4 » IB Psychology Review Michael Reimer, Garrett Brown, Soonwoo Kwon, Vince EramoLearning Outcome #6: Using one or more examples, explain functions of two hormones in human behavior. The main hormones we studied are adrenaline, cortisol, melatonin, oxytocin, testosterone, and estrogen Oxytocin, which is secreted in the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, has the job of creating and developing a mother-child attachment. It plays a role in lactation and childbirth, and it is released with hugs and touches. It is nicknamed “the love hormone” because of this. Melatonin, which is secreted in the pineal gland, regulates a person's sleep cycle. Melatonin is stimulated by darkness, and it peaks at night while gradually decreasing towards morning. As days get shorter, people begin getting tired earlier which is a possible explanation for some cases of SAD (Seasonal. Affective Disorder).Learning Outcome #7: Discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes One effect the environment has on physiological processes is jet lag. Jet lag occurs when a person travels to a time zone that is far different from theirs, and they must acclimate themselves to the new time zone. The body has an internal clock named the circadian rhythm, and when you change time zones you must change the times you eat, sleep, work, and exercise which are all things that are controlled by the circadian rhythm. A person's body may not cooperate with someone who is trying to adjust to the current time zone he/she is in. The physical time may be 7 p.m. but if the internal is at 3 a.m., the person will be tired and have trouble staying up to adjust to the new time zone. Another effect the environment has on physiological processes is through mirror neurons. A mirror neuron is basically a neuron that fires when someone observes another person performing an action. Mirror neurons may play a role in empathy, as when someone observes another being hit or are able to “fee!” the same hit or injury.Learning Outcome 20: Explain how one biological factor may affect one cognitive process Case study of Clive Wearing - In 1985 Clive was diagnosed with herpes encephalitis in his brain. It destroyed his ability to create new memories, as the disease significantly damaged his hippocampus when it was scanned using an MRI. As it was his hippocampus, which aids in the creation of new memories, that was damaged he still retains all the skills he had prior to the illness appearing.Learning Outcome 21: Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process Bartlett (1932) had Western individuals repeat a story “The War of the Ghosts” from memory. The story was written in a manner unnatural to the readers. When repeated, Bartlett found that the story was shortened, details changed, and details that were not culturally relevant were forgot. This finding was attributed to cultural schemes leading to people not recalling details that did not fit into their existing schemas.Learning Outcome 32: Evaluate Social Identity theory, making reference to relevant studies. Henri Tajfel's social identity theory assumes that individuals strive to improve their self image by trying to enhance their self-esteem based on either personal identity or various social identities. Indicates importance of social belonging and people boost their self esteem through personal achievement or affiliation with successful groups. An example study for this can be shown in Cialdini et al (1976). In this study it demonstrated that among college football supporters after a successful football match the supporters were more likely to be seen wearing college insignia and clothing then after defeats.Learning Outcome 33: Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior Campbell (1967) stated that there are two key sources to stereotype formation. One is personal experience with individuals and groups and the other one is gatekeepers- the media, parents and other members of the culture. However Hamilton and Gifford (1976) argued that stereotypes are the result of an illusory correlation- people see a relationship between two variables even when there is none. People tend to seek out information that supports this relationship which is called confirmation bias. This causes the individual to be resistant to change in thoughts. Effect: In 1995 Steele and Aronson wanted to see the effect of stereotype on performance. They used the same test except they presented it differently. In one test they said it was a “genuine test of their verbal abilities’ and the other test they said it was a “laboratory task that was used to study how certain problems are generally solved’. In the 1st test the African American scored lower than European American and vice versa for the second test. Proving that stereotypes can harm performances. Stereotype turns on the spotlight anxiety- causing emotional distress and press performance. This could naturally limit their educational prospects.Learning Outcome 47: Analyse etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive and/or sociocultural factors) for one disorder from two of the following groups: anxiety, affective, eating disorders Anxiety disorders stem from genetic variations mainly but can also develop in response to a traumatic event. Biologically, anxiety disorders can be passed down in genes. For example, Bipolar Disorder is passed down exclusively through genes. Cognitively, bipolar people swing between happiness and sadness as a result of an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain. Socioculturally, Bipolar people often have difficulty maintaining friendships because their manic episodes are difficult to control Eating disorders can come from either genetics or experiences, however. For example, sometimes people are more prone to developing Anorexia as a result of genetic predisposition, but their predisposition doesn't directly cause Anorexia. Anorexia develops from a flawed cognitive process that closely mirrors that of obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder. OCD often is the root of anorexia. Anorexic patients may feel that they are never thin enough and that their anxiety can only be suppressed by fasting for hours.Learning Outcome 48: Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders Bipolar disorder - in western countries, mental disabilities are more commonly diagnosed and recognized. However, in eastern asian countries, sometimes people suffering from disorders go undiagnosed. This is primarily due to societal pressures relating to working hard and being presentable to peers. As a result, bipolar patients often do not get treatment in eastern countries. 0.06% of the world is diagnosed bipolar, although the number of unreported cases leads many researchers to believe that the percentage of bipolar people in the world is actually closer to 1%. The rate of men to women is 1.11 to 1 Depression- the same fact regarding western and eastern countries and diagnosis also applies to depression the same way to bipolar disorder. More women have depression than men and only in western countries is depression really diagnosed. Eastern countries see depression as more of a social taboo to be diagnosed with.Essay Prompts tN16. Evaluate Schema Theory Define Schema Schemas are cognitive structures that organize knowledge stored in our memory. They are a mental representation of categories from our knowledge, beliefs and expectations about particular aspect such as people, objects, events, ete. Expand upon the definition ‘* Knowledge that is stored in our memory is organized as a set of schemas which represent the general knowledge about the world, people, events, objects actions that has been acquired from past experience. Tell what types of schemas exist, ‘* Scripts- provides information about the sequence of events that occur in particular contexts ‘* Self Schemas- organizes information we have about ourselves ‘* Social schemas-represent information about groups of people Define Schema Theory ‘* Cognitive theory of processing and organizing information ‘* Schema theory states that as active processors of information, humans integrate new infor stored informationExpand upon this theory Information that we already know that are organized in form of schemas will affect information processing and behavior Because it's not possible to see how knowledge is processed and stored in our brain, schema theory helps us understand and discuss what we cannot see. Say what you will do in the essay Schema theory will be evaluated on its strengths and limitations and studies with the effect of schema on memory will be referenced, One study with Schema Bartlett (1932) asked participants to read “The war of the ghosts” - the Native American folktale and tested their memory used setial reproduction and repeated reproduction, Both methods led to similar results, as number of reproduction increased story became shorter. Found that recalled stories were distorted and altered in various ways making it more conventional and acceptable in their own cultural perspective, Concluded memory is inaccurate due to being influenced by reconstruction and pre-existing schemas and this study helps explain the understanding of schemas- people reconstruct the stories so that it makes more sense in terms of their knowledge,Define strengths of this theory ‘* Support by lots of research to suggest schemas affect memory processing knowledge ‘* Throughout supporting studies schema theorys was demonstrated in its usefulness for understanding how memory is categorized, how influences are made,how stories are interpreted, memory distortions and social cognition. Define weaknesses ‘* Not clear exactly- vague. Doesn't show how schema is acquired, influence cognitive processes, how people choose between relevant schemas when categorizing, ‘* Lacks explanation Conclude- ‘* Overall with the amount of evidence schema theory should be considered an important theory that provides insight into information processing and behavior and it has contributed to our understanding of mental processes. ‘* However the theory requires further research and refinement to overcome its limitation and uncover unclear aspects.18. Discuss why TWO particular research methods are used at the Biological level of analysis. Define the biological level of analysis ‘* The BLA claims all cognitions, emotions, and behaviors have a physiological basis, Outline in general what a research method is and why they are used ‘* Method for collecting data to analyze a hypothesis ‘* Research methods are ways for researchers to use and manipulate their studies State a few of the main research methods used in psychology which are © Experiments Case Studies Observational Studies Interviews Surveys/Questionnaires Correlational StudiesIntroduce possible biases in psychological research © Researcher bias - researchers only see/find what they are looking for © Observer bias - participants act differently in an attempt to influence their results in relation to the study State which research methods are prevalent at the BLA to lead into the body paragraphs ‘* Inbiological psychology, symptoms and disorders arise from physiological processes, such as hormones, and cannot be directly observed ‘© These theories are tested using experiments and case studies which are the two most common research methods used at the BLA Research Method #1: Experiments (Body Paragraph) Define what an experiment is © Experiments are used to determine cause and effect relationships between two variables Outline how experiments are used ‘© Typically used by manipulating an independent variable (IV) and measuring a dependent variable (DV) ‘© Attempt to control all other extraneous variablesExplain three designs of experiments © Laboratory * Field Strengths - Strict control over variables, easy to replicate, high reliability and validity, and permits elimination of irrelevant factors Weaknesses - Hawthorne effect: participants try to perform in a way they think meets researcher's expectations, Screw- you effect: participants act in a way that might sabotage researcher's aims, and Demand characteristics: Effects that, ‘occur from participants guessing the aims of the research and acting accordingly Strengths - High ecological validity, because of the very natural setting ~ certain measures may be more representative ofreality ‘Weaknesses - Not all extraneous variables can be controlled. Poor control as a result of placing it in a natural or real-life setting, and not easily replicable Strengths - Extremely ecologically valid, and used when the IV cannot be produced in a laboratory setting Weaknesses - No control over variables as they occur naturally, cannot be replicated, as it occurs rarely, low reliability, and researcher may have to wait for a long period of time to measure the desired behavior when trying to replicate it or look for similar phenomenon‘* Outline why experiments are used © Itis considered to be the most scientific research method © Determines cause-effect relationship between two variables (IV & DV) ‘* Outline popular experiments used in the BLA. © Raine (1997) -lab experiment - looked at measures of cortical and subcortical brain functioning using PET scans in a group of murderers who pleaded not guilty due to insanity © Rosenzweig and Bennett (1972) -lab experiment - To investigate whether environmental factors such as a rich or an impoverished environment affect development of neurons in the cerebral cortex Research Method #2: Case Studies © Outline how case studies are used ‘© Indepth study of an individual or small group Because of this, case studies obtain information that may not be identifiable by using other research methods © Case studies are considered a qualitative research method, however quantitative data may be collected as well ‘© They involve the use of a combination of several research methods such as interviews and observ ‘The conclusions are more valid than what may be gained from any of these research mOutline why case studies are used © To obtain enriched data © To study unusual psychological phenomena © Stimulates new research into an unusual phenomena © To study a particular variable that cannot be produced in a laboratory. © To obtain other information they may not be able to get from other methods. Outline why case studies are not used - limitations © Researchers may develop more personal relationships with participants may result in subjective data or different behavior of participants and researchers © Results of case studies are affected by the researcher's interpretations may be subjective and influenced by the researcher's beliefs, © May cost a lot of time, effort & money due to the amount of data and time of a case study © Cannot be replicated Outline case studies used in the BLA © Harlow - "Phineas Gage" (1848) - Aim: To investigate the localisation of function in Phineas Gage's case of how his brain damage resulted in a change of behaviour © Broca- "Tan’ (1861) - Aim: Broca wanted to investigate Tan's unusually language abj brain