Ib Psychology Hl - Case Studies (Options)

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Money (1974)

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David Reimer, theory of gender neutrality, roles are learned and not innate.

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Curtiss (1981)

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'Genie,' case study of girl deprived of language until age 13

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Bandura (1963)

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Bobo doll experiment, 72 children, equal numbers female and male between 3 and 6 are divided into 3 groups, first is exposed to adults being violent towards Bobo dolls, second watches adult assemble toys for 10 minutes, third has no model (control group). Some children watched same sex models, and some watched opposite sex models. Afterwards, the children are placed in the room with the Bobo doll. First group are also aggressive, second are not, girls more likely to be verbally aggressive and boys physical, children more likely to imitate the same sex model.

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Gergely et al. (2002)

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14 month old infants observed adults light up a box by bending over and pressing the box with her forehead, with hands on the table. The second group observed the same action, but with hands occupied holding a blanket. After a week, the infants were given the opportunity to play with the box, and many used their head to imitate the model, second group used their hands. Even very young infants can imitate a model’s behavior and infer their intentions, supporting social learning theory.

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Harlow (1956)

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Attachment in infant monkeys, cloth mother for comfort and as a source of security, and wire mother for food. Monkeys spend most time with cloth mother when not feeding. The isolated monkeys suffered serious emotional deprivation (privation) resulting in delinquent and anti-social behaviour, as infant monkeys had an innate need for comfort.

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Kendler et al. (1991)

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Gave 2,163 female twins personal, structured, and psychiatric interviews about bulimia and risk factors for bulimia, results showed that in identical (MZ) twins, concordance was 23% whilst in non-identical (DZ) twins, the concordance rate was 8.7%

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Delgado and Moreno (2000)

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Found abnormal levels of serotonin and noradrenaline in patients suffering from major depression. Furthermore in an earlier study, gave depressed patients who were receiving anti- depressant medication a special diet that lowered their tryptophan levels - a precursor of serotonin. Most patients experience a return of their depressive symptoms, which disappeared when their diet returned to normal

However since it is not possible measure brain serotonin levels in living humans there is no way to test Delgado’s theory of abnormal levels

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Alloy et al. (1999)

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Followed the thinking styles of young Americans in their early 20’s for 6 years. Their thinking style was tested and they were placed in either the ‘positive thinking group’ or ‘negative thinking group’. After 6 years, the researchers found that only 1% of the positive group developed depression compared to 17% of the ‘negative’ group

Results indicate there may be a link between cognitive style and development of depression. However such a study may suffer from demand characteristics. The results are also correlational. It is important to remember that the precise role of cognitive processes is yet to be determined. The maladaptive cognitions seen in depressed people may be a consequence rather than a cause of depression

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Jaegar et al. (1993)

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Sampled 1751 medical and nursing students across 12 countries. Self report method was used to obtain data on body dissatisfaction, self esteem and dieting behavior. Body Mass Index (BMI) which takes account of height and weight was also measures. A series of 10 body silhouettes, designed to be as culture-free as possible were shown to the participants to assess body dissatisfaction.

Jaegar found that body dissatisfaction was highest in those countries with high levels of Bulimia. This demonstrates that body dissatisfaction is a better predictor of Bulimia than self esteem or weight.

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Brown and Harris (1978)

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Brown and Harris (1978) found that most women diagnosed with major depression had experienced some sort of stressful life event, but this does not explain why people who do go through difficulties like that do not necessarily become depressed. Sociocultural factors are subjective and are affected by researcher and participant bias, though it has been found that social factors can trigger depression

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Rosenhan (1973)

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Eight sane people were sent to infiltrate a mental hospital and said they could hear voices. Once they were admitted, they stopped stopped simulating their symptoms and responded normally to instructions. Their task was to seek release by convincing the staff they were perfectly sane.

The results showed that the patients’ sanity was never detected by the staff, only by other patients, and they were kept in the hospital for an average of 19 days. All except one participant was diagnosed as 'schizophrenic in remission', supporting they were never thought of as sane by the staff. Participants noted that even normal behavior became distorted as ‘schizophrenic,’ as waiting outside the cafeteria was seen by the staff as ‘oral acquisitive nature of the syndrome’

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Jahoda

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Define the six criteria of ideal mental health: self attitude, personal growth, integration, autonomy, perception of reality, environmental mastery.

An advantage of this type of approach is focuses on a positive approach to the problems. On the other hand, like Maslow's criteria, very few people are likely to achieve all six of Jahoda's objectives, and it is also hard to measure the extent to which an individual misses or achieves these criteria. However, a problem with this approach is that very few people would be considered "normal" by this measure, because few people achieve self-actualization as Maslow defines it. Another criticism of Jahoda is that some of the criteria might be seen to be ethnocentric: for example, autonomy is seen in some cultures as an undesirable trait

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Seligman and Rosenhan

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Studied the seven features of abnormal behavior: suffering, maladaptiveness, vivid/unconventional behavior, unpredictability/loss of control, irrationality/incomprehensibility, observer discomfort, violation of moral/ideal standards.

Difficult to measure, many exceptions

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Cooper et al. (1972)

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Conducted the US-UK diagnostic project, where American and British psychiatrists watched clinical interviews on video, and were asked to make a diagnosis. The results showed that New York psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia twice as often, while London psychiatrists diagnosed mania and depression twice as often.

Shows how diagnosis can be very unreliable, and how cultural differences can affect reliability

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Doherty (1975)

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Those who reject the mental illness label tend to improve more quickly than those who accept it. The label the label can play a part in creating the symptoms

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Langer and Abelson (1975)

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Showed a videotape of a younger man telling an older man about his job experience. If the viewers were told the man was a job applicant he was judged to be attractive and conventional looking, whereas if they were told he was a patient he was described as tight, defensive, dependent, and scared of his own aggressive impulses

This shows that there is indeed a bias against those with mental disorders, and how those labeled as mentally ill are stigmatized by society

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Kaplan (1983)

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Argued that diagnostic procedures are male centered, and that the authors of the DSM are predominantly male, highlights potential for gender bias

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Littlewood and Lipsedge (1997)

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Studied the case of a Jamaican man who was arrested by police after being accused of trying to cash a stolen post order. The British prison psychiatrist showed clear signs of stereotyping him based on culture and appearance instead of his actual behavior

Cultural bias can influence the treatment of cultural groups by mental health professionals, although specific case studies have limitations

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Marsella (2003)

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Depression takes a primarily affective (relating to emotions) form in more individualistic cultures, where loneliness and isolation dominate. In collectivist cultures, somatic (physiological) symptoms such as back pain are more dominant

The same disorder can manifest in different ways depending on the culture, so they can be difficult to diagnose and treat

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McGuffin et al. (1996)

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Studied 177 MZ twins with depression. The concordance rate was 46% for MZ, and 20% for DZ twins.

The concordance rate is not particularly high suggesting strong psychological/ environmental factors.
Even with MZ twin raised apart it is impossible to fully separate the effects of the environment. Environmental similarities may occur even when genetic relatives do not live together. Family groups tend to share certain characteristic such as social class and lifestyle. Furthermore the correlation only allows us to infer genetic causation of depression.

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Caspi et al. (2003)

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The participants were tested for the 5-HTT transporter gene, which promotes the transmitter substance serotonin (polymorphic, long/short alleles). The long form is more efficient at promoting serotonin. In the cohort, 17% of participants had two shorts, 51% cent had a short and a long, and 3% had two longs. Participants were also assessed for adverse life events between their 21st and 26th birthdays.

Results showed that for participants who suffered an adverse life event, those who had gene pairs that included at least one short form of the gene were more likely to become depressed than those who had two long forms. The risk of becoming depressed was greatest for people with two short forms of the gene. Where people had at least one short form of the gene but no adverse event, depression did not occur. Having two long forms of the gene, and hence increased serotonin, was a protective factor for depression in response to adversities, similar to the effect of social support

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Beck (1976)

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People who develop depression have cognitive distortions which centre around the cognitive triad (negative schema) acquired early in childhood. This consists of negative thoughts about themselves, the world and the future. Depressed patients typically regard themselves as helpless, worthless and inadequate.

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Chio and Blizinsky (2009)

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As many as 70 to 80% of people in East Asian populations carry the short allele, compared with 40 to 45% among Europeans. Their study compared genetic frequency information and cultural value data across 29 countries (major European countries as well as South Africa, Eastern Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and South America). At the same time previous research has shown that rates of depression are lower in East Asia than in regions of Europe.

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Parker et al.

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Several factors that promote resilience in the Chinese. These include a strong sense of interdependence with family and social support, collective responsibility and a tendency towards fate and stoicism may mean the Chinese are more able to both manage and accept depression. As a consequence, the distinction between "normal" and "pathological" states may be quite different than the Western threshold. Nevertheless generalizations about cultures may be misleading, inaccurate and promote cultural stereotyping.

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Bowlby's attachment theory

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Studied 44 juvenile delinquents in a child guidance clinic, diagnosed 14 of the thieves as affectionless psychopaths, most of which had experienced maternal separation before the age of 5, and were not visited by families. However, this research was experimental and correlational, and contained researcher bias

Child forms a mental representation of the first attachment, or the internal working model. If this is secure and reliable, this serves as a schema for future relationships

Critical attachment period in the first 2-3 years of life, based on imprinting of other animals on the first object they saw. If this bond is not formed or is broken, there would be permanent emotional damage in future relationships, maternal deprivation hypothesis of continual disruption of mother infant attachment results in long term emotional difficulties, socially and cognitively

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Ainsworth (1969)

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Strange Situation, infants will display different behaviors towards the primary caregiver and strangers according to attachment security

8 episodes with parent and caregiver leaving, returning, offering comfort, etc. for 3 minute periods each, special attention given to child’s response to mother’s return
Type A, insecure attachment, avoidant, play independently and do not show distress when mother leaves, nor make contact when she returns, indifferent, uncommon
Type B, secure attachment, play independently, do not show much separation anxiety or stranger distress, greet mother positively when she returns, accept comfort from stranger, most common
Type C, insecure attachment, resistant, explore less than others, very distressed with stranger, rush to greet caregiver, but do not accept comfort, rarest of the three
Although type B is universally the most common, there are variations in the proportion between cultures due to different child rearing practices and environmental

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Hazan and Shaver (1997)

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Attachment theory assumes that internal working models continue through the lifespan, may affect adult romantic relationships. Looked for correlation between attachment style as an infant and adult relationships, devised Love Quiz to measure both with adjective checklist for parent relationships, questionnaire to assess beliefs about romantic love, analyzed first 620 replies after posting in a newspaper, participants aged 14-82

Secure types described love experiences as happy, friendly, trusting, acceptance regardless of faults, more enduring relationships, with love never fading, happy to be close to others

Anxious resistant types were obsessive, jealous, desired reciprocation, emotional highs and lows, extreme sexual attraction, and fears of abandonment, desire for intense closeness

Anxious avoidant types feared intimacy, emotional highs and lows, jealous, did not need love to be happy, uncomfortable being close to and depending on others

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Rutter et al. (2001)

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Study of 111 Romanian adoptees placed before 2 years, arrived in the UK physically and mentally underdeveloped, compared with 52 UK born adoptees placed before 6 months, found significant differences in the distribution of attachment classifications

50% of the non-deprived UK adoptees were secure, while only 38% of the Romanian ones were, more likely to be insecure. Romanian sample suffered more cognitive and social impairment, near autistic features

Those who endured longer deprivation were normally functioning by 6 (had proper parents by 2), which lends support to Bowlby’s theory of normal attachment after 2-3, shows that recovering from deprived childhood is possible

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Werner and Smith (1998)

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Kauai Longitudinal Study, multi-racial cohort of 698 children, studied at 6 intervals between 1 and 40, 30% had experienced a cluster of risk factors, of this 30%, two thirds had experienced four or more, including poverty, low maternal education, family conflict, parental desertion, alcoholism, and mental lines. This group had seriously learning or behavioral problems by 8, delinquency, mental health problems, and teen pregnancy by 18

However, one third did not show any negative outcomes, with some protective factors, such as easy temperament, at least average intelligence, close attachments, positive attention, three or fewer siblings, and religious faith. These developed into competent, caring adults who succeeded in school, home, and social lives

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Mahoney et al. (2005)

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Longitudinal study and found the programs encouraged academic performance and motivation for disadvantaged children, they had better test scores, reading achievement, and all over motivation

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Dabbs et al. (1995)

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Violent offenders had higher testosterone levels than nonviolent offenders, but this may be correlational only

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Groski et al. (1985)

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Female rats injected with testosterone for a period prior to birth, rats compared with normal control group, experimental group had masculinized genitals and masculine behavior

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Fagot (1989)

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Longitudinal study, parents that encouraged sex-typed behavior and discouraged sex-inappropriate behavior even before the age of 2. Boys were reinforced for playing with gender appropriate toys, punished for opposite, girls rewarded for staying close to parent, punished for rough and tumble play. Parents making the most of this direct-tuition learning had the most sex-typed children

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Martin and Halvorson (1978)

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Children construct in and out group schema for their own and the opposite sex, including broad categorization of objects, behaviors, and traits for either. These determine what each sex will focus on, leading to the construction of the own sex schema, which involves gathering more detailed information about the first schema for their own group, ignoring other group’s information. Provides a framework for making sense of the social world, more likely to encode and remember information consistent with their gender schemas and to forget or distort schema-inconsistent information

Boys and girls aged 5-6, showed them pictures of males and females performing activities consistent with and inconsistent with their genders, tested children a week later in recall, children distorted pictures to conform to gender consistent behavior

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Berry, Bacon, and Child (1991)

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Studied socialization pressures in 110 non-industrialized countries, 5 characteristics of nurturance, responsibility, obedience, achievement, and self-reliance. Most nations expected girls to be nurturing and responsible, and emphasized boys’ achievement and self-reliant

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Mead (1935)

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Studies of societies in Papua New Guinea showed similarities and differences between gender roles across societies. In one, females displayed what Westerners would call masculine behavior, aggressive, competitive, no interest in small children. Another had both genders be warm, emotional, and gentle, men and women shared tasks relating to crops and children. Last tribe was the opposite of traditional Western gender roles, men spent much time gossiping and discussing adornments, women were responsible for food, clothes, and tool production

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Simmons and Blythe (1987)

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Cultural ideal hypothesis, boys are brought close to their physical ideal through height and muscle growth, girls are taken further through growth of tissue fat. May result in lower self esteem for girls, negative body image, skinny Western ideal. Boys have satisfaction and pride, positive adjustment, self esteem increases

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Ferron (1997)

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Examined beliefs about body image in a sample of aged 13-17 French and US adolescents. Although samples from both countries had similar perceptions about ideal body image the two samples differed in terms of beliefs about control of body image. The US sample believed the body is a representation of diet, exercise and will-power, while the French believed that body shape/size is more predetermined (biological predisposed). The former set of beliefs pressures adolescents to attain the ideal body shape, and is more likely to make them feel guilty about not achieving it.

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Erikson (1950)

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Theory of stages of life, psychosocial aspects of development, relationships with oneself, other people, and the social environment. Each stage is a crisis, must be resolved for further development

Stage five of adolescence development, identity role confusion, “who am I?” career, sexual orientation, personal beliefs and values, must establish identities for themselves, may be challenging because of sociocultural pressures to behave like an adult.

May experience an ‘identity crisis’ but society allows person to experiment and explore different ideas before adult commitments are made, moratorium period (‘time out’), difficult in coping with this crisis may result in continued identity confusion, unstable sense of self, may result in a socially unacceptable identity

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Marcia (1955)

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Analysis and testing of Erikson’s fifth stage, is not identity resolution or confusion, but rather exploration and commitment to life domains. Developed method to measure identity and identify four different statuses at which an adolescent could be, exploration (searching for alternatives before committing), commitment (deciding on a specific identity), identity diffusion (none), moratorium (only exploration), foreclosure (only commitment), achievement (both). Sees adolescence as a period of personal and social upheaval

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Rutter (1976)

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Isle of Wight study, all adolescents on the island between 14 and 15, entire cohort, n > 2000, data collected with questionnaires from adolescents, teachers, parents. Only a minority of adolescents showed signs of crisis or conflict with parents, mostly related to psychiatric problems, not in line with predictions of the theory of psychosocial development, only one fifth reported being miserable or depressed. The fact that it was a cohort study increases validity, but cannot be generalized, data from multiple people more valid, may be reliability issues with self-reports