Eight mark questions.

Sociocultural level of analysis -

Outline two errors in attribution. (I know this one is too long but I was not
sure how to condense it)
Psychologists at the sociocultural level of analysis investigate human
behaviour in various ways, one of these is by analysing an individuals
errors in attribution. Errors in attribution are the flaws in human logic
which allow an individual to function in their society, some debate their
function as means of self-preservation others argue that they aid to
improve an individuals social experience. Fundamental attribution error is
applicable when an individual overestimates the role of dispositional
factors whilst underestimating the role of the situational factors.
Sociocultural psychologists Ross et al. conducted an experiment into such
behaviour in 1977. They enlisted university students as participants, each
participant was given a role in an acted gameshow scenario; the host, the
contestants or the as an audience member. They were told that the host
of the gameshow would write the questions and then ask contestants.
After the scenario had played out the researchers asked the audience
members who had appeared most intelligent. They voted that the hot was
most intelligent without knowing anything about them other than the
acted gameshow scenario that they had watched. Ross et al. concluded
that the audience members attributed the intelligence of the host to
dispositional factors that they were asking the questions, and had
underestimated the situational questions- they had written the questions.
This supports the fundamental attribution error theory.
Another error in attribution observed by psychologists at the sociocultural
level of analysis is the self-serving bias. This error in attribution is shown
when an individual takes credit for their success and attributes it to
dispositional factors, and when an individual attributes their failure to
situational factors. An example of this would be when a student passes a
test and attributes their success to a dispositional factor such as their
intelligence, but when the student fails their next test they attribute their
poor performance to a situational factor such as the difficulty of the
questions on the test. Psychologists Greenberg et al. studied this
phenomenon in 1982. From their research they suggested that errors in
attribution were a method of self-preservation; a way of protecting ones
self esteem.
These errors in attribution are studied by psychologists at the
sociocultural level of analysis in order to deepen their understanding of
human behaviour with significant applications to real life situations.

Describe one theory or study on the formation of stereotypes.

Stereotypes are a set of assumptions that an individual makes about a
community/culture, they can be both positive and negative. They are
often wide spread beliefs passed through a community, often with little
substantial backing. An example of a stereotype observed in real life is the
culinary/dietary choices of a specific culture, such as that people in France
all enjoy escargot, that all people in India enjoy curry, all people in China
enjoy rice. These stereotypes, although not true become synonymous with
the culture that they represent.
One theory which aims to explain the formation of stereotypes is the
illusionary correlation theory suggested by sociocultural psychologists
Hamilton and Gifford in 1976. This theory states that stereotypes occur
because humans seek to see a relationship between variables even when
there is none. This creates fallacious assumptions that are applied to
entire cultures. Hamilton and Gifford suggest this is done in order to
better understand ones environment.
This theory explains how stereotypes are formed by individuals even when
they appear illogical at the sociocultural level of analysis.

Explain why one particular research method is used at the sociocultural

level of analysis.
At the sociocultural level of analysis many various research method may
be used in order fully understand human behaviour according to the
principles of this level of analysis. One such method is experiments, they
are widely used by psychologists researching behaviour at the
sociocultural level of analysis as they offer a number of benefits which
contribute to the validity, reliability and credibility of the research. There
are various types of experiments; natural, field and laboratory.
Experiments are used at the sociocultural level of analysis because they
can clearly show the cause and effect relationship between two variables.
The two variables being the independent and dependent variables. In a
laboratory experiment these variables can be closely controlled by the
researcher to allow for complete manipulation which is not possible in
case studies or observations. In a laboratory setting the extraneous
variables can also be controlled to improve the reliability of the research.
Natural (quasi) and field experiments are used by psychologists at the
sociocultural level of analysis because they limit demand characteristic
which would significantly affect the validity of the research however this
makes the experiment difficult to replicate which compromises the validity
of the research.

Overall at the sociocultural level of analysis psychologist use experiments

to manipulate variables in a controlled setting in order to establish a
cause and effect relationship providing scientific qualitative data. This
data is sued to support and refute existing theories as well as aiding to
the formation of new ones.
Outline how one principle that defines the sociocultural level of analysis
has been demonstrated in research (theory or study).
A principle which defines the sociocultural level of analysis is that human
behaviour can be influenced by social and cultural factors. This principle
has been demonstrated in the research of sociocultural psychologist Asch.
Asch conducted an experiment in 1951 which investigated social
conformity. The participant was put in a situation with seven confederates
and given a choice. They were asked to choose which of the three lines on
the right corresponded to the one on the right in regards to length. The
confederates were told by the researchers to give incorrect answers.
Asch found that overall there was a 32% conformity rate and 74% of
participants conformed at least once. Asch concluded that when
confederates all gave an incorrect answer the participant felt the need to
conform even when the answer was obvious as they did not want to stand
out.
This study reflects the principle that behaviour can be influenced by social
and cultural factors as the participants changed their answers due to
social pressures and therefore changed their behaviour in order to
conform to their social setting.

Describe one cultural dimension of human behaviour.

The sociocultural theory of cultural dimensions were first suggested and
investigated by Hofstede in 1963-67 during his IBM research study. His
study was a longitudinal in depth cultural study across 40 countries which
aimed to distinguish various cultural dimensions of human behaviour. One
such dimension which was brought about from the research was
individualism vs collectivism.
Hofstede suggested that individualistic cultures such as Britain and
America value uniqueness, freedom of speech, autonomy, privacy and
self-reliance. However collectivist cultures such as Japan and India value
social harmony, modesty, family, ancestry/history, group goals, harmony
and shared responsibility. This cultural dimension can be used to explain
human behaviour of specific cultures.
This dimension aims to differentiate between collectivist and
individualistic cultures, which allows for the prediction of human behaviour

if their cultural background is known. Therefore this dimension is widely

applicable.
Describe one effect of stereotypes on one behaviour.
Stereotypes are the preconceived assumptions an individual makes about
a culture or community which generalises the individuals in said
culture/community, often with little factual backing. Stereotypes can be
both negative and positive. A behaviour which is effected by negative
stereotyping is academic performance in school.
Negative stereotyping can have severely detrimental effects on a persons
mental welling can therefore can affect their behaviour in a damaging
way. On the other hand stereotyping can have positive outcomes, an
example of this is often observed in an educational environment. Research
has shown students are told by a figure of authority (such as a teacher)
that brown eyed students are naturally more intelligent than the rest of
the class, then the brown eyed students will do better when tested,
however the non-brown eyed students will often do worse.
These results are reflected in a sociocultural psychologist Steeles 1997
experiment. He specifically studied students that were affected by
emotional distress and pressure from negative stereotyping which may
undermine their scholastic performance. Steele found that the students
who were under threat from negative stereotyping often under-performed
which limited their educational progress.
This shows the negative effect of stereotyping on behaviour in an
academic setting

COGNITIVE LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

Describe one research study that has investigated schema theory.
Schema theory argues that humans categorise and modify their cognitive
processes to make them more culturally normal which in turns allows
them to remember them more easily. Schemas can be positive as they
allow one to better understand the world around them and to recall
memories by making them more culturally acceptable, however they can
lead to the formation of stereotypes which are often fallacious and without
factual proof.
Fredrick Bartlett is a well-known cognitive psychologist who investigated
schema theory in a series of memory experiments. He enlisted students to
participate. The participants were given an extract from a Native
American folk story known as The War of The Ghosts to read and
memorise. After being given time to memorise the text, they were asked
to recall it in writing as accurately as they could remember. This was done
several times periodically after the initial reading. Bartlett found that as
time went on the recalls got shorter in length, and that consistently there
were words which had been changed by the participants in the recall to
more culturally normal ones. Such as the canoe was recalled as a boat,
seal hunting to fishing, the participants were from a Eurocentric culture
where these concepts were unfamiliar. Therefore Bartlett concluded that
the participants had changed the text as they remembered it to fit with
their schemas, making the extract easier to recall.

Outline one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process
One cognitive process which has been observed to be affected by emotive
is memory. Strong emotions such as shock have been observed by
cognitive psychologists to improve the quality/clarity of memory formation
and recollection. A theory which suggest this is the flashbulb memory
theory, which was first suggested by psychologists Brown and Kulik. They
argue that when a human experiences something shocking and highly
emotional a flashbulb memory can occur, which records that specific
moment of time as if with the help of a camera flash. These flashbulb
memories are highly detailed and only record a few seconds of the
individuals memory, but in perfect clarity.
An example of flashbulb memory formation is that most people who were
adults during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York can tell you exactly
where they were and what they were doing when they found out about
the attacks. Flashbulb memory suggests that because the event was so
shocking it was captured in their memory with exceptional detail sue to
the traumatic nature of the event.

This theory reflects how emotion can affect the cognitive of process of
memory.

Describe one ethical consideration related to one research study at the

cognitive level of analysis.
Research at the cognitive level of analysis must like all research take into
account ethical considerations, to ensure participant safety, anonymity,
consent, research validity and credibility. At the cognitive level of analysis
case studies are often used by psychologist to gain a deeper
understanding of rare phenomena which could not be recreated in a
laboratory setting as it would be unethical such as neurological lesioning.
However case studies often concern a highly unusual phenomenon which
makes the case very specific. One such case is that of H.M which was
researched by psychologists Miller and Scoville.
After suffering from severe epilepsy he had brain surgery at the age of 27
to relive his symptoms. The surgery included the removal of parts of his
hippocampus. Although this stopped the symptoms of epilepsy, he began
to suffer from severe anterograde amnesia. His ability to form short-term
memories was intact and he could still perform normally when given
cognitive tasks, however no memories could be formed in his long-term
memory.
This case study is very useful to psychologists conducting research at the
cognitive level of analysis because it gives valuable information about the
role of hippocampus in the cognitive process of memory formation in
humans. However this is a very specific case therefore it is difficult for H.M
to have complete anonymity. His name was kept confidential until after his
death. Participant Anonymity must be considered when conducting
research at the cognitive level of analysis to protect participants.

Explain how one principle that defines the cognitive level of analysis may
be demonstrated in one example of research (theory or study).
One principle which define the cognitive level of analysis is that cognitive
processes can be influenced by social and cultural factors. One cognitive
process which can be influenced by social and cultural factors is memory
formation and recollection.
Psychologist Fredrik Bartlett investigated the effect that cultural factors
had on students recollection of a culturally unfamiliar text. Bartletts
experiment involved giving participants an extract from a Native American
folk story, they were given a set time to read and memorise the extract.
After the time was asked they were asked to recall the extract in a written
format as accurately as possible. Bartlett found that the participants had

changed specific words from the original text. Such as canoe to boat and
seal-hunting to fishing. Bartlett concluded this had occurred because
these concepts were culturally unfamiliar to the Eurocentric participants,
so in order to remember the extract better they had changed the words to
more culturally familiar concepts that fir with their understanding of the
world.
This reflects how the cognitive principle that the cognitive process of
memory can be influenced by social and cultural factors can be shown in
psychological research.

With reference to one study, explain how one biological factor may affect
one cognitive process.
The cognitive process of memory can be affected by biological factors.
The biological factor of disease can affected an individuals ability to
retain and form memories if the neuroanatomy is damaged by the
infection. The case study of Clive wearing reflects this. Clive Wearing
suffered from serve damage to his hippocampus region in his brain when
he contracted an aggressive virus infection. The infection left his temporal
lobes very damaged. After he suffered from both anterograde and
retrograde amnesia. However he could still play the piano and remember
his wife and family. This showed that his long term memory was in
contact, however he could form no new memories, as there was damage
to the areas in the brain which are thought to be responsible for the shortterm memory. This case study demonstrates that biological factors such
as disease can affect cognitive processes such as memory formation.

BIOLOGICAL LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

Explain how one hormone influences behaviour

Hormones are biological chemicals which are released from glands to
stimulate a specific response. The hormone testosterone is produced in
both males and females but in a much high concentration in adult males,
it is produced by and released by the testis glands in males. Testosterone
in males is responsible for the pre-natal development of genitalia and
development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as deepening of
voice. It is also thought to play a role in some behavioural developments
in males such as dominating behaviour, libido, and aggression.
An experiment conducted by psychologists Dabbs et al. investigated the
influence of testosterone on behaviour in adult males. The researchers
took samples from 692 adult male prisoners and analysed the levels of
testosterone in their blood stream. They found that the prisoners who had
been convicted of crimes related to aggressive, violent and sexual crimes
such as rape or assault, had significantly higher levels of testosterone
compared to the prisoners convicted of drug and property crimes. This
study reflects that the hormone testosterone influences behaviours such
as aggression and violence.

Describe one principle that define the biological level of analysis

One principle which defines the biological level of analysis is that animal
research can provide and insight into human behaviour. Monkeys are often
used in psychological experiments because their genome is 98% similar to
humans. Humans and some species of monkey also share a common
ancestor. This allows psychologists to perform psychological experiments
on monkeys which would not ethically suitable to be performed on
humans. However there are still ethical boundaries for psychologist when
working with animals to ensure their safety and wellbeing during the
research. Studies which use animal research at the biological level of
analysis can be used to treat mental-illnesses in human patients so the
benefits of using animals to research behaviour outweigh the risks,
therefore under certain condition it is still possible to use animals for
research. Psychologists also often use mice in experiments as they have a
very similar brain structure to a humans and be easily cloned in laboratory

settings which removes the chance of any extraneous variables relating to

the subject from undermining the validity of the research.
The psychologist Harry Harlow performed many experiments with animals
to conduct research at the biological level of analysis. However many of
his experiments which were conducted over 20 years ago would now be
deemed ethically inappropriate as they caused lasting physical and
mental damage to intelligent animals. In one experiment he tested the
effects of total social deprivation on the ability to function normally in a
social setting on Rhesus monkeys. He found that the monkeys who had
been brought up in complete social isolation functioned abnormally once
re-introduced into a social setting, and could never adjust back even when
they became much older. Experiments like these are important at the
biological level of analysis as they help bring about new hypothesis which
give to new research that has the possibility to help and improve human
lives.

Discuss one study related to localisation of function in the brain

At the biological level of analysis localisation of function if the brain refers
to the theory that each different part of the brain is responsible for a
cognitive/biological process, such as the hippocampus is thought to play a
role in memory. People who suffer from severe epilepsy experience very
traumatic symptoms which detrimentally affect their quality of life, this is
why some suffers of epilepsy resort to surgical treatment to cure this. The
surgical procedure involves the lesioning of the two hemispheres of the
brain by disconnecting them at the corpus collosum (which is are a large
bundle of nerve that join the two hemispheres of the brain together
allowing for communication between them).
The biological psychologist Sperry investigated the effects of hemisphere
disconnection in epileptic patients by carrying out a series of experiments
on some patients. The patients were give a series of tests. The first test
involved presenting the participant with a visual stimulus in front of the
left or right eye for 1/10th of a second to stop their eyes from adjusting so
that the stimulus seen by the right eye will be processed by the left side
vice versa. The second test involved presenting a tactile stimulus to the
left or right side, a screen was put in place to prevent the participant from
seeing the stimulus.
Sperry concluded from his experiments that speech and written
communication happened in the left hemisphere, and image and visual
processing happens in the right hemisphere. This study reflects that the
functions of the brain are localised and specific to a processing/cognitive
function.

Outline the effects of neurotransmission on human behaviour

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers which pass between nerve
cells across a synapse which allows for communication in the form of
electrical impulses to travel around the body through neuron/nerve cells.
When an electrical impulse reaches the end of a nerve cell the
neurotransmitter is released which diffuses across the synaptic gap from
the post synaptic nerve to the receptor sites on the pre-synaptic nerve.
The receptor sites are highly specific to certain electrochemicals. Once it
reaches the post synaptic nerve the electrical impulse will be stimulate
and continue through the nerve.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which is secreted by the pineal gland
located in the brain. It is responsible for the regulation of sleep, emotion
and general mental stability. If there are low levels of serotonin in the
brain then certain nerve impulses cannot be started which impacts
behaviour.
The psychologists Hirai and Kasamatsu investigated the levels of
serotonin when participants fasted, refrained from social contact and were
subject to cold weather conditions. The participants were monks who were
taking part in a religious pilgrimage to a sacred mountain. The pilgrimage
was 72 hours and during this time the monks for religious reasons were
not allowed to talk, to eat or drink and were exposed to the cold late
autumn weather. After 48 hours the monks began to experience
hallucinations. Hirai and Kasamatsu took blood samples before and after
the pilgrimage. They found that after the pilgrimage they had increased
levels of serotonin in their blood, these high levels which were found
primarily in the brain (specifically the hippocampus) were concluded to
have caused the hallucinations.
This study reflects how the neurotransmitter serotonin can effect
behaviour as high levels cause hallucinations which change the way the
monks perceived and interacted with the world around them therefore
altering their behaviour.

Describe one study that demonstrates the effect that the environment
can have on one physiological process
The environment can have various effects on physiological processes,
such as that of brain plasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brains ability to
create and rearrange neural connections, it is simulated by the
environment and this occurs whenever something new is learnt such as a
skill.
Psychologists Rosenzweig and Bennett investigated the effects of being in
a simulated or deprived environment on the size of the brain. They tested
this using rats. The rats were split into two groups; the first group were

put in a stimulating environment with toys and activities designed to

increased neuroplasticity, the second group were placed in an
environment which had no stimulation. After 30-60 days the rats were
euthanized. They measured the rats brains after they had died, they
found that the rats who were exposed to the stimulating environment had
a much thicker cortex and heavier frontal lobe, compared to the rats who
were subjected to the unstimulated environment.
This study reflects how the environment can affect the physiological
process of neuroplasticity.