A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

A

Piliavin et al. developed this model to explain why people do and do not help in emergency situations.

They argue that the observation of an emergency situation creates an emotional arousal in bystanders.  This arousal may be perceived as fear, disgust or sympathy, depending on aspects of the situation. 

Piliavin et al. go on to argue that the chosen response depends on a cost-reward analysis by the individual.  These include:

Costs of helping, such as effort, embarrassment and possible physical harm.
Cost of not helping, such as self-blame and perceived censure from others;
Rewards of helping, such as praise from self, onlookers and the victim;
Rewards of not helping, such as getting on with one’s own business and not incurring the possible costs of helping. 

Therefore according to this model we are motivated to help people not by altruism (acting in the interest of others) but as a way of reducing unpleasant feelings of arousal.

B

The aim of Baron-Cohen's experiment was to demonstrate that the central deficit underlying autism is the autistic child's inability to employ a theory of mind.

C

A form of learning through association.  Ivan Pavlov, whilst experimenting on dogs noticed that if a bell was rung at the same time as the dogs were fed, they would salivate merely at the sound of a bell.   This idea has been applied to humans to explain how certain behaviours are learned.  For example, it is argued that phobias can be explained using classical conditioning.  A person may have a phobia of horses because they once had a frightening experience with a horse and now they associate horses with this frightening experience.  Therefore another explanation for Hans' phobia of horses is that he was classically conditioned to fear horses.  Or in other words, Hans witnessed a horse fall and collapse in the street.  Hans then generalised this fear to all horses.

See also behaviourism

A positive correlation means that high values of one variable are associated with high values of the other. Or if you like, the variables increase together.

A negative correlation means that high values of one variable are associated with low values of the other. Or if you like, as one variable increases the other decreases. Note that like a positive correlation, a negative correlation still indicates that some kind of relationship exists.
If there is no correlation between two variables they are said to be uncorrelated.

Don't let yourself fall into the trap of believing that when there is a strong correlation between two variables that one of the variables causes the other. Association does not mean causation. For example, there is almost certainly a very high positive correlation between the length of people’s right arm and the length of their left arm. But the length of a persons left arm did not determine the length of their right arm. They are both determined by other factors i.e. genetics, diet etc.

A correlation coefficient refers to a number between -1 and +1 and states how strong a correlation is. If the number is close to +1 then there is a positive correlation. If the number is close to -1 then there is a negative correlation. If the number is close to 0 then the variables are uncorrelated.
Correlation coefficient can be calculated in a number of ways such as with a Spearman Rho.

Correlations are very good for showing possible relationships between variables and some times are the only practical or ethical way of carrying out an investigation. However, they cannot demonstrate a cause and effect.

Try this

D

Statistics are a method of summarising and analysing data for the purpose of drawing conclusions about the data.  

Carrying out psychological research often involves collecting a lot of data.   As psychologists therefore we need to have knowledge of statistics so that we can make conclusions about our data.

We can make a distinction between descriptive and inferential statistics.   Descriptive statistics simply offer us a way to describe a summary of our data. 

Inferential statistics go a step further and allow us to make a conclusion related to our hypothesis.
 

Descriptive statistics give us a way to summarise and describe our data but do not allow us to make a conclusion related to our hypothesis.

When carrying out a test of difference (activity C) there are two main ways of summarising the data using descriptive statistics.   The first way is to carry out of measure of central tendency (mean, median or mode) for each of the two conditions. 

The mean is calculated by adding all the scores together in each condition and then dividing by the number of scores.  This is a useful statistic as it takes all of the scores into account but can be misleading if there are extreme values.  For example if the scores on a memory test were 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 42, the mean would be 10 which is not typical or representative of the data.

The median is calculated by finding the mid point in on ordered list.   The median is calculated by placing all the values of one condition in order and finding the mid- point.  This is a more useful measure than the mean when there are extreme values. 

The mode is the most common value in a set of values. 

When carrying out correlational analysis the data is summarised by presenting the data in a scattergram.   It is important that the scattergram has a title and both axes are labelled.   From the scattergram we may be able to say whether there is a strong positive correlation, a weak positive correlation, no correlation, a weak negative correlation or a strong negative correlation but we can not make a conclusion about the hypothesis.

The aim of Deregowski's study was to discover whether people in all cultures perceive pictures in the same way.  Or in Deregowski’s words do pictures offer a lingua franca for inter-cultural communication?

Deregowski conducted a review article which involved bringing together research by other psychologists and him-self.

Deregowski started his study by reviewing a number of reports of how people in different cultures often have difficulties with the perception of pictures (pictorial perception). For example, he recalled a story told by Mrs Donald Fraser, who taught health care to Africans in the 1920s. This is her description of an African woman slowly discovering that a picture she was looking at portrayed a human head in profile: 'She discovered in turn the nose, the mouth, the eye, but where was the other eye? I tried by turning my profile to explain why she could only see one eye but she hopped round to my other side to point out that I possessed a second eye which the other lacked'. Deregowski presented other anecdotal evidence to point out that some non-Western cultures find it difficult to perceive depth in pictures.

Deregowski then went on to describe experimental evidence which demonstrated the differences between cultural perception of pictures.

Non-Western participants were shown Hudson's test pictures which consisted of a series of pictures in which there were various combinations of three pictorial depth cues; relative size, superimposition and linear perspective.

Both children and adults from African tribes found it difficult to perceive depth in the pictorial material.

Research participants were shown a drawing of two squares, one behind the other and connected with a single rod. They were also given sticks and modelling clay and asked to build a model of what they saw.

Almost all the 3-D perceivers built a 3-D object. Participants who did not readily perceive depth in pictures tended to build a flat model.

Participants were asked to copy a 'two pronged trident’; a tantalising drawing that confuses many people. The confusion is apparently a direct result of attempting to interpret the drawing as a 3-D object. When asked to copy the ambiguous trident participants who were classified as 3-D perceivers spent more time looking at the ambiguous trident than at the control trident, whereas 2-D perceivers did not differ significantly in the time spent viewing each of the two tridents.

Or in other words the 2D perceivers could copy the trident quicker than the 3D perceivers.

Deregowski found that the 2-D perceivers prefer split type drawings to the perspective type. Split drawings are drawings that depict the essential characteristics of an object even if all those characteristics cannot be seen from a single view point - if you like, unfolded

Deregowski's major findings were that many non-Western tribal lack pictorial depth perception and that many non-Western tribal people prefer split drawings to perspective drawings.

Deregowski believes that non-Western people lack the ability to perceive and integrate depth cues in pictures. Deregowski believes this inability is due to some form of learning or lack of learning.

In accounting for the findings that some non-Western tribal people prefer split type drawings Deregowski believes that in all societies children have an aesthetic preference for drawings of the split type. In Western societies this preference is suppressed because the drawings do not convey information about the depicted objects as accurately as perspective drawings do. Therefore, according to Deregowski, we learn perspective drawings.

Determinists therefore believe that is possible to predict behaviour by identifying the cause of behaviour.

Although most psychologists believe in some form of determinism, many argue that hard determinism is too extreme.  They argue that humans do not always act involuntary and have some control over their behaviour.  This argument is known as soft determinism.

A further argument is that humans have free will.  The argument is that we have the freedom to act as we want at all times.  Psychologists who support the idea of free will, believe that the determinist argument is de-humanising as it treats people as if they were machines.

However, much of the research you will come across whilst studying psychology does not support the view that behaviour is unpredictable.  It is possible to identify behaviour patterns which, to some extent, do seem predictable. 

E

There are three main types of experiment - laboratory experiments, field experiments and quasi (natural) experiments.

Try these

An experimental design is a set of procedures used to control the influence of participant variables so that we can investigate the possible effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

F

G

The aim of the study was to demonstrate that a chimpanzee does has the capability to use human language.

The Gardners decided they wanted as young a chimp as was possible in case there was a critical early stage at which such behaviour had to be acquired.  Because newborn laboratory chimps are very scarce it was decided to obtain a wild caught infant.

When Washoe arrived at the laboratory in June 1966 she was estimated to be between 8 and 14 months. 

The Gardners ensured that Washoe had lots of human companions who all had to master American Sign Language (ASL).  The environment was designed to provide maximum stimulation with as few restrictions as possible.

The Gardners decided to use ASL because chimpanzees could not all the correct sounds necessary for spoken language and because chimpanzees make use of gestures naturally. 

Washoe was taught mainly using imitation and operant conditioning.  Operant conditioning is simply reinforcing behaviour which is desired.  The Gardners found that Washoe would learn some signs by observing and imitating, but often had to "mould" her hands into the right shapes when they were teaching her new signs.  Behaviour was rewarded by praising her and tickling.

Records were kept about the amount of signing behaviour and number of signs used.

A sign was recorded if it was reported by three different observers, as having occurred in an appropriate context and spontaneously (i.e. with no prompting other than a question such as "what is it?" or "what do you want?").  A reported frequency of at least one appropriate and spontaneous occurrence each day over a period of 15 consecutive days was taken as the criterion of acquisition.  

By the end of 22 months of the programme at least 30 signs met this strict criterion.  Washoe was also demonstrating displacement - that is referring to things that were not present.  She could also spontaneously combine two signs e.g. "gimme tickle".

The Gardners believed that they were able to verify their hypothesis that sign language is an appropriate medium of two-way communication for the chimp.  The Gardners at this point of the study (32 months of the programme) believed that Washoe would develop even further in her attempts at sign language and that her achievements would probably be exceeded by another chimp.

H

Hull City supporters would argue that the same trance like affect can be gained by visiting the KC stadium.

I

An experimental design is a set of procedures used to control the influence of participant variables so that we can investigate the possible effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

An independent measures design consists of using different participants for each condition of the experiment.  If two groups in an experiment consist of different individuals then this is an independent measures design. 

This type of design has an advantage resulting from the different participants used in each condition - there is no problem with order effects

The most serious disadvantage of independent measures designs is the potential for error resulting from individual differences between the groups of participants taking part in the different conditions.  Also an independent groups design may represent an uneconomic use of those participants, since twice as many participants are needed to obtain the same amount of data as would be required in a two-condition repeated measures design.

Other core studies look for the explanation of behaviour as a result of the situation a person is in.  For example, behaviour could be described as resulting from group pressure, the environment and so on.

Statistics are a method of summarising and analysing data for the purpose of drawing conclusions about the data.  

Carrying out psychological research often involves collecting a lot of data.   As psychologists therefore we need to have knowledge of statistics so that we can make conclusions about our data.

We can make a distinction between descriptive and inferential statistics.   Descriptive statistics simply offer us a way to describe a summary of our data. 

Inferential statistics go a step further and allow us to make a conclusion related to our hypothesis.

As the name suggests inferential statistics attempt to make an inference about our data.  That is, which hypothesis offers the best explanation for our results?

When we carry out a test of difference (activity C) we have two hypotheses.  A null hypothesis which states that the results will be due to chance, and the experimental (alternate) hypothesis, which predicts that the results are due to the manipulation of the independent variable. 

To assess the probability that the results are due to chance an inferential statistical test is used.   Inferential statistics tell us whether the difference between two sets of scores is significant or due to chance.  It is an academic convention that in psychology we accept the null hypothesis as the best explanation for out results unless there is a 5% probability (or less) of the results being due to chance.

5% probability is expressed as p<0.05 and if we find that the null hypothesis can be rejected we can be 95% confident of the conclusions.

When carrying out a test of difference (activity C) if the design is an independent measures design the appropriate inferential statistical test to use is the Mann Whitney U test.  

 When carrying out a test of difference (activity C) if the design is a repeated measures design the appropriate inferential statistical test to use is the Wilcoxon signed ranks test.  

To use this as a spread sheet go to www.holah.karoo.net/stats.htm

Whichever test is used a value is calculated which is called the observed value.  The value then has to be compared with the critical value to determine whether the null hypothesis can be rejected and at what value

When we carry out a test of correlation we have two hypotheses.  A null hypothesis which states that the results will be due to chance, and the correlational hypothesis, which predicts that there is a correlation or relationship between the two variables 

To assess the probability that the results are due to chance an inferential statistical test is used.   Inferential statistics tell us whether the relationship between two sets of scores is significant or due to chance.  It is an academic convention that in psychology we accept the null hypothesis as the best explanation for out results unless there is a 5% probability (or less) of the results being due to chance.

5% probability is expressed as p<0.05 and if we find that the null hypothesis can be rejected it we can be 95% confident of the conclusions.

When carrying out a test of correlation a Spearman Rho is used.  

Using a Spearman’s Rho a value is calculated which is called the observed value.  The value then has to be compared with the critical value to determine whether the null hypothesis can be rejected and at what value.

A group to which a person belongs, or thinks he or she belongs.

The average IQ is 100 and the scores are standardised so that about 64% of the population have a score between 85 and 115. 

J

K

L

The variable which is being manipulated by the researcher is called the independent variable and the dependent variable is the change in behaviour measured by the researcher.

All other variables which might affect the results and therefore give us a false set of results are called confounding variables (also referred to as random variables).

By changing one variable (the IV) while measuring another (the DV) while we control all others, as far as possible, then the experimental method allows us to draw conclusions with far more certainty than any non-experimental method. If the IV is the only thing that is changed then it must be responsible for any change in the dependent variable.

Laboratory experiments allow for precise control of variables. The purpose of control is to enable the experimenter to isolate the one key variable which has been selected (the IV), in order to observe its effect on some other variable (the DV); control is intended to allow us to conclude that it is the IV, and nothing else, which is influencing the DV.

However it must also be noted that it is not possible to completely control all variables. There may be other variables at work which the experimenter is unaware of.

It is argued that laboratory experiments allow us to make statements about cause and effect, because unlike non-experimental methods they involve the deliberate manipulation of one variable, while trying to keep all other variables constant. Sometimes the independent variable (IV) is thought of as the cause and the dependent variable (DV) as the effect.

Furthermore experiments can be replicated. The experimental method consists of standardised procedures and measures which allow it to be easily repeated.

However such experiments are not typical of real life situations. These types of experiments are conducted in laboratories - strange and contrived environments in which people are asked to perform unusual or even bizarre tasks. The artificiality of the lab, together with the 'unnatural' things that the subjects may be asked to do, jointly produces a distortion of behaviour. Therefore it should be difficult to generalise findings from experiments because they are not ecologically valid (true to real life).

A further difficulty with the experimental method is demand characteristics. Demand characteristics are all the cues which convey to the participant the purpose of the experiment. A psychology experiment is a social situation in which neither the participants or the experimenters are passive, inanimate objects but are active, thinking human beings.

Another major problem with the experimental method concerns ethics. For example, experiments nearly always involve deceiving participants to some extent and it is important to recognise that there are very many areas of human life which cannot be studied using the experimental method because it would be simply too unethical to do so.

The aim of Loftus and Palmer’s experiments was to investigate how information supplied after an event, influences a witness's memory for that event.

First Experiment

The participants in the first experiment were 45 students of the University of Washington. 

They were each shown seven film-clips of traffic accidents.  Following each clip, the students were asked to write an account of the accident they had just seen.  They were also asked to answer some specific questions but the critical question was to do with the speed of the vehicles involved in the collision.

There were five conditions in the experiment (each with nine participants) and the independent variable was manipulated by means of the wording of the questions.

The critical question was ‘About how fast were the cars going when they ***** each other?'.  In each condition, a different word or phrase was used to fill in the blank.  These words were; smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted.

The dependent variable was the speed estimates given by the participants.

Speed estimates for the verbs used in the estimation of speed question

The results demonstrated that the phrasing of the question brought about a change in speed estimate.  With smashed eliciting a higher speed estimate than contacted.

Second Experiment

A similar procedure was used whereby 150 student participants viewed a short (one minute) film which contained a 4 second scene of a multiple car accident, and were then questioned about it.

There were three conditions and the independent variable was manipulated by the wording of the question.

50 of the participants were asked 'How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’

50 of the participants were asked 'How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?'

50 of the participants were not interrogated about the speed of the vehicles.

One week later, the participants returned and, without viewing the film again, they answered a series of questions about the accident.  The critical question was 'Did you see any broken glass?'  The critical question was part of a longer series of questions and was placed in a random position on each participants question paper.  There was in fact no broken glass in the film.

Response to the question 'Did you see any broken glass?'

These results show a significant effect of the verb in the question on the mis-perception of glass in the film.  Those participants that heard the word smashed were more than twice as likely to recall seeing broken glass.

Loftus and Palmer gave two interpretations/explanations for the findings of their 1st experiment.

1.   Firstly, they argued that the results could be due to a distortion in the memory of the participant.  The memory of how fast the cars were travelling could have been distorted by the verbal label which had been used to characterise the intensity of the crash. 

2.   Secondly, they argue that the results could be due to response-bias factors, in which case the participant is not sure of the exact speed and therefore adjusts his or her estimate to fit in with the expectations of the questioner.  (This is also an example of a demand characteristic)

The second experiment though offers more support for the second explanation.

To account for the results of the second experiment, Loftus and Palmer developed the following explanation called the reconstructive hypothesis:

They argue that two kinds of information go into a person's memory of an event.  The first is the information obtained from perceiving an event (e.g. witnessing a video of a car accident), and the second is the other information supplied to us after the event (e.g. the question containing hit or smashed).  Over time, the information from these two sources may be integrated in such a way that we are unable to tell from which source some specific detail is recalled.  All we have is one 'memory'. 

For example in Loftus and Palmer's 2nd experiment, the participants first form some memory of the video they have witnessed.  The experimenter then, while asking, "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" supplies a piece of external information, namely, that the cars did indeed smash into each other.  When these two pieces of information are integrated, the participant has a memory of an accident that was more severe than in fact it was.   Since broken glass corresponds to a severe accident, the participant is more likely to think that broken glass was present.

M

A matched pairs design is a type of experimental design.

An experimental design is a set of procedures used to control the influence of participant variables so that we can investigate the possible effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

A matched pairs design consists of using different participants for each condition of the experiment but participant variables are controlled by matching pairs of variables on a key variable. 

In order to get the pairing precise enough, it is common to get one group of participants together and then look round for partners for everyone.  Participants can be matched on variables which are considered to be relevant to the experiment in question.  For example, pairs of participants might be matched for their scores from intelligence or personality tests.

Although this design combines the key benefits of both an independent and repeated measures design, achieving matched pairs of participants is a difficult and time consuming task which may be too costly to undertake.  Successful use of a matched pairs design is heavily dependent on the use of reliable and valid procedures for pre-testing participants to obtain matched the pairs.

The aim of Milgram’s (1963) experiment was to investigate what level of obedience would be shown when participants were told by an authority figure to administer electric shocks to another person.

The participants consisted of 40 males aged between 20 and 50 years of age who were recruited by a newspaper and direct mail advertisement which asked for volunteers to participate in a study of memory and learning at Yale University. 

Each participant turned up to the laboratory alone and was asked to draw a slip of paper from a hat to determine which role he would play.  The draw was rigged so the participant was always the teacher and Mr. Wallace (the confederate) was always the learner.

The teacher (participant) and learner were taken to a room and in full view of the teacher (participant) the learner was strapped into the ‘electric chair’.  The experimenter explained to the teacher (participant) that the straps were to prevent excessive movement while the learner was being shocked; the effect was to make it impossible for him to escape the situation.  An electrode was attached to the learner’s wrist and electrode paste (cream) was applied ‘to avoid blisters and burns’.  The participant (teacher) was told that the electrode was attached to the shock generator in the adjoining room.  The participant (teacher) then heard the experimenter tell the learner ‘although the shocks can be extremely painful, they cause no permanent tissue damage’.  

Milgram created a phoney ‘shock generator’ which in the 1960s looked very impressive and realistic.  The phoney shock generator had 30 switches marked clearly in 15 volt increments from 15 to 450 volts.  

The participant (teacher) was then seated in an adjacent room in front of the shock generator and asked to read a series of word pairs to the learner.  The learner was asked to learn (memorise) these pairs.  The participant (teacher) then tested the learner by giving him one of the words in a pair along with four other words.  The learner had to indicate which of the four words had originally been paired with the first word.  The learner’s answer was communicated by pressing one of four switches which illuminated a light on top of the shock generator.  If the answer was correct the participant (teacher) had to move onto the next word on the list, if the answer was wrong the participant had to tell the learner the correct answer and then the level of punishment that they were going to give them.  They would then press the first switch on the shock generator (15 volts).  For every subsequent incorrect answer the participant was required to move one switch up the scale of shocks (15 volts higher than the voltage of the last shock delivered).

If the participant asked advice from the experimenter, whether it be; ‘should I continue administering shocks’, or some other indication that he did not wish to go on, he would be given encouragement to continue with a sequence of standardised ‘prods’ such as “Please continue” or “The experiment requires that you continue”

All 40 of the participants obeyed the experimenter and delivered shocks up to 300 volts.  26 of the 40 participants delivered shocks up to the maximum 450 volts. 

After the maximum shock had been administered, the participant was asked to continue at this level until the experimenter eventually called a halt to the proceedings, at which point many of the obedient participants heaved sighs of relief or shook their heads in apparent regret.

During the study many participants showed signs of nervousness and tension. Participants sweated, trembled, stuttered, bit their lips, groaned, dug fingernails into their flesh, and these were typical not exceptional responses.  Quite a common sign of tension was nervous laughing fits (14 out of 40 participants), which seemed entirely out of place, even bizarre.  Full-blown uncontrollable seizures were observed for three participants

Milgram put forward a number of possible explanations for this high level of obedience.  Including the fact that the experiment took place at the prestigious Yale University, that the participant believed that the experiment was for a worthy purpose and that the participant believed the victim had volunteered to be in the study and therefore has an obligation to take part even if the procedures become unpleasant.

N

O

Observational studies therefore tend to be high in ecological validity as there is no intervention and if the observer remains undetected the method avoids problems with experimenter effects.  

On the other hand observational studies are difficult to replicate. 

There are a number of different types of observational studies including non-participant and participant observations, undisclosed observations and structured and unstructured observations.

 The father, however, is far bigger and more powerful than the young boy, and so the child develops a fear that, seeing him as a rival, his father will castrate him.

Because it is impossible to live with the continual castration-threat anxiety provided by this conflict, the young boy develops a mechanism for coping with it, using a defence mechanism known as 'identification with the aggressor'. 

He stresses all the ways that he is similar to his father, adopting his father's attitudes, mannerisms and actions, feeling that if his father sees him as similar, he will not feel hostile towards him.

Opportunity sampling is the sampling technique most used by psychology students.  It consists of taking the sample from people who are available at the time the study is carried out and fit the criteria your are looking for. 

This may simple consist of choosing the first 20 students  in your college canteen to fill in your questionnaire.

It is a popular sampling technique as it is easy in terms of time and therefore money.  For example the researcher may use friends, family or colleagues.  It can also be seen as adequate when investigating processes which are thought to work in similar ways for most individuals such as memory processes.   Sometimes, particularly with natural experiments opportunity sampling has to be used as the researcher has no control over who is studied.

However, there are many weaknesses of opportunity sampling.  Opportunity sampling can produce a biased sample as it is easy for the researcher to choose people from their own social and cultural group.  This sample would therefore not be representative of your target population as you friends may have different qualities to people in general. 

A further problem with opportunity sampling is that participants may decline to take part and your sampling technique may turn into a self selected sample.

P

A small amount of harmless radioactive material is injected into the participant which bonds to a substance such as glucose.   This is called a tracer.  As the brain uses glucose as energy, the areas of the brain which are most active absorb it.  The glucose is broken down but the radioactive material remains and it emits positively charged particles called positrons which are picked up by the scan.  This information can be read by a computer which produces coloured images of the level of activity occurring throughout the brain.   PET scanning is the most established of brain-imaging techniques, but requires massive investment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of

the type of victim (drunk or ill) which gained most help

the race of the victim (black or white) which gained most help

the speed of helping, frequency of helping and the race of the helper. 

The study also sought to study the impact of the presence of a model (someone who offers help first) in emergency situations, as well as to examine the relationship between the size of the group and frequency of helping.

The four victims (one from each team) were males, aged between 26 and 35, three white, one black, all identically dressed.  On 38 trials the victims smelled of alcohol and car­ried a bottle wrapped tightly in a brown bag (drunk condition),

On the remaining 65 trials they appeared sober and carried a black cane (cane condition). 

Four white males (aged 24 to 29) played the role of model in each team.

There were four different model conditions used across both drunk and cane victim conditions:

·         Critical area - early:  model stood in critical area and waited until passing the fourth station before assisting the victim (approximately 70 seconds after the collapse).

·         Critical area - late:  model stood in critical area and waited until passing the sixth station before assisting the victim (approximately 150 seconds after the collapse).

·         Adjacent area - early:  model stood in middle of the compartment, adjacent to critical area and waited until passing the fourth station.

·         Adjacent area - late:  model stood in adjacent area and waited until passing the sixth station.

On each trial one observer noted the race, sex and location of every pas­senger, seated or standing, in the critical area, together with the total number of passengers and the total number who came to the victim’s assistance, plus their race, sex and location.  A second observer in the adjacent area did the same and both observers recorded comments spontaneously made by nearby passengers and also tried to elicit comments from a passenger sitting next to them.

The results showed that helping was very high.

The cane victim received spontaneous help on 62 out of the 65 trials, and the drunk victim received spontaneous help on 19 out of 38 trials. 

On 60% of the 81 trials where spontaneous help was given, more than one person offered help. 

Once one person had started to help, there were no differences for different victim conditions (black/white, cane/drunk) on the number of extra helpers that appeared. 

The race of the victims made no significant difference to helping behaviour, but there was a slight tendency for same-race helping in the drunken condition.

90% of helpers were male.  Although there were more men present, this percentage was statistically significant;

64% of the helpers were white; this was what would be expected based on the racial distribution of the carriage.

On the majority of the trials, the model did not get the opportunity to act, so no extensive analysis was made of the effect of the model.

The population is the group of people from whom the sample is drawn.  For example if the sample of participants is taken from sixth form colleges in Hull, the findings of the study can only be applied to that group of people and not all sixth form students in the UK and certainly not all people in the world.

Obviously it is not usually possible to test everyone in the target population so therefore psychologists use sampling techniques to choose people who are representative (typical) of the population as a whole.

Q

In some circumstances, psychologists can take advantage of a natural situation in order to carry out an investigation in circumstances which they cannot themselves manipulate.  For example, an all boy’s schools grades may be compared with a mixed schools grades.  The effects on the participants of being in single sex or mixed sex schools could be compared.

This is not a true experiment because the psychologist is unable to manipulate or control all variables.  For this reason it is referred to as a quasi-experiment.  It is possible, though to compare two groups, the equivalent of an experimental and a control group.  It has the advantage that the participants are unaware that they are taking part in an investigation and it is certainly not as artificial as a laboratory setting.

R

This is a sampling technique which is defined as a sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen.  This involves identifying everyone in the target population and then selecting the number of participants you need in a way that gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being picked.  For example, you could put all of the names of the students at your college in a hat and pick out however many you need.  

Random sampling is the best technique for providing an unbiased representative sample of a target population.

However random sampling does have limitations.  Random sampling can be very time consuming and is often impossible to carry out, particularly when you have a large target population, of say all students.  For example if you do not have the names of all the people in your target population you would struggle to conduct a random sample.   If you ask people to volunteer for a study the sample is already not random as some people may be more or less likely to volunteer for things.   Similarly if you decided to put out an advert for participants it would be almost impossible to guarantee that every member of your target population has an equal chance of viewing the advert.

 Physiological reductionism, for example, argues that all behaviour and experiences can be explained (or reduced to) by biological factors such as hormones or the nervous system

Whereas genetic reductionism reduces all causes of behaviour to genetic inheritance. 

Social reductionism argues that all behaviour and experiences can be explained simply by the affect of groups on the individual.

The criticism of reductionist arguments is that they are too simplistic because they ignore the complexities of human behaviour and experience.  Behaviour often has a number of different causes and to reduce the possible explanations to one level can only provide a limited understanding.  

However, an advantage of the reductionist views is that by breaking down a phenomena to its constituent parts it may be possible to understand the whole.   This type of single mindedness has lead to some great discoveries in psychology as it has in the 'natural' sciences.

It might look like this if
a person had their eyes
open
 

A repeated measures design is a type of experimental design.

An experimental design is a set of procedures used to control the influence of participant variables so that we can investigate the possible effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

A repeated measures design consists of testing the same individuals on two or more conditions.

The key advantage of the repeated measures design is that individual differences between participants are removed as a potential confounding variable. Also the repeated measures design requires fewer participants, since data for all conditions derive from the same group of participants.

The design also has its disadvantages.  The range of potential uses is smaller than for the independent groups design.  For example, it is not always possible to test the same participants twice.  

There is also a potential disadvantage resulting from order effects, although these order effects can be minimised.  Order effects occur when people behave differently because of the order in which the conditions are performed.  For example, the participant’s performance may be enhanced because of a practice effect, or performance may be reduced because of a boredom or fatigue effect.

Order effects act as a confounding variable but can be reduced by using counterbalancing.  If there are two conditions in an experiment the first participant can do the first condition first and the second condition second.  The second participant can do the second condition first and the first condition second and so on.  Therefore any order effects should be randomised.

More detailed description and evaluation here.

S

Cute picture here

Self selected sampling (or volunteer sampling) consists of participants becoming part of a study because they volunteer when asked or in response to an advert.   This sampling technique is used in a number of the core studies, for example Milgram (1963).

This technique, like opportunity sampling, is useful as it is quick and relatively easy to do.  It can also reach a wide variety of participants.  However, the type of participants who volunteer may not be representative of the target population for a number of reasons.   For example, they be more obedient, more motivated to take part in studies and so on.

A snap shot study is a study carried out over a very short period of time such as hours and days.   In comparison a longitudinal study is carried out over a longer period of time such as weeks, months or years. 

Snap shot studies are obviously quicker and cheaper to carry out than longitudinal approaches and rarely suffer from attrition.  However they only provide us with a ‘snapshot’ of human behaviour and experience and therefore are not so useful when investigating development.

Snowball sampling can be used if your population is not easy to contact.  For example if you were interested in studying students who take illegal drugs you may ask a participant who fits your target population to tell their friends about the study and ask them to get in touch with the researcher and so on.  

Statistics are a method of summarising and analysing data for the purpose of drawing conclusions about the data.  

Carrying out psychological research often involves collecting a lot of data.   As psychologists therefore we need to have knowledge of statistics so that we can make conclusions about our data.

We can make a distinction between descriptive and inferential statistics.   Descriptive statistics simply offer us a way to describe a summary of our data. 

Inferential statistics go a step further and allow us to make a conclusion related to our hypothesis.

Stratified sampling involves classifying the population into categories and then choosing a sample which consists of participants from each category in the same proportions as they are in the population.   For example, if you wanted to carry out a stratified sample of students from a sixth form college you might decide that important variables are sex, 1^st or 2^nd years, age, have a part-time job and so on.  You could then identify how many participants there are in each of these categories and choose the same proportion of participants in these categories for your study.

The strength of stratified sampling is therefore that your sample should be representative of the population.  However, stratified sampling can be very time consuming as the categories have to be identified and calculated.  As with random sampling, if you do not have details of all the people in your target population you would struggle to conduct a stratified sample. 

If the sample is not randomly selected from the categories it is then called a quota sample.

T

The study consisted of two laboratory experiments.  

The First Experiment (under-estimators and over-estimators)

The participants were 64 boys, 14 and 15 years old from a comprehensive school in a suburb of Bristol.   The participants came to the laboratory in separate groups of 8.  All of the boys in each of the groups were from the same house in the same form at the school, so that they knew each other well before the experiment.

At first the boys were brought together in a lecture room and were told that the experimenters were interested in the study of visual judgements.  Forty clusters of varying numbers of dots were flashed on a screen and the boys were asked to record each estimate in succession on prepared score sheets.

The boys were categorised into groups of ‘over-estimators’ and ‘under-estimators’ (or into accurate/less accurate).   However the participants were actually assigned to groups at random.

The participants were taken to separate cubicles and told which group they were in.  The boys were given a booklet of matrices and told that the task would consist of giving to others rewards and penalties in real money.  The boys would not know the identity of the individuals to whom they would be assigning these rewards and penalties since everyone would be given a code number.

The value of each point they were rewarding was a tenth of a penny.

Each row of the matrix was labelled “These are reward and penalties for member no. ..... of your group”  or “..... of the other group”.  The participants had to indicate their choices by ticking one box in each matrix.

The boys were required to make three types of choice.

1.      There were in-group choices, where both top and bottom row referred to members of the same group as the boy. (other than himself)

2.     There were out-group choices, with both top and bottom row referred to members of the different group from the boy.

3.     There were intergroup choices, where one row referred to the boys’ own group and one row referred to the other group.

Tajfel found that when the boys were choosing between two boys in the same group, choices tended to be made on the basis of maximum fairness.  (For example in the 1st and 2nd matrices above it would be the shaded pair of scores)

When the choice was between one boy in their ingroup and one boy in their out group the boys discriminated in favour of the ingroup.  (For example in the 3^rd example above it would be the shaded pair of scores).

The first experiment therefore shows that in making their intergroup choices a large majority of the participants gave more money to members of their own group than to members of the other group.  Intergroup discrimination was the strategy used in making intergroup choices.

In contrast the in-group and out-group choices were closely distributed around the point of fairness.

The Second Experiment (aesthetic preference)

The second experiment was very similar to the first.  48 new boys were used as participants and all the participants knew each other well.  

The experiment differed in two ways.

This time the boys thought they were categorised by their preference of paintings by Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky.  In fact half of the participants were assigned at random to the ‘Klee group’ and half to the ‘Kandinsky group’.

The other major difference was in the type of matrices used.  In this experiment matrices were used which allowed the experimenters to investigate three variables.  The three variables were:

1.      maximum joint profit - where boys could give the largest reward to members of both groups;

In the matrix above a boy would be following the strategy of maximum joint profit if he picked the shaded pair of numbers.

2.      largest possible reward to in-group - where the boys could choose the largest reward for the member of their own group regardless of the reward  to the boy from the other group;

In the matrix above a boy would be following the strategy of largest possible reward to in-group if he picked the shaded pair of numbers.

3.      maximum difference - where boys could choose the largest possible difference in reward between members of the different groups (in favour of the in-group)

In the matrix above a boy would be following the strategy of maximum difference if he picked the shaded pair of numbers.

The results of the second experiment demonstrated that the most important factor when the boys made their choices was maximising the difference between the two groups (in favour of their own group)

The experiments carried out by Tajfel therefore clearly demonstrate that inter-group discrimination is easy to trigger off. Tajfel demonstrates that the very act of categorisation into groups is enough to produce conflict and discrimination.

In a later study Tajfel uses Social Identity Theory (SIT) as an explanation for intergroup discrimination.  Social identity theory argues that the boys favoured their own group because it increases their self-esteem.  Even though the boys were never giving points to themselves they knew that if they gave less to the other group and more to their own group that they would be in the group which gained most points therefore improving their self esteem because they belonged to the ‘best’ group.

Tajfel, H. (1970)  Experiments in intergroup discrimination.  Scientific American, 223, 96-102

The ability to understand that other people have independent minds of their own.

Developing a theory of mind allows a child to begin to understand other people, and to predict what other people are likely to do and believe.  It is the ability to think about other peoples, or one's own thoughts.

Simon Baron-Cohen argues that autistic people do not seem to develop a theory of mind. 

The two-factor theory of emotion has been an influential theory of emotions.  However subsequent work has shown that the relationship is more complex than the two-factor theory predicts.

For example many psychologists now argue that peoples efforts to understand an unexplained state of arousal is more extensive than a quick examination of cues in the surrounding environment.  When we seek to explain a state of arousal, we do not merely use others’ behaviour but call on many other sources of information as well, particularly our own past history - we search for prior occasions on which we felt this arousal state to explain its occurrence now.  

U

V

Experiments attempt to manipulate one variable, the independent variable, and measure the changes to the dependent variable.

The experimenter attempts to control for extraneous variables (noise or time of day) which could effect the dependent variable.   If an extraneous variable does have an effect on the dependent variable we call this a confounding variable. 

Correlational analysis attempts to measure the relationship between two independent variables (or co-variables).  

W

X

Y

Z

The aim of Zimbardo’s study was to investigate the effects of being assigned to the role of either a prison guard or prisoner.

The uniforms of both prisoners and guards were intended to increase group identity and reduce individuality within the two groups.  

The guards’ uniform consisted of a plain khaki shirt and trousers, a whistle, a police night stick (a wooden batten) and reflecting sunglasses, which made eye contact impossible.   The guards’ uniforms were intended to convey a military attitude, while the baton and whistle were symbols of control and power.  

The prisoners’ uniform consisted of a loose-fitting muslin smock with an identification number on the front and back, no underwear, rubber sandals, a hat made from a nylon stocking and they had a light chain and lock around their ankle.  Each prisoner was also issued with a toothbrush, soap, soap-dish, towel and bed linen.  No personal belongings were allowed in the cell. The prisoners’ uniforms were designed to de-individuate the prisoners and to be humiliating and serve as symbols of subservience and dependence. 

The prisoner participants were unexpectedly ‘arrested at their homes with the cooperation of the local police department.  A police officer then charged them with suspicion of burglary or armed robbery, advised them of their rights, handcuffed them, thoroughly searched them (often in full view of their neighbours and passers by) and drove them in the back of a police car to the police station.  

At the police station they had their fingerprints and photograph taken and were put in a detention cell.  Each prisoner was then blindfolded and driven to the mock prison by one of the experimenters and a guard.  Throughout this arrest procedure, the police officers involved maintained a formal, serious attitude, and did not tell the participants that this had anything to do with the mock prison study.

At the mock prison, each prisoner was stripped, sprayed with a delousing preparation (a deodorant spray) and made to stand alone and naked in the ‘yard’.  After being given their uniform and having a mug shot (ID picture) taken, the prisoner was put in his cell and ordered to remain silent.

The warden read them the rules of the institution (developed by the guards and the warden), which were to be memorised and had to be followed.  Prisoners were to be referred to only by the number on their uniforms, also in an effort to depersonalise them.  

Every day the participants were allowed three bland meals, three supervised toilet visits, and given two hours for the privilege of reading or letter writing.  Work assignments had to be carried out and two visiting periods per week were scheduled, as were movie rights and exercise periods.  

Three times a day prisoners were lined up for a ‘count’ (one on each guard work-shift).  The original purpose of the ‘count’ was to establish that all prisoners were present, and to test them on the knowledge of the rules and their ID numbers.  The first ‘counts’ lasted only about ten minutes but as conditions in the prison deteriorated, they increased in length until some lasted for several hours.  

The results showed that the behaviour of the ‘normal’ students who had been randomly allocated to each condition, was affected by the role they had been assigned, to the extent that they seemed to believe in their allocated positions.

The guards became more and more verbally and physically aggressive.  Zimbardo described this as pathology of power. The prisoners became increasingly depersonalised and several experienced extreme emotional depression, crying, rage and acute anxiety.

The experiment had to be stopped after just six days instead of the planned 14 days, mainly because of the pathological reactions of the participants.  Five prisoners had to be released even earlier because of extreme emotional depression.

Zimbardo believes that the study demonstrate the powerful effect roles can have on peoples’ behaviour.  Basically the participants were playing the role that they thought was expected of, either a prisoner or prison guard.

Haney, C., Banks, W.C. & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973) A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval Research Review, 30, 4-17.

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