Memory research
Much of the traditional laboratory research on memory conducted in the past century has followed Ebbinghaus (1895) in using tightly controlled experiments that facilitate the quantification of memory (see Baddeley, 1990; Schacter, 1989). This tradition has been strongly criticized in the past two decades, however, most notably by Neisser (1978), who provocatively dismissed the laboratory research of the past 100 years as largely worthless for answering "the important questions about memory," and called for a shift to the "realistic" study of memory. Since Neisser's call, there has been a growing number of studies on such varied topics as autobiographical memory, eyewitness testimony, prospective memory, "flashbulb" memory, memory for action, memory for faces, memory for places, etc. (see, e.g., Cohen, 1989; This new wave of everyday memory research has resulted in a proliferation of research methods that are quite removed from those traditionally employed in the laboratory. The rift between proponents of naturalistic and laboratory memory research, as well as efforts at reconciliation, may be seen in the lively debate) sparked by Banaji and Crowder's (1989) paper. It is apparent from the commentaries that "everyday memory" is an ill-defined category (Klatzky, 1991), and that the dimensions of the controversy are not simple to specify. In general, the battles appear to be
The Biological model
Outline & evaluate the Biological/Medical Model and consider its strengths and weaknesses. The biological model assumes that all mental illnesses have a physiological cause. One assumption of the biological model is genetic inheritance; it assumes that genes have a major effect on the likelihood of developing a mental illness. Illnesses can be inherited by parents and relatives. Kendler et al found that relatives of SZs were 18 times more likely to develop the illness than a matched group. Another assumption is biochemistry, this is chemical imbalances in the brain are involved in certain disorders; neurotransmitters play an important role in behaviour. It has been found that an excess of the neurotransmitter dopamine has been linked to SZ. Finally infection is a common cause for physical illness; Barr et al found a significant link between mothers who had influenza whilst pregnant and their child developing SZ. As there are physiological causes of abnormality therefore the treatments are physiological these are Drugs, ECT, which involves a small electric shock being sent to the brain causing a small seizure/convulsion and psychosurgery. Where electrodes are inserted into the brain and the infected part of the brain tissue is 'burnt' away. There are many strengths and weaknesses with this approach, firstly it is a humane approach unlike the cognitive approach, and the
Genetic factors in aggression
Outline and evaluate genetic factors in aggression. The idea that genetic factors play a role in aggression has been studied by many psychologists. They have looked at twin studies to try and find evidence of a genetic basis. Twin studies provide evidence of a link by comparing the tendency of both twins in pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins expressing aggression. One twin study was carried out by McGue et al, by using a multi-dimensional personality questionnaire to assess levels of aggression; they were able to find correlational values of both MZ and DZ twins. The study found that genetic factors play a part in aggression. In studies such as these the twins are asked to self report or else the parents asked to fill in questionnaires, in this way there is a problem of how each individual assesses aggression. It was suggested by Plomin et al that with no difference in amounts of aggression shown by MZ and DZ twins (in Bandura's studies), individual differences in aggression were more a product of environmental influences rather than genetic factors. It has also been suggested that MZ twins are treated more alike by the public than DZ twins due to them acting more like 'one' person rather than two separate people. This may effect how alike they are and how likely they both are to express aggression. As this evidence is not clear cut, psychologists also look at
"Some children recover well from privation, but others hardly recover at all". Outline research into the effects of privation and consider the extent to which the effects of privation can be reversed
"Some children recover well from privation, but others hardly recover at all". Outline research into the effects of privation and consider the extent to which the effects of privation can be reversed. Hodges and Tizard conducted a study on the effects of privation, in which they aimed to investigate the permanence of the long-term effects of privation due to institutionalisation. It was a longitudinal study with 65 participants and a control group, using a matched pairs design. The participants had all been institutionalised before the age of four months, and none of them had made attachments, therefore privation had happened. Hodges and Tizard found that the 24 participants who had been adopted before the age of 4 formed attachments and were emotionally fine. They recovered better from privation and formed closer attachments than those 15 participants who had been placed back in their homes with their parents. However, both those who had been adopted and those who had been restored showed difficulty forming relationships with peers and often were attention-seeking at school. Therefore this study shows that these participants did mostly recover from privation, but there were some long-lasting effects. However, there are some limitations to this study. Firstly, because it was a longitudinal study, there was a problem with sample group-off, which means that those children who
Dicuss one psychological theory of aggression
Discuss one social psychological theory of aggression. One social psychological theory is deindividuation. This is the loss of all self responsibility when somebody is in a large group i.e. at a football match. As there is less feeling of anonymity people feel less restrains on their behaviour and as a result people act more impulsively and follow behaviours that are surrounding them at the time. When a group is merged together then the feeling of individuality ceases. Gustave le Bon (1892) said that individuals 'transform' when part of a crowd, the crowd results in a collective mind taking possession of the individual. He also suggests that being in a large anonymous group leads to more anti social behaviours. Diener (1980) expanded on Le Bon's original theory stating that "poor monitoring of one's own behaviour, reduced concern to have social approval of one's behaviour, reduced constraints against behaving impulsively and reduced capacity to think rationally". There is a lot of research and real life applications supporting this theory. Zimbardo, who did a lot of research investigating this theory, did an experiment in 1969 called the shock experiment. He took two groups of four undergraduate females to deliver electric shocks to other students to help them in their learning. One group, the deindividuation group, wore bulky lab coats and hoods, they were addressed as a
Describe the main theoretical models of child abuse.(
Protecting children. Describe the main theoretical models of child abuse.(1D) Medical model, sociological model, psychological model, feminist model and contextual model are all theories relating to abuse. Although there are many different types of child abuse and many different reasons why it may occur, most cases have been wilted down to fit into one of the five main theories named above. Medical mode is when the reason for abused is classed as a disease or an illness. Kempe and Kempe were the inspiration for this theory when they described it as battered child syndrome which was linked to Bowlby's theory on attachment. Bowlby came to the conclusion that children who failed to form this bond with their mother in the first three years of the child's life would have problems in later life bonding with people and trusting people. He also described a child with a lack of bonding to be an affectionless psychopath, which he described to be someone who shows lack of guilt when done something wrong has difficulties showing emotion to things around them or someone with behaviour problems. Another affect of not having an attachment in this critical period as it was also known in Bowlby's eyes was development retardation which meant the child may grow up with learning difficulties or slower intellectual skills. So if the main caregiver failed to have a strong bond when they were
Outline the multi store model of memory with evidence to support it
Multi Store Model The multi store model of memory (or MSM) proposed by Atkinson and Schifrin (1968), was the first explanation of memory in terms of categorical stores. This model explains memory in terms of three stores: sensory, short term and long term memory. The first stage of the store is environmental stimuli; this consists of everything in our environment that has the potential of being perceived. This enters the sensory memory store, which is encoded in either iconic (visually) or echoic (auditory) forms. These are stored for less than a second, and unless attention is given to these stimuli will be lost through decay. By paying attention these stimuli enter the short term memory store, it is encoded acoustically and sometimes visually. Short term memory has a very limited capacity of 7+- 2. This means we can remember 5-9 items at a time. If we want to increase this we can chunk them. For example instead of remember 0 1 9 2 has four separate pieces of information, we can remember it as 0192, chunking them together as one piece, expanding what we can remember. However we can only keep this new information in our short term memory for 18 - 30 seconds based on rehearsal, where you keep the memory active by rehearsing it. This is called the rehearsal loop, by rehearsing the new information it stays in our STM, and if rehearsed enough it will enter the long term memory
Outline and evaluate the evolutionary theory of attachment.
AS Psychology Essay The Evolutionary Theory of Attachment The evolutionary theory of attachment as proposed by John Bowlby (1907-1990) suggests that attachment, in terms of adaptation, is essential for survival. In order to progress healthily, children are born with an innate tendency to form attachments. This means that infants are pre-programmed to become attached to their caregiver. Bowlby's evolutionary theory consists of a number of essential factors. The first is monotropy which refers to his suggestion that infants form one social bond with the person who is most sensitive to their social releases (i.e. their caregiver). This bond or attachment is a two-way process which is referred to as reciprocal. Furthermore, Bowlby proposed that infants develop an Internal Working Model which acts as a template for future relationships. This is based on the relationships between the infant and the primary caregiver. Finally, Bowlby also suggested that there is a critical period of 21/2 years where an attachment has to be formed. If not, the infant will experience social and emotional problems in late life. This theory can be both criticised and supported through studies carried out by several researchers. For instance; Konrad Lorenz (1952) was an ethologist who found that a group of goslings became attached to the first living thing they encountered. This immediate attachment
Outline the multi-store model of memory and consider its strengths and limitations
Outline the multi-store model of memory and consider its strengths and limitations (18marks) The multi store model of memory is an explanation of the flow of information through a series of stages. Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) believed that memory involved three different stores. These being sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory. They believed that to transfer information into the short-term memory it needs to be attended to (attention is focused on the information in sensory memory) and to transfer information from short-term memory into long-term memory the information needs to be rehearsed. Atkinson and Shiffrin found that when information passes through these stores it can be lost by forgetting. Their findings were that in sensory memory information is lost through decay, in short-term memory information is lost through displacement and in long-term memory information is lost as an affect of interference. Atkinson and Shiffrin also believed that rehearsal is needed for information to be transferred to long-term memory and how well it is rehearsed will determine how effective recall is. There are many strengths to consider in terms of the multi store model of memory. Previous studies such as Milner (1966 study of HM) and Baddeley (1997 Clive Wearing) support the theory that long-term memory and short-term memory are very different and separate systems.
Bowlby's Attachment Theory
Bowlby's Attachment Theory Findings form animal studies were a powerful influence on Bowlby's thoughts. He suggested too that there was a critical period for the development of attachments between infant and care giver. According to Bowlby infants display an innate tendency to become attached to one particular individual. He called this monotropy. He suggested this tendency was qualitatively different from any subsequent attachment a child might form. However, he did not suggest monotropy was absolute but that the child has a hierarchy of attachments. Bowlby thought that if a child was deprived of their mother between 6 months and five years of age then this would lead to difficulties in later life. They would be unable to form attachments with others and would be likely to turn to crime. He termed this as his maternal deprivation hypothesis. Bowlby suggested that separation experiences in early childhood caused affectionless psychopathy. This is the inability to have deep feelings for other people and, therefore, the lack of meaningful personal relationships. In his hypothesis, Bowlby believed that an infant's failure to attach to a primary caregirt hypothesis. Firstly, the terms 'attachment' and 'deprivation' will be defined. Following that, a full definition of the hypothesis will be made, and then an attempt will be made to describe and understand the studies and period
