Learning Approach
Describe the sample from the Fagen study on elephant learning. (3 points)
Five female elephants
Housed at the same stable in Nepal
4 elephants (numbers 1-4) were 5-7 year old juveniles, who were born at the stables.
Number 5 was an adult female estimated to be in her 50’s
Describe the phone message from the Andrade study (doodling) 3points
Any 3 of the following:
Recorded on audio tape
Monotone voice
227 words per minute
2.5 minutes long
Played at comfortable listening volume
8 names of people attending party, 3 people & 1 cat who cannot attend
8 place names
Much irrelevant material
What are the three main types of experimental designs?
Independent measures
Repeated measures
Matched-pairs
Describe what is meant by 'monitored information' and 'incidental information' in the Adrade study on doodling.
Monitored information - names of 8 party goers remembered - (participants were instructed to write down (or monitor) names of people going to the party.)
Incidental information - names of 8 places remembered - (participants were not told to pay attention to places)
Outline one strength of the sample from the Fagen study (elephant learning).
Meets numbers guideline for ethics - 5 elephants is a low number, but still produces valid and reliable results.
Does not put strain on the species as all participants were already in captivity and not plucked from a wild population.
Describe the Feelings Thermometer from the study by Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia).
0-8 scale self-report (9-point)
Ratings for levels of distress of buttons
0=lowest, 8=highest
Describe the subjects used for the target unfamiliar faces in the study by Pozzulo (line ups). 3 points
Any 3:
One male, one female
Both caucasian
Both 22 y/o
Female - brushing hair in bathroom
Male - putting on coat and leaving the bathroom
What type of design does the Andrade (doodling) study use?
Independent measures. Participants divided among a doodling group and control group.
In addition to the number of names and places remembered from the phone message in the Andrade (doodling) study, what was one other measurement taken by the researchers?
- Number of shapes shaded on the doodling sheet
- Number of correct names written down on the doodling sheet (this was the monitoring task and was a measure of attention, not part of the memory test)
Outline one weakness of the Saavedra and Silverman study (button phobia).
Difficult to know if imagery exposure therapy will work on others because:
Only one participant, 9-y/o boy, makes it impossible to know if results are reliable.
Also difficult to generalize to other ages, genders, or people with different phobias.
In vivo therapy required boy to handle buttons which was distressing, causing issue with the ethical guideline of minimizing psychological harm.
Describe the observation technique used in the study by Bandura (aggression). (4 points - 2 points about technique, and 2 points for linking to study)
Structured observation - observer collected data on various categories of behavior, such as imitative physical aggression, imitative verbal aggression, aggressive gun play, etc.
Controlled observation - the observation room was set up the same for each participant with the same toys available (Bobo doll, tetherball, toy dart gun) in the same arrangement
Covert observation - observer was behind one way glass and children were not aware of observation
two observers used for Inter-observer agreement - The male adult model and another observer both recorded data for reliability
Outline 2 predictions the researcher made in the Baron-Cohen study (eyes test).
AS/HFA group will score significantly lower on the Eyes Test (but unimpaired on gender control task)
AS/HFA group will score significantly higher on the AQ
Females in normal group will score higher than males on Eyes Test
Males in normal group will score higher than females on AQ
Inverse correlation for AQ and Eyes Test.
What type of design does Bandura (aggression) use?
Independent measures - Separate groups for aggression/non aggression, boy/girl participants, male/female models, and control.
What type of data do closed questions produce? Open questions?
closed - quantitative
open - qualitative
Outline one strength and one weakness of the study by Andrade (doodling).
Various acceptable answers.
Example strengths:
Lots of control - tape recorded message (227 words per min, monotonous voice), standardized doodling sheet, visually dull room to induce boredom. Increases internal validity.
Quantitative data - memory score provides a numerical value for attention and memory that can be compared to participants of the control group to easily determine effects of doodling.
Example weaknesses:
Doodling sheet does not allow for creativity, lowering ecological validity. Organic doodling may require more cognitive resources and have a different effect than the shading task.
Only 5 male participants make it difficult to generalize to males. Male brains may process information differently than females and may or may not be able to multi-task as well.
Classical conditioning - Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia) - imagery exposure therapy
Operant conditioning - Fagen (elephant learning) - SPR for trunk wash, Saavedra and Silverman - in vivo therapy
Social Learning - Bandura (aggression) - imitative aggression and non-aggression
What is one assumption of the cognitive approach? Outline how one study investigates this assumption.
1. Information is processed through the same route in all humans: input – process – output, in a similar way to how information is processed by a computer.
Example Link: The study by Andrade investigates whether doodling while performing a boring task can aid in information processing by testing whether participants remembered more names and places from a telephone message than those who did not doodle.
2. People have individual differences in their cognitive processing such as with attention, language, thinking and memory. These processes can also help to explain behaviour and emotion.
Example link: The Baron-Cohen study investigates differences with cognitive processing between individuals with autism spectrum disorders compared to normal individuals relating to theory of mind.
What type of design does the Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia) study use?
Repeated measures - the boy performs in vivo therapy then imagery exposure therapy and the researchers compare results.
What type of questions does the Baron-Cohen study use to measure theory of mind? (closed or open) Explain how you know this.
Closed - each set of eyes has 4 possible answer choices with one correct answer. This produces quantitative data.
Outline one strength and one weakness of the study by Baron-Cohen (eyes test).
Various acceptable responses.
Example strengths:
The study is very high in internal validity. The revised version of the test improves upon the original test is multiple ways to improve validity. Increasing the number of answer choices from 2 to 4 decreases the probability of answering correctly purely by chance. It also uses words for emotions that are not opposites, making it more difficult, thus reducing a ceiling effect and allowing the researchers to see more differences in participant scores. The added glossary ensures vocabulary knowledge doesn't impact sores. Group 4 rules out IQ as a confounding variable.
The results of the revised test were very consistent with the original version. This replication of the previous test increases reliability. The large number of participants in groups 2 and 3 also makes it very reliable for the normal population.
Example weaknesses:
Low ecological validity due to using photos only of eyes to determine emotion. People do not experience real-life interactions in this way. Faces are constantly moving and do not remain static for long periods of time, as the photos do.
Group 1 only has 15 participants, making it difficult to determine reliability among those with ASD. It also only includes males with AS/HFA, making it difficult to generalize findings to females or people on other areas of the Austism spectrum.
Outline one similarity and one difference between Fagen (elephant learning) and one other study from the learning approach.
Various correct answers.
Ex:
Similarity - Both Fagen and Bandura collect data through structured observation. Fagen observes the trunk wash and tallies when specific behaviors are completed. Bandura observes children and counts specific behaviors relating to aggression.
Both Fagen and Saavedra and Silverman use operant conditioning...(+ link to each study)
Difference - Fagen studies operant conditioning while Bandura studies social learning theory + link to each study.
Fagen measures data through observation while Saavedra and Silverman use a self-report + link to study.
Outline one similarity and one difference between the Andrade study (doodling) and one other study from the cognitive approach.
Example 1.
Similar to Pozzulo in that both used deception. Andrade did not inform participants that there would be a memory test following the phone message and Pozzulo told children the study was a project on TV shows and computer games.
Different to Pozzulo because Andrade tested adults only, while Pozzulo tested children and adults. Andrade tested 40 adults, 35 female and 5 male comparing processing between doodlers and non-doodlers, while Pozzulo tested 59 children averaging 5 years in age on whether they would correctly reject a target-absent lineup compared to adults.
Outline how the Baron-Cohen study (eyes test) includes elements of both an independent measures and matched pairs design.
Participants were separated into 4 separate groups; AS/HFA, normal adults, normal students, IQ matched.
Group 4 was matched with Group 1 for IQ.
Does the Pozzulo study use open or closed questions in the line up task? Explain how you know this.
Closed - Participants are asked to choose one of 4 targets or an absent target in a line up. This produces quantitative data.
Outline one strength and one weakness of the study by Pozzulo (line ups).
Various acceptable responses.
Example strengths:
Large sample to ensure reliability. 59 children and 53 adults, both with good numbers of males and females to make them more generalizable.
All participants watched same videos with same targets to ensure task was equally demanding for each participant. Line ups were shown in black and white so participants couldn't identify the culprit simply by the color of their clothing. These controls make the study valid.
Example weaknesses:
Groups include mean age of 5 and 21. Difficult to generalize to teens. The study shows that children are more susceptible to social pressure than adults when responding to a target-absent lineup, but we cannot determine at what age the effect of social pressure lessens.
All researchers conducting the experiment are female. This study is unable to determine the effect of social pressure that male administrators would have on children.
Crimes happen in real life and are very distressing and traumatic. The videos do not fully simulate the experience a person would have when choosing a target from a lineup would be necessary.