Ap Psych PART 1

Article Title: The Split Brain in Man
Reading: 1 Year of Publication: 1967 Page Numbers: 1-11

Major Psychologists or
Study Author/s:
M.S. Gazzaniga and Roger W. Sperry

Theoretical Proposition:
(What aspects of human
behavior were the
researchers interested
in?)
- Explore the extent to which the two halves of the human brain are able to
function independently, and if they have separate and unique abilities

Methods of Study:
(How did the
psychologists conduct
their research?)
3 tests:
- visual abilities: used a technique that only allowed an image to be
transmitted only to the visual field of either the left or right brain
- tactile stimulation: they could feel, but not see, an object, block letter, or a
word in block letters. The visual and tactile tests could be performed at the
same time
- auditory abilities: verbally asked to find and identify objects in a bag only
using touch and specifically using only one hand.
Study Results and
Significance:
- 2 different brains can exist in one cranium, each with complex abilities
- left brain is better at speaking, writing, math, reading, and is the primary
center for language
- right brain is better at recognizing faces, solving problems involving spatial
relationships, symbolic reasoning, and artistic activities
- researchers continue to uncover the amazing complexities of the human
brain
- this discovery helps doctors treat victims of stroke or head injury
Criticisms: - main criticism focuses on the way the idea of right- and left- brain
specialization has filtered down to popular culture and the media
- popular myths state that someone is more right-brained or left-brained,
suggesting that we have two brains that can function on their own.
- You can only function properly with both hemispheres
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- 1998 study in France questions the foundations of this study (children born
with out corpus callosum and can still transmit information between the
hemispheres)
- 1998 study in US said split-brain patients may perceive the world
differently (communication between your right and left hemispheres is
necessary for imagining in your mind the movements of others)
- 2003 study suggests that your more dominant hemisphere will lead you
toward specific interests and professions
Personal Reflection: - this study is very interesting, especially after taking the junior theology
class, The Paschal Mystery, because we talk about the left and right brain
and how people can be more left-brained or right-brained.

Article Title: Brain Changes in Response to Experience

Reading: 2 Year of Publication: 1972 Page Numbers:11-18

Study Author/s:
M.R. Rosenzweig, E.L. Bennett, and M.C. Diamond

behavior were the
in?)
- animals raised in highly stimulating enviroments will demonstrate
differences in brain growth and chemistry when compared with animals
reared in plain or dull circumstances
- in every experiment they used 12 set s of 3 male rats, each set from the
same litter
Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- 3 rats were assigned randomly to live in 1 of 3 cages for 4-10 weeks:
1) standard lab colony cage w/ several rats in an adequate space with food
and water always available
2) impoverished cage was slightly smaller and was isolated in a separate
room in which the rat was placed alone with adequate food and water.
3) Enriched environment had 6-8 rats in a large cage with a variety of toys
- Then they were examined to see if there were any differences the brain
development
- Brains were measured, weighed, and analyzed to determine amount of cell
growth and neurotransmitter activity. They were especially looking for the
enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, which allows for faster and more efficient
transmission of impulses among brain cells.
Study Results and
Significance:
- The brains of the enriched rats were very different from the brains of the
impoverished rats
- The enriched rats had a heavier and thicker cerebral cortex and the enzyme
was found in their brain tissue. They produced larger neurons, implying
that a higher level of chemical activity had taken place in their brains. The
synapses of the enriched rats were larger than the impoverished rats
synapses, allowing for increased brain activity.
Criticisms: - Maybe it wasnt the enriched environment that produced the brain changes
but other differences in the treatment of the rats
- Does it apply to humans?
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Learning itself is enhanced by enriched environmental experience
- Brains of adult animals raised in impoverished environments can improve
if placed in an enriched environment.
- Proved to be true for humans too through careful autopsies of humans who
died naturally
- Weiss and Bellinger (2006) when children are raised in poverty, not only is
their developmental environment likely to be impoverished, but they may
also be at a greater risk of exposure to neurotoxic chemicals
- The Mozart Effect
Personal Reflection: - This study interests me because of the subsequent research section, where
it says that learning can be enhanced by enriched environmental
experience.

Article Title: Sources of Human Psychological Differences: the Minnesota study of Twins reared apart


Study Author/s:
T. Bouchard, D. Lykken, N. Segal, and A. Tellegen

behavior were the
in?)
- How much influence do your genes have in determining your personal
psychological qualities?
- Monozygotic reared-apart (MZA) vs. Monozygotic reared-together (MZT)

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Participants: MZA and MZT twins
- Procedure: each twin completed 4 personality tests, 3 aptitude and
occupational interest inventories, 2 intelligence tests, checklist of household
belongings, a family environment scale that measured how they felt about
the parenting they received from their adoptive parents, a life history
interview, a psychiatric interview, and a sexual history interview. Each twin
was assessed separately, so they wouldnt be influenced by each other.
Study Results and
Significance:
- Genome appears to account for most of the variations in a variety of human
characteristics
- MZA grew into adults who were similar in appearance as well as basic
psychology and personality
- There was little effect of the environment on MZT
- Family environments exert less influence over who the kids grow up to be
than do the genes they inherit from birth
- Peoples tendencies actually mold their environments
Criticisms: - Some studies claim that the researchers are not publishing their data as fully
and completely as they should, and, therefore, their findings cant be
independently evaluated.
- Equal environment assumption: many of the conclusions drawn by
Bouchard and Lykken about genetic influence assume that monozygotic and
dizygotic twins raised together develop in identical environments. They say
this assumption isnt valid
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- The vocation you choose is largely determined by your genes but also about
30% of the variation in your overall job satisfaction and work ethic is due to
genetic factors
- Genomes effect: extraversion-introversion, neuroticism, and
conscientiousness
- They have studied peoples selection of a mate to see if falling in love with
Mr. or Ms. Right is genetically predisposed. Its not. But theyve found a
genetic link to likelihood of divorce, eating disorders, and life expectancy
Personal Reflection: - After reading this selection, I find that it makes sense that our intelligence
and personalities are genetically predisposed and that our environments are
products of our personalities

Article Title: The visual cliff


Study Author/s:
E.J Gibson and R.D. Walk

behavior were the
in?)
- At what stage in development can a person or animal respond effectively to
the stimuli of depth and height? Do these responses appear at different
times with animals of different species and habitats? Are these responses
preprogrammed at birth or do they develop as a result of experience and
learning?
Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Visual cliff: 4 ft high table with thick, clear glass as the top. Directly under
half the table is a pattern surface. The same pattern surface is on the floor,
under the other half of the glass table. It looks like a sudden drop-off, but in
reality, the glass extends all the way across the table. A center board about a
foot wide was placed in the drop-off.
- 36 infants (6-14 months old) and mothers participated. The mother would
call for the baby to move across the table
- baby animals were also brought in for testing
Study Results and
Significance:
- 9 babies refused to move from the center board
- 27 babies crawled to their moms on the safe side
- only 3 babies crawled off the visual cliff, the rest either crawled away from
the mom on the shallow side or cried in frustration at being unable to reach
the mom without moving off the cliff
- this doesnt prove that humans ability to perceive depth is innate or
learned, because they had 6 months of experience
- the baby animals learn to move within days (chicks, goats) and they were
able to not fall off the visual cliff
- if they are to survive, they need to develop the ability to perceive depth by
the time the can move independently
- this capacity is inborn
Criticisms: - whether they really proved that depth perception is innate in humans
- another study with infants of 2-5 months showed that when placed on the
deep side of the table, their heart rate decreased, instead of increase, which
should happen when scared
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- they used the visual cliff but changed the height of the drop to 30 inches.
When on the edge of the cliff, the baby would stop and look down,
sometimes, the mother on the other side looked scared. Then the baby
would not crawl over. When the mom looked happy, the baby would check
the cliff and then crawl over. When the cliff was made flat, the baby would
just crawl over. This is social referencing
- study researched how toddlers analyze the characteristics of tasks involving
heights (crossing a bridge)
Personal Reflection: - This is kind of blows my mind but I dislike the fact that they used babies.
The poor things.

Article Title: The Origin of Form Perception


Study Author/s:
R.L Fantz

behavior were the
in?)
- pinpoint when perceptual skills develop
- determine the degree of complexity of their perceptual skills

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- place babies (1-15 weeks old) in a comfortable, padded viewing box and
presented various pairs of objects for them to look at. They were presented
with solid and textured disks, spheres, an oval with a human face, an oval
with a jumbled up human face, and shapes and patterns of various paired
combinations
-
Study Results and
Significance:
- infants preferred the objects with the greatest complexity. This was true for
all the ages, proving that form perception is innate
- infants depend on other people to care for them, their perceptual tendencies
favor the human face, this was present at birth
-
Criticisms:

- No criticism

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- his methods and discoveries have led to more studies into the perceptual
abilities of the infant (the visual cliff)
- babies can also become bored staring at the same stimulus over and over
- infants as of 4 months old can distinguish between a possible and an
impossible object
-
Personal Reflection: - this study is interesting because it led to more studies regarding the
perceptual abilities of human infants

Articles Title: Regularly occurring periods of eye mobility and concomitant phenomena during sleep &
The effect of dream deprivation

Reading: 6 Year of Publication: 1953 &1960 Page Numbers: 43-49

Study Author/s:
E. Aserinsky and N. Kleitman and W. Dement

behavior were the
in?)
- Would it be possible for human beings to continue to function normally if
their dream life were completely or partially suppressed?
- Should dreaming be considered necessary in psychological sense or a
physiological sense or both?
- Study participants who had been somehow deprived of the chance to dream

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Participants: all male (23-32)
- Electrode were attached to record brain-wave patterns and eye movements
- They slept in a quiet, dark room and were allowed to sleep normally for the
first few nights. Then, once they were REM sleeping (dreaming) they would
be fully woken up and then allowed to sleep again.
- They could not sleep at any other time
- Recovery phase: allowed to sleep undisturbed
- Then they were given nights off and came back for dream deprivation
nights where they would be woken up after their dream ended. Then they
were given recovery nights again
Study Results and
Significance:
- Amount of time spent dreaming was similar from participant to participant
- During dream-deprivation nights, they were progressively getting woken up
more and more as the nights passed
- Increase in dreaming time after they were prevented from dreaming for
several nights
- We need to dream, the pressure to dream increases over successive dream-
deprivation nights
- Behavioral changes: anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, increase
in appetite (gained 3-5 lbs)
Criticisms:
none

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- People are deprived of REM sleep when drinking alcohol and drugs, so
when they quit, the REM rebound effect is so strong that they return to the
drug because they want to avoid dreaming. Sometimes its so strong, it can
happen while theyre awake, which explains what happens during
withdrawals
- We might be able to dream during NREM sleep too?
- Humans are diurnal creatures?
Personal Reflection: - I find this fascinating because dreams are such an unknown. I usually dont
dream.

Article Title: The brain as a dream-state generator: An activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream
process

Study Author/s:
J.A. Hobson, and R.W. McCarley
behavior were the
in?)
- Dreams are triggered by basic physiological processes, and there is no
censor distorting the true meaning to protect you from your unconscious
wishes. The strangeness and distortions are results of the physiology of how
the brain and mind work during sleep
- REM sleep causes dreams, not the reverse

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Study and review previous work by researchers in the area of dream and
sleep
- Using lab techniques they were able to stimulate or inhibit certain parts of
the cats brains and record the effect on dreaming sleep

Study Results and
Significance:
- Your brain can control physical movement while sleeping but your spinal
cord paralyzes you (except for the muscles and nerves controlling the eyes)
- The D state is preprogrammed event in the brain that functions almost like a
neurobiological clock
- Dreaming sleep is purely physiological because mammals sleep cycles vary
based on size, the smaller and more vulnerable to predators, the more it
shifts from REM to NREM
- Because a part of the brain completely separate from the pontine brain stem
is involved in consciousness, dreaming cannot be driven be psychological
forces
- Images are called up from your memory to match the data generated by the
brain stems activation. It is because of the randomness of the impulses, and
the difficult task of the brain to try to inject them with some meaning that
dreams are often bizarre, disjointed, and seemingly mysterious
- You dont remember a dream because the chemistry of your brain
immediately changes when you wake up and certain chemicals necessary
for converting short-term memories into long-term ones are suppressed
during REM sleep

Criticisms: - Has not been universally accepted (Freudian supporters)

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Dreams do have meaning, but should be read more straight forward
- Dreams dont have hidden unconscious messages, but they do tell us a lot
about the importance of your memories and insight to your thinking process

Personal Reflection: - This is interesting because its not interesting. This is boring.

Article Title: Hypnotic Behavior: A cognitive, social, psychological perspective


Study Author/s:
N.P. Spanos

behavior were the
in?)
- All the behaviors commonly attributed to a hypnotic trance state are within
normal, voluntary abilities of humans. The only reason people define
themselves as having been hypnotized is that they have interpreted their
own behavior under hypnosis in ways that are consistent with their
expectations about being hypnotized

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- A group of studies conducted prior to 1982 designed to support his position
countering Hilgards contention that hypnosis is a unique state of
consciousness
Study Results and
Significance:
- Participants interpret their behavior during hypnosis as caused by something
other than the self, making it seem involuntary
- The hypnosis ritual creates expectations in participants, which in turn
motivates them to behave in ways that are consistent with their expectations
- A persons susceptibility to hypnosis correlates with his or her general
tendency to become absorbed in other activities, such as books, music, or
daydreaming
- People will enact their experience of hypnosis according to how they
believe they are supposed to behave
- Participants who participate in both conditions expect the ritual of hypnosis
to produce more intense imagery, and therefore, they rate it accordingly

Criticisms:
- Whether or not hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness remains a
highly controversial issue

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- People enter hypnosis with the intention to do what the hypnotist suggests
- They strongly expect that hypnosis has the power to mold their behavior
whether they voluntarily cooperated or not
- Question certain therapeutic practices often employed by some
psychotherapists to induce clients to recover ostensibly repressed
memories of past sexual abuse

Personal Reflection: - His claim makes sense to me because I can understand why someone can
only be hypnotized if they are willing to cooperate with the hypnotist

Article Title: Conditioned Reflexes


Study Author/s:
I.P. Pavlov

behavior were the
in?)
- Unconditioned reflexes: inborn and automatic, require no learning, and are
generally the same for all members of a species.
- Conditional reflexes: acquired through experience or learning and may vary
a great deal among individual members of a species
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) forms unconditioned reflexes and produces
unconditioned response (UCR)
- Conditioned reflexes consist of a conditioned stimulus (CS) producing a
conditioned response (CR)
- How are conditioned reflexes acquired?

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Put dogs in soundproof labs that allowed for complete isolation of the dogs
from the experimenters and from all extraneous stimuli during the
experimenters and the animals
- At first gave dogs food without them hearing the metronome, then gave
them food allowing them to hear the metronome (repeat several times) then
only let them hear the metronome without giving them food
- Also did this with the odor of vanilla and a rotating object

Study Results and
Significance:
- The metronome, vanilla odor, and rotating object had become conditioned
stimuli for the conditioned response of salivation
- Theories of classical conditioning explained a major portion of human
behavior and helped to launch psychology as a true science
- Classical conditioning focuses on reflexive behavior

Criticisms: - No criticism, its universally accepted and unchanged

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Where phobias come from, why you dislike certain foods, the source of
your emotions, how advertising works, why you feel anxiety before a job
interview or an exam, and what arouses you sexually

Personal Reflection: - This is interesting to me because I have begun to notice this theory when I
am making food for my dog or taking her for a walk

Article Title: Conditioned emotional responses


Study Author/s:
J.B. Watson, and R. Rayner

behavior were the
in?)
- If a stimulus automatically produces a certain emotion in you and that
stimulus is repeatedly experienced at the same moment as something else, it
will eventually become associated in your brain with that emotion
- Like the classical conditioning
- Fears are learned through conditioning

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Subject: Little Albert was a 9 months old orphan from the hospital
- Neutral stimuli: white rat, rabbit, monkey, dog, masks with and without
hair, and whit cotton wool (no fear)
- Unconditioned stimulus: steel bar banged with a hammer= loud noise, made
him scared
- At 11 months, they presented Albert with the NS and then made the loud
noise

Study Results and
Significance:
- Albert was scared of all the NS because he associated them with the noise
- They even made him scared of an image of Santa Clause
- He continued to be scared of these things months after
- They planned on reconditioning him so he wouldnt be scared, but he was
adopted and never reconditioned
- All human behavior stems from learning and conditioning
- Our behavior doesnt stem from unconscious processes( Freud was wrong)

Criticisms: - This isnt ethical
- How could they let someone grow into adulthood with all of these fears still
there
- Extinction: condition and unconditioning processes we experience
throughout our lives

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Behaviorism
- You learn to have certain emotions when in certain situations
- Theories of effective parenting and psychotherapy
- Facial expression of emotions in infants

Personal Reflection: - The study is interesting but that fact that they allow people to continue to
have these fears is totally immoral and unethical. I am quite disgusted.

Article Title: Superstition in the pigeon


Study Author/s:
B.F. Skinner

behavior were the
in?)
- People behave superstitiously because they believe a connection exists
between the behavior in a certain setting and a reinforcing consequence,
even though, it doesnt.
- The connection exists because it was accidently reinforced once, twice, or
several times (noncontigent reinforcement)

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Skinner box: a cage or box that is empty except for a dish or tray into which
food may be dispensed (lets the experimenter control when the animal
receives reinforcement)
- Pigeons were given less food for several days so they could be hungry, and
then were given food every 15 seconds regardless of what they were doing
- After several days, they observed the birds behavior

Study Results and
Significance:
- In 6 out of 8 cases the resulting responses were so clearly defined that two
observers could agree perfectly in counting instances.
- The pigeons behaved as if a certain action would produce the food
(superstitious)
- This can be applied to humans too (the bowler who does the weird dance
after he lets the ball go)

Criticisms: - Strict behavorial view is unable to account for many of the psychological
processes that are fundamental to humans

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Bruner and Revuski study on superstitious behavior in humans
- Comparing two types of reinforcement in the development of superstitious
behavior (positive vs. negative reinforcement)
- Superstitious behavior occurred when there was nega tive reinforcement
- Boys with ADHD possessed significantly less ability to cope with delays of
reinforcement than did the comparison group of boys

Personal Reflection: - This is interesting because I began comparing that to my superstitions to see
if it was true.

Article Title: Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models


Study Author/s:
A. Bandura, D. Ross, and S.A. Ross

behavior were the
in?)
- Children exposed to aggressive models would imitate the adult and engage
in similar aggressive behaviors, even if they are no longer present
- Children exposed to nonaggressive models would not only be less
aggressive than those who observed the aggression but also significantly
less aggressive than a control group who were exposed to no model
- Children would imitate the behavior of the same-sex model to a greater
degree than a model of the opposite sex.
- Boys would be more predisposed than girls toward imitating aggression, the
difference being most marked for subjects exposed to the male model
Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- 48 kids were divided into 2 groups: aggressive models and nonaggressive
models. These groups were divided again into males and females. These
groups were divided into same-sex models and opposite-sex models
- took kid to the playroom with toys, inviting the model to play too, when in
the room, kid was given some stickers and stamps to play with and model
was given tinkertoys, a mallet, and the punching Bobo doll. Aggressive
models attacked Bobo violently, exactly the same, and nonaggressive
models ignored Bobo
- after, kids were taken to another room with good toys (dolls, firetrucks, etc)
then they were told they couldnt play with these toys, but could play with
others in another room
- then they were taken to a room with both aggressive and nonaggressive toys
they played for 20 minutes and watched through one-way glass
Study Results and
Significance:
- kids who were exposed to the violent models tended to imitate the exact
violent behaviors they observed and specific violent acts werent imitated in
children with nonviolent models or control group
- nonaggressive exposed kids were not really less aggressive then control
- same-sex aggressive conditions, girls were more likely to imitate verbal
aggression, while boys would imitate physical violence
- boys are much more aggressive
Criticisms:
None
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- live adult models have stronger influences than the filmed adult, who was
more influential than the cartoon
- kids imitated violence more when they saw it rewarded, but less when they
saw it punished

Personal Reflection: - Interesting because I can apply this to me and my brothers growing up

Article Title: Teachers Expectancies: Determinates of pupils IQ gains


Study Author/s:
R. Rosenthal, and L. Jacobson

behavior were the
in?)
- When an elementary teacher is provided with information that creates
certain expectancies about students potential whether strong or weak, the
teacher might unknowingly behave in ways that subtly encourage or
facilitate the performance of the students seen as more likely to succeed.

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Students in grades 1-6 took the TOGA at the beginning of the year.
Teachers thought they were taking a test thats a predictor of academic
blooming, which they didnt.
- Each teacher was given a list of students who scored in the top 20% of the
predictor test, but the list was just a bunch of random students names
- At the end of the year, the students took the TOGA again and experimenters
compared the results

Study Results and
Significance:
- The students for whom the teachers had expected greater intellectual growth
averaged significantly greater improvement than did the control children
- The expectancy effect demonstrated in lab settings also appeared to function
in less experimental, real-world situations
- The effect was very strong in the early grades, yet almost nonexistent for
the older children

Criticisms: - May be a bit unethical

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Filmed teacher-student interactions when with a bright student and not a
bright student.
- Teacher was favorable to these students which affects whether they enjoy
school, receive constructive comments, work harder to improve, not just IQ

Personal Reflection: - We see this a lot in todays education system yet no one does anything
about it. Teachers may say that they dont have favorites, but they lie, they
so have favorites.

Article Title: Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences

Reading: 14 Year of Publication: 1983 Page Numbers: 110

Study Author/s:
H. Gardner

behavior were the
in?)
- Multiple intelligences theory (MI theory) based on much more than
observing the various, diverse mental skills people can demonstrate
- Human brain is not only diverse in its abilities but also extremely
specialized in its functioning
- Different parts of the human brain are responsible for different aspects of
intelligence or different intelligences all together

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- 8 indicators that define an intelligence: (1) potential isolation of the
intelligence by brain damage (2) the existence of savants, prodigies, and
other exceptional individuals relating to intelligence (3) a clear set of
information-processing operations linked to the intelligence (4) a distinctive
developmental history of the intelligence and the potential to reach high
levels of expertise (5) evidence that the intelligence has developed through
evolutionary time (6) ability to study the intelligence with psychological
experiments (7) ability to measure the intelligence with existing
standardized tests (8) aspects of the intelligence may be represented by a
system of symbols

Study Results and
Significance:
- types of intelligence found:
- linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic,
intrapersonal, and interpersonal intelligence

Criticisms: - they are just different thinking styles, not separate intelligences
- theory contains too many embedded contradictions to be valid
- can be molded conveniently to explain any cognitive activity making it
impossible to prove or disprove

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- people are smart in different ways
- enhancing the educational process for children and adults
- naturalist intelligence
- existential intelligence

Personal Reflection: - I find comfort in that there isnt just one way to be smart. People cannot be
compared with each other because they each possess different types of
intelligence.

Article Title: Cognitive maps in rats and men

Study Author/s:
E.C. Tolman

behavior were the
in?)
- The true nature and complexity of learning could not be fully understood
without an examination of the internal mental processes that accompany the
observable stimuli and responses
- Even though internal cognitive processes could not be directly observed ,
they could be objectively and scientifically inferred from observable
behavior
Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Latent learning: rats placed in mazes. Control group was given food at the
end of the maze, group N never received a reward, and group D at first had
no rewards and then were given a reward later
- Spatial orientation: rats placed in a maze and learned the maze to near
perfection. Then they changed the maze to a sunburst pattern, blocking the
original path the rats took to get to the food.
Study Results and
Significance:
- Latent learning: control group learned the maze in 2 weeks. But, when
group D discovered the reward, they learned it in 3 days. Group N never
learned the maze.
- During 10 days prior to reward, group D was learning much more about the
maze than they were showing. They were making a mental map and could
utilize it as soon as they were motivated to do so
- Spatial orientation: most rats chose path 6 of the sunburst which ran about 4
inches from where the reward box had been placed in the previous maze.
The cognitive mas that are produced are more than strip maps, they are
much broader, comprehensive, or conceptual maps that give organisms a
cognitive lay of the land
Criticisms:
none

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Cognitive psychology is one of the most active and influential subfields of
the behavioral sciences today
- Environmental psychology: human behavior and the environment in which
it occurs. Environmental cognition, cognitive maps.
- How birds rely on the location of the sun to find landmarks and create
cognitive maps for their migratory treks
- You use cognitive maps when going on the internet.
Personal Reflection: - I find it interesting that scientists rely on rats so much and that rats are
easily manipulated. What a sad life they live/

Article Title: Leading questions and the eyewitness report


Study Author/s:
E.F. Loftus

behavior were the
in?)
- The power of questions containing presuppositions to alter a persons
memory of an event
- If eyewitnesses are asked questions that contain a false presupposition about
the witnessed event, the new false information may be incorporated into the
witnesss memory of the even and appear subsequently in new testimony by
the witness
Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Experiment 1: shown a film of an accident and then given a questionnaire,
half of quiz had a question implying that there was a stop sign, the other
half didnt.
- 2: shown a film about protestor entering a classroom. Later given a
questionnaire, one asking if leader of 12 was male, the other asking if leader
of 4 was male. 1 week later, given another test, asking how many protestors
there were.
- 3: they watched a film with a car driving in a country road. Questionnaire 1
asked, how fast was it going when it passed the barn. Questionnaire 2
asked, how fast was it going when it was driving along the countryside. 1
week later, quizzed, and asked if they saw a barn
- 4: three groups shown a film with an accident. Group D was asked direct
questions about nonexistent objects. Group F was asked questions with false
presuppositions. Group c was only given filler questions. One week later,
they all answered a quiz with the direct questions.
Study Results and
Significance:
- Experiment 1: when asked if they saw a stop sign, 53% of the first half saw
a stop sign while only 26% of the second half saw a stop sign
- 2: people with 12 demonstrators saw an average of 8.85. People with 4
demonstrators saw and average of 6.40. the wording of one question altered
the way participants remembered the basic characteristics of a witnessed
event
- 3: 17.3% of barn people saw a barn, 2.7% of non barn people saw a barn.
- 4: 29.4% of group F saw nonexistent objects. 15.6% of group D saw
nonexistent objects. 8.4% of group c saw nonexistent objects.
Criticisms: none
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Lawyers complicated questions negatively affect eyewitness accuracy and
confidence
- When eyewitnesses are shown more than one photographic line up of
criminal suspects, their accuracy in identifying the correct perpetrator
decreases as they incorporate the new faces into their reconstruction of the
event.
Personal Reflection: Its pretty cool, actually may be not really cool. Because I am bored.

Article Title: The nature of love


Study Author/s:
H.F. Harlow

behavior were the
in?)
- Infant monkeys must have some basic need for close contact with
something soft and comforting in addition to primary biological needs such
as hunger and thirst.

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- They built 2 surrogate monkey mommies, one was soft and the other was
not. They were both warm, gave milk, and were easy to cling to.
- In one cage of infant monkeys, the soft mom was not supplying milk, they
babies had a bottle. In the other cage, the wire mom was supplying milk
- Later, a wind up toy bear was placed in the cage too to scare the babies and
see if they seek comfort in their mothers
- Babies were placed in an unfamiliar room with different toys and
sometimes with the soft mom, wire mom, and no mom.
- Once they were 6 months and were on solid food, babies were separated
from moms and then reunites in the unfamiliar room
Study Results and
Significance:
- The monkeys were given access to both mothers but half of them were fed
by the bottle and the other half by the wire mom. They all preferred the soft
mom
- Contact comfort was more important than fundamental needs for survival
- Infants from wire mother did not digest milk well and had diarrhea
- When scared, they still ran to the cloth mother
- In the unfamiliar room, the monkeys clutched to the soft mother and then
explored. When no mom was in the room, they freaked out and started
crying, they did the same when with the wire mom
- After the separation and then placed in the unfamiliar room with the soft
mom, they clutched to her and then played with her, not leaving to explore
the room.
Criticisms: - Ethics? Why perform such experiments on baby monkeys?
- Is this applicable to humans?
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Institutionalized children need to be touched and held by staff members,
nurses, and volunteers as much as possible
- Offered encouragement and optimism that nonmaternal caregivers are
perfectly able to be effective parents
- Enhanced views about adoption
- Also draws attention to child abuse, children are still attached to their
abusers.
Personal Reflection: - I find it interesting that individuals need a sense of safety and familiarity to
be comfortable.

Article Title: The development of object concept


Study Author/s:
J. Piaget

behavior were the
in?)
- During childhood, humans progress through four stages of cognitive
development that always occur in the same sequence and at approximately
the same ages.
- No standardized IQ tests, but an verbal interview, to see the processes
underlying the kids reasoning
- Object permanence: you ability to know that an object exists even when it is
hidden from your senses
Methods of Study:

- Unstructured evaluation methods: infants cant be interviewed, so these
techniques often took the form of games he could play with his children
Study Results and
Significance:
- 6 substages of sensori-motor stage that leads to object permanence:
- Stage 1: 0-1 months. relating to feeding and touching.
- Stage 2: 1-4 months. repeat certain behaviors that center on the infants own
body. Able to follow objects with eyes, if object leaves visual field and fails
to reappear, the child turns it attention away with no signs of looking for the
object. If object reappears in the same place, child will look at place longer.
- Stage 3: 4-10 months. Manipulate objects they encounter in their
environment. Rapid eye movement occurs. First signs of object permanence
appear
- Stage 4: 10-12 months. Child knows that objects continue to exist even
when the objects no longer visible, but doesnt understand visible
displacements (the A-not-B effect)
- Stage 5: 12-18 months. Follow visible sequential displacements and
searches for an object where it was last visibly hidden. Unable to
understand invisible displacements.
- Stage 6: 18-24 months. Ability to represent mentally objects that undergo
invisible displacements occurs.
- Object permanence is the foundation for all subsequent advances in
intellectual ability
Criticisms: - Theorists disagree, saying that intellectual development is continuous,
without any particular sequence built into the process
- The age ranges of the stages are incorrect
- Methods were inadequate to measure accurately the abilities of very young
infants because they required motor skills that they dont have
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- Comparing infants finding objects in dark to objects covered by cloth. They
found it in the dark easier.
- Infants can differentiate between objects if they also know the names of the
objects
Personal Reflection: - The development of a childs learning and thinking ability is really
interesting

Article Title: The development of childrens orientations towards a moral order: Sequence in the
development of moral thought


Study Author/s:
L. Kohlberg

behavior were the
in?)
- Each moral stage is a different kind of moral thinking and not just an
increase understanding of an adult concept of morality
- Stages always occur in the same order so no stage is skipped
- They are prepotent, children comprehend all the stages below their own and
maybe some understanding of no more than one stage above
- They tend to function at the highest moral stage they have reached
- Stages are universal and occur in the same order
Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- Participants: 72 boys. Age groups: 10, 13, 16. Half were from lower middle
class, other half were from upper middle class
- They gave each boy a moral dilemma and interviewed them for 2 hours for
analysis of the moral reasoning used
Study Results and
Significance:
- 1: premoral level- stage 1: punishment and obedience orientation
(Consequences for actions determine right and wrong) Stage 2: nave
instrumental hedonism (satisfaction of ones own needs defines what is
good)
- 2: morality of conventional role conformity- stage 3: good boy-nice girl
orientation (what pleases others is good) Stage 4: authority maintaining
morality (maintaining law and order, doing ones duty are good)
- 3: morality of self-accepted moral principles- stage 5: morality of
agreements and democratically determined law (societys values and
individual rights determine right and wrong) stage 6: morality of
individual principles of conscience (right and wrong are matters of
individual philosophy according to universal principles)
Criticisms: - moral reasoning cannot be applied to moral behavior
- these 6 stages are not universal, maybe only in western societies
- there is a difference between male and female. There is a gender bias in his
theory
Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- examined the effects of womens alcohol abuse during pregnancy on their
childrens moral development . the alcohol exposed group was primarily in
stage 2 and control group was in stage 3
- accuracy of eye witness testimony given by children. Older children told to
keep a secret withhold more info than older kids not told to keep it a secret.
Younger kids were not affected by the manipulation
Personal Reflection: - this is interesting, but I dont necessarily agree with the fact that the stages
are universal and will occur in the same step by step order.

Article Title: The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: a field experiment
in an institutional setting


Study Author/s:
E.J. Langer, and J. Robin

behavior were the
in?)
- increasing the control and power nursing home residents have in their lives
should demonstrate improvements in mental alertness, activity level,
satisfaction with life, and other measures of behavior and attitude

Methods of Study:
(How did the
their research?)
- participants: Arden house nursing home- 4 floor modern house, excellent
medical care, recreational facilities, and residential comforts. All of them
were physically and psychologically healthy. 2 floors participated, the 4
th

floor was given more responsibility and the 2
nd
floor was the control group
- procedure: the director gave a message to each floor, the 4
th
floor was given
the opportunity to make choices and exercise control over their lives in
various ways. 2
nd
floor, while other factors were basically the same, was
given the message that most of their decisions would be made for them.
This policy lasted for 3 weeks
- measuring outcomes: a questionnaire was given to residents and nurses 1
week before the experiment asking about the residents behavior and how
happy they are at the home. The same questionnaire was given 3 weeks
later. They also measured the residents behavior by keeping an attendance
record for the movie and a contest for patients to guess how many jelly
beans were in the jar.
Study Results and
Significance:
- 4
th
floor felt happier and more active than those in the comparison group
- 93% of the 4
th
floor were considered improved, only 21% of the 2
nd
floor
showed this positive change
- more of the 4
th
floor came to watch the movie and play the jelly bean game
Criticisms: - unethical to give them new controls and then have it taken away after the
research and may be harmful to residents

Subsequent
Research/Recent
Applications:
- they did a follow-up on the residents and found a continued superior
condition of the 4
th
floor
- many nursing homes are applying this today, giving residents more choice
and responsibility in their lives to improve their health and happiness
Personal Reflection: - this study makes sense and can be true for not only the elderly, but others.
Thats why people rebel against oppressive governments.

Ap Psych PART 1

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Article Title: The Split Brain in Man

Reading: 1 Year of Publication: 1967 Page Numbers: 1-11

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