Welcome to the World of Psychological Studies!
Hi there! Welcome to your study guide for the Studies component of your Pearson Edexcel AS Level Psychology course. Think of these studies as the "evidence" in a court case. In Psychology, we don't just have theories; we have researchers who went out and tested those theories to see if they actually work in the real world.
In this chapter, we will look at Classic Studies (the famous ones that started it all) and Contemporary Studies (more modern research). Don't worry if it seems like a lot to remember at first—we've broken everything down into simple steps to help you master the material!
1. Social Psychology Studies
Social psychology is all about how other people influence our behavior. These studies look at why we obey orders and why groups sometimes fight with each other.
Classic Study: Sherif et al. (1954/1961) – The Robbers Cave Experiment
The Big Idea: Sherif wanted to see if he could create prejudice between two groups of boys and then see if he could fix it.
What they did (Procedure):
Researchers took 22 boys (aged 11-12) to a summer camp. They were divided into two groups: the Eagles and the Rattlers. The study happened in three stages:
1. In-group formation: Each group did fun activities together to bond.
2. Friction: The groups were introduced to each other through competitions (like baseball). The winners got prizes, the losers got nothing. Example: This is like a high-stakes school sports day.
3. Integration: The researchers tried to bring the groups back together using superordinate goals—tasks that required both groups to work together to succeed (like fixing a broken water tank).
What they found (Results):
In the Friction stage, the boys started name-calling and even burning each other's flags! However, after the superordinate goals, the groups became friends again.
Key Takeaway:
Prejudice happens when groups compete for limited resources, but working together on a common goal can fix it.
Contemporary Study: Burger (2009) – Replicating Milgram
The Big Idea: Burger wanted to see if people would still obey an authority figure today, just like they did in Milgram’s famous 1963 study.
Did you know? Burger had to follow much stricter ethical rules than Milgram did. He stopped the shocks at 150 volts to protect the participants from getting too stressed.
What they found:
Burger found that 70% of participants were willing to go past 150 volts. This was very similar to Milgram’s original results (82.5%).
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't say Burger proved people are "evil." He proved that the situation (having a scientist in a lab coat telling you what to do) is very powerful!
Quick Review: Social Studies
- Sherif: Summer camp, competition = conflict, teamwork = peace.
- Burger: Modern obedience, 150v limit, people still obey today.
2. Cognitive Psychology Studies
Cognitive psychology is like looking at the "software" of the human mind—how we process, store, and find information (memory).
Classic Study: Baddeley (1966b) – Acoustic and Semantic Similarity
The Big Idea: Baddeley wanted to find out how our Long-Term Memory (LTM) and Short-Term Memory (STM) encode information. Does it care more about how words sound or what they mean?
Simple Explanation of Terms:
- Acoustic: How something sounds (e.g., cat, mat, sat).
- Semantic: What something means (e.g., huge, big, large).
What he found:
In STM, we get confused by words that sound the same (Acoustic).
In LTM, we get confused by words that mean the same (Semantic).
Memory Trick: Semantic = Secondary/Long-term. Both start with 'S'!
Contemporary Study: Sebastián and Hernández-Gil (2012) – Digit Span
The Big Idea: They wanted to see how memory capacity (how many numbers you can remember) changes as we get older, specifically in Spanish children.
What they found:
1. Memory span increases steadily from age 5 to age 17.
2. Older people with Alzheimer’s or dementia have a much lower digit span, similar to very young children.
Key Takeaway:
Our "mental workspace" grows as our brains develop, but it can shrink if we get brain-related illnesses later in life.
3. Biological Psychology Studies
This is the "hardware" of the mind. We look at how brain structures and chemicals (hormones/neurotransmitters) affect our behavior, especially aggression.
Classic Study: Raine et al. (1997) – Brain Abnormalities in Murderers
The Big Idea: Raine used PET scans to look at the brains of people who pleaded "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" (NGRI) for murder.
What they did:
They injected a radioactive glucose tracer into the participants. The parts of the brain that are busy "eat" more glucose and show up brightly on the scan.
What they found:
The murderers had less activity in their prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain responsible for self-control and thinking about consequences.
Analogy: It’s like a car with a powerful engine (aggression) but very weak brakes (prefrontal cortex).
Contemporary Study: Brendgen et al. (2005) – Twin Study on Aggression
The Big Idea: Is aggression in children caused by their genes (nature) or how they are raised (nurture)?
What they did:
They studied 234 pairs of twins (some identical, some non-identical). They looked at two types of aggression:
1. Social Aggression: Spreading rumors, ignoring someone.
2. Physical Aggression: Hitting, biting.
What they found:
Physical aggression is mostly down to genes (nature). If one identical twin was physical, the other usually was too.
Social aggression is mostly down to environment (nurture), like how their parents treat them or who their friends are.
Quick Review: Biological Studies
- Raine: Brain scans, weak prefrontal cortex = less control over aggression.
- Brendgen: Twins, physical = nature, social = nurture.
4. Learning Theories Studies
These studies look at how we learn behaviors from our environment through rewards, punishments, and observation.
Classic Study: Watson and Rayner (1920) – Little Albert
The Big Idea: Can you "teach" a human baby to be afraid of something using Classical Conditioning?
Step-by-Step Explanation:
1. Before: Albert liked the white rat (Neutral Stimulus). He hated loud noises (Unconditioned Stimulus).
2. During: Every time Albert reached for the rat, the researchers banged a steel bar (loud noise).
3. After: Eventually, just seeing the rat (Conditioned Stimulus) made Albert cry (Conditioned Response).
Example: This is like getting food poisoning from a burger and then feeling sick just looking at the McDonald's sign.
Contemporary Study: Becker et al. (2002) – TV and Eating Behaviors in Fiji
The Big Idea: Becker wanted to see if introducing Western television to Fiji would change how teenage girls felt about their bodies.
What they found:
Before TV arrived, Fijian culture valued a "robust" (larger) body. After 3 years of watching shows like Friends, the girls began to want to be thin, and many started unhealthy dieting or purging behavior.
Key Takeaway:
The media we watch acts as a role model. We learn what is "attractive" by observing others, which can have a big impact on our mental health.
Summary and Tips for Success
Don't worry if this seems tricky at first! You don't need to memorize every single number. Focus on the Aims, Procedure, Findings, and Conclusions (APFC). Here are some final tips:
- Use Mnemonics: Sherif = Summer Camp. Baddeley = Brain Encoding.
- Think Ethics: Always ask if the study was fair to the participants. (Poor Little Albert definitely wasn't!)
- Relate to Real Life: Think about how the Fiji study explains why people feel pressure to look a certain way on Instagram today.
Key Formula for Statistics:
When you analyze data from your own practicals or these studies, remember the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient formula provided in your syllabus:
\( r_s = 1 - \frac{6 \sum d^2}{n(n^2 - 1)} \)
(Don't panic! You just need to know that this measures how strong a relationship is between two things.)
Good luck with your revision—you've got this!