Core Studies| Individual Differences| Thigpen and Cleckley: Multiple Personality Disorder

Thigpen and Cleckley (1954): A Case of Multiple Personality

Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a disorder when more than one personality exists in the same individual. Each personality is relatively stable and integrated. It is regarded as a neurosis meaning that it is an illness in which an individual remains in touch with reality  but suffers psychological problems relating to anxiety. The DSM-IV calls MPD a dissociative identity disorder (DID). So, not only is there more than one personality, but personalities can appear totally separate from and may be unaware of one another. Each personality will have different memories, perception and intellectual abilities. An example of this may be wearing glasses of different strengths. When each of the personalities are in control all of their characteristics are present all of the other personalities will effectively 'disappear'.  This is not to be confused with schizophrenia which is a mental disorder marked by some of the following symptoms; delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, inappropriate emotions. or lack of emotions. A person diagnosed with schizophrenia is considered by the medical  profession to be problems relating to reality which is a psychosis which is a mental illness in which an individual has difficulty relating to reality.

In our everyday lives our definition to what we class as abnormal changes and is affected by the culture we live in. So some phenomenon may challenge our view of life and so its regarded with scepticism. So things such as supernatural and religious experiences and visions  are ones commonly reported but do not fit into our current explanation of the world so such events are often marginalised and ignored.

A person considered to have MPD is seen as abnormal. This is because MPD challenges our view of people and receives considerable scepticism as a result. Thigpen and Cleckley suggested that their case study is evidence for the existence of this condition.

The Case Study

The Aim

The aim of the study was to provide an account of the case of an individual considered to have MPD. This account is based on the psychotherapeutic treatment of a 25 year old patient known as Eve White.

The Methodology

The method was the treatment of Eve which involved psychotherapeutic interviews and occasional hypnosis with Thigpen and Cleckley (T&C). Family members were also interviewed  to obtain background information. an to corroborate (prove) some of Eve's stories.

The Referral

Eve White was referred for therapy because of severe and blinding headaches which complaints of blackouts although her family were not aware of anything that would suggest a real loss of consciousness or a serious mental confusion. The patient appeared to have a number complex, but relatively unexceptional martial conflicts and personal frustrations. She showed amnesia for a recent trip and the therapists used hypnosis to restore that memory.

The Letter

The first sign of anything unusual was when a letter arrived for T&C some days after the hypnosis. It was written in confident hand and concerned her therapy but at the bottom of the page there was a childish postscript written in different handwriting. On the next visit Eve White denied sending the letter though she remembered having begun one which she had not finished.

The Appearance of Eve Black

During an interview Eve white became distressed and asked whether hearing an imaginary voice indicated that she was insane. Then she had reported that on several occasions heard a voice addressing her. During the conversation Eve White (EW) suddenly put both hand to her head as if in pain and after a moment of silence her hands dropped and the therapist observed a 'quick, reckless smile'  In a bright voice she said ' Hi there, Doc !' The therapist observed a change in posture and personality from a distressed EW to a person who called themselves Eve Black (EB). It almost looked to the researchers as if Eve's whole personality and posture completely changed from the demure and retiring EW to a confident and relaxed person who was more playful and sexually attractive (more feminine and flirty- ‘cause let’s face it having a patient considered as sexually attractive would just be awkward that on the side note lets carry on with the case study!) EB ‘had a childishly more daredevil air and an erotically mischievous glance, a face marvellously free from habitual signs of care, seriousness and underlying stress.’  They also commented on the fact that EB language totally changed and became in the eyes of the therapists a completely different woman. She was referring to EW as she or her as if she was another person. When she was asked for

her own name she replied saying ‘Oh, I’m Eve Black’

On-going presence of Eve Black and her presence During Childhood Years (possible emergence of MPD)

Over 14 months of the on-going therapy for MPD, Thigpen and Cleckley continued with interviews; that lasted of a 100 hours in total and explored the behaviours of EW and EB. Although sometimes EB would appear out of nowhere she could be accessed by the therapists when EW was under hypnosis. EB had been present in some childhood experiences, when she was consequently she was not aware of this at all. EB was often the presence of mischievous events which as a consequence led to EW being punished. For example EW has one childhood experience where she was punished for going into the woods nearby her house despite denying that she had been there. During the therapy treatment EB admitted to being in the woods but  ‘went back inside’ in time for EW to get punished  and some of these incidents, revealed during the therapy were later substantiated in the interviews with her husband and family.

Eve Blacks personality and relationship to the husband and daughter

EB was irresponsible and shallow, looking for pleasure and excitement and concealed identity from EW and husband and daughter. EB also denied marriage to EW husband which she despised and denied any relationship to EW daughter. EW was beaten by husband after shopping habits which plunged the family into debt. She denied knowledge of the purchases, even when they were found in her house. EB confirmed that she had indeed brought and hidden the clothes and was unmoved by the impact this had on the relationship between EW and her husband. Some differences in normal behaviour such as random aggressiveness were recorded by family members and husband.

Personality Testing

Both EW and EB were given personality testing …

Test	EW	EB
IQ	110	104
Memory Function Test	Far Superior
Rorscach Test (ink blot)	Repressive (anxious,  obsessive-compulsive traits, rigidity, inability to deal with hostility)	Regressive (much healthier but with a hysterical tendency)

Negotiating Time out

The goal at the end of the therapy was to leave Eve with only one personality, however this was a proven task as EB could not be hypnotised, had no sympathy for EW and didn’t cooperate with the therapists. It was found that EB admitted to be the cause of the headaches and the imaginary voices plus erasing some of EW memory. As EW became more aware of the presence of EB she was able to prevent her ‘coming out’ on occasions, so negotiation was necessary for EB to get more time out, which allowed EW to gain more control over EB and began to excel in work and also left her husband.  In effect of this all the headaches and blackouts disappeared and everything seemed to be on track.

The Emergence of Jane

After 8 months EW headaches started to reoccur, she experienced more blackouts. EB denied responsibility, generally EW seemed disorientated and confinement was considered.  Therapists could more easily call out the personalities wanted to be studied at a given time and childhood experiences were investigated under hypnosis. During an one episode EW appeared to relax into a sleepy state then after a while her eyes opened and she stared blankly around the room, with a changed mannerism she ask the therapist in a husky voice ‘Who are you?’ it appeared that a third perosonality who called them seleves jane emerged. Jane was fully aware of both of the other persnaloties but neither of them were aware of her. Jane seemed more responsible than EB and was more interesting than EW.

Testing the tree Personalities and the differences between them

The three perosonalities underwent electroencephalograms (EEG’s) and they were clearly diffrenent readings. EW and Jane showed 11 cycles per second whilst EB showed 12.5 cycles per second,

The differences in perosonalities will be shown in a table below.

Eve White	Eve Black	Jane
-         Stressed , denial of occurrences that ended up in a punishment -         Demure and retired	-         No sympathy for EW -         Denied responsibility of blackouts at one point -         Denied marriage to EW husband and relationships to EW daughter -         Carried herself in a better mannered became more attractive, flirty and calm. -         Allowed EW rot take responsibility for her wrong doings.	-         Fully aware of the other two personalities -         Most reasonable out of the other two personalities

‘Killing off’ the personalities

Therapy continued of  all three of the personalities. Jane was aware of both personalities and had some control over EW and began taking over the tasks. But she couldn’t displace EB but could determine when she was lying. Therapists believed that Jane was the personality most likely to bring a solution to the troubled mind and her growing dominance over the other personalities appeared to be the appropriate solution. Thigpen and Cleckley do point out that ‘we have not judged ourselves as wise enough to make more active decisions’ about how drama would develop, and they note problems with ‘killing’ one or more of the personalities.

Conclusions

Thigpen and Cleckley offer no explanations, other than simply their explanation and a request for further research into MPD.

Evaluation

What were the strengths of T&C method?	-         Psychometric testing used by T&C allowed for an easy comparison between the diffrenent personalities -         Filming their interviews and hypnosis allowed for a lot of ricj and detailed analysis to occur
What were the weaknesses of T&C method?	-         Only one person considered to have MPD was studied. -         Hypnosis could have caused severe psychological damage such as retrieving information that was considered as a bad memory etc that the participant did not want to revisit.
How representative was the sample in T&C study?	-         Only one person being studied is not reflective to the rest of the population however only a small percentage of the population suffer with MPD which could be considered as a representative sample from that point of view
What type of data was collected?	-         Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Qualitative data was recorded by the comments made during interviews and qualitative data was recorded during the IQ tests .
How useful was the research?	-         Hypnosis could be seen as an appropriate way of treating MPD and also T&C method could be a development point for the training of therapists.

Individual Differences Approach| Section C

Individual Differences Section C

The Assumptions

The main assumption of the individual differences approach is that to understand the complexity of human behaviour and experiences, to do this it is necessary to study the differences between people rather than those things that we have in common. For example we may identify different personality traits by using IQ tests which allows us to see the similar characteristics, however despite this we all have a set of unique life experiences which shape us into the people that we are.

Explinations for everyday problems using the Individual Differences Approach 

How does the individual differences approach explain abnormality?

The individual differences approach would suggest that that abnormality could be due to our life experiences that shape us into the people we are, for example being classified as being insane or mentally ill would attach a label of abnormality to a person alienating them from the rest of the society. Rosenhan suggested that a person would be classed as abnormal due to the labels attached to having a mental illness. For example in his study even though all of the researches acted normal upon admittance to the psychiatric hospitals they were still deemed as insane and had to remain institutionalised between 11 to 52 days.

How does the individual differences approach explain an addiction to gambling?

The individual differences approach would suggest that addiction to gambling is caused due to the differences between individuals rather than the commonalities between individuals. For example people who gamble are only a small minority of the rest of the society which make us different. Griffiths would suggest that gambling addition is due to the personalisation of the machine that the gamblers use. For example if the gamblers were to lose they were more likely to blame the situation on not concentrating or if they were to lose they would feel like the machine is rewarding them for the hard work which is what makes gambling addictive.

How does the individual differences approach explain multiple personality disorder?

The individual differences approach states that it is our life experiences that shapes us who we are therefor multiple personality disorder is a product of our life experiences, such as being punished for something as a child. Thigpen and Cleckley suggested that multiple personality disorder patients have created different personalities as a coping mechanism when being punished. For example eve white from their case study would be the personality that got punished when Eve Black did something naughty such as going into the forbidden woods as a way of avoiding being punished.

 Similarities and differences between the studies in the individual differences approach

Similarities and differences between Thigpen and Cleckley’s case of multiple personality disorder and Rosenhan’s sane in insane places:

One similarity would be that both Rosenhan and Thigpen and Cleckley have ethical issues. Rosenhan’s patients had to follow the hospitals procedures such as taking medicine whilst they were institutionalised which could have made them believe that they were insane and could have potentially put them in harmful situations. Thigpen and cleckley used hypnosis as one of taw ways of interviewing a personality which could have potentially brought back experiences and memories that Eve did not want to remember which puts the participants in harm. Another similarity is that both Thigpen and Cleckley dealt with psychiatric problems. Thigpen and cleckley studied the issue of multiple personality disorder, where as Rosenhan studied the labelling of people suffering with schizophrenia in psychiatric hospitals.

A difference between Thigpen and Cleckley and Rosenhan is the experimental method they used. Rosenhan did a participant observation where the researchers being the participant recorder how they were treated in psychiatric hospitals when they were acting sane, whereas Thigpen and Cleckley did an in-depth case study on one individual.

Similarities and differences between Rosenhan on being sane in insane places and Griffiths on gambling behaviour on fruit machines

One similarity between Rosenhan and Griffiths is that both studies were high in ecological validity. Rosenhan’s study was high in ecological validity as pseudo patients were observing behaviour in real psychiatric hospitals in California and were looking at an issue that is relevant in how institutions were run. Griffiths studied the behaviour of real gamblers in a real everyday arcade setting. Another similarity is both studies collected quantitative and qualitative data. Rosenhan collected quantitative data by how many psychiatrists and nurses thought that real patients were pseudo patients admitted to their hospitals and quantitative data that was collected by researchers of the behaviours and comments made by nurses and staff in their hospitals where as Griffiths collected quantitative data from total plays, total time , play rate, end stake wins the win rate in time and win rate in plays by each individual in normal condition and the qualitative comments made by the participants in the thinking aloud condition.

A differences between Rosenhan and Griffiths is that Rosenhan dealt with something that is already classed as a psychiatric problem such as the labels given to a person that was insane but is back to being sane in the case of schizophrenia and Griffiths deals with addiction which is something that could potentially become a psychiatric problem in the future.

Similarities and differences between Griffiths on gambling behaviour on fruit machines and Thigpen and Cleckley on multiple personality disorder

One similarity between Griffiths and Thigpen and Cleckley is that both studies collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Griffiths collected quantitative data from total plays, total time , play rate, end stake wins the win rate in time and win rate in plays by each individual in normal condition and the qualitative comments made by the participants in the thinking aloud condition. And Thigpen and Cleckley collected quantitative data by carrying out IQ tests on each of the personalities studied and qualitative data by the comments made under hypnosis therapy. Another similarity is that both studies looked at natural phenomenon. Griffiths looked at gambling behaviour and Thigpen and Cleckley studied a person suffering with multiple personality disorder.

One difference between Griffiths and Thigpen and Cleckley is that both used a different experimental method. Thigpen and Cleckley used a case study method where one patient is studied in detail over a long period of time whereas Griffiths used a field experiment where he controlled variables in a natural setting which in this case was the arcade. Another difference between Thigpen and Cleckley and Griffiths is that Thigpen and Cleckley studied something that is a psychiatric problem which is multiple personality disorder whereas Griffiths studied something that has a potential to be a psychiatric problem which is gambling.

Strengths and weaknesses of the individual differences approach

One strength of the individual differences approach is that it can provide useful information in improving the experience of people with mental health problems. This is a strength because it can lead to a revision of the way that people are diagnosed and treated. For example in Griffiths study the information collected from the study could guide us in what causes gamblers to become addicted and how to stop this process from happening in the first place. Another strength is that the individual differences approach has been the development for using psychiatric tests to measure the differences between individuals in the qualities such as personality and intelligence. This is a strength because psychometric tests provide a reliable and quantitative data which can be easily analysed and therefore similarities and differences between individuals can be discovered. For example in Thigpen and Cleckley’s study  they showed us  how the different personalities of eve white  had different IQ levels which allowed us to see a significant differences between these personalities. One weakness of the individual differences approach is that it can rely too heavily on dispositional explanations at the expense of situational explanations. This is a problem because behaviour can therefore can therefore be attributed solely  to a person’s own characteristics or disposition to external factors such as the situation a person is in are ignored.  For example  in Thigpen and Cleckley’s study they claimed that the 3 faces of eve were significantly different however to an insignificant witness the video evidence 100 hours  often makes the differences of personalities easy to identify however they may not be that easy to identify in a different environment in real life. Another weakness with the individual differences approach is the ethical approach is the ethical issues raised with labelling people as being different. This is a weakness because labelling people as different or abnormal can have negative effect on individuals. For example in Rosenhan’s study those pseudo participants who stayed in the psychiatric hospitals for 52 days could have ended up believing their labels and believe that they actually suffered with the psychosis. 

♥Core Studies| Physiological Psychology| Dement and Kleitman (1957) Dream and Sleep♥

Dement and Kleitman (1957)| the Relation of Eye Movements during Sleep to Dream Activity

Dement and Kleitman studied how the stage of sleep you are in affects whether you can or can't recall your dreams.

Background to the study 

Sleeping consists of a number of stages-which can be shown by the different patterns in alpha and beta waves during a test called electroencephalography; which is a method of measuring different electrical activity in the brain by recording from electrodes which will be placed on the scalp. Electroencephalography can also be referred to as an (EEG).

Overall there are four stages of sleep:

Stage One is the lightest stage of sleep (by lightest I mean the easiest to wake a person up from), you can characterise it by a lowered heart rate, relaxed muscle tension and a lover body temperature. Really this is when the body begins a state of relaxation. This stage is represented by slow alpha waves that have a frequency between 8-12 Hz per second.

Stage Two is still light but deeper than stage one, a person can still be woken up relatively easily and this is represented by larger EEG waves and spindles (which are bursts of high frequency waves between 12-16 Hz)

Stage Three is a deeper sleep, the waves are now delta waves which are large and slow waves between 1-3 Hz, in this stage people don't respond to external stimuli such as a light switching on or a car alarm going off and are quite difficult to get up.

Stage Four is the deepest sleep, people in this stage of sleep will respond to personal stimuli such as their baby crying, their metabolic activity is also low. This stage is characterised by delta waves of 1 Hz.

It takes around 30 mins to get down to stage four sleeps. When at stage four you spend 30 mins in this stage and then we fluctuate between stages 3 and 2 but instead of re-entering stage 1 again we go into a phase called Active Sleep. This stage is represented by much desynchronised pattern similar to that if we were awake. In this stage our metabolic activity increases along with heart rate but the body is still more or less paralysed and this stage makes waking up a person an impossible task. This phase of sleep is referred to as the deepest stage called REM sleep (which stands Rapid Eye Movement) this is because you can observe the movement of your eyes in this stage under closed eyelids. We tend to spend 10-15 mins in REM sleep and then go back to stage 4, 3, 2 etc. This cycle takes about 70-90 mins to happen and is repeated 5-6 times a night.

A restoration theory suggests that non REM sleep restores bodily processes that have deteriorated during the day. Whereas REM sleep stimulates protein synthesis which replenishes brain processes. Sleep can be described as a survival function by keeping animals safe from predators, and hibernation can be seen as an extension of this process.

You might wonder why is it that we dream, well there are many theories that relate to just that question. Reorganisation of mental structures theory suggests that REM sleep is involved in the organisation of schemas which is the cognitive structures that support cognitive processes. This is supported by the finding that complex cognitive tasks lead to an increase in the time spent in REM sleep and also by the fact that babies spend so much time in REM sleep. IN other words it can be said that REM sleep is seen as a support of cognitive development. The Activation Synthesis Model proposes that dreams are the 'active interpretation of the signals produced by the cortex during REM sleep. Crick and Mitchinson (1983) suggested that this is a way of us being able to sort out all of the information that we absorbed that day so dreaming is something which allows our brain to decide what information we want to keep or get rid of. And finally Freud (1900) saw dreams as the 'royal road to the unconscious' and psychoanalytic therapists still use dream interpretation as a way  of interpreting individual patients hidden desires and thoughts.

Aim 

Aim of the study was to investigate the following three hypotheses:

Hyp 1- There will be a significant association between REM sleep and dreaming - which basically asks the question whether we dream in REM sleep.

Hyp 2- There will be a significant positive correlation between the estimate of the duration of dream and the length of eye movement- so this is asking whether our eye movement has anything with dreaming,

Hyp 3- There will be a significant association between the pattern of eye movement and the context of the dream- which is basically proposing that the direction in which we move our eyes associates the directions were looking in our dreams.

Participants 

The participants consisted of 9 people. The sample was studied in two groups, a group of five participants who were studied in depth and a group of four participants who were used as a control group (meaning that they were used for a comparison)

The sample was made up of 7 men and 2 women, although not confirmed it is suggested that there was one woman in each group.

Procedure

Sleep sessions took place in a 'sleep lab' that was set up for the experiment- which meant that participants were in a set up environment. Participants could eat normally but were told to not drink caffeine or alcohol on the day of the study- this took place so that any extraneous variables which could disturb the natural sleeping pattern of the participants. EEG electrodes were then placed near the eyes to measure the electric to measure electric activity and therefore REM (Rapid Eye Movement). From this D&K could know when a participant was in REM and what type of REM they were in. Electrodes were also placed around the skull so D&K could measure the brain activity of the participants.  The participants were then woken at various times in the night using a doorbell that was situated by their bed and were asked to record their dreams (if they remembered anything from them) on a voice recorder. Sometimes participants were woken during REM sleep and sometimes they weren't woken during REM sleep. If no dream were recalled it got recorded as a ''no dream''. Five out of nine participants were studied over a period of 61 nights with 351 awakenings in total and an average of 5.7 awakenings per night.

Testing Hyp 1:

Participants were woken up during the night with a loud doorbell sound, and then the participants had to speak into the voice recorder. They were then instructed to first state whether or not they had been dreaming and then, if they could remember the dream they would recall their dream. The participants were only reported as having dreamed if they could coherently recall their dream (give loads of detail about the dream). Participants were woken up on a schedule so one participant would be woken up three times in REM and then three times in N-REM so on, Two were woken up at random, One was told that he would only get woken up in REM but got woken up randomly. Another was woken up at the experimenter’s whim. To eliminate experimenter effects, the experimenter did not communicate with the participants during the night, and also to eliminate bias the participants were not told whether their eyes moved or not.

Testing Hyp 2:
The participants were also woken at either 5 or 15 mins into REM sleep and were asked to predict whether they had dreamt for 5 or 15 mins.

Testing Hyp 3:

The participants were woken up as soon as one of the four patterns of eye movement had lasted for at least one minute. On waking the participants were asked to describe in detail the content of their dream. The four patterns that prompted an awakening were: mainly vertical eye movements, mainly horizontal eye movements, both vertical and horizontal eye movements, very little or no eye movement.

Findings

All participants showed periods of REM every night during sleep. The REM EEG was characterised by a low volt. And relatively fast pattern which were characteristics of a deeper sleep. (Refer to your graph and background to the study to look at patterns of REM). REM never occurred at the beginning of the sleep cycle. REM periods which were not terminated by an awakening varied between 3 and 50 mins with a mean of about 20, and tended to increase in length as the night progressed. REM periods occurred at regular intervals during the night, though each participant has their own pattern: mean period of REM phase for the whole group was 92 mins, with individual norms varying to between 70-104 mins.

Hyp 1: in REM sleep 152 dreams were recalled in comparison to 39 dreams that weren't recalled. In N-REM sleep 11 dreams were recorded in comparison to the 149 dreams that weren't recorded. So this shows that that REM sleep is predominantly- but not exclusively- associated with dreaming. When participants were woken up at 11 mins into REM so the transition to N-REM they could remember distorted bits of information from their dreams.

Hyp 2: results to the estimates of the length of dreams were five mins into REM 45 participants correctly guessed the length of their dreams where as 6 didn't. When fifteen mins into REM 47 participants correctly guessed the length of their dream where as 13 didn't. Which suggests that all participants could correctly choose the correct dream duration fairly accurately? 

Hyp 3: There did appear to be some relationship between the dream content and the type of eye movements. After a series of vertical eye movements dreams such as: standing at the bottom of a cliff operating a hoist, and looking up at the climbers and down at the machinery, climbing up a series of ladders looking up and down, throwing basketballs at a net, first shooting and looking up at the net, and then looking down to pick another ball off the floor. Horizontal eye movements recorded such dreams such as watching two people throw tomatoes at each other. When a mixture of eye movements were recorded dreams involved looking at people or objects close to them. Little or no eye movements recorded dreams when a person was watching something from a distance or just staring fixedly at some object. In order to confirm the meaningfulness of the results of the relationship 20 naive and 5 of the experimental participants were asked to observe distant and close-up activity while awake. These measurements were in all cases comparable to those occurring during dreaming.

Evaluation 

The strength of this method is that it is high in reliability as such studies as this can be repeated by other researchers, And also it took place in a highly controlled environment which meant that any extraneous and confounding variables are ruled out. However it laced in ecological validity as none of the participants had a natural sleep because of being placed in unnatural settings and wouldn't sleep with electrodes placed on their head, but it could be looked over if the study might actually happen if the participants were in their own bed it might alter the sleeping pattern, 

The sample was un-repersentable with a ratio of 7:2 for males to females which is a significant gender imbalance. But this has been overcome by the amount of overall awakenings which summed up to 375 awakenings. As the physiology of the brain is similar in all people we don't need a large sample which is why the sample size is ideal. Both Qualitative and Quantitative data was used; quantitative data was collected by the means of the EEG \and Qualitative data was collected via the description of the dreams. The study was useful as it allowed us to see if there was any correlation between sleep and our eye movement. However it’s not a general sable study as it did take place in controlled conditions therefore its usefulness can be argued.

It is a reductionist study as it gives a biological explanation of the narrow focus, which is that dreaming is simply a product of REM sleep.

♥♥♥

Hope this was helpful. If you have any question please ask and as the exams aren’t far away id encourage past papers for region purposes which for this course can be found on the OCR Website: Core Studies Past Papers Code G542 and Psychological Investigations code is G541

Social Psychology : Section C

Here is Your Section C guide to Social Psychology , Remember this involves Milgram: Obedience, Piliavin et.al: Subway Samaritan and Reicher and Haslams BBC Prison study 

 The Assumptions of The Social Approach (2 marks)

 The social approach assumes we learn behaviour in three ways, firstly by Social Influence, which is where we are influenced by others, secondly by Social Interaction- which is the way in which we form relationships with others and thirdly, by Social Cognition- which is how the influence of others and our interaction with others affects the way we think.  

In The social approach there are three main things they are going to ask you to answer which is how the social approach could explain obedience( this is where you would use Milgram), helping behaviour (this is where you would use Piliavin) and group membership (this is where you would use Reicher and Haslam). 

 Here is an Example: 
Describe how the social approach could explain group membership (4 marks) The social approach suggests that situational factors affect group membership, for example if you're pressured by another you might identify with that group. Reicher and Haslam suggested that group membership can be affected by status, for example in their study Reicher and Haslam expected the guards to identify with their roles as they had high status however this did not happen due to the individual differences between them. Similarities and Differences between the Studies in Social Psychology, (6 markers) Similarities between Milgram and Piliavin:- Both took place in the 60's which is when society had more respect for authority and people tended to me more helpful and obedient in comparison to today’s world.- Both participants were influenced by somebody working for the experimenter- Both had bad ethical issues- Both Ethno-centric - Both recorded spontaneous comments  Differences between Milgram and Piliavin:- Milgram used a Laboratory experiment which lacked in ecological validity and was highly controlled where as Piliavin uses a naturalistic controlled observation which was more naturalistic so it boosted ecological validity. Similarities between Piliavin and Reicher and Haslam:- Both looked at helping behaviour- Both stuck to observational ethic guidelines- Both studied people in groups- Both ethnocentric- Both used Quantitative and Qualitative data Differences between Piliavin and Reicher and Haslam - Piliavin studied in the real world where as Reicher and Haslam studied in an artificial set up setting which decreased their ecological validity- Reicher and Haslam used questionnaires and Quantitative data on top of observation to back up results. Similarities between Reicher and Haslam and Milgram:- Both Lab Experiments - Participants unprotected from harm at some point- Both self-selected sample - Both used some sort of observation - Both only used males - Both lacked experimental realism. Differences between Reicher and Haslam and Milgram:- Milgram studied individuals (one participant at a time) where as Reicher and Haslam studied group processes.- Milgrams study was highly unethical where as Reicher and Haslam was ethical. Section C Part C Describe one similarity and one difference between any of the social approach studies (6)* Piliavin and MilgramOne similarity between Milgram and Piliavin's study is that both studies had ethical issues. By this we mean that at some point throughout the study the participants could have been put through a negative experience. For example in Piliavin's study participants were unaware of their participation in their study-use of deception and protection of harm was broken as someone falling over could prove to be a traumatic experience. In Milgram's study deception was used and participants were told that they were doing a study on learning behaviour where as they took a part of a study of obedience in real life. One difference between Piliavin and Milgram is that they both used different experimental designs, by this we mean that both studies were carried out in different ways. Milgram chose to carry his study out via a laboratory experiment which took place in a highly controlled  environment in which participants were not used to where as Piliavin carried out a naturalistic controlled observation which happened on a train and also there is a high possibility that the experiment could happen in real life. Strengths and weaknesses of the Social Psychology Approach (Part D -12 marks) One strength of the social approach is that it uses real life situations to study behaviour; this is a strength because social psychology is interested in human interaction and this is best studied in real life situations where participants have the opportunity to interact. For example in Pilivans study the research took place on genuine NYC Trains which meant that participants were in a naturalistic setting and were unaware of being studied which gave the researchers the chance to observe naturalistic interactions. Another strength of the social approach is that it helps us to understand social behaviour. This is a strength because it means we are able to explain and offer solutions to problems in the real world e.g. behaviour in groups of prisons. For example in Reicher and Haslams study they were able to demonstrate how the breakdown of a group can lead to conditions to which tyranny can flourish and situations become unpleasant. One weakness of the social approach is that ethical problems can arise when studying social behaviour. This is a problem because it can affect reliability of research in this area. For example in Milgrams study participants felt withdraw was impossible due to the prods used so therefore the reliability of this study can be questioned as the results could be due to the influence of the experimenters. Another weakness of the social approach is that it can be ethnocentric. This is a weakness because results gained from one culture may not reflect the behaviour and experiences of another culture. For example in Piliavin’s study the study could not be generalised to other areas or cultures which means that countries in Europe may have shown different results but as the study only took place in New York City it can’t be generalised.

♥Exam Technique| Core Studies- Section C♥

Section C

You may have or may not have already come across the section C in your core studies paper. You see the trick with AS Psychology exams is that 50% of the marks account for your knowledge of the core studies, the other 50% comes from your exam technique - your ability to answer the answers properly.

Section C is one of those exam sections were it can be tricky but as you practice them more and more you become used to answering these style questions and become to love them. So the time starts now as your exam is on the 11th of May 2015 which from today is 63 days away and this is not long considering we have a two week Easter holiday.

Section C is a 4 part question were it asks you about the approaches and perspectives in psychology( I will be making Section C information pages for all of the perspectives and approaches so you don't have to worry.)

Section C: Part (a)

 

The first part of the section is is part (a) this question is worth two marks and it asks you about the assumptions of an Approach or Perspective which you have covered.

An example of this question would be:

(a) Outline one assumption of the Developmental Approach. [2]

The developmental approach states that our cognitive, emotional and behavioural development is an on-going process throughout one’s life due to our interaction with nature or nurture. For example the cognitive mathematical skills that one person learns develops through their life time, first you learn the numbers then you expand your knowledge with learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide etc. it is not something that we automatically know.

 

- the answer above is worth more than two marks, you would be accounted your two full marks for stating the first sentence of the example :The developmental approach states that our cognitive, emotional and behavioural development is an on-going process throughout one’s life due to our interaction with nature or nurture.

- However just that sentence above does not prove to the examiner that you fully understand the approach or perspective which is why using a general example that links in with the approach is great as it does allow the examiner to see your understanding of the approach.

How do I answer part (a) ?

1. State what the approach or perspective is

2. Give a general example that links to the approach.

 

Section C: Part (b)

 

Part (b) is worth four marks, it asks you about how your approach or study can deal with a problem from that particular approach.

An example of this question would be:

Explain how the cognitive approach could explain the inaccuracy of eyewitness testimony. [4]

The cognitive approach believes that our thought processes is just information we input, store and output but thinking is not directly seen but we can try and guess what a person is thinking due to their behaviour. For example people that witness and event or a crime would have seen the event by watching it storing it in their memory and recall it when ask questions about it but they may not remember every single detail of that event which makes the results inaccurate. In Loftus and Palmers study participants were inputting the information by watching a series of video clips which they then stored but they then went away for a week and were asked about a specific detail that did not actually occur in the clip they may have forgotten about the information in a week so they would have guessed the answer which means that we may not be able to recall the information correctly which proves that eyewitness isn't always accurate.

 

How do I answer part (b)

1. state what the approach or perspective says
2. give an example
3. state what the particular study says about that issue
4. Give an example from that study of that issue.

Section C: Part C

 

This section is worth six marks it is asking you about the similarity and a difference between two studies in an approach.

An example of this question may be:

Describe one similarity and one difference between any social approach studies. [6]

* Similarities and differences between Piliavin and Milgram.

One similarity between Piliavin and Milgram is that they both have ethical issues in their studies, which means that at some point participants could have been put through a negative experience. For example in Piliavin’s study participants weren't aware that they were being studied on , meaning that deception and protection from harm rules were broken where as in Milgram’s study deception was broken as participants thought that they were doing a study on learning behaviour , where as they were actually doing a study on obedience. One difference between Piliavin and Milgram is that they both used a different experimental design, what we mean by this is that both studies were conducted in a different way. Milgram used a lab experiment method in an artificial setting which was highly controlled with the environment not familiar to participants where as Piliavin used a naturalistic controlled observation method, the set up experiment is a type of event that could have possibly happened in real life in the participant’s naturalistic environment

How do I answer part (c)

1. State which studies you will be comparing

2. State the similarity between the studies

3. Say what you mean by this similarity

4. Give an example from each study

5. State the difference between the studies.

6. Say what you mean by the difference

7. Give an example from each study.

Section C: Part (d)

This section is worth twelve marks and it asks you about the strengths and weaknesses on an approach or perspective.

 

An example of this question may be:

 

State the strengths and weaknesses of the Psychodynamic Perspectives.[12]

One strength of the psychodynamic perspective is the way it can be used to explain a whole variety of phenomenon. This is strength because it helps us to understand the more unusual conditions of the human psyche. For example in Thigpen and Cleckley's study helped to offer explanations for the cause of multiple personality disorder. Strength of the psychodynamic perspective is that it has led to the invention of therapies for treating mental disorders. This is the strength because Freud believed that once unconscious conflicts and emotions were made conscious they could be discussed and resolved. For example in Thigpen and Cleckley's study they showed us how hypnosis could be used to treat multiple personality disorder. One weakness of the psychodynamic perspective is that its ideas are hard to test scientifically. This is a weakness because it means that it is very difficult to replicate research, thus reliability is low. For example in Freud’s study he argued that Little Hans' phobia was a product of his unconscious mind which we are unaware of so were unable to study it. Another weakness of the psychodynamic perspective is that research is often only based on a very small sample. This is a weakness as it means it is unable to make generalisations about behaviour. For example in Freud’s study only one participant was studies who was Little Hans.

How do I answer part (d)

1. State one strength

2.Say why it’s a strength

3. Give an example from a study in the approach or perspective

4. State another strength

5. Say why it’s a strength

6. Give an example from a study in the approach or perspective

7. State one weakness

8. Say why it’s a weakness

9. Give an example from a study in the approach or perspective

10. State another weakness

11. Say why it’s a weakness

12. Give an example from a study in the approach or perspective