Aims and Research Methods

Question 1

Andrade

Answer 1

• to investigate whether doodling aids in the ability to pay attention to auditory information
• and whether doodling affects later recall in auditory information

Research method: laboratory experiment

Question 2

Milgram

Answer 2

• to investigate the level of obedience when an authority figure orders a person to administer a physical punishment to a stranger

Research method: NOT AN EXPERIMENT as it had no IV.
* recorded data via observations through a one-way mirror and conducted interviews with participants after the study, using a lab setting

Question 3

Bandura

Answer 3

• to investigate whether children imitate aggression of a model in the absence of the model
• to investigate whether children are more likely to imitate behavior of a same-sex model

Research method: lab experiment

Question 4

Piliavin

Answer 4

• to investigate factors affecting helping behavior on a New York subway train:
  1. type of victim (drunk or ill)
  2. race of victim (black or white)
  3. modelled help provided by another. passenger
  4. number of people in the carriage

Research method: field experiment
* independent groups design: trials were repeated on different days with different pasrticipants in each condition

Question 5

Dement and Kleitman

Answer 5

• to test whether dream recall differs between REM and nREM sleep (repeated measures)
• to investigate whether there is a positive correlation between subjective estimates of dream duration and length of REM period (correlation)
• to test whether eye movement patterns are related to dream content (self-report)

Research method: lab experiment

Question 6

Hassett

Answer 6

• to test if sex differences in children’s toy preferences result from biological factors rather than through socialisation
• to test if male and female rhesus monkeys have similar toy preferences to human infants, despite no socialisation experience with human toys

Research method: field experiment (took place in their normal, outdoor housing area)
* independent measures: IV was gender
* observations: to measure DV of activities with toys
* correlation: to find relationship between individual monkeys’ ranks within social hierarchy and frequency/duration of activities with each toy type

Question 7

Fagen

Answer 7

• to investigate whether secondary positive reinforcement could be used to train elephants to voluntarily complete a trunk wash (to test elephants for TB)

Research method: controlled observation

Question 8

Pozzulo

Answer 8

• to investigate whether children are less able to recognise human faces than adults
• and make more false positive identifications for target-absent line-ups

Research method: laboratory experiment
* independent measures: comparison between children and adults
* repeated measures: comparisons of line-up type

Question 9

Baron-Cohen

Answer 9

• to see if there’s a negative correlation between the eyes test scores and AQ for a sample of normal adults
• see if females scored higher on the eye test than males

Research method: laboratory experiment
* quasi experiment: participants were assigned to a condition based on whether they had AS/HFA

Question 10

Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 10

• to examine the role of classical conditioning in relation to fear and avoidance of a particular stimulus
• to highlight the role of evaluative learning in the development and treatment in children’s phobias

Research method: case study
* data collected via self-report (semi-structured interview about onset of phobia)
* boy observed through treatment sessions to see improvement
* results of treatment measured using Feelings Thermometer (9 point rating scale)

Question 11

Holzel et al. (mindfulness)

Answer 11

• To identify changes in specific brain regions, and the whole brain, by comparing grey matter concentration before and after a mindfulness course
• Experimental: a causal relationship was tested between MBSR and grey matter
  concentration in various brain structures. Some measurements were taken in a controlled
  setting (MRI scans),
• but other parts of the study occurred in a naturalistic environment, such as incorporating MBSR exercises while walking and doing housework
• Longitudinal: a group of participants was tested before (pre) and after (post) an
  intervention. The total duration was an eight-week period
• Correlation: a non causal relationship was tested between time spent on mindfulness
  exercises and increases in grey matter concentration
• Self-report: The Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)

Question 12

Perry et al. (personal space)

Answer 12

• To investigate how oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal distance for those scoring high or low in empathy traits.
• Participants took part in 2 experiments: half of the participants did Experiment 1 first and the other half did Experiment 2 first.
• These experiments took place in a labratory setting.
• Independent measures: the researchers compared preferred interpersonal distance between different groups and conditions.

IV 1: whether ppts received nasal drops containing oxytocin or placebo - this was done as repeated measures. It was counterbalanced by randomising whether ppts received oxytocin or placebo (saline). This used a double-blind procedure - both experimenter and ppt did not know which nasal dropper they received.

• IV 2: high or low empathy - independent measures. This was operationalised using a 28-item online questionnaire called the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1983).
• This questionnaire has 4 7-item sub-sections, each assessing a different component of empathy.
• The people in the high empathy group (n = 20) had scores of 40 and over, while the people in the low empathy group (n = 20) had scores of 33 and under.