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CAIE AS LEVEL

PSYCHOLOGY (9990)
FOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

In REM sleep, EEG is relatively low voltage/amplitude and

high frequency.
1. Biological Approach In nREM sleep, EEG has either high voltage/amplitude and
slow (low frequency) waves or frequent ‘sleep spindles’,
1.1. Introduction short-lived high voltage, high-frequency waves.

Behaviour, cognition and emotions can be explained in : To investigate dreaming objectively by looking for
terms of the working of the brain and the effect of the relationship between eye movements in sleep and the
hormones, genetics and evolution. dreamer’s recall.
Similarities and differences between people can be
understood regarding biological factors and their To test whether dream recall differs between REM and
interaction with other factors.
nREM sleep.
To investigate whether there is a positive correlation
1.2. Dement and Kleitman (Sleep and Dreams)
between subjective estimates of dream duration and the
: The Relation of Eye Movements During Sleep to Dream length of REM period.
Activity: An Objective Method for the Study of Dreaming To test whether eye movement patterns are related to
: 1957 dream content. (Whether these patterns represent the
visual experience of dream content or whether they are
:
simply random movements arising from the activation of
Our body follows two types of sleep: REM (rapid eye the CNS)
movement) sleep and nREM (non-rapid eye movement)
sleep.
nREM can be divided into 4 sleep stages. Research Method: Laboratory Experiment, Observations,
Self-reports and correlation
In REM sleep, our eyes move rapidly under the lids.
Experimental design: Repeated Measures Design
REM sleep is known as paradoxical sleep. It resembles
Three approaches were used to test the three specific aims.
wakefulness as our eyes move; we often experience vivid
(scroll above to find the three aims)
(bizarre) thoughts in dreams, and our brains are active.
However, it is different from wakefulness as it is difficult to Sample: seven adult males and two adult females. Five of
wake up; we are relatively insensitive to stimuli and them were studied intensively, while the data gathered
paralyzed. from the other four were minimal to confirm the results.
Ultradian rhythms- Basic Rest-Activity cycles that occur Sampling technique: Opportunity sampling
almost every 90 minutes and are responsible for the Participants studied in detail spent between 6-17 nights
different stages of sleep we experience. with 50-77 awakenings. The four others spent only one or
Dreams- Vivid and generally visual sequences of imagery two nights with 4-10 awakenings.
that occur during sleep in the REM stage. Participants were identified by their initials to maintain
confidentiality.
Participants reported to the lab a little before their usual
Aserinsky and Kleitman’s (1955) study observed periods of
bedtime.
rapid, conjugate eye movements during sleep and found a
They were instructed to eat normally but to abstain from
high incidence of dream recall in awakening participants
alcoholic or caffeine-containing beverages on the day of the
and a low incidence when awakened at other times.
experiment.
Sleep and dreaming are hard to investigate because the
participant is necessarily asleep, and so cannot Participants were fitted with electrodes on their scalps and
communicate with the researcher. Even when awake, only around their eyes.
self-report data can be obtained about dream content, Once they were in bed in a quiet, dark room, the wires
which alone may be invalid as it is subjective. were gathered into a “ponytail” to allow freedom of
movement.
The electroencephalograph (EEG) monitors the electrical
activity of the brain. The EEG ran continuously to monitor the participant's sleep
The electrooculogram (EOG) allowed the electrical stages and to inform the researchers when they should be
woken up.
recording of eye movement patterns, their presence or
absence, and their size and direction (vertical or Participants were woken by a doorbell that was loud
horizontal). enough to rouse them from any sleep stage.
The EEG detects and records tiny electrical charges The doorbell rang at various times during the night, and the
associated with nerve and muscle activity. participants indicated whether they had been dreaming
and described their dreams in a voice recorder.

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Analysis of dream narrative: This was only considered a

dream if a coherent, fairly detailed description of the Participants had 88% accuracy in estimating they were
content existed. Vague, fragmentary impressions were not woken up after 5 minutes of dreaming.
scored as dreams.
Participants had 78% accuracy in estimating they were
woken up after 15 minutes of dreaming.
Participants were woken The correlation between the two variables was positive,
either from REM or nREM Natural experiment in a laboratory within the range of 0.4 to 0.71, as the showed a
sleep, but were not told setting significant correlation.
which stage they were in.

They confirmed whether

Aim
they had a dream and if so,
1 IV: REM or nREM sleep stage
reported the content into a Eye movements, as recorded on EEG, were related to
recorder. dreams' visual content.
DV: whether the participants With only vertical (climbing up a ladder and looking down)
reported a dream, and if so, the or only horizontal (watching two people throwing tomatoes
details at each other) eye movements were rare, with only 3
Participants were woken The data was used in both dreams and 1 dream, respectively.
following 5 or 15 minutes of experimental and correlational 10 dreams were reported to have little to no eye movement
REM sleep. designs.
(watching something in the distance)
They were asked if they 21 dreams had mixed movements (talking to a group of
Experimental analysis: IV - waking
thought they had been
Aim after 5 or 15 minutes of REM sleep. people)
dreaming for 5 or 15
2 DV - participant’s choice
minutes.

Their dream narrative was

Correlational analysis: two Dreams are experienced in REM but not NREM sleep.
variables were the participant’s
recorded, and the number Dreaming is more likely at night's end, as the REM stages
time estimate and number of
of words was counted.
words in the dream narrative are longer.

Participants were woken

after exhibiting a single eye- Natural experiment in a laboratory - definition of dream clearly
movement pattern for setting.
operationalized, demand characteristics minimized by not
longer than a minute.
telling participants about their EEG patterns, laboratory
Aim IV: eye-movement pattern type experiment with limited effect of uncontrolled variables.
3 This was measured using (mainly horizontal, mainly vertical,
electrodes and an EOG. vertical & horizontal, little or none) - EEG shows quantitative data and is not
This could not be manipulated. affected by the experimenter’s subjective view; quantitative
and qualitative data are collected.
The dream content was
DV: report of dream content
recorded.

: only 9 participants may not represent

Results the dream frequency of the general population.
: People used to caffeinated drinks
could experience changes in sleep and dream patterns due
Uninterrupted dream stages lasted for a range of 3 to 50
to lack of those drinks; sleeping in a laboratory connected
minutes with an estimate average of 20 minutes.
to electrodes could be uncomfortable.
Dream Stages are usually longer later in the night.
Dream stages had irregular bursts of 2-100 rapid eye
movements. : Participant WD was misled about whether he
was woken in the NREM or REM stage.

Yes, dream recall significantly differs. In 79.6% of the REM

awakenings (152/191) participants could recall a dream,
whereas in only 6.9% of nREM awakenings (11/160),
participants could recall their dreams.
Therefore, participants are likelier to describe dreams
when woken from REM than nREM frequently.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

: EEG, which is used to detect dreaming, has Aims

useful applications for assessing people with sleep and
To investigate whether toy preference in monkeys is similar to
dream issues (for example- insomnia and nightmares)
those in children to test for a biological explanation for sex
The EEG can be used to monitor the different stages of differences in toy choice.
sleep individuals with insomnia (trouble falling asleep or
not sleeping enough) face and see patterns in their dream
stages (example- shorted REM sleep stages)- this helps get Research method: A field experiment
a better understanding of the problem they are facing and Experimental design: Independent Measures Design
according come up with a solution. Independent Variable (IV): Gender, Monkey’s rank on social
Parasomnias is a sleeping disorder involving unusual hierarchy
behavior and dreams. EEG monitoring can be used to Dependent Variable (DV): Frequency and duration of play
observe REM sleep stages for this disorder as well to with each toy type
understand how the unusaul dreams are related to sleep : 21 males and 61 female rhesus monkeys living in
stages and dream sleep. natal groups at the Yerkes primate research station in the
: Mainly focuses on nature, making USA.
obtaining evidence through EEG possible. : Opportunity sampling
The natal group was housed in a 25*25-meter outdoor area
1.3. Hassett et al. (Monkey Toy Preferences) with admission into a temperature-controlled indoor area.
: Sex differences in rhesus monkey toy preferences parallel toys were divided into two categories based on their
those of children properties: 'wheeled toys', which matched with toys
typically for boys, and 'plush toys' to match girl toys.
: 2008
Six-wheeled toys- wagon, truck, car, shopping cart
:
Seven Plush toys- teddy bear, Koala hand puppet
There is a difference in male and female brain structure For every group formed from the natal group, 7 trials
and hormones,, resulting in sex differences. occurred, all lasting for 25 minutes.
Socialization is the method of learning behaviours that are The rhesus monkeys were observed using two video
socially accepted. These behaviours differ for the two cameras.
genders.
For each of the 7 trials, all monkeys were initially indoors
It has been difficult to determine if differences in behaviour while one plush toy and one wheeled toy were placed 10
between females and males are more due to biological metres apart in the outdoor area.
factors or social differences due to socialization.
Each video camera was focused on one of the toys, with the
Gender stereotype- bias of assigning particular traits to a positions of wheeled and plush toys being counterbalanced
particular gender, for example- assigning aggression as a between right and left locations.
male-typed trait.
After the 25-minute trial, the toys were removed, and two
Play- Childhood behaviours are usually done for fun, which observers analyzed the videotape to achieve a consensus
may or may not involve social interaction and objects called that resulted in high inter-observer reliability.
‘toys’.
Specific behavioural categories were formed after watching
the animal interact with toys.
Background
The exact time of each activity was also recorded, along
Infants are exposed to hormones during the prenatal with the frequency of each behaviour.
stages of gestation, which impacts toy preferences in
A few behavioural categories include extended touch,
children.
sitting on the toy, dragging, carrying in hand, turning the
A few females have experienced a genetic condition which
entire toy, and sniffing.
increases male hormones during foetal development-
For data analysis, each monkey's behaviour was converted
these girls are seen to prefer more ‘male’ '-type toys in
into an average frequency and duration.
comparison to other girls.
Primates are similar to humans genetically and, therefore, Results
can be used as a model to show if gender differences in
behaviour are due to biological or social factors. Females did not have a preference for plush toys over
wheeled toys.
Female and male primates have differences in hormones,
Females interacted with plush toys more than males did.
just like humans.
Male monkeys prefer 'masculine' wheeled toys for
'feminine' plush toys.
Rank on social hierarchy was positively correlated to the
total frequency of interactions.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

When compared to data from Berenbaum and Hines Use the MBSR course to compare grey matter
(1992), it was seen that rhesus monkeys and children both concentration in specific brain areas and the whole brain
showed higher preference marks in males than females. before and after the course (pre and post-stages)
*MBSR- Meditation-Based Stress Reduction
use of animals to eliminate the effect
of socialization and another confounding variable, : Laboratory Experient with longitudinal
behavioural categories were accurately defined, design
counterbalancing of wheeled toy and plush toy position.
: Independent Measures Design
: The observation process was the
: Exposure to an eight-week
same for all monkeys, with a standard length of 25-minute
mindfulness-based intervention, the MBSR course
sessions.
: Change in the grey matter assessed
using MRI scans and Response on questionnaires to
: Differences in the children and measure five mindfulness scales (before and after
rhesus monkeys were compared; the toys offered were intervention)
chosen for object properties rather than female or male- :
typed toys, and children were assessed using different toys
and only measuring the duration of play, not frequency.
16 participants- 6 Males and 10 Females

: Help cause awareness regarding gender- Mean age- 38 years

neutral socialization. This would minimize the divide There were 18 participants in the experimental group, but
between males and females early in childhood. 2 males withdrew due to discomfort.
: illustrates a role of biology 17 participants- 7 Males and 10 Females
that supports the individual side of the debate; however, Mean age- 39 years
exposure to gender stereotyping in society counts for a
situational explanation. The control group participants had the same eligibility criteria
as the experimental group for admission into the mindfulness
: sex differences due to biological
course.
aspects of brain structure and hormones count for nature,
but socialization in society is mainly due to nurture.
Participants for this study were recruited from individuals
1.4. Hölzel et al. (Mindfulness and Brain Scans) already enrolled in 4 MBSR courses at the University of
Massachusetts
Mindfulness practice to increase regional brain grey
matter density Overall Age Range- 25 to 55 years
All participants were physically and psychologically healthy
2011
All participants were not on any medication
All participants had limited experience with meditation
- State achieved through meditation that aims to classes
increase awareness of the present-moment experience. They all had the same educational level
- Particular brain areas are responsible Incentive of discounted MBRS course fee was given to all
for different activities.
: Opportunity Sampling
Both groups completed the FFMQ (Five Facet Mindfulness
Mindfulness involves cognitive processes and sensory Questionnaire) with 39 questions and five subscales.
experiences that impact brain function.
The 5 subscales had statements that measured observing,
Early studies used EEG, but now MRI provides more describing, acting with awareness, non-judging of inner
detailed information by measuring brain structures and
experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience.
changes in grey and white matter.
Each statement had to be answered on a five-point Likert-
Comparative studies suggest differences in brain grey
type scale, and the scores were added.
matter between individuals practising mindfulness
meditation and those who don’t. However, caution is Some questions were reverse scored, and from each group,
needed due to potential pre-existing individual differences 14 participants gave usable data at both time points.
that could affect results. MRI brain scans of both group participants were taken at
two-time points.
For the experimental group: two weeks before MBSR and
two weeks after MBRS course (average gap of 56 days)**

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

For the control group: The two scans were taken with an The increased external validity of findings derived from
average gap of 66 days between them. longitudinal studies stems from the extended duration,
The data from MRI scans was utilized in two ways: which helps stabilize fluctuating participant variables such
as mood, attentiveness, and health, among others, that
1. To analyze the regions of interest- Hippocampus could influence mindfulness.
and Bilateral insulae
: for instance, a fixed
2. To analyze the whole brain to explore other areas number of exercises to be performed and fixed total
affected by the mindfulness course. duration- make the study highly replicable, raising
Lastly, participants reported the time they spent over 8 reliability.
weeks’ time on formal homework and the three assigned
exercises (Body scans, yoga and sitting meditation)
Lack of generalisability of the sample as they were all
similar due to already being enrolled in MBSR courses and
No significant correlation between time spent on body having the same level of education.
scans, yoga and sitting meditation The unknowns regarding the accuracy of the MRI and the
Participants in the MBSR group significantly increased lack of objectivity in the interpretations of the data
mindfulness scores on the 3 subscales (acting with produced decrease the internal validity.
awareness, observing and non-judging) between pre and The lack of correlation between grey matter and time spent
post-testing on mindfulness exercise homework shows that the
exercises did not directly cause brain changes, which also
decreases internal validity.
In the specific area of interest- Left Hippocampus there
were positive changes in grey area concentration for the
MBSR group between the pre and post-stages Provides a method to help
In the specific area of interest- the Left Hippocampus, there people with temporoparietal junction (TPJ) impairment, and
were no changes in a grey area concentration for the the two areas of the cerebellum where grey matter
control group between pre and post-stages. changes were observed can be used for emotion regulation
No correlation between grey matter in specific areas and and healthy psychological functioning.
the amount of homework or changes in FFMQ scores The biological aspects are highly
determined by the processes of nature. However, the study
showed that nurture through MBRS can affect those
Four clusters of the brain showed a significant increase in structures and processes.
grey matter concentration for the MBSR group between the
pre and post-stages
These four clusters showed a significant increase in grey 2. Cognitive Approach
matter concentration for the control group relative to other
brain area 2.1. Introduction
(The four clusters were Posterior cingulate cortex, left
temporoparietal junction and two parts of the cerebellum)
behaviour and emotions can be explained in terms of
No correlation between other parts of the brain and the the role of cognitive processes such as attention,
amount of homework or changes in FFMQ scores language, thinking and memory
similarities and differences between people can be
The concentration of grey matter increases in regions in the understood in terms of individual patterns of cognition
hippocampus, posterior cingulate cortex (PPC), left
temporoparietal junction (TJP) and cerebellum in those who 2.2. Andrade (Doodling)
practice an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course : What Does Doodling Do?
(MBSR)
: 2010
:
Risk of not protecting participants from harm by not assisting
People have been known to daydream frequently when
control group participants until at least eight weeks
presented with something boring.

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Before this study, it was unknown whether doodling Participants in the doodling group were given a piece of A4
impairs attention processes by removing resources from paper with alternating rows of 10 squares and circles, 1 cm
the primary attention task or aids concentration towards in diameter, with a 4.5 cm margin on the left-hand side
the primary task, additionally maintaining arousal. where they could write any target information.
It is common in research on attention to pose the The doodling group was asked to shade the shapes
participants with dual tasks to monitor performance and They were told that “it does not matter how neatly or
then see which cognitive processes are needed to complete quickly you do this - it is just something to help relieve the
these tasks. boredom.”
Participants listened to the tape for 2.5 minutes and wrote
To test whether doodling aided information processing down the information as directed.
when performing a tedious task. As soon as the recording finished, the researcher collected
the sheets and talked to the participant for a minute.
This conversation included a debriefing and an apology for
Research Method: Laboratory Experiment misleading them about the memory test. The participants
Experimental Design: Independent Groups were asked if they suspected a memory test.
IV: Doodling or Non-doodling (Control) Group Half the participants recalled the names of people, then
DV: Mean correct recall, false alarms and memory scores places and the other half the places, then names.
Sample: 40 members of the MRC Applied Psychology Unit (Counterbalancing)
participant panel at the University of Plymouth (UK). They
were aged 18-55 and paid for participating. Participants
Participants in the doodling group shaded a mean of 36.3
were assigned randomly to the control (20 - 18 females and
shapes (range 3-110). One participant did not doodle and
2 males) or doodling (20 - 17 females and 3 males) group.
was replaced
Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling (they had
None of the participants in the control group doodled.
volunteered for a different study and were then recruited
immediately after participating in that unrelated study) 3 participants in the doodling group and 4 in the control
group suspected a memory test. However, none of them
The researcher recorded a mock telephone message using
claimed they actively tried to remember the information for
a cassette recorder.
the test.
A somewhat monotonous voice was used.
If a response indicated a plausible mishearing, it was
It was 2.5 minutes long, with an average speaking rate of scored as correct.
227 words per minute
New names not similar to the ones given, names of people
The recording was being played at a comfortable volume who could not attend were scored as false alarms.
for the participant to listen to.
Responses such as ‘sister’ were ignored.
The script included the names of 8 people who would be
MONITORING PERFORMANCE SCORE = number of correct
attending a party alongside the names of 3 people and 1
names - number of false alarms
cat who would not attend. 8 place names were also
mentioned. 15 Participants in the doodling group and 9 Participants in
the control group scored the maximum score.
Participants were recruited after finishing an unrelated
experiment for another researcher and asked if they would Monitoring performance was significantly higher in the
mind spending another 5 minutes helping with research. doodling condition (mean = 7.7; SD = 0.6) compared with
the control condition (mean = 6.9; SD = 1.3)
The intention was to enhance the boredom of the task by
testing people who were already thinking about going Each participant generated a name score and a place score.
home. The monitoring and recall phases had to be the same if a
plausible mishearing was presented.
The participants were randomly assigned to the two
conditions (doodling or control) Those in doodling condition recalled a mean of 7.5 pieces
of correct information compared to the control group (5.8).
Participants were tested individually in a quiet and visually
dull room. Monitored names were recalled more than places.

They were asked to note down the names of all people The recall was significantly better for those in doodling
attending the party and nothing else. They were also told condition
they did not need to remember anything. Memory scores were entered into a 2 (doodling, control)
Participants in the control condition were given a piece of and 2 (names, places) mixed measures ANOVA, which
lined paper and a pencil. confirmed that the monitored names were recalled better
than the incidental places.
Removing data from participants who had suspected a test
were removed from the analysis, there was still a significant
difference (p=0.01)

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:
Participants who performed a shape-shading task The main idea of the eye test was to investigate the theory
concentrated better on a mock telephone message than of mind.
those who listened with no concurrent task. This is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself or
It is unclear whether doodling led to better recall because another person, which is how we make sense of or predict
doodlers noticed more of the target information (better another person’s behaviour.
attention) or whether it aided memory recall by The notion is that many autistic individuals do not
encouraging deeper processing of the message (better understand that other people have their plans, thoughts,
memory). and points of view.
It appears that they have difficulty understanding other
Deception about the memory test people's beliefs, attitudes, and emotions.

Debriefing
Lack of protection from harm- were given an unforeseen In 1997, the “ ” test was
test on place names, which can cause distress if they developed to assess the theory of mind. This appeared to
cannot remember the places. discriminate between adults with Asperger syndrome (AS)
or high-functioning autistic (HFA) adults and control adults.
The two former groups scored significantly worse.
Standardized procedure - easy to replicate for reliability
However, the researchers were not happy with elements of
Many controls - more confident about the causal the original study and wanted to “upgrade” their measures
relationship to make it better.

: The sample was from a volunteer To test a group of adults with AS or HFA on the revised
participant panel. Therefore, they may be qualitatively version of the eyes test. This was to check if the deficits in
different, and the results may not reflect the population. this group found in the original study could be replicated.
Participant Variables might have affected the findings To test if, in a sample of normal adults, an inverse
Low mundane realism (negative) correlation would be found between
Low ecological validity performance on the (revised) Eyes Test and the Autism
It lacks any measure of daydreaming. A replication that Spectrum Quotient (AQ).
included thought probes during the telephone message or To test whether females scored better on the Eyes Test
retrospective self-report of daydreaming would test than males.
whether the effect of doodling on memory occurred via
effects on daydreaming.
Research Method: Natural Experiment (as the IV is naturally
Future neuroimaging studies could test the hypothesis that
occurring) and Questionnaire
doodling selectively reduces cortical activation associated
with daydreaming Experimental Design: Independent Groups
IV: Four groups of participants (naturally occurring)

: Useful for students while revising or in class DV: Score on Eyes Test and Autism Spectrum Quotient
and improves learning by simultaneously using visuospatial Sample: Group 1: 15 male adults with AS or HFA. Recruited
and auditory tasks, leading to better information via adverts in the or
processing. equivalent support groups. They spanned an equivalent
: This study supports range of socioeconomic classes and educational levels, as
both. Individual - participants may have used a similar seen in group 2.
strategy before or have a personality type that requires Group 2: 122 normal adults drawn from the adult
stimulation when processing information. community and educational classes in Exeter or from
: the process of doodling could have caused the public library users in Cambridge. They had a broad range
improvement in recall. of occupations and educational levels.
Group 3: 103 normal adult students (53 male; 50 female)
2.3. Baron-Cohen et al. (Eyes Test)
studying for undergraduate degrees at Cambridge
: The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test Revised Version: University (71 in sciences, 32 in other subjects). This group
A Study with Normal Adults and Adults with Asperger is not representative of the general population and can be
Syndrome or High-functioning Autism considered to have a high IQ.
: 2001 Group 4: Randomly selected 14 adults from the general
population who were matched for their IQ with group 1.

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Initially, the first two authors of this study chose the

“correct” word and the “foil”.
Forced choice between two
They were then piloted on 8 judges (4 m 4 f) responses meant that only
Forced choice remained,
a narrow range of 17-25
For the correct word and its foil to be used, 5 out of 8 had but four response
correct responses out of 25
to agree with the choice. options remained.
would be statistically above
No more than 2 judges should pick the foil chance.

Participants tested individually in a quiet room in This meant that the range
There were 36 pairs of
of scores for which the test
Cambridge or Exeter. Choice
could reveal individual
eyes used, giving a
range of 13-36 correct
Participants in the AS/HFA group were asked to judge the differences is only 9, which
responses.
gender of each eye pair additionally. is too narrow.

Groups 1, 3 and 4 completed a questionnaire to measure This meant that

individual differences
their AQ. could be examined
Participants were asked to read through the glossary and better in terms of
ask if they were unsure of any word. They were also statistics.

reassured that they could refer to the glossary anytime. When the first version was
given to parents of children
Sampling Technique: Opportunity and Volunteer Sampling with AS, they scored below
the general population.
However, they scored at a
similar level with the AS or
HFA adults even though
they did not have the
Example condition.

This highlights that the test

has a too narrow range of
scores to distinguish
between someone with the
“lesser variant” or the
“broader phenotype” and
someone with the
condition itself.

In this version, only

complex mental states
were used to make the
There were both basic and
task much more
complex mental states,
challenging, and in this
and so contained some
Mental state way, increasing the
items that were easy and
likelihood of obtaining a
which therefore risked
greater range of
producing ceiling effects.
performance in a
random sample of
adults.

Some pairs of eyes could

be solved easily by looking They were excluded in
Ease of solving
at the gaze direction of the the revised version.
face.

More female eye pairs than An equal number was

males. used.
Gender This allowed a control
condition - judging the
gender from the eyes.

Increased the level of

Target word and foil were difficulty by ensuring
Ease of always semantic opposite that the foil words had
guessing making it too easy to the same emotional
guess. valance as the target
word.

Ease of There may have been A glossary with all terms

comprehension comprehension problems was included, which was

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Post-event information can produce ‘False Memories’,

that might have available for the P’s to
pieces considered accurate but result from additional
contributed to an use at all times. untrue details.
individual’s score. How reliable are children at giving eyewitness testimony as
required by the law?
False positive response- Giving an affirmative(positive) but
Group 1 performed significantly worse on eyes test than incorrect answer to a question.
the other groups.
Females scored higher than males on the eyes test, used a classical experiment to
although this result wasn’t very significant. prove that words used in a question (post-event
Group 1 scored higher on AQ test than group 3 and 4 information) can impact participants’ speed estimates of a
participants. vehicle seen in a video.
No correlation between Eyes Test score and IQ concluded that children are
Negative correlation between Eyes Test and AQ less likely to say
‘I don’t know’ even though they know they were allowed to.
Revised eyes test was successful in being a more sensitive Child witnesses were more likely to make incorrect
test for social intelligence of adults. AQ test and Eyes Test decisions when shown a lineup due to perceived forced
showed a significant negative correlation as hypothesized choice, perception of authority figures, and pressure to
showing that both can be used as tests for severity of make a choice.
autistic traits. Investigate whether social factors affect child witnesses
more than adult witnesses.
High internal validity due to changes made to the Eyes test- To explore the impact of social versus cognitive factors in
4 options, equal female and male eye pairs shown, glossary children’s performance as child witnesses
provided to all participants.
Standardized procedure- images all of same size, black and
white, 4 options with three foils 1. Children will be as good as adults at identifying cartoon
faces in a target present line-up
2. Children will be worse than adults in rejecting cartoon
: in real life setting, eyes are not static
faces in a target-absent line-up
and body language hints can help guess the emotional
3. Children will be worse than adults in identifying human
state of people.
faces in a target present line-up
Low generalizability- only 15 males used in ASD group so
4. Children will be worse than adults at rejecting human
not generalizable to females with ASD. In student
faces in a target-absent line-up
comparison group, all students were from a highly selective
university (Cambridge university) which is not
representative of intellect of all regular students.
Research Method: Laboratory Experiment
: if they were not able to guess the emotions, it might
cause distress or embarrassment leading to low self- Experimental Design: Independent measures (children
esteem and psychological harm. versus adults), Repeated measures (target present versus
target-absent and cartoon versus human)
IV: Age (children versus adults), Line-up type (target present
: Plan support lessons or therapy for students or versus target absent), Familiarity of target (cartoon versus
people with AS/HFA human)
: doesn’t take into account the full picture of DV: Whether the correct face was selected in the target-
understanding emotions present lineup, whether an empty silhouette was chosen in
the target-absent lineup.
2.4. Pozzulo et al. (Line-Ups)
: The Culprit in target-absent Lineups: Understanding Children group- 59 children (21 females and 38 males)
Young Children’s False Positive Responding between the ages of 4-7 recruited from pre-kindergarten and
: 2011 kindergarten classes of three private schools in Eastern
Ontario, Canada. Mean age of 4.98 years
:
Adult group- 53 adult participants (36 females and 17 males)
Memories can be distorted by other information known as
between the ages of 17-30 were recruited from the
‘Post-event information’ that we are exposed to during and
after the encoding stage of information processing.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

Introductory Psychology Participant Pool at Eastern Ontario Children are significantly less accurate than adults when
University. Mean age of 20.54 years rejecting cartoon faces.
: Opportunity Sampling Children are significantly less accurate than adults when
4 Video Clips, one photo-array per clip identifying human faces.
Children are significantly less accurate than adults when
rejecting human faces.
1. Man, putting on a coat
2. Woman brushing hair Two human 'targets' were Any errors in the target-absent lineup for cartoons result
photographed wearing different clothes. Four foils are from social factors, not cognitive factors.
made per target, similar in hair, facial features and
For children, social factors play a more significant part in
colour. Photographs are cropped until the neck.
decision-making in target-absent line-ups than in target-
present ones.

3. Dora interacting with the audience.

Deception regarding aim
4. Go! Diego! Go! Putting on safety gloves Two cartoon
'targets' and four foils were picked per target from the Otherwise, it was a very ethical study as informed consent
internet, similar in hair, facial features and colour. was taken, children had the right to withdraw, no
Photographs are cropped until the neck. Positions of psychological or physical harm was caused, and
targets were randomized, and all photos were black confidentiality was maintained.
and white. In all four lineups, the position of the target
or its matching foil was counterbalanced. Videos and
High standardization along with controls
photo arrays were presented on a 13-inch laptop
screen. Use of objective quantitative data enabling the use of
statistical analysis
Each child and adult was tested individually and shown the High internal validity due to minimal information given to
first video participants regarding aim- lower demand characteristics
Instructed to pay attention because they would be asked
some questions and offered some pictures after watching
the video Low ecological validity and mundane realism because the
line-up was not accurate and lacked the emotional
Following each of the four videos, all participants were
experience of a genuine police line-up
asked their first free recall filler question, ‘What did the
cartoon character/person look like?’ Order effects are due to repeated measures of seeing all
four videos and answering the same questions. This can
For adult participants: The second question asked was, ‘Do
lead to demand characteristics.
you remember anything about the cartoon
character/person?
For child participants: The second question asked was a : Improve reliability of child
non-specific probing question: ‘Do you remember anything witness information
else?’ : This study supports a
If children did not respond to the first free recall question, they situational explanation due to the impact of social factors
were asked, ‘Do you remember anything from the video?’ and like authority.
the researchers recorded replies. Practical changes were made to
After each filler task, child participants were told to look at the procedure to ensure children could easily access tasks.
a photo array, point to the cartoon/person photo if they Consent was gained in a child-friendly way.
see it, and point to the black silhouette box if the
cartoon/person is not there.
Similar instructions were given for adults, but they
3. Learning Approach
indicated their responses on a matching sheet.
3.1. Introduction
This procedure was repeated for all four videos.

conditioning helps to explain changes in behaviour

Responses to cartoons were generally more accurate than
responses to human targets. social learning helps to explain changes in behaviour.
Children have similar accuracy as adults in identifying
cartoon faces

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

3.2. Bandura et al. (Aggression) Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling

Participants were divided into eight experimental groups,
: Transmission of Aggression Through Imitation of
six children each, and one control group of 24 participants
Aggressive Models.
who watched no model.
: 1961 Children in each condition were matched for their levels of
: physical aggression, verbal aggression, aggression towards
inanimate objects and aggressive inhibition.
Social Learning Theory: social behaviour is learned
primarily by observing and imitating others. It is “learning The experimenter and a nursery teacher rated fifty-one
by proxy”. The Four components to it are: participants independently on a four-five-point scale. A very
good agreement of 0.89 was achieved.;
Attention: Observers must pay attention to the behaviour
of the model. The model must have some feature that
attracts the observer.
1 Male Male AGGRESSIVE
Retention: Observers must store the behaviour in their
long-term memory so that the information can be used 2 Female Female AGGRESSIVE

again (when the observer wants to imitate the behaviour). 3 Male Female AGGRESSIVE
Reproduction: Observers must feel capable of imitating the 4 Female Male AGGRESSIVE
retained, observed behaviour.
5 Male Male NON-AGGRESSIVE
Motivation: Observers who experience vicarious
reinforcement are more likely to imitate the behaviour. This 6 Female Female NON-AGGRESSIVE
is when the model has been rewarded for performing the 7 Male Female NON- AGGRESSIVE
observed behaviour. Vicarious punishment can also
8 Female Male NON-AGGRESSIVE
happen: the role model is punished for the observed
behaviour, so is less likely to imitate it.

Each child was brought individually to a playroom by the

Learning behaviour by imitating others is called experimenter. She then invited the model, who was outside
observational learning. the room.
Several studies have demonstrated that children are The experimenter took the child to one corner of the room,
influenced by witnessing adult behaviour in the same
which was their play area. She demonstrated how the child
situation and in the presence of the adult who modelled
could design a picture with potato prints and the stickers
the behaviour. provided.
This study is concerned with learning gender-specific The experimenter then escorted the model to the room's
behaviours. opposite corner, which contained a small table and chair, a
tinker toy set, a mallet and a 5-foot inflated Bobo doll. She
Overall aim: To investigate observational learning of explained that these were the materials provided for the
aggression. model to play with and then left.

Specific aims: In the non-aggressive condition, the model assembled the

tinker toys quietly, subduedly, ignoring the Bobo doll.
To see whether children would reproduce aggressive
behaviour when the model was absent. In the aggressive condition, the model began assembling
the tinker toys, but after a minute, he turned to the Bobo
To look for gender differences in the learning of aggression.
and played with it.
The model punched the Bobo, sat on it and punched it
Research Method: Laboratory experiment and repeatedly, hit it with a mallet on the head and aggressively
Observations kicked it about in the room.
Experimental Design: Independent groups, Matched pairs The model also included verbal aggression such as, “sock
design him in the nose,” “Pow,” “throw him in the air”, and two
IV: (1) behaviour of the model – aggressive or non- non-aggressive comments: “he keeps coming back for
aggressive (2) sex of the model (3) sex of the child more” and “he sure is a tough fella”.
DV: amount of behaviour observed in 8 categories This lasted for about 10 minutes.
Sample: 72 participants: 36 boys and 36 girls from Stanford
University Nursery School. Their ages ranged from 37 This was included for two reasons: (1) observation of
months to 69 months, with a mean age of 52 months. 2 aggressive behaviour exhibited by others tends to reduce
adults, a male and a female, served as the role models in the probability of aggression on the part of the observer
the experiment. One female experimenter conducted the and (2) to instigate or annoy the children.
study for all 72 participants.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

The participants were taken to a different room with some The study has high levels of standardisation and, hence, a
very attractive toys. higher reliability.
The attractive toys included a fire engine, a locomotive, a The study has many controls, and this increases its validity.
jet fighter plane, a cable car, a colourful spinning top, a doll There was a high inter-observer/ inter-rater reliability.
set complete with a wardrobe, a doll carriage, and a baby Low risk of demand characteristics.
crib.
Using a matched pairs design reduced the effects of the
They were allowed to play with them for 2 minutes before
participant variable.
the experimenter stopped them and said that they were
The use of quantitative data allows for easier statistical
reserved for other children.
analyses.

Children were taken into the experimental room, which

The study lacks ecological validity and mundane realism.
contained a variety of toys, including aggressive and non-
aggressive toys.
The aggressive toys were a 3-foot tall inflatable Bobo doll, a : can be helpful in advertising
mallet and peg board, two dart guns and a tether ball with agencies.
a face painted on it, which hung from the ceiling. : This study supports
The non-aggressive toys included a tea set, crayons and the situational side of the debate as the situation that the
colouring paper, a ball, two dolls, three bears, cars, trucks, children found themselves in caused the imitated
and plastic farm animals. aggressive behaviour.
The toys were placed fixedly. : this supports the nurture side of
Children were observed playing for the next 20 minutes. the debate as the environment they found themselves in
Two more observers (the models) watched the child play caused the imitated aggressive behaviour.
and had an inter-rater reliability of 0.90 who are less susceptible to demand
Three types of aggression were recorded: (1) imitative characteristics could become more aggressive after this
aggression (physical and verbal), (2) non-imitative study.
aggression, and (3) partially imitative aggression.
3.3. Fagen et al. (Elephant Learning)
: Positive reinforcement training for a trunk wash in
There was a significant difference in levels of imitative
Nepal’s working elephants: demonstrating alternatives to
aggression between the group that witnessed aggressive
traditional elephant training techniques
behaviour and the other two groups.
There was a significant difference in levels of imitative : 2014
physical and verbal aggression. :
Significantly more non-aggressive play was recorded in the Operant conditioning- Learning through the consequences
non-aggressive model condition. of our actions. Behavior that is rewarded is more likely to
Children who had witnessed an aggressive model were be repeated.
significantly more aggressive themselves. Primary Positive reinforcers- a reward that fulfils basic
Overall, very little difference was present between needs, food, and shelter.
aggression in the control group and the non-aggressive Secondary Positive Reinforcement (SPR) training involves
modelling condition. using reinforcers like sound markers and primary positive
Boys were significantly more likely to imitate male- reinforcers like food.
aggressive models. Shaping- Giving rewards only for movements or behaviors
Boys were significantly more physically aggressive than closest to the desired behavior.
girls. Girls were slightly more verbally aggressive. Behavior chaining- When different behaviors learned are
chained together in a sequence and performed.
Witnessing aggression in a model can be enough to
produce aggression by an observer. Mahouts' traditional method of training elephants relies on
Children selectively imitate gender-specific behaviours. punishment, which uses pain or fear to shape behaviour.
Therefore, in 2011, the Nepalese government introduced
annual Tuberculosis testing of captive elephants to reduce
Children were exposed to aggressive behaviour and were
transmission, and researchers were encouraged to develop
not protected.
new training methods based on positive reinforcement (like
Informed consent was taken from the nursery teacher.
the one used by Fagen et al.)

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

Particularly, research by Desmond and Laule, 1991 showed Cues had no definition in English or Nepali as researchers
that positive reinforcement methods have been shown to didn’t want the mahouts to think elephants understood
improve the psychological well-being of elephants. human language (a common local myth).
SPR has been used successfully with several animal species, Behavioral chaining used to get the elephants to learn all
including pandas, primates and antelopes. the 5 behaviors in order, following the verbal cue.
Started by teaching 2 of the behaviors in order and
respectively giving the reward. overtime, more behaviors
To investigate if free-contact traditionally trained elephants can
were added to the chain to complete all 5 behaviors.
participate in a trunk wash through training using positive
reinforcement. Syringe introduced once all trunk wash behaviors are learnt
as an aversive stimulus that the elephants might find
unpleasant once all trunk wash behaviors are learnt.
Research method- Controlled Observation (Structured The elephants were rewarded in step 1(Trunk here) until
Observation) they gradually were happy with the syringe touching their
Sample: 4 female juvenile elephants aged 5-7 and 1 adult trunk., in a process called desensitization.
female elephant estimated to be around 50. counter conditioning used to teach elephants to associate
: all docile, not the syringe with arrival to chopped banana.
currently pregnant, their mahout was willing to participate, overtime, syringe went from aversive stimulus to
traditionally trained and no previous experience with SPR conditioned stimulus.
training. Trainer then encouraged elephant to accept syringe being
inside the trunk so that fluid droplets can be injected
inside.
the fluid was gradually injected from 1 to 15 ml till the
Trunk complete 60ml.
Distal end of trunk onto trainers outstretched palm.
Here
The measured variable of- minutes of training, number of
Trunk Up
Trunk held upwards either in a loose curl or dorsal aspect cues made by trainer and success rate of each behavior
of the tip of the trunk. and sequence.
Bucket Trunk gently placed inside a bucket. Elephants were graded on their ability to complete the
Blow Elephant gives strong, distinct exhale through the trunk. sequence of behaviors, with 80 percent being the passing
grade.
Elephant holds the trunk still with the trunk held in the
Steady
position previously requested. Individual behaviors scored with 90 percent as the passing
grade.
If a sequence failed, they were tested for a shorted
sequence.
Elephants trained in the morning (7.30 to 10 am) and
evening (4 to 7 pm)
Sessions were never more than two days apart. 4 juvenile elephants learned full trunk wash in 25-35
To complete the trunk wash, elephants had to complete sessions.
the 5 behaviors stated above. Session duration ranged from 10-13 minutes with an
Elephants were trained using- Capturing, Luring, Shaping average of 2 minutes.
and Secondary Reinforcers Elephant 5 (the oldest elephant) never tested for the full
Capturing- Encouraged to perform usual natural behaviors trunk wash as she failed to learn the full sequence.
using a reward. Success rate of individual behaviors increased from 39% in
Luring- Encouraging unusual behaviors through careful and session 10 to 89.3% in session 35.
strategic positioning of reward.
Shaping- Gradually, rewarding elephants only for behaviors
which are the most accurate and closest to the expected 1 25 10.29
behavior.
2 30 12.42
Secondary Reinforcers- Teaching elephants to associate the
sound of a whistle (secondary reinforcer) with arrival of 3 35 13.27
chopped banana (primary reinforcer/reward) 4 35 11.11
Trainers introduced one syllabus verbal cues during the
training process to prompt the success of learning of all 5
behaviors.
Use of behavioral checklist with detailed exact descriptions
which increases reliability.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

Done is a naturalistic setting causing ecological validity to Research Method: Case Study, Observations and
be high. Questionnaires
Quantitative data: Distress ratings and Severity ratings

Small sample size- nor generalizable Qualitative data: Questions about why the boy found
buttons disgusting
Measurement of elephant’s performance was subjective.
Sample: A 9-year-old Hispanic American boy who was part
of the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program at Florida
Low physical or psychological harm International University. He came with an avoidance of
buttons.
Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling
- Improves captive animal
The boy and the mother gave informed consent to
welfare to improve health of elephants and reduce TB in
participate in the assessment and intervention procedures.
humans. Fagen’s technique can be easily replicated to
Written content was also provided to publish this study.
teach behaviors through positive reinforcement.
The boy met the DSM-IV criteria for a specific phobia of
- the 5 elephants have buttons.
individual differences in the speed at which they learnt the
The phobia began when the boy was 5 years old in
trunk wash.
kindergarten, during an art project involving buttons.

3.4. Saavedra and Silverman (Button Phobia) The boy ran out of buttons, so he was asked to come to the
front of the class and take them. His hand slipped when he
: Case Study: Disgust and a Specific Phobia of Buttons. reached the bowl, and the buttons fell on him. He
: 2002 described this experience as distressful.

: The duration of the phobia was 4 years.

He did not express significant stressors or events that
Evaluative learning is a form of classical conditioning in
could be related to the phobia’s onset during this period.
which a person comes to perceive or “evaluate” a
previously neutral object negatively.
It does not depend on the individual expecting or being The child was treated with an exposure-based treatment
aware of the association between the neutral object and programme that tackled cognitions and behaviour.
the negative outcome. The treatment involved the use of contingency
An individual may negatively evaluate a specific object or management. The mother provided positive reinforcement
event without anticipating the threat of an objective if the boy successfully completed the gradual exposure to
contaminant. buttons.
This elicits a feeling of disgust rather than fear. Treatment sessions lasted about 30 minutes with the boy
alone and 20 minutes with the boy and his mother.
Phobia: a persistent and unreasonable fear of an object. Before the first session, the boy devised a disgust and fear
The fear is disproportionate to the danger posed and leads hierarchy using distress ratings on a 9-point scale (from 0-
to avoidance of the object. 8) via a feelings thermometer, as shown in Table 1.
Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by an organism’s The most difficult were small, clear plastic buttons.
defensive response to an imminent threat
He had 4 sessions of behavioural exposure to buttons
Disgust: a feeling of revulsion or disapproval aroused by using this hierarchy.
something unpleasant or offensive.
The role of disgust within phobias has received very little
attention.
Disgust could interact with the fear of a phobic stimulus
produces, to increase avoidance of that stimulus.
Disgust has been hypothesized as a concurrent emotion
that, in interaction with fear, may result in increased
avoidance behaviour.

To investigate the cause of button phobia in a child.

To attempt to treat a child’s phobia via targeting both
disgust and fear responses.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

This case study focused on one person only; hence,

After the behavioural exposure, it was planned to have 7 detailed data was collected.
sessions looking into the boy’s disgusted imagery and The study was conducted in a therapeutic setting and
cognitions with a view of helping him to change these over hence had ecological validity.
time.
Further probing revealed that the boy found buttons The study lacks mundane realism.
disgusting upon contact with his body.
This case study used only one participant; hence, it has a
He also expressed that buttons emitted unpleasant odours. low generalisability.
These seven sessions involved exploring the vicarious The ratings are subjective, and this lowers reliability.
things about buttons he found disgusting with the boy and
using specific cognitive strategies.
He was prompted to imagine buttons falling on him, : For treating other phobias
express how they looked, felt, and smelled, and elaborate : The process of acquiring the phobia
on how these imagery exposures made him feel. relates to nurture.
Although the boy indicated that buttons were “disgusting
and gross”, even with intense probing, it was difficult for
him to describe What about buttons rendered them 4. Social Approach
disgusting and gross.
4.1. Introduction
By session 4, the boy had successfully completed all in-vivo
exposure tasks up to those with the highest distress behaviour, cognitions and emotions can be influenced
ratings. by other individuals
Even though he could handle more and more buttons, his groups can influence behaviour, cognitions and
distress rating increased dramatically from sessions 2 to 3 emotions or social contexts
and 3 to 4.
In session 4, the boy’s subjective ratings that had been 6 or 4.2. Milgram (Obedience)
7 before the treatment were now higher.
: Behavioural Study of Obedience
This phenomenon was consistent with evaluative learning.
: 1963
Disgust-related imagery exposures and cognitions
appeared to be successful in reducing the boy’s subjective :
ratings of distress. In this study, Milgram was testing the situational
In the imagery sessions, he had to imagine hundreds of hypothesis.
buttons falling on him; before the cognitive restructuring, Agency theory:
he rated the experience as 8. This decreased to 5 midway Agentic state: people see themselves as an agent of
through the session and ended up as 3. another and blindly accept orders because they are not
In a session where he had to imagine hugging his mother personally responsible for their actions. Arises from the
while she was wearing a shirt with many buttons, the fact that obedience is rewarded and disobedience is
distress ratings went from 7 to 4 to 3. punished. We give up our free will.
He was followed up 6 and 12 months after treatment, and Autonomous state: Behaviour is voluntary; people are
he no longer met the specific phobia of buttons aware of their decisions and the consequences of those
decisions. We choose to be obedient.

Disgust plays a key role in the development and Moral strain: we experience this in the agentic stage when
maintenance of a phobia but a mixture of behavioural we go along with the demands of the authority, even
exposure and cognitive restructuring helped to eliminate though we know it is wrong and do not agree with it.
the feelings of disgust.
Destructive obedience: when people obey orders which
The participant was severely distressed, and protection was cause harm or distress to another person
provided. Early psychological research into the Holocaust focused on
Informed consent was taken from the mother and the boy. the idea that something distinctive about German culture
or personality led to the high levels of conformity for the
genocide to take place. This is known as the dispositional
Qualitative and quantitative data were both acquired in this hypothesis.
study.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

Milgram set out to question this dispositional attribution of The learner sat in an ‘electric chair’ with straps to “prevent
the Germans. He believed that the situation had led to the excessive movement” during electric shocks that would be
inhumane behaviour of the Nazis and, therefore that given from a shock generator.
anybody in the same situation as those committing such An electrode was attached to the learner’s wrist, and the
atrocities would have done the same in the same paste was applied to “avoid blisters and burns”.
circumstances. Milgram argued that people would commit The learner was told, “Although the shocks can be
atrocities if required to do so by an authority figure. This extremely painful, they cause no tissue damage”.
argument is an example of a situational attribution as it
These tricks made the experiment seem much more real to
argues that the behaviour resulted from a person's
the participants. The final trick was to give the participant a
situation.
sample shock of 45 volts (from an external battery since the
shock-generator wasn’t supposed to work).
Overall aim: To investigate how obedient people would be The participant was then seated in an adjacent room and
to orders from a person in authority that would result in asked to read word pairs to the learner. The learner had to
pain and harm to another person. memorize the pairs.
Specific aim: To see how large an electric shock participants The teacher then tested the learner by pairing one of the
would give to a helpless man when ordered to. words with four other words. The learner had to choose
the previously paired word with the first word. The next
word on the list was read if his answer was correct. If it was
Research Method: Lab Experiment. However, as there is no incorrect, the teacher had to state the correct answer and
control condition (i.e. all of the participants took place in administer an electric shock (starting from 15 volts).
the same experimental procedures) it is not, strictly
For every wrong answer, the shock level would increase by
speaking, an experiment. (more accurately, it is a controlled
15 volts (15, 30, 45… you do the math). The learner gave a
observation)
predetermined set of answers with about three wrong
Experimental Design: N/A answers for every right answer.
IV: ‘Prods’ given At 300 volts, the learner would start hitting the wall and
DV: Degree of obedience (how high voltage did participants shouting. He stopped answering questions. Here, the
go to) participant usually looked at the experimenter for
Sample: 40 males aged 20 - 50 were drawn from the New guidance. They were told to interpret no answer as wrong,
Haven district of Connecticut, USA. They were recruited meaning the learner would have to be shocked again.
through a newspaper advertisement, which promised $4.50 The learner’s pounding continued after 315 volts, after
for their time if they participated in the study and that the which the learner went completely silent.
money was theirs no matter what happened after they If the participant again asked for advice, he would be met
arrived. Participants believed they were to participate in a with a sequence of firm standardised ‘prods’:
study of memory and learning at Yale University.
“Please continue” or “Please go on” (1)
Participants were from various backgrounds: 37.5% were
manual labourers, 40% were white-collar workers, and “The experiment requires you to continue” (2)
22.5% were professionals. “You must continue” (3)
Sampling Technique: Volunteering “You have no choice, you must go on” (4)
Milgram created a phoney ‘shock generator’, which in the If the participant asked about permanent physical injuries,
1960s looked very impressive and realistic. The phoney a different prod was used: “Although the shocks may be
shock generator had 30 switches marked clearly in 15-volt painful, there is no permanent tissue damage, so please go
increments from 15 to 450 volts. It also had buzzers, on.” If the participant said that the learner did not want to
flashing lights and moving dials. continue, another prod was used: “Whether the learner
When the participants arrived at the psychology laboratory, likes it or not, you must go on until he has learned all the
they were introduced to the relationship between word pairs correctly, so please go on.”
punishment and learning. The experiment ended if the participant refused to
They were introduced to the experimenter, played by a 31- continue after the four official prods, or if 450 volts were
year-old Biology teacher, who introduced himself as Jack administered.
Williams. He wore a grey technician’s coat and appeared A participant who stopped before reaching 450 volts was
stern and emotionless throughout the experiment. classed as a “ while those who went up
They were introduced to Mr Wallace and made to believe to 450 volts were classed as an “ The
he was another participant. Mr. Wallace was a confederate, experiment was filmed, and observers watched through a
a 47-year-old Irish-American accountant. one-way mirror.

They drew slips of paper to know who play the role of the
learner of victim. This was rigged so that Mr Wallace was
always the victim.

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Participants were then interviewed, during which they High levels of control increase the validity
rated how painful they thought the last few shocks were on High levels of standardisation increase the reliability
a scale from 0 to 14. Projective measures and attitude
scales were employed too.
After the experiment, the participants were debriefed, and Bad ethics
an open-ended questionnaire was given. Some Unrepresentative sample because it was only male
psychometric tests were taken to make sure there was no Ethnocentric bias because he used only American men
emotional harm. Low ecological validity because of the artificial setting.
The teacher and learner were reunited to prove that the
learner was an actor who was not really in danger.
Application: explain why humans engage in destructive
The participants were told that their reaction was expected,
obedience.
another measure taken to ensure they left the experiment
without mental discomfort. Individual and situational explanations: This study supports
: Before the study was conducted, Milgram asked 14 situational explanations.
Yale University psychology students to read a description of
the study and estimate what % of participants would give 4.3. Perry et al. (Personal Space)
450-volt shock. The students estimated 0-3%. : Don’t stand so close to me: A behavioural and ERP study
of preferred interpersonal distance

26 participants were obedient and administered a : 2015

complete round of electric shocks, while only 14 were :
defiant. So 65% obeyed and 35% terminated the
: It is the distance between two
experiment before reaching 450 volts.
people. The preferred interpersonal distance varies due to
When the experimenter was the one to end the experiment the relationship with the other person and cultural and
(at 450 volts), many of the participants sighed in relief or
personal factors.
shook their heads in what seemed like regret.
: A person’s ability to understand another person's
Most of the men were sweating, shaking, stuttering or thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It has two dimensions:
fidgeting during the study. cognitive and affective empathy.
14 participants giggled nervously. The participants who had : Oxytocin is a social hormone that acts as
nervous laughter fits were keen to point out that they
a neurotransmitter and plays a role in social bonding.
weren’t sadistic and that their laughter wasn’t a sign that However, research conducted shows that in some
they enjoyed shocking the learner. situations, oxytocin can lead to envy, risk aversion, and
3 had seizures, and the procedure was stopped for one of feelings of hostility.
them.
The average rating of how painful the shocks were, was
13.42 out of a maximum of 14. In 1966, based on the relationship between two people,
Hall created four zones of interpersonal distance: Intimate
distance, personal distance, social distance, and public
People are much more obedient to destructive orders than distance.
we think. In 2012, Scheele found that administering oxytocin to
They find this process highly stressful despite obeying males in relationships increased their preferred distance
them. from an attractive female in the presence of a female
Results supported the situational hypothesis rather than researcher.
the dispositional hypothesis. The social salience hypothesis predicts that oxytocin
increases attention to social cues and affects how a person
processes those cues and responds differently.
Many ethical issues, including:
Deception in terms of the study and whether the shocks
were real. To investigate how oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal
Protection of the participant’s state of mind, and they distance for those scoring high or low in empathy traits.
would not
exit the study in the same mental state they entered. Research Method: A laboratory experiment.
Right, to withdraw might not have been there as prods Experimental Design: Repeated measures.
were used.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

1. Instructed that they would be having a meeting with

another participant.
The computerised version of the 2. To discuss personal topics

1. Empathy: High vs.

Comfortable Interpersonal 3. The room would be laid out per their preference and
1. Distance (CID) paradigm measures measured through a computer program.
Low
the preferred interpersonal
distance. 4. The computer showed participants still colour images of
pairs of rooms with chairs, tables and plants at different
2. Treatment:
angles and distances.
Oxytocin vs. placebo
5. 84 pairs of rooms- shown twice
3. Condition:
stranger, authority, 6. Participants sat 60 cm from the computer screen and
friend or ball were shown the room pairs for 2 seconds.

Mean preferred distance between 7. They had to choose between the two rooms.
1. Empathy: High vs.
2.
Low
2 chairs and angle between the 8. Experimental condition- distance between chairs and
two chairs. angles between chairs
2. Treatment: 9. Control condition- distance and angle between table
Oxytocin vs. Placebo and plant.
3. Condition: position
of chairs vs. position
of table and plant CID:

Sample: 54 male undergraduate students from the

University of Haifa in Israel. They were ages 19 to 32 and High empathy 23.29 26.11
received course credit or payment for their participation.
Low empathy 30.20 26.98

Choosing rooms:
1. Participants visited the laboratory twice a week- at the
same time.
2. First visit: given either oxytocin or placebo in a double-
masked procedure. High empathy 78.07 80.58
3. Three droplets of the solution were self-administered Low empathy 80.14 78.33
into each nostril.
4. Participants completed the IRI-interpersonal reactivity
index.
Deception- For experiment two, they were told that they
5. Then, I waited 45 minutes alone in a quiet room with
needed to choose a room to discuss "‘personal topics’- this
nature magazines.
could cause distress about the future meeting.

1. The word- Friend, stranger, ball or authority would increase its reliability. The
appear on screen for 1 second (they were the four computer allowed control of timings, and the rooms used
protagonists) in experiment 2 were always shown for 2 seconds.

2. participant gazes at the fixated point for 0.5 seconds, : With a double-masked procedure for oxytocin
or placebo administration, the CID paradigm has high
3. then a circular room with a stick figure in the centre is
controls regarding speed visuals.
seen on the screen (the stick figure indicated the
participant)
4. from one of the eight doors of the circular room, the IRI self-report would be biased and subjective- impacted by
protagonists would appear and approach the stick social desirability bias as being highly empathetic is seen as
figure. a positive social trait.
5. The participant has to press the spacebar for the Lacks generalizability beyond sample- only used males, so
protagonist to stop. the results may not be generalisable to females and their
6. The percentage of remaining distance was calculated as interpersonal distance preferences.
interpersonal distance. Low ecological validity- used a computer stimulus where
the protagonists were animations not representative of
everyday behaviours.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

Application: Oxytocin administration may not help people Trains A and D of the 8t h Avenue IND were selected
with social deficits. because they make no stops between the 59t h and 125t h
Individual versus situational- interpersonal distance street. Thus, the trails lasted during the 7.5-minute journey
preference is impacted by an individual’s empathy level, between these two stops.
which supports the individual side, whereas the social There was a mean of 43 people in each car and 8.5 in the
situation promotes oxytocin release. critical area.
On each trial, a team of four students (two males and two
4.4. Pilivan et al. (Subway Samaritans) females) boarded the train using different doors. Four
teams, whose members always worked together, collected
: Good Samaritanism: An Underground Phenomenon?
data for 103 trials.
: 1969
Each team varied the location of the experimental
: compartment from trial to trial.
Bystander Apathy: the phenomenon of observers of an The female confederates sat outside the critical area and
emergency not intervening. recorded data as unobtrusively as possible during the
Diffusion of responsibility (Latané and Darley): is a journey while the male model and victim remained
sociopsychological phenomenon whereby people are less standing. The victim always stood next to a pole in the
likely to offer help if other people are present because they centre of the critical area.
feel that the whole group is equally responsible, thus As the train passed the first station (approximately 70
making themselves less personally responsible. seconds after departing), the victim staggered forward and
collapsed.
Murder of Kitty Genovese Until receiving help, he remained motionless on the floor,
Bystander behaviour looking at the ceiling.
If he received no help by the time the train slowed to a
stop, the model helped him to his feet.
To study bystander behaviour outside the laboratory in a At the stop, the team got off and waited separately until the
realistic setting where participants would have a clear view other passengers had left the station before proceeding to
of the victim. another platform to board a train going in the opposite
To see whether helping behaviour was affected by four direction for the subsequent trial.
variables: the victim’s responsibility for being in a situation 6-8 trials were run on any given day, and all trials on a given
where they need help, the race of the victim, the effect of day were in the same ‘victim condition’.
modelling helping behaviour and the size of the group.
The four victims (one from each team) were males aged
between 26 and 35, three white, one black, all identically
Research Method: Field Experiment and Observations dressed in Eisenhower jackets, old slacks and no tie.
Experimental Design: Independent groups In 38 trials, the victims smelled of alcohol and carried a
IV: There were four IVs. bottle of alcohol wrapped in a brown bag (drunk condition).
Sixty-five trials, they appeared sober and carried a black
1. - operationalised as carrying a cane (cane condition).
cane = ill (low responsibility) or smelling of alcohol, In all other aspects, victims behaved identically in the two
carrying a bottle wrapped in a paper bag = drunk (high conditions, and each victim participated in drunk and cane
responsibility) trials. (There were more cane than drunk trials because one
2. of the teams of students ‘didn’t like’ playing the drunk
3. - operationalised as whether a victim).
male confederate either close to or distant from the The models (white males aged 24 to 29) were dressed
victim helped after 70 or 150 seconds casually but
4. not identically.
DV: the number of people who helped; the speed it There were four different model conditions used across
took for them to help the victim both drunk and cane victim conditions:

Sample: An estimated total of around 4450 people were 1. : the model stood in the critical area
unsolicited participants of this study with a racial mix of and waited until passing the fourth station before
55% white and 45% black. helping the victim (approximately after the
Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling collapse).
The experiment was conducted during the period from
April 15 to June 26, 1968.

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CAIE AS LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

2. : the model stood in the critical area More comments were made in Drunk Trail.
and waited until passing the sixth station before helping
the victim (approximately after the
collapse). An ill person is more likely to receive help than a drunk
person.
3. : the model stood in the adjoining
area and waited until passing the fourth station before Men are more likely to help another man than women are.
helping the victim. (approximately after the People are slightly more likely to help someone of their
collapse) ethnic group, especially when the victim appears to be
4. : the model stood in the adjoining drunk.
area and waited until passing the sixth station before No strong relationship was found between the size of the
helping the victim. (approximately after group and the likelihood of helping.
the collapse). Piliavin et al. proposed a Cost-Reward Model to explain
people’s responses to an emergency.
When the model intervened, he helped the victim to a
He suggested that helping is motivated by a selfish desire
sitting position and stayed with him for the remainder of
to rid oneself of an unpleasant emotional state rather than
the trial.
being a positive, altruistic model of helping.
Two observers recorded a variety of observations.
Helping a victim is based on the level of emotional arousal
Observer One: and the result of a cost/benefit analysis.
Race, sex, and location of every rider seated or standing
in the critical area.
Informed consent wasn’t taken as the participants did not
Total number of people in the carriage.
know they were part of a study.
Total number of people who came to assist the victim.
Participants were deceived and could not be debriefed.
Race, sex and location of every helper.
Their right to withdraw was invalidated as it was a field
Observer Two: experiment.
Race, sex and location of every passenger in the Emotional harm may have taken place as they must have
adjacent area. felt hurt about the victim’s condition.
The time when help was first offered.
Both observers noted any comments made by nearby This study was a field experiment and hence has a high
passengers and also tried to elicit comments from a ecological validity.
passenger sitting next to them.
The sample size was large and hence has a high
generalizability.
Passengers gave 78% of the victims spontaneous help, and Behaviour was not artificial as it is in a natural
in 60% of the cases, the victim was helped by more than environment, increases validity, and has no demand
one person. characteristics.
The cane victim was helped in 62 out of 65 trials (95%) Both qualitative and quantitative data were acquired.
The drunk victim was helped on 19 out of 38 trials (50%)
90% of passengers who helped the victim were male The study lacked controls and hence had a low reliability,
In 60% of the total trials where help was given (i.e. 81 trials), making it hard to replicate.
more than one person offered help. For this reason, a causal relationship could not be
Race made no significant difference to the helping established.
behaviour, but there was a slight tendency for same-race
helpers in the drunk condition
64% of the helpers were White Application to everyday life: to educate people about
bystanders’ intervention
The quickest help came from larger groups. This showed no
diffusion of responsibility. Individual and situational explanation: This study supports
the situational side of the debate.
In 21 trials, out of the total of 103, a total of 34 people left
the critical area, mostly when the victim was drunk. Cultural biased

The model intervening at 70 seconds was more likely to

lead to help from other passengers than when the model
intervened after 150 seconds.
The number of bystanders provided no evidence for the
diffusion of responsibility.
Some passengers moved away from critical areas (21/103)

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[Link]

CAIE AS LEVEL
PSYCHOLOGY (9990)
THEORY

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