IB HL Psychology Review
Important Psychologists and their Studies
BIOLOGICAL LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
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Rosenzweig, Bennett and Diamond—1972—Brain changes due to experience—lab experiment
Gazzaniga—1967—Split brain man—lab experiment
Bouchard, Lykken, et al—1990—Minnesota Twin Studies—field experiment
Hobson and McCarley—1977—Activation synthesis theory of dreams—lab experiment
Sperry – 1968 – hemisphere disconnection and unity in conscious awareness – correlational
study;
Phineas Gage– case study;
H.M.– case study;
(Harlow – 1960s – attachment in monkeys – lab experiment;)
Hart—2000—Prejudice Study: amygdale activation in whites and blacks—lab experiment
Fiske – 2007—Prejudice Study: dorsomedial prefrontal cortex not active—lab experiment
COGNITIVE LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
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Rosenthal and Jacobson—1966—Teachers expectations and pupil’s IQ
Gardner—1983—MI Theory
Tolman—1948—Cognitive maps—lab experiment
Festinger and Carlsmith—1959—Cognitive dissonance—lab experiment
Atkinson and Shiffrin—1968,1971—Multi-store model of memory—lab experiment
Baddeley and Hitch—1974—Working memory model
Schachter & Singer – 1962 – cognitive labeling study – lab experiment;
Genie case study – case study;
Loftus – 1974 – reconstruction of automobile destruction - eyewitness memory – lab experiment;
1950s, 1960s, 1970s – studies on sensory memory, STM, LTM (Sperling, Peterson & Peterson,
Miller, Conrad, Ebbinghaus, Baddeley) – lab experiments;
Craik & Tulving – 1975 – the effect of depth of processing on memory - lab experiments;
Cherry, Broadbent – 1950s – binaural and dichotic tests on attention - lab experiments;
Treisman – 1960 – dichotic tests, shadowing - lab experiments;
Cole – 1970s - Cross-cultural study on problem solving in Liberia – natural experiment;
Deregowski – 1972 - Cross-cultural study on perception– natural experiment.
Allport—1956—Prejudice Study: Contact Hypothesis Theory—observation
Tversky & Kahnemann—1982—Prejudice Study: Heuristics (Availability) used in prejudice—
lab experiment
Tedeschi & Rosenfield—1981—Prejudice Study: Impression Management Theory in prejudice
reduction
LEARNING PERSPECTIVE STUDIES (can be incorporated into either SOCIOCULRTURAL OR COGNITIVE)
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Watson & Rayner – 1920 – the case of Little Albert – lab experiment of one participant;
Pavlov’s experiments on dogs
Tolman’s studies on rats – latent learning and cognitive maps)
Koehler studies on chimps – insight)
Skinner’s experiments on rats and pigeons;
Bandura, Ross, and Ross – 1961 – transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive
models (Bobo Doll) – lab experiment; Social Learning Theory:
SOCIO-CULTURAL LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
 Asch – 1951-52-56 – comparing lengths of lines, Asch Paradigm – lab experiment
 Milgram – 1963 – study of obedience – lab experiment;
 Lantane & Darley – 1968, 70 – helping behavior – lab experiment (: help the person moaning in
your headphones) + field experiment (inform about the theft);
 Triandis, Bontempo et al—1988—Individualism and Collectivism—cross-cultural study
 Calhoun—1962—Population density and social pathology—lab experiment
 LaPierre—1934—Attitudes and actions—field experiment
 Tajfel – 1970 – Prejudice Studies: intergroup discrimination, ingroups and outgroups – lab
experiment; Social Identity Theory (SIT): personal identity enhanced by social identity, social
comparison
 Sherif –1961—Prejudice Study: “Robbers Cave” boys on a camp – prejudice and its reduction –
field experiment;
 Zimbardo – 1973 – prison study – lab experiment;
 Zimbardo – 1970 – ‘hooded’ replication of Milgram – deindividuation – lab experiment.
 Festinger -- 1956—“When Prophecy Fails”—covert observation of a doomsday cult
 Heider—1958 – Actor-observer effect, attribution—situational/dispositional
 Lee et al – 1977—Fundamental Attribution Error – lab experiment
 Lau & Russel—1980—Self serving bias, US football coaches
 Kashima & Triandis—1986—Modesty bias, US & Japanese memory task—lab experiment
 Moscovici—1973—Social Representations, social cognition, cultural schemas (supported by
Adler, 1990 and Howarth, 2002 both are lab experiments)
 Steele & Aronson—1995—Stereotype Threat, Spotlight Anxiety—lab experiment
 Campbell—1967—Stereotype Formation, Grain of Truth Hypothesis
 Hamilton & Gifford—1976—Illusory Correlation, Confirmation Bias
 Huesman & Eron—1986—TV violence = kid violence—longitudinal study
 Charlton, Gunter & Hannan—2002—TV violence not = kid violence, St. Helena—naturalistic
observation
 Sabido—late 60’s—Sabido Method, social learning on mass media scale
 Cialdini—1975—Compliance Techniques, Reciprocity Principle, Door in the Face Tech, Low
Balling—lab experiments
 Lewin—1951—Goal Gradients
 Dickerson et al—1992—Foot in the Door Tech—lab experiment
 Young—1963—Hazing—cross cultural
 Janis—1960—Groupthink
 Deutsch & Gerard—1955—Informational Social Influence (ISI), Normative Social Influence
(NSI)
 Cashmore & Goodnow (1986); Burgos & Diaz-Perez (1986); Berry (1967)—all conducted
cross cultural studies of conformity
 Matsumoto—2004—Cultural Norms, surface/deep/dynamic culture, application of ETIC/EMIC
approach to cultural studies
 Hofstede—1973—Cultural dimensions: Individual/collective, Uncertainty/avoidance, Ecological
Fallacy—qualitative methods: interviews, observations
 Hall—1966—Proxemic Theory, Monochronic and Polychronic
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
 Rosenhan & Seligman—1973—study exposing problems with diagnosis, treatment
and institutionalization, Confirmation bias in diagnosis—covert participant
observation (supported by Cooper et al, 1972, Beck, 1962, DiNardo et al, 1993,
Lipton & Simon, 1985) 1984—Criteria for Abnormality
 Jahoda—1958—6 Characteristics of Mental Health
 Scheff—1966—Self-fulfilling prophecy in diagnosis
 Cohen (1988), Marsella (2003), Kleinman (1984): cross cultural studies of culture
and diagnosis
 Cochrane & Sashidrahan—1995—Cultural Blindness with regards to diagnosis
 DEPRESSION: Affective Disorders
 BIOLOGICAL ETIOLOGY
 Nurnberger & Gershon—1982—twin study: 65% concordance rate with MZ
twins
 Duenwald—2003—short variant of 5-HTT gene involving Serotonin paths—
correlational study
 Schildkraut—1965—Catecholamine Hypothesis: low noradrenalin
 Janowski et al—1972—Physostigmine that blocked noradrenalin caused
depression in patients
 Delgado & Moreno—2000—noradrenaline and serotonin both play a role in
depression
 Rampello et al—2000—dopamine and acetylcholine also affected
 Burns—2003—NO convincing evidence to point to low serotonin as a
CAUSE of depression
 Fernwald & Gunnar—2008—support of Cortisol Hypothesis, impact of
poverty on childhood depression—field experiment
 COGNITIVE ETIOLOGY
 Ellis—1962—Cognitive Style Theory
 Beck—1976—Cognitive Distortion Theory, negative cognitive triad
 Alloy et al—1999—Prospective study: US kids and depressive thoughts
 SOCIO-CULTURAL ETIOLOGY
 Levav—1997—cross cultural study, Jewish and non-Jewish patients
 Brown & Harris—1978—Vulnerability Model: social factors
increase/decrease risk of depression
 Diathesis-Stress Model: depression due to a combination of bio and
environmental factors interacting; supported by World Health Org. (1983);
Murphy et al (1967); Prince (1968); Kleinman (1982) and Marsella
(1979)—cross cultural studies
 Williams & Hargreaves—1995—women 2-3x more likely to be depressed
 Brown & Harris—1978—Social factors in depression
 PTSD: Anxiety Disorders
 BIOLOGICAL ETIOLOGY
 Geracioti—2001—higher levels of noradrenalin, also more sensitivity in
noradrenalin receptors (Bremner, 1998)
 COGNITIVE ETIOLOGY
 Rizzo—2004—Virtual Iraq for flooding and Habituation
 Sutker et al—1995—purpose and commitment in soldiers reduce PTSD
 Suedfeld—2003—Holocaust survivors and locus of control influenced PTSD
 SOCIO-CULTURAL ETIOLOGY
 Roysicar—2000—minority Vietnam vets showed more PTSD—meta
analysis
 Kaminer et al—1998—Bosnian girls and boys with PTSD (see also
Dyregov’s work with Rwandan children)
 Breslau et al—1991—higher % of girls with PTSD than boys
 Horowitz et al—1995—risk for girls 5x higher than boys (Achenbaum, 1991:
symptom interpretation differences between males/females)
 TREATMENT
 Smith et al—1980—therapy is fundamentally helpful—meta analysis
 Kirsch & Sapirstein—1998—prozac only 25% more effective than placebo—
meta analysis
 Leuchter & Witte—2002—placebos and SSRI’s—field experiment
 Elkin et al—1998—NIMH, therapy more effective than placebo, including
CBT—field experiment
 Beck—Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
 Riggs et al—CBT and placebo almost as good a CBT and SSRI’s, questions
use of drug treatment—field experiment
 Toseland & Siporin—1986—group therapy’s benefits—meta analysis
 McDermut et al—group therapy benefits with depression—meta analysis
 Foa—1986—use of CBT, exposure therapy for PTSD
 Weine—1998—Testimonial therapy, Bosnian refugees, collective trauma and
cognitive “networks of fear” = individual trauma—field experiment
 Friedman & Schnurr—Vietnam vets in group therapy fared better—field
experiment
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
 MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
 Locke & Latham—1981—goal setting and performance
 Burton—1989—goal setting and rise in self efficacy, Indirect Thought
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Process View
Smith—1994—effective goal setting, SMART goals; 1979: coaches use of
positive feedback and results on performance—field study
Weinberg et al—1994—goal setting and performance in US Lax
Deci—1972—entrinsic rewards and motivation levels—lab experiment;
Cognitive Evaluation Theory (1975): controlling aspect and informational
aspect influence confidence and self determinism and thus levels of motivation
McClelland & Atkinson—1961—motivation is balance between need and
fear, Need Achievement Motivation Theory
Duda & Hall—2001—ego vs. task orientation creates framework for
interpreting success/failure; Duda et al, 1998: goal perspective and kids views
of success and competition
Elliott & Dweck—1988—task orientation = incremental focus, ego
orientation = entity view
Guest—2007—Culture and motivation, US and Malawi football players,
individual vs. collective culture—field experiment
Yerkes-Dodson Law—1908—applied to sport in the Inverted U Hypothesis
Fazey & Hardy—1988—Catastrophe Model: performance plummets when
cognitive anxiety rises above the optimal level
Baumeister—1984—Explicit Monitoring Theory: anxiety causes over
consciousness of movement and drop in performance
Gucciardi & Dimmock—2002—Aussie golfers and putting performance—
field experiment
 Hanin—1997—Optimal Arousal Theory: level of arousal and competitive
anxiety are both at optimal levels = peak performance
 Fitzsimmons et al—1991—Self efficacy in weight lifters—lab experiment
 SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE
 Williams & Crane—2001—successful athletes more confident and better at
regulating arousal, more determined and committed—qualitative interviews
 Weinberg & Gold—2006—importance of mental training in both team and
individual sports
 Munroe—2000—mental imagery, 4 functions: Cognitive and Motivational
specific and general for each
 Baroga—1973—imagery techniques in weightlifting, showed mental rehearsal
= best performance—field experiment; supported by Rushall (1970):
swimmers; Isaac (1992): trampoliners/gymnasts; Martin (1995): beginning
golfers
 Carpenter—1894—Psychoneuromuscular Theory: imagery stimulates neural
connections responsible for physical actions
 Lang—1979—Information Processing Model: images are functionally
organized into stimulus and response propositions
 Bandura—1994—levels and type of efficacy influence imagery and then
performance accordingly
 Landin & Hebert—1999—tennis players taught positive self talk improved
performance; supported by Martin et al (1995): cross country runners; Van
Raalte et al (1994): junior tennis players
 Hall—1960—Cohesion: strong teams find strength in cooperation and
collective responsibility
 Carron—1982—Cohesion: groups ability to stick together to reach common
goal
 Slater & Sewell—1994—Cohesion: US college hockey teams (male and
female) measured cohesion throughout season and its effects on
performance—field experiment
 Grieve et al—2000—Cohesion: basketball, winning increased cohesion more
than losing—field study
 Boone et al—1997—D-III baseball, questionnaire to measure cohesion of
winning and losing teams—field experiment
 Kenow & Williams—1999—Cohesion and culture, Aussie and US coaches
compared—qualitative methods, interviews
 Chase et al—1997—Coaching: US basketball teams and effect of coaching
style, expectations and methods (applications include Krzyzewski: Duke
basketball)
 Horn & Lox—1993—Coaching: Expectation Performance Model: high
expectations increase performance
 PROBLEMS IN SPORT
 INJURY
 National Safe Kids Campaign—2004—stats on sports injuries in kids
 Smith et al—1990—low social support and coping skills resulted in higher
risk for injury—qualitative methods, interviews
 Anderson & Williams—1999—anxiety and visual perception study for
injury—field experiment (supported by Williams et al (1991): stress disrupts
attention; Smith et al (2000): muscle tension interferes with normal
coordination
 Cramer et al—2000—stress and depression disrupt natural healing process
(also Perna et al, 2003: sleep disturbance and lack of protein synthesis in
recovery)
 Hardy & Crace—1990—Grief Response Model, see also Kubler-Ross
 Urdy et al—1997—Information Processing Model: injury info is processed,
then emotional upheaval is processed
 Weise & Bjornstal—1998—Cognitive Appraisal: primary and secondary
appraisals made in reaction to injury
 DRUGS
 Axelrod—1984—Game Theory (Prisoners Dilemma): high reward and low
risk combine to motivate athletes to use PED’s
 BURNOUT
 Smith—1986—Affective Stress Model: how athletes interpret stress; 1980:
mental and physical coping strategies for dealing with stress
 Kobasa—1986—Hardiness Scale: combo of control, commitment and
challenge for dealing with stress
 Clough & Earle—2001—Mental Toughness Model: mentally tough athletes
perceive stress at lower rates—lab experiment
 Hendrix et al—2000—NCAA D-1 football trainers: low hardiness = high
perception of stress and low satisfaction resulting in burnout
 Raedeke—1997—Self Determination Theory: lack of intrinsic motivation =
high burnout rate; 2002: signs for preventing burnout—qualitative methods,
interviews
 Gould et al—1996-97—long term study of sports camp kids, dominant strain
and physically driven strain for burnout
 Maslach Burnout Inventory: Emotional exhaustion, Depersonalization,
Sense of personal accomplishment
 Meichenbaum—1985—Stress Inoculation Theory (SIT): conceptualization,
rehearsal, application stages