality
1. id (b)

present in newborns
-

sports
"
-

involves pleasure principle "I want to have a car ·

I could steal it

someone seeks instant gratification e .

g
.
"I want"

-pleasure principle could be seen through dreams

2
. ego (72 months)

-provides reasoning "you should save up for a sports car"

-try to balance the demands between id and superego

3
.
Superego
(5 + years)
-

moval balance
"you can't steal its not right. Car ruins the environment
-

,
-understand rules and restrictions of parent
society it is
wrong to want a car
anyway"
feel guilt when doing something wrong
-

Manifest Latent Content of Dreams

of the dream that the dreamer tells
Manifest Content story
-

dream content (things see in the dream)

you
Latent Content of the dream
meaning
-

hidden behind manifest content

-

Content of Dreams
-

dreams have meaning

dreamwork refers to the

way the mind keeps unconcious thoughts hidden while we dream
-

dreamwork protectsvs keepsvs asleep

, by disguising repressed thoughts and ideas
Evaluate : Freud (1980)
Strength : qualitative detailed and focused on individuals which shows validity in his findings
-

there are
supporting research and theory such as Ovenble et al that believes dream

guards sleep

Weakness : -

cannot be
easily tested which cannot be tested as two or false
,
cannot be measured

Freud studied individual particular which therefore lacks

an in
generalisability
-

Freud (1989) -

Little Hans
aim : -

help recover little Hans from his illness

build evidence for how children develop

procedures : -

gathered detail information about Little Hans from reports sent by his parents
-
he also have information from Little Hans
-

Freud studied Haris dream and Haris phobia of houses

-

he believes that Hars phobia could be cured

-

Freud considers how these issues

symbols of
are hidden unconscious desires

he then interpret the

symbol using his theory of how children develops
-

result 7 : Hans's phobia of horses

he didn't like horses with black bits around the mouth black bits could be his
particulary as the
-

Father's moustache and horses could be symbolic of his father

-

Hans might be fearful of his father because he's in the phallic stage (3-7) where he wants

affection from his mother ,

he fears his father will castrate him => Jedipus complex
 result 2 : An dream
early
-Hans's Father reported a dream Hans had when he was 5 , he woke up crying because he thought his

mother was and that he have no more mom

gone
the dream shows anxiety that his mother would leave
-

links to Oedipus complex in the phallic stage where he feared of his father taking his mother

away
sexual possess unconcious
thoughts kept unconcious would leah out into the dream
-

result 3 : Giraffe dream

-

dream of big and crumpled giraffe in the room

the big giraffe shouted at little Hans because he took the crumpled giraffe away
-

it thought that the big giraffe is symbolic of his father while the crumpled giraffe symbolic
-

is is

of his mother

fearing his Father while feeling guilt

claims that Hans have sexual
feelings for his mother while
-

conclusion in a series of the third the phallic stage his

: children develop psychosexual stages stage is
theory
-

,
,

about the sedipus complex in small boy was supported by little Hans
-

house represents Haris Father and fear shows the Jedipus complex in action

Evaluate : Little Hans

Strength : -

Freud collected in-depth and detailed information about little Hans from Hans himself and his parents
Freud's conducted and scientific with information and it's carefully conducted
study was
carefully source
-

Weakness : -

The data collected may be biased because Hans's parents know about Freud's idea about the redipus c .

There are learning explanation to

explain Hans's phobia, he saw a house fall down and die he might
,
learn his fear from this incident
Activation Synthesis Theory
·
dream takes place during REM sleep

Activation
Brain is active during REM sleep muscles are not
working =>
paralysis (movement inhibition)
-

sensory information is not

entering the brain =>
sensory blockade (cannot hear smell)
-

random firings of neurons from the= brain triggers you to have a dream

electrical they
nevrochemicals the synaptic
>
impulses in a neurone releases
,
cross

gap and messages and thoughts are sent

Synthesis
-

random thoughts are what we dream and we make it made sense

the random thoughts sent from the firing information"

neurons are "internally generated
-

the brain automatically try to make the random thoughts make sense

Evaluate : Activation Synthesis

Strength : supporting -

evidence such as observations in sleep lab where rapid eye movements are shown but

muscles are paralysed and sense data is not received

-

they used cats to study brain functions in the experiment which cannot be done for ethical
reasons
using humans

Weakness : -cats are different to humans in many ways so evidence from cats may not be relevant or generalisable
,

to humans

when reporting dreams people link it to the things that happened the
day before which
-

,
can means

data lachs validity

C8 - Research Methods

Variables
-> refers to anything that can change or vary within an investigation/experiment
-> generally used in investigation/experiments to determine if changes in one variable results in
changes in another

Independent Variable (IV)

-> manipulated (changes) by the researcher (changes naturally in natural experiment)
-> experiment is set up by changing the IV to see changes in the DV (effects of the IV on the
DV)

Dependent Variable (DV)

-> what is measured in the experiment

E.g. An investigation into how the type of praise you receive influences grades achieved in
exams

IV , DV

Hypothesis
-> prediction of the result or outcome of a study

Null Hypothesis
-> a prediction that the result will find that the IV have no effect on the DV in a study

Alternative Hypothesis
-> a prediction that the result or outcome will find that the IV has an effect on the DV in the study

Directional Hypothesis
-> predicts the direction the result will go in (if the theory makes a clear claim)
-> E.g. participants gain higher concentration scores when listening to soft noise than when
listening to loud noise

Non-Directional Hypothesis
-> does not predict the direction the result will go in
-> predicts that a difference will be found however doesn’t specify what the relationship will be
due to mixed results)
-> E.g. concentration scores are different when the task is performed with a soft or loud noise
Other Variables

Extraneous Variables (EV)

-> variables in an investigation that could potentially have an effect on the DV if they are not
controlled

Confounding Variables (CV)

-> extraneous variables that have affected the DV due to a lack of control

Situational Variables (SV)

-> one type of extraneous variables, present in environment of the experiment

Participant Variables (PV)

-> one type of extraneous variables, associated with participants of an investigation

Minimize Effects of Extraneous Variables

Aims:
- eliminate EV’s if possible
- Control EV if they cannot be eliminated

Ways to minimize:

Standardized Procedures
- the procedure of the study is the same across all conditions

Counterbalancing
- half of the participants are randomly assigned to a condition of the study e.g. half of the
participants experienced Condition A then Condition B, while the other half of the
participants experienced Condition B then Condition A.
- Cancel out any order effects

Randomisation
- participants are randomly assigned to Condition A or B as their first or second test
condition

Order Effect
- participants performance is affected by having been involved in the first condition which
could lead to lack of validity in the findings of the second condition

Demand Characteristics
- experimental artifacts where participants form an interpretation of the experiment’s
purpose and subconsciously change their behavior to fit that interpretation
 - Simplified: participants changes their behavior according to their interpretation of the
study
- E.g. Participants given 2 memory tests in the morning and in the afternoon, they might
try to work out what’s going on or guess the researcher’s aims for example “if people do
better in the morning or in the afternoon”. This could lead to them performing the same in
both session as they have guessed the researcher’s aims

Controlling Demand Characteristics

1. Single Blind Technique

- experimental procedure where the researcher is the only one who knows the
experiment’s aims and the makeup of the test + control group however participants and
control group doesn’t during the actual course of the experiment

2. Double Blind Technique

- experimental procedure where neither the participants nor the experimenter knows the
experiment’s aims and the makeup of the test + control group during the actual course of
the experiment

Target Population and Sampling Methods

Target Population
- the group of people that an investigation is concerned with it wishes to study and apply
findings to

Sample
- selection of the target population that is directly studied in an investigation

Sampling Methods

1. Random Sampling
- a technique used to gather a random sample of participants from the target population

2. Stratified Sampling
- ensures subgroups of the target population are proportionately represented in a sample

3. Volunteer Sampling
- technique that ask for participants by placing an advertisement for volunteers

4. Opportunity Sampling
- recruit participants who are readily available at the time of the experiment
Strength and Weakness of Sampling Methods

Sampling Strengths Weakness

Methods

Random - Generate a representative - Time consuming technique

Sampling sample as each member if - Some may refuse to take part in
the target population has a the study leading to a less
equal chance of getting representative sample
selected
- Control Participant Variables

Stratified - Control Participant Variables - some participants may refuse to

Sampling that may affect the findings of participate in the study leading
the whole study to a less representative sample
- Useful if a small subgroup of - Sample error : sample differs in
population is missed by quality from the target
random sampling population it intends to
represent

Volunteer - Minimal efforts on the part of - It is less representative

Sampling the researchers in identifying because not everyone in the
and selecting a sample target population will happen to
- Most ethical way of sampling, be around to see and respond
avoid putting the pressure on to the advertisement
the participants to participate - It could lead to a biased sample
(sample recruited is made up of
a particular type of person,
which may not reflect the target
population) as volunteers tend
to be a particular type of
personality or have time and
urge to participate -> unreliable
findings

Opportunity - Involves the least effort from - Biased sample because not
Sampling the researchers in identifying every member of the target
and selecting a sample population may be around at
- It is the quickest and simplest the time of the study
sample techniques available - Findings could be
to the researchers unrepresentative and
ungeneralizable because if the
study is repeated again,
findings may differ due to
different type of participants
Research and Experimental Designs

Research Design
- how participants are allocated to conditions of a study

Experimental Design
- how participants are allocated to condition in an experiment

Independent Measures Design

- participants are split into groups with each groups tested in only one condition of the
study

Repeated Measures Design

- the same participants are used in all conditions of the study

Matched Pairs Design

- different participants are used in each conditions of the study, but are matched for
likeliness on important characters e.g. age, gender

Strengths and Weakness of Research and Experimental Designs

Strengths Weaknesses Controlling Problems

Independent Reduces order effects Less economical in Participants can be

Measures Reduce demand participants allocation randomly allocated to
Design characteristics because Individual differences each conditions
participants are not are shown
aware of the 2 conditions

Repeated More economical in terms Demand Characteristics Order effects need to

Measures of participants allocation are more likely as be controlled using
Design No individual differences participants are able to counterbalancing or
guess the aim of the randomisation
study

Matched Fair comparison can be Time consuming to -

Pairs made between the match participants and
Design groups as they are not all characteristics
equally matched can be equally matched

Reliability
- consistency of an outcome or results of an investigation, if the experiment is repeated,
the same results should be found again and again
- To improve the trust in the findings and knowing that it is not a one-off result
- How the research is conducted could impact the reliability
Reliability in Sampling Methods
- the sampling methods could lead to a biased sample which then affect the outcome of
the research, suggesting that the results could differ if the study was replicated

Reliability in Experimental Designs

- participants differ between conditions so there is variability between groups because of
participant variables which would lead to unreliable findings

Validity
- The extent to which a study measures what it intends to measure

Internal Validity
- whether the measures used in a test genuinely test what they were designed to test
(intend to)

External Validity
- whether the findings are generalizable to the target population

Validity in Sampling Methods

- if a sample error occurs, then the findings of the research are unrepresentative of the
target population which affects the validity of the results

Validity in Experimental Design

- If the study fails to measure what it intends to measure due to the way participants are
allocated to the conditions of the study (experimental/research design)
- It can affect the validity of the findings, low validity

Ethics
- Ensure that our practices ar emorally correct
- Following the code of conduct, carrying out research to protect participants from harm
- Moral responsibility to protect the researchers and participants form harm

Informed Consent
- revealing the true aims of the study, letting the participants know about what is actually
going to happen in the study
- Participants must be aware of what they are needed to do as part of the study in order to
give valid consent
- If the study involves children, parental consent must be obtained

Deception
- Deliberately misleading or withholding information
- Deceiving participants must be kept at a minimum
 - Withholding details of the research avoids influencing behaviour is acceptable,
deliberately providing false information is not acceptable
- If telling the truth will not have an effect on results participants must be informed or fully
debriefed afterwards

Confidentiality
- Communication of personal information from one person to another, trust that it will be
protected
- Psychogists needs to be sure that the information published will not allow their
participants to be identified (keep their identity confidential, secret may not be enough)

Right to Withdraw
- Even after giving consent, participants still have the right to leave (withdraw) from the
experiment at any point in time
- The participants may be made aware of this when they signed the consent form

Protection of Participants
- Participants should be safeguarded against any physical or psychological harm at any
point during the experiment
- Risk is considered to be acceptable if it is no greater than what experienced in everyday
life

Experiments

Labatory Experiment
- Takes place in a controlled environment (setting) within which the researcher
manipulates the IV and records the effect of the DV while maintaining strict control of
extraneous variables

Field Experiment
- Takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and
records the effect of th DV
- Control over extraneous variables, the level of control is not so high as in the labatory
experiment because naturalistic environments are more unpredictable
- Participants may or may not be aware of taking parts in the research

Natural Experiment
- takes palace in a natural environment
- The IV is not manipulated by the researcher, the DV may also naturally occur -> natural
existing variables
- Allocation of participants to conditions is impossible
- Generally opportunist, they make use of unique and naturally occuring situations that
would otherwise be difficult, unethical to set up
Evaluate different types of Experiment

Strengths Weakness

Labatory - Most scientific, high levels of - Conducted in unnatural

Experiment control experiment
- Cause and effect can be - Participants are invited to the
established between the IV experiment so they may display
and DV (helps the internal demand characteristics
validity) - Reductionist -> only consider
variables under consideration,
ignores all other variables
involved

Field - Conduct in naturalistic - Not all extraneous variables can

Experiment environment, behaviour is be controlled because it is a
natural real-life experiment
- Cause effect correlation - Participant my not be aware that
between the IV and DV, they are taking part, researchers
extraneous variables can be may not have gained informed
controlled consent

Natural - The IV is naturally occuring - It is not possible to allocate

Experiment and not manipulated participants to conditions of the
- The environment studied is IV, there may be issuers with
real and naturalistic participant variables that can
influence the findings
- Extraneous variables are difficult
to control

Interviews
- Non-experimental method, doesn’t directly manipulate the IV
- Gain information directly from the participants about their beliefs, opinions and attitude
- Involves asking participants questions and analyzing their responses
- Interviews can be done face to face or over the phone
- There are 3 types of interviews, structured, semi-structured and unstructured

Structured Interviews
- standardized list of pre-set questions that the participant is asked
- It followed a strict interview schedule where the participants are asked the exact same
questions in the exact same way and order
- Questions are prepared beforehand and researchers will not deviate from the interview
schedule
- Suitable for large scale studies, lots of interviewers and require lots of information from
lots of participants

Semi-Structured Interviews
 - pre-set questions that are prepared beforehand and a framework to follow, however
there are some open ended questions / point of discussion where the researchers can
follow up with the participant’s response
- Free flowing conversation
- Allowing the interviewers to explore participant’s thoughts and beliefs when opportunity
arises throughout the interview

Unstructured Interviews
- Does not have any prepared questions or strict schedules to follow
- However the interviewer does have a broad aim they want to follow
- Broad conversation where the interviewer directs the question based on the participant’s
response
- Suitable for gathering in-depth information from a small group of participants

Evaluating Different types of Interviews

Types of Strengths Weakness

Interviews

Structured - gather lots of information - Can only access superficial

from a large number of information -> doesn’t allow
people quickly participants to respond freely
- Interviewers required very
little training due to the
fixed questions set
- Easy to replicate as every
question is the same

Semi-Structured - Give the participants the - Time consuming method

freedom to response in - Requires training on how to
their own ways structure an interview

Unstructured - Gathers the most in depth - Very time consuming method

information - Interviewers need to be well
- Free to explore the trained
beliefs and attitude of
participants fully

Evaluation of Interview method

+ An interview gathers information about a person’s beliefs, feelings, attitudes and
opinions (hard to achieve in an experiment)
- It can suffer from social desirability bias -> participants answered in the way they feel
that it is more socially acceptable
- The interviewer can cause the “interviewer effect” -> characteristics of the interviewer
impacts the way the participant answers the question
Questionnaires
- self-report technique that investigate people’s beliefs, opinions and attitudes
- Questionnaires are more flexible than interviews as interviewers are not needed to
conduct the questionnaire (eliminate the interviewer effect)
- Can be done by mail or online
- Suitable when a large number of people needed to be surveyed at one time and can be
designed to ask many different types of questions

-> Close Ended Questions

- pre-set list of answers that the participants can choose from
- Simple close ended questions may offer a yes or no answer
- Fixed answer

-> Open Ended Questions

- Don’t have a pre-set response =, allow participants to answer freely

Evaluating Questionnaires
+ inexpensive way of gathering information from a large sample
+ Ethical, people can easily choose not to complete them
+ They are more likely to respond truthfully because there are no interviewers conducting
a questionnaire
- Response rates for questionnaires are relatively low
- People may not have time or urge to complete the questionnaire

Evaluating Close Ended Questions

+ Produce quantitative data, easy to analyze and is objective
- Participants may feel that the right option is not available for them/ they would like to
explain their choices

Evaluating Open Ended Questions

+ More freedom for participants to answer
- More difficult to analyze because they produce qualitative data which may be open to
interpretation

Correlation
- technique designed to look for relationships between variables
- Data can be gathered using a range of research methods e.g. observation,
questionnaires
- Researchers are looking for relationship between co variables

Positive Correlation
- Co variable changes in the same direction as the other co variable
- E.g. One CV increase the other CV also increases, One CV decreases they other CV
also decreases
Negative Correlation
- When co variable changes in the opposite direction as the other co variables
- E.g. One CV increase however the other CV decreases

Evaluating Correlation
+ Useful for examining relationships between variables
+ Cheaper and less time consuming than experimental research
+ Useful to study topics that will be difficult to experiment due to ethical issues
+ Correlations are more ethical and practical (using co variables instead of manipulating is
less interventions)
- Cause and effect cannot be established ***
- We cannot say that one variable causes another to -occur as it could be the other way
around/third variable that is not studied can be an big influence

Case Study
- in-depth investigation into one person or a small group of people
- Involves using range of research methods e.g. interviews, experiments and observations
- Suitable for the case study of a unique/rare individuals with unique circumstances that
psychologists could not design an experiment to investigate due to ethical/practical
reasons

Evaluating Case Study

+ Can be used in situations where it may be unethical to set up experimentally
+ Provides most in depth information about a particular individual
+ Can stimulate research into areas of psychology that wouldn’t have been found unless a
rare individual is studied
- Case Study cannot be repeated ro check the validity of the findings as every individual
studied is unique
- Findings from a unique case may not be applicable to other people which could means it
lacks generalizability

Observation
- designed to watch and record what people do in certain situations or environments
- There are many types of observations

1. Naturalistic Observation
- conducted in everyday environment, behavior being studied would normally be seen
- People would be expected to behave normally -> useful to study everyday behavior

2. Controlled/Structured Observation
- conducted in a laboratory or controlled environment
- Researchers may stage a situation/set up the environment to encourage the behavior
they are trying to investigate
 3. Overt Observation
- Participant’s knowledge are being observed to form part of an investigation

4. Covert Observation
- Conducted without the participant being aware that they are being watched

5. Participant Observation
- when observer becomes involved in groups that they are observing

6. Evaluate Non-Participant Observation

- Observer watches and record without being actively involved

Evaluating Observations

Strengths Weakness

- Reliability of observations can be - Unreliable if certain measures are not

check using the inter-rater reliability in place
- Lacks validity (observer bias) -> more
likely in participants observation
because observer becomes involved
in the group being studied may be
losing objectivity
- Ethical issues due to the lack of
consent

Qualitative Methods
- Conducting research that finds out new information rather than testing a prediction, often
resulting in gathering qualitative data
- Includes case study, unstructured interviews and participant observation

Evaluate Qualitative Methods

- Exploratory and designed to understand behavior of participants they are not easy to
replicate
- Information gathered using qualitative methods is likely to be restricted to those
individuals being studied which limits the generalizability of the findings
- Researchers may become very involved and close to the participants which could lead to
researchers bias

Quantitative Methods
- Conducting research which test a prediction and gathers quantitative data
- Included questionnaires and observations

Evaluate Quantitative Methods

 + designed to gather facts and measure behaviors that could be applied to the target
population which means that the data produced is generalizable to others
+ Allow researchers to remain detached from their participants so the method is seen as
more objective and less open to researcher bias

Numerical Psychology

Standard Form - writing down large numbers without including all the digits

Significant Figures - digits that have meaning in a number and signify a level of accuracy

Estimation of Results - useful to be able to estimate what the results of a study might mean

Ratios - used to compare quantities a ratio shows how much of one thing compares to another

Fractions - used to show proportions

Percentages - fraction of 100, find a percentage of … : work out the fraction then multiply by
100

Decimal Form - any number in the base ten system (X/10)

Statistical Psychology

Descriptive Statistics
- summarizing raw data to make it easier to understand e.g. mean, median, mode and
graphs

Raw Data
- results themselves without any analysis

Range
- measure of dispersion
- Diff between the smallest and largest score of a set of data
- Indicates the spread of the data
- Large range -> great variability in observed performances
- Range = Highest Score - Lowest Score

Mode
- number that appears the most often in a set of numbers
- 2 modes = bi-modal
- 2+ modes = multi-modal
- Can be applied to all numbers in a dataset e.g. time, ranked numbers and categories
Median
- the middle score of a set of numbers when they are ranked

Mean
- average
- Found by adding up all numbers in the dataset then dividing it by the datapoints
- Could also be called the arithmetic mean

Qualitative Data
- forms of words, pictures or or ther format where a story is being told and where the data
give details
- Descriptive and gives information that cannot be measured so effectively quantitatively
e.g. someone’s feelings
- Can be gathered from focus groups, observations and case studies

Quantitative Data
- form of numbers, e.g. % of people when someone wrongly identifies what line matches
another line
- Enable researchers to carry out descriptive analysis e.g. look for patterns in behaviours
- Experiments or questionnaires gather quantitative data

Primary Data
- data collected for a specific research purpose

Secondary Data
- data used in a study that has been collected for a different research purpose

Presenting and Interpreting Data

Frequency Table
- How often each score in a dataset is found using tallying

Histogram
- Uses touching bars to display the frequency of continuous data

Bar Charts
- Uses bars to describe categorical data, the data are not continuous (gaps between the
bars)
- Categories of data are shown on the X-axis (horizontal line along the base) and the
scores are shown on the Y-axis (vertical line at the side)

Scatter Diagram
- used for correlation data, show relationship between 2 variables
- One variables on the X-axis and the other on the Y-axis
 - Line through the cluster of points indicates whether there is a relationship (connection) or
not

Normal Distributions
- found when mean, median and made for a set of data is very similar or exactly the same
- When normally distributed 50% is blow the mean and the other 50% above the mean
- Majority of scores spread close to both sides of the mean tip Flip the if
:
graph ,

positive shew you will

Skewed Distributions N
L
see a "Ps

1 M
N

Positive
- Found when mean, median and mode are not similar
- Skewed distribution is produced
skew
> S

negative show positive shew

Histogram
Frequency Table

Bar Chart
Scatter
Diagram