Discuss research into one error of attribution (self serving bias)
Discuss research into one error of attribution (self serving bias) Jones and Nisbett argue that observers are more likely to make dispositional attributions when explaining the behaviour of others whilst the actors themselves are more likely to consider the full range of causes of their own behaviour and are thus more likely to make situational or external attributions. However, Miller and Ross (1975) indicate that the soc-called actor-observer bias is most applicable to negative events and may in fact be reversed completely when actors consider their own achievements or successes. They describe two biases which have collectively been termed the self serving bias. This encompasses the self enhancing bias, where the individual explains his or her achievements in terms of internal factors or disposition and the self protecting bias where s/he 'blames' negative outcomes or failures upon situational factors outside of his or her own control. This form of attributional bias is very well supported and there are many examples of self serving bias in the literature. For example Lau and Russell (1980) explored this concept by conducting a content analysis of attributions made in the sports pages of American newspapers. They compared the explanations given by sportswriters with interviews with the America Football coaches and players. They found that the coaches and players were more
Basic Behavior
Basic Human Behavior Introduction Psychology is more then a study of people with mental tribulations, it is a scientific study of the mind and behaviors in both humans and animals. Psychologists have four goals which are used towards success of each study which are to be able to describe, explain, predict, and control the behaviors of the subjects by the use of one of the six modern approaches. Most people evaluate their quality of life on the outcomes of our tribulations and use these outcomes to form our lifestyles. Theoretical Perspectives Psychologists explore the human mind by means of various perspectives in order to explain human nature and behavior. People learn from the knowledge and skills acquired through the processes of stimulation and movement. Learning is also obtained by the association of consequences that is between a particular stimulus and response. Considerations are given to reactions of conscious or unconscious, natural or artificial and are then used to analyze the way the brain processes the information. The cognitive neuroscience is one of today's modern approaches that psychologists use to better understand a study of behavior and mental processes. The cognitive neuroscience can be looked at as the information processing approach because it focuses on memory through the thought process and the formations associated with the perception of
Using two different psychological approaches explain one aspect of human behaviour
Using two different psychological approaches explain one aspect of human behaviour The six main approaches for human behaviour are Psychodynamic, Behaviourist, Physiological, Humanistic, Cognitive and Social. All of the approaches have their place in explaining different types of human behaviour, but it is improbable that any single approach can be used to determine all characteristics of a type of behaviour. However, when undertaking research and experiments, researchers typically focus on a single approach. One aspect of human behaviour which can be explained using these approaches is mental illness. According to NIMH (2005) mental illness is defined as a health condition that changes a person's thinking, feelings, or behaviour (or all three) and causes the person distress and difficulty in functioning. Mental health illnesses are currently diagnosed using the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic assessment, which is an international Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders. However, It is important not to confuse mental illness with mental disorders as they are separate classifications, even though they are diagnosed via the same manual, as the latter is primarily associated with neurological diseases (WHO 2007). The Physiologists theory is that mental illness occurs as a result of a brain injury, a chemical imbalance or a genetic disorder. Due to the biological
Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia
SC1 There is strong evidence that biological factors play a large part in the development of schizophrenia. It has been known for a long time that sch runs in families. This could be because families share the same disadvantaged environments, but research evidence from family, twin and adoption studies suggests that genetic factors are also important. First-degree relatives share an average of 50 per cent of their genes with each other, while second degree relatives share only 25 percent. Research evidence has looked to see if there is a correlational link between inheriting schizophrenia and genetic similarity. Kendler et al (1985) found that first-degree relatives of schizophrenics are 18 times more likely to contract the disorder than the general population. Family studies are often inconclusive because they are conducted retrospectively, after people have been diagnosed. Therefore we can question the reliability of findings, as the relationship between genetic similarity and susceptibility to schizophrenia is not fully clear; a longitudinal study would be better However, a longitudinal study of this nature would be hard and very time consuming to conduct. Twin studies are another way of establishing a genetic link; they look at the difference in concordance between MA and DZ twins. Cardno et al (1999) found a 40 per cent concordance rate of sch in MZ twins, compared
abnormal psychology/depression
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY PSY 03 WORD COUNT ,730 MAXINE JACKSON APRIL 2008 What is abnormal or normal? Abnormal literally means 'away from the normal'. Although it does not state what normal is. What is meant by normal differs over time and across cultures; it depends, to a certain extent on circumstances. Is something normal because the majority are doing it? During the Second World War thousands of innocent people were murdered in the name of Adolf Hitler. The Nazi's became the majority; however this does not make their behaviour normal. One way to decide what behaviour is normal is to consider how usual it is. In that case then, behaviour that is less common is abnormal. Society has standards to which they expect people to conform, this reflects on how people behave. These standards are classed as normal. Anyone who violates society standards is then abnormal. All societies are different and they expect different behaviour, because of this it is impossible to give a universal meaning of the word abnormal. It is difficult to class a person as abnormal or indeed normal, because of the differences in people to begin with. "A statistical norm is to do with a way of being, a quality or representation that is expressed or understood by many individuals. In other words, it is called average. High intelligence is as abnormal as low intelligence." J Cullberg (2006:09) Not
Psychological Explanations for Scizophrenia
Psychological explanations Biological factors alone cannot account for the origin and maintenance of schizophrenia and therefore psychological explanations look at other important contributory factors shown through psychodynamic views, family models and cognitive models. According to one psychodynamic view, schizophrenia arises from the inability to test reality for instance, draw up logical conclusions and to be able to distinguish between the internal and external world. It is also said that childhood experiences can then lead to the unconscious conflict within the ego, id and super-ego which can contribute to schizophrenia. Although this approach provides us with an alternative explanation to schizophrenia, it is very weak. This is a retrospective approach to studying schizophrenia which means overtime memory fades and therefore reports back to childhood cannot be completely reliable. Also by being a retrospective approach it overemphasises childhood. Childhood may have a large impact on schizophrenia but what it fails to consider is recent events. For instance, the Diathesis-Stress Model suggests that schizophrenia can occur due to stressful life events that could trigger psychotic symptoms. Perhaps recent events that cause stress are a more important factor rather than childhood. Lastly, the approach focuses on the unconscious which is difficult to falsify
Psychopathology, Theories and Treatment Revision notes (Psychology AS)
Transfer-Encoding: chunked Psychopathology Study of abnormal thoughts, behaviours and feelings. Definitions for abnormality Deviation from social normal * a person's thinking or behavior is classified as abnormal if it violates what is expected or acceptable behavior in a particular social group * Social behavior varies markedly when different cultures are compared * it is common in Southern Europe to stand much closer to strangers than in the UK * Social norms change over time. Behavior that was once seen as abnormal may, given time, become acceptable and vice versa. E.g. Homosexuality was seen wrong but now is acceptable Failure to function adequately * a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life * They may be unable to perform the behaviors necessary for day-to-day living e.g. self-care, hold down a job, interact meaningfully with others, make themselves understood etc. * Rosenhan & Seligman suggest the following characteristics that define failure to function adequately: * Suffering * Maladaptiveness (danger to self) * Vividness & unconventionality (stands out * Unpredictably & loss of control * Causes observer discomfort * Violates moral/social standards * abnormal behavior may actually be helpful, function and adaptive for the individual * For example, a person who has the
Age is a factor that can affect eyewitness testimony.
Transfer-Encoding: chunked v Eyewitness testimony Age is a factor that can affect eyewitness testimony. Poole and Lindsay concluded a study on how age can effect eyewitness testimony. They used children aged 4 to 8 years old who watched a science demonstration, their parents then read them a story. The story contained new elements that were not in the science demonstration. They then asked questions about the demonstration and found that the children had absorbed the information in the story into their memory. They were they asked where this information came from and the older children could say that it was from the story whereas the younger could not. A strength of the study is that it was done in a lab which means there is high control over the variables which means the investigator can manipulate the variables. Therefore, we can infer the cause and effect and makes the study more reliable. Research supporting this was done by Yarmey et al. they had young and elderly adults watch a filmed event and were asked questions about the event. 80% of the elderly adults forgot to mention key features whereas only 20% of the young adults made this mistake. This proves that age is a factor effecting eyewitness testimony. However, the study was artificial. The research was done in a lab, and although it’s highly controlled it means the study lacks ecological validity and
Discuss factors influencing attitudes to food and eating behaviour
Transfer-Encoding: chunked Discuss factors influencing attitudes to food and eating behaviour (8 and 16 marks) Psychologists have researched how different factors of our lives can affect our eating behaviour. Birch (1991) suggested that there are 3 ways in which attitudes towards food and eating behaviours are created. These are Exposure, Social Learning and Associative Learning. The Exposure aspect states that individuals like food which they are familiar with, and in order to change a person’s food preference we must expose them to the type of food we wish to enforce. The social learning aspect states that the eating behaviour of others that individuals observe have a major impact on their own eating behaviours e.g. observing someone with a healthy diet will lead to an impact of a healthy diet, either negatively or positively, being present in the individuals eating behaviour. And lastly the associative learning aspect states that individuals eat foods associated with good times and rewards and avoid or reject foods associated with bad times or punishments. Another factor that has been researched into attitudes for eating behaviour is mood. Psychologists have found that individual’s mood can be a strong predictor of their eating behaviour, and in particular – stress. Psychologists such as Spillman (1990) have found that stress can increase food intake, however
Discuss the role of genes and hormones in Gender Identity Development
Transfer-Encoding: chunked Discuss the role of genes and hormones in Gender Identity Development The definition of sex and gender according to many biologist and psychologists is different. Sex is known as the biological and physical anatomy of an individual and gender is known as the behaviours, roles and activities an individual labels themselves with within a society. Humans carry 23 pairs of chromosomes within their genetic make-up and one of these pairs determines the sex of the individual and is known as the sex chromosomes. For females this pair will be identified as XX chromosomes and for males this pair will be identified as XY chromosomes. According to biologists, these chromosomes play a role in the development of gender as these chromosomes play a role in the development of male and female genitals. A gene on male chromosomes known as the SRY gene result in the development of the testes and the absence of the SRY gene result in the development of the ovaries in females. The biological approach believes that the external genitals of an individual play a role in the development of gender by influencing how they identify themselves, for example a female with female genitals will be more caring due to the fact she identifies with the fact she can carry children. According to the biological approach to gender development, hormones can also play a role in
