4.2 Emic and Etic Concepts

Emic and Etic Concepts

Outcome: explain, using concepts, emic and etic concepts:

1. EMIC

- Emic research studies one culture alone to understand culture-specific behaviors.

- Researchers attempt to study behavior through the eyes of the people who live in that culture. They try to "walk in their subjects' shoes". The way the phenomenon is linked to the culture and the meaning it has in the culture is emphasized through the emic concept. 

- Emic research attempts to focus on the norms, values, motives and customs of the members of the culture as they (vis: the researchers) interpret and understand it themselves. Emic concepts are explained in the researcher's own words. 

Examples of emic approaches in psychology:

a) Bartlett 1932: mentioned the ability of the Swazi herdmen to recall individual characteristics of their cattle. Bartlett explains: "Swazi culture revolves around the possession and care of cattle and thus it is important for people to recognise their animals as it is a sign of their wealthiness" - Bartlett attempts to understand the phenomenon of the Swazi herdsmen memorising individual cattle through analysis of the culture of Swazi people and why they would need to remember which cattle belonged to them. This is an emic approach: Bartlett is walking in the shoes of the Swazi people.

b) Yap 1967: suggested the term culture-bound syndrome as a culture-specific disorder that can only be understood within a specific cultural context ( - see how this is already taking an emic approach). Among the Yoruba people of West Africa, it is believed that spirits might come into the possession of one's soul, and that person can be treated by spells by a medicine man or a healer. (More about culture-bound syndrome here) 

2. ETIC

- Etic approach compares psychological phenomena across cultures to find out what might be universal in human behaviors. 

- Etic approach aims to compare and contrast cultural phenomena across cultures to investigate whether phenomena are culture-specific or universal.

Examples of etic approaches in psychology:

a) Kashima and Triandis 1986: identified that there was a difference in the way that people explain their own success when they compared Japanese and American people talking about their respective successes. American participants tended to explain that they were successful due to their dispositional factors (such as diligence, integrity, shrewdness) while Japanese participants lent their success to situational factors (such as luck). American participants thus displayed self-serving bias and the Japanese displayed modesty bias: the cultures in which each participant came from has influenced the way that they perceive themselves and their successes. American countries promote individualism, while Asian countries such as Japan value collectivism and modesty.

b) Berry 1967: replicated Asch's conformity experiment to study whether conformity rates along the Temne in Sierra Leone in Africa and the Inuits of Canada could be linked to social norms and socialisation practices. The Temne (which had an agricultural economy) had high rates of conformity, while the Innuits (who were a community of lone hunters) had low rates of conformity. Additionally, Temne culture valued obedience in childrearing as the culture is dependent on cooperative farming. On the other hand, Innuit culture valued self-reliance in childrearing practices as hunting alone required integrity and the ability to solve decisions on one's own.  

Internal Assessment: Writing Your Introduction

An example / template of a first-draft introduction: Craik and Tulving, 1975
HL Introduction

At any given time, humans are overwhelmed with information: sensory information (such as smells, sights and sounds), information from fellow humans, or input from mass media. While we have grown accustomed to subconsciously filtering and interpreting the constant input of information, some pieces of information are remembered better than others. What determines the ability to remember those pieces of information? It could be the importance of the information, relative to the person, or perhaps the degree of depth in which the information is processed. The discipline that studies how individuals process and remember information is within cognitive psychology: the study of the mental processes of people.

Craik & Tulving (1975) attempted to understand how some information is recalled with more ease than others. The study primary came into being in an attempt to falsify the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory (1967), and support Craik & Lockhart's levels-of-processing model (1972). The Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory proposes that human memory follows a sequence of three stages: sensory memory to short-term memory to long-term memory. Craik and Tulving thus attempted theorize that memory retention was greatly affected by the depth of processing performed by the individual, rather than chronology. The aim of their 1975 study was to test different levels of processing in subjects to investigate whether depth of processing was involved in memory retention.

In the experiment, the information was presented to the subjects in the form of simple two-syllable nouns; before being shown the words, subjects were asked questions that would require a certain type of processing. The three different levels of processing that the subjects would use were: phonemic or structural ( - a shallow level of processing), and semantic processing ( - a deep level of processing). The phonemic level of processing would be used by subjects when the given question was related to the way a word sounds, structural levels of processing would be used when given questions concerned the physical appearance of the word, and semantic levels of processing would be used when questions inquired on the context the word could be used in. Craik and Tulving hypothesized that words processed via deeper levels (i.e. semantic processing) would take longer to answer but yield a more elaborate memory trace and higher recall performance.

For this study, the aim is to see if information is more easily retained when it is processed through "deeper processing" or "shallow processing". Use of the same levels of processing as Craik and Tulving will be utilized to test the memory-retention in subjects.

BLA: Martinez and Kesner (1991)

Martinez and Kesner, 1991

On Acetylcholine and its Role on Memory Formation

Before reading, you should be comfortable with:
- neurotransmitters
- the principles of the biological level of analysis
- experimental methods used in the biological level of analysis

What is this study about?
This study was performed in the biological perspective, where lab rats were used to test the role that a neurotransmitter has in the formation of memory.

Aim?
To see the role that acetylcholine has on memory formation.

How was this "formation of memory" tested with lab rats?
The lab rats were put under three different controls:
1. Rats were injected with scopolamine (drug), which is known to block acetylcholine receptor proteins on the post-synaptic neurones. This means that acetylcholine, a hormone expected to help form memories cannot travel from one neuron to another, i.e. no nerve impulse is sent across neurones.
2. Rats were injected with physostigmine, a drug that is antagonistic towards acetylcholinesterase. Cholinesterase (or acetylcholinesterase) is what cleans up the acetylcholine from receptor proteins on the post-synaptic neurones, returning the neurones to their "resting potential", where no nerve impulse is being sent. Physostigmine blocks cholinesterase which prevents this "cleaning-up" of acetylcholine.
3. Rats were not injected or altered in any form at all.

Design: 
- Laboratory experiment
- Controlled variables (i.e. 3 conditions of the rats, drug amount, maze complexity)

Procedure:
1. All rats were placed in the maze individually and completed the maze (maze had reward of food at the end)
2. Rats were given their respective treatments (see 3 groups above)
3. Rats were placed in maze individually and time taken to complete maze was measured

Results?
- Condition 1 (rats that were injected with scopolamine) took the longest to complete the maze
- Condition 2 (rats that were injected with physostigmine) took the shorted amount of time to complete the maze
- Condition 3 (rats with no treatment) had maze-completion times between the condition 1 and condition 2 rats 

Interpretation?
- Scopolamine has the effect of preventing or slowing down the process of memory formation. This can be concluded because the rats given scopolamine took the longest to complete their mazes. Acetylcholine is involved in memory formation because scopolamine is what blocks acetylcholine receptors.
- Acetylcholine is involved in memory formation because the condition 2 rats were quickest in completing the maze: their injection of physostigmine prevented the removal of acetylcholine from the receptor proteins of the post-synaptic neurones.
- The more acetylcholine is available, the more productive memory formation is. This can be concluded because condition 3 rats were in-between the other two conditions in terms of maze-completion time.

Advantages of this experiment?
- The experimental method of this experiment makes it clear to see the cause-effect chain between the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and memory formation.
- Conclusions drawn from this experiment are therefore accurate.
- Multiple trials could have been easily performed
- Easily replicable
- Possiblity that humans can be treated with acetylcholine or physostigmine for memory-loss
- No differences in the role of acetylcholine between cultures (as rats were used, not people); results may be relevant for every human
- No people were harmed in this experiment
- No deception was used in this experiment

Disadvantages of this experiment?
- Rats were harmed
- Ethical concerns to the extent that the rats suffered
- The results cannot be completely applied to humans
 

Internal Assessment: Montemayor and Eissen (1977)

Hereafter, you will find my original work that I had created in preparation for my internal assessment. Please understand that copying material without giving credit to the source is known as plagiarism and a form of theft. In addition, I recommend you not use this post as the basis for your internal assessment as I am only a student myself, and calling me a reliable source may be debatable in the eyes of teachers and IBO. I am merely posting this as a guideline and example for internal assessments for HL Psychology, so please only use it as one. Thank you and I hope this helps you! - R. B. (Admin)

Topic: Developmental Psychology
Link of original document by Montemayor and Eissen here.
Hypothesis presented in the study: "it is hypothesized that young children primarily conceive of and describe themselves in terms of such concrete characteristics as their physical appearance and possessions, while adolescents conceive of themselves more abstractly and describe themselves in more psychological and interpersonal terms."
What design did Montemayor and Eissen use, and why: Montemayor and Eissen used a controlled laboratory experiment-method because it was the most appropriate design to use for the particular experiment. The nature of a laboratory experiment allows the researchers to control the environment as well as the subjects.
How was the sample selected and how might this influence the study: 136 males and 126 females were selected from four different grade-level schools from suburban, midwestern and university communities. The subjects were either in grades 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12. The subjects were all exclusively white and had average or above average intelligence levels. Almost all of the subject's parents were in classes I and II (Hoolingshead's two factor index of social positions). The focus group may influence the study as the results will not be relevant to the self-perceptions of people of other ethnicities and cultures.
What controls were established? There were no controls other than the students being divided according to their age groups. They were all administered the same test, first created by Burgental & Zelen in 1950, called the Twenty Statements Test. There were 20 spaces were they were directed to defined themselves.
What is the independent and dependent variable? The independent variable is the age group of the subject, and the dependent variable is their quality of self-perception.
Describe the procedures employed by the researcher: Montemayor and Eissen instructed their subjects to complete the Twenty Questions test (question: "Who Am I?") and then had two trained undergraduates to score the answers provided by the subjects according to Gordon's (1968) 30-category scoring system. The 30 categories were those that aimed to classify each and any answer that was written down by the subjects. (E.g: sex, age, name, racial or national heritage, religion, kinship role, occupational role, student role, political affiliation, social status, territoriality or citizenship, membership in actual interacting group, existential or individuating, etc...)
What type of data was gathered? How was it or how could have it been analyzed? Data was gathered within aforementioned 30 categories. The data was processed by the researchers in a way that it was laid out in a table as the percentage of subjects at each age using the category at least once (i.e. quantitative data). Chi-squared tests were also performed due to the large data sets. The researchers explained their data in the form of linear and curvilinear lines.
What are the research findings? Conclusions were made that support the GENERAL hypothesis. The researchers were able to conclude that:
a) The concrete-to-abstract change is not a simple linear one. However, this is most likely because some of the categories can be considered to be either concrete or abstract. The changes between concrete-to-abstract self-perceptions from childhood to adolescence primarily involve the use of concrete description by adolescents rather than the use of abstract self-perceptions by the children.
b) Children in the study primarily described themselves in terms of concrete, objective categories such as their address and physical appearance, while adolescents used more abstract and subjective descriptions such as personal beliefs and interpersonal characteristics.
What types of problems could there have been with the research? Because it was not required that each subject write down all 20 answers, where could have been an uneven amount of data distributed among the age-groups.
What changes could be suggested for future research? Make it compulsory for them to fill out all 20 answers as long as the subjects are willing to participate in the experiment.

SLA: All About Bobo Dolls (Albert Bandura 1961)

Social Learning Theory:
Albert Bandura of Stanford University first suggested the Social Learning Theory as a reaction against the passive conception of humans in behaviorism. (He believed that reducing behavior as "stimulus-response" was much too simplistic... he refers to himself as an adherent of social cognitivism.)

Social Learning Theory refers to the paradigm that suggests that society / culture passes on its norms to individuals within a group. Social Learning Theory assumes that humans learn behavior via observational learning - that people learn by watching models and imitating the model's behavior.

- The model can intentionally try to teach an agent how to behave. Examples: teachers, parents, priests 

- The model might not try to directly affect the agent. Examples: actors, media, television, passersby

The Social Learning Theory involves the following factors for an agent to be successful in imitating a model:

1. Attention: the model performing the act must catch the attention of the agent
2. Retention: the agent must be able to remember how the model was acting
3. Motor reproduction: the agent must be able to emulate what he observed from the model
4. Motivation: the agent must will to perform the observed act 

There are also factors that influence the agent's motivation to emulate the observed model:

1. Likeness: agents will feel more motivation to emulate a model if they feel alike it it
2. Consistency: agents are more likely to copy consistent behavior
3. Rewards / punishments: these will act as incentives / deterrents to copy a model (respectively)
4. Liking the model: the more an agent likes the model, the higher the chances are that the agent will emulate the model

- E X A M P L E -

Albert Bandura et al. 1961 - Bobo Doll Experiment

• Aim: To see whether children would imitate aggression that they observed modelled by at adult (Social Learning theory). Also, to see whether the gender-likeness of the model would influence the aggression in the children.
• Procedure: Children from the ages of 3-6 years old were used for this study. They were divided into groups depending on their level of aggression, classified by their teachers and their parents. One group of children observed a video of an adult repeatedly beating a Bobo doll.
  A second group of children simply saw a video of an adult assembling toys in a room.
  A third group saw no video (control group)
  *In groups 1 and 2, some children saw same-sex models while others saw different gendered models.
  After watching the video, the children were placed in a room with toys and told the toys were for different children. They were then taken to another room with a Bobo doll. 
• Results: Group 1 (that observed the aggressive model) was the most aggressive group. They expressed physical and verbal aggression. Female subjects were more prone to exercise verbal aggression while male subjects exercised physical aggression. They displayed signs of observational learning.
  When the boys saw the female models in the video hitting the Bobo doll, they exclaimed: "Hey! Girls shouldn't act like that!"... thus the agents / subjects were more prone to emulate same-sex models.
• Evaluation:
  

CLA: Further Evaluation of Principles

• Principles in the cognitive level of analysis:

1. Human beings are information processors -- mental processes guide behavior:
   - The mind can be viewed as a complex machine, like an intelligent, information processing computer. The brain is the hardware, while the mental processing that takes place in the brain is the software. Mental processing is performed in order to make sense of the world. There are ways in which people can make mistakes when they process information, such as by the influence of schemata. (Schemata are mental frameworks developed by previous experiences that influence the way future events and situations are perceived.) In addition, the mind is able to fabricate completely false memories, which can often make our mental processes fallible.
   According to the cognitive level of analysis, information input to the mind occurs via bottom-up processing -- from the sensory systems of the organism to the mind.
2. The mind can be studied scientifically, with the use of developing theories and scientific technology / scientific research methods: New theories that are often developed in the cognitive level of analysis can serve as an amendment for old theories, or can disprove old theories as false. This principle of the cognitive level of analysis is debatable because the research of scientific research methods in studying human behavior means that the studies often lack ecological validity. Cognition should be studied both in the laboratory environment as well as in a daily context.
3. Cognitive processes are influenced by both social and cultural factors: Frederic Bartlett (the cognitive psychologist known for coining the term "schema" with his 1932 experiment, War of the Ghosts) was the first to suggest this principle. He observed the effect of cultural cognitive frameworks on memory (aka cultural schemata on memory) and found that the memories were greatly influenced by the subjects' already-possessed frameworks of thinking. He found that people had problems remembering details from stories that are from different cultures. Bartlett demonstrated in his research that memory is not like a tape-recorder, simply recording what is"there", but is a reconstructive process. The reconstructing of memory for recall is why memory has the tendency to be distorted. 

BLA: All About Neurotransmitters

Neurotrasmitters

• The Biological Level of Analysis in IB psychology suggests that there are physiological origins of many behaviors
• The Biological Level of Analysis suggests that human beings should be studied as biological organisms
• This view is controversial, so IB psychology attempts to approach human behavior with a holistic view -- considering the cognitive, biological and socio-cultural factors that a person experiences daily -- to determine origins for human behavior
• The relationship between cognition and biology are bidirectional -- cognition can affect biology, while biology can affect cognition
• Many physiological factors play a role in human behavior, such as:
• Brain processes
• Neurotransmitters
• Hormones
• Genes

Let us first review the three principles of the BLA before proceeding...

1. Behavior can be innate

2. Studying animal behaviors can help us understand human behavior

3. There are biological components to behavior -- such as a neurotransmitter for a certain trait

The BLA is often criticized for trying to break down complex and complicated human behavior down into its smallest component parts -- such as into a specific molecule, hormone, neurotransmitter. This is too simplistic an approach to take when we are trying to analyze complex organisms. "There are no easy answers to complex questions"

-N E U R O T R A N S M I T T E R S-

A. Neurons (nerve cells) are one of the building blocks of behavior. Neurons can make up to 13 trillion connections with each other.

B. Neurons relay electrochemical messages to the brain, so the organism can respond to internal and external stimuli

i) When electrochemical messages are sent to the brain, this is called neurotransmission

ii) When an electrochemical impulse travels down the body of the neuron, neurotransmitters are released and cross the synapses (gaps) between the neurons. 

iii) Neurotrasmitters can be considered as the body's natural chemical messengers which transmits information transmits information from one neuron to another neuron

C. Neurotransmitters have a range of different effects on human behavior, such as:

1) Mood 

2) Memory

3) Sexual arousal

4) Mental illness

- E X A M P L E -

Martinez and Kesner 1991 - The Role of the Neurotrasmitter Acetylcholine on Memory Formation -

•  Aim: To see the role that acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) has in memory formation 
• Acetylcholine: believed to play a role in memory formation, thus the experiment was testing this assumption / hypothesis
• Procedure: The rats learned how to complete a maze that had food at the destination. The rats were then separated into three different groups and:

• Group 1: A group of rats injected with scopolamine, which blocks acetylcholine receptors on the neurons, thus decreasing the available acetylcholine.
• Group 2: A group of rats injected with physostigmine, which blocks the clean up process of cholinesterase, which is responsible for the clean up of acetylcholine from the receptors.
• Group 3: A group of control rats, not treated with anything
• Results: The rats in Group 2 were able to complete the maze quicker than any other rats of the other groups. Group 1 was slowest at completing the race. The control group (Group 3) was able to complete the race at an average pace.
• Interpretation: Acetylcholine is responsible for the formation of memory, as the rats that had blocked acetylcholine receptors were unable to complete the race as efficiently as the other rats. On the other hand, we can also confirm that acetylcholine is responsible for the formation of memory because Group 2 (that had been injected with physostigmine, a compound that prevents cholinesterase from cleaning up the receptor sites and ridding the sites of acetylcholine) was quickest at finding its way through the mazes.

Evaluation of this experiment:

2.1-2.3 BLA Outcomes

Biological Level of Analysis

2.1 Physiology and Behavior

First of all, the biological level of analysis argues that there are physiological factors that affect behavior in organisms. It should be noted, however, that physiology is not the only factor that impacts behavior. The environment and cognition may interact with biological systems and affect physiology. Biology can affect cognition, and cognition can equally affect biology. (The two are bidirectional). The biological level of analysis takes on a reductionist view - they believe that behavior is caused by biological factors (e.g. hormones, neurotransmitters, etc.) This reductionist view is often criticized for being overly-simplistic for explaining behavior.

<NATURE V.S. NURTURE EVENT>… "Is behavior a result of biological factors or environment?"

(IB psychology takes on an interactionist approach: meaning they do not rely solely on either biological or environmental factors)

- Outline principles that define the biological level of analysis

1) Behavior can be innate because it is genetically based (What you do naturally, on instinct. This is a result of evolution)

2) Animal research can provide insight into human behavior. This is why a lot of research is done on animals.

3) There are biological correlates to behavior - hormones, proteins, metabolism and neurotransmitters are all known to affect the behavior of a person.

               

- Explain how principles that define the biological level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (through theories or studies)

1) There are biological correlates of behavior: Newcomer at al (1999) performed an experiment on the role of the stress hormone cortisol on verbal declarative memory. Cortisol is a hormone that is known to interfere with your memory. He collected a total of 51 people for an experiment that tested memory and cognitive functions before and after treatment of high doses or low doses of cortisol, or inactive substances (=control substance). As a result of this experiment, Newcomer et al observed that memory impairment happened only in the individuals who were treated with high doses of cortisol, after only four days of exposure. However, the researchers also found out that this memory loss was only temporary as after a week of having a wash-out period, all the subjects’ memory performances returned to their untreated levels. This experiment shows that there are biological correlates to behavior – in this case, cortisol being a hormone that affects the memory performance of an individual.

More on this experiment at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/06/990617072302.htm

(2) Animal research can provide insight into human behavior: This means that researchers use animals to study human physiological processes, because it is assumed that biological processes in animals are the same, or similar as in humans. One important reason for using animals is that there is a lot of research where humans cannot be used for ethical reasons (such as hurting the subject). The use of animal research in order to provide insight into human behavior can be demonstrated in the studies of Martinez and Kezner (1991), where an experiment was carried out studying the role of neurotransmitters in learning and memory. (This is an experiment that used various chemicals to test acetylcholine, which is responsible for memory retention.) The mice’s brains were altered and observed – the results were generalized to humans as well.

(3) Human behavior innate, and thus genetically based: Researchers interested in the genetic origin of behavior often use twin studies so they can compare one twin with the other on a variable such as intelligence, depression or anorexia nervosa. Bouchard et al (1990) who performed the Minnesota twin study, a longitudinal study investigating the relative role of genes in IQ. He found that IQ was affected by environment, but also have genetic influences as well. This shows that some behavior (such as a person’s intelligence) is innate (such as in one’s genetic material).

               

- Discuss how any why particular research methods are used at the biological level of analysis

- Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis

Laboratory experiments: At the biological level of analysis, lab experiments are commonly used to establish cause and affect relationships between the variables that are being studied. A key point at this level of analysis is the use of animal experiments as well as human experiments. When researchers want to test the degree of changes to physiology (i.e. by injection of neurochemicals or hormones) or to test the effectiveness of a new medication, lab experiments are used. Ethical considerations should always be made; when the researchers are testing new medications, the results are unpredictable - the patient's health and well-being cannot be guaranteed. The patients should be fully aware of the study they are taking part in. Their personal identities should also be protected. Using ‘codes’ or listing the patients as ‘anonymous’ will help protect the patient’s identities. Laboratory experiments are useful because they allow the researchers to make accurate conclusions and establish clear cause and effect relationships.

Case Studies: The case study is another way to carry out research on human participants, as well as on animals. Instead of causing some kind of change to a person’s physiology, researchers can take advantage of naturally occurring irregularities (e.g. SEVERE brain damage or long term drug use) by obtaining detailed information about the participant’s condition. As this approach is mostly descriptive, there is relatively little harm that can be done to participants. This means that there are less ethical concerns that in lab experiments – the irregularities are present before the researcher studies the subjects. The most important ethical concerns for case studies are the depth of information that the researcher has access to and the researchers' steps to protect subject anonymity. The depth of information affects the subjects because the information has the potential to affect their daily lives. For example, if they are notified by the researcher that they have a mental disability, this could harm the subject’s self-esteem or confidence. Presenting or revealing the true names of the participants could harm their chances of living normal lives – getting jobs, for example. Thus, using pseudonyms or ‘anonymity’ is an acceptable way to protect the subject’s privacy.

- Explain one study of localization of function of the brain

Paul Broca (1861) was a psychologist who carried out a longitudinal study of a specific case where a patient was unable to speak, but could understand conversations. This patient was named Tan for he was unable to say anything except for the word 'tan'. Although he was mute, he was able to understand simple conversations. After Tan's death, Broca performed an autopsy and found that the left frontal lobe of Tan's brain was severely damaged. Broca came to the conclusion that the brain was localized - specific parts of the brain performed particular tasks that it was specialised to perform. Broca hypothesized that the left frontal lobe of the brain was responsible for tasks such as producing speech (locution) as well as deducing meaning from complex language, emotions, and analysis of syntax. Broca was one of the first psychologists to suggest that the brain was localized.

- Explain, using examples, functions of two hormones in human behavior

Hormones are a class of chemicals that affect behavior. They are produced by the glands that make up a system separate from the nervous system called the endocrine system. Unlike neurotransmitters, they are released into the bloodstream so they take a longer amount of time to produce changes in behavior, but are longer-lasting than neurotransmitters.

                1- Oxytocin is a hormone that is created by the hypothalamus after being stimulated by the pituitary gland. It is a hormone that is released by touches and hugs, and is associated with bonding between a mother and her child as well as between lovers. As a hormone, oxytocin plays a role by inducing labor contractions and lactation. Oxytocin is thought to change the brain signals that are related to social recognition via facial expression in the part of the brain that is responsible for processing emotional stimuli (that is, the amygdala). When oxytocin is injected into a healthy adult brain, the fear regulatory circuits are affected and there is an increase in trust and generosity of that person, so oxytocin is often called the love cocktail. Those who suffer from social anxiety (that is, the inability to trust) might therefore benefit from injection of oxytocin.

                2- Melatonin is another hormone that researchers think may help those with insomnia or jet lag. The production of melatonin is stimulated by darkness and is inhibited by light. Therefore, melatonin levels are high during the night (peaks in the middle of night) and low during the day (gradually decreases during the morning). Therefore, as winter approaches and the days become shorter, this means that we are inclined to feel more tired earlier.

Melatonin is a hormone that corresponds with the circadian rhythm (the internal 24 hour clock that we have in our bodies) and it is suggested that taking melatonin early in the evening helps one's ability to fall asleep. [However, if levels of melatonin are TOO high, this could lead to lethargy and sleepiness: for example, the short days of autumn and winter are known to affect the circadian rhythm of some people and cause a form a depression. This depression is called SAD - seasonal affective disorder. SAD is seen often in European countries with short hours of light during the day in winter, such as in Scandinavia. ]

- Explain, using examples the effects of neurotransmission on human behavior

Nerve cells, also called neurons, are the building blocks of behavior. These neurons send electrochemical messages to the brain so people can respond to stimuli that is either external (environmental) or internal (from internal changes of the body). The messages that are sent are sent by a method called neurotransmission. When an electrical impulse travels from the body of a nerve cell, it releases neurotransmitters which then cross synapses between nerve cells. Neurotransmitters are natural chemical messengers that transmit information from one nerve cell to another nerve cell. (The neurotransmitters are stored in the nerve cell's terminal buttons). After it crosses the nerve synapse, the neurotransmitters fit into receptor sites on the post-synaptic membrane and the message of the neurotransmitter is passed on. They can affect the mood, memory, sexual arousal or mental illness of a person. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for the development of memory, and serotonin is a neurotransmitter that can make a person sleepy or emotional.

- Discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes

Page 46, brain plasticity: Before the 1960s, it was believed that the makings and the functionality of the brain was completely based on biological principles. However, Hubel and Wiesel (1965) found that the brain is equally stimulated and affected by the environment of which it is in. Hubel and Wiesel found that environmental enrichment can modify the brain (cerebral cortex, specifically). The brain is constantly changing as a result of experience and environment throughout the lifespan.

For example, brain plasticity is the brain's ability to change in order to enhance or increase learning or experience. The neural connections are remade and the structure of the brain is changed. It changes due to the challenges of the environment – the brain adapts. Appropriate learning and experience at certain times can increase the density of neural connections, which in turn allow the brain to be capable to learn EVEN MORE. This rebranching of neurons is called dendritic branching.

Rozenwig and Bennett (1972): researchers placed two rats in different environments to study the effect of either enrichment or deprivation on the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex. The rat with a lot of toys to play with (thus, the “enrichment” group) was found to have denser neural connections in the cerebral cortex. The rat with no toys had no particular thickness of neurons in the cerebral cortex. Also, the frontal lobes (which have to do with thinking) were heavier in the rats in the stimulating (enriching) environment. Therefore, we can infer that environment is a large factor that affects physiology.

*In other studies it was found that the thickest cortexes are found within rats that were placed in stimulating environments along with OTHER rats to interact with.

- Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of behavior

Humans themselves are able to change the functionality of the brain, as it was found in a study by Richard Davidson (2004). Eight Buddhist monks who have been meditating for a long period of their lives, and average adults who have trained in meditation for 100 hours were told to meditate on love and compassion. Using a PET scan, Davidson found that the levels of gamma waves produced were increased in all subjects during meditation. After meditating, he found that the monks' gamma wave production did not end, while the average subjects stopped producing gamma waves. (They had meditated on compassion for more than 10,000 hours in order to gain the rank of adept). Also, the gamma-wave area was seen to be larger in the monks than in the volunteers. Davidson argues that meditation can have significant long term effects on the brain and how it processes emotions. Therefore the brain can adapt to stimulation, either from external sources (such as the environment) or internal sources (such as cognition).

- Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between biological factors and behavior

Modern technology is used often in neuropsychology because it allows researchers to understand and study the active brain. This in turn allows researchers to study the localization functions of the brain. Researches before modern technology often included invasive studies on animals, because animal researches allowed the brain to be understood. However, these invasive techniques involved scarring and ablation of brain tissue and parts of the brain, so there were extreme ethical concerns with them. The behavior of animals before and after the lesioning was compared and studied. In case of lesioning and scarring, the potential harm to animals cannot be determined, and damage that is caused to the animals cannot be reversed. This is a big ethical concern for animal research. The animals may feel pain as well. This is why modern imaging technologies such as EEG, PET and fMRI scans are popular and ethical ways of studying the brain and behavior.

The EEG is used by modern researchers to study the brain. The EEG is a printout that shows 'brainwaves'. The electrical charges of neural activity are shown in these printouts. However, the EEG is not helpful for the fact that it does not show what is happening in deeper brain regions, or the active functions of the brain.

PET scans monitor glucose metabolism in the brain. A patient who is getting a PET scan is injected a harmless dose of radioactive glucose, and its radioactive particles are detected by the PET scan as it transfuses throughout the brain. This scan has been used to detect tumors, changes in Alzheimer's and comparison of healthy brains and brains with mental disorders. Gur et al found (1995) found more active metabolism in the brain centers that control violence in men, than in women. The largest advantage to a PET is that it can record current activity, such as thinking.

fMRI scans provide 3D photos of brain structures by using magnetic fields and radio waves. It shows actual brain activity and can show active parts of the brain when it is engaged in behavior. They have high resolutions and thus are easy to study and carry out.

2.2 Genetics and Behavior

- Outline principles that define the biological level of analysis:

The biological principles that define the biological level of analysis are: 1) that all behavior is correlated to biological factors 2) animal researches can help researchers understand human behavior 3) human behavior can be innate because it is genetically based. The reason that we know that behavior has biological correlates is because we have found that certain hormones and neurotransmitters can affect one's mood or behavior. We know that animal researches are helpful to us to understand our own physiology because brain structures are very similar across different species. Finally, we know that behavior can be innate because evolution has caused us to have intuitive knowledge and certain instincts, such as being hungry.

- Explain how principles that define the biological level of analysis may be demonstrated in research:

In the study of intelligence and inheritance of intelligence, Scarr and Weinberg (1977) as well as Horn et al (1979) studied parents who raised both adopted and natural children. It was assumed that all the children involved in the study were brought up in the same environment, with the same upbringing with the same parents. Therefore, it was also hypothesized that any difference between the parent-child IQ correlations for adopted and natural children should be attributable to genetics (ie genetic makeup or DNA). However, the researchers found no significant correlations between the IQ of the biological parents and the adopted children. This indicates that intelligence could largely be affected by environment, rather than by nature because the adopted children came from poor backgrounds with parents who had considerably low IQ scores, while their adoptive parents were wealthy, white and middle class parents with high IQ levels. Therefore, this study actually contradicts the biological principle that 'there is always a biological correlate to behavior' because this study supports the theory that intelligence is affected by environmental factors rather than biological factors.

- Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis:

At the biological level of analysis, particularly when studying genetics and behavior, adoption studies are performed often to study and directly compare genetic and environmental influences of behavior. Adoptive studies are studies where researchers try to determine if genetics influence an adopted child's behavior (in relation to their biological parents) or environment influences a child's behavior (thus the adoptive or foster family). Other research methods on the biological genetic level are twin studies and family studies. Twin and family studies generally study how genetics (such as DNA) can influence behavior. Some ethical considerations to make related to these types of genetic-biological researches is to make sure none of the subjects are directly influenced by the study's results. If a child who is adopted, but does not know so is involved in the study for adoptive studies, then the research should be covert. If this child were to find out that he/she was adopted without any prior explanation, then it would naturally come as a shock to the child. The emotional or internal burden that is a result of this would be a severe ethical concern.

- Discuss the extent to which genetics influence behavior

Genetic research in humans is largely based on study types called correlational studies. This is when researchers look at how different variables can co-vary. Therefore, correlational studies establish new relationships between variables, without the researcher manipulating any independent variables as they would do in an experiment. This is why, unlike experiments, no cause and effect of variables and factors can be determined in genetic research. Through these studies, such as twin studies, family studies and adoption studies, researchers are able to study the influences of genetics and the environment and determine the extent to which genetics influences one's behavior. Researchers have concluded that genetics does not completely dominate behavior, but many behaviors are influenced in various ways by genetic-makeup.

- Examine one evolutionary explanation of behavior

Evolution affecting behavior is one principle that is considered in the biological level of analysis. Darwin's theory of natural selection is one evolutionary explanation of behavior. Darwin states that members of a species (organisms) who have characteristics which better suit the environment in which they live will be more likely to breed and pass on their traits. This leads to evolutionary psychology, a field of psychology that suggests that as genes are mutated, the advantageous genes are passed on through the process of natural selection. Dan Fessler of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) carried out research on the 'disgust' impulse in pregnant women. He found that the emotion of disgust has allowed our ancestors to survive long enough to produce offspring, who then passed on the same tendencies (the impulse of disgust) to us. According to Fessler, many of the diseases that are most dangerous to humans are food-borne, and this is why evolution and adaption has caused people (pregnant women especially) to have a disgust-impulse towards food - to diminish the risk of illnesses and infections. Overall, Fessler suggests that the view of disgust is a protection against disease.

- Discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behavior

Researches of human genetics focus and identify particular genes that are involved in hereditary diseases. These types of researches pose risks to participants because there is a link between genetic heritage and people's lives. Sometimes the genetic information is problematic for participants or their families (such as discovering a mental illness) and it can be stigmatizing and affect people's abilities to get jobs and insurance. In any study, participants should always understand their privacy and confidentiality will be protected, and any genetic information that is derived will be obtained as a part of the study. The aims and methods of the studies should be explained in full detail to participants, and they should sign a consent paper showing that they understand. Fully anonymizing the samples of the genetic information would protect the identity of the participants. 

2.3 Integrative Look at Criminal Behavior

 Today, many psychologists recognize that criminal behavior is very complex. It results from a combination of risk factors (which involve both biological and environmental factors) which interact and aggravate one another. The more risk factors that are present, the more likely one is going to engage in criminal behavior. There are several theories that suggest a specific root of criminal behavior. These roots are genetics, brain abnormalities and neurochemical imbalances.

Hutchings and Mednick (1975) studied adoption cases and found that if both the biological and the adoptive fathers had criminal records, then 36% of the sons also had a criminal record. If the biological father was the only one who had a criminal record, it dropped to 21% and if only the adoptive father had a criminal record, the rate of the child also having a criminal record dropped to 11%. When neither fathers had criminal records, the rate of sons having criminal records was 10%. This shows the importance of environmental factors, combined with genetic factors that determine whether or not one will hold a criminal record. A limitation to this experiment is the fact that children are often placed with adoptive families who are similar to their biological families. Some children were also placed into adoptive homes long after their birth, which means the early-experiences the child had with the biological parents could largely affect his/her behavior. It should be noted here that "criminal behavior" refers to even the smallest of crimes to the largest of crimes - from tax evasion to first degree murder. This word is used in such a general sense that results of studies that use the word "criminal behavior" could be inaccurate.

The brain is involved in emotion making of a person, and thus can be attributed to one's behavior. Emotions are controlled by the limbic system in the brain, and decision making takes place in the frontal lobe. Therefore, if there is an impairment of the pathways between the amygdala (which is responsible for emotional responses) and the frontal lobe,  the individual with the impairment might have difficulty in moderating emotional reactions. This will make social relationships difficult because the individual is not able to develop empathy or feelings of guilt, and thus acts more capriciously, without regard for the consequences.

Gender is also an interesting aspect to crime. 90% of apprehended murderers were male, as well as 82% who were arrested for violent crime. This is because of the low levels of serotonin in men links to antisocial and impulsive behavior. The most important thing to remember about biological factors and crime is that these factors are not the only cause for criminal behavior. It is only when these factors are combined with social and cognitive risk factors that violence and criminal behavior will occur. 

4.1-4.2 SLA Outcomes

Sociocultural Level of Analysis

4.1 Sociocultural Cognition

•Outline principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis (for example, the social and cultural environment influences individual behavior; we want connectedness with, and a sense of belonging to, others; we construct our conceptions of the individual and social self).

One principal that defines the sociocultural level of analysis is the fact that humans are social animals and have a basic need to belong. Human behavior can only be fully understood when the social context the human is in is taken into account. Not only is the individual affected by a larger group, but the larger group is affected by the individual as well.

Culture is another principle that defines the sociocultural level of analysis because the beliefs that are deeply embedded in a culture the individual is in affects the way an individual perceives and understands things. The study of culture will help us further understand the effects it has on an individual's behavior, and appreciate the different in cultures. A third principle that defines the sociocultural level of analysis is that people have a social self as well as an individual self. This means that people behave differently when they are in social situations. Lastly, a principle that defines the sociocultural level of analysis is the fact that the way an individual perceives things are unlikely to change. A persons views of the world are unlikely to change because of prior experiences, such as culture.

• Explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may be demonstrated in research.

The goal is to see how people interact with each other, so the majority of research that is used for sociocultural research is qualitative. It is important to have subjects act in the most natural way that is possible, so experiments or studies that lack ecological validity are best to be avoided. Because we need subjects to act in a natural way, most of the studies used are naturalistic - as it really is. Participant observations, covert experiments, interviews and focus groups are used to collect and analyze data.

• Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural level of analysis (for example, participant/naturalistic observation, interviews, case studies).
• Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of analysis.

 Methods that are used in research for sociocultural level of analysis are; participant observations, interviews, focus groups… these are all the best ways to observe the way an individual interacts with others in a social setting because they help keep the research/studies as naturalistic as possible - as the way things really are. The best method to ensure that subjects act in a natural way is "participant observation". The experimenter or researcher places him or herself in a social setting for an extended period of time and observes the behavior of the subject in their natural environment. These participant observations can be either covert (where the participant doesn't know they're being observed) or overt (where the participant knows they are being observed.) When it is overt, there is a chance that the participant may not act naturally… they may change the way they act. Therefore, in overt observations, it is important for the subject to trust the researcher. The researcher needs to be nonjudgmental and try to see the world through the subject's eyes. Covert observations do not have the problem of the subject acting in an unnatural way, which is an advantage. Covert observations are used with groups that may be a potential threat if they knew they were being observed - such as groups involved in gangs and drug transactions. Covert observations record the participant’s information without their consent, which has the potential to be an ethical violation in terms of the participant's privacy concerns.

• Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior.

People are inclined to attribute dispositional (internal) and situational factors towards people's and their own behavior. People tend to attribute reasons to things that happen because they need reasons to understand why things happen. When people have reasons, they feel more stable and less tense, as opposed to when there are no reasons to explain why certain things have taken place. In the attribution theory, there are two types of factors people tend to use; dispositional factors, where people attribute reasons to the individual's personality, thoughts and opinions (For example, if a date was late to dinner: "does he actually hate me?" "he must think I'm boring…") and situational factors, where the individual's situation is held responsible for the happening (For example, if a date was late to dinner: "his alarm clock must be lagging." or "maybe a car ran over him?")

• Discuss two errors in attributions (for example, fundamental attribution error, illusory correlation, self‑serving bias).

Fundamental attribution error is an error in attribution in which people tend to overestimate the role of dispositional factors in an individual's behavior, and underestimate an individual's situational factors. People tend to gather information of other people by observing them and their actions, which usually leads to illogical conclusions. People tend to think of them-selves as adaptable and flexible, and easy to accept change. However, when people look at others, they do not have ENOUGH information to make a balanced decision, become a bit illogical and tend to attribute their behavior to disposition. (For example; "Oh, he's just that type of person")

Self-serving bias is an error in attribution that is similar to the fundamental attribution error. Self-serving bias is when people tend to accredit their successes to their own dispositional factors. On the other hand, people also tend to attribute their failures to situational factors. They do this to disassociate themselves from their own failures and to protect and stabilize our self-esteem. Thus, we can say that the attribution error, self-serving bias is a way for ourselves to protect ourselves.

• Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.

The social identity theory is a theory that assumes that people strive to improve their own self-images by creating a larger self-esteem, based on their personal identity or social identities. People can increase their self-esteem by being with successful in-groups, and doing so indicates the importance of social belonging. The social identity theory is also based on the process of social categorization… categorizing successful in-groups and in-group favoritism, as well as conformity to in-group norms. When people are in a group, they assume that it is their in-group, and all others outside of their in-group are a part of the out-group. They develop in-group favoritism and discrimination against the out-group. This favoring the in-group and discriminating the out-group is also known as "social comparison", which is a way that people maintain and heighten their self-esteem. Although the social identity theory is a good way to understand human behavior, it does not portray human behavior accurately because sometimes, our personal identity is stronger than our group identity, and we develop a sense of individualism. Also, the in-group will not always be the ONLY factor affecting a person's thoughts and in-group favoritism (behavior). It can also be a result of the environment that interacts with the "self"… cultural expectations and social norms also play a big role in the way an individual behaves.

• Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior.

 A stereotype is defined as the social perception of an individual in terms of group-membership or physical attributes that are often exaggerated. It’s a generalization that is made of a group or somebody who belongs in a group, and the generalization can be either positive or negative, and it also affects the person who holds the stereotype.

Stereotype threats are threats that occur when one is in a situation where they might be judged. They feel that whatever they do may lead to the confirming of the stereotype… this is pressure to the individual. When the individual feels stress such as this, they actually perform at a lower or worse rate due to the emotional distress and pressure. When their performance at a certain task is undermined because of the pressure, the stereotype is confirmed by others that are present.

How does a stereotype form? A stereotype forms when people have a personal experience with a certain person or group, and also from gatekeepers (media, parents, other members in our culture). Personal experience with a person will be inevitably categorized, and then the experience will be generalized to the whole group that person is from. Gatekeepers help with the formation of stereotypes because the media and other gatekeepers spread these generalizations made.

Stereotypes are also a result of illusory correlation, or confirmation bias. An individual will find correlations between variables (when there is no correlation) in order to confirm a stereotype that was made of a person/group. Also, an individual is likely to ignore all facts/evidence that contradict the stereotype, and recognize all the evidence that supports it (confirmation bias).

4.2 Social and Cultural Norms

• Explain social learning theory, making reference to two relevant studies.

Humans learn by observing others… this is called the social learning theory. By observational learning, people watch a model's behavior and copy (imitate) their behavior. Sometimes, the model attempts to have a direct effect on the student, but most of the time models do not attempt to have direct effect and rather tend to influence an individual's behavior without intending to do so. When the model tries to have a direct effect on the individual, it is usually a teacher/student or parent/child relationship. When the model is not aiming to influence an individual's behavior and does so unknowingly, it is usually through media. The social learning theory requires four steps…

                1) Attention: the model must grab the attention of an individual

                2) Retention: model's behavior must stay with the individual even after the model leaves

                3) Motor reproduction: the individual must replicate the behavior

                4) Motivation: the individual must be motivated to demonstrate whatever they learned.

Motivation is affected by many factors such as: (the observer seeing the) repetition of the model's behavior, liking the model, the rewards or punishments the model receives after the action, and identification with the model (if the model is alike to them or not, in terms of gender and age or even profession).

Albert Bandura performed a study studying the social learning theory, as well as the significance of the theory when using same-sex models.  There were 36 boys and 36 girls, all ages 3-6 years old. They were divided into groups by aggression, which the parents contributed to by saying whether their child was aggressive or not. To see if children would imitate behavior, one group was shown a video where an adult showed aggression toward a bobo doll. A second group was shown a video of a model that was assembling toys for 10 minutes, and the control group was not shown a model at all. (Some girl children saw women models, boy children saw male models… this is a factor that affects the social learning theory… "Likeness to the model" One the other hand, some kids saw videos of opposite sex models). After being shown the video, the children were placed in a room with toys. Then, shortly after, they were taken to another room that closely resembled the room that their model was in, with the same bobo doll. As a result of the experiment, the social learning theory was demonstrated in the study - children in the group that were shown the aggression video acted the same way, beating, punching and hitting the bobo doll in a similar way that their models had. The children in the aggression group were significantly more aggressive than those in the other groups - both verbally AND physically. As for the same-sex model theory, girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression and boys physical aggression. (Boys who saw the women models beating the bobo doll in the video also said "girls shouldn't do that"… thus kids were more likely to imitate same-sex models). This experiment has low ecological validity because it was carried out in a lab. Also, the aggression of models in the videos were not all standardized, so the children may have all seen different levels of aggression… this would affect how they imitated the models.

A study was carried in Canada that also tested the social learning theory: children were found to be significantly more aggressive in a village two years after television had been introduced to the town. This study shows that there may have been a link with aggression and television (children imitating models they see on TV)… but there could have been other factors that affected the violence in children as well.

• Discuss the use of compliance techniques

Compliance is from the direct pressure to respond to a request (the direct pressure is not necessarily evident to the subject.) There are many compliance techniques, and of these, the most major techniques are: DITF, FITD and reciprocity.

 The door in the face technique is a technique where a large request is made at first. The first request is so large that it is already determined by the requester that it will be turned down. After the subject turns the large request down, the requester then asks a smaller request, which will seem much easier to fulfill and agree to, compared to the first request. The smaller request is actually the request that the requester wanted the subject to comply to, and because the subject feels guilty for turning down the first request, they are likely to agree to the second request. They tend to do this because they feel as if the requested has had to concede his former request to a smaller one.

The foot in the door technique is a technique when a small commitment or request is made to an individual. Once the individual complies or agrees to fulfill the commitment/request, a related request is then asked of the individual. The second request is usually a larger request, but it is likely that the individual will agree because people tend to want to be committed and consistent in their beliefs. Thus, this is an effective technique when trying to get an individual to commit to a large request - you simply have them agree to a smaller (but related) request first, so they have a sense of commitment/ develop a sense of consistency.

Lastly, the reciprocity principle is a principle that ensures that what you give to others will always be returned to you in some form. When people do nice things for you, you are more likely to feel a need or an urge to do something nice back for them. This is reciprocity, and is an effective technique for compliance because it is a social norm - treat others the same way that they treat us.

• Evaluate research on conformity to group norms.

Conformity is when people feel they have to adjust their own thoughts, beliefs or opinions in order to be in agreement with a certain person or a group. People tend to want to conform to group norms because they have a need to belong in a social setting. Because people want to "belong" and want to avoid cognitive dissonance, they willingly or unwillingly change their ideas about things to be in agreement with an in-group.

• Discuss factors influencing conformity (for example, culture, groupthink, risky shift, minority influence).

 Culture and minority opinions are factors that influence how a person conforms. Culture is a large and impressive factor because the ideas that a person has because of the culture they are in controls their perception of reality. Some cultures are known to look at conformity as a positive attribute (such as Japan and east-Asian cultures) while Western cultures tend to frown upon conformity. This shows that the likelihood of an individual conforming to a group is directly affected by the culture the situation is set in. If you were in a culture that looks at conformity positively, you would be more likely to conform and "go with the flow", while if you were from a cultural background that treasures individualism, you would be less likely to conform.

Minority opinions can influence conformity within groups if they are CONSISTENT. Consistent minority opinions in a group show individuals that there ARE dissenting opinions and it the fact that the dissenting opinions are consistent shows that there is a commitment to an alternative view of things. Without minority opinions, a group's decision making process would be flawed. If there were no minority opinions, there would be groupthink within a group - where a group all agrees unanimously on a subject and alternative ideas are not suggested… thus the group is blinded by the optimism that their decisions and ideas will always be successful.

• Define the terms “culture” and “cultural norms”.

Culture can be defined as common rules that regulate interactions and behavior in a group, as well as a number of shared values and attitudes in the group. Culture is a dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and behaviors. There is a deep culture and a surface culture. Surface culture often refers to the culture that you can see, such as; food, clothing, and language. Deep culture often refers to the beliefs and attitude that underpin cultural manifestations.

Cultural norms are behavior patterns that are typical to a specific culture. They are usually passed down generation by generation, through parents, peers, media and religious leaders.

• Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior

Individualist societies and collectivist societies:

Individualist societies tend to have loose ties between individuals… they are expected to be able to take care of themselves as well as their immediate families. On the other hand, collectivist societies integrate each individual upon birth with close communal relationships and people tend to be strongly bonded together. In a collectivist group, if an individual is not able to meet expectations of their group the results are sometimes severe (i.e. a shunning or being banned from certain luxuries that other members in the group/culture have access to) Individualist cultures tend to have a well-defined boundary between individuals and society, while collectivist cultures tend to have a sense of connectedness/connection within each member of that society/culture.

A second dimension is uncertainty v.s. avoidance. This tests a culture's tolerability for uncertainty and ambiguity. In some cultures, members of that culture are alright with uncertainties and ambiguities, and deal well with vague situations. On the other hand, other cultures' members feel uncomfortable when faced with ambiguous and vague situations. These uncertainty-avoiding cultures stabilize themselves by setting many laws, regulations and rules within their culture, and on a religious/philosophical level, believe in absolute Truth ("There can only be on Truth, and we have it")

• Using examples, explain emic and etic concepts

Understanding the role of culture in human behavior is essential in a multicultural world. Many of the founding theorists of psychology took a solely western view. They attempted to find universal behaviors – they were looking for rules of human behavior that could be applied to all cultures around the world. This is an ETIC approach to psychology. Etic approaches are taken within cross-cultural psychology where behavior is compared across specific cultures. For example, etic studies involve drawing on the notion of universal properties of cultures, which share common perceptual, cognitive, and emotional structures.
The emic approach to psychology looks at behaviors that are culturally specific. Emics have challenged psychologists to re-examine their ideas of truth with regard to culture. In most cases, truth might be relative, based on the culture in which one is raised. In that case, it is important for psychologists to recognize these cultural variations in order to best understand members of other cultural groups. For example, how “politeness” or “decorum” is defined varies depending on the culture that is being observed. 

SLA: Cumulative Study Sheet

Download/view file here 

Includes:

• Leon Festinger
• Solomon Asch
• Fundamental attribution error
• Self-serving bias

(Don't worry - it's a link to my skydrive, I wasn't able to copy/paste the document here for some reason, sorry:)

CLA Study - Frederic Bartlett (1932)

Cultural Cognitive Schema
Frederic Bartlett - considered one of the first cognitive psychologists of his time.

• Studied the recall abilities in subjects who heard a story from a different culture in order to examine the relationship of cognitive schemata and memory capacity. 

Bartlett used British subjects and gave them a short Native American legend called "The War of the Ghosts". They were told to read the story two times, and then after a short interval they were told to recall the story that they had just read. They were then to visit the laboratory several times over the course of weeks, months and years. This method is called serial reproduction - where the subjects have to recall the same story over different intervals of time.

• Laboratory experiment - question the ecological validity of this study.
• Cultural diversity - all the subjects were British, and the story they read was a Native American legend.
• Read the story here

As a result, Bartlett found that the subjects were all prone to similar errors in their recall abilities. These are:

• Assimilation: the subjects contorted the story so that it would fit their cultural standards. Bartlett interpreted this to be because it made it easier for the subjects to remember the story if it fit their cultural norms. The subjects' cultural schemata was responsible for the distorting of the true facts  during their recall.
• Cognitive schema: a mental view or expectations you have on certain subjects due to past experiences. Current or inherent cognitive schemata will alter the way you will interpret information in the future. In this case, cultural experiences and schemata have altered the facts of the legend in a way that made it easier for the subjects to make the incongruous facts more coherent to themselves.
• Leveling: when the subjects recalled the story, it was much shorter than the original. This is because the subjects unconsciously discarded information from the legend that did not fit their cultural schemata or standards. Information that was not comprehensible culturally was considered excess / incongruous.
• Sharpening: the subjects tended to change the order of the story in order to make it more coherent to themselves. They also tended to add emotions and extra information that was not in the original story in order to fit their own cultural frameworks. 

The subjects still recalled the general theme of the story but changed small details in order to make the stories more coherent to their expectations. The subjects distorted the story in this way because it is easier to remember things that follow a certain cognitive rule - in this case, it is cultural schemata. 

*However, it should be noted that extreme schemata-contradicting facts tend to stick in one's memory as well. This is because the information comes as a "shock" to the subjects.

Interpretation: Bartlett concluded that memory recall was a reconstructive process, not a passive process of simply remembering the words for what they are. The fact that the subjects were prone to alter the stories to fit their expectations supports Bartlett's theory. Reconstruction allows subjects to making meaning out of what they remember.

• Memories are not copies of experiences. The mind alters and interprets these experiences. 

Evaluation / things to consider:

• Gender of the subjects is not considered - most likely, both genders were used
• Serial reproduction was a method, but otherwise nothing was rigorously controlled
• Laboratory experiment = are the results ecologically valid?
• Naturalistic material was used instead of non-sense material = good
• Distinct instructions were not given to the participants

3.3 CLA Outcomes

Summary of 3.3
Cognitive level of analysis: An integrative look at happiness

Are rich people happier? ... This is not always the case.

According to the psychologist Lyubomirsky (2001), our inborn genetic set-point for happiness can account for up to 50 percent of our own happiness, where as 10 percent is due to circumstances and 40 percent is something that can be influenced by each individual. Happiness is not a concretely constructed concept... it may just be a cultural construction. 

Cognitive factors in happiness: beliefs about happiness:

Although people in the Western world are richer, they are not necessarily happier. This could be because people tend to compare themselves to others. Leon Festinger came up with a cognitive theory called the social comparison theory, where people learn about and assess themselves by comparison with others. According to the social comparison theory, people are happy if they have more than those they normally compare themselves to. Another explanation is that people link happiness to reaching certain goals, but they tend to set higher goals once they have achieved the first ones, therefore they end up never really feeling happy. Julian Rotter proposed the level of aspiration theory. This theory suggests that people examine what they can gain and how likely it is that they will achieve it before they make decisions about what to do. Expectations are influenced by previous experience as well as a desire to reach their goals. People begin to calculate and formulate their general expectancies -  general ideas about what to expect in different situations. People are more motivated to achieve the goals that they set. However, the amount of happiness that is attained as a result of the goals are often too short-lived and minimal.

Myers and Dieners (1995) have shown that there is a contradiction between wealth and happiness. They found that although the proportion of Americans who said that they were very happy remained stable at around 1/3 while the incomes of Americans as a whole increased in the last fifty years. This suggests that there is no direct link between an increase in wealth and happiness. 

Hagerty (2003) studied the relationship between happiness and distributions of wealth. He found that happiness was positively correlated with equality of distribution of wealth in the country. The average level of life satisfaction was high as the inequality of income decreased. This can be explained via Festinger's social comparison theory. People tend to compare themselves to others, and comparing yourself to those who are more fortunate (aka upward comparison) leads to dissatisfaction.

Johnson and Kruger (2006) found that although many people believe there is a relationship between happiness and wealth, it is more "satisfaction with one's own salary that brings happiness." The size of the salary does not matter- the satisfaction of the individual with his/her own salary does. Therefore, if an individual thinks they are not getting paid enough, they are likely to be more dissatisfied. By comparing themselves to those who have higher salaries, they are dissatisfied as well.

Conway, di Fazio and Mayman (1999) from Canada investigated the illusion that "money brings happiness" in a group young males and females. Researchers found that there is a widespread belief that a high-status person was generally happier, less angry, less depressed and experienced less fear in their daily lives than low-status people.
⇒Like these, faulty assumptions and associations with variables are called illusory correlations. ⇒This study demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between wealth and happiness, even though this is not supported by psychological research.

Socio-cultural factors in happiness:

According to the Dalai Lama, the key to happiness is in our own hands. Happiness can be achieved through systematic training of the mind and heart, and through the reshaping of attitudes and outlook. 矢⇒The whole point of life is to be happy.
⇒Happiness is determined by one's state of mind than external conditions, as long as basic survival needs are met.
⇒Compassion for other people is an important part of one's spiritual development. It is also the basis for individual happiness and pleasure.

⇒Dalai Lama: "If people base their happiness on wealth, they will no longer be happy when they lose it. If they base their happiness on connectedness to other people, they will still have something valuable even once they lose all their money. Having empathy and trusting others are important steps toward true happiness."

It is true that average life satisfaction of nations is highly related to income, simply because this is associated with the fulfillment of basic needs and living longer. Experiencing positive emotions is also associated with social variables such as trust, safety and the lack of corruption. (This is positive psychology = psychology with the aim of conducting research that promotes human happiness and well-being)

Biological factors of happiness:

⇒People tend to adapt to their environments.
⇒Humans have inherited the ability to habituate (get used to things) to life's circumstances.
⇒This is why humans seem to get used to pleasant things, and start to take them for granted.
⇒Humans also have inherited the tendency to notice trouble, so we focus on the more troublesome aspects of life.
⇒Humans seem to have an inner voice of dissatisfaction that prompts us to strive for MORE.

Genetics:

David Lykken: "We have an innate base-line or set-point of happiness that depends largely on the individual." The Happiness Twin Study conducted by David Lykken et al in 1996, which compared happiness scores among sets of identical and fraternal twins who grew up together or were reared apart. If the twins have similar happiness levels but are reared apart, then happiness must be genetic. ⇒Researchers found that identical twins had very similar happiness scores, and fraternal twins did not: leading them to conclude that each individual has a genetically influenced set-point for happiness, and that 50 percent of the difficulties in a person's happiness level is genetically determined.

The researchers also suggested that only 10 percent of the variance in happiness levels can be explained by situation factors. This is supported by research where richer and more beautiful people are not happier than the average person. Therefore, 40 percent of happiness remains to be in the control of the individual. 

Typical characteristics of happy people, according to Sonja Lyubomirsky in The How of Happiness

• They devote time to family and friends
• They can express gratitude for what they have
  
• They are the first to volunteer to help others
• They are naturally optimistic
• They enjoy pleasures of live and live in the present
• They spend time doing physical activities
• They are committed to lifelong goals 
• They cope well in calamities