Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
A comprehensive outline of key concepts and research in psychology studies, specifically for paper 1 of the psychology hl (high school - global) curriculum. It covers topics such as biological studies, cognitive studies, and sociocultural studies, with detailed explanations of key theories, research methods, and relevant studies. Designed to aid students in their understanding of the subject and preparation for exams.
Typology: Exams
1 / 37
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
Biological studies ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Penfield (1891) To investigate the function of different parts of the brain and space devoted to body parts Neural stimulation Homunculus (cartoon) man somatosensory Motor Sensations and behaviour Patients awake turn on, or off, the brain circuitry Epilepsy- destroying cells initiated with seizures Map brain function Large hands, lips and tongue The distribution of motor function is contralateral. A greater proportion or sensory information is specific to hand and lips. This is because they are more sensitive than other areas. Not just showing localisation but also how the brain is organised Invasive Ethics/soci al sensitivity Lashley (1929) To identify whether memory is widely distributed or localised Animal study- rats Direct through maze without mistakes, in search of food Removed part of cortex 10 - 50% (varying amounts each time), on different trials Used controlled induced brain damage 10 - 50% of cortex removed on different trials Based on observations memory is widely distributed- proves idea of engram is false The principle of mass action (memory depended on percentage of cortex destroyed, not localisation of lesion) Equipotential (one part of the cortex can take over other functions of the cortex when necessary) Demonstrate s many forms of
Study is on animals- cannot be directly related to humans
Research Aim/Participa nts Method Results/Connecti on Strength Limitation Draganski et al (2004) To investigate whether structural changes in the brain would occur in response to practicing a simple juggling routine Randomly divided sample ( groups) Sample self- selected G1: Jugglers spent 3 months learning and then stopped for 3 months G2: participants never learnt Increased gray matter in mid temporal area of cortex’s in both hemispheres After 6 months differences decreased MRI 3 - 6 months after Synaptic pruning (Use it or lose it)- grey matter shrinks when not in use Brain scan- scientific Generalisabili ty Sekar (2016) Links between neurons within the brain and disease 65, participants People with schizophrenia Pruning increases in the prefrontal lobe C4A overactive (inappropriate pruning in the crucial phases of development) Onset in teenage years Genetic analysis Excessive neural pruning Human genomes contain varying forms of C4A and C4B genes- long or short alleles. Application to society (^) Generalisabili ty H.M (1960) Investigating whether participants suffering severe amnesia could acquire the skill of tracing a pattern Suffered from severe amnesia H.M- epilepsy as a child (had a bilateral medial temporal lobe resection) Had profound and global memory impairment Trace outline of star, only see hand and star in mirror 10 trials each day for 3 days Motor skills are preserved in amnesia Neural networks strengthen over trials H.M improved in his ability to trace the outline of a star Not just showing localisation but also how the brain is organised Invasive Ethics/social sensitivity
Antonova et al (2011) (Acetylcholi ne) Antagonist The role of acetylcholine in the encoding of cognitive maps in humans 20 healthy male adults, mean age of 28 years old Double-blind procedure, participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions Injected with either Scopolamine or a placebo 70 - 90 minutes before taking part in the experimental task. Put in MRI while playing “arena” task (observing spatial memory) Repeated measures design (returned between 3 - 4 weeks later) When participants were injected with scopolamine, they demonstrated a significant reduction in the activation of the hippocampus compared to when they received a placebo. It appears that acetylcholine could play a key role in the encoding of spatial memories in humans, as well as in rats. Not just showing localisati on but also how the brain is organise d Invasive Ethics/social sensitivity
Researc h Aim/Participants Method Results/Connecti on Strength Limitation Maguire et al (2000) MRI To examine whether knowledge of spatial navigation is localised to the hippocampus through the use of MRI’s 16 right-handed male London taxi drivers (32- 62 years); all had been driving for more than 1.5 years, were right handed, healthy London taxi drivers with a range of age and experience were the participants because their work requires the extensive use of spatial navigational skills Matched pairs design: participants matched with a control group Magnetic resonance imaging formed pictures of the brain through the use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves to generate images of the brain in the body. There is no radiation exposure. MRI has good spatial resolution. May pick up slight abnormalities in the brain that are not related to the original complaint. People with metal in their body Claustrophobia Difficult for young children Expensive. Freed et al (2001) PET To study the role of dopamine in Parkinson's disease through the use of PET scans Randomly assigned 40 patients 34 to 75 years of age severe Parkinson's disease Double blind (1yr) Received a transplant of nerve cells or sham surgery Dopamine producing tissue injected into the putamen bilaterally In the patients who received sham surgery, holes were drilled in the skull but the Fiber outgrowth detected in 17 of the 20 patients in the transplantation group, as indicated by an increase in 18 F- fluorodopa uptake on positron- emission tomography or post mortem examination. Scanner picked up energy emissions. Shows both the structure and processes in the brain. It provides good spatial resolution, and the scanner can be small and even portable. People There is exposure to radioactivity and it proves poor temporal resolution (as compared to an fMRI), so only slow processes can be registered.
Maletzky (2006) To investigate the effect of lowering testosterone levels and reoffending outcomes 275 men considered for testing Less likely to reoffend when given MPA (research chemical stimulant)- MPA breaks down production of testosterone Non sexual: 5% compared to 27% reoffended Sexual in nature: 0% sexual in nature compared to 55% reoffended Application to society Androcentric Ethical implications Dabbs (1995) Correlatio nal To investigate the relation between testosterone, crime, and prison behaviour 692 adult male prison inmates. Inmates who had committed personal crimes of sex and violence had higher testosterone levels than inmates who had committed property crimes of burglary, theft, and drugs. Inmates with higher testosterone levels also violated more rules in prison, especially rules involving overt confrontation. Differences between low and high testosterone individuals in the amount and pattern of their misbehaviour. Supporting research Large sample size Androcentric (gender differences) Correlational- relationship (not cause and affect)
Research Aim/Participa nts Method Results/Connec tion Strength Limitation Zhou et al (2014) To investigate how this steroid may play a role in human sexual
preference 96 participants 4 groups heterosexual men and women (24m,24w) gay men and women(24m,24w ) ambiguous point light marker scent of male of female pheromone androstadiene (sweat, semen) Responded based on sexual preference/orie ntation and based off what steroid released in the air Supportin g research Highly artificially set up environment- mundane realism
or estratetraenol (female urine)- released into the air Hare et al (2017) To investigate whether human pheromones influence attractive ratings Caucasian adults, heterosexual, non-smokers Two computer- based tasks, two consecutive days. D1: exposed to the pheromone (AND or EST) masked with clove oil D2: exposed to the control scent (clove oil alone). T1: shown five gender- neutral facial morphs, indicate the gender (male or female). T2: photographs of individuals of the opposite sex, rate their attractiveness on a scale from 1 to 10 Human pheromones play no role in attractiveness or gender indication Females and males are represente d (gender) Methodolo gy (counter balanced) Large sample size Generalisation, sample limited to Caucasian, heterosexual, adult, non-smokers Methodology, individual differences for attractiveness ratings Opposing research The scent of male dominan ce Thoss (2019) To investigate how pheromones influence behaviours of house mice through their level of territorial and socially dominant behavior Semi natural social conditions, 12 months Level of urine excreted Olfactory tests Additional analyses Male mice double excretion when acquire new territory Sexually receptive female mice more attracted to scent of dominant males Other females showed no preference Supportin g research Generalizability to humans ANTHROPOMORPHI SM
Genes and behaviour Research Aim/Participan ts Methods Results/Connecti on Strength Limitation
Heston (1966) Interviews Adoption study To investigate predisposition s to Schizophrenia 97 participants Participants from Oregon State Mental Institution 50 participants (whose mothers had schizophrenia) 47 controls (no psychiatric history) Hospital records, interviews (72), psychology tests used in study Schizophrenia appeared in 5 (10%) of persons Rich is qualitativ e data Generalisa bility All subjects reared by adoptive/foster parents born to Schizophrenic mothers (none of controls)
Research Aim/Participant s Method Results/connecti on Strength Limitation Chiao and Blizinsky (2010) Experiment Quasi To examine the association between cultural values of individualism and collectivism and the frequency of allele variations of the serotonin transporter gene 5 - HTT Used data from 50, individuals liking in 29 countries Short alleles of 5 - HTT the serotonin transporter gene make people more vulnerable to stressful life events There is a higher frequency of short alleles of 5 - HTT in people in countries with collectivises values In collectivistic societies people report depression more rarely Collectivist values are like a buffer Giving social support to others protect genetically susceptible individuals from life stress Validity of data- data was taken from existing publication
Curtis, Aunger and Rabie (2004) To investigate how disgust has evolved in humans to self- protect against harm 40,000 people Web-based survey using photo stimuli Images of objects holding a potential disease threat were reported as more disgusting than images with no disease relevance Females reported higher disgust sensitivity than males Constant through life course Bodily fluids of strangers found more disgusting than those of close relatives Suggests human disgust emotion may be an evolved response to objects in the environment which represent Large sample size Correlation al- same response all over the world Limited validity threats of disease Weaver et al (2004) Observational study Animal study To investigate how behavioural programming can influence the state of genes LG- licking and grooming ABN- arched back nursing Offspring mothers showing high levels of LG and ABN were found to have differences in DNA methylation as compared to low LG and ABN Differences emerged after first week of life, however were reversed after cross fostering Shows epigenomic state of a gene can be established through behavioural programming Different levels of affection can alter the offspring genome at a gene promoter in the hippocampus Supporting research Generalisabil ity- animal study
Cases (1995) Brain and behaviour To investigate the role of monoamine oxidize A (MAOA) gene in aggressive behaviour Line of transgenic mice had deletion in gene MAOA. Behaviour was recorded and brain scan conducted Deficiency in MAOA caused increased aggression of male mice MAOA breaks down important neurotransmitter s such as serotonin which increased x9 and norephedrine x Fluctuations of serotonin levels in the brain, affects brain regions that enable people to regulate anger Olazábal and Young (2006) Hormones and Pheromones To investigate the correlation between oxytocin receptor density in the nucleus accumbens and 'spontaneous mothering' in prairie voles. 40 sexually naïve female prairie voles. Enclosure with newly born prairie bole pups of both genders. Documented any instance of 'mothering' behaviour defined as licking, grooming, standing over pup for 30 seconds or more. All voles had nucleus accumbens analysed for oxytocin receptor density. 24 out of 40 female voles demonstrated spontaneous mothering. Had statistically significant higher levels of oxytocin receptor density than those who ignored or attacked the pups. Conclusion
Wagner et al (1979) Hormones and Pheromones The effect of castration and testosterone injections on aggressive biting in male mice Castrated mice
of infant- mother attachment. Eight newborn rhesus monkeys, separated from their mother immediately after birth G2: Four monkeys isolated in cages where a wire mother surrogate gave food food. Contact comfort is more important than feeding in the formation of infant-mother attachment in rhesus monkeys.
Memory models Research Aim/Participan ts Method Results/Connect ion Strength Limitation Bower and Clark(
Multi- store memory model To discover how narrative stories can be used as mediators for serial learning. 24 participants This study assessed how subjects recall 12 serial lists of 10 nouns. There was a control group, using normal study and rehearsal and an experimental group, using a narrative- chaining method The results found those in the experimental group recalled information much more sufficiently than controls. The multi-store model reflects this information as rehearsal leads to storage. Recall of narrative group was 7 times more than control group. Thematic organisation improves recall. Correlational Mundane realism Conrad and hull (1964) Working memory model To demonstrate the phonological similarity effect 387 subjects Sequences of 6 letters of the alphabet. Participants were required to recall lists of letters. Some lists of the letters were phonologically similar (B, D, C), while others were not (F, H, P). Rhyming lists were more difficult to remember (due to a confusion factor). This supported the idea that memory for speech material uses sound- based storage system, which we now know as the phonological store. Generalisabili ty- could potentially generalise because we have a large group of people High level of internal validity- high control over variables, scientifically rigorous Lacks mundane realism- artificial setting, ecological validity Bias- because psychology students are not naive participants
