Psychology Year 2 Note:3

The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress.

When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses. Being part of a large crowd makes it so no single person has to take responsibility for an action (or inaction).

• Latane & Darley (1968)
  • Aim: To investigate if the number of witnesses of an emergency influences people’s helping in an emergency situation.
  • Methods : 
    • As part of a course credit, 72 students (59 female and 13 male) participated in the experiment.
    • They were asked to discuss what kind of personal problems new college students could have in an urban area.
    • Each participant sat in a booth alone with a pair of headphones and a microphone. They were told that the discussion took place via an intercom to protect the anonymity of participants.
    • At one point in the experiment a participant (a confederate) staged a seizure.
    • The independent variable (IV) of the study was the number of persons (bystanders) that the participant thought listened to the same discussion. The dependant variable (DV) was the time it took for the participant to react from the start of the victim’s fit until the participant contacted the experimenter.
• Oliner and Oilner (1988) 
  • Showed that rescuers shared personality characteristics and expressed greater pity or empathy compared to non-rescurer. Rescuers often said that parental behaviour had made an important contribution to the rescuer’s personal norms (ie. the parents of rescuer’s had few negative stereotypes of Jews compared to parents of non rescuers. The family of rescuers also tended to believe in the universal similarity of all people .
• Pilliavin et al. (1969) 

Psychology Year 2 Note:2

Altruism

The Selfish Gene Theory (1976)

Schaller and Cialdini (1988)  Negative-State Model 

 

Prosocial

Miller et al (1990)

Contrast two theories explaining Altruism 

Kin Selection Theory  

Focus more on biological reasons that re solely egotistical behind artistic actions and may explain altrisitic behaviour within relatives but not strangers 

     -Individual are more likely to sacrifice for their blood relatives in order to ensure the survival of their genetic information 

Dawkin’s Selfish Gene Theory (1989) 

Simmons et al. (1977) Kidney donor [86%of parents said yes but only 47% of sibling who could be donors said yes]

Empathy - Altruism Theory 

Batson, 1981 

When a person observes someone else’s suffering, they can feel 2 types of emotions 

     Empathetic concern 

     Personal distress

Altruism 

Behaviour that benefits another person sometimes at some costs 

• In evolutionary biology, altruism is defined as behaviour that benefits other organisms but some costs. The costs and benefits are measured in terms of reproductive fitness
• A subcategory of helping behaviour, referring to a behaviour that is meant to benefit another person rather than oneself (Batson and Coke, 1981) 
• According to Staub (1978), altruistic acts may also result in reward

Prosocial Behaviour 

Behaviour that benefits others or has positive social consequences. 

• Refers to acts intended to benefit others. These are acts that are positively valued by society (Hogg and Vaughan, 1998) 
• Aggressiveness and violent behaviour are not valued by society 
• Any behaviour that is initiated with the purposed of increasing another person’s physical or psychological well-being and has positive consequences for that person 
• Intentional prosocial behaviour is often called “helping behaviour” 
  • ie. Donating money to refugees in Somalia, doing voluntary works 

Psychology Year 2 Note:1

Examine biological, psychological and social origins of attraction

Biological 

• Fisher et al. (2003) 
• Wedekind (1995) 

Psychological

• Burne (1971) 
• Newcomb (1961) 
• Markey and Markey (2007) 
• Morry (2007) 

Sociocultural 

• Dijkstra and Barelds (2010) 
• Buss et al. (1990) 

Evolutionary explanations 

1:Neurobiology of love 

2: Partner selection based on genes 

Fisher et al (2003): fMRI study of neurobiological mechanism of attraction 

• Aim: To investigate the neural mechanisms associated with the attraction system (romantic love).
• Procedure:  Participants were 10 women and seven men aged from 18 to 26, who reported being in love for an average of 7.5 months. The participants first filled out a questionnaire (The Passionate Love Scale) to investigate how they felt about their relationship. Then they were placed in the fMRI scanner. They first looked at a photograph of their beloved, then performed a distraction task of counting backwards, and finally they looked at a photograph of a neutral acquaintance. This was repeated six times.
• Result: There was increased activity in the dopamine rich brain areas associated with reward, motivation, and goal orientation (dopamine-rich areas associated with mammalian reward and motivation) when participants looked at their lover. The results indicate the possibility of brain circuits dedicated to attraction (romantic love). The same brain circuits have been associated with “addiction”, which could support the hypothesis that “romantic love is an addiction”. Fisher argues that “romantic love” is universal and based on neurobiological factors.

LO9: Discuss the relative effectiveness of two strategies for reducing violence.

LO8: Examine Biological, Psychological, and Social origins of attraction.

LO7: Explain the role that culture plays in the formation and maintenance of relationships.

LO6: Analyze why relationship may change or end.

LO5: Distinguish between altruism and prosocial behaviour.

LO4: Contrast two theories explaining altruism in humans.

LO3: Discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships

LO2: Evaluate socio-cultural explanation of the origins of violence

LO1: Examine factors influencing bystanderism

Studies Chart

Lotfus and Palmer (1974)

• Aims: to test their hypothesis that the language used in eyewitness testimony

can alter memory.

• Methods: Participants were shown 7 films of car accidents around 1 minute and then the participants will be asked to estimate the speed of how fast was the car using different verbs ___. (Verb in the question was changed to smashed/collided/hit/bumped/contacted

• Results: Speed estimates were influenced by the verbs/wordings used; the

more severe sounding verb made the participants estimate faster speed

• Conclusion:
• Learning Objective: With reference to relevant research studies, to what

extent is one cognitive process reliable and Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

Mosconi (2005)

• Aims: test how the hippocampi region interacts with Alzheimer’s disease / to

investigate metabolism in the hippocampus, which is when the neurons in the

brain activation response in the body and dies.

• Methods: Had 52 normal participants for a period of 9 - 24

years long. They used brain scanning program computer PET that measures metabolic activity occurring in the hippocampus.

• Results: Patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease was known to have

reduced metabolism in the hippocampus later stage in life.

• Learning Objective: Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process.

Schwindt and Black (2009)

• Aims: To test the effect of episodic memory on AD.

• Methods: Meta analysis of fMRI studies on episodic memory of AD patients,

compared to normal people.

• Results: There were greater brain activity in the MTL and frontal lobe of normal

people. AD patients had increased activation in the prefrontal cortex.

• Conclusion: It is a well established fact that AD patients have decreased

activation of MTL.

• Learning Objective: Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process.

Bartlett (1932)

• Aims: Bartlett aimed to determined how social and cultural factors influence schemas and hence can lead to memory distortions.
• Methods: English background participants were asked to read “War of The Ghosts” a native American folktale and ask them to replicate it down again
• Result: As the number of reproduction increased, the story got shorter and more changes and rephrased unfamiliar words : Canoes -> Boats   Hunting Seals -> Fishing
• Learning Objective: Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.

Schacter and Singer (1962)

• Aims: To test the two factor theory of emotion and show that both cognition and biological factors with emotion
• Methods: Have 184 male college student participants taken to private room ,the experimenters inform them that experiment wants to see “effect of vitamin injection of visual skills” .The participants were given either a placebo shot (with no side effect) or an adrenaline shot .And then participants divided into 2 groups Euphoria and Anger group .
• Result: Euphoria condition ->misinformed participants were feeling happier than all other groups ->Ignorant participants were the second happiest  Anger condition ->Ignorant participants felt the angriest ->Placebo participants felt the second angriest
• Learning Objective: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotions

Tierney Et Al (2001)

• Aims: Evaluating using PET scans, bilingual language compensation following

early childhood brain damage.

• Methods: Researchers compared Old man to 12 control participants, who were

fluent in sign language, PET scanning technology were used while participants

produced narrative signs.

• Results: The old man’s right hemisphere was more active than the controls’

during the production of narrative speech and sign language.

• Conclusion: Language function can develop in the right hemisphere instead of

the left as an adaptation following his early brain damage.

• Learning Objective: Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationships between biological factors and behaviour.

Atkinsonand Shiffrin (1968) MS Brewerand Treyens “Picnic Basket” (1981)

• Aims: see whether a stereotypical schema of an office would affect memory in

recalling items in an office.

• Methods: Participants were taking into a university student office and left alone

for 3540

seconds before taken into another room. They were asked to list

down as much things as they can remember from the previous office.

• Results: Participants recalled only “typical office” items according to their

schema. They couldn’t recall the wine and the picnic basket that were sitting in

the office.

• Conclusion: Participants’ Schema of an office influenced their memory. They

didn’t mention or recall the wine and picnic basket because it’s not part of their

“Typical Office” Schema.

• Learning Objective: Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

Flashbulb Memory Brown and Kulik (1977)

• Aims: To investigate that flashbulb memory is real and how it works
• Methods: 80 American participants were asked about major events by asking the ones that is consequential and nonconsequential Ex: Princess diana death ,9/11 ,John F Kennedy assassination
• Results: Participants answered the questions with no hesitation and have confident and tend to remember the shocking event well such as 9/11
• Learning Objective: Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.

Anderson and Pichert (1978)

• Aims: Investigating if schema processing influences encoding and retrieval.

• Methods: Half of their participants were given the schema of a burglar and

other half was given the schema of a potential house buyer. Participants heard

the story which was based on 72 points. Previously rated by a group of people

based on their importance to a potential house buyer. participants performed a

distraction task for 12 minutes before recalling was tested.

• Results: Participants who changed schema recalled 7% more points on the second recall test than the first. There was also a 10% increase in the recall of points directly linked to the new schema.
• Learning Objective: Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

Guest Speaker Reflection

Please write a reflection about today's guest speaker, using the following questions as prompts:
--What did you understand from the presentation about PTSD and mental health? What impact did it have on you?
--What did you find the most interesting?/ What surprised you the most?
--What questions or curiosities came up in your mind? What would you like to know more about?
--How do you think experiences like these are beneficial for students?

Length: At least 3/4's (3 quarters) of a page

Ms. Kathleen Allden's or the guest speaker presentation was about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) or stress disorder after experiencing trauma and emotional disorder that affect usual life. She mentioned about how people will have negative stigma when talking about mental illness, and nobody actually pay attentions to this problem. Ms. Kathleen picked the example from her own experience that she has been treating people with some serious disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse, and especially post traumatic stress disorder. The war's refugees are one of the most mentally affected group of people because these people have suffered a lot from the war which Ms. Kathleen treated war refugees before and then came to Thailand treating Cambodian refugees. She explained that refugees in some countries can stay in that country and get treated, feed nicely and also have habitats for them to live in but they cannot work or do anything because they don't have any right to do so which pops up the question in my mind that then why do we still letting these refugees live purposelessly? At least if we let them stay in the country let them do some work and give them salary because having to live on day by day is nothing better than having to keep running away. 

Ms.Kathleen was talk about how is being a psychiatrist  like, how even the doctor can also get sick from what they professionally known about. She explained how being any kind of psychologists herself also have to bear a lot of stress within her head ,when treating a patients she had to responsible for that person's life and well-being .But for me although it's nice to see someone getting better by our help but it's incomparable to having to treat them because to be a good psychologist we need to make a patient's problem into our owns which is so stressful. By this opinion of mine shows that how much Ms.Kathleen has dedicate herself to be psychiatrist treating refugees who has mental disorder .Which this presentation gave a really good information and example for a psychology student like me. 

LO6: Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.

LO5 :Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes.

LO4 To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

LO3 :Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

Schema 

Schema Theory has a concept of thinking believe that previous experience of the learner affect learning. Because in order to learn ,a learner need to be taken their prior knowledge collected to help in the interpretation of new knowledge in order to understand better. The term Schema refers to a cognitivity in the brain which is organizing informations and experiences as a group ,and it’s helpful for the new informations that are coming in .It will predict and interpret the new information in accordance with the existing structure.

Types of Schema

• Roles - The first type, role schemas help people understand the social environment with which he or she is engaged and adjust to the situation.

• Person - Not only do we develop expectations about other people based on the social role that they occupy, we develop expectations about their behavior based on their personality traits.

• Self - We also have schemas about self. Similar in the way in which we expect others to act in certain situations, we have expectations about how we should act in different situations. For example if I believe that I am outgoing and people like talking to me at parties, then I will feel obligated to change my behavior to fit this self schema.

• Events - Schemas for specific events are sometimes referred to as scripts. Much like schemas for personality traits event schemas are based on expectations of how to behave in a variety of situations.

Loftus and Palmer 1974

Objective

The aim of this study was trying to find out how information supplied after an event, influences a witness's memory for that event.

Aim

To show that the leading questions can distort eyewitness testimony according to different cues.

Experiment 1 - Procedure

1. 45 American students 
2. Laboratory experiment with 5 conditions, only one being experienced by each students 
3. They were shown with 7 films of traffic accidents ranging in duration from 5 to 30 seconds random for each person
4. Film participants were asked to describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses.
5. Asked the speed of the colliding cars using different wordings (Independent Variable) 
6. The answer they gave, the speed, becomes the dependent variable.

Result

1. Estimated speed was affected by the verb used Verb implied information about the speed, which affected the participants’ memory of the accident. 
2. Participants asked the “smashed” question thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the “hit” question. 
3. Participants in “smashed” condition reported the highest speed estimated which was 40.8 mph, “collided” was 39.3 mph, “bumped” was 38.1 mph, “hit” was 34 mph, and “contacted” was 31.8 mph

Experiment 2 - Procedure

1. 150 students in groups of 50 was shown 1 minute film of cars driving in countryside with a car crash 
2. The independent variable - the wording of the question asked - was done after the film 
3. One group was asked to estimate how fast the car was going when they smashed into each other, one was asked using the word hit, and one wasn’t asked at all.

Result

The result shows that the verb (smashed) in the question influenced and shaped their memory and were twice as likely to recall seeing broken glass.

Conclusion 

• Information acquired after a certain event can affect one's memory causing inaccurate recall or reconstructive memory. 
• The addition of false details to a memory of an event is referred to as confabulation.

LO2: Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.

LO1: Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process.

In this learning objective will give explained details about how Alzheimer's disease affect cognitive process. Cognitive process is a process that happens inside our brain that controls our thoughts language memory and many other things that guide us to be who we are today our behaviors. Memory is one of the cognitive process that retrieve store and retain information in the past experience or knowledge.

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most commonly known disease of the people whose age is around over 60 year old that this Alzheimer's disease will affect the patients brain cognitive process including memory as a majority area. The two main causations of Alzheimer's disease are Amyloid plaques and Neurofibrillary Tangles.

Amyloids Plaques us the abnormality that happens in the gap between neurons, there is the protein between our nerve cells called Amyloid which it is a protein that will be produced normally by the brain and eliminate it away as a normal process. But for people who have Alzheimer's disease ,this protein will not be destroyed ,so Amyloid form itself become bigger harder and stickier and eventually block the communication between neurons cause the problems in feeling emotions language and many other cognitive process problems ,and in later stage of Alzheimer's disease the memory of the patient will be all gone. 

Neurofribrillary Tangles is also one of the main cause of Alzheimer's disease which happens between cell to cell Axon. In each dendrites of each neuron ,inside of it will have a protein called Tau which form parallel straight lines in each other and send nutrients and other important substances from one cell to another. But in the case of Alzheimer's disease patient's brain the protein Tau works abnormally twisted unorganized cause the information nutrients and other important substances cannot be transported. 

 Mosconi Study 2005 

The aim is to see the effect of Alzheimer's disease in hippocampi region. Hippocampus is one of the main part of the brain responsible of cognitive process like memory, and it will get severe affected if a person has Alzheimer's disease cause the brain the shrink. The procedure of the study is that the experimentees will observe 52 participants for around 9 - 24 years and after that use a computer scanner to see which part of the brain got affected by Alzheimer's disease. They used PET scan and found out the result as expected that around hippocampi region also hippocampus is the development to Alzheimer's disease later on in human's lives.

Conclusion 

According to the study ,this experiment supported that biological factors do affect cognitive process also the facts about Amyloid plaques and Neurofrubrillary Tangles that cause the problems to cognitive process which both are happened to be biological causation of Alzheimer's disease