Individual Differences Area studies

Question 1

Freud - Aim, Sample, Method

Answer 1

Aim:

• to explore what factors might have led to the phobia in the first place, and what factors led to its remission.

Sample:

• Little Hans was 5 at the time of the study however the data began from 3 years old
• Evidence starting from when Little Hans was three years old is used by Freud to support:

    - his theory of psychosexual development
    - Oedipus Complex

Method:

• longitudinal case study
• Unstructured interviews - Data was gathered by Little Han’s father (a firm believer of Freud’s ideas) regularly observing and questioning Hans.

Question 2

Freud - Procedure (4)

Answer 2

1. Just before he was three, Hans started to show a lively interest in his ‘widdler’ and the presence/absence of this organ in others – human and non-human.
2. When he was three and a half, Hans gained a baby sister who he hated and wanted his mother to drop her in the bath so she would drown.
3. Later Hans developed a fear of being bitten by white horses due to subconscious fear of his father and the black around the horses mouth and blinkers reminding him of his dads facial hair and glasses
4. Hans was both anxious his mother would go away and prone to fantasies and daydreams.

Question 3

Freud - Results (2) and Conclusion

Answer 3

• Hans’ fascination with his ‘widdler’ was because he was experiencing the Oedipus Complex
• Hans’ fantasy of becoming a father again linked to his experiencing the Oedipus Complex

Freud concluded that his study of Hans provided support for: His theory of psychosexual development and that boys in the phallic stage of psychosexual development experience the Oedipus complex

Question 4

Baron-Cohen - Aim, Sample, Method

Answer 4

Aim:

• to find out if individuals on the autistic spectrum had deficits with theory of mind

Sample:

• Group 1: 16 individuals with high-functioning autism or Aspergers self selected from an advert
• Group 2: 50 normal age-matched - random sampled from Cambridge
• Group 3: 10 adults with Tourette Syndrome also age matches self selected from London

Question 5

Baron-Cohen - Procedure (3)

Answer 5

1. The Eyes task, the Strange Stories and the two control tasks (Gender Recognition of Eyes Task, Basic Recognition Task) were presented in random order to all participants.
2. The task was done to check whether difficulties on the Eyes Task were due to difficulties with basic emotional recognition. The Strange Stories Task was used to validate the results from the Eyes Task.

Participants all tested in a quiet room:

       - In their own home
       - In the researchers clinic
       - In the researchers laboratory at Cambridge

Question 6

Baron-Cohen - Results (3) and Conclusion

Answer 6

• Mean score for adults with TS was not significantly different from normal adults but both were significantly higher than the autism/AS mean score
• Normal females performed significantly better than normal males on the Eyes Task (mean 21.8 versus 18.8)
• On Happé’s Strange Stories, no participants with TS made any errors but those with autism/AS were significantly impaired, making many errors.

Results seem to provide evidence that adults with autism/AS do possess an impaired theory of mind

Question 7

Gould - Aim, Sample, Method

Answer 7

Aim:

• to examine the early history of intelligence testing as conducted by Yerkes on army recruits in the USA during WW1

Sample:

• 1.75 million army recruits in the USA during WW1 including white people, European immigrants and black people

Method:

• review article that looks at Yerkes’ intelligence testing

Question 8

Gould - Procedure (3)

Answer 8

1. THE ARMY ALPHA TEST for literate recruits but biased on American culture
2. THE ARMY BETA TEST for illiterate recruits but pictures were biased on American culture
3. THE INDIVIDUAL SPOKEN EXAMINATION - rarely happened (one fifth of those who failed the Beta Test were allowed to take the individual examinations)

Question 9

Gould - Results and Conclusion

Answer 9

• However the lighter the skin colour. The higher the score.
• THE IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION ACT was passed in 1924 by the US Congress and was shaped by Yerkes

IQ testing is often unreliable

Question 10

Hancock - Aim, Sample, Method

Answer 10

Aim:

• To examine whether the language of psychopaths reflected, as predicted, an instrumental/predatory world view, unique socioemotional needs and a poverty of effect

Sample:

• 52 male murderers - 38 psychopathic, 14 not
• Self-selected

Method:

• semi-structured/open-ended interviews which employed the Step-Wise Interview technique to gather data in relation to the language
• Narratives were subsequently transcribed and analysed through content analysis using the Wmatrix and the DAL.

Question 11

Hancock - Procedure (3)

Answer 11

1. Potential participants were asked whether they would be interested in taking part in a research study.
2. Participants were then interviewed. At the beginning of the interview, the purpose of the study (to examine the manner in which homicide offenders recall their homicide offence) and the procedure were verbally explained.
3. In this open-ended interviewing procedure, while being audio-taped, participants were asked to describe their homicide offences in as much detail as possible. leaving out no details. Participants were prompted to provide to do this using a standardised procedure known as the Step-Wise Interview

Question 12

Hancock - Controls (3)

Answer 12

• Participants were prompted to provide information using a standardised procedure known as the Step-Wise Interview
• Interviews lasted about 25 minutes
• Wmatrix and DAL used to analyse their language

Question 13

Hancock - Results (2)

Answer 13

• Psychopaths used approximately twice as many words related to basic physiological needs, including eating, drinking and monetary resources when describing their murders than controls.
• Psychopaths used more past tense verbs than controls eg. stabbed

Psychopaths are more likely than non-psychopaths to describe cause and effect relationships when describing their murder