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Transcript
IlluminatePublishing
AQAPsychologyforALevelYear1&ASRevisionGuide–KnowledgeCheckanswers
AQAPsychologyforALevelYear1&ASRevisionGuide
KnowledgeCheckanswers
PLEASENOTE:Thisdocumentcontainssuggestedmodelanswersthatwouldachieveagoodmark
ifprovidedinanexam.Theyaredesignedtohelpguideandinstructyoubutshouldnotbe
considereddefinitive.
PLEASEALSONOTE:Thesuggestedessayanswersarefor12markanswers.Moreevaluationis
requiredwhenanswering16markessayquestions-oneortwofurthercriticalpoints.
1.Socialinfluence
P11
1
Internalisationiswhenapersongenuinelyacceptsgroupnorms.Thisresultsinaprivateaswellaspublicchange
ofopinions/behaviour.Thischangepersistsintheabsenceofgroupmembers.
Identificationiswhenwewanttobecomepartofgroupwevaluesowepublicallychangeouropinions/behaviour,evenif
wedon’tprivatelyagreewitheverythingthegroupstandsfor.
Complianceinvolves‘goingalongwithothers’inpublic,butprivatelynotchangingopinions/behaviour.Thisresultsinonly
asuperficialchangeandtheopinion/behaviourstopsassoonasgrouppressureceases.
2
ISIisaboutinformation,adesiretoberight.Oftenweareuncertainaboutwhatbehaviourorbeliefsarerightor
wrongespeciallyinneworambiguoussituationssoweconformtothegroupnormaswebelieveothersareright.Youmay
notknowtheanswertoaquestioninclass,butifmostoftheotherstudentsagree,yougoalongwiththembecauseyou
feeltheyareprobablyright.
NSIconcernswhatis‘normal’ortypicalbehaviourforasocialgroup(i.e.norms).NSIisbasedontheideathatpeople
prefersocialapprovalratherthanrejectionandwantto‘fitin’.Itisimportantwithpeopleyouknowratherthanstrangers
becausepeoplearemoreconcernedaboutthesocialapprovaloffriends.
3
AlimitationofISIisthatthereareindividualdifferences.Asch(1955)foundthatstudentswerelessconformist
(28%)thanotherparticipants(37%).PerrinandSpencer(1980)alsofoundlessconformityinstudentsinareplicationofthe
Aschstudy.Inthisstudytheywereengineeringstudents(i.e.confidentaboutprecision).Peoplewhoareknowledgeable
and/ormoreconfidentarelessinfluencedbytheapparently‘right’viewofamajority.Thereforetherearedifferencesin
howindividualsrespondtoISI.
AstrengthofNSIisthatthereisresearchsupport.Asch(1951)askedparticipantstoexplainwhytheyagreedwiththe
wronganswer.Somesaidtheyfeltself-consciousgivingtherightanswerandwereafraidofdisapproval.WhenAschasked
participantstowritedowntheiranswers,conformityratesfellto12.5%.Thissupportstheparticipants’ownreportsthat
theywereconformingbecauseofNSI.
4
ISIisaboutinformation,adesiretoberight.Oftenweareuncertainaboutwhatbehaviourorbeliefsarerightor
wrongespeciallyinneworambiguoussituationssoweconformtothegroupnormaswebelieveothersareright.Youmay
notknowtheanswertoaquestioninclass,butifmostofotherstudentsagree,yougoalongwiththembecauseyoufeel
theyareprobablyright.
NSIconcernswhatis‘normal’ortypicalbehaviourforasocialgroup(i.e.norms).NSIisanemotionalratherthancognitive
process–peopleprefersocialapprovalratherthanrejection.Itisimportantwithpeopleyouknowratherthanstrangers
becausepeopleareconcernedaboutthesocialapprovaloffriends.Someonemaybepersuadedtotrysmokingbecauseall
theirfriendsare,eventhoughtheyknowitisanunhealthybehaviour.
AstrengthofISIisthatthereisresearchsupport.Lucasetal.(2006)askedstudentstogiveanswerstoeasyandmore
difficultmathsproblems.Therewasmoreconformitytoincorrectanswerswhentheproblemsweredifficult.Thiswas
mosttrueforstudentswhoratedtheirmathsabilityaspoor.Peopleconforminsituationswheretheyfeeltheydon’tknow
theanswer(ISI).Welooktoothersandassumetheyknowbetterthanusandmustberight.
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AlimitationofISIandNSIisthatthe‘two-process’approachisoversimplified.Thisapproachstatesthatbehaviourisdueto
eitherNSIorISI.However,conformitywasreducedwhentherewasadissentingpartnerintheAschexperiment.This
dissentermayreducethepowerofNSI(byprovidingsocialsupport)orreducethepowerofISI(becausetheyarean
alternativesourceofinformation).
AlimitationofNSIisthatthereareindividualdifferences.Peoplewhocaremoreaboutbeinglikedaremoreaffectedby
NSI.TheyarenAffiliators–peoplewhohaveagreaterneedforsocialrelationships.McGheeandTeevan(1967)foundthat
studentswhowerenAffiliatorsweremorelikelytoconform.Thedesiretobelikedunderliesconformityforsomepeople
morethanothers.Onegeneraltheorydoesnotcoverthefacttherearedifferences.
P13
1
Aschrecruited123Americanmalestudents.Eachwastestedindividuallywithagroupofbetweensixandeight
confederates.Oneachtrial,participantsidentifiedthelengthofastandardline.Onthefirstfewtrialsconfederatesgave
correctanswersbutthenallselectedthesamewronganswers.Eachparticipantcompleted18trials.On12‘criticaltrials’
confederatesgavethewronganswer.
Thenaïveparticipantsgaveawronganswer36.8%ofthetime(i.e.theproportionofcriticaltrialswhentheparticipants
agreedwiththeconfederates’wronganswers).Therewereconsiderableindividualdifferences:25%oftheparticipants
nevergaveawronganswer,so75%conformedatleastonce.Afewparticipantsconformedmostofthetime.
2
Groupsize:Withtwoconfederates,conformitytothewronganswerwas14%;withthreeitroseto32%.Adding
anymoreconfederatesmadelittledifference.
Unanimity:Thepresenceofadissentingconfederatereducedconformity,whetherthedissenterwasgivingtherightor
wronganswer.Thefigurewas,onaverage,25%wronganswers.
Taskdifficulty:Conformityincreasedwhenthetaskwasmoredifficult(thecomparisonlineswerecloserinlength).So
informationalsocialinfluenceplaysagreaterrolewhenthetaskbecomesharder.
3
OnelimitationisthatAsch’sfindingsmaybea‘childofthetimes’.PerrinandSpencer
(1980)foundjustoneconformingresponsein396trials.Participants(UKengineeringstudents)feltmoreconfident
measuringlinesthanAsch’soriginalsample,sowerelessconformist.Also,the1950swereaconformisttimeinAmerica
andpeoplemightbelesslikelytoconforminsubsequentdecades.TheAscheffectisnotconsistentovertime,soisnotan
enduringfeatureofhumanbehaviour.
Asecondlimitationisthatthesituationandtaskwereartificial.Participantsknewtheywereinastudysomayhavejust
respondedtodemandcharacteristics.Thelinetaskwastrivialsotherewasnoreasonnottoconform.Also,thenaïve
participantswereina‘group’,butnotlikegroupsfoundineverydaylife.Findingsdonotgeneralisetoeverydaysituations
whereconsequencesofconformityareimportant,andwhereweinteractwithgroupsmoredirectly.
4
Aschrecruited123Americanmalestudents.Eachwastestedindividuallywithagroupofbetweensixandeight
confederates.Oneachtrialparticipantsidentifiedthelengthofastandardline.Onthefirstfewtrialsconfederatesgave
correctanswersbutthenallselectedthesamewronganswers.Eachparticipantcompleted18trials.On12‘criticaltrials’
confederatesgavethewronganswer.
Thenaïveparticipantsgaveawronganswer36.8%ofthetime(i.e.theproportionofcriticaltrialswhentheparticipants
agreedwiththeconfederates’wronganswers).Therewereconsiderableindividualdifferences:25%oftheparticipants
nevergaveawronganswer,so75%conformedatleastonce.Afewparticipantsconformedmostofthetime.Thissuggests
thatparticipantswereconformingduetonormativesocialinfluence–theyknewtheanswerwaswrongbutgavethe
wronganswertoreceivesocialapproval.
Alimitationisthatthefindingsonlyapplytocertaingroups.OnlymenweretestedbyAsch.Neto
(1995)suggestedthatwomenmightbemoreconformist,possiblybecausetheyaremoreconcernedaboutsocial
relationships(andbeingaccepted).ParticipantswerefromtheUSA,anindividualistculture(peoplearemoreconcerned
withthemselvesthantheirsocialgroup).SmithandBond(1998)suggestthatconformityratesarehigherincollectivist
cultures(e.g.China)whicharemoreconcernedwithgroupneeds.Thissuggeststhatconformitylevelsaresometimeseven
higherthanAschfound;hisfindingsmaybelimitedtoAmericanmen.
Anotherlimitationisthatthefindingsonlyapplytocertainsituations.Participantsansweredoutloudandwerewitha
groupofstrangerstheywantedtoimpress.Conformitycouldbehigherthanusual.ButWilliamsandSogon(1984)found
conformitywashigherwhenthemajoritywerefriendsratherthanstrangers.ThereforetheAscheffectvariesdepending
oncircumstances.
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ThereareethicalissuesassociatedwithAsch’sresearch.Naïveparticipantsweredeceived.Theythoughttheothersinthe
procedure(confederates)weregenuine.Butthisethicalcostshouldbeweighedagainstthebenefitsofthestudy.Themain
benefitwashighlightingpeople’ssusceptibilitytogroupconformityandthevariablesaffectingit.
P15
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Zimbardoandhiscolleagues(Haneyetal.1973)setupamockprisoninthebasementofthepsychology
departmentatStanfordUniversity.Theyrecruited24‘emotionallystable’studentsdeterminedbypsychologicaltesting–
randomlyassignedrolesofguardsorprisoners.Theprisoners’dailyroutineswereheavilyregulated.Therewere16rules
tofollow,enforcedbyguardsworkinginshifts,threeatatime.
Withintwodays,theprisonersrebelledagainsttheirtreatment.Theyrippedtheiruniformsandshoutedandsworeatthe
guards,whoretaliatedwithfireextinguishers.Guardsharassedtheprisonersconstantlybyconductingfrequent
headcounts,sometimesinthemiddleofthenight.Aftertherebellionwasputdown,theprisonersbecamesubdued,
anxiousanddepressed.Threeprisonerswerereleasedearlybecausetheyshowedsignsofpsychologicaldisturbance.One
prisonerwentonhungerstrikeandthestudyhadtobestoppedafter6days.
2
Zimbardoandhiscolleagues(Haneyetal.1973)setupamockprisoninthebasementofthepsychology
departmentatStanfordUniversity.Theyrecruited24‘emotionallystable’studentsdeterminedbypsychologicaltesting–
randomlyassignedrolesofguardsorprisoners.Withintwodays,theprisonersrebelledagainsttheirtreatment.Afterthe
rebellionwasputdown,theprisonersbecamesubdued,anxiousanddepressedwhilsttheguardssteppedupbrutalityand
aggressiononeachday.Threeprisonerswerereleasedearlybecausetheyshowedsignsofpsychologicaldisturbance,one
prisonerwentonhungerstrikeandthestudyhadtobestoppedafter6days.
3
AstrengthoftheSPEisthattheresearchershadsomecontrolovervariables.Emotionallystableparticipants
wererecruitedandrandomlyassignedtherolesofguardorprisoner.Theguardsandprisonershadthoserolesonlyby
chance.Sotheirbehaviourwasduetothepressuresofthesituationandnottheirpersonalities.Controlincreasesthe
study’sinternalvalidity.Wecanbemoreconfidentindrawingconclusionsabouttheinfluencesofsocialroleson
behaviour.
AlimitationwiththeSPEisalackofrealism.BanuaziziandMohavedi(1975)suggestparticipantswereplay-acting.Their
performancesreflectedstereotypesofhowprisonersandguardsaresupposedtobehave.Oneguardbasedhisroleona
characterfromthefilmCoolHandLuke.Prisonersriotedbecausetheythoughtthatiswhatrealprisonersdid.But
Zimbardo’sdatashowed90%oftheprisoners’conversationswereaboutprisonlife.Thesimulationseemedrealtothem,
increasingthestudy’sinternalvalidity.
4
Zimbardoandhiscolleagues(Haneyetal.1973)setupamockprisoninthebasementofthepsychology
departmentatStanfordUniversity.Theyrecruited24‘emotionallystable’studentsdeterminedbypsychologicaltesting–
randomlyassignedrolesofguardsorprisoners.Theprisoners’dailyroutineswereheavilyregulated.Therewere16rules
tofollow,enforcedbyguardsworkinginshifts,threeatatime.
Withintwodays,theprisonersrebelledagainsttheirtreatment.Theyrippedtheiruniformsandshoutedandsworeatthe
guards,whoretaliatedwithfireextinguishers.Guardsharassedtheprisonersconstantlybyconductingfrequent
headcounts,sometimesinthemiddleofthenight.Aftertherebellionwasputdown,theprisonersbecamesubdued,
anxiousanddepressed.Threeprisonerswerereleasedearlybecausetheyshowedsignsofpsychologicaldisturbance.One
prisonerwentonhungerstrikeandthestudyhadtobestoppedafter6days.
Thesimulationrevealedthepowerofthesituationtoinfluencepeople’sbehaviour.Guards,prisonersandresearchersall
conformedtotheirsocialroleswithintheprison(identification).
Fromm(1973)arguesthatZimbardounderstateddispositionalinfluences.Onlyathirdoftheguardsbehavedbrutally.
Anotherthirdappliedtherulesfairly.Therestsupportedtheprisoners,offeringthemcigarettesandreinstatingprivileges.
Zimbardo’sconclusion–thatparticipantsconformedtosocialroles–maybeover-stated,exaggeratingthepowerofthe
situation.Thedifferencesintheguards’behaviourshowthattheycouldexerciserightandwrongchoices,despite
situationalpressurestoconformtoarole.
SPElacksresearchsupportandhasbeencontradictedbysubsequentresearch.ReicherandHaslam
(2006)partiallyreplicatedtheSPE,withdifferentfindings.Prisonerseventuallytookcontrol.Tajfel’s(1981)socialidentity
theory(SIT)explainsthis.Guardsinthereplicationfailedtodevelopsharedsocialidentityasagroup,butprisonersdidand
refusedtoacceptthelimitsoftheirassignedroles.SothebrutalityoftheguardsintheoriginalSPEwasduetoashared
socialidentityasacohesivegroup,ratherthanconformitytotheirsocialroles.
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AlimitationisthatthereweremajorethicalissueswiththeSPE.Oneissuearosebecause
Zimbardowasbothleadresearcherandprisonsuperintendent.Astudentwhowantedtoleavethestudyspoketo
Zimbardo,whorespondedasasuperintendentworriedabouttherunningofhisprisonratherthanasaresearcher.This
limitedZimbardo’sabilitytoprotecthisparticipantsfromharmbecausehissuperintendentroleconflictedwithhislead
researcherrole.
P17
1
StanleyMilgramrecruited40maleparticipantsthroughnewspaperads.Theadsaidhewaslookingfor
participantsforamemorystudy.Participantswereagedbetween20and50yearsandweregiven$4.50forjustturningup.
Aconfederate(‘MrWallace’)wasalwaysthe‘learner’whilethetrueparticipantwasthe‘teacher’.Thelearnerwas
strappedintoachairinanotherroomandwiredwithelectrodes.Theteacherhadtogivethelearneranincreasinglysevere
electric‘shock’eachtimehemadeamistakeonatask(learningwordpairs).Theteacherswerenottoldthattheshocks
wereallfakeandthatMrWallacewasanactor.The‘teacher’wasencouragedtocontinuebytheprofessor/authority
figurewhogaveaseriesof‘verbalprods’.
2
Noparticipantstoppedbelow300volts.Five(12.5%)stoppedat300volts;65%continuedto450volts.
Observations(qualitativedata)indicatedthatparticipantsshowedsignsofextremetension;manywereseento‘sweat,
tremble,bitetheirlips,groananddigtheirfingernailsintotheirhands’.Threehad‘full-blownuncontrollableseizures’.
3
AlimitationofMilgram’sstudyisthatitlackedinternalvalidity.OrneandHolland(1968)suggestparticipants
guessedtheelectricshockswerefake.SoMilgramwasnottestingwhatheintendedtotest(i.e.obedience).
AstrengthofMilgram’sresearchisthatithasgoodexternalvalidity.Milgramarguedthatthelab-basedrelationship
betweenexperimenterandparticipantreflectedwiderreal-lifeauthorityrelationships.
ReplicationshavesupportedMilgram’sresearchfindings.InaFrenchdocumentary,contestantsinarealityTVgameshow
werepaidtogive(fake)electricshocks–whenorderedbythepresenter–tootherparticipants(actors).80%gavethe
maximum450voltstoanapparentlyunconsciousman,whichlendssupporttoMilgram’soriginalfindings.
4
Milgramrecruited40maleparticipantsthroughnewspaperads.Theadsaidhewaslookingforparticipantsfora
memorystudy.Participantswereagedbetween20and50yearsandweregiven$4.50forjustturningup.Aconfederate
(‘MrWallace’)wasalwaysthe‘learner’whilethetrueparticipantwasthe‘teacher’.Thelearnerwasstrappedintoachair
inanotherroomandwiredwithelectrodes.Theteacherhadtogivethelearneranincreasinglysevereelectric‘shock’each
timehemadeamistakeonatask(learningwordpairs).Theteacherswerenottoldthattheshockswereallfakeandthat
MrWallacewasanactor.The‘teacher’wasencouragedtocontinuebytheprofessor/authorityfigurewhogaveaseriesof
‘verbalprods’.
Noparticipantstoppedbelow300volts.Five(12.5%)stoppedat300volts;65%continuedto450volts.
AlimitationofMilgram’sstudyisthatitlackedinternalvalidity.OrneandHolland(1968)suggestparticipantsguessedthe
electricshockswerefake.SoMilgramwasnottestingwhatheintendedtotest(i.e.obedience).However,Sheridanand
King’s(1972)participantsgaverealshockstoapuppy;54%ofmalesand100%offemalesdeliveredwhattheythoughtwas
afatalshock.SotheobedienceinMilgram’sstudymightbegenuine,70%ofMilgram’sparticipantsthoughttheshocks
weregenuine.
Socialidentitytheory(SIT)isanalternativeexplanationtoMilgram’s.Obedienceisaboutgroupidentification.Milgram’s
participantsidentifiedwiththeexperimenter(thescienceofthestudy).Whenobediencelevelsfell,theparticipants
identifiedmorewiththevictim.HaslamandReicher
(2012)suggestthefirstthree‘prods’areappealsforhelpwithscience(‘experimentrequiresyoucontinue’).Onlythe4th
proddemandsobedience.Everytimethiswasused,theparticipantquit.Theparticipantsdidnotgiveshocksdueto
obedience,butduetotheiridentificationwiththeexperimenterasascientist(asexplainedbysocialidentitytheory).
AlimitationisthereareethicalissuesassociatedwithMilgram’sresearch.Baumrind(1964)criticisedMilgram’sdeceptions.
Participantsbelievedtheallocationofroleswasrandomlyassigned,butitwasfixed.Themostsignificantdeceptionwas
thatparticipantsbelievedtheelectricshockswerereal.Baumrindobjectedbecausedeceptionisabetrayaloftrustthat
damagesthereputationofpsychologistsandtheirresearch.Deceptionofparticipantsmayalsomakethemlesslikelyto
volunteerforfutureresearch.
P19
1
InMilgram’soriginalstudy,theteacherandlearnerwereinadjoiningrooms.Theteachercouldhearthelearner
butnotseehim.Intheproximityvariation,teacherandlearnerwereinthesameroomandtheobedienceratedropped
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from65%to40%.Inthetouchproximityvariation,theteacherhadtoforcethelearner’shandontoashockplate.The
obedienceratedroppedto30%.
Theroleoftheexperimenterwastakenoverbyan‘ordinarymemberofthepublic’ineverydayclothesratherthanalab
coat.Theobedienceratedroppedto20%,thelowestofthevariations.
Thissuggeststhatuniformdoesactasastrongvisualauthoritysymbolandacuetobehaveinanobedientmanner.
2
Thereisresearchsupportfortheinfluenceofsituationalvariables.Bickman(1974)lookedattheeffectof
authorityonobedience(confederatedressedinjacket/tie,milkmanorsecurityguard).Theconfederateaskedpassers-by
toprovideacoinfortheparkingmeter,forexample.Peopleweretwiceaslikelytoobeythe‘securityguard’thanthe
‘jacket/tie’confederate.ThissupportsMilgram’sconclusionthatauniformconveysauthorityandisasituationalfactor
producingobedience.
AlimitationisMilgram’svariationsmaylackinternalvalidity.OrneandHolland(1968)suggestparticipantsinMilgram’s
variationswereevenmorelikelytorealisetheprocedurewasfakedbecauseoftheextraexperimentalmanipulation.Inthe
variationwheretheexperimenterwasreplacedby‘amemberofthepublic’,evenMilgramrecognisedthiswasso
contrivedthatsomeparticipantsmayhaveworkeditout.Soitisunclearwhethertheresultsareduetoobedienceor
becausetheparticipantssawthedeceptionand‘play-acted’.
3
InMilgram’soriginalstudy,theteacherandlearnerwereinadjoiningrooms.Theteachercouldhearthelearner
butnotseehim.Intheproximityvariation,teacherandlearnerwereinthesameroomandtheobedienceratedropped
from65%to40%.Inthetouchproximityvariation,theteacherhadtoforcethelearner’shandontoashockplate.The
obedienceratedroppedto30%.
Thelocationoftheobediencestudywasarun-downbuildingratherthantheprestigiousuniversitysettingwhereitwas
originallyconducted(YaleUniversity).Obediencefellto47.5%.Thisindicatesthattheexperimenterhadlessauthorityin
thissetting.
Theroleoftheexperimenterwastakenoverbyan‘ordinarymemberofthepublic’ineverydayclothesratherthanalab
coat.Theobedienceratedroppedto20%,thelowestofthevariations.
Thissuggeststhatuniformdoesactasastrongvisualauthoritysymbolandacuetobehaveinanobedientmanner.
AstrengthisthatMilgram’sresearchhasbeenreplicatedinothercultures.Mirandaetal.(1981)foundover90%
obedienceinSpanishstudents.Milgram’sfindingsarenotlimitedtoAmericanmales.However,SmithandBond(1998)
notethatmostreplicationshavetakenplaceinWesternsocieties(e.g.Spain),culturallynotthatdifferentfromtheUSA.It
isprematuretoconcludethatMilgram’sfindingsaboutproximity,locationanduniformapplytopeopleeverywhere.
AstrengthisthatMilgram’sresearchhascontrolofvariables.Milgramsystematicallyalteredonevariableatatimetotest
effectsonobedience.Othervariableswerekeptconstantasthestudywasreplicatedmanytimeswithover1000
participants.Thiscontrolgivesusmorecertaintythatchangesinobediencewerecausedbythevariablemanipulated(e.g.
location),showingcauseandeffectrelationships.
AlimitationisthatMilgram’sconclusionsprovidean‘obediencealibi’.Milgram’sfindingsarean‘excuse’forobedience–
suggestingthatitisthesituationnotthepersonwhoisresponsible.Mandel(1998)claimsthisisoffensivetoHolocaust
survivorstosuggestthattheNazissimplyobeyedordersandwerevictimsofsituationalfactorsbeyondtheircontrol.
Milgram’ssituationalperspectiveisdangerousbecauseitignorestherolesthatdiscrimination,racismandprejudiceplayed
intheHolocaust.
P21
1
Milgramproposedthatobediencetodestructiveauthorityoccursbecauseapersonbecomesan‘agent’,
someonewhoactsfororinplaceofanother.Inanagenticstateapersonfeelsnopersonalresponsibilityfortheiractions.
Apersoninanautonomousstatebehavesaccordingtotheirownprinciplesandfeelsresponsiblefortheirownactions.
Theshiftfromautonomytobeingan‘agent’iscalledtheagenticshift.Milgramsuggestedthatthisoccurswhenwe
perceivesomeoneelseasanauthorityfigure.Thispersonhaspowerbecauseoftheirpositioninasocialhierarchy.Binding
factorsareaspectsofasituationthatallowthepersontoignoreorminimisethedamagingeffectoftheirbehaviourand
reducethe‘moralstrain’theyfeel.Milgramproposedanumberofstrategiestheindividualuses,suchasshiftingthe
responsibilitytothevictimordenyingthedamagetheyaredoingtovictims.
2
BlassandSchmidt(2001)showedstudentsafilmofMilgram’sstudyandaskedthemtoidentifywhowas
responsibleforharmtothelearner.Studentsblamedthe‘experimenter’ratherthantheparticipant.Thisresponsibility
wasduetolegitimateauthority(the‘experimenter’wastopofthehierarchy)butalsotoexpertauthority(hewasa
scientist).Thestudentsrecognisedlegitimateauthorityasthecauseofobedience,supportingthisexplanation.
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3
Mostsocietiesarestructuredhierarchically.Peopleincertainpositionsholdauthorityovertherestofus.
Parents,teachers,policeofficers,nightclubbouncers,allhavesomekindofauthorityoverusattimes.Theauthoritythey
wieldislegitimateinthesensethatitisagreedbysociety.Mostofusacceptthatauthorityfiguresshouldexercisesocial
poweroverothersbecausethisallowssocietytofunctionsmoothly.Oneconsequenceoflegitimateauthorityisthatsome
peoplearegrantedthepowertopunishothers.Wegiveupsomeofourindependencetopeoplewetrusttoexercisetheir
authorityappropriately.Welearnedtoacceptauthorityfromparentsandteachersduringchildhood.
4
Milgramproposedthatobediencetodestructiveauthorityoccursbecauseapersonbecomesan‘agent’,
someonewhoactsfororinplaceofanother.Inanagenticstateapersonfeelsnopersonalresponsibilityfortheiractions.
Apersoninanautonomousstatebehavesaccordingtotheirownprinciplesandfeelsresponsiblefortheirownactions.
Theshiftfromautonomytobeingan‘agent’iscalledtheagenticshift.Milgramsuggestedthatthisoccurswhenwe
perceivesomeoneelseasanauthorityfigure.Thispersonhaspowerbecauseoftheirpositioninasocialhierarchy.
Mostsocietiesarestructuredhierarchically.Peopleincertainpositionsholdauthorityovertherestofus.Parents,
teachers,policeofficers,nightclubbouncers,allhavesomekindofauthorityoverusattimes.Theauthoritytheywieldis
legitimateinthesensethatitisagreedbysociety.Mostofusacceptthatauthorityfiguresshouldexercisesocialpower
overothersbecausethisallowssocietytofunctionsmoothly.Wegiveupsomeofourindependencetopeoplewetrustto
exercisetheirauthorityappropriately.
Alimitationistheagenticshiftdoesn’texplainmanyoftheresearchfindings.Someparticipantsdidnotobey–humansare
socialanimalsinsocialhierarchiesandthereforeshouldallobey.Also,inHoflingetal.’s(1966)study,nursesshouldhave
shownanxietyastheygaveresponsibilityovertothedoctor,becausetheyunderstoodtheirroleinadestructiveprocess.
Butthiswasnotthecase.Soagenticshiftcanonlyaccountforsomesituationsofobedience.
AlimitationistheagenticstatecannotaccountforthebehaviouroftheNazis.Mandel(1998)describedGermanReserve
PoliceBattalion101–menshotciviliansinasmalltowninPoland(WorldWar2).Theydidthiseventhoughtheywerenot
directlyorderedto(theyweretoldtheycouldbeassignedotherduties).Thischallengestheagenticstateexplanation
becausetheReservePolicewerenotpowerlesstodisobey.
Astrengthisthatlegitimacyofauthoritycanexplainreal-lifeobedience.KelmanandHamilton
(1989)suggesttheMyLaimassacre(VietnamWar)isexplainedbythepowerhierarchyofthe
USArmy.ThearmyhasauthorityrecognisedbytheUSgovernmentandthelaw.Soldiersassumeordersgivenbythe
hierarchytobelegal;evenorderstokill,rapeanddestroyvillages.Thelegitimacyofauthorityexplanationisabletogive
reasonswhydestructiveobedienceiscommitted.
P23
1
Authoritarianpersonalityformsinchildhoodthroughharshparentingandextremelystrictdiscipline.Adornoet
al.suggestedthatpeoplewithanauthoritarianpersonalityhaveexaggeratedrespectforauthorityandexpresscontempt
forpeopleofinferiorsocialstatus.
2
Adornoetal.(1950)investigatedunconsciousattitudestowardsotherracialgroupsofmorethan2000middleclasswhiteAmericans.Severalscalesweredeveloped,includingthepotentialforfascismscale(F-scale).Authoritarians
(whoscoredhighontheF-scaleandothermeasures)identifiedwith‘strong’peopleandwerecontemptuousofthe‘weak’.
Theywereconsciousoftheirownandothers’status,showingexcessiverespectanddeferencetothoseofhigherstatus.
3
Thereissupportforthelinkbetweenauthoritarianpersonalityandobedience.ElmsandMilgram(1966)
interviewedfullyobedientparticipants–allscoredhighlyontheF-scale.However,thislinkisjustacorrelationbetween
measuredvariables.Wecannotconcludefromthisthatauthoritarianpersonalitycausesobedience.A‘thirdfactor’maybe
involved.Bothobedienceandauthoritarianpersonalitymaybecausedbyalowerlevelofeducation(HymanandSheatsley
1954).
Theauthoritarianpersonalityexplanationislimited.MillionsofindividualsinGermanydisplayedobedientandanti-Semitic
behaviour–butdidn’thavethesamepersonality.ItseemsunlikelythemajorityofGermany’spopulationpossessedan
authoritarianpersonality.Analternativeexplanationismorerealistic–socialidentitytheory.MostGermansidentifiedwith
theanti-SemiticNazistateandadopteditsviews.
4
Adornoetal.(1950)wantedtounderstandtheanti-SemitismoftheHolocaust.Theybelievedthatunquestioning
obedienceisapsychologicaldisorder,andtriedtofinditscausesintheindividual’spersonality.Adornoetal.suggested
thatpeoplewithanauthoritarianpersonalityareespeciallyobedienttoauthority.Theyhaveexaggeratedrespectfor
authorityandsubmissivenesstoitandexpresscontemptforpeopleofinferiorsocialstatus.Authoritarianpersonality
formsinchildhoodthroughharshparenting:extremelystrictdiscipline,expectationofabsoluteloyalty,impossiblyhigh
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standards,andseverecriticism.Itisalsocharacterisedbyconditionallove–parents’lovedependsentirelyonhowtheir
childbehaves.Theseexperiencescreateresentmentandhostilityinthechild,buttheycannotexpressthesefeelings
directlyagainsttheirparentsbecausetheyfearreprisals.Sothefeelingsaredisplacedontootherswhoareseenasweaker
–knownasscapegoating.
AlimitationisthattheF-scale(whichwasusedbyAdornotomeasureauthoritarianism)ispoliticallybiased.Christieand
Jahoda(1954)suggesttheF-scaleaimstomeasuretendencytowardsextremeright-wingideology.Butright-wingandleftwingauthoritarianism(e.g.ChineseMaoism)bothinsistoncompleteobediencetopoliticalauthority.Adorno’stheoryis
notacomprehensivedispositionalexplanationofobediencetoauthoritybecauseitdoesn’texplainobediencetoleft-wing
authoritarianism,i.e.itispoliticallybiased.
Alimitationisthattheexplanationisbasedonaflawedmethodology.Greenstein(1969)suggeststheF-scaleis‘acomedy
ofmethodologicalerrors’,forexampleitemsarewordedinthesame‘direction’sothescalejustmeasuresthetendencyto
agreetoeverything.Also,researchersknewtheparticipants’testscoreswhentheyinterviewedthem.Sotheyknewwho
hadauthoritarianpersonalities.Theyalsoknewthestudy’shypothesis,whichmakesbiasedresultslikely.Thissuggests
thatthedatacollectedismeaninglessandtheconceptofauthoritarianpersonalitylacksvalidity.
Afurtherlimitationisthatmuchoftheresearchusescorrelations.Adornomeasuredmanyvariablesandfoundsignificant
correlationsbetweenthem(e.g.authoritarianismcorrelatedwithprejudiceagainstminoritygroups).Nomatterhow
strongacorrelationbetweentwovariablesis,itdoesnotmeanthatonecausestheother.ThereforeAdornocouldnot
claimthatharshparentingstylecauseddevelopmentofanauthoritarianpersonality.
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1
Pressuretoconformisreducedifotherpeoplearenotconforming.Asch’sresearchshowedthatthedissenter
doesn’thavetogivethe‘right’answer.Simplysomeoneelsenotfollowingthemajorityfreesotherstofollowtheirown
conscience.Thedissenteractsasa‘model’.
Pressuretoobeycanbereducedifanotherpersonisseentodisobey.InMilgram’sstudy,independentbehaviour
increasedinthedisobedientpeercondition(from35%to90%).Theparticipantmaynotfollowthedisobedientpeerbut
thedissenter’sdisobediencefreestheparticipanttoactfromtheirownconscience.
2
Rotter(1966)describedinternalversusexternallocusofcontrol.Internalsbelievethingsthathappentothemare
largelycontrolledbythemselves.Externalsbelievethingshappenoutsidetheircontrol.
PeoplewithinternalLOCaremorelikelytoresistpressurestoconformorobey.Ifsomeonetakespersonalresponsibility
fortheiractionsandexperiences(goodorbad)theyaremorelikelytobasetheirdecisionsontheirownbeliefs.People
withhighinternalLOCaremoreself-confident,moreachievement-oriented,havehigherintelligenceandlessneedfor
socialapproval.Thesepersonalitytraitsleadtogreaterresistance.
3
Pressuretoconformisreducedifotherpeoplearenotconforming.Asch’sresearchshowedthatthedissenter
doesn’thavetogivethe‘right’answer.Simplysomeoneelsenotfollowingthemajorityfreesotherstofollowtheirown
conscience.Thedissenteractsasa‘model’.Pressuretoobeycanbereducedifanotherpersonisseentodisobey.In
Milgram’sstudy,independentbehaviourincreasedinthedisobedientpeercondition(from35%to90%).Theparticipant
maynotfollowthedisobedientpeerbutthedissenter’sdisobediencefreestheparticipanttoactfromtheirown
conscience.
Rotter(1966)describedinternalversusexternallocusofcontrol.Internalsbelievethingsthathappentothemarelargely
controlledbythemselves.Externalsbelievethingshappenoutsidetheircontrol.PeoplewithinternalLOCaremorelikelyto
resistpressurestoconformorobey.Ifsomeonetakespersonalresponsibilityfortheiractionsandexperiences(goodor
bad)theyaremorelikelytobasetheirdecisionsontheirownbeliefs.PeoplewithhighinternalLOCaremoreselfconfident,moreachievement-oriented,havehigherintelligenceandlessneedforsocialapproval.Thesepersonalitytraits
leadtogreaterresistance.
Researchevidencesupportstheroleofdissentingpeersinresistingconformity.AllenandLevine(1971)found
independenceincreasedwithonedissenterinanAsch-typestudy.Thisoccurredevenifthedissenterworethickglasses
andsaidhehadproblemswithvision(hecouldn’tjudgethelinelengths).Soresistanceisnotmotivatedbyfollowingwhat
someoneelsesaysbutitenablessomeonetobefreeofpressurefromthegroup.
Researchevidencesupportstheroleofdissentingpeersinresistingobedience.Gamsonetal.(1982)foundhigherlevelsof
rebellion(i.e.independentbehaviour)thanMilgramdid.Gamson’sparticipantswereingroups(toproduceevidencethat
anoilcompanywouldusetorunasmearcampaign).InGamson’sstudy29outof33groupsofparticipants(88%)rebelled.
Thisshowsthatpeersupportislinkedtogreaterresistance.
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ResearchevidencesupportsthelinkbetweenLOCandresistancetoobedience.Holland(1967)repeatedtheMilgramstudy
andmeasuredwhetherparticipantswereinternalsorexternals:37%ofinternalsdidnotcontinuetothehighestshock
level(theyshowedindependence).Only23%ofvalidityoftheLOCexplanationandourconfidencethatitcanexplain
resistance.
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1
Minorityinfluencereferstohowonepersonorsmallgroupinfluencesthebeliefsandbehaviourofotherpeople.
Theminoritymayinfluencejustoneperson,oragroupofpeople(themajority)–thisisdifferentfromconformitywhere
themajoritydoestheinfluencing.
2
Moscovici(1969):Agroupofsixpeopleviewedasetof36blue-greencolouredslidesvaryinginintensity,then
statedwhethertheslideswereblueorgreen.
Thestudyhadthreeconditions:
1.Confederatesconsistentlysaidtheslidesweregreen.
2.Confederateswereinconsistentaboutthecolouroftheslides.
3.Acontrolgroup–noconfederates.
Consistentminoritycondition:participantsgavethesamewrongansweron8.42%oftrials;32%gavethesameansweron
atleastonetrial.
Inconsistentminoritycondition:agreementfellto1.25%.
Controlgroup:participantswronglyidentifiedcolour0.25%ofthetime.
3
Consistency:Iftheminorityisconsistentthismakesothersrethinktheirownviews(‘Maybethey’vegotapointif
theyallthinkthiswayandtheyhavekeptsayingit’).
Commitment:Theminority’activitiesmustcreatesomerisktodemonstratecommitmenttothecause(‘Wow,hemust
reallybelieveinwhathe’ssaying,soperhapsIoughttoconsiderhisview’–augmentationprinciple).
Flexibility:Beingconsistentandrepeatingthesameargumentsandbehavioursisseenasrigidandoff-puttingtothe
majority.Instead,theminorityshouldadapttheirpointofviewandacceptreasonablecounter-arguments.
4
Therearethreeprocessesthatmakeminoritiesmorelikelytoconvincemajoritiesoftheirview.Consistency
makesothersrethinktheirownviews(‘Maybethey’vegotapointiftheyallthinkthiswayandtheyhavekeptsayingit’).
ThisisillustratedbytheMoscovici(1969)studyinwhichaconsistentminoritypersuadedamajorityto‘see’blueslidesas
green.Commitment:activitiesmustcreatesomerisktotheminoritytodemonstratecommitmenttothecause(‘Wow,he
mustreallybelieveinwhathe’ssaying,soperhapsIoughttoconsiderhisview’–augmentationprinciple).Flexibility:being
consistentandrepeatingthesameargumentsandbehavioursisseenasrigidandoff-puttingtothemajority.Instead,the
minorityshouldadapttheirpointofviewandacceptreasonablecounter-arguments.
Researchevidenceshowschangetominoritypositioninvolvesdeeperthought.Martinetal.(2003)gaveparticipantsa
messagesupportingaparticularviewpoint,andattitudesmeasured.Thentheyheardanendorsementoftheviewfrom
eitheraminorityoramajority.Finallytheyheardaconflictingview;attitudesmeasuredagain.Peoplewerelesswillingto
changetheiropinionstothenewconflictingviewiftheyhadlistenedtoaminoritygroupthaniftheylistenedtoamajority
group.Thissuggeststhattheminoritymessagehadbeenmoredeeplyprocessedandhadamoreenduringeffect.
Alimitationisminorityinfluenceresearchofteninvolvesartificialtasks.Moscovici’staskwasidentifyingthecolourofa
slide,farremovedfromhowminoritiestrytochangemajorityopinioninreallife.Injurydecisionmakingandpolitical
campaigning,outcomesarevastlymoreimportant,maybeamatteroflifeordeath.Findingsofstudieslackexternal
validityandarelimitedinwhattheytellusabouthowminorityinfluenceworksinreal-lifesituations.
Applicationsofminorityinfluenceresearcharelimited.Studiesmakeacleardistinctionbetweenmajorityandminority,but
real-lifesituationsaremorecomplicated.Thedifferenceisaboutmorethanjustnumbers.Majoritiesusuallyhavepower
andstatus.Minoritiesarecommittedandtight-knitgroupswhosemembersknowandsupporteachother.Minority
influenceresearchrarelyreflectsthedynamicsofthesegroupssofindingsmaynotapplytoreal-lifeminorityinfluence
situationswhichexertamorepowerfulinfluence.
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1
Thisoccurswhenwholesocietiesratherthanjustindividualsadoptnewattitudes,beliefsandwaysofdoing
things.ExamplesincludeacceptingthattheEarthorbitstheSun,gayrightsorenvironmentalissues.
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2
Minorityinfluenceresearchcanbeappliedtosocialchange.Minoritiesdrawattentiontotheissue,suchascivil
rightsmarchesIntheUSdrewattentiontothesegregationofblacksandwhites.EventhoughaminorityoftheAmerican
populationwasarguingforcivilrights,theydisplayedconsistencyofmessageandintent.Thisattentionmeantthatmany
peoplewhohadacceptedthestatusquobeganthinkingabouttheunjustnessofit(deeperprocessing).Civilrightsactivists
showedtheircommitmenttothecausebyplacingthemselvesatrisk(theaugmentationprinciple).Manywerebeatenand
subjecttomobviolence.Overtime–withtheforceofargumentadvancedbykeyfiguressuchasMartinLutherKing–the
minoritybecamethemajorityview(thesnowballeffect).
3
Minorityinfluenceisonlyindirectlyeffectiveincreatingsocialchange.Nemeth(1986)suggeststheeffectsof
minorityinfluenceareindirectanddelayed.Ittookdecadesforattitudesagainstdrink-drivingandsmokingtoshift.
Indirect:themajorityisinfluencedonlyonmattersrelatedtothecentralissue,andnottheissueitself;delayed:effectsnot
seenforsometime.Usingminorityinfluencetoexplainsocialchangeislimitedbecauseitshowsthateffectsarefragile
anditsroleinsocialinfluencenarrow.
Alimitationisthenatureofdeeperprocessinghasbeenquestioned.Moscovicisuggestedthatminorityinfluencecauses
individualstothinkdeeply–whichisadifferentcognitiveprocessfrommajorityinfluence.Mackie(1987)disagrees,
arguingthatmajorityinfluencecreatesdeeperprocessingifyoudonotsharetheirviews.Webelievethatothersthinkin
thesamewaysasus;whenwefindthatamajoritybelievesdifferently,weareforcedtothinkhardabouttheirarguments.
Soacentralelementofminorityinfluenceischallengedandmaybeincorrect,castingdoubtonthevalidityofMoscovici’s
theory.
4
Minorityinfluenceresearchsuggeststhatminoritiescandrawtheattentionofmajoritiestowardssocialchange
issuesandareespeciallypersuasiveiftheydemonstratecommitment(theaugmentationprinciple)andconsistency(as
evidencedinMoscovici’s(1969)studyinwhichconsistentminoritiespersuadedamajoritygrouptoreportseeingblue
slidesasgreen).Minoritiesmayadvanceargumentsthatencouragedeeperprocessingoftheissueleadingtoagradual
changeinmajorityopinionovertime(thesnowballeffect).
Environmentalandhealthcampaignsexploitconformitybyappealingtonormativesocialinfluence.Theyprovide
informationaboutwhatothersaredoing,e.g.reducinglitterbyprintingnormativemessagesonbins(‘Binit–othersdo’).
Socialchangeisencouragedbydrawingattentiontothemajority’sbehaviour.
Researchsupportforroleofnormativesocialinfluence(NSI)insocialchange.Nolanetal.(2008)hungmessagesonfront
doorsofhouses.Thekeymessagewasmostresidentsaretryingtoreduceenergyusage.Significantdecreasesinenergy
usecomparedtocontrolgroupwhosawmessagestosaveenergywithnoreferencetootherpeople’sbehaviour.So
conformitycanleadtosocialchangethroughtheoperationofNSI.
Identificationisanimportantvariableoverlookedinminorityinfluenceresearch.Bashiretal.(2013)suggestpeopleare
lesslikelytobehaveinenvironmentallyfriendlywaysbecausetheywantedtoavoidlabelofbeingminority
‘environmentalists’.Participantsratedenvironmentalactivistsnegatively(‘treehuggers’).Minoritieswantingsocialchange
shouldavoidbehavinginwaysthatreinforcestereotypes;off-puttingtothemajority.Thissuggeststhatbeingableto
identifywithaminoritygroupisjustasimportantasagreeingwiththeirviewsintermsofchangingbehaviour.
Alimitationistherearemethodologicalissuesinthisareaofresearch.Explanationsofsocialchangerelyonstudiesby
Moscovici,AschandMilgram.Thesecanbeevaluatedintermsofmethodology,mainlyovertheartificialnatureofthe
tasksandwhetherthegroupdynamicsreflectreallife.Thesecriticismsapplytotheevaluationofexplanationsforthelink
betweensocialinfluenceprocessesandsocialchange.
2.Memory
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1
Short-termmemoryisatemporarymemorystorewithadurationofaround30secondsandacapacityof7+/-2
items.Longtermmemoryisapotentiallypermanentmemorystorewithaninfinitecapacity.
2
PetersonandPeterson(1959)investigatedthedurationofSTM:24studentsweregivenaconsonantsyllable(e.g.
YCG)torememberanda3-digitnumbertocountbackwardsfor3,6,9,12,15or18seconds.Accuraterecallofthesyllable
wasrecordedforeachdifferenttimeperiod.
3
Jacobs(1887)testedthecapacityofSTMusingthedigitspantechnique.Theresearcherreadfourdigitsand
increaseduntiltheparticipantcouldrecalltheordercorrectly.Onaverage,participantscouldrepeatback9.3numbersand
7.3lettersinthecorrectorderimmediatelyaftertheywerepresented.
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4
InBahrick’s(1975)study,participantstested48yearsaftergraduationwereabout70%accurateinphoto
recognition.Freerecallwaslessaccurate.
5
Baddeley(1966)testedcodinginSTMandLTM.Participantswerepresentedwithacousticallysimilarwords(e.g.
cat,cab)oracousticallydissimilarwords(e.g.pit,few)andwereaskedtorecallthesewordsinorder.Participantswere
alsopresentedwithsemanticallysimilarwords(e.g.large,big)orsemanticallydissimilarwords(e.g.good,hot)andasked
torecalltheseinorder.Immediaterecallwasworsewithacousticallysimilarwords,suggestingthatSTMreliesonan
acousticcode.Recallafter20minuteswasworsewithsemanticallydissimilarwords,suggestingthatLTMisreliesona
semanticcode.
6
Jacobs(1887)testedthecapacityofSTMusingthedigitspantechnique.Theresearcherreadfourdigitsand
increaseduntiltheparticipantcouldrecalltheordercorrectly.Onaverage,participantscouldrepeatback9.3numbersand
7.3lettersinthecorrectorderimmediatelyaftertheywerepresented.ThissuggeststhatSTMhasalimitedcapacityof
around7–9items.
ThisissupportedbyMiller’s(1956)researchwhomadeobservationsofeverydaypractice.Forexample,henotedthat
thingscomeinsevens:thereare7notesonthemusicalscale,7daysoftheweek,7deadlysins,andsoon.Heconcluded
thatSTMfunctionsbestwhendealingwith7items(the‘magicnumberseven’).
PetersonandPeterson(1959)24studentsweregivenaconsonantsyllable(e.g.YCG)torememberanda3-digitnumberto
countbackwardsfor3,6,9,12,15or18seconds.Studentsrecalled(onaverage)about80%ofthesyllablescorrectlywitha
3-secondinterval.Averagerecallafter18secondsfelltoabout3%.SuggestingthatdurationofSTMwithoutrehearsalis
about18to
30seconds.
AlimitationofJacobs’studyisthatitwasconductedalongtimeago.Earlyresearchinpsychologyoftenlackedadequate
controlofextraneousvariables.Forexample,someparticipantsmayhavebeendistractedwhiletheywerebeingtestedso
theydidn’tperformaswellastheymight.Thiswouldmeanthattheresultsmaynotbevalidbecausetherewere
confoundingvariablesthatwerenotcontrolled.However,theseresultshavebeenconfirmedinotherresearch,supporting
itsvalidity.
AlimitationofMiller’sresearchisitmayhaveoverestimatedcapacityofSTM.Forexample,Cowan(2001)reviewedother
research.HeconcludedthatthecapacityofSTMwasonlyabout4chunks.ThissuggeststhatthelowerendofMiller’s
estimate(5items)ismoreappropriatethan7items.
AlimitationofPetersonandPeterson’sstudyistheartificialstimulus.Tryingtomemoriseconsonantsyllablesdoesnot
reflectmostreal-lifememoryactivitieswherewhatwetrytorememberismeaningful.Soitcouldbearguedthatthisstudy
lackedexternalvalidity.Ontheotherhand,wedosometimestrytorememberfairlymeaninglessthings,suchasphone
numbers.Sothestudyisnottotallyirrelevant.
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1
TheSRtakesinstimulifromtheenvironmentandisnotasinglestorebutfive,oneforeachsense.Theduration
isverybrief(lessthanhalfasecond)butthecapacityisverylarge,e.g.overonehundredmillioncellsinoneeye,each
storingdata.
2
TheMSMdescribeshowinformationflowsthroughthememorysystem.Memoryismadeofthreestoreslinked
byprocessing.Thesensoryregistertakesinstimulifromtheenvironmentandisnotasinglestorebutfive,oneforeach
sense.Thedurationisverybrief(lessthanhalfasecond)butthecapacityisverylarge.Ifattentionispaidtoinformationin
theSR,thistransferstoshort-termmemory.ThedurationofSTMisabout18to30secondsunlesstheinformationis
rehearsed.Thecapacityisbetween5and9itemsanditisbasedonanacousticcode.WecankeepinformationinSTMas
longaswerehearseit.Ifwerehearseitlongenough,itpassesintolong-termmemory–apermanentmemorystore.The
durationofLTMispotentiallyuptoalifetime;ithasanunlimitedcapacityandisbasedonasemanticcode.
3
AlimitationofMSMisthatevidencesuggeststhereismorethanonetypeofSTM.ShalliceandWarrington
(1970)studiedKF,apatientwithamnesia.HisSTMfordigitswaspoorwhentheyreadthemoutloudtohim.Buthisrecall
wasmuchbetterwhenhereadthedigitshimself.TheMSMstatesthatthereisonlyonetypeofSTM(unitarystore).But
theKFstudysuggeststheremustbeoneshort-termstoretoprocessvisualinformationandanothertoprocessauditory
information.Theworkingmemorymodelisabetterexplanationforthisfindingbecauseitincludesseparatestores.
AnotherlimitationoftheMSMisthatitonlyexplainsonetypeofrehearsal.CraikandWatkins(1973)arguedtherearetwo
typesofrehearsal–maintenanceandelaborative.MaintenanceistheonedescribedintheMSMbutthisdoesnottransfer
informationintoLTM.Elaborativerehearsalisneededforlong-termstorage.Thisoccurswhenyoulinkinformationtoyour
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existingknowledge,orprocessitmeans.ThisisaveryseriouslimitationoftheMSMbecauseitisanotherresearchfinding
thatcannotbeexplainedbythemodel.
4
TheMSMdescribeshowinformationflowsthroughthememorysystem.Memoryismadeofthreestoreslinked
byprocessing.Thesensoryregistertakesinstimulifromtheenvironmentandisnotasinglestorebutfive,oneforeach
sense.Thedurationisverybrief(lessthanhalfasecond)butthecapacityisverylarge.Ifattentionispaidtoinformationin
theSR,thistransferstoshort-termmemory.ThedurationofSTMisabout18to30secondsunlesstheinformationis
rehearsed.Thecapacityisbetween5and9itemsanditisbasedonanacousticcode.WecankeepinformationinSTMas
longaswerehearseit.Ifwerehearseitlongenough,itpassesintolong-termmemory–apermanentmemorystore.The
durationofLTMispotentiallyuptoalifetime;ithasanunlimitedcapacityandisbasedonasemanticcode.
TheMSMissupportedbyresearchshowingSTMandLTMaredifferent.Baddeley(1966)foundthatwetendtomixup
wordsthatsoundsimilarwhenusingourSTMs.ButwemixupwordsthathavesimilarmeaningswhenweuseourLTMs.
ThisclearlyshowsthatcodinginSTMisacousticandinLTMitissemantic.ThissupportstheMSM'sviewthatthesetwo
memorystoresareseparateandindependent.
AlimitationisthatresearchstudiessupportingtheMSMuseartificialmaterials.Researchersoftenaskedparticipantsto
recalldigits,lettersandsometimeswords.PetersonandPeterson(1959)evenusedconsonantsyllableswhichhaveno
meaning.Ineverydaylifeweformmemoriesrelatedtoallsortsofusefulthings–people'sfaces,theirnames,facts,places,
etc.ThissuggeststheMSMlacksexternalvalidity.Researchfindingsmayreflecthowmemoryworkswithmeaningless
materialinlabtesting,butdoesnotreflecthowmemorymainlyworksineverydaylife.
AfurtherlimitationoftheMSMisthatitoversimplifiesLTM.ThereisalotofresearchevidencethatLTMisnotaunitary
store.WehaveoneLTMstoreformemoriesoffactsabouttheworld(semantic),andadifferentoneformemoriesofhow
torideabike(episodic).TheMSMislimitedbecauseitdoesnotreflectthesedifferenttypesofLTM.
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1
Episodicmemoryismemoryforeventsinaperson'slife,forexample,knowingwhatyoudidyesterday.
2
Episodicmemoryisaformofdeclarativememory:detailsofepisodicmemoriesareveryeasytoputintowords.
However,proceduralarenon-declarativememories:theyarestoredasasequenceofmotormovementsthataredifficult
toexpressinwords.
3
Semanticmemorystoresourknowledgeoftheworld.Thisislikeacombinationofanencyclopaediaanda
dictionary.Forexample,itincludesknowledgeofsuchthingsasapplyingtouniversity,thetasteofanorange,andthe
meaningofwords.Semanticmemoriesarenottimestamped;forexample,wedonotusuallyrememberwhenwefirst
learnedabout‘JustinBieber’.
4
Asabove.
5
Episodicmemorystoreseventsfromourlives.Thisstorehasbeenlikenedtoadiaryofdailyhappenings.For
example,yourmostrecentvisittothedentist,thepsychologyclassyouhadyesterday,thebreakfastyouatethismorning.
Theyaretime-stamped–yourememberwhentheyhappenedandtheyinvolveseveralelements–people,places,objects
andbehavioursarewovenintoonememory.Semanticmemorystoresourknowledgeoftheworld.Thisislikea
combinationofanencyclopaediaandadictionary.Forexample,itincludesknowledgeofsuchthingsasapplyingto
university,thetasteofanorange,andthemeaningofwords.Semanticmemoriesarenottimestamped;forexample,we
donotusuallyrememberwhenwefirstlearnedabout‘JustinBieber’.Proceduralmemorystoresmemoriesforactionsand
skills.Thesearememoriesofhowwedothings,forexampledrivingacarorplayingtabletennis.Thesearethesortsof
skillswemightevenfindquitehardtoexplaintosomeoneelsebecausewerecallthesememorieswithoutconscious
awareness.
AstrengthisthatbrainscanstudiesshowthattherearedifferentLTMstores.Tulvingetal.(1994)hadparticipantsperform
variousmemorytaskswhiletheirbrainswerescannedwithaPETscanner.Episodicandsemanticmemorieswereinthe
prefrontalcortex;semanticinleftsideandepisodicinrightprefrontalcortex.Thisshowsaphysicalrealityinthebrainto
thedifferenttypesofLTM,confirmedinmanyresearchstudies,supportingitsvalidity.
AstrengthisthatidentifyingdifferentLTMstoreshasreal-lifeapplications.Psychologistscantargetcertainkindsof
memoryinordertoimprovepeople'slives.Bellevilleetal.(2006)foundthatepisodicmemoriescanbeimprovedinolder
peoplewithmildcognitiveimpairments.Trainingledtoimprovements(comparedtocontrolgroup).Thishighlightsthe
benefitofdistinguishingbetweendifferenttypesofLTM–itallowsspecifictreatmentstobedeveloped.
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AlimitationofTulving’sapproachisthattheremaybeonlytwotypesofLTM.CohenandSquire(1980)arguedthat
episodicandsemanticmemoriesarestoredtogetherinoneLTMstorecalleddeclarativememory(memoriesthatcanbe
consciouslyrecalled).CohenandSquireagreethatproceduralmemoryisadistinctlydifferentkindofmemoryto
semantic/episodic,andcallitnon-declarative.Itisimportanttogetthedistinctionbetweensemanticandepisodic
memoriesrightbecausethewaywedefinetheminfluenceshowmemorystudiesareconducted.
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1
Thephonologicalloopdealswithauditoryinformationandpreservestheorderinwhichtheinformationarrives.
Itissubdividedintothephonologicalstore(storesthewordsyouhear)andthearticulatoryprocess(allowsmaintenance
rehearsal).
Theepisodicbufferisatemporarystoreforinformation.Itintegratesvisual,spatialandverbalinformationfromother
storesandlinksSTMtoLTM.
2
WorkingmemoryisanexplanationofhowSTMisorganisedandhowitfunctions.
Forexample,WMMisconcernedwiththepartofthemindthatisactivewhenworkingonanarithmeticproblemor
playingchessorcomprehendinglanguage,etc.Thecentralexecutive
(CE)isinoverallchargeandallocatesattentionalresourcestoslavesystemsdependingonthetask.Ithasaverylimited
storagecapacity.Thevisuo-spatialsketchpad(VSS)storesvisualand/orspatialinformationwhenrequired(e.g.recalling
howmanywindowsyourhousehas).Logie(1995)subdividedtheVSSintothevisualcache(storesvisualdata)andthe
innerscribe(recordsthearrangementofobjectsinthevisualfield).Thephonologicalloopdealswithauditoryinformation
andpreservestheorderinwhichtheinformationarrives.Itissubdividedintothephonologicalstore(storesthewordsyou
hear)andthearticulatoryprocess(allowsmaintenancerehearsal).Theepisodicbufferisatemporarystoreforinformation.
Itintegratesvisual,spatial,andverbalinformationfromotherstoresandlinksSTMtoLTM.
3
AstrengthoftheWMMisthatthecaseofKFsupportsseparateSTMstores.ShalliceandWarrington(1970)
carriedoutacasestudyofpatientKFwhohadbraindamage.HehadpoorSTMabilityforverbalinformationbutcould
processvisualinformationnormally(difficultywithsoundsbutcouldrecallletters/digits).Sohisphonologicalloophad
beendamagedbutotherareasofmemorywereintact.Thissuggeststhereareseparatevisualandacousticstores.
AnotherstrengthisthatdualtaskperformancestudiessupporttheVSS.Baddeleyetal.(1975)foundparticipantshadmore
difficultydoingtwovisualtasks(trackingalightanddescribingtheletterF)thandoingavisualandverbaltaskatthesame
time.Thegreaterdifficultyisbecausebothvisualtaskscompeteforthesamelimitedresources.Whendoingaverbaland
visualtasksimultaneously,thereisnocompetition.Thereforedualtaskperformanceactivityprovidesevidenceforthe
existenceofthevisuo-spatialsketchpad.Themulti-storemodelcannotexplainthis.
4
WorkingmemoryisanexplanationofhowSTMisorganisedandhowitfunctions.
Forexample,WMMisconcernedwiththepartofthemindthatisactivewhenworkingonanarithmeticproblemor
playingchessorcomprehendinglanguage,etc.Thecentralexecutive
(CE)isinoverallchargeandallocatesattentionalresourcestoslavesystemsdependingonthetask.Ithasaverylimited
storagecapacity.Thevisuo-spatialsketchpad(VSS)storesvisualand/orspatialinformationwhenrequired(e.g.recalling
howmanywindowsyourhousehas).Logie(1995)subdividedtheVSSintothevisualcache(storesvisualdata)andthe
innerscribe(recordsthearrangementofobjectsinthevisualfield).Thephonologicalloopdealswithauditoryinformation
andpreservestheorderinwhichtheinformationarrives.Itissubdividedintothephonologicalstore(storesthewordsyou
hear)andthearticulatoryprocess(allowsmaintenancerehearsal).Theepisodicbufferisatemporarystoreforinformation.
Itintegratesvisual,spatial,andverbalinformationfromotherstoresandlinksSTMtoLTM.
AlimitationoftheWMMisalackofclarityoverthecentralexecutive.CognitivepsychologistssuggestthattheCEis
unsatisfactoryanddoesn'treallyexplainanything.TheCEshouldbemoreclearlyspecifiedthanjustbeingsimply
'attention'.Somepsychologistsbelieveitmayconsistofseparatecomponents.ThismeansthattheWMMhasn'tbeenfully
explained.
Astrengthisthatthewordlengtheffectsupportsthephonologicalloop.Baddeleyetal.(1975)foundpeoplehavemore
difficultyrememberingalistoflongwords(e.g.'association')thanshortwords.Thisisthewordlengtheffect.Thisis
becausethereislimitedspaceforrehearsalinthearticulatoryprocess(probablyabouttwoseconds).Wordlengtheffect
disappearsifapersonisgivenarepetitivetasktyingupthearticulatoryprocess,demonstratingtheprocessatwork.
Afurtherstrengthofthemodelissupportfrombrainscanningstudies.Braveretal.’s(1997)participantsdidtasksinvolving
theCEwhiletheywerehavingabrainscan.Activityseeninanareaknownastheprefrontalcortex.Activityinthisarea
increasedasthetaskbecameharder.ThismakessenseintermsoftheWMM:asdemandsontheCEincrease,ithasto
workhardertofulfilitsfunction.SothisstudyprovidesevidencethattheCEmayhaveaphysicalrealityinthebrain.
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P39
1
Retroactiveinterferenceiswhennewinformationconflictswith/disruptspreviouslystoredinformation.For
example,ateacherlearnsmanynewnamesthisyearandcan’trememberthenamesofherpreviousstudents.
2
Proactiveinterferenceiswhenpreviouslystoredinformationconflictswith/disruptsnewinformation.For
example,ateacherlearnsmanynamesinthepastandcan’tremembernamesofhercurrentclass.
3
Alimitationoftheresearchintointerferenceistheuseofartificialmaterials.Thestimulusmaterialusedisoften
wordlists.Thisismorerealisticthanconsonantsyllables,butisstillquitedifferentfromthingswerememberineveryday
life.
Anotherlimitationoftheresearchisthetimeallowedbetweenlearning.Timeperiodsbetweenlearninglistsofwordsand
recallingthemarequiteshortinlabstudies.Aparticipantmightlearntwolistswithin20minutes.Researchreducesthe
wholeexperienceoflearningintoashorttimeperiodwhichdoesnotreflecthowwelearnandremembermost
informationinreallife.
4
McGeoghandMcDonald(1931)gaveparticipantslistsofwordstorecallto100%accuracy.
Thentheyweregivenanewlisttolearn.Thenewmaterialvariedinthedegreetowhichitwassimilartotheold:
Group1–wordshadsamemeaningsastheoriginals.
Group2–wordshadoppositemeaningstotheoriginals.
Group3–wordsunrelatedtotheoriginalones.
Group4–nonsensesyllables.
Group5–three-digitnumbers.
Group6–nonewlist.
Performancedependedonthenatureofthesecondlist.Themostsimilarmaterial(synonyms)producedtheworstrecall.
Whentheparticipantsweregivenverydifferentmaterial,suchasthree-digitnumbers,themeannumberofitemsrecalled
increased.
5
Interferenceoccurswhentwopiecesofinformationareinconflict.ThiscausesforgettinginLTMbecausewe
can’tgetaccesstomemorieseventhoughtheyareavailable.Proactiveinterferenceiswhenpreviouslystoredinformation
conflictswith/disruptsnewinformation.Forexample,ateacherlearnedmanynamesinthepastandcan’tremember
namesofhercurrentclass.Retroactiveinterferenceiswhennewinformationconflictswith/disruptspreviouslystored
information.Forexample,ateacherlearnsmanynewnamesthisyearandcan’trememberthenamesofherprevious
students.Interferenceisworsewhenmemoriesaresimilar.ThismaybebecauseinPIpreviouslystoredinformationmakes
newinformationmoredifficulttostore,orinRInewinformationoverwritespreviousmemorieswhicharesimilar.
Evidencefromlabstudiesconsistentlydemonstratesinterferenceinmemory.Manylabexperimentshavebeencarriedout
intointerferenceandmostofthesestudiesshowthatbothtypesofinterferenceareverylikelycausesofforgettingfrom
LTM.Labexperimentscontroltheeffectsofextraneousvariablesandsogiveusconfidencethatinterferenceisavalid
explanation.
Anotherstrengthisthatreal-lifestudieshavesupportedtheinterferenceexplanation.BaddeleyandHitch(1977)asked
rugbyplayerstorecallthenamesofteamstheyhadplayedsofarinthatseason,weekbyweek.Accuraterecalldidnot
dependonhowlongagothematchtookplace.Moreimportantwasthenumberofgamesplayedinthemeantime.This
studyshowsthatinterferenceexplanationscanapplytoatleastsomeeverydaysituations.
Alimitationisthatinterferenceeffectsmaybeovercomeusingcues.TulvingandPsotka(1971)gaveparticipantsfivelists
of24words,eachorganisedintosixcategories(e.g.metals,fruit,etc.).Categorieswerenotexplicitbutitwasassumed
theywouldbeobviouswhenpresented.Recallwasabout70%forthefirstlist,butthisfellaseachadditionallistwas
learned,presumablyduetointerference.However,whengivenacuedrecalltest(toldthenamesofthecategories)recall
roseagaintoabout70%.ThememoriesofthewordswerestoredinLTMbutinterferencepreventedaccesstothem.When
givenacue,itwaseasiertoaccesstheforgottenwords.
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Lackofcuescancauseretrievalfailure.Wheninformationisinitiallyplacedinmemory,associatedcuesare
storedatthesametime.Ifthesecuesarenotavailableatthetimeofrecall,youmightnotbeabletoaccessmemoriesthat
areactuallythere.
2
Lackofcuescancauseretrievalfailure.Wheninformationisinitiallyplacedinmemory,associatedcuesare
storedatthesametime.Ifthesecuesarenotavailableatthetimeofrecall,youmightnotbeabletoaccessmemoriesthat
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areactuallythere.Tulving(1983)suggestedthatcueshelpretrievalifthesamecuesarepresentatencoding(i.e.‘coding’,
whenwelearnthematerial)andatretrieval(whenwearerecallingit).Theclosertheretrievalcuetotheoriginalcue,the
betterthecueworks.Thisiscalledtheencodingspecificityprinciple.
3
Alimitationisthatcontexteffectsareactuallynotverystronginreallife.Baddeley(1966)arguedthatdifferent
contextshavetobeverydifferentindeedbeforeaneffectisseen(e.g.onlandversusunderwater).Learningsomethingin
oneroomandrecallingitinanotherisunlikelytoresultinmuchforgettingbecausetheenvironmentsarenotdifferent
enough.Sothereal-lifeapplicationsofretrievalfailureduetocontextualcuesdon'tactuallyexplainmuchforgetting.
Anotherlimitationiscontexteffectsonlyoccurwhenmemoryistestedincertainways.GoddenandBaddeley(1980)
replicatedtheirunderwaterexperimentusingarecognitiontestinsteadofrecall.Therewasnocontext-dependenteffect.
Performancewasthesameinallfourconditionswhethertheenvironmentalcontextsforlearningandrecallmatchedor
not.Thislimitsretrievalfailureasanexplanationforforgettingbecausethepresenceorabsenceofcuesonlyaffects
memorywhenyoutestrecallratherthanrecognition.
4
GoddenandBaddeley(1975)gavedeep-seadiverslistofwordstolearnandrecall.
Group1:Learnonland–recallonland.
Group2:Learnonland–recallunderwater.
Group3:Learnunderwater–recallonland.
Group4:Learnunderwater–recallunderwater.
Whentheenvironmentalcontextsoflearningandrecalldidnotmatch(i.e.conditions2and3)accuraterecallwas40%
lowerthanwhentheydidmatch(i.e.conditions1and4).Thisstudydemonstratescontext-dependentforgettingbecause
informationwasnotaccessible(i.e.wasforgotten)whencontextatrecalldidnotmatchcontextatlearning.
5
Lackofcuescancauseretrievalfailure.Wheninformationisinitiallyplacedinmemory,associatedcuesare
storedatthesametime.Ifthesecuesarenotavailableatthetimeofrecall,youmightnotbeabletoaccessmemoriesthat
areactuallythere.Somecuesarelinkedtothematerial-to-be-rememberedinameaningfulway.Forexample,thecue
‘STM’mayleadyoutorecallallsortsofinformationaboutshorttermmemory.Othercuesarealsoencodedatthetimeof
learningbutnotinameaningfulway.Context-dependentforgettingiswhenmemoryretrievalisdependentonan
external/environmentalcue(e.g.theweatheroraplace).State-dependentforgettingiswhenmemoryretrievalis
dependentonaninternalcue,stateofmind(e.g.feelingupset,beingdrunk).Tulving(1983)suggestedthatcueshelp
retrievalifthesamecuesarepresentatencoding(i.e.‘coding’,whenwelearnthematerial)andatretrieval(whenweare
recallingit).Theclosertheretrievalcuetotheoriginalcue,thebetterthecueworks.Thisiscalledtheencodingspecificity
principle.
Animpressiverangeofevidencesupportsthisexplanationofforgetting,forexampleGoddenandBaddeley'sresearchwith
deepseadivers.Infact,Eysenck(2010)goessofarastoarguethatretrievalfailureisperhapsthemainreasonfor
forgettinginLTM.Supportingevidenceincreasesthevalidityofanexplanation,especiallywhenconductedinreal-life
situationsaswellasthehighlycontrolledconditionsofthelab.
Alimitationisthattheencodingspecificityprinciple(ESP)cannotbetestedandleadstocircularreasoning.Whenacue
producessuccessfulrecallofaword,weassumethecuemusthavebeenpresentatthetimeoflearning.Ifacuedoesnot
resultinsuccessfulrecall,thenweassumethatthecuewasnotencodedatthetimeoflearning.Butthereisnowayto
independentlyestablishwhetherornotthecuehasreallybeenencoded.
Astrengthisthatcontext-relatedcueshaveusefuleverydayapplications.Peopleoftenreporttheseexperiences:they
wereupstairsandwentdownstairstogetanitembutforgotwhattheycamedownstairsfor.Butwhentheygoback
upstairs,theyrememberagain!Theapplicationisthatwhenwehavetroublerememberingsomething,itisprobablyworth
makingtheefforttorevisittheenvironmentinwhichyoufirstexperiencedit.Thisisabasicprincipleofthecognitive
interview,amethodofgettingeyewitnessestorecallmoreinformationaboutcrimesbyusingatechniquecalled'context
reinstatement'.
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1
Eyewitnesstestimonyistheabilityofpeopletorememberthedetailsofevents,suchasaccidentsandcrimes,
whichtheythemselveshaveobserved.AccuracyofEWTcanbeaffectedbyfactorssuchasmisleadinginformation,leading
questionsandanxiety.
2
Incorrectinformationgiventotheeyewitnessusuallyaftertheevent.Itcantakemanyformssuchasleading
questionsandpost-eventdiscussionbetweenco-witnessesand/orotherpeople.
3
Aleadingquestionisonethatsuggestsacertainanswerbecauseofthewayitisphrased.Forexample,‘Wasthe
knifeinhislefthand?’Thisimpliestheansweris‘lefthand’.
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Inpost-eventdiscussion(PED),witnessestoaneventdiscusswhattheyhaveexperienced.Thiscouldaffecttheaccuracyof
theirrecallifthey‘suggest’aparticulardetailoftheeventtoeachotherwhichdidnothappen.
4
LoftusandPalmer(1974)showed45participants(students)filmclipsofcaraccidentsandthenaskedthem
questionsaboutspeed.Thecriticalquestionwas'Abouthowfastwerethecarsgoingwhentheyhiteachother?'Five
groupsofparticipantswereeachgivenadifferentverbinthecriticalquestion:hit,contacted,bumped,collidedor
smashed.Theverb'contacted'producedameanestimatedspeedof31.8mph.Fortheverb'smashed',themeanwas40.5
mph.Theleadingquestion(verb)biasedeyewitnessrecallofanevent.Theverb'smashed'suggestedafasterspeedofthe
carthan‘contacted’.
5
Gabbertetal.(2003)gotpairedparticipantstowatchavideoofthesamecrime,butitwasfilmedinawaythat
eachparticipantcouldseeelementsintheeventthattheothercouldnot.
Bothparticipantsdiscussedwhattheyhadseenonthevideobeforeindividuallycompletingatestofrecall;71%ofthe
participantsmistakenlyrecalledaspectsoftheeventthattheydidnotseeinthevideobuthadpickedupinthepost-event
discussion.Inacontrolgroup,wheretherewasnodiscussion,therewerenoerrors.
6
Misleadinginformationmaycomeintwoforms:leadingquestionsandpost-eventdiscussion.Aleadingquestion
isonethatsuggestsacertainanswerbecauseofthewayitisphrased.Forexample,‘Wastheknifeinhislefthand?’This
impliestheansweris‘lefthand’.
LoftusandPalmer(1974)showed45participants(students)filmclipsofcaraccidentsandthenaskedthemquestions
aboutspeed.Thecriticalquestionwas'Abouthowfastwerethecarsgoingwhentheyhiteachother?'Fivegroupsof
participantswereeachgivenadifferentverbinthecriticalquestion:hit,contacted,bumped,collidedorsmashed.Theverb
'contacted'producedameanestimatedspeedof31.8mph.Fortheverb'smashed',themeanwas40.5mph.Theleading
question(verb)biasedeyewitnessrecallofanevent.Theverb'smashed'suggestedafasterspeedofthecarthan
‘contacted’suggestingthatleadingquestionscanaffectthereliabilityofEWT.
Inpost-eventdiscussion(PED),witnessestoaneventdiscusswhattheyhaveexperienced.Thiscouldaffecttheaccuracyof
theirrecallifthey‘suggest’aparticulardetailoftheeventtoeachotherwhichdidnothappen.
Astrengthisthatresearchintomisleadinginformationhasreal-lifeapplications.Theresearchhasledtoimportant
practicalusesforpoliceofficersandinvestigators,importantbecausetheconsequencesofinaccurateEWTcanbevery
serious.Loftus(1975)claimedthatleadingquestionscanhavesuchadistortinginfluenceonmemorythatpoliceofficers
needtobecarefulabouthowtheyphrasequestionswheninterviewingeyewitnesses.ResearchintoEWTisonearea
wherepsychologistscanmakeanimportantdifferencetothelivesofrealpeople,e.g.byimprovinghowthelegalsystem
worksandactingasexpertwitnesses.
AlimitationistheremaybeindividualdifferencesinaccuracyofEWT.AnastasiandRhodes
(2006)foundthatolderpeoplewerelessaccuratethanyoungerpeoplewhengivingeyewitnessreports.However,they
alsofoundthatallagegroupsweremoreaccuratewhenidentifyingpeopleoftheirownagegroup(own-agebias).
Researchstudiesoftenuseyoungerpeopleasthetargettoidentify.Sosomeagegroupsmayseemlessaccuratebutthisis
notreallythecase.
AfurtherlimitationisthatmanyEWTresearchstudieslackexternalvalidity.Fosteretal.(1994)arguethatwhatyou
rememberasaneyewitnesscanhaveimportantconsequencesintherealworld,butthesameisnottrueinresearch
studies.Realeyewitnessessearchtheirmemorywithmoreeffortbecausetheirtestimonymayleadtoasuccessful
conviction(orwrongfulifinaccurate).Thisisnottrueinresearchstudies.ThereforeEWTaccuracymaybegreaterinthe
realworldbecauseoftheseriousnesswitheyewitnessesundertaketheirrole.
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1
Inareal-lifecrimeagun-shopownershotathiefdead.Therewere21witnesses,13agreedtoparticipateinthe
study.Participantswereinterviewed4–5monthsaftertheincident.Accountswerecomparedtothepoliceinterviewsat
thetimeoftheshooting.Witnessesratedhowstressedtheyfeltatthetimeoftheincident.
Witnesseswereveryaccurateandtherewaslittlechangeafter5months.Somedetailswerelessaccurate,e.g.coloursof
items,andage/weight/height.Participantswhoreportedthehighestlevelsofstressweremostaccurate(about88%
comparedto75%fortheless-stressedgroup).
2
YerkesandDodson(1908)arguethattherelationshipbetweenaccuracyofeyewitnesstestimonyand
arousal/stressiscurvilinearratherthanlinear,aninvertedUrelationship.Deffenbacher(1983)foundthatlowerlevelsof
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anxietydidproducelowerlevelsofrecallaccuracy.Recallaccuracyincreaseswithanxietyuptoanoptimalpoint.Adrastic
declineinaccuracyisseenwhenaneyewitnessexperiencesmoreanxietythantheoptimalpoint.
3
Anxietymayhavenegativeandpositiveeffectsonrecall.JohnsonandScott(1976)involvedparticipantshearing
anargumentinthenextroom.Inthelow-anxietycondition,amanwalkedthroughthewaitingroomcarryingapenwith
greaseonhishands.Inthehigh-anxietycondition,theheatedargumentwasaccompaniedbythesoundofbreakingglass.
Amanthenwalkedthroughtheroomholdingapaperknifecoveredinblood.49%ofparticipantsinthelow-anxiety
conditionwereabletoidentifythemanfromasetofphotographswhentestedlater.Thecorrespondingfigureforhighanxietyparticipantswasjust33%.Thetunneltheoryofmemoryarguesthatawitness'sattentionisontheweapon
(weaponfocus),becauseitisasourceofdangerandanxiety.
Incontrast,YuilleandCutshall(1986)foundveryaccuraterecallofareal-lifeshootingupto5monthsaftertheevent.
Participantswhoreportedthehighestlevelsofstressweremostaccurate(about88%comparedto75%forthelessstressedgroup).ThissuggeststhatanxietycanenhanceaccuracyofEWT.
YerkesandDodson(1908)arguethattherelationshipbetweenaccuracyofeyewitnesstestimonyandarousal/stressis
curvilinearratherthanlinear,aninvertedUrelationship.Deffenbacher(1983)foundthatlowerlevelsofanxietydid
producelowerlevelsofrecallaccuracy.Recallaccuracyincreaseswithanxietyuptoanoptimalpoint.Adrasticdeclinein
accuracyisseenwhenaneyewitnessexperiencesmoreanxietythantheoptimalpoint.
AlimitationofJohnsonandScott’sstudyisthatitmaytestsurprisenotanxiety.Participantsmayfocusonaweapon
becausetheyaresurprisedatwhattheyseeratherthanbecausetheyarescared.Pickel(1998)usedscissors,handgun,
walletandrawchickenashand-helditemsinahairdressingsalon.EWTaccuracywaspoorerforhighunusualness(chicken
andhandgun).Sotheweaponfocuseffectisduetounusualnessratherthananxiety/threatandthereforetellsusnothing
specificallyabouttheeffectsofanxietyonEWT.
Anotherlimitationisthatthereareethicalissuesinthisresearcharea.Creatinganxietyinparticipantsispotentially
unethicalbecauseitmaysubjectpeopletopsychologicalharmpurelyforresearchpurposes.Soreal-lifestudiesare
beneficial:psychologistsinterviewpeoplewhohavealreadywitnessedanevent,sothereisnoneedtocreateit.Ethical
issuesdon’tchallengethefindingsofstudies(e.g.JohnsonandScott)buttheydoraisequestionsaboutconductingsuch
research.
Theinverted-Uexplanationislimitedbecauseitistoosimplistic.Anxietyisdifficulttodefineandmeasurebecauseithas
manyelements–cognitive,behavioural,emotionalandphysical.Theinverted-Uexplanationassumesthatoneoftheseis
linkedtopoorperformance–physiological(physical)arousal.Theexplanationfailstoaccountforotherfactors;for
exampletheeffectoftheemotionalexperienceofwitnessingacrime(e.g.terror,fear)ontheaccuracyofmemory.
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1
Amethodofinterviewingeyewitnessestohelpthemretrievemoreaccuratememories.Itusesfourmain
techniques,allbasedonwell-establishedpsychologicalknowledgeofmemory–reporteverything,reinstatethecontext,
reversetheorder,andchangeperspective.
2
ToimprovetheaccuracyofEWT,thecognitiveinterviewusesfourtechniques.
Reporteverything:witnessesareencouragedtoincludeeverydetailofanevent,evenifitseemsirrelevantorthewitness
isnotconfidentaboutit.Seeminglytrivialdetailscouldbeimportantandmaytriggerothermemories.
Reinstatethecontext:thewitnessreturnstotheoriginalcrimescene‘intheirmind’andimaginestheenvironment(e.g.
theweather,whattheycouldsee)andtheiremotions(e.g.whattheyfelt)asthismaytriggerrecallasincontextdependentforgetting.
Reversetheorder:eventsarerecalledinadifferentchronologicalorder(e.g.fromtheendbacktothebeginning,orfrom
themiddletothebeginning).Thispreventspeopleusingtheirexpectationsofhowtheeventmusthavehappenedrather
thantheactualevents.
Changeperspective:witnessesrecalltheincidentfromotherpeople’sperspectives.Thispreventstheinfluenceof
expectationsandschemaonrecall.Schemaarepackagesofinformationdevelopedthroughexperience.Theygeneratea
frameworkforinterpretingincominginformation.
3
Reporteverything:witnessesareencouragedtoincludeeverydetailofanevent,evenifitseemsirrelevantor
thewitnessisnotconfidentaboutit.Seeminglytrivialdetailscouldbeimportantandmaytriggerothermemories.
Reinstatethecontext:thewitnessreturnstotheoriginalcrimescene‘intheirmind’andimaginestheenvironment(e.g.
theweather,whattheycouldsee)andtheiremotions(e.g.whattheyfelt)asthismaytriggerrecallasincontextdependentforgetting.
4
See2above.
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5
ToimprovetheaccuracyofEWT,thecognitiveinterviewusesfourtechniques.
Reporteverything:witnessesareencouragedtoincludeeverydetailofanevent,evenifitseemsirrelevantorthewitness
isnotconfidentaboutit.Seeminglytrivialdetailscouldbeimportantandmaytriggerothermemories.
Reinstatethecontext:thewitnessreturnstotheoriginalcrimescene‘intheirmind’andimaginestheenvironment(e.g.
theweather,whattheycouldsee)andtheiremotions(e.g.whattheyfelt)asthismaytriggerrecallasincontextdependentforgetting.
Reversetheorder:eventsarerecalledinadifferentchronologicalorder(e.g.fromtheendbacktothebeginning,orfrom
themiddletothebeginning).Thispreventspeopleusingtheirexpectationsofhowtheeventmusthavehappenedrather
thantheactualevents.
Changeperspective:witnessesrecalltheincidentfromotherpeople’sperspectives.Thispreventstheinfluenceof
expectationsandschemaonrecall.Schemaarepackagesofinformationdevelopedthroughexperience.Theygeneratea
frameworkforinterpretingincominginformation.
AstrengthisthatsomeelementsofthefullCIareuseful.MilneandBull(2002)foundthateachindividualelementofthe
CIwasequallyvaluable.However,theyalsofoundthatacombinationof'reporteverything'and'contextreinstatement'
producedbetterrecallthananyoftheothertechniquesindividually.Soatleastthesetwoelementsshouldbeusedto
improvepoliceinterviewingofeyewitnessesevenifthefullCIisn'tused.
AlimitationoftheCIisthatitistime-consuming.PolicearereluctanttouseCIbecauseittakesmuchmoretimethanthe
standardpoliceinterview.Moretimeisneededtoestablishrapportwiththewitnesstoallowthemtorelax.Kebbelland
Wagstaff(1997)pointoutthattheCIalsorequiresspecialtrainingandmanyforceshavenotbeenabletoprovidemore
thanafewhours.Thismeansitisunlikelythatthe'proper'versionoftheCIisactuallyused(whichmayexplainwhypolice
havenotbeenthatimpressedbyit).
AnotherlimitationisthatCIproducesanincreaseininaccurateinformation.Thetechniquesofthe
CIaimtoincreasetheamountofcorrectinformationrecalled,buttherecallofincorrectinformationmayalsobe
increased.Köhnkenetal.(1999)foundan81%increaseincorrectinformationbutalsoa61%increaseinincorrect
information(falsepositives)whentheenhancedCIwascomparedtoastandardinterview.Theincreaseincorrect
informationimpliesthatpoliceshouldcontinuetouseCI.However,theresultsalsosuggestthatpoliceneedtotreatall
informationcollectedwithcaution.
3.Attachment
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1
Reciprocity:Fromaroundthreemonths,reciprocalinteractiontendstobeincreasinglyfrequent,wheneach
personrespondstotheotherandelicitsaresponsefromthem.Itinvolvescloseattentiontoeachother’sverbalsignals
andfacialexpressions.
Interactionalsynchrony:twopeoplearesaidtobe‘synchronised’whentheycarryoutthesameactionsimultaneously.
Interactionalsynchronycanbedefinedas‘thecoordinationofmicro-levelbehaviour’(Feldman2007).Ittakesplacewhen
motherandinfantinteractinsuchawaythattheiractionsandemotionsmirrortheother.
2
Isabellaetal.(1989)observed20mothersandinfantstogetherandassessedthedegreeofsynchronyandthe
qualityofmother–infantattachment.Theresearchersfoundthathighlevelsofsynchronywereassociatedwithbetter
qualitymother–infantattachment(e.g.theemotionalintensityoftherelationship).
3
MeltzofandMoore(1977)observedthebeginningsofinteractionalsynchronyandreciprocityininfantsasyoung
astwoweeksold.Anadultdisplayedoneofthreefacialexpressionsoroneofthreedistinctivegesturesandthechild’s
responsewasfilmed.Anassociationwasfoundbetweentheexpression/gestureandtheactionofthechild.
4
Frombirth,babiesandtheirmothers(orothercarers)spendalotoftimeinintenseandpleasurableinteraction.
Babieshaveperiodic‘alertphases’andsignaltheyarereadyforinteraction,whichmothersrespondtoaroundtwo-thirds
ofthetime(FeldmanandEidleman2007).
Onefeatureofcaregiver–infantinteractionisinteractionalsynchronywhichcanbedefinedas‘thecoordinationofmicrolevelbehaviour’(Feldman2007).Ittakesplacewhenmotherandinfantinteractinsuchawaythattheiractionsand
emotionsmirrortheother.Synchronyprovidesthenecessaryfoundationforthemotherandinfantconnectionwhichcan
bebuiltuponinsubsequentyears.Isabellaetal.(1989)observed20mothersandinfantstogetherandassessedthedegree
ofsynchronyandthequalityofmother–infantattachment.Theresearchersfoundthathighlevelsofsynchronywere
associatedwithbetterqualitymother–infantattachment(e.g.theemotionalintensityoftherelationship).
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Reciprocityiswhenonepersonrespondstotheother.Fromaroundthreemonthsreciprocalinteractiontendstobe
increasinglyfrequent,wheneachpersonrespondstotheotherandelicitsaresponsefromthem.Itinvolvescloseattention
toeachother’sverbalsignalsandfacialexpressions.Brazletonetal.(1975)describedthisinteractionasa‘dance’because
itisjustlikeacouple’sdancewhereeachpartnerrespondstoeachother’smoves.
Alimitationofresearchintocaregiver–infantinteractionisthatitishardtoknowwhatishappeningwhenobserving
infants.Manystudiesintomother–infantinteractionshaveshownthesamepatternsofbehaviour(Gratier2003).
However,whatisbeingobservedismerelyhandmovementsorchangesinexpression.Itisdifficulttobesure,basedon
theseobservations,whatistakingplacefromtheinfant'sperspective.Forexample,istheinfant'simitationofadultsignals
consciousanddeliberate?Thismeanswecannotbecertainthatbehavioursseeninmother–infantinteractionshavea
specialmeaning.
Astrengthoftheresearchisthatituseswell-controlledprocedures.Mother–infantinteractionsareusuallyfilmed,often
frommultipleangles.Veryfinedetailsofbehaviourcanberecordedandanalysedlater.Alsobabiesdon'tknowtheyare
beingobserved,sotheirbehaviourdoesnotchangeinresponsetoobservation(generallythemainproblemfor
observationresearch).Thisisastrengthofthislineofresearchbecauseitmeansthestudieshavegoodvalidity.
However,observationsdon'ttellusthepurposeofsynchronyandreciprocity.Feldman(2012)pointsoutthatsynchrony
(andbyimplicationreciprocity)simplydescribebehavioursthatoccuratthesametime.Thesearerobustphenomenain
thesensethattheycanbereliablyobserved,butthismaynotbeparticularlyusefulasitdoesnottellustheirpurpose.
However,thereissomeevidencethatreciprocityandsynchronyarehelpfulinthedevelopmentofmother–infant
attachment,stressresponses,empathy,languageandmoraldevelopment.
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1
InSchafferandEmerson’s(1964)study,75%ofchildreneventuallyformedsecondaryattachmentswiththeir
fatherat18months.Thiswasindicatedbythefacttheinfantsprotestedwhentheirfatherwalkedaway,asignof
attachment.
InGrossman’s(2002)study,thequalityoffathers’playwithinfantswasrelatedtochildren’sattachments.Thissuggests
thatfathershaveadifferentroleinattachment,onethatismoretodowithplayandstimulationandlesstodowith
nurturing.
2
SchafferandEmerson(1964)foundthatthemajorityofbabiesbecameattachedtotheirmotherfirst(this
happensaround7months).Inonly3%ofcaseswasthefatherthefirstsoleobjectofattachment.In27%ofcasesthe
fatherwasthejointfirstobjectofattachmentwiththemother.Withinafewweeksormonthstheythenformedsecondary
attachmentstootherfamilymembers,includingthefather.
Grossmann(2002)carriedoutalongitudinalstudylookingatparents’behaviouranditsrelationshiptothequalityof
children’sattachmentsintotheirteens.Thisresearchfoundthatqualityofattachmentwiththefatherwaslessimportant
intheattachmenttypeoftheteenagersthanqualityofattachmentwiththemother.Thereforefathersmaybeless
importantinlong-termemotionaldevelopment.
3
SchafferandEmerson(1964)foundthatthemajorityofbabiesbecameattachedtotheirmotherfirst(this
happensaround7months).Inonly3%ofcaseswasthefatherthefirstsoleobjectofattachment.In27%ofcasesthe
fatherwasthejointfirstobjectofattachmentwiththemother.Withinafewweeksormonthstheythenformedsecondary
attachmentstootherfamilymembers,includingthefather.
Grossmann(2002)carriedoutalongitudinalstudylookingatparents’behaviouranditsrelationshiptothequalityof
children’sattachmentsintotheirteens.Thisresearchfoundthatqualityofattachmentwiththefatherwaslessimportant
intheattachmenttypeoftheteenagersthanqualityofattachmentwiththemother.Thereforefathersmaybeless
importantinlong-termemotionaldevelopment.
Alimitationisresearchersareinterestedindifferentresearchquestions.Somepsychologistswanttounderstandtherole
offathersassecondaryattachmentfigures.Butothersaremoreconcernedwithfathersasaprimaryattachmentfigure.
Theformerhavetendedtoseefathersasbehavingdifferentlyfrommothersandhavingadistinctrole.Thelatterhave
foundthatfatherscantakeona'maternal'role.Thisisalimitationbecauseitmeanspsychologistscannoteasilyanswer
thesimplequestion:whatistheroleofthefather?
Researchfailstoprovideaclearansweraboutfathersandprimaryattachments.Theanswercouldberelatedtotraditional
genderroles,inwhichwomenareexpectedtobemorecaringandnurturingthanmen.Therefore,fatherssimplydon'tfeel
theyshouldactinanurturingway.Oritcouldbethatfemalehormones(e.g.oestrogen)createhigherlevelsofnurturing
andthereforewomenarebiologicallypredisposedtobeprimaryattachmentfigures.
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Afurtherlimitationisthatsocialbiasespreventobjectiveobservation.Preconceptionsabouthowfathersbehaveare
createdbycommondiscussionsaboutmothers’andfathers’parentingbehaviour.Thesestereotypes(e.g.fathersaremore
playful,stricter,etc.)maycauseunintentionalobserverbiaswherebyobservers'see'whattheyexpectratherthan
recordingactualreality.Assuch,conclusionsontheroleofthefatherinattachmentarehardtodisentanglefromsocial
biasesabouttheirrole.
P53
1
Multipleattachmentsareattachmentstotwoormorepeople.Mostbabiesappeartodevelopmultiple
attachmentsoncetheyhaveformedonetrueattachmenttoamaincaregiver.
2
Intheasocialstage(firstfewweeks),thebaby’sbehaviourtowardsinanimateobjectsandhumansisquite
similar.Thereissomepreferenceforfamiliaradults–babiesaremoreeasilycalmedbythem.Intheindiscriminate
attachmentstage(2–7months),babiesnowdisplaymoreobservablesocialbehaviour,withapreferenceforpeoplerather
thaninanimateobjects.Theyrecogniseandpreferfamiliaradultsbutdonotshowstrangerorseparationanxiety.
Attachmentisindiscriminatebecauseit’sthesametowardsall.Inthespecificattachmentstage(fromaround7months),
strangeranxietyandseparationanxietyareseenwhenseparatedfromoneparticularadult(theprimaryattachment
figure).Babyissaidtohaveformedaspecificattachmentwiththeprimaryattachmentfigure.Thisisthebiologicalmother
in655ofcases.Inthemultipleattachmentsstage(oneyear),secondaryattachmentswithotheradultsformshortlyafter.
InSchafferandEmerson’sstudy,29%ofbabieshadsecondary(multiple)attachmentswithinamonthofformingaprimary
(specific)attachment.Bytheageofoneyearthemajorityofinfantshadmultiplesecondaryattachments.
3
Onelimitationisthatthereisaprobleminstudyingtheasocialyear.SchafferandEmersondescribethefirstfew
weeksasthe'asocial'stage,althoughimportantinteractionstakeplace.Butyoungbabieshavepoorcoordinationandare
fairlyimmobile,makingitdifficulttomakejudgmentsbasedonobservationsoftheirbehaviour.Itmaybethebabiesare
actuallyquitesocialbut,becauseofflawedmethodstheyappeartobeasocial.
Evidenceonthetimingofmultipleattachmentsisconflicting.Bowlby(1969)arguesthatmost(orall)babiesform
attachmentstoasinglemaincarerbeforetheyareabletodevelopmultipleattachments.Butmultipleattachmentsappear
fromtheoutsetincultureswheremultipleattachmentsarethenorm(basedonresearchbyvanIjzendoorn1993).Such
culturesarecalledcollectivistbecausefamiliesworktogetherjointlyineverything(e.g.producingfoodandraising
children).
4
SchafferandEmerson(1964)studied60babiesfromGlasgow,mostfromworking-classfamilies.Babiesandtheir
motherswerevisitedathomeeverymonthforayearandat
18months.Separationanxietywasmeasuredbyaskingmothersabouttheirchildren’sbehaviourduringeveryday
separations(e.g.adultleavingtheroom).Strangeranxietywasmeasuredbyaskingmothersquestionsabouttheir
children’sanxietyresponsetounfamiliaradults.
50%ofbabiesshowedseparationanxietytowardsaparticularadultbetween25and32weeksofage.Thisspecific
(primary)attachmentwasusuallywiththemother.Attachmenttendedtobetothecaregiverwhowasmostinteractive
andsensitivetoinfantsignalsandfacialexpressions(i.e.reciprocity).Thiswasnotnecessarilythepersontheinfantspent
mosttimewith.
5
Intheasocialstage(firstfewweeks),thebaby’sbehaviourtowardsinanimateobjectsandhumansisquite
similar.Thereissomepreferenceforfamiliaradults–babiesaremoreeasilycalmedbythem.Intheindiscriminate
attachmentstage(2–7months),babiesnowdisplaymoreobservablesocialbehaviour,withapreferenceforpeoplerather
thaninanimateobjects.Theyrecogniseandpreferfamiliaradultsbutdonotshowstrangerorseparationanxiety.
Attachmentisindiscriminatebecauseit’sthesametowardsall.Inthespecificattachmentstage(fromaround7months),
strangeranxietyandseparationanxietyareseenwhenseparatedfromoneparticularadult(theprimaryattachment
figure).Babyissaidtohaveformedaspecificattachmentwiththeprimaryattachmentfigure.Thisisthebiologicalmother
in655ofcases.Inthemultipleattachmentsstage(oneyear),secondaryattachmentswithotheradultsformshortlyafter.
InSchafferandEmerson’sstudy,29%ofbabieshadsecondary(multiple)attachmentswithinamonthofformingaprimary
(specific)attachment.Bytheageofoneyearthemajorityofinfantshadmultiplesecondaryattachments.
AstrengthofSchafferandEmerson'studyisthatithasexternalvalidity.Mostoftheobservations(notstrangeranxiety)
weremadebyparentsduringordinaryactivitiesandreportedtoresearchers.Sothebehaviourofthebabieswasunlikely
tobeaffectedbythepresenceofobservers.Itishighlylikelythattheparticipantsbehavednaturallywhilebeingobserved.
Onelimitationisthatthereisaprobleminstudyingtheasocialyear.SchafferandEmersondescribethefirstfewweeksas
the'asocial'stage,althoughimportantinteractionstakeplace.Butyoungbabieshavepoorcoordinationandarefairly
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immobile,makingitdifficulttomakejudgmentsbasedonobservationsoftheirbehaviour.Itmaybethebabiesareactually
quitesocialbut,becauseofflawedmethodstheyappeartobeasocial.
Evidenceonthetimingofmultipleattachmentsisconflicting.Bowlby(1969)arguesthatmost(orall)babiesform
attachmentstoasinglemaincarerbeforetheyareabletodevelopmultipleattachments.Butmultipleattachmentsappear
fromtheoutsetincultureswheremultipleattachmentsarethenorm(basedonresearchbyvanIjzendoorn1993).Such
culturesarecalledcollectivistbecausefamiliesworktogetherjointlyineverything(e.g.producingfoodandraising
children).
6
SchafferandEmerson(1964)studied60babiesfromGlasgow,mostfromworking-classfamilies.Babiesandtheir
motherswerevisitedathomeeverymonthforayearandat
18months.Separationanxietywasmeasuredbyaskingmothersabouttheirchildren’sbehaviourduringeveryday
separations(e.g.adultleavingtheroom).Strangeranxietywasmeasuredbyaskingmothersquestionsabouttheir
children’sanxietyresponsetounfamiliaradults.
50%ofbabiesshowedseparationanxietytowardsaparticularadultbetween25and32weeksofage.Thisspecific
(primary)attachmentwasusuallywiththemother.Attachmenttendedtobetothecaregiverwhowasmostinteractive
andsensitivetoinfantsignalsandfacialexpressions(i.e.reciprocity).Thiswasnotnecessarilythepersontheinfantspent
mosttimewith.
AstrengthofSchafferandEmerson'studyisthatithasexternalvalidity.Mostoftheobservations(notstrangeranxiety)
weremadebyparentsduringordinaryactivitiesandreportedtoresearchers.Sothebehaviourofthebabieswasunlikely
tobeaffectedbythepresenceofobservers.Itishighlylikelythattheparticipantsbehavednaturallywhilebeingobserved.
Anotherstrengthofthestudyisthatitwascarriedoutlongitudinally.Thismeansthatthesamechildrenwerefollowed-up
andobservedregularly.Thequickeralternativewouldhavebeentoobservedifferentchildrenateachage.Thisiscalled
cross-sectionaldesign.Butlongitudinaldesignshavebetterinternalvaliditybecausetheydonothavetheconfounding
variableofindividualdifferencesbetweenparticipants(participantvariables).
However,theremaybeaproblemwithhowmultipleattachmentisassessed.Justbecauseababygetsdistressedwhenan
individualleavestheroomdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheindividualisa'true'attachmentfigure.Bowlby(1969)
pointedoutthatchildrenmaybedistressedwhenaplaymateleavestheroom,butthisdoesnotsignifyattachmentto
them.SoSchafferand
Emerson'sresearchdoesnotdistinguishbetweenbehaviourshowntowardssecondaryattachmentfiguresandtowards
playmates.
P55
1
HarryHarlow(1958)reared16rhesusmonkeyswithtwowiremodel‘mothers’.Inonecondition,milkwas
dispensedbytheplainwire‘mother’.Inasecondcondition,itwasdispensedbythecloth-covered‘mothers’.Themonkeys’
preferencesweremeasured.Asafurthermeasureofattachment-likebehaviour,thereactionsofthemonkeystomore
frighteningsituationswereobserved.Forexample,Harlowaddedanoisemakingteddybeartotheenvironment.
Babymonkeyscuddledthesoftobjectinpreferencetothewireoneandregardlessofwhichdispensedmilk.Thissuggests
thatcontactcomfortwasofmoreimportancethanfoodwhenitcametoattachmentbehaviour.Themonkeyssought
comfortfromtheclothwiremotherwhenfrightened.Asadults,themonkeysthathadbeendeprivedoftheirrealmothers
sufferedsevereconsequences:theyweremoreaggressive,lesssociableandlessskilledinmatingthanothermonkeys.
Theyalsoneglectedandsometimeskilledtheirownoffspring.
2
KonradLorenz(1952)randomlydivided12gooseeggs,halfhatchedwiththemothergooseintheirnatural
environmentandtheotherhalfhatchedinanincubatorwherethefirstmovingobjecttheysawwasLorenz.Hethenmixed
allthegoslingstogethertoseewhomtheywouldfollow.Lorenzalsoobservedbirdsandtheirlatercourtshipbehaviour.
TheincubatorgroupfollowedLorenz,thecontrolgroupfollowedthemother.Lorenzidentifiedacriticalperiodinwhich
imprintingneedstotakeplace,e.g.fewhoursafterhatching.Ifimprintingdidnotoccurwithinthattime,chicksdidnot
attachthemselvestothemotherfigure.Sexualimprintingalsooccurswherebythebirdsacquireatemplateofthe
desirablecharacteristicsrequiredinamate.
3
OnelimitationofLorenz’sworkisgeneralisingfindingsandconclusionsfrombirdstohumans.Themammalian
attachmentsystemisquitedifferentfromthatinbirds.Forexample,mammalianmothersshowmoreemotional
attachmenttotheiryoung.ThismeansthatitisnotappropriatetogeneraliseLorenz'sideastohumans.
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Guiton(1966)foundthatchickensimprintedonyellowwashing-upglovestriedtomatewiththemasadults.Butwith
experiencetheylearnedtomatewiththeirownkind.ThisstudysuggeststhattheeffectsofimprintingarenotaslonglastingasLorenzbelieved.
4
Lorenz(1952)randomlydivided12gooseeggs,halfhatchedwiththemothergooseintheirnaturalenvironment
andtheotherhalfhatchedinanincubatorwherethefirstmovingobjecttheysawwasLorenz.Hethenmixedallthe
goslingstogethertoseewhomtheywouldfollow.Lorenzalsoobservedbirdsandtheirlatercourtshipbehaviour.The
incubatorgroupfollowedLorenz,thecontrolgroupfollowedthemother.Lorenzidentifiedacriticalperiodinwhich
imprintingneedstotakeplace,e.g.fewhoursafterhatching.
Harlow(1958)reared16rhesusmonkeyswithtwowiremodel‘mothers’.Inonecondition,milkwasdispensedbytheplain
wire‘mother’.Inasecondcondition,itwasdispensedbythecloth-covered‘mothers’.Themonkeys’preferenceswere
measured.Babymonkeyscuddledthesoftobjectinpreferencetothewireoneandregardlessofwhichdispensedmilk.
Thissuggeststhatcontactcomfortwasofmoreimportancethanfoodwhenitcametoattachmentbehaviour.
AstrengthofLorenz’sworkissupportfortheconceptofimprinting.Guiton(1966)foundthatchicksimprintedonyellow
washingupgloveswouldtrytomatewiththemasadults.Thissuggeststhatyounganimalsarebornwithaninnate
mechanismtoimprintonamovingobjectpresentinthecriticalwindowofdevelopment.Thissuggeststhereisaninnate
mechanismcausingayounganimaltoimprintonamovingobjectduringinthecriticalperiodofdevelopment.
AstrengthisthatHarlow'sresearchhasimportantpracticalapplications.Ithashelpedsocialworkersunderstandrisk
factorsinchildabuseandsointervenetopreventit(Howe1998).Wealsonowunderstandtheimportanceofattachment
figuresforbabymonkeysinzoosandbreedingprogrammesinthewild.TheusefulnessofHarlow'sresearchincreasesits
value.
However,Harlowfacedseverecriticismfortheethicsofhisresearch.Rhesusmonkeysaresimilarenoughtohumansforus
togeneralisefindings,whichalsomeanstheirsufferingwaspresumablyhuman-like.Harlowhimselfwasawareofthe
sufferingcaused.Hereferredtothewiremothersas'ironmaidens’,namedafteramedievaltorturedevice.ThecounterargumentisthatHarlow'sresearchwassufficientlyimportanttojustifytheprocedures.
P57
1
Thisissometimescalledthe'cupboardlove'explanationbecauseitemphasisestheimportanceoffoodin
attachmentformation.Childrenlearntolovewhoeverfeedsthem.
Classicalconditioninginvolveslearningtoassociatetwostimuli.InattachmenttheUCS(food)leadstoUCR(afeelingof
pleasure).Acaregiver(e.g.mother)startsasaneutralstimulusbutbyprovidingfoodovertimebecomesassociatedwith
food.SotheneutralstimulusbecomesaCS.OnceconditioninghastakenplacethesightofthecaregiverproducesaCRof
pleasure.Accordingtoalearningtheorist,thisisthebasisofattachmentlove.
Operantconditioningexplainswhybabiescryforcomfort(animportantbuildingblockforattachment).Cryingleadstoa
responsefromthecaregiver(e.g.feeding).Aslongasthecaregiverprovidesthecorrectresponse,cryingisreinforced
becauseitproducesapleasurableconsequence.Atthesametimeasthebabyisreinforcedforcrying,thecaregiver
receivesnegativereinforcementbecausethecryingstops.
2
Animalstudiesprovideevidenceagainstfoodasthebasisofattachment.Lorenz'simprintedgeesemaintained
attachmentsregardlessofwhofedthem.Harlow'smonkeysattachedtoasoftsurrogateinpreferencetoawireonewith
milk.Inboththeseanimalstudies,attachmentdidnotdevelopasaresultoffeeding.Thesamemustbetrueforhumans
(thatfooddoesnotcreatetheattachmentbond).Afterall,learningtheoristsbelievethatnon-humananimalsandhumans
areequivalent.
Learningtheoryignoresotherfactorslinkedwithattachment.Researchshowsthatqualityofattachmentisassociatedwith
developingreciprocityandgoodlevelsofinteractionalsynchrony.Studiesalsoshowthatthebestqualityattachmentsare
withsensitivecarerswhopickupinfantsignalsandrespondappropriately.Itisveryhardtoreconcilethesefindingswith
theideathatattachmentdevelopsprimarilythroughfeeding.
3
Thisissometimescalledthe'cupboardlove'explanationbecauseitemphasisestheimportanceoffoodin
attachmentformation.Childrenlearntolovewhoeverfeedsthem.
Classicalconditioninginvolveslearningtoassociatetwostimuli.InattachmenttheUCS(food)leadstoUCR(afeelingof
pleasure).Acaregiver(e.g.mother)startsasaneutralstimulusbutbyprovidingfoodovertimebecomesassociatedwith
food.SotheneutralstimulusbecomesaCS.OnceconditioninghastakenplacethesightofthecaregiverproducesaCRof
pleasure.Accordingtoalearningtheorist,thisisthebasisofattachmentlove.
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Operantconditioningexplainswhybabiescryforcomfort(animportantbuildingblockforattachment).Cryingleadstoa
responsefromthecaregiver(e.g.feeding).Aslongasthecaregiverprovidesthecorrectresponse,cryingisreinforced
becauseitproducesapleasurableconsequence.Atthesametimeasthebabyisreinforcedforcrying,thecaregiver
receivesnegativereinforcementbecausethecryingstops.
Humanresearchshowsthatfeedingisnotanimportantfactor.SchafferandEmerson(1964)showedthatformanybabies
aprimaryattachmentwasnottothepersonwhofedthem.Thisshowsthatfeedingisnotthekeyelementtoattachment
andsothereisnounconditionedstimulusorprimarydriveinvolved.Theevidencesuggeststhatotherfactorsaremore
importantthanfoodintheformationofattachment.
Astrengthisthatsomeelementsofconditioningcouldstillbeinvolved.Themainproblemwithlearningtheoryistheidea
thatfeedingprovidestheunconditionedstimulus,reinforcementorprimarydrive.However,manyaspectsofhuman
developmentareaffectedbyconditioning,soitseemsplausiblethatitcouldstillplayaroleinattachment(butnotin
relationtofeeding).Forexample,associations(classicalconditioning)betweentheprimarycaregiverandprovisionof
comfortandsocialinteractioncouldbepartofwhatbuildsattachment.
Thereisanewerlearningexplanationbasedonsociallearningtheory(SLT).HayandVespo(1988)suggestthatparents
teachchildrentolovethembymodellingattachmentbehaviours(e.g.huggingthemandotherfamilymembers).Andalso
byrewardingthemwithapprovalwhentheydisplaytheirownattachmentbehaviours('that'salovelysmile',etc.).Inthis
version,babieshavelearnedattachmentbehavioursasaresultoftheirinteractions,whichfitswithresearchonthe
importanceofinteractionalsynchronyandreciprocity.
P59
1
Criticalperiod–Bowlbyproposedthatthereisacriticalperiodwhentheinfantattachmentsystemisactive.A
childismaximallysensitiveuptotheageoftwoyears.Ifanattachmenthasnotformedinthistime,heorshewillfindit
muchhardertoformonelater.
Internalworkingmodel–Bowlbyarguedthatthechildformsamentalrepresentationoftherelationshipwiththeir
primaryattachmentfigure.Thisinternalworkingmodelisa‘template’forwhatrelationshipsarelike.Achildwhosefirst
experienceisalovingrelationshipwithareliablecaregiverwilltendtoformanexpectationthatallrelationshipsarelike
this.
2
Bowlbyarguedthatattachmentisinnate,likeimprintingandprovidestheinfantwithasurvivaladvantage.He
introducedtheconceptofmonotropy,theideathatthechildwillattachtooneprimaryattachmentfigure(usuallythe
mother),andthatthisattachmentisdifferentfromothersandmoreimportant.Bowlbybelievedthatthemoretimeababy
spentwiththisprimaryattachmentfigure/mother-figure(notnecessarilythebiologicalmother)thebetter.
Babiesarebornwithsocialreleasers–asetofinnate‘cute’behaviours(e.g.smiling,cooing,gripping,etc.)thatencourage
attentionfromadults.Thepurposeofthesesocialreleasersistoactivatetheadultattachmentsystem(i.e.makeanadult
feellovetowardsthebaby);Bowlbyrecognisedthatattachmentisareciprocalsystem.
Bowlbyproposedthatthereisacriticalperiodofabouttwoyearswhentheinfantattachmentsystemisactiveandthe
childismaximallysensitivetoforminganattachment.Ifanattachmenthasnotformedinthistime,thechildwillfindit
muchhardertoformonelater.
Finally,thefirstattachmentformsaninternalworkingmodelofrelationships.Bowlbyarguedthatthechildformsamental
representationoftherelationshipwiththeirprimaryattachmentfigureandthatthisservesasa‘template’forwhat
relationshipsarelike.
3
Theevidenceformonotropyismixed.SchafferandEmerson(1964)foundthatmostbabiesdidattachtoone
personatfirst,butasignificantminorityformedmultipleattachmentsatthesametime.ThiscontradictsBowlby's
assertionthatbabiesformoneattachmenttoaprimarycaregiverandthatthisattachmentisunique.Attachmentto
mothers(notfathers)betterpredictslaterbehaviour,butthismaybebecausemotheristheprimaryattachment,notthe
differentattachmentquality.
4
Bowlbyarguedthatattachmentisinnate,likeimprintingandprovidestheinfantwithasurvivaladvantage.He
introducedtheconceptofmonotropy,theideathatthechildwillattachtooneprimaryattachmentfigure(usuallythe
mother),andthatthisattachmentisdifferentfromothersandmoreimportant.Bowlbybelievedthatthemoretimeababy
spentwiththisprimaryattachmentfigure/mother-figure(notnecessarilythebiologicalmother)thebetter.
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Babiesarebornwithsocialreleasers–asetofinnate‘cute’behaviours(e.g.smiling,cooing,gripping,etc.)thatencourage
attentionfromadults.Thepurposeofthesesocialreleasersistoactivatetheadultattachmentsystem(i.e.makeanadult
feellovetowardsthebaby);Bowlbyrecognisedthatattachmentisareciprocalsystem.
Bowlbyproposedthatthereisacriticalperiodofabouttwoyearswhentheinfantattachmentsystemisactiveandthe
childismaximallysensitivetoforminganattachment.Ifanattachmenthasnotformedinthistime,thechildwillfindit
muchhardertoformonelater.
Finally,thefirstattachmentformsaninternalworkingmodelofrelationships.Bowlbyarguedthatthechildformsamental
representationoftherelationshipwiththeirprimaryattachmentfigureandthatthisservesasa‘template’forwhat
relationshipsarelike.
Thereisclearevidencetosupporttheexistenceandvalueofsocialreleasers.Brazletonetal.(1975)instructedprimary
attachmentfigurestoignoretheirbabies'socialreleasers(cuteinfantbehaviours).Babies(whowerepreviouslyshownto
benormallyresponsive)initiallyshowedsomedistress,buteventuallysomecurledupandlaymotionless.Thissupports
Bowlby'sideasaboutthesignificanceofinfantsocialbehaviourelicitingcaregivingfromadultsandtheroleofreleasersin
initiatingsocialinteraction.
Thereisalsosupportfortheideaofaninternalworkingmodel.Theideaofinternalworkingmodelspredictsthatpatterns
ofattachmentwillbepassedfromonegenerationtothenext.Baileyetal.(2007)studied99mothers;thosewithpoor
attachmenttotheirownparentsweremorelikelytohaveone-yearoldswhowerepoorlyattached.ThissupportsBowlby’s
ideaofaninternalworkingmodelofattachmentasitisbeingpassedthroughfamilies.
Monotropyissociallysensitivebecauseofimplicationsformothers'lifestyle.Bowlbyarguedthatsubstantialtimeapart
fromaprimaryattachmentfigurerisksapoorqualityattachmentthatwilldisadvantagethechildinarangeofways.
Feminists(e.g.Burman1994)arguethatmothersareblamedforanythingthatgoeswronginachild'slifeandpushes
mothersintomakinglifestylechoices,e.g.notreturningtoworkwhenachildisborn.However,thiswasnotBowlby's
intention.
Hesawhimselfasboostingthestatusofmothersbyemphasisingtheimportanceoftheirrole.
P61
1
Secure–thechildishappytoexplorebutseeksproximitywiththecaregiver(securebase).Thechildshows
moderateseparationanxietyandstrangeranxiety.
Insecure–avoidant–thechildexploresfreelybutdoesnotseekproximity(nosecurebase).Itshowslittle/noseparation
andstrangeranxiety.
Insecure–resistant–thechildexploreslessandseeksgreaterproximity.Itshowsextremestrangerandseparationanxiety.
2
Insecure–avoidantinfantsdonotrequirecomfortfromthecaregiveruponreunionwhereasinsecure–resistant
infantsresistcomfortonreunion.
3
Ainsworth(1969)developedtheStrangeSituationasawayofassessingthequalityofachild’sattachmenttoa
caregiver.Itisacontrolledobservationprocedureinalab(acontrolledenvironment)withatwo-waymirrorthroughwhich
psychologistscanobserveaninfant’sbehaviour.Theprocedurehasseven‘episodes’,eachlastingthreeminutes.This
includesthecaregiverleavingthechildonitsownandastrangerenteringandtryingtointeractwiththechild.Thechild’s
responsetobeingleftalone,thestrangerandreunionwiththemotherisobserved.Onthebasisofthechild’sbehaviour
theyarejudgedtobeoneofthreeattachmenttypes:secure,insecure–avoidantandinsecure–resistant.
4
AlimitationisthattheStrangeSituationmaybeaculture-boundtest.Thetestmightnothavethesamemeaning
incountriesoutsideWesternEuropeandtheUSA.Culturaldifferencesinchildren’sexperiencesmeantheyrespond
differently.Alsocaregiversfromdifferentculturesbehavedifferently.Takahashi(1990)notesthatJapanesemothersare
rarelyseparatedfrominfants,thustheinfantsshowhighlevelsofseparationanxietyandwouldbejudgedas‘insecure’i.e.
not‘normal’,usingAinsworth’smethod.
5
Ainsworth(1969)developedtheStrangeSituationasawayofassessingthequalityofachild’sattachmenttoa
caregiver.Itisacontrolledobservationprocedureinalab(acontrolledenvironment)withatwo-waymirrorthroughwhich
psychologistscanobserveaninfant’sbehaviour.Theprocedurehasseven‘episodes’,eachlastingthreeminutes.This
includesthecaregiverleavingthechildonitsownandastrangerenteringandtryingtointeractwiththechild.Thechild’s
responsetobeingleftalone,thestrangerandreunionwiththemotherisobserved.Basedonthechild’sbehaviourthey
arejudgedtobeoneofthreeattachmenttypes:secure,insecure–avoidantandinsecure–resistant.
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Secureinfantsarehappytoexplorebutseekproximitywiththecaregiver(securebase).Thesechildrenshowsmoderate
separationanxietyandstrangeranxiety.Insecure–avoidantchildrenexplorefreelybutdonotseekproximity(nosecure
base).Theyshowlittle/noseparationandstrangeranxiety.Insecure–resistantinfantsexplorelessandseekgreater
proximity.Theyshowsextremestrangerandseparationanxiety.
ThereispredictivevalidityofattachmenttypesintheStrangeSituation.Itseemsattachmenttypepredictslater
development;forexample,securebabiestypicallyhavegreatersuccessatschoolandmorelastingromanticrelationships.
Incontrast,insecure–resistantattachmentisassociatedwiththeworstoutcomes,e.g.bullying(Kokkinos2007)andadult
mentalhealthproblems(Wardetal.2006).Thisisevidenceforthevalidityoftheconceptbecauseitcanexplainfuture
outcomes.
AstrengthisthattheStrangeSituationshowsverygoodinter-raterreliability.Differentobserverswatchingthesame
childrengenerallyagreeonattachmenttype.Bicketal.(2012)found94%agreementinoneteam.Thismaybebecausethe
StrangeSituationtakesplaceundercontrolledconditionsandbecausethebehaviouralcategoriesareeasytoobserve.So
wecanbeconfidentthattheattachmenttypeofaninfantidentifiedintheStrangeSituationdoesnotjustdependonwho
isobservingthem.
Anotherlimitationisthattemperamentmaybeaconfoundingvariable.Ainsworthassumedthatthemaininfluenceon
separationandstrangeranxietywasthequalityoftheattachment.ButKagan(1982)suggeststhattemperament(the
child’sgeneticallyinfluencedpersonality)isamoreimportantinfluenceonbehaviourintheStrangeSituation.This
challengesthevalidityoftheStrangeSituationbecauseitsintentionistomeasurethequalityofattachment,notthe
temperamentofthechild(i.e.aconfoundingvariable).
P63
1
Culturalvariationsaredifferencesinnormsandvaluesthatexistbetweenpeopleindifferentgroups.In
attachmentresearchitisconcernedwiththedifferencesintheproportionofchildrenofdifferentattachmenttypes.
2
VanIjzendoornandKroonenberg(1988)conductedameta-analysisof32studiesofattachmentwherethe
StrangeSituationhadbeenused.Thesewereconductedineightcountries,15intheUSA.Overallthestudiesyielded
resultsfor1,990children.
Secureattachmentwasthemostcommonclassificationinallcountries,butrangedfrom50%inChinato75%inBritain.In
individualistculturesratesofinsecure–resistantattachmentweresimilartoAinsworth’soriginalsample(allunder14%)
butthiswasnottrueforthecollectivistsamplesfromChina,JapanandIsraelwhererateswereabove25%(andwhere
ratesofinsecure–avoidantattachmentwerereduced).
3
Simonellietal.(2014)assessed7612-montholdsusingtheStrangeSituationtoseewhethertheproportionof
attachmenttypesstillmatchedpreviousstudiesinItaly.Motherswerereasonablyvariedintermsoftheireducationlevels
(57%universitydegree,40%highschool,2%didnotfinishhighschool)andtheirprofessions(48%employees,13%
professionals,39%didnotworkorworkedpart-time).
4
VanIzjendoornandKroonenberg(1988)–secureattachmentwasthemostcommonclassificationinall
countries,butrangedfrom50%inChinato75%inBritain.Inindividualistculturesratesofinsecure–resistantattachment
weresimilartoAinsworth’soriginalsample(allunder14%)butthiswasnottrueforthecollectivistsamplesfromChina,
JapanandIsraelwhererateswereabove25%(andwhereratesofinsecure–avoidantattachmentwerereduced).
Variationsbetweenresultsofstudieswithinthesamecountrywereactually150%greaterthanthosebetweencountries.In
theUSA,onestudyfound46%securelyattachedcomparedtoonesampleashighas90%.
5
VanIjzendoornandKroonenberg(1988)conductedameta-analysisof32studiesofattachmentwherethe
StrangeSituationhadbeenused.Thesewereconductedineightcountries,15intheUSA.Overallthestudiesyielded
resultsfor1,990children.
Secureattachmentwasthemostcommonclassificationinallcountries,butrangedfrom50%inChinato75%inBritain.In
individualistculturesratesofinsecure–resistantattachmentweresimilartoAinsworth’soriginalsample(allunder14%)
butthiswasnottrueforthecollectivistsamplesfromChina,JapanandIsraelwhererateswereabove25%(andwhere
ratesofinsecure–avoidantattachmentwerereduced).
Variationsbetweenresultsofstudieswithinthesamecountrywereactually150%greaterthanthosebetweencountries.In
theUSA,onestudyfound46%securelyattachedcomparedtoonesampleashighas90%.
Alimitationisthatthesamplesusedmaynotberepresentativeofcultures.VanIjzendoornandKroonenberg’smetaanalysismadecomparisonsbetweencountries,notcultures.Withinanycountrytherearedifferentcultureseachwith
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differentchildrearingpractices.Forexample,vanIjzendoornandSagi(2001)foundattachmenttypesinurbanTokyoin
similarproportionstoWesternstudies.Amoreruralsampleoverrepresentedinsecure–resistantindividuals.Thismeans
thatcomparisonsbetweencountries(suchasItalyorKorea)mayhavelittlemeaning.Theparticularculturalcharacteristics
(andthuscaregivingstyles)ofthesampleneedtobespecified.
TheStrangeSituationmethodmaybebiasedtowardsAmerican/Britishculture.TheStrangeSituationwasdesignedbyan
Americanresearcher(Ainsworth)basedonaBritishtheory(Bowlby).Thistheoryandassessmentmaynotbeapplicableto
othercultures.Tryingtoapplyatheoryortechniquedesignedforoneculturetoanotherisknownasimposedetic(etic
meansculturaluniversals)whichdisregardsthenotionofculturalemic(culturaluniqueness).Theideathatalackof
pleasureonreunionindicatesinsecureattachmentisanimposedetic.InGermanythisbehaviourmightbeseenmoreas
independencethanavoidanceandnotasignofinsecurity.
Thereisanalternativeexplanationforthesimilaritiesfoundbetweencultures.Bowlby'sexplanationforculturalsimilarities
wasthatattachmentisinnateanduniversalsoproducesthesamekindofbehavioursallovertheworld.VanIjzendoorn
andKroonenbergproposedanalternativepossibility.Theysuggestthatsmallcross-culturaldifferencesmayreflectthe
effectsofthemassmedia.ManybooksandTVprogrammesarebroadcastaroundtheworldandcreateparentingnorms,
sosimilaritiesinchildrearinghavebecomemorecommon.
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1
Theemotionalandintellectualconsequencesofseparationbetweenachildandhis/hermotherormother
substitute,includingloweredIQ,delinquentbehaviourandaffectionlesspsychopathy.
2
Bowlbyarguedthatcontinuousemotional(maternal)carefromamotherormother-substituteisnecessaryfor
normalemotionalandintellectualdevelopment.Ifachildisseparatedfromtheirmother(withoutsubstituteemotional
care)foranextendedtimeduringthefirst30months,thenpsychologicaldamageisinevitable.Forinstance,thechildwill
suffermentalretardationandabnormallylowIQ.Maternaldeprivationmayalsoleadtoaffectionlesspsychopathy–the
inabilitytoexperienceguiltorstrongemotionforothers.Thispreventsthepersondevelopingnormalrelationshipsandis
associatedwithcriminality.
3
Alimitationisthatsourcesofevidenceformaternaldeprivationareflawed.Goldfarbstudiedwarorphanswho
weretraumatisedandoftenhadpooraftercare.Thesefactorsmayhavecausedlaterdevelopmentaldifficultiesratherthan
separation.Similarly,childrengrowingupfrombirthinpoorqualityinstitutionsweredeprivedofmanyaspectsofcare,not
justmaternalcare.Bowlbycarriedouttheassessmentsforaffectionlesspsychopathyandthefamilyinterviewshimself,
knowingwhathehopedtofind.Thismayhaveproducedbiasedresults.
Thereisalsocounter-evidencewhichdoesnotsupportBowlby'sfindings.Lewis(1954)partiallyreplicatedthe44thieves
studyonalargerscale,lookingat500youngpeople.Earlyprolongedmaternalseparationdidnotpredictcriminalityor
difficultyformingcloserelationships.ThisisalimitationofBowlby’stheorybecauseitsuggeststhatotherfactorsmay
affecttheoutcomeofearlymaternalseparation.
4
ThesampleinBowlby’s(1944)studywas44delinquentteenagersaccusedofstealing.
Familieswerealsointerviewedtoestablishanyprolongedseparationsfrommothers.All‘thieves’wereinterviewedfor
signsofaffectionlesspsychopathy:characterisedbyalackofaffection,guiltandempathy.
Ofthe44thieves,14couldbedescribedasaffectionlesspsychopaths.Ofthese,12hadexperiencedprolongedseparation
fromtheirmothersinthefirsttwoyearsoftheirlives.Incontrastonly5oftheremaining30'thieves'hadexperienced
separations.Thissuggestsprolongedearlyseparation/deprivationcausedaffectionlesspsychopathy.
5
AccordingtoBowlby,continuousemotional(maternal)carefromamotherormother-substituteisnecessaryfor
normalemotionalandintellectualdevelopment.Ifachildisseparatedfromtheirmother(withoutsubstituteemotional
care)foranextendedtimeduringthefirst30months–thecriticalperiod–thenpsychologicaldamageisinevitable.
Maternaldeprivation,amongstotherthings,lowersIQ.Ifachildisdeprivedofmaternalcarefortoolongduringthecritical
periodtheywillsuffermentalretardationandabnormallylowIQ.Goldfarb(1947)foundlowerIQsinchildrenfrom
institutionscomparedtofosteredchildren.Lackofemotionalcaremayalsoleadtoaffectionlesspsychopathy–the
inabilitytoexperienceguiltorstrongemotionforothers.Thispreventsthepersondevelopingnormalrelationshipsandis
associatedwithcriminality.Bowlby’s(1944)44thievesstudydemonstratedhowjuveniledelinquentswhoexperienced
prolongedseparationfromtheirmothersduringtheirearlyyearsweremorelikelytoshowevidenceofthispersonality
type.
Astrengthofthetheoryisthatanimalstudieshavedemonstratedmaternaldeprivation.Mostpsychologistsarecriticalof
thematernaldeprivationtheory,butonelineofresearchsupportstheideathatmaternaldeprivationcanhavelong-term
effects.Levyetal.(2003)showedthatseparatingbabyratsfromtheirmotherforasalittleasadayhadapermanent
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effectonsocialdevelopment.However,thereisalwayssomedoubtovertheextenttowhichanimalstudieslikethiscanbe
generalisedtohumanbehaviour.
Laterresearchsuggeststhatthecriticalperiodismoreofasensitiveperiod.Koluchová’s(1976)casestudyofCzechtwin
boysisolatedfromage18months(lockedinacupboard).Latertheywerelookedafterbytwolovingadultsandappeared
torecoverfully.Showsthatseveredeprivationcanhavepositiveoutcomesprovidedthechildhassomesocialinteraction
andgoodaftercare.CasesliketheCzechtwinsshowthattheperiodidentifiedbyBowlbymaybea'sensitive'onebutit
cannotbecritical.
AlimitationisthatBowlbydidn’tdistinguishbetweendeprivationandprivation.Rutter(1981)distinguishedbetween
deprivation(thelossoftheprimaryattachmentfigureafterattachmenthasdeveloped)andprivation(thefailuretoform
anyattachmentatall).Rutterarguesthattheseverelong-termdamageBowlbyassociatedwithdeprivationisactually
morelikelytobetheresultofprivation.Manyofthe44thievesinBowlby'sstudyhadmovedfromhometohomeduring
theirchildhoodsomayhaveneverformedattachmentsinthefirstplace.Thiscouldbethecauseoftheiraffectionless
psychopathyratherthandeprivation.
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1
Aninstitutionreferstoaplacelikeahospitaloranorphanagewherechildrenliveforlong,continuousperiods.In
suchplaces,thereisverylittleemotionalcareprovidedandthismayhavelong-termeffectsonthechild’sdevelopment.
2
Rutteretal.(2011)followedagroupof165Romanianorphanswhoexperiencedverypoorconditionsbefore
beingadoptedinBritain.Physical,cognitiveandemotionaldevelopmenthasbeenassessedat4,6,11and15years.The
studyalsofollowedacontrolgroupof52adoptedBritishchildren.
HalfoftheorphansshowedmentalretardationwhentheycametotheUK.Atage11,recoveryrateswererelatedtotheir
ageofadoption:ThoseadoptedbeforesixmonthshadameanIQof102.Thoseadoptedbetweensixmonthsandtwo
yearshadameanIQof86.ThoseadoptedaftertwoyearshadameanIQof77.
3
SeeQ2.
4
Rutteretal(2011)followedagroupof165Romanianorphanswhoexperiencedverypoorconditionsbefore
beingadoptedinBritain.Physical,cognitiveandemotionaldevelopmenthasbeenassessedat4,6,11and15years.The
studyalsofollowedacontrolgroupof52adoptedBritishchildren.
HalfoftheorphansshowedmentalretardationwhentheycametotheUK.Atage11recoveryrateswererelatedtotheir
ageofadoption:ThoseadoptedbeforesixmonthshadameanIQof102.Thoseadoptedbetweensixmonthsandtwo
yearshadameanIQof86.ThoseadoptedaftertwoyearshadameanIQof77.
Frequencyofdisinhibitedattachmentrelatedtotheageofadoption.Itwasapparentinchildrenadoptedaftertheywere
sixmonthsold:theyshowedclinginess,attention-seekingandindiscriminateaffectiontostrangers.Itwasrareinchildren
adoptedbeforetheageofsixmonths.Thesefindingssupporttheviewthatthereisasensitiveperiodinthedevelopment
ofattachments–afailuretoformanattachmentbeforetheageofsixmonthsappearstohavelong-lastingeffects.
StudyingRomanianorphanshasimportantpracticalapplications.Resultsfromthisresearchhaveledtoimprovementsin
thewaychildrenarecaredforininstitutions(Langton2006).Children'shomesnowavoidhavinglargenumbersof
caregiversforeachchild.Theyhaveoneortwo'keyworkers'whoplayacentralrole.Thisgivesthechildachanceto
developnormalattachmentsandavoiddisinhibitedattachments,immenselyvaluableinpracticalterms.
Alimitationisthatchildrenwerenotrandomlyassignedtoconditions.Rutteretal.didnotinterferewiththeadoption
process,sothosechildrenadoptedearlymayhavebeenmoresociableones,aconfoundingvariable.Tocontrolforsuch
variables,theBucharestEarlyInterventionstudydidrandomlyassigntheorphanstoinstitutionalcareorfostering.Thisis
methodologicallybetterbecauseitremovestheconfoundingvariableofsomechildrenbeingselectedbyparents,butit
raisesethicalissues.
Thelong-termeffectsofearlyexperiencearenotyetclear.Itistoosoontosayforcertainwhetherchildrensufferedshort-
orlong-termeffectsbecausetheadoptedorphanshaveonlybeenfollowedintotheirmid-teens.Thechildrenwhospent
longerininstitutionsandcurrentlylagbehindinintellectualdevelopmentordisplayattachmentdifficultiesmaystill'catch
up'asadults.Equally,early-adopted/fosteredchildrenwhoappeartohavenoissuesnowmayexperienceemotional
problemsasadults.
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1
Bowlbyarguedthatthechildformsamentalrepresentationoftherelationshipwiththeirprimaryattachment
figure.Thisinternalworkingmodelisa‘template’forwhatrelationshipsarelike.Achildwhosefirstexperienceisaloving
relationshipwithareliablecaregiverwilltendtoformanexpectationthatallrelationshipsarelikethis.
2
Thequalityofachild'sfirstattachmentiscrucialbecauseitprovidesatemplatethatwillaffectthenatureoftheir
futurerelationships.Thisisduetotheinfluenceoftheinternalworkingmodelcreatedbythatfirstattachment.Achild
whosefirstexperienceisofalovingrelationshipwithareliablecaregiverassumesthisishowallrelationshipsaremeantto
be.Theywillthenseekoutfunctionalrelationshipsandbehavefunctionallywithinthem.Achildwithbadexperiencesof
theirfirstattachmentwillbringtheseexperiencestobearonlaterrelationships.Thismaymeantheystruggletoform
relationshipsinthefirstplaceortheydonotbehaveappropriatelyinthem.Securelyattachedinfantstendtogoontoform
thebestqualitychildhoodfriendships(Kerns1994).
Securelyattachedinfantsarelesslikelytobeinvolvedinbullyingwhereasinsecure–avoidantchildrenaremostlikelytobe
victimsandinsecure–resistantaremostlikelytobebullies(Myron-WilsonandSmith1998).
3
HazanandShaver(1987)analysed620repliestoa‘lovequiz’printedinanAmericanlocalnewspaper.Thequiz
assessedthreedifferentaspectsofrelationships:
•Respondents’currentandmostimportantrelationship.
•Generalloveexperiences.
•Attachmenttype.
56%ofrespondentswereidentifiedassecurelyattached,with25%insecure–avoidantand19%insecure–resistant.Their
attachmenttypewasreflectedintheirromanticrelationships.Securerespondentswerethemostlikelytohavegoodand
longerlastingromanticrelationships.Avoidantrespondentstendedtobejealousandfearintimacy.
4
Thequalityofachild'sfirstattachmentiscrucialbecauseitprovidesatemplatethatwillaffectthenatureoftheir
futurerelationships(internalworkingmodel).Achildwithbadexperiencesoftheirfirstattachmentwillbringthese
experiencestobearonlaterrelationships.Thismaymeantheystruggletoformrelationshipsinthefirstplaceortheydo
notbehaveappropriatelyinthem.Securelyattachedinfantstendtogoontoformthebestqualitychildhoodfriendships
(Kerns1994).
Securelyattachedinfantsarelesslikelytobeinvolvedinbullyingwhereasinsecure–avoidantchildrenaremostlikelytobe
victimsandinsecure–resistantaremostlikelytobebullies(Myron-WilsonandSmith1998).
Peoplebasetheirparentingstyleontheirinternalworkingmodelsoattachmenttypetendstobepassedonthrough
generationsofafamily.HazanandShaver(1987)foundthatattachmenttypewasreflectedinlaterromanticrelationships.
SecurerespondentstotheLoveQuizwerethemostlikelytohavegoodandlongerlastingromanticrelationships.Avoidant
respondentstendedtobejealousandfearintimacy.
Alimitationisthattheevidenceoncontinuityofattachmentismixed.Internalworkingmodelspredictthatattachment
typeininfancyisusuallythesameasthatcharacterisingtheperson'sfuturerelationships.However,Zimmerman(2000)
assessedinfantattachmenttypeandadolescentattachmentstoparents.Therewasverylittlerelationshipbetweenquality
ofinfantandadolescentattachment.Thisisalimitationbecauseitisnotwhatwewouldexpectifinternalworkingmodels
wereimportantindevelopment.
Severalstudiesindicateassociationsbutthisisnotthesameascausation.Therearealternativeexplanationsforthe
continuitythatoftenexistsbetweeninfantandlaterrelationships.Thechild'stemperamentmayinfluencebothinfant
attachmentandthequalityoflaterrelationships.ThisisalimitationbecauseitiscountertoBowlby'sviewthattheinternal
workingmodelcausedtheseoutcomes.
Theinfluenceofinfantattachmentonfuturerelationshipsisexaggerated.ClarkeandClarke(1998)describetheinfluence
ofinfantattachmentonlaterrelationshipsasprobabilistic.Peoplearenotdoomedtoalwayshavebadrelationships
becausetheyhadattachmentproblems.Theyjusthaveagreaterriskofproblems.Byover-emphasisingthisriskwe
becometoopessimisticaboutpeople'sfutures.
Approaches
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1
Thefirstsystematicexperimentalattempttostudythemindbybreakingupconsciousawarenessintobasic
structuresofthoughts,imagesandsensations.Isolatingthestructureofconsciousnessinthiswayiscalledstructuralism.
2
In1879,Wundtopenedthefirstexperimentalpsychologylabwiththeaimofdescribingthenatureofhuman
consciousness(the‘mind’).Hepioneeredthemethodofintrospection–thefirstattempttostudythemindbybreakingup
consciousawarenessintobasicstructuresofthoughts,imagesandsensations.Isolatingthestructureofconsciousnessin
thiswayiscalledstructuralism.Thesamestandardisedinstructionsweregiventoallparticipantssoprocedurescouldbe
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repeated(replicated).Forinstance,participantsweregivenatickingmetronomeandtheywouldreporttheirthoughts,
imagesandsensations,whichwerethenrecorded.
Wundtrecordedtheintrospectionswithinacontrolledlabenvironmentandallparticipantsweretestedinthesameway.
Forthisreason,Wundt'sresearchcanbeconsideredaforerunnertothelaterscientificapproachesinpsychology.Other
aspectsofthisresearchwouldbeconsideredunscientific,however.Wundtreliedonparticipantsself-reportingtheir
'private'mentalprocesses.Suchdataissubjectiveandparticipantsmaynothavewantedtorevealsomeofthethoughts
theywerehaving.Participantswouldalsonothavehadexactlythesamethoughtseverytime,soestablishinggeneral
principleswouldnothavebeenpossible(oneofthekeyaimsofscience).
3
Watson(1913)arguedthatintrospectionwassubjective,inthatitvariedfrompersontoperson.Accordingtothe
behaviouristapproach,‘scientific’psychologyshouldonlystudyphenomenathatcanbeobservedandmeasured.B.F.
Skinner(1953)broughtthelanguageandrigourofthenaturalsciencesintopsychology.Thebehaviourists’focuson
learning,andtheuseofcarefullycontrolledlabstudies,woulddominatepsychologyforthenextfewdecades.
Manyclaimthatascientificapproachtothestudyofhumanthoughtandexperienceisnotpossible,norisitdesirable,as
thereareimportantdifferencesbetweenthesubjectmatterofpsychologyandthenaturalsciences.Also,thereare
approachesinpsychologythatemploymethodsthataremuchlessrigorousandcontrolledthanthebehaviouristapproach
–suchasthehumanisticandpsychodynamicapproacheswhichrelyonmoresubjectivemethodssuchascasestudies.
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1
Thebehaviouristapproachisonlyconcernedwithstudyingbehaviourthatcanbeobservedandmeasured.It
isnotconcernedwithmentalprocessesofthemind.Introspectionwasrejectedbybehaviouristsasits
conceptswerevagueanddifficulttomeasure.
2
FollowingDarwin,behaviouristssuggesttheprocessesthatgovernlearningarethesameinallspecies,soanimals(e.g.
rats,cats,dogsandpigeons)canreplacehumansasexperimentalsubjects.Subsequently,thebasiclawsoflearningcanbe
generalisedtohumanbehaviour.
2
Ratsandpigeons,wereplacedinspeciallydesignedcages(Skinnerboxes).Whenaratactivatedalever(ora
pigeonpeckedadisc)itwasrewardedwithafoodpellet.Adesirableconsequenceledtobehaviourbeingrepeated.If
pressingalevermeantananimalavoidedanelectricshock,thebehaviourwouldalsoberepeated.
3
Positivereinforcement–receivingarewardwhenbehaviourisperformedmakesitmorelikelytoberepeated.
Thusachildcouldbeencouragedtocomeat9pmbybeingallowedtostayoutuntil10pmthefollowingnightiftheydo.
Negativereinforcement–whenananimalorhumanproducesbehaviourthatavoidssomethingunpleasant.Beforethe
childleavesthehousetheycouldbewarnedthatiftheyarenotinat9pm,theywillbegroundedfortherestoftheweek.
4
Thebehaviouristapproachisonlyconcernedwithstudyingbehaviourthatcanbeobservedandmeasured.Itis
notconcernedwithmentalprocessesofthemind.Introspectionwasrejectedbybehaviouristsasitsconceptswerevague
anddifficulttomeasure.Behaviouriststriedtomaintainmorecontrolandobjectivitywithintheirresearchandreliedon
labstudiestoachievethis.Theyalsosuggestthattheprocessesthatgovernlearningarethesameinallspecies,soanimals
(e.g.rats,cats,dogsandpigeons)canreplacehumansasexperimentalsubjects.
Pavlovintroducedtheconceptofclassicalconditioningbytrainingdogstosalivatetothesoundofabell.Pavlovshowed
howaneutralstimulus(bell)cancometoelicitanewlearnedresponse(conditionedresponse)throughassociation–by
presentingthebellandfoodtogetheronseveraloccasions.
Skinnerplacedratsandpigeonsinspeciallydesignedcages(Skinnerboxes).Whenaratactivatedalever(orapigeon
peckedadisc)itwasrewardedwithafoodpellet.Adesirableconsequenceledtobehaviourbeingrepeated.Ifpressinga
levermeantananimalavoidedanelectricshock,thebehaviourwouldalsoberepeated.Thisisoperantconditioning–
behaviourisshapedandmaintainedbyitsconsequences.
Astrengthofbehaviourismisthatitgavepsychologyscientificcredibility.Theapproachfocusedonthecareful
measurementofobservablebehaviourwithincontrolledlabsettings.Behaviouristsemphasisedtheimportanceof
scientificprocessessuchasobjectivityandreplication.Thisbroughtthelanguageandmethodsofthenaturalsciencesinto
psychology,givingthesubjectgreatercredibilityandstatus.
Thelawsoflearningdevelopedbybehaviouristshavereal-lifeapplication.Theprinciplesofconditioninghavebeenapplied
toabroadrangeofreal-worldbehavioursandproblems.Tokeneconomysystemsrewardappropriatebehaviourwith
tokensthatareexchangedforprivileges(operantconditioning).Thistechniquehasbeensuccessfullyusedinprisonsand
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psychiatricwards.Treatmentslikethesearesuitableforpatientswholack'insight'intotheirconditionandarenotcapable
oftalkingabouttheirproblems.
Alimitationisthebehaviouristapproachportraysamechanisticviewofhumanbehaviour.Animalsandhumansareseen
aspassiveandmachine-likeresponderstotheenvironment,withlittleconsciousinsightintotheirbehaviour.Other
approaches,suchassociallearningtheoryandthecognitiveapproach,haveplacedmuchmoreemphasisonthemental
eventsthatoccurduringlearning.Processesthatmediatebetweenstimulusandresponsesuggestthathumansplaya
muchmoreactiveroleintheirownlearning.
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1
Childrenaremorelikelytoimitatethebehaviourofpeoplewithwhomtheyidentify.Suchrolemodelsaresimilar
totheobserver,tendtobeattractiveandhavehighstatus.Forinstance,alittleboymayidentifywithJustinBieber
becauseofhispopularity,attractivenessandboundlesstalent.
2
Inacontrolledobservation,childrenwatchedeither:anadultbehavingaggressivelytowardsaBobodoll;oran
adultbehavingnon-aggressivelytowardsaBobodoll.Whengiventheirowndolltoplaywith,thechildrenwhohadseen
aggressionweremuchmoreaggressivetowardsthedoll.Thissuggestthatchildrenmaylearnaggressivebehaviour
throughobservationandimitationofadultrolemodels.
3
Tolearntobakeacakeachildmustfirstpayattentiontotheactionsofitsmother.Thechildmuststorethe
sequenceofeventsinmemory(retention)–theingredients,rollingoutthedough,etc.Thechildmustbecapableof
reproducingthebehaviour–theymusthaveaccesstothecorrectutensilsandbephysicallycapableofimitatingthe
actions.Finally,thechildmustbemotivatedtoreproducethebehaviour.Theymayhaveobservedcake-makingbehaviour
beingrewardedinthepast–suchasthelookontheirmum’shappyfacewhentuckingintowhatshehasmade(vicarious
reinforcement).
4
Banduraagreedwiththebehaviouristapproachthatlearningoccursthroughexperience.
However,healsoproposedthatlearningtakesplaceinasocialcontextthroughobservationandimitationofothers'
behaviour.Children(andadults)observeotherpeople’sbehaviourandtakenoteofitsconsequences.Behaviourthatis
seentoberewarded(reinforced)ismuchmorelikelytobecopiedthanbehaviourthatispunished.Banduracalledthis
vicariousreinforcement.Mediational(cognitive)processesplayacrucialroleinlearning.Therearefourmediational
processesinlearning:
1.Attention–whetherbehaviourisnoticed.
2.Retention–whetherbehaviourisremembered.
3.Motorreproduction–beingabletodoit.
4.Motivation–thewilltoperformthebehaviour.
Thefirsttworelatetothelearningofbehaviour,thelasttwototheperformanceofbehaviour(so,unlikebehaviourism,
learningandperformancedonothavetooccurtogether).
Finally,identificationwithrolemodelsisalsoimportant.Childrenaremorelikelytoimitatethebehaviourofpeoplewith
whomtheyidentify.Suchrolemodelsaresimilartotheobserver,tendtobeattractiveandhavehighstatus.
AstrengthisSLTemphasisestheimportanceofcognitivefactorsinlearning.Neitherclassicalconditioningnoroperant
conditioningcanofferacomprehensiveaccountofhumanlearningontheirownbecausecognitivefactorsareomitted.
Humansandanimalsstoreinformationaboutthebehaviourofothersandusethistomakejudgementsaboutwhenitis
appropriatetoperformcertainactions.SLTprovidesamorecompleteexplanationofhumanlearningthanthebehaviourist
approachbyrecognisingtheroleofmediationalprocesses.
AlimitationisSLTreliestooheavilyonevidencefromcontrolledlabstudies.ManyofBandura'sideasweredeveloped
throughobservationofchildren'sbehaviourinlabsettingsandthisraisestheproblemofdemandcharacteristics.Themain
purposeofaBobodollistohitit.Sothechildreninthosestudiesmayhavebeenbehavingastheythoughtwasexpected.
Thustheresearchmaytelluslittleabouthowchildrenactuallylearnaggressionineverydaylife.
AnotherlimitationisthatSLTunderestimatestheinfluenceofbiologicalfactors.AconsistentfindingintheBobodoll
experimentswasthatboysshowedmoreaggressionthangirlsregardlessofthespecificsoftheexperimentalcondition.
Thismaybeexplainedbydifferencesinthelevelsoftestosterone,whichispresentingreaterquantitiesinboysandis
linkedtoaggression.ThismeansthatBanduramayhaveunderplayedtheimportantinfluenceofbiologicalfactorsonsocial
learning.
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1
Schemaarepackagesofinformationdevelopedthroughexperience.Theyactasa‘mentalframework’forthe
interpretationofincominginformationreceivedbythecognitivesystem.Babiesarebornwithsimplemotorschemafor
innatebehaviourssuchassuckingandgrasping,butaswegetolder,ourschemabecomemoresophisticated.
2
Atheoreticalmodelisasequenceofboxesandarrows,oftenrepresentedasaflowdiagram,whichrepresentthe
passageofinformationthroughthecognitivesystem.Theinformationprocessingapproachsuggeststhatinformationflows
throughasequenceofstagesthatincludeinput,storageandretrieval,asinthemulti-storemodel.Thismodelshowshow
sensoryinformationisregistered,thenpassedthroughSTMandLTMwhereitisretainedunlessforgotten.
3
Cognitiveneuroscienceisthescientificstudyoftheinfluenceofbrainstructures(neuro)onmentalprocesses
(cognition).Withadvancesinbrainscanningtechnologyinthelasttwentyyears,scientistshavebeenabletodescribethe
neurologicalbasisofmentalprocessing.Thisinvolvespinpointingthosebrainareas/structuresthatcontrolparticular
cognitiveprocesses.Thisincludesresearchinmemorythathaslinkedepisodicandsemanticmemoriestooppositesidesof
theprefrontalcortexinthebrain.Scanningtechniqueshavealsoprovedusefulinestablishingtheneurologicalbasisof
somedisorders,e.g.theparahippocampalgyrusandOCD.
4
Indirectcontrasttothebehaviouristapproach,thecognitiveapproacharguesthatmentalprocessesshouldbe
studied,e.g.studyingperceptionandmemory.Mentalprocessesare'private'andcannotbeobserved,socognitive
psychologistsstudythemindirectlybymakinginferences(assumptions)aboutwhatisgoingoninsidepeople'sheadson
thebasisoftheirbehaviour.Cognitivepsychologistsemphasisetheimportanceofschema:packagesofinformation
developedthroughexperiencewhichactasa‘mentalframework’fortheinterpretationofincominginformationreceived
bythecognitivesystem.
Cognitivepsychologistshavealwaysemployedcontrolledandrigorousmethodsofstudy,e.g.labstudies,inordertoinfer
cognitiveprocessesatwork.Thishasenabledthetwofieldsofbiologyandcognitivepsychologytocometogether
(cognitiveneuroscience)andmeansthatthestudyofthemindhasestablishedacredible,scientificbasis.
However,althoughtherearesimilaritiesbetweentheoperationsofthehumanmindandacomputer(inputsandoutputs,
centralprocessor,storagesystems),thecomputeranalogyhasbeencriticised.Forinstance,humanemotionand
motivationhavebeenshowntoinfluenceaccuracyofrecall,e.g.ineyewitnessaccounts.Therefore,thecognitiveapproach
oversimplifieshumancognitiveprocessingandignoresimportantaspectsthatinfluenceperformance.
5
Indirectcontrasttothebehaviouristapproach,thecognitiveapproacharguesthatmentalprocessesshouldbe
studied,e.g.studyingperceptionandmemory.Mentalprocessesare'private'andcannotbeobserved,socognitive
psychologistsstudythemindirectlybymakinginferences(assumptions)aboutwhatisgoingoninsidepeople'sheadson
thebasisoftheirbehaviour.Cognitivepsychologistsemphasisetheimportanceofschema:packagesofinformation
developedthroughexperiencewhichactasa‘mentalframework’fortheinterpretationofincominginformationreceived
bythecognitivesystem.
Theoreticalmodelsareusedtodescribeandexplainhow‘unseen’cognitiveprocesseswork.Theinformationprocessing
modelsuggeststhatinformationflowsthroughthecognitivesysteminasequenceofstagesthatincludeinput,storageand
retrieval,asinthemulti-storemodelofmemoryThe‘computeranalogy’suggestssimilaritiesinhowcomputersandhuman
mindsprocessinformation.Forinstance,theuseofacentralprocessor(thebrain),changingofinformationintoauseable
codeandtheuseof‘stores’toholdinformation.
Thecognitiveapproachisbasedonresearchthatlacksexternalvalidity.Cognitivepsychologistsareonlyabletoinfer
mentalprocessesfromthebehaviourtheyobserve,sotheapproachsometimessuffersfrombeingtooabstractand
theoretical.Also,researchisoftencarriedoutusingartificialstimuli,suchasrecallofwordlistsinstudiesofmemory,
whichmaynotrepresenteverydayexperience.Therefore,researchintocognitiveprocessesmaylackexternalvalidity.
Astrengthoftheapproachistheapplicationtoeverydaylife.Thecognitiveapproachisdominantinpsychologytodayand
hasbeenappliedtoawiderangeofpracticalandtheoreticalcontexts.Forinstance,theapproachhasmadeanimportant
contributiontothefieldofartificialintelligence(AI)andthedevelopmentofrobots.Theseexcitingadvancesarelikelyto
revolutionisehowweliveinthefuture.
Anotherstrengthisthattheapproachislessdeterministthanotherapproaches.Thecognitiveapproachisbasedonsoft
determinism,recognisingthatourcognitivesystemcanonlyoperatewithincertainlimits,butthatwearefreetothink
beforerespondingtoastimulus.Thisisincontrasttothebehaviouristapproachwhichsuggeststhatwearepassive'slaves'
totheenvironmentandlackfreechoiceinourbehaviour.Forthisreason,thecognitiveapproachtakesamorereasonable
andflexiblemiddle-groundpositioninthefreewill-determinismdebate.
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1
Behaviourhasageneticandneurochemicalbasis.Behavioursareinheritedinthesamewayasphysical
characteristicssuchasheightoreyecolour.Forexample,the5HT1-DbetageneimplicatedinOCD.Neurochemistryalso
explainsbehaviour,forexamplelowlevelsofserotonininOCD.
Themindandbodyareoneandthesame.Fromabiologicalperspective,themindlivesinthebrain–meaningthatall
thoughts,feelingsandbehaviourultimatelyhaveaphysicalbasis.Thisisincontrasttothecognitiveapproachwhichsees
themindasseparatefromthebrain.
2
Aperson’sgenotypeistheiractualgeneticmake-up.Phenotypeisthewaythatgenesareexpressedthrough
physical,behaviouralandpsychologicalcharacteristics.Theexpressionofgenotype(phenotype)isinfluencedby
environmentalfactors.Forexample,PKUisageneticdisorder(genotype),theeffectsofwhichcanbepreventedbya
restricteddiet(phenotype).
3
Anygeneticallydeterminedbehaviourthatenhancessurvivalandreproductionwillbepassedontofuture
generations.Suchgenesaredescribedasadaptiveandgivethepossessorandtheiroffspringadvantages.Forinstance,
attachmentbehavioursinnew-bornspromotesurvivalandarethereforeadaptiveandnaturallyselected.
4
Accordingtothebiologicalapproach,everythingpsychologicalisatfirstbiological.Ifwewanttofullyunderstand
humanbehaviourwemustlooktobiologicalstructuresandprocesseswithinthebody,suchasgenes,neurochemistryand
thenervoussystem.Behaviourhasageneticandneurochemicalbasis.Behavioursareinheritedinthesamewayas
physicalcharacteristicssuchasheightoreyecolour.Forexample,the5HT1-DbetageneimplicatedinOCD.
Themindandbodyareoneandthesame.Fromabiologicalperspective,themindlivesinthebrain
–meaningthatallthoughts,feelingsandbehaviourultimatelyhaveaphysicalbasis.Thisisincontrasttothecognitive
approach,whichseesthemindasseparatefromthebrain.
Twinstudiesareusedtoinvestigatethegeneticbasisofbehaviour.Concordanceratesbetweentwinsarecalculated–the
extenttowhichtwinssharethesamecharacteristic.Higherconcordanceratesamongidentical(monozygotic,MZ)twins
thannon-identical(dizygotic,DZ)twinsisevidenceofageneticbasis.Forexample,68%ofMZtwinsbothhaveOCD
comparedwith31%ofDZtwins(Nestadtetal.2010).
Astrengthoftheapproachisitsuseofscientificmethodsofinvestigation.Inordertoinvestigatethegeneticandbiological
basisofbehaviour,thebiologicalapproachmakesuseofarangeofpreciseandhighlyscientificmethods.Theseinclude
scanningtechniquesanddrugtrials.Itispossibletoaccuratelymeasurebiologicalandneuralprocessesinwaysthatare
notopentobias.Thismeansthatthebiologicalapproachisbasedonreliabledata.
Thebiologicalapproachhasreal-lifeapplication.Increasedunderstandingofbiochemicalprocessesinthebrainhasledto
thedevelopmentofpsychoactivedrugsthattreatseriousmentaldisorders,suchasdepression.Althoughthesedrugsare
noteffectiveforallpatients,theyhaverevolutionisedtreatmentformany.Thisisastrengthoftheapproachbecauseit
meansthatsufferersareabletolivearelativelynormallife,ratherthaninhospital.
Amethodologicalproblemfortheapproachisthedifficultyofseparatingnatureandnurture.Identicaltwins,non-identical
twinsandmembersofthesamefamilyallhavegeneticsimilarities,soanysimilarityinthewaytheybehavemustbe
geneticfromabiologicalperspective.However,thefactthatfamilymembersareexposedtosimilarenvironmental
conditionsisanimportantconfoundingvariable.Thisisaproblemforthebiologicalapproachbecausefindingscouldbe
justaseasilyinterpretedassupportingnurtureratherthannature.
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Whenastressorisperceived–forinstance,yourpsychologyteachertellsyouyouhaveanimportanttestinthe
morning–thehypothalamustriggersactivityinthesympatheticbranchoftheANS.TheANSchangesfromitsnormal
restingstate(theparasympatheticstate)tothephysiologicallyarousedsympatheticstate.Thestresshormoneadrenaline
isreleasedfromtheadrenalmedullaintothebloodstream.Adrenalinetriggersphysiologicalchangesinthebody,e.g.
increasedheartrate,dilationofthepupils,decreasedproductionofsaliva.Thisiscalledthefightorflightresponse.The
bodywillslowlyreturntoitsrestingstatebuttheresponsemaybereactivatedwhenyouwalkintothetestroominthe
morning!
2
Theautonomicnervoussystem(ANS)governsvitalfunctionsinthebodysuchasbreathing,heartrate,digestion,
sexualarousalandstressresponses.
Thesomaticnervoussystem(SNS)controlsmusclemovementandreceivesinformationfromsensoryreceptors.
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3
Themajorendocrineglandisthepituitarygland,locatedinthebrain.Itiscalledthe‘mastergland’becauseit
controlsthereleaseofhormonesfromalltheotherendocrineglandsinthebody.
Theadrenalglandsecretesadrenalinewhichisreleasedduringthestressresponseandcausesphysiologicalchangesinthe
body,suchasincreasedheart-rate.
4
Thenervoussystemisaspecialisednetworkofcellsandourbody’sprimarycommunicationsystem.The
endocrinesystemworksalongsidethenervoussystemtocontrolvitalfunctionsinthebodythroughtheactionof
hormones.Theendocrinesystemsupportsthenervoussystem.However,theendocrinesystemworksmuchmoreslowly
thanthenervoussystembuthaswidespreadandpowerfuleffects.
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MotorneuronsconnecttheCNStoeffectorssuchasmusclesandglandswhereasrelayneuronsconnectsensory
neuronstomotororotherrelayneurons.
2
Neuronsvaryinsizebutallhavethesamebasicstructure:
Cellbody(orsoma)–includesanucleuswhichcontainsthegeneticmaterialofthecell.
Dendrites–branch-likestructuresthatcarrynerveimpulsesfromneighbouringneuronstowardsthecellbody.
Axon–carriestheelectricalimpulseawayfromthecellbodydowntheneuron.
Terminalbuttonsattheendoftheaxoncommunicatewiththenextneuroninthechainacrossthesynapse.
3
Neurotransmittersgenerallyhaveeitheranexcitatoryorinhibitoryeffectontheneighbouringneuron.For
example,adrenalineisgenerallyexcitatory,increasingthepositivechargeofthepostsynapticneuron,makingitmorelikely
theneuronwillfire.Serotoninisgenerallyinhibitory,increasingthenegativechargeofthepostsynapticneuron,makingit
lesslikelytheneuronwillfire.
4
Whentheelectricalimpulsereachestheendoftheneuron(thepresynapticterminal)ittriggersthereleaseof
neurotransmitterfromtinysacscalledsynapticvesicles.Oncetheneurotransmittercrossesthegap,itistakenupbythe
postsynapticreceptorsiteonthenextneuron.Thechemicalmessageisconvertedbackintoanelectricalimpulseandthe
processofelectrictransmissionbegins.
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Theunconsciousmindisavaststorehouseofbiologicaldrivesandinstinctsthathavebeenrepressedduring
childhood.Thepsychodynamicapproachexplainsallbehaviourasdeterminedbyunconsciousconflictsoverwhichwehave
nocontrol.Evensomethingasapparentlyrandomasa'slipofthetongue'isdrivenbyunconsciousforcesandhasdeep
symbolicmeaning–somistakenlydescribingourpartner’snewdressas‘fattening’ratherthan‘flattering’mayrevealour
truefeelings!
2
Defencemechanismsareusedbytheegotokeeptheid'incheck'andreduceanxiety.Denialiswhenwerefuse
toacknowledgerealitysosomeonemaycontinuetoturnupforworkeventhoughtheyhavelosttheirjob.
3
TheOralStageoccursfrom0to1yearsandthefocusofpleasureisthemouth;themother’sbreastistheobject
ofdesire.
4
Thepsychodynamicapproachsuggeststhattheunconsciousmindhasanimportantinfluenceonbehaviour.
Freudproposedthatthemindismadeupoftheconsciousmind–whatweareawareofatanyonetime;thepre-conscious
–thoughtswemaybecomeawareofthroughdreamsand‘slipsofthetongue’;theunconsciousmind–avaststorehouse
ofbiologicaldrivesandinstinctsthatinfluenceourbehaviour.
Freudalsointroducedthetripartitestructureofpersonalityandclaimedthatthedynamicinteractionbetweenthethree
partsdeterminesbehaviour.Theidistheprimitivepartofthepersonalitywhichoperatesonthepleasureprincipleand
demandsinstantgratification.Theegoworksontherealityprincipleandisthemediatorbetweentheidandsuperego.
Finally,thesuperegoisourinternalisedsenseofrightandwrong.Itisbasedonthemoralityprincipleandpunishestheego
throughguiltforwrongdoing.
Freudproposedfivepsychosexualstagesthatdetermineadultpersonality.Eachstageismarkedbyadifferentconflictthat
thechildmustresolvetomoveontothenext.Anyconflictthatisunresolvedleadstofixationwherethechildbecomes
‘stuck’andcarriesbehavioursassociatedwiththatstagethroughtoadultlife.Forinstance,theOedipuscomplexisan
importantpsychosexualconflictoccurringatthephallicstagewhichinfluencesgenderroleandtheformationofmoral
values.
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Astrengthisthatthepsychodynamicapproachhasexplanatorypower.AlthoughFreud'stheoryiscontroversialandoften
bizarre,ithashadhugeinfluenceonWesterncontemporarythought.Ithasbeenusedtoexplainawiderangeof
behaviours(moral,mentaldisorders)anddrewattentiontotheinfluenceofchildhoodonadultpersonality.Alongside
behaviourism,itwasthedominantapproachinpsychologyforthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury.
ThecasestudymethodthatFreudreliedonhasbeencriticised.Freud’sideasweredevelopedusingasmallnumberofcase
studies,e.g.LittleHans,DoraandtheRatMan.Criticshavesuggestedthatitisnotpossibletomakeuniversalclaimsabout
humannaturebasedonsuchalimitedsample.AlthoughFreud'sobservationsweredetailedandcarefullyrecorded,his
interpretationswerehighlysubjectiveanditisunlikelythatanyotherresearcherwouldhavedrawnthesameconclusions.
Thepsychodynamicapproachincludeslotsofuntestableconcepts.KarlPopper(philosopherofscience)arguedthatthe
psychodynamicapproachdoesnotmeetthescientificcriterionoffalsification,inthesensethatitcannotbeprovedor
disproved.ManyofFreud'sconcepts,suchastheidortheOedipuscomplex,occuratanunconsciouslevel,makingthem
difficult,ifnotimpossible,totest.Thisaffordspsychodynamictheorythestatusofpseudoscience('fake'science)rather
thanrealscience.
Astrengthisthattheapproachhaspracticalapplicationintherealworld.Freudintroducedanewformoftherapy:
psychoanalysis.Thetherapyisdesignedtoaccesstheunconsciousmindusingarangeoftechniquessuchashypnosisand
dreamanalysis.Psychoanalysisismostsuitableforindividualssufferingfrommildneurosesbuthasbeencriticisedas
inappropriateforpeoplewithseverementaldisorderssuchasschizophrenia.Thatsaid,psychoanalysisistheforerunnerto
manymodern-daypsychotherapiesand'talkingcures'thathavesincebeenestablished.
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Aparentwhosetsboundariesontheirlovefortheirchild(conditionsofworth)byclaiming‘Iwillonlyloveyou
if...’isstoringuppsychologicalproblems–relatedtotheirsenseofself-worth–forthatchildinfuture.Forinstance,a
fathermaysaytohisteenagedaughter,‘Iwillonlyloveyouifyoustopseeingthatboy’.
2
Self-actualisationreferstotheinnatetendencythateachofushastowanttoachieveourfullpotentialand
becomethebestwecanpossiblybe.InMaslow’shierarchyofneedsthefourlowerlevels(deficiencyneeds)mustbemet
beforetheindividualcanworktowardsself-actualisation–agrowthneed.
Howevertheconceptofself-actualisationisavague,abstractideathatisdifficulttotest–whatexactlyissomeone’s
potential?Thismeansthatthehumanisticapproach,andtheconceptofself-actualisation,lacksempiricalevidenceto
supportit.
3
Humanisticpsychologistsrejectanyattempttobreakupbehaviourandexperienceintosmallercomponents.
Theyadvocateholism–theideathatsubjectiveexperiencecanonlybeunderstoodbyconsideringthewholeperson(their
relationships,past,presentandfuture,etc.).Thisapproachmayhavemorevaliditythanitsalternativesbyconsidering
meaningfulhumanbehaviourwithinitsreal-lifecontext.
Theapproachhaslimitedapplicationintherealworld.ItistruethatRogeriantherapyhasrevolutionisedcounselling
techniquesandMaslow'shierarchyofneedshasbeenusedtoexplainmotivation,particularlyintheworkplace.However,
comparedtootherapproaches,humanisticpsychologyhashadlimitedimpactwithinpsychologyasawhole–perhaps
becauseitlacksasoundevidencebase.Theapproachhasbeendescribed,notasacomprehensivetheory,butasarather
loosesetofabstractconcepts.
4
Humanisticpsychologistsrejectattemptstoestablishscientificprinciplesofhumanbehaviour.Accordingtothe
approach,weareallunique,andpsychologyshouldconcernitselfwiththestudyofsubjectiveexperienceratherthan
generallaws–aperson-centredapproach.Theconceptofself-actualisationreferstotheinnatetendencythateachofus
hastowanttoachieveourfullpotentialandbecomethebestwecanpossiblybe.InAbrahamMaslow’shierarchyofneeds
thefourlowerlevels(deficiencyneeds)mustbemetbeforetheindividualcanworktowardsself-actualisation–agrowth
need.
CarlRogersarguedthatpersonalgrowthrequiresanindividual’sconceptofselftobecongruentwiththeiridealself(the
persontheywanttobe).Iftoobigagapexistsbetweenthetwoselves,thepersonwillexperienceastateofincongruence
andself-actualisationisn’tpossible.
InRogers’client-centredtherapy,theaimistoincreasefeelingsofself-worthandreduceincongruencebetweentheselfconceptandtheidealself.Aneffectivetherapistshouldprovidetheclientwiththreethings:genuineness,empathyand
unconditionalpositiveregard(whichtheclientmaynothavereceivedfromtheirparents)soastoremovethe
psychologicalbarriersthatmaybepreventingself-actualisation.
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Humanisticpsychologistsrejectanyattempttobreakupbehaviourandexperienceintosmallercomponents.They
advocateholism–theideathatsubjectiveexperiencecanonlybeunderstoodbyconsideringthewholeperson(their
relationships,past,presentandfuture,etc.).Thisapproachmayhavemorevaliditythanitsalternativesbyconsidering
meaningfulhumanbehaviourwithinitsreal-lifecontext.
Theapproachhaslimitedapplicationintherealworld.ItistruethatRogeriantherapyhasrevolutionisedcounselling
techniquesandMaslow'shierarchyofneedshasbeenusedtoexplainmotivation,particularlyintheworkplace.However,
comparedtootherapproaches,humanisticpsychologyhashadlimitedimpactwithinpsychologyasawhole–perhaps
becauseitlacksasoundevidencebase.Theapproachhasbeendescribed,notasacomprehensivetheory,butasarather
loosesetofabstractconcepts.
Astrengthistheapproachportraysapositiveimageofthehumancondition.Humanisticpsychologistshavebeenpraised
forpromotingapositiveimageofthehumancondition–seeingpeopleasincontroloftheirlivesandhavingthefreedom
tochange.Freudsawhumanbeingsasslavestotheirpastandclaimedallofusexistedsomewherebetween'common
unhappinessandabsolutedespair'.Humanisticpsychologyoffersanoptimisticalternative.
AlimitationisthattheapproachmaybeguiltyofaWesternculturalbias.Manyoftheideasthatarecentraltohumanistic
psychology,suchasindividualfreedom,autonomyandpersonalgrowth,aremoreassociatedwithindividualistculturesin
theWesternworldsuchastheUnitedStates.CollectivistculturessuchasIndia,whichemphasisetheneedsofthegroup,
maynotidentifysoeasilywiththeidealsandvaluesofhumanisticpsychology.Therefore,itispossiblethattheapproach
wouldnottravelwellandisaproductoftheculturewithinwhichitwasdeveloped.
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Bothapproachesofferpsychologicaltherapiesthataredesignedtodealwithanxiety-relateddisorders.Freud
sawtheseasemergingfromunconsciousconflictsandoveruseofdefencemechanisms,whereashumanistictherapyis
basedontheideathatreducingincongruencewillstimulatepersonalgrowth.
2
Behaviouristssuggestthatallbehaviourisenvironmentallydeterminedbyexternalforcesthatwecannot
control.Skinnerfamouslysaidthatfreewillisan‘illusion’andevenbehaviourthatappearsfreelychosenistheresultof
ourreinforcementhistory.Althoughsociallearningtheoristsagreethatweareinfluencedbyourenvironmenttosome
extent,theyalsobelievethatweexertsomeinfluenceuponit(reciprocaldeterminism).Theyalsoplacemoreemphasison
cognitivefactors,suggestingthatwehavesomecontroloverwhenweperformparticularbehaviours.
3
Intermsofviewsondevelopment,thecognitiveapproachproposesstagetheoriesofchilddevelopment,
particularlytheideaofconceptformation(schema)aschildrengetolder.Thisisinsomewayssimilartothebiological
approachwhichsuggeststhatgeneticallydeterminedmaturationalchangesinfluencebehaviour,forexample
cognitive/intellectualdevelopment.Socognitiveadvancesarenotpossibleuntilthechildisphysiologicallyandgenetically
‘ready’.
Thecognitiveapproachrecognisesthatmanyofourinformation-processingabilitiesareinnate,butareconstantlyrefined
byexperience.Thebiologicalapproachwouldplacelessemphasisontheinfluenceofexperienceandinsteadclaimsthat
'anatomyisdestiny':behaviourstemsfromthegeneticblueprintweinheritfromourparents.Thisisanextremenature
approachanddistinctfromtheinteractionistapproachofferedbythecognitiveapproach.
Thecognitiveapproachadvocatesmachinereductionisminitsuseofthecomputeranalogytoexplainhumaninformation
processing.Thisignorestheinfluenceofemotionandmotivationonbehaviour.Thebiologicalapproachisalsoreductionist
andexplainshumanbehaviouratthelevelofthegeneorneuron–underplaying‘higherlevel’explanationsataculturalor
societallevel.
Finally,thecognitiveapproachhasledtocognitivetherapiessuchascognitivebehaviourtherapy(CBT)whichhasbeen
usedinthetreatmentofdepressionandaimstoeradicatefaultythinking.Incontrast,psychoactivedrugshavebeen
developedbybiologicalpsychologiststhatregulatechemicalimbalancesinthebrainandhaverevolutionisedthe
treatmentofmentaldisorders.Althoughsuchdrugsarerelativelycheapandfastacting,theymaynotbeaseffectiveinthe
longtermascognitivetherapieswhichleadtogreaterinsight.
5.Psychopathology
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Statisticalinfrequency–themostobviouswaytodefineanythingas‘normal’or‘abnormal’isintermsofthe
numberoftimesitisobserved.Behaviourthatisrarelyseenisabnormal.Anyrelatively‘usual’,oroftenseen,behaviour
canbethoughtofas‘normal’.Anybehaviourthatisdifferent,orrare,is‘abnormal’,
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Deviationfromsocialnorms–whenapersonbehavesinawaythatisdifferentfromhowtheyareexpectedtobehave,
theymaybedefinedasabnormal.Societiesandsocialgroupsmakecollectivejudgementsabout‘correct’behavioursin
particularcircumstances.Therearerelativelyfewbehavioursthatwouldbeconsidereduniversallyabnormaltherefore
definitionsarerelatedtoculturalcontext.Forexample,homosexualityisviewedasabnormalinsomeculturesbutnot
others.
2
Alimitationisthatunusualcharacteristicscanalsobepositive.Ifveryfewpeopledisplayabehaviourthatmakes
thebehaviourstatisticallyabnormalbutdoesn'tmeanthepersonrequirestreatment.IQscoresover130arejustas
unusualasthosebelow70,butnotregardedasundesirableandrequiringtreatment.Thismeansstatisticalinfrequency
shouldnotbeusedalonetojudgeabnormality.
3
Deviationfromsocialnormsisnotasoleexplanationofabnormality.Antisocialpersonalitydisorder(APD)shows
thereisaplacefordeviationfromsocialnormsinthinkingaboutwhatisabnormal.However,thereareotherfactorsto
consider,e.g.distresstootherpeopleduetoAPD.Soinpractice,deviationfromsocialnormsisneverthesolereasonfor
definingabnormality.
Alimitationisthatsocialnormsareculturallyrelative.Apersonfromoneculturalgroupmaylabelsomeonefromanother
groupasabnormalusingtheirstandardsratherthantheperson’sstandards.Forexample,hearingvoicesissocially
acceptableinsomeculturesbutwouldbeseenasasignofabnormalityintheUK.Thiscreatesproblemsforpeoplefrom
oneculturelivingwithinanotherculturalgroup.
4
Statisticalinfrequency–themostobviouswaytodefineanythingas‘normal’or‘abnormal’isintermsofthe
numberoftimesitisobserved.Behaviourthatisrarelyseenisabnormal.Anyrelatively‘usual’,oroftenseen,behaviour
canbethoughtofas‘normal’.Anybehaviourthatisdifferent,orrare,is‘abnormal’.
Astrengthofstatisticalinfrequencyisitsreal-lifeapplication.Allassessmentofpatientswithmentaldisordersincludes
somecomparisontostatisticalnorms.Intellectualdisabilitydisorderdemonstrateshowstatisticalinfrequencycanbeused.
Statisticalinfrequencyisthusausefulpartofclinicalassessment.
Alimitationisthatnoteveryoneunusualbenefitsfromalabel.Whensomeoneislivingahappyandfulfilledlife,thereisno
benefittothembeinglabelledasabnormal.SomeonewithaverylowIQwhowasnotdistressedoroutofwork,etc.,
wouldnotneedadiagnosisofintellectualdisability.Beinglabelledasabnormalmighthaveanegativeeffectontheway
othersviewthemandthewaytheyseethemselves.
Deviationfromsocialnorms–whenapersonbehavesinawaythatisdifferentfromhowtheyareexpectedtobehave,
theymaybedefinedasabnormal.Societiesandsocialgroupsmakecollectivejudgementsabout‘correct’behavioursin
particularcircumstances.Therearerelativelyfewbehavioursthatwouldbeconsidereduniversallyabnormaltherefore
definitionsarerelatedtoculturalcontext.Forexample,homosexualityisviewedasabnormalinsomeculturesbutnot
others.
Alimitationisthatthisdefinitioncouldleadtohumanrightsabuses.Toomuchrelianceondeviationfromsocialnormsto
understandabnormalitycanleadtoasystematicabuseofhumanrights.
Drapetomania(blackslavestryingtoescape)andnymphomania(womenattractedtoworking-classmen)areexamplesof
howdiagnosiswasusedforsocialcontrol.Suchclassificationsappearridiculousbutsomepsychologistsarguethatsome
modernabnormalclassificationsareabusesofpeople'srighttobedifferent.
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Beingrationalandperceivingourselvesaccurately;workingtowardsself-actualisation;beingabletocopewith
stress.
2
Apersonmaycrossthelinebetweennormalandabnormalatthepointthattheycannotdealwiththedemands
ofeverydaylife–theyfailtofunctionadequately.Forinstance,notbeingabletoholddownajob,maintainrelationships
ormaintainbasicstandardsofnutritionandhygiene.
Theymaynolongerconformtointerpersonalrules,e.g.maintainingpersonalspaceandexperiencepersonaldistress.
Failuretofunctionrecognisesthepatient'sperspective.Thismaynotbeanentirelysatisfactoryapproachbecauseitis
difficulttoassessdistress.However,thedefinitionacknowledgesthattheexperienceofthepatient(and/orothers)is
important.Itcapturestheexperienceofmanypeoplewhoneedhelpandisusefulforassessingabnormality.
3
SomeoftheideasinJahoda'sclassificationofidealmentalhealtharespecifictoWesternEuropeanandNorth
Americancultures.Forexample,theemphasisonpersonalachievement(self-actualisation)wouldbeconsideredself-
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indulgentinmuchoftheworldwherethefocusisoncommunityratherthanoneself.Suchtraitsaretypicalofindividualist
culturesandareculturallyspecific.
4
Apersonmaycrossthelinebetweennormalandabnormalatthepointthattheycannotdealwiththedemands
ofeverydaylife–theyfailtofunctionadequately.Forinstance,notbeingabletoholddownajob,maintainrelationships
ormaintainbasicstandardsofnutritionandhygiene.
Theymaynolongerconformtointerpersonalrules,e.g.maintainingpersonalspaceandexperiencepersonaldistress.
Alimitationisthatthisisthesameasdeviationfromsocialnorms.Itcanbehardtosaywhensomeoneisreallyfailingto
functionorjustdeviatingfromsocialnorms.Peoplewholivealternativelifestylesordoextremesportscouldbeseenas
behavingmaladaptively.Ifwetreatthesebehavioursas'failures'ofadequatefunctioning,wemaylimitfreedom.
Afurtherlimitationisthatthisisasubjectivejudgement.Someonehastojudgewhetherapatientisdistressedor
distressing.Somepatientsmaysaytheyaredistressedbutmaybejudgedasnotsuffering.Therearemethodsformaking
suchjudgementsasobjectiveaspossible,includingchecklistssuchastheGlobalAssessmentofFunctioningScale.
However,theprincipleremainswhethersomeone,e.g.apsychiatrist,hastherighttomakethisjudgement.
Adifferentwaytolookatnormalityandabnormalityistothinkaboutwhatmakessomeone‘normal’andpsychologically
healthy.Thenanyonewhodeviatesfromthisidealisclassedasabnormal.MarieJahoda(1958)suggestedseveralcriteria
foridealmentalhealth:wehavenosymptomsordistress;wearerationalandperceiveourselvesaccurately;weselfactualise;wecancopewithstress;weareindependentofotherpeople.
AlimitationisthatJahoda’scriteriasetanunrealisticallyhighstandardformentalhealth.Veryfewpeoplewillattainall
Jahoda'scriteriaformentalhealth.Therefore,thisapproachwouldseemostofusasabnormal.Onthepositiveside,it
makesitcleartopeoplethewaysinwhichtheycouldbenefitfromseekinghelptoimprovetheirmentalhealth.However,
itisprobablyofnovalueinthinkingaboutwhomightbenefitfromtreatmentagainsttheirwill.
5
See4.
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Anxietyanddistress–obsessivethoughtsareunpleasantandfrightening,andtheanxietythatgoeswiththese
canbeoverwhelming.
Guiltanddisgust–irrationalguilt,forexampleoveraminormoralissue,ordisgustwhichisdirectedtowardsoneselfor
somethingexternallikedirt.
2
Emotional–guilt/disgust
Behavioural–compulsivebehaviour
Cognitive–obsessivethoughts
3
Thefearresponseiswidelydisproportionatetothethreatposed,e.g.anarachnophobicwillhaveastrong
emotionalresponsetoatinyspider.Thereisconsiderableefforttoavoidcomingintocontactwiththephobicstimulus.
Thiscanmakeithardtogoabouteverydaylife,especiallyifthephobicstimulusisoftenseen,e.g.publicplaces.Thereis
selectiveattentiontothephobicstimulus.Thephobicfindsithardtolookawayfromthephobicstimuluse.g.a
pogonophobic(fearofbeards)cannotconcentrateonataskifthereisabeardedmanintheroom.
4
Emotionalcharacteristicsofdepressionincludeloweredmood.Thisismorepronouncedthanthedaily
experienceoffeelinglethargicorsad.Sufferersoftendescribethemselvesas‘worthless’or‘empty’.Anotheremotional
characteristicisanger.Onoccasion,suchemotionsleadtoaggressionorself-harmingbehaviour.
5
Indepressionactivitylevelsmaybeaffected.Sufferersofdepressionhavereducedlevelsofenergymakingthem
lethargic.Inextremecases,thiscanbesoseverethatthesufferercannotgetoutofbed.
Theremayalsobedisruptiontosleepandeatingbehaviour.Sufferersmayexperiencereducedsleep(insomnia)oran
increasedneedforsleep(hypersomnia).Appetitemayincreaseordecrease,leadingtoweightgainorloss.
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TheUCStriggersafearresponse(fearisaUCR),e.g.beingbittenbyadogcreatesanxiety.TheNS(dog)is
associatedwiththeUCS,e.g.beingbittenbyadog(thedogpreviouslydidnotcreateanxiety).TheNSbecomesaCS
producingfear(whichisnowtheCR).ThedogbecomesaCScausingaCRofanxiety/fearfollowingthebite.
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2
Theinitialassociationthatcreatesaphobiaisexplainedbyclassicalconditioning.Aneutralstimulus(adog)
becomesassociatedastimulusthatwouldcausefear(beingbittenbyadog).Theneutralstimulusbecomesaconditioned
stimulusthatproducesfear(theconditionedresponse).Themaintenanceofthephobiaisexplainedbyoperant
conditioning.Whenaphobicavoidsaphobicstimulustheyescapetheanxietythatwouldhavebeenexperienced.This
reductioninfearnegativelyreinforcestheavoidancebehaviourandthephobiaismaintained.
3
Astrengthofthetwo-processmodelisithasgoodexplanatorypower.Thetwo-processmodelwentbeyond
WatsonandRayner'ssimpleclassicalconditioningexplanationofphobias.Ithasimportantimplicationsfortherapy.Ifa
patientispreventedfrompractisingtheiravoidancebehaviourthenphobicbehaviourdeclines.Theapplicationtotherapy
isastrengthofthetwo-processmodel.
Therearealternativeexplanationsforavoidancebehaviour.Inmorecomplexbehaviourslikeagoraphobia,thereis
evidencethatatleastsomeavoidancebehaviourismotivatedmorebypositivefeelingsofsafety.Thisexplainswhysome
agoraphobicsareabletoleavetheirhousewithatrustedfriendwithrelativelylittleanxiety,butnotalone(Buck2010).
Thisisaproblemforthetwo-processmodel,whichsuggeststhatavoidanceismotivatedbyanxietyreduction.
4
Theinitialassociationthatcreatesaphobiaisexplainedbyclassicalconditioning.Aneutralstimulus(adog)
becomesassociatedastimulusthatwouldcausefear(beingbittenbyadog).Theneutralstimulusbecomesaconditioned
stimulusthatproducesfear(theconditionedresponse).Onceformed,theinitialassociationisgeneralisedtoother,similar
stimuli.Theinitialfearofdogswillbetransferredtootherbreedsofdogandalso,possibly,toothersimilarfurryanimals.
Forexample,LittleAlbertalsoshowedafearinresponsetootherwhitefurryobjectsincludingafurcoatandaSantaClaus
mask.
Themaintenanceofthephobiaisexplainedbyoperantconditioning.Whenaphobicavoidsaphobicstimulustheyescape
theanxietythatwouldhavebeenexperienced.Thisreductioninfearnegativelyreinforcestheavoidancebehaviourand
thephobiaismaintained.Ifsomeonehasamorbidfearofclowns(coulrophobia)theywillavoidcircusesandother
situationswheretheymayencounterclowns.Therelieffeltfromavoidingclownsnegativelyreinforcesthephobiaand
ensuresitismaintainedratherthanconfronted.
Alimitationisthetwo-processmodelisanincompleteexplanationofphobias.Evenifweacceptthatclassicalandoperant
conditioningareinvolvedinthedevelopmentandmaintenanceofphobias,therearesomeaspectsofphobiabehaviour
thatrequirefurtherexplaining.Weeasilyacquirephobiasofthingsthatwereadangerinourevolutionarypast(e.g.fearof
snakesorthedark).Thisisbiologicalpreparedness–weareinnatelypreparedtofearsomethingsmorethanothers
(Seligman1971).Biologicalpreparednessisaproblemforthetwo-processmodelbecauseitshowsthereismoreto
acquiringphobiasthansimpleconditioning.
Alimitationisthatnotallbadexperiencesleadtophobias.Sometimesphobiasdoappearfollowingabadexperienceandit
iseasytoseehowtheycouldbetheresultofconditioning.However,sometimespeoplehaveabadexperience(suchas
beingbittenbyadog)anddon’tdevelopaphobia(DiNardoetal.1988).Thissuggeststhatconditioningalonecannot
explainphobias.Theymayonlydevelopwhereavulnerabilityexists.
Thetwo-processmodeldoesn’tproperlyconsiderthecognitiveaspectsofphobias.Weknowthatbehavioural
explanations,ingeneral,areorientedtowardsexplainingbehaviourratherthancognition(thinking).Thisiswhythetwoprocessmodelexplainsmaintenanceofphobiasintermsofavoidance–butwealsoknowthatphobiashaveacognitive
element.Thetwo-processtheorydoesnotadequatelyaddressthecognitiveelementofphobias.
P99
1
Floodinginvolvesbombardingthephobicpatientwiththephobicobjectwithoutagradualbuild-up(asin
systematicdesensitisation).Anarachnophobicreceivingfloodingtreatmentmayhavealargespidercrawlovertheirhand
untiltheycanrelaxfully(thephobicnotthespider).Withouttheoptionofavoidancebehaviour,thepatientquicklylearns
thatthephobicobjectisharmlessthroughtheexhaustionoftheirfearresponse.Thisisknownasextinction.Floodingis
notunethicalbutitisanunpleasantexperiencesoitisimportantthatpatientsgiveinformedconsent.
2
Thequestioninthebookisbeingreplacedatthenextreprint*with,
Identifyandbrieflydiscussonelimitationoffloodingasatreatmentforphobias(4marks)
Alimitationisthatfloodingistraumaticforpatients.Perhapsthemostseriousissuewiththeuseoffloodingisthefactthat
itisahighlytraumaticexperience.Theproblemisnotthatfloodingisunethical(patientsdogiveinformedconsent)but
thatpatientsareoftenunwillingtoseeitthroughtotheend.Thisisalimitationbecauseultimatelyitmeansthatthe
treatmentisnoteffective,andtimeandmoneyarewastedpreparingpatientsonlytohavethemrefusetostartor
completetreatment.
(*Thequestionisbeingreplacedbecausethereisn’tadescriptionofthelimitationofsystematicdesensitisationinthe
studentbook.)
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3
Althoughfloodingishighlyeffectivefortreatingsimplephobias,itappearstobelesssoformorecomplex
phobiaslikesocialphobias.Thismaybebecausesocialphobiashavecognitiveaspects,e.g.asuffererofasocialphobia
doesn’tsimplyexperienceanxietybutthinksunpleasantthoughtsaboutthesocialsituation.Thistypeofphobiamay
benefitmorefromcognitivetherapiesbecausesuchtherapiestackletheirrationalthinking.
Afurtherlimitationisthatfloodingistraumaticforpatients.Theproblemisnotthatfloodingisunethical(patientsdogive
informedconsent)butthatpatientsareoftenunwillingtoseeitthroughtotheend.Timeandmoneymaybewasted
preparingpatientsonlytohavethemrefusetostartorcompletetreatment.
4
Systematicdesensitisationtherapyaimstograduallyreducetheanxietycausedbyaphobiathrough
counterconditioning.Ifaphobiahasbeenlearnedsothatthephobicstimulus(conditionedstimulus,CS)producesfear
(conditionedresponse,CR),thentheCScanbepairedwithrelaxationandthisbecomesthenewCR.Itisnotpossibletobe
afraidandrelaxedatthesametime,sooneemotionpreventstheother(reciprocalinhibition).
Thepatientandtherapistdesignananxietyhierarchy–alistoffearfulstimuliarrangedinorderfromleasttomost
frightening.Anarachnophobicmightidentifyseeingapictureofasmallspideraslowontheiranxietyhierarchyand
holdingatarantulaasthefinalitem.
Thephobicindividualisfirsttaughtrelaxationtechniquessuchasdeepbreathingand/ormeditation.Thepatientthen
worksthroughtheanxietyhierarchy.Ateachlevelthephobicisexposedtothephobicstimulusinarelaxedstateuntilthe
phobicstimulusisconfrontedandthefearextinguished.
AstrengthofSDisthatitiseffective.Gilroyetal.(2003)followedup42patientswhohadSDforspiderphobiainthree45minutesessions.Atboththreeand33months,theSDgroupwerelessfearfulthanacontrolgrouptreatedbyrelaxation
withoutexposure.ThisshowsthatSDishelpfulinreducingtheanxietyinspiderphobiaandthattheeffectsofthe
treatmentarelong-lasting.
AnotherstrengthisthatSDissuitableforadiverserangeofpatients.ThealternativestoSDsuchasfloodingandcognitive
therapiesarenotwellsuitedtosomepatients.Forexample,havinglearningdifficultiescanmakeitveryhardforsome
patientstounderstandwhatishappeningduringfloodingortoengagewithcognitivetherapieswhichrequirereflection.
Forthesepatients,SDisprobablythemostappropriatetreatment.
AfurtherstrengthofSDisthatpatientspreferit.ThosegiventhechoiceofSDorfloodingtendtopreferSD.Thisisbecause
itdoesnotcausethesamedegreeoftraumaasflooding.ItmayalsobebecauseSDincludessomeelementsthatare
actuallypleasant,suchastimetalkingwithatherapist.Thisisreflectedinthelowrefusalrates(numberofpatients
refusingtostarttreatment)andlowattritionrates(numberofpatientsdroppingoutoftreatment)forSD.
P101
1
Negativeviewsoftheworld,e.g.‘theworldisacoldhardplace’.
Negativeviewofthefuture,e.g.‘thereisn’tmuchchancethattheeconomywillgetanybetter’.
Negativeviewoftheself,e.g.thinking‘Iamafailure’andthisnegativelyimpactsuponself-esteem.
2
AccordingtoEllis,depressionoccurswhenweexperienceanactivatingevent,e.g.failinganimportanttestor
endingarelationship.Negativeeventstriggerirrationalbeliefs,forexampleElliscalledthebeliefthatwemustalways
succeed‘musterbation’.Whenanactivatingeventtriggersirrationalbeliefsthereareemotionalandbehavioural
consequences.Forexample,ifyoubelieveyoumustalwayssucceedandthenyoufailatsomething,theconsequenceis
depression.
3
AstrengthofBeck'stheoryisithasgoodsupportingevidence.Forexample,GrazioliandTerry(2000)assessed65
pregnantwomenforcognitivevulnerabilityanddepressionbeforeandafterbirth.Theyfoundthatthosewomenjudgedto
havebeenhighincognitivevulnerabilityweremorelikelytosufferpost-nataldepression.ThissuggeststhatBeckmaybe
rightaboutcognitioncausingdepression,atleastinsomecases.
AlimitationisthatBeck'stheorydoesnotexplainallaspectsofdepression.Depressionisacomplexdisorder.Some
depressedpatientsaredeeplyangryandBeckcannoteasilyexplainthisextremeemotion.Somedepressedpatientssuffer
hallucinationsandbizarrebeliefs.Beck'stheorycannotalwaysexplainallcasesofdepression,andjustfocusesonone
aspectofthedisorder.
4
Beck(1967)suggestedthatsomepeoplearemorepronetodepressionbecauseoffaultyinformationprocessing,
i.e.thinkinginaflawedway.Whendepressedpeopleattendtothenegativeaspectsofasituationandignorepositives,
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theyalsotendtoblowsmallproblemsoutofproportionandthinkin‘blackandwhite’terms.Mariatoldherfriendthatif
shedidn’tpassshe‘couldnotgoon’.
Depressedpeoplehavenegativeselfschemas.Weuseschemastointerprettheworld,soifapersonhasanegativeselfschematheyinterpretallinformationaboutthemselvesinanegativeway.Morespecifically,Beckproposedthenegative
triad.Therearethreeelementstothenegativetriad:
Negativeviewsoftheworld–‘thetestwasunfairandexaminerwasouttogether’.
Negativeviewofthefuture–‘shewillnevertryanythingagain’.
Negativeviewoftheself–‘shehatesherself’.Thenegativetriadaffectsthedepressive’sself-esteem.
Astrengthisthatthetheoryhaspracticalapplicationasatherapy.Beck'scognitiveexplanationformsthebasisofcognitive
behaviourtherapy(CBT).ThecomponentsofthenegativetriadcanbeeasilyidentifiedandchallengedinCBT.Thismeansa
patientcantestwhethertheelementsofthenegativetriadaretrue.Thisisastrengthoftheexplanationbecauseit
translateswellintoasuccessfultherapy.
AlimitationisthatBeck'stheorydoesnotexplainallaspectsofdepression.Depressionisacomplexdisorder.Some
depressedpatientsaredeeplyangryandBeckcannoteasilyexplainthisextremeemotion.Somedepressedpatientssuffer
hallucinationsandbizarrebeliefs.Beck'stheorycannotalwaysexplainallcasesofdepression,andjustfocusesonone
aspectofthedisorder.
P103
1
AstrengthofCBTisthatitiseffective.ThereisalargebodyofevidencetosupporttheeffectivenessofCBTfor
depression,e.g.Marchetal.(2007)comparedtheeffectsofCBTwithantidepressantdrugsandacombinationofthetwo
indepressedadolescents.After36weeks,81%oftheCBTgroup,81%oftheantidepressantgroupand86%oftheCBT+
antidepressantsgroupweresignificantlyimproved.CBTwasjustaseffectiveasmedicationandhelpfulalongside
medication.
ThissuggeststhereisagoodcaseformakingCBTthefirstchoiceoftreatmentintheNHS.
2
Apatientmighttalkabouthowunluckytheyhavebeenorhowunfairlifeis.AnREBTtherapistwouldidentifythis
asutopianismandchallengeitasanirrationalbelief.Thismayinvolveempiricalargument–disputingwhetherthereis
evidencetosupporttheirrationalbelief.Itmayalsoincludelogicalargument–disputingwhetherthenegativethought
actuallyfollowsfromthefacts.
3
TheaimofCBTistoidentifynegativethoughtsabouttheself,theworldandthefuture–thenegativetriad.
Thesethoughtsmustbechallengedbythepatienttakinganactiveroleintheirtreatment(the'patientasscientist').
Patientsareencouragedtotesttherealityoftheirirrationalbeliefs.Theymightbesethomework,e.g.torecordwhenthey
enjoyedaneventorwhenpeoplewerenicetothem,andtheseeventsareusedtochangethepatient’scognitivestyle
duringtherapy.
AlimitationofCBTisitmaynotworkforthemostseverecasesofdepression.Insomecasesdepressioncanbesosevere
thatpatientscannotmotivatethemselvestotakeonthehardcognitiveworkrequiredforCBT.Wherethisisthecaseitis
possibletotreatpatientswithantidepressantmedicationandcontinueCBTwhentheyaremorealertandmotivated.This
isalimitationbecauseitmeansCBTcannotbeusedasthesoletreatmentforallcasesofdepression.
4
AccordingtoEllis,depressionoccurswhenweexperienceanactivatingevent,e.g.failinganimportanttestor
endingarelationship.Negativeeventstriggerirrationalbeliefs,forexampleElliscalledthebeliefthatwemustalways
succeed‘musterbation’.Whenanactivatingeventtriggersirrationalbeliefsthereareemotionalandbehavioural
consequences.Forexample,ifyoubelieveyoumustalwayssucceedandthenyoufailatsomething,theconsequenceis
depression.
AlimitationisthatEllis'smodelisapartialexplanationofdepression.Thereisnodoubtthatsomecasesofdepression
followactivatingevents.Psychologistscallthisreactivedepressionandseeitasdifferentfromthekindofdepressionthat
ariseswithoutanobviouscause.ThismeansthatEllis'explanationonlyappliestosomekindsofdepression.
Cognitiveexplanationsarecloselytiedupwiththeconceptofcognitiveprimacy,theideathatemotionsareinfluencedby
cognition(yourthoughts).Thisissometimesthecase,butnotnecessarilyalways.Othertheoriesofdepressionsee
emotions,suchasanxietyanddistress,asstoredlikephysicalenergy,toemergesometimeaftertheircausalevent.This
castsdoubtontheideathatcognitionsarealwaystherootcauseofdepressionandsuggeststhatcognitivetheoriesmay
notexplainallaspectsofthedisorder.
REBT(Ellis’therapy)extendstheABCmodeltoanABCDEmodel:Dfordispute(challenge)irrationalbeliefsandEforeffect.
Apatientmighttalkabouthowunluckytheyhavebeenorhowunfairlifeis.AnREBTtherapistwouldidentifythisas
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utopianismandchallengeitasanirrationalbelief.Thiswouldinvolveempiricalargument–disputingwhetherthereis
evidencetosupporttheirrationalbelief,and/orlogicalargument–disputingwhetherthenegativethoughtactually
followsfromthefacts.
AswithCBT,thesuccessofREBTmaybeduetothetherapist–patientrelationship.Rosenzwieg(1936)suggestedthatthe
differencesbetweenvariousmethodsofpsychotherapymightactuallybequitesmall.Allpsychotherapieshaveone
essentialingredient–therelationshipbetweentherapistandpatient.Itmaybethequalityofthisrelationshipthat
determinessuccessratherthananyparticulartechnique.Manycomparativereviews(e.g.Luborskyetal.2002)findvery
smalldifferencesbetweentherapies,suggestingthattheyshareacommonbasis.
P105
1
ResearchershaveidentifiedspecificgeneswhichcreateavulnerabilityforOCD,calledcandidategenes.
Serotoningenes,e.g.5HT1-Dbeta,areinvolvedinthetransmissionofserotoninacrosssynapses.Dopaminegenesarealso
implicatedinOCD.Bothdopamineandserotoninareneurotransmittersthathavearoleinregulatingmood.OCDisnot
causedbyonesinglegenebutseveralgenesareinvolved(polygenic).Taylor(2013)foundevidencethatupto230different
genesmaybeinvolvedinOCD.
2
Onelimitationisthattheserotonin-OCDlinkmaynotbeuniquetoOCD.ManypeoplewhosufferfromOCD
becomedepressed(co-morbidity).Thisdepressionprobablyinvolves(thoughisnotnecessarilycausedby)disruptionto
theserotoninsystem.Thisleavesuswithalogicalproblemwhenitcomestotheserotoninsystemasapossiblebasisfor
OCD.ItcouldsimplybethattheserotoninsystemisdisruptedinmanypatientswithOCDbecausetheyaredepressedas
well.
3
ResearchershaveidentifiedspecificgeneswhichcreateavulnerabilityforOCD,calledcandidategenes.
Serotoningenes,e.g.5HT1-Dbeta,areinvolvedinthetransmissionofserotoninacrosssynapses.Dopaminegenesarealso
implicatedinOCD.Bothdopamineandserotoninareneurotransmittersthathavearoleinregulatingmood.OCDisnot
causedbyonesinglegenebutseveralgenesareinvolved(polygenic).Taylor(2013)foundevidencethatupto230different
genesmaybeinvolvedinOCD.
Aswellasthis,somecasesofOCD,andinparticularhoardingdisorder,seemtobeassociatedwithimpaireddecision
making.Thisisturnmaybeassociatedwithabnormalfunctioningofthelateralfrontallobesofthebrain.Thefrontallobes
areresponsibleforlogicalthinkingandmakingdecisions.Thereisalsoevidencetosuggestthatanareacalledtheleft
parahippocampalgyrus,associatedwithprocessingunpleasantemotions,functionsabnormallyinOCD.
4
ResearchershaveidentifiedspecificgeneswhichcreateavulnerabilityforOCD,calledcandidategenes.
Serotoningenes,e.g.5HT1-Dbeta,areinvolvedinthetransmissionofserotoninacrosssynapses.Dopaminegenesarealso
implicatedinOCD.Bothdopamineandserotoninareneurotransmittersthathavearoleinregulatingmood.OCDisnot
causedbyonesinglegenebutseveralgenesareinvolved(polygenic).Taylor(2013)foundevidencethatupto230different
genesmaybeinvolvedinOCD.
Aswellasthis,somecasesofOCD,andinparticularhoardingdisorder,seemtobeassociatedwithimpaireddecision
making.Thisinturnmaybeassociatedwithabnormalfunctioningofthelateralfrontallobesofthebrain.Thefrontallobes
areresponsibleforlogicalthinkingandmakingdecisions.Thereisalsoevidencetosuggestthatanareacalledtheleft
parahippocampalgyrus,associatedwithprocessingunpleasantemotions,functionsabnormallyinOCD.
ThereisgoodsupportingevidenceforthegeneticexplanationofOCD.Thereisevidence,fromavarietyofsourceswhich
suggeststhatsomepeoplearevulnerabletoOCDasaresultoftheirgeneticmake-up.Forexample,Nestadtetal.(2010)
reviewedtwinstudiesandfoundthat68%ofidenticaltwins(MZ)sharedOCDasopposedto31%ofnon-identical(DZ)
twins.ThisstronglysupportsageneticinfluenceonOCD.
Alimitationofthegeneticexplanationisthatenvironmentalriskfactorsarealsoinvolved.Forexample,Cromeretal.
(2007)foundthatoverhalftheOCDpatientsintheirsamplehadatraumaticeventintheirpast,andOCDwasmoresevere
inthosewithoneormoretraumas.Thissupportsthediathesis-stressmodel.Focusingonenvironmentalcausesmaybe
moreproductivebecausewearemoreabletodosomethingaboutthese.
ThereissomesupportingevidenceforneuralexplanationsofOCD.Antidepressantsthatworkpurelyontheserotonin
systemareeffectiveinreducingOCDsymptomsandthissuggeststhattheserotoninsystemmaybeinvolvedinOCD.Also,
OCDsymptomsformpartofbiologicalconditionssuchasParkinson'sdisease(Nestasdtetal.2010).Thissuggeststhatthe
biologicalprocessesthatcausethesymptomsinthoseconditionsmayalsoberesponsibleforOCD.
P107
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1
LowlevelsofserotoninareassociatedwithOCD,thereforedrugsworkinvariouswaystoincreasethelevelof
serotonininthebrain.SSRIspreventthereabsorptionandbreakdownofserotonininthebrain.Thisincreasesitslevelsin
thesynapseandthusserotonincontinuestostimulatethepostsynapticneuron.Thiscompensatesforwhateveriswrong
withtheserotoninsysteminOCD.AtypicaldailydoseofFluoxetine(anSSRI)is20mg,althoughthismaybeincreasedifitis
notbenefittingthepatient.
2
Alimitationisthatdrugscanhaveside-effects.AlthoughdrugssuchasSSRIshelpmostpeople,asmallminority
willgetnobenefit.Somepatientsalsosufferside-effectssuchasindigestion,blurredvisionandlossofsexdrive(although
theseside-effectsareusuallytemporary).
Suchfactorsreduceeffectivenessbecausepeoplestoptakingthemedication.
Afurtherlimitationistheevidencefordrugtreatmentsisunreliable.AlthoughSSRIsarefairlyeffectiveandanyside-effects
willprobablybeshortterm,likealldrugtreatments,SSRIshavesomecontroversyattached.Forexample,somebelievethe
evidencefavouringdrugtreatmentsisbiasedbecauseitissponsoredbydrugcompanieswhomaytrytosuppressevidence
thatdoesnotsupporttheeffectivenessofcertaindrugs.
3
LowlevelsofserotoninareassociatedwithOCD,thereforedrugsworkinvariouswaystoincreasethelevelof
serotonininthebrain.SSRIspreventthereabsorptionandbreakdownofserotonininthebrain.Thisincreasesitslevelsin
thesynapseandthusserotonincontinuestostimulatethepostsynapticneuron.Thiscompensatesforwhateveriswrong
withtheserotoninsysteminOCD.
OneproblemisthatsomecasesofOCDfollowtrauma.OCDiswidelybelievedtobebiologicalinorigin.Itmakessense,
therefore,thatthestandardtreatmentshouldbebiological.However,itisacknowledgedthatOCDcanhavearangeof
othercauses,andthatinsomecasesitisaresponsetotraumaticlifeevents.Itmaynotbeappropriatetousedrugswhen
treatingcasesthatfollowatraumawhenpsychologicaltherapiesmayprovidethebestoption.
4
LowlevelsofserotoninareassociatedwithOCD,thereforedrugsworkinvariouswaystoincreasethelevelof
serotonininthebrain.SSRIspreventthereabsorptionandbreakdownofserotonininthebrain.Thisincreasesitslevelsin
thesynapseandthusserotonincontinuestostimulatethepostsynapticneuron.Thiscompensatesforwhateveriswrong
withtheserotoninsysteminOCD.AtypicaldailydoseofFluoxetine(anSSRI)is20mg,althoughthismaybeincreasedifitis
notbenefittingthepatient.
Tricyclics(anoldertypeofantidepressant),suchasClomipramine,aresometimesused.Thesehavethesameeffectonthe
serotoninsystemasSSRIsbuttheside-effectscanbemoresevere.
Drugsareoftenusedalongsidecognitivebehaviourtherapy(CBT)totreatOCD.Thedrugsreduceapatient’semotional
symptoms,suchasfeelinganxiousordepressed.ThismeansthatpatientscanengagemoreeffectivelywithCBT.
AstrengthofdrugtherapyisthatitiseffectiveattacklingOCDsymptoms.Forexample,Soomroetal.(2009)reviewed17
studiescomparingSSRIstoplacebosinthetreatmentofOCD.All17studiesshowedsignificantlybetterresultsforSSRIs
thanfortheplaceboconditions.EffectivenessisgreatestwhenSSRIsarecombinedwithapsychologicaltreatment,usually
CBT.Typicallysymptomsreduceforaround70%ofpatientstakingSSRIs,therestarehelpedbyalternativedrugsorCBT+
drugs.SodrugscanhelpmostpatientswithOCD.
Anotherstrengthisthatdrugsarecost-effectiveandnon-disruptive.Drugtreatmentsaregenerallycheapcomparedto
psychologicaltreatments.UsingdrugstotreatOCDisthereforegoodvaluefortheNHS.Ascomparedtopsychological
therapies,SSRIsarealsonon-disruptivetopatients'lives.Ifyouwishyoucansimplytakedrugsuntilyoursymptoms
declineandnotengagewiththehardworkofpsychologicaltherapy.Manydoctorsandpatientslikedrugtreatmentsfor
thesereasons.
Alimitationisthatdrugscanhaveside-effects.AlthoughdrugssuchasSSRIshelpmostpeople,asmallminoritywillgetno
benefit.Somepatientsalsosufferside-effectssuchasindigestion,blurredvisionandlossofsexdrive(althoughthesesideeffectsareusuallytemporary).Suchfactorsreduceeffectivenessbecausepeoplestoptakingthemedication.
6.ResearchMethods
P109
1
Adirectionalhypothesisstateswhetherchangesaregreaterorlesser,positiveornegative,etc.Thisisusedwhen
theresearcherhasconfidenceinthelikelydirectionoftheresultsbasedonpreviousresearch,forinstance.
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2
Extraneousvariables(EVs)are‘nuisance’variablesthatdonotvarysystematicallywiththeIV.Aresearchermay
controlsomeofthese.Confoundingvariables(CVs)changesystematicallywiththeIVsowecannotbesureifanyobserved
changeintheDVisduetotheCVortheIV.CVsmustbecontrolled.
3
Anyeffectoftheinvestigator'sbehaviourontheoutcomeoftheresearch(theDV).Iftheresearcher,knowingly
orotherwise,givesmoreinformationtoparticularparticipants,oroffersencouragementtosomeandnotothersintheir
behaviour,thismaycreateaconfoundingvariablesothetruesourceofthechangeintheDVcannotbeidentified.
4
Thepersoninbothconditionshasthesamecharacteristics.ThiscontrolstheimportantCVofparticipant
variables.
P111
1
TheIVismanipulatedbytheexperimenterandtheeffectontheDVisrecordedinanaturalsetting.
2
Labstudiescanbeeasilyreplicated.Duetothestandardisedproceduretheexperimentcanberepeated.Ifthe
resultsarethesamethisconfirmstheirvalidity.
Thecontrolledlabenvironmentmayberatherartificialandparticipantsareawaretheyarebeingstudied.Thusbehaviour
maynotbe‘natural’andcan’tbegeneralisedtoeverydaylife(lowexternalvalidity).
3
Inafieldexperiment,theIVismanipulatedbytheexperimenterandtheeffectontheDVisrecorded.Inanatural
experiment,theexperimenterdoesnotmanipulatetheIV.TheIVwouldhavevariedeveniftheexperimenterwasn’t
interested.
4
Inaquasi-experiment,theIVisadifferencebetweenpeople,e.g.peoplewithandwithoutautism.Thismeans
thatcomparisonsbetweendifferenttypesofpeoplecanbemade,whichisastrength.However,participantsarenot
randomlyallocated.TheexperimenterhasnocontroloverwhichparticipantsareplacedinwhichconditionastheIVispreexisting.ParticipantvariablesmayhavecausedthechangeintheDVactingasaCV.
P113
1
Apopulationisthelargegroupofpeoplethataresearcherisinterestedinstudying,forexamplecollegestudents
fromtheNorthWest.Itisusuallynotpossibletoincludeallmembersofthepopulationinthestudy,soasmallergroupis
selected–thesample.Thesamplethatisdrawnshouldberepresentativeofthepopulationsogeneralisationscanbe
made.
2
Inarandomsample,everypersoninthetargetpopulationhasanequalchanceofbeingselected.Thiscanbe
achievedthroughtheuseofalotterymethod.
3
Asystematicsampleisanunbiasedmethod.Thefirstitemisusuallyselectedatrandomsotheresearcherhasno
controloverthis,itisanobjectivemethod.Acompletelistofthetargetpopulationisrequired.Thisislikelytorequiretime
andeffort,andsorandomsamplingmayaswellbeused.
4
Participantsareselectedaccordingtotheirfrequencyinthetargetpopulation.Thecollegestudentpopulation
shouldbedividedintosubgroups,suchasgenderoragegroups.Therelativepercentagesofthesubgroupsinthe
populationarereflectedinthesample.Forinstance,ifthereare60femalesand40males,thereshouldbe6femalesand4
malesinasampleof10.
5
Inopportunitysamplingthesampleisunrepresentativeofthetargetpopulationasitisdrawnfromavery
specificarea,suchasonestreetinonetown.Thismeansthatthefindingscannotbegeneralised.
P114
1
Ethicalissuesarisewhenaconflictexistsbetweentherightsofparticipantsandtheaimsoftheresearch.For
instance,itmaybenecessarytonotinformparticipantsoftheaimofthestudytominimisedemandcharacteristics,but
thisinfringestheirrighttogiveinformedconsent.
2
Participantsshouldbeabletomakeaninformedjudgementaboutwhethertotakepartinaparticularstudy
(informedconsent).However,toomuchinformationmayaffectparticipants’behavioursoparticipantsmayinsteadgive
retrospectiveconsentattheendofthestudy(duringdebriefing)whentheyaregivenfulldetailsoftheresearchaims.
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3
BPScodeofconductisaquasi-legaldocumenttoprotectparticipantsbasedonfourprinciples:respect,
competence,responsibilityandintegrity.Thisdocumentincludesdetailsofwhatis,andisnot,appropriateinrelationto
researchhumanandanimalparticipantsinresearch,andprovidesasafeguardforthosetakingpart.
4
Thisquestionwouldnotbeaskedandwillberemovedfromthebookatreprint.NoessayinResearch
Methods.
P115
1
Thetwothingsbeingcomparedtoseeifthereisarelationshipincorrelationalresearcharecalledco-variables.
Onascattergraph,oneoftheseisplottedonthex-axisandoneonthey-axistoassessthestrengthanddirectionofthe
relationship.
2
InanexperimenttheresearchermanipulatestheIVandrecordstheeffectontheDV.Inacorrelationthereisno
manipulationofvariablesandsocauseandeffectcannotbedemonstrated.Inacorrelation,itmaybethatathird
‘untested’variableiscausingtherelationshipbetweentheco-variables(calledaninterveningvariable).
3
Correlationsareausefulstartingpointforresearch.Byassessingthestrengthanddirectionofarelationship,
correlationsprovideaprecisemeasureofhowtwovariablesarerelated.Ifvariablesarestronglyrelateditmaysuggest
hypothesesforfutureresearch.
Correlationsareoftenpresentedascausal,e.g.bythemedia,whentheyonlyshowhowtwovariablesarerelated.There
maybeinterveningvariablesthatexplaintherelationship.
P117
1
Anaturalisticobservationtakesplacewherethetargetbehaviourwouldnormallyoccur,suchasaschool
canteen.Acontrolledobservationtakesplaceinacontrolledsetting(possiblyalab)andtheremaybesomemanipulation
ofvariablesandcontrolofEVs.
2
Acovertobservationiswhenparticipantsareunawaretheyarebeingstudiedandinformedconsentfortheir
participationhasnotbeenobtained.Thisisseenasethicalifthebehaviourtheparticipantsareengagedinis‘public’and
doesnotinvadetheirprivacy.
3
Participantobservationscanleadtogreaterinsight.Theresearcherexperiencesthesituationastheparticipants
doandthismayenhancethevalidityofthefindings.However,theremaybeapossiblelossofobjectivity.Theresearcher
mayidentifytoostronglywiththosetheyarestudying(‘goingnative’)andthismaythreatenthevalidityofthefindings.
P119
1
Anymethodinwhichapersonisaskedtostateorexplaintheirownfeelings,opinions,behavioursand/or
experiencesrelatedtoagiventopic,asinquestionnairesandinterviews.
2
Inanunstructuredinterviewtherearenosetquestions.Thereisageneraltopictobediscussedbutthe
interactionisfree-flowingandtheintervieweeisencouragedtoelaborate.
3
Structuredinterviewsareeasytoreplicatebecauseofthestandardisedformat.Thisalsoreducesdifferences
betweeninterviewers.However,intervieweescannotelaboratetheiranswersordeviatefromthecentraltopic,andthis
maybeasourceoffrustrationforsome.
4
Thedataproducedinaquestionnaireislikelytobeeasiertoanalysethanthatproducedinaninterview.
Statisticaldatacanbegeneratedtoproducegraphsandchartsforcomparison,whichmakesconclusionseasytodraw.
However,respondentsmayoftenberestrictedtoachoiceofanswersthatmaynotberepresentativeoftheirtruefeelings
onatopic.Thismayreducethevalidityofthefindings.
1
Apilotstudyisasmall-scaletrialrunofaresearchdesignbeforedoingtherealthing.Theaimofpilotingistofind
outifcertainthingsdon'tworksoyoucancorrectthembeforespendingtimeandmoneyonthefullinvestigation.
P120
1
Qualitativedataisnon-numericaldataexpressedinwords,e.g.anextractfromsomeone’sdiary.
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2
Secondarydatacanbeinexpensivebecausethedesiredinformationmayalreadyexist.Forthisreasonitoften
requiresminimaleffortonthepartoftheresearcher,reducingcosts.However,thequalityofthedatamaybepoor.
Informationmaybeoutdatedorincompleteandthischallengesthevalidityofanyconclusionsdrawn.
3
Ifameta-analysisofalltheavailablestudiesonthegeneticbasisofschizophreniaisconducted,theeventual
samplesizeismuchlargerthanthesamplesofindividualinvestigations.Thisincreasesthevalidityoftheconclusionsand
increasestheextenttowhichgeneralisationscanbemade.However,publicationbiasmayoccur.Researchersmaynot
selectallrelevantstudies,leavingoutnegativeornonsignificantresults.Datamaybebiasedbecauseitonlyrepresents
someofthedataandincorrectconclusionsaredrawn.Aresearcherwhothinksthatschizophreniahasageneticbiasmay
leaveoutstudiesthatdonotconfirmthisview.
P121
1
Thegeneraltermforanymeasureoftheaveragevalueinasetofdata,usuallythemean,medianormode.
2
Themeanisthearithmeticaverage;addupallthescoresanddividebythenumberofscores.
3
Thestandarddeviationismoreprecisethantherangeasitincludesallvalueswithinthecalculation.Ittherefore
givesamoreaccuratepictureoftheoveralldistributionofthedataset.
However,theSDmaybemisleadingandmay'hide'someofthecharacteristicsofthedataset.
Extremevaluesmaynotberevealed,unlikewiththerange.
P122
1
Usedforcorrelationalanalysistoshowthestrengthanddirectionoftherelationshipbetweenco-variables.Each
dotrepresentsonepairofrelateddata.Thedataonbothaxesmustbecontinuous.
2
Anormaldistributionproducesasymmetrical,bell-shapedcurve.Mostpeopleareinthemiddleareaofthe
curvewithveryfewattheextremeends.Themean,medianandmodealloccupythesamemid-pointofthecurve–and
thiswouldbe100onanormaldistributionofIQscores.
3
Inanormaldistribution,mostpeopleareinthemiddleareaofthecurvewithveryfewattheextremeends.The
mean,medianandmodealloccupythesamemid-pointofthecurve–andthiswouldbe100onanormaldistributionofIQ
scores.Skeweddistributionsaredistributionsthatleantoonesideortheotherbecausemostpeopleareeitheratthe
lowerorupperendofthedistribution–perhapsduetohavingsataverydifficultoreasytest.
P123
1
(a)70%
(b)0.7 (c)7/10
2
3.142
P124
1
Testingfordifference;relateddesign(repeatedmeasuresormatchedpairs);nominaldata.
2
Thesignificancelevel(usually0.05or5%).
Thenumberofparticipantsintheinvestigation(theNvalue)orthedegreesoffreedom(df).
Whetherthehypothesisisdirectionalornon-directional(one-tailedortwo-tailedtest).
3
IfSisequaltoorlessthancriticalvalue,thenSissignificantandtheexperimentalhypothesisisretained.
P125
1
Beforepublication,allaspectsoftheinvestigationarescrutinisedbyexperts(‘peers’)inthefield.Theseexperts
shouldbeobjectiveandunknowntotheresearcher.
2
Oneaimistodeterminetheallocationofresearchfunding.Thismaybeco-ordinatedbygovernment-runfunding
organisationswhohaveavestedinterestinestablishingwhichresearchprojectsaremostworthwhile.
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Anotheraimistovalidatethequalityandrelevanceofresearchinordertosuggestimprovementsoramendments.In
somecases,reviewersmaysuggestthattheworkisinappropriateandshouldbewithdrawn.
3
Peerreviewprotectsthequalityofpublishedresearchbyminimisingthepossibilityoffraudulentresearch.This
preservesthereputationofpsychologyasascienceandincreasesthecredibilityandstatusofthesubject.However,itmay
beusedtocriticiserivalresearch.Aminorityofreviewersmayusetheiranonymousstatustocriticiserivalresearchers.
Oftenthereiscompetitionforlimitedresearchfundingsothismaybeanissue.
Afinalissueispublicationbias.Theremaybeatendencyforeditorsofjournalstowanttopublish'headlinegrabbing'
findings.Researchthatdoesnotmeetthiscriterionmaybeignoredordisregarded.
P125
1
Recentresearchhasstressedtheimportanceofmultipleattachmentsandtheroleofthefatherinhealthy
psychologicaldevelopment.Thismaypromotemoreflexibleworkingarrangementsinthefamilysothatmodernparents
arebetterequippedtocontributemoreeffectivelytotheeconomy.
Psychologicalresearchintothecausesandtreatmentsofmentaldisordersmeansthatpatientshavetheircondition
diagnosedquicklyallowingpatientsaccesstotherapiesorpsychotherapeuticdrugs,suchasSSRIs.Suffererscanmanage
theirconditioneffectively,returntoworkandcontributetotheeconomy.
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