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I was a student at an IB school in Australia for my senior schooling
...
I was also getting consistent 7s throughout the 2 years I studied
the subject
...
These
notes can also be useful for those who are studying undergraduate psychology in university
...

Disclaimer: These notes were taken between 2017 and 2018, meaning that they were for the syllabus written
in 2011
...
Despite this problem, the notes may still be useful, because
the new syllabus still covers similar, if not the same, topics
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The paper contains the sociocultural, cognitive, and biological
levels of analyses
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Section A contains three ‘short answer questions’ (SAQs), all three of which you have to answer
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Focusing only on one section of the paper is the best way to scrape a 4 for the subject
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SAQs*
 Analyse
 Apply
 Define
 Describe
 Distinguish
 Explain
 Outline
 State
ERQs*
 Compare
 Compare and contrast
 Contrast
 Discuss
 Evaluate
 Examine
 To What Extent
*Taken from the old syllabus
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CONTENT
Sociocultural Level of Analysis
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3
Attribution Theory
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3
Social Identity Theory
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5
Social Learning Theory
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7
Conformity
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8
Culture & Cultural Norms
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9
Emic & Etic Concepts
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11
Principles of the CLOA
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11
Memory
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13
Levels of Processing Model
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16
Cultural Factors Affecting Memory
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17
Technology in Investigating Cognitive Processes
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21
LeDoux Two Routes Model
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21
Flashbulb Memory
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24
Principles of the BLOA
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24
Neurotransmission
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25
Environment on Physiological Processes
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27
Technology in Investigating Biological Factors
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28
Evolutionary Theory of Behaviour
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31
General Learning Outcomes (Research Methods & Ethical Considerations)
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32
Ethical Considerations
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33
Specific Ethical Considerations:
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34
Structuring SAQs
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34
Simple ERQs
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35
Writing Essays
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36
Writing AMRCs
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36
Evaluation Bank - Studies
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38
Writing Conclusions
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39
ERQs
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40
Table of Biases/Limitations
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There are multiple principles to the SCLOA
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S2
 We want connectedness with a sense of belonging
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The attribution theory is based on the assumption that people tend to look for causes and reasons for others’
behaviour because they expect that there are motives behind most of their own behaviour
...

Attribution theory is based on the assumption that people:
 are “intuitive psychologists” who construct their own causal theories of human behaviour
 construct causal theories because they want to be able to understand, predict, and control the
environment around them
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g
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A situational attribution is when an external factor outside the person (e
...
environment, social group) is
attributed to their behaviour
...


STUDY: Zimbardo (1971)
AIM:
The aim of Zimbardo (1971) was to examine the effects of being assigned the role of a
prisoner or a prison guard on one's behaviour
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To make sure everyone was "healthy, intelligent,
middle class males" participants went through a series of psychological tests
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The
prisoners were blindfolded and then taken to prison
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This consisted of shaving the prisoner's head, they were given a uniform and they were
only referred to as numbers
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The guards punished the prisoners by
demanding push-ups from them
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RESULTS:
The results showed that the prison simulation had become real
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The guards had become violent, while the prisoners
showed signs of depression and helplessness
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CONCLUSION: Therefore, it was concluded that situational attributes significantly impact behaviour
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People rely
too much on personality in explaining behaviour and they underestimate – or never consider – the power of
situations
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It makes life more predictable if people’s behaviour is mainly caused by their personality
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Explanations based solely on personality are incomplete
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

Self-serving bias is when internal, dispositional factors are attributed to one's success while one's failure is
blamed on their external, situational factors
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We tend to take credit for our successes, identify an internal cause, and dissociate from
our failures, blaming external factors
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Unrealistic optimism is a form of defensive
attribution in which people think that positive events are more likely to happen to them than to their peers,
and that negative events are less likely to happen to them than to their peers
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STUDY: Ross et al
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(1977) experiment was to test whether knowledge of allocated
social roles in a quiz show would affect participants’ judgments of expertise
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The researchers simulated a game show and participants were randomly assigned to
the roles of either questioner or contestant
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Six pairs of
each sex were assigned to the control condition
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The
independent variable was whether the questions were prepared by the questioner
(experimental condition) or by someone else (control condition)
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The
questioner was instructed to ask each question and then wait around 30 seconds for a
response
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RESULTS:
The results showed that on average, contestants got only 4 out of 10 questions right in
the experimental condition
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The observers did the same
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CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the fact that the questioners could make their own
questions led to higher general knowledge ratings from both contestants and observers
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The
fundamental attribution error was shown when the contestants and observers failed to
take into consideration any of the situational factors
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 Social identity can be defined as the part of one’s self-concept based on the knowledge of membership
in social group(s) in combination with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership
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People make
comparisons between in-group and out-group on valued dimensions to establish, maintain, and defend
positive in-group distinctiveness (social comparison)
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Social categorization is the process by which we identity which groups we belong to and which groups we
do not
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When referring to our ingroup, we often use the words "we" and "us"
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When referring to our out-groups,
we often use the words "they" and "them”
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 We seek to achieve positive self-esteem by positively comparing our in-group to an out-group on some
valued dimension
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The three stages of SIT can be simply remembered as:
1
...
Social comparison
3
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METHOD:
64 schoolboys (aged 14-15) from Bristol, UK, were randomly allocated into groups
based upon minimal characteristics
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These groups were labelled as ‘overestimator’ or ‘underestimator’
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The boys were then involved
in a task where they had to give rewards and penalties via money (a small value of 50p)
to others
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The boys were
placed in cubicles and given a booklet with a matrix
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RESULTS:
The results found that when the boys were required to make an intergroup choice
(allocate rewards or penalties to one of their own group or a member of the out-group)
they displayed more in-group favouritism and allocated more rewards to their own
group
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The
participants maximised differences between the groups
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A stereotype is a cognitive representation of a social group that helps simplify the social world and allow
assumptions to be made about a person based on limited information
...
g
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Stereotypes are often acquired indirectly from other people and
social norms and not from personal experience
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One effect of stereotypes on behaviour is the
stereotype threat
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The stereotype
threat can influence one's performance and lead to spotlight anxiety, which causes emotional distress and
pressure that may undermine the behaviour of intellectual performance
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The SIT can be linked to stereotypes
because people often have preconceived ideas about an out-group
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The experiment was composed of four studies with males and females
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Their performance was marked
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The results found that the African American participants of the diagnostic group
(stereotype threat condition) performed worse than White participants
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In non-diagnostic groups, African Americans and Whites performed roughly
equal, with no significant difference
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It can be concluded that the stereotype threat occurs when one is in a situation where
there is a threat of being judged or there is a fear of doing something that would
inadvertently confirm the stereotype
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This activated their self-doubts of confirming the stereotype and
weakened their academic performance and motivation
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 Modelling involves learning through the observation of other people, which may lead to imitation if the
behaviour is to be imitated leads to desirable consequences
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Observational learning is a four step process
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1
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2
...

3
...

4
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The SLT is principle S1 of the SCLOA
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METHOD:
The method was a laboratory experiment
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In stage one of the experiment, children were brought to
the experimental room by the experimenter, and the model, who was in the hallway
outside the room, was invited to come in
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In stage two the
child was subjected to 'mild aggression arousal'
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As soon as the child started to play with the toys the
experimenter told the child that they could not play with the toys
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In this stage there
were a variety of both non-aggressive and aggressive toys
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RESULTS:
The results found that the children in the aggressive model condition made more
aggressive responses than the children in the non-aggressive model condition
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6

STUDY: Comstock & Scharrer (1999)
AIM:
The aim of Comstock & Scharrer (1999) was to investigate the relationship between
viewing violent TV as children, and aggression as adults
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The researchers measured 2 years
of TV viewing for 557 children starting either in 1st or 3rd grade
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15 years
later, the researchers interviewed 329 of the original sample and their significant others
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RESULTS:
The results found a positive correlation between childhood viewing of violent TV and
adult aggression
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CONCLUSION: Therefore, it can be concluded that observational learning increases aggressive
behaviour
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The foot in the door (FITD) technique assumes agreement with a small request increases the likelihood of
agreement with a subsequent larger request
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 Human behaviour works on "goal gradients" - that is, once we have made a commitment and work toward
a goal, the closer we get to the goal, the less likely we are to abandon it
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As part of this, we desire to see ourselves as fair and honest
people
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 Cultural norms are also important
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STUDY: Petrova et al
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(2007) was to investigate cultural differences in the foot-inthe-door compliance technique
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The first request asked for
participation in an online survey
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The survey contained a variety of questions assessing educational goals,
future career plans, family ties, and demographic information
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One month after receiving
the first request, all participants received a second e-mail asking them to participate in
another online survey related to the first project
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RESULTS:
The results found that 21
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9% of the Asian
students agreed to both requests
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CONCLUSION: It was concluded collectivist show lower levels of compliance than individualists when
the FITD technique is used
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The door in the face (DITF) technique which assumes that refusal of a large request increases the likelihood
of agreement with a subsequent smaller request
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SUPPORTING STUDY: Cialdini et al
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16% agreed
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0% agreed
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Conformity is a change in behaviour as a result of real or imagined group pressure or norms
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 Informational social influence: The need for certainty
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(e
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When you follow someone else's instructions because you don't know
how to do something
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(e
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Liking a certain topic
because a friend likes it
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In other words, people are more likely to conform to an in-‐group than an out-‐group
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g
...
)
STUDY: Asch (1951)
AIM:
The aim of Asch (1951) was to investigate the degree to which individuals would
conform to a majority who gave obviously wrong answers
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Participants were told that they were taking part in a study of visual perception
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The correct answer was obvious
every time
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The
other participants were stooges and were instructed to give the same incorrect answer
on 12 of 18 trials (12 critical trials)
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There was also a control group
of 36 participants who were tested individually on 20 trials, to test how accurate
individual judgements were
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75%
conformed at least once
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CONCLUSION: It was concluded that Asch’s study shows the impact a majority can have on an
individual, even when the majority are obviously wrong
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As most
conformed publicly and not privately this suggests that they are motivated by NSI in
order to be accepted and avoid rejection by the group
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It only takes three people for conformity to be at its theoretical highest (same % in Asch study)
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Group size influences conformity because when a group gets too big, conformity rates decrease because
people become too suspicious of many people saying the wrong answer
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8

If participants are not unanimous, then conformity is not going to be high
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If everyone agrees, then the conformity is going to be high
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Cultural norms are the rules which indicate the expected behaviour in a group
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Dimensions
work on a continuum - for example, a culture is never 100% collectivistic or individualistic, but are different
levels with a preference for one set of behaviours over another
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Individuals are expected
to take care of themselves with no obligations to a larger group
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The individual is
expected to be loyal to the group
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(2007)
Dimension 2 – masculinity/femininity
 Masculinity and femininity refers to the characteristics, values and roles regarding gender
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STUDY: Mead (1935)
AIM:
The aim of Mead (1935) was to investigate the socially constructed nature of gender
roles
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The Arapesh, Mundugumour and Tchambuli tribes were observed
in a covert naturalistic observation
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Cultural differences in gender roles are
more likely to reflect cultural expectations than biology
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The men and
women cooperated in tasks relating to crops and children
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They were constantly quarrelling and
neither gender was interested in the children
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Women
were responsible for food production, tool making, and producing clothes (inversion
from Western stereotypes)
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Different social norms
between different cultures influences the development of gender-roles
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The etic approach uses a deductive approach
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Then, the researchers apply and compare their research
across cultures to find out what could be universal in human behaviour
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STUDY: Petrova et al
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The emic approach uses an inductive approach to the study of culture
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The researchers then formulate a
theory and then test that theory to see if it applies to broader populations
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STUDY: Mead (1935)

10

Cognitive Level of Analysis (CLOA) is based on how mental processes in the brain processes information
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Cognition refers to a process that is based on a person’s unique mental representation of the world that has
been constructed around their experiences
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Three that we will be focusing on are:
C1
 Cognitive processes can be scientifically investigated
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C3
 Cognitive processing can be compared to computer function
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Schemas are made up of acquired knowledge
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Schemas are principle C2 of the CLOA
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People’s prior knowledge will influence the outcome of
information processing
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Cognitive distortions occur when the settings are unfamiliar or when the wrong schemas become activated
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Reconstructive memory proposes that schemas fill in the gaps of information in order to make more sense
of what happened
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METHOD:
British participants were asked to read the Native American Indian story “War of the
Ghosts”
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RESULTS:
The results found that the participants had distorted the story around their own
experiences, knowledge, expectations & beliefs
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The more the participants reproduced the story, the more
it gained British influence and the shorter it became in length
...
g
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the participants' schemas affected their memory of the story by
making the story fit in with their culture more
...


STUDY: Brewer & Treyens (1981)
AIM:
The aim of Brewer & Treyens (1981) was to investigate whether people’s memory of
objects in a room (office) is influenced by existing schemas about what to expect in an
office
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The objects in the office included office objects such as a desk
and a typewriter
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The participants were asked to write down as much as possible of what they
could remember seeing in the office
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The participants did not remember
as well the objects that were not expected to be seen in an office, for example a picnic
basket and wine
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Many participants recalled
unusual objects, such as the skull
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They did not recall
the wine and picnic basket because it was not part of their “typical office” schema
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g
...


STUDY: Allport & Postman (1947)
AIM:
The aim of Allport & Postman (1947) was to investigate the effect of schemas on recall
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They were shown an image of a black
and white man arguing on a train
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The picture was first presented to the white
participants and then the black participants
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RESULTS:
The results found that the white participants had changed the story to make the black
man the aggressor and not the white man
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The white participants changed the aggressor to the black man
because they had a schema of crime and aggression being related to black people
...

Quasi-experiment enables researchers to establish cause and effect relationship between
EVALUATION:
culture and story → high validity
Both black and white participants → high representational generalisability
Unrealistic task of recalling using serial reproduction → low ecological validity
Standards of racism have changed over time → low temporal validity

LINK:

Therefore, this study supports schema theory as the participants recalled the stimulus
differently due to their cultural schemas
...
g
...

 Encoding refers to the active process of putting stimulus information into a form that can be used by
the memory system, which requires one to form mental representations of information from the
external world
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 Retrieval refers to the active process of locating and using information (remembering)
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Procedural memory involves memories for how to do things
...
The flow of information between the memory stores is managed by control
processes
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It is a holding spot for information until it moves on to the next store
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There are two types of sensory memory
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 Echoic memory is auditory sensory memory and has a storage duration of 2-4 seconds
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It holds all the information that one is currently thinking about or consciously aware of
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Attention is the control process responsible for the transfer of information from sensory memory to STM
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The third store is Long Term Memory (LTM), which stores all the semantically encoded information from
STM
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Rehearsal is the control process responsible for transferring information from STM to LTM
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When information is repeated enough, it moves into LTM
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This returns information from
LTM to STM
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 Decay is the loss of information over time due to lack of rehearsal
...

13

The MSM is principle C3 of the CLOA
...

METHOD:
The participants were split into four different conditions
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The words were either acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically
similar, and semantically dissimilar depending on the condition
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Then, they had to recall the words in order
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After the fourth one, the participants received a 15 minute break and performed a
distracting task
...

RESULTS:
The results found that in the earlier trials, the acoustically similar words were
remembered the least well compared to the later trials, where the semantically similar
words were the ones remembered the least well
...

LINK:
Therefore, this study supports the MSM because it supports that LTM is encoded
semantically while STM is encoded acoustically
...

METHOD:
A lab experiment was conducted where 24 participants had to recall trigrams (three
letters, e
...
TGH)
...
This
is known as the Brown-Peterson technique
...

RESULTS:
The results found that the longer the interval delay, the less trigrams that were recalled
...
However, after
18 seconds less than 10% of trigrams were recalled correctly
...
It is
thought that this information is lost from STM by the means of trace decay
...

LINK:
Therefore, this study supports the MSM because it showed that STM has a limited
duration
...

METHOD:
Using a tachistoscope, the participants were presented visual stimuli
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In the whole report
procedure, the participants were flashed a set of 9 letters for 50 milliseconds
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In the partial report procedure, the
participants were required to name the letters in one of the three rows, based on a tone
that was sounded
...

RESULTS:
The results found that the participants in the whole report procedure recalled 4-5 letters
but reported that they had seen more because the image of the letters faded too fast to
identify them
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that when the participants heard a tone, they had to select letters
from their mental image in iconic memory
...

LINK:
Therefore, this study supports the MSM because it showed the differences between
echoic memory and iconic memory
...
For example, the HM case study found that by removing the patient's
hippocampus, his STM was still intact but his LTM was damaged, leaving him unable to form
new memories
...
This is a strength because the MSM can explain how amnesia occurs
...
For
example, Baddeley found that STM is encoded acoustically while LTM is encoded semantically
...

A limitation of the MSM is that it is too reductionist, as the theory assumes that STM & LTM are
separate stores
...

Memory is a much more complex concept than one store for STM and another for LTM
...

Another limitation of the MSM is that there is evidence of multiple LTM stores
...
Procedural memories can be recalled unconsciously; the
MSM does not take consciousness into account
...


Another model explaining memory is the Craik & Lockhart (1972) Levels of Processing (LOP) model
...
There are three types of processing
...
g whether a word is in all
capitals)
...
g
...

 Semantic processing is encoding the meaning of a word and its relation to other words with similar
meanings (e
...
if salmon is a fish)
...

Structural and phonemic processing are forms of shallow processing
...
Semantic processing is a form of deep processing
...

METHOD:
Undergraduate participants were given a list of 60 words and had to answer one of three
questions
...
g
...
g
...
For
example, they were asked, 'Is the word in capital letters or lowercase letters?' for
structural processing and, 'Does the word go in this sentence?' for semantic processing
...
They were asked to identify the original words
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that semantically processed words involve elaboration rehearsal
and deep processing which results in more accurate recall
...

LINK:
Therefore, this study supports the LOP model as the participants recalled more words
that had deeper processing
...
This was evident in the Craik & Lockhart study where they changed the way a word is
processed (independent variable) in order to measure their memory recall (dependent variable)
...


15

LIMITATIONS:

Another strength of the LOP model is that it can be applied to everyday life
...
This is a strength because
it helps in the prediction of human cognition, something which the MSM failed to address
...
Since
semantic processing involves linking a word to pre-existing memories, different people may
process a word differently
...
This is a limitation because this results in low population validity
...
This is a limitation because the depth of processing is too
difficult to measure and the model does not explain how depth works
...
This disease gradually results in memory loss
...
AD progresses for 2-15 years until death
...
The medial temporal lobe, the part of
the brain responsible for episodic memory formation, is one of the first to deteriorate
...

The brains of AD patients have abnormal levels of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles
...

Neurofibrillary tangles accumulate the tau protein which collapses the structural support of the neurons
...
AD is
investigated using brain imaging techniques (e
...
CT scan, MRI scan)
...

METHOD:
They conducted a meta-analysis of fMRI studies into episodic memory in Alzheimer's
patients
...

RESULTS:
The results found that there was greater activity in the medial temporal lobe and frontal
lobes in the healthy patients
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that Alzheimer's patients have a damaged medial temporal lobe
and frontal lobe
...


See Culture & Cultural Norms
...

STUDY: Cole & Scribner (1974)
AIM:
The aim of Cole & Scribner (1974) was to investigate free recall in two different cultures
by comparing children from the Kpelle tribe in Liberia with US children
...
The participants were aged from 6 to 14 and consisted of both
schooled and non-schooled children from both cultures
...
The words belonged to four categories: utensils, clothes,
tools and vegetables
...
The researchers then
presented the same words in a meaningful manner as part of a story and the
participants were asked to recall the words again
...
The school children in the US and Liberia used categorical
recall, where they chunked the words in to linked categories as they recalled them in
groups
...
The illiterate Kpelle children over the age
of 10 did not improve their performance in free recall memory tests the same way US
children did
...

It can be concluded that the non-schooled Liberian children did not use the categorical
structure of the list to help them remember, which indicates cultural differences in the
cognitive process of memory
...


STUDY: Bartlett (1932)
LINK:
Therefore, this study supports that culture can influence memory as the participants
distorted the story around their own culture
...


See Schema Theory and Memory
...

Eye-witness testimony refers to an account given by people of an event they have witnessed, based upon
their memory
...

Factors such as stress and reconstructive memory can change one's eye-witness testimony
...

METHOD:
The study consisted of two laboratory experiments that had an independent measures
design
...
In the
first experiment, 45 participants from the University of Washington were shown seven
film clips of traffic accidents
...
The verbs were: smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted
...
In the second
experiment, 150 students viewed a one minute film that contained a 4 second scene of
a multiple car accident
...
The
participants returned one week later and were asked, without viewing the film again, if
they saw any broken glass (dependent variable)
...

RESULTS:
The results found that in the first experiment, the participants who were given the verb
'smashed' estimated the highest speed (40
...
8 mph)
...
The participants who were asked nothing gave the lowest amount
who had thought that (6)
...

Two experiments were conducted → researchers were able to triangulate results → high validity
EVALUATION:
17

Participants were uni students → may not have been experienced with car speeds →
inconsistent recall → reduces reliability
Artificial stimulus in the form of video → could be different if witnessed firsthand → low ecological
validity

LINK:

Therefore, this study supports that memory is unreliable, as the participants had
distorted their memories based on the verb that was given to them
...

STUDY: Brewer & Treyens (1981)
LINK:
Therefore, this study supports that memory is unreliable, as the participants only
recalled objects based on their previous knowledge of an office
...
The signals are detected by a radio antenna and
processed by a computer to create images of inside the body
...
The machine will
generate a strong magnetic field, which the person does not feel
...
These atoms absorb the energy
of the magnetic field and react with the magnetic field
...

MRI can differentiate between grey matter and white matter in the brain
...

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is a non-invasive imaging technique where an individual is
injected with a radioactive substance in order to measure the physiological functions of the body (e
...

glucose consumption, blood flow)
...

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan is a technique for measuring brain activity that
works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity
...
The MRI scanner tracks the brain's signals
...
This means that when a specific part of the brain is active,
more oxygen-rich blood enters the area
...
fMRI measures this and shows which areas of the brain
are active when engaged in a behaviour or cognitive process
...
These scans require an individual to lie on a table attached to a scanner
...


STUDY: Maguire et al
...
(2000) was to examine whether structural changes could be
detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation
...
They were all right
handed, were taxi drivers for more than 1
...
The experiment was a quasi-experiment with a matched-pairs design
...
The researchers matched the taxi drivers with 50 healthy males who did
not drive taxis and had similar ages (control group)
...

Both 2D and 3D measurements were taken
...
The taxi drivers had a larger posterior
hippocampus and a smaller anterior hippocampus compared to the control group
...

CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the results provide evidence for structural differences between
the hippocampi of London taxi drivers and control participants, therefore suggesting that
extensive practice with spatial navigation affects the hippocampus
...

STUDY: Corkin et al
...
(1997) was to investigate the extent of the hippocampal and
medial temporal lobe damage to a patient's brain and to determine whether this could
be sufficient to have resulted in the drastic memory loss suffered by him
...
HM had brain surgery
in order to stop his seizures
...

RESULTS:
The results found that the lesioning of H
...
’s brain was 3cm less than Scoville had
estimated
...

Approximately 50% of the posterior hippocampus on each side remained, but this had
shrunk considerably on the right side
...
The IQ test found that he had normal
intelligence, but the memory test showed his memory quotient was 37 points lower than
his IQ
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the small amount of hippocampus remaining in the left temporal
lobe was not sufficient enough to support normal memory
...

MRI Scan Evaluation
A strength of the MRI scan is that it provides high quality 3D images of the structures brain,
STRENGTHS:

LIMITATIONS:

19

which results in high validity
...
This a strength because the structure and
processes within the brain are mapped out, which helps in the diagnosis of various conditions
(e
...
Alzheimer's disease)
...
People
with claustrophobia and patients with certain diseases may find it extremely difficult to stay still
for times between 30 minutes and 1 hour in the scanner, which is required in the procedure
...


Another limitation of MRI is that it only looks at the structure of the brain
...
For example, in Maguire et al
...
This is a limitation because
MRIs cannot prove causations between the structure of the brain and cognitive processes
...


STUDY: Sharot et al
...
(2007) was to determine the potential role of biological factors
on flashbulb memories
...
The
participants were put into an fMRI
...
The word "summer" or "September" was shown along with a word in
order to have the participant link the word to either summer holidays or the 9/11 event
...
After the brain scanning session,
participants were asked to rate their memories and write a description of their personal
memories
...
Those that did
report having flashbulb memories also reported that they were closer to the World Trade
Centre on the day of the terrorist attack
...
The strength of amygdala
activation at retrieval was shown to correlate with flashbulb memories
...

LINK:
Therefore, the study used the BIT of fMRI scans in order to investigate how the
amygdala activates based on different types of flashbulb memories (cognitive process)
...
fMRI scans can reveal which parts of the brain
are activated when memory is used
...

LIMITATIONS:
A limitation of fMRI is that the stimuli may exaggerate the activity of the brain
...
For example, just because the amygdala
lights up does not necessarily mean that an emotional response is being observed
...

Another limitation of fMRI is that it only looks at blood flow and not individual neurons,
which are cells in the brain
...
This is a limitation because it is hard to tell what kind of
brain activity is represented on the scan in response to a cognitive process
...


20

Emotion is the body's adaptive response to situations
...
There are six fundamental emotions:
happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust
...

 A cognitive factor of emotion is associating certain behaviours with certain emotions
...

The LeDoux Two Routes Model proposes that for fear responses, there are two routes for emotional
processing
...
The short route goes from the
sensory store in the thalamus to the amygdala
...
The short route is used during times of danger when a quick
response is needed (biological factor)
...

Generally, the amygdala receives input from the fast or slow route and then gives a response based on the
input (fight or flight response)
...
The long route evaluates the threat and inhibitis emotional responses
...
LeDoux (1999) conducted a study to investigate this
...

METHOD:
Rats were conditioned to feel fear when they heard the sound of a bell
...
They made lesions in specific neural
pathways of rats to determine the functions of the damaged pathways and disrupt the
conditioning response
...
This was carried out when the rats had lesions on their auditory thalamus
and their amygdala
...
When the rats had lesions on the auditory
thalamus, the rats stopped responding with fear when they heard the bell
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that there are biological interactions in emotions
...


The Schachter & Singer Two Factor theory proposes that two factors interact to determine a specific
emotion
...
The process
begins with a stimulus that leads the body to physiological arousal (e
...
jumpiness)
...
g
...
If an unexplained arousal
occurs, the invididual will try to explain it via the environment
...

21

STUDY: Schachter & Singer (1962)
AIM:
The aim of Schacter & Singer (1962) was to test the two factor theory of emotion using
the adrenaline hormone
...
The participants were divided into four groups and were told that they would
be injected the made up drug 'Suproxin' in order to test its effects on vision
...
The four groups were:
adrenaline ignorant (given an adrenaline injection but not informed of the effects),
adrenaline informed (given an adrenaline injection and informed of the side effects),
adrenaline misinformed (given an adrenaline injection and misinformed of the side
effects), and the control group (given a placebo that had no effect)
...
The
researchers observed the participants through a one-way mirror
...
However, those who had been told that there was no effect
showed much higher changes in emotion because they had no explanation for their
state of arousal and labelled their emotions using the confederate's behaviour
...

Tested two factor theory of emotion → high validity
EVALUATION:
Four conditions → comparisons of consistency → high reliability
Gender bias → low representational generalisability to females
IMPROVEMENT: sample with both genders

LINK:

However, the study supports that cognitive factors and biological factors interact in
emotion to a high extent as the participants’ knowledge of the effect of adrenaline
(biological factor) affected their level of anger or happiness (cognitive factor)
...
The individual experiences a highly
emotional state (emotional arousal) when the event occurs, which results in the event being imprinted into
memory
...
An
individual remembers six things in flashbulb memory: where they were, what they were doing, who they were
with, who told them what they felt about it, what others felt about it, and what happened immediately
afterwards
...

STUDY: Conway et al
...
(1994) was to test the theory of flashbulb memory
...
There were 369
participants who were either UK (215 participants) or non-UK undergraduates (154
participants) in first-year psychology
...
They were given the
questionnaire within a few days of the event
...
It also had a section where the participants
had to give a short description of their memories during the event
...
The survey took around 20-30 minutes and they were asked to complete it
again 11 months later
...
Most non-UK participants also recalled false information
...
The flashbulb memory was created by the arousal of deep emotions and the
influence on special neuro mechanisms
...


STUDY: Brown & Kulik (1977)
AIM:
The aim of Brown & Kulik (1977) was to investigate whether shocking events are
recalled more vividly and accurately than other events
...
The participants were asked, “do
you recall the circumstances in which you first heard [about the event]
...
The questions were about 10 events, 9 of which were about deaths of
well-known Americans and the last event was a self-selected personal event
...
The questionnaire rated the consequentiality of
the event (how much the event impacted the participant's lives)
...
90% of participants recalled JFK's assassination with vivid detail
...
g
...
73 out of the 80 participants had flashbulb
memories associated with personal events such as the death of a parent
...
There is a physiological process involved in
encoding flashbulb memories
...


STUDY: Sharot et al
...
supports FBM, as half of the participants (closer to the event)
recalled the emotionally shocking event of 9/11
...

There are multiple principles to the BLOA
...

B2
 Animal research may inform our understanding of human behaviour
...
*
*Principle B3 is too vague and could be anything
...

The brain has two hemispheres, the left and right hemisphere
...
The temporal lobe is responsible for hearing,
perception, memory and meaning
...
The hippocampus is responsible for forming new memories
...

STUDY: Scoville & Milner (1957)
AIM:
The aim of Scoville & Milner (1957) was to investigate memory in a patient after he had
his hippocampus surgically removed
...
M for over 40
years
...
Researchers used MRI scans
to study the structural damage in high detail
...

RESULTS:
The results found that after the surgery, HM was unable to create new memories
...
Some
events that occurred before the surgery was forgotten (e
...
the death of his uncle 3
years prior), but his childhood memories remained intact
...
When the researchers observed HM, he
ate lunch in front of them and half an hour later, he failed to recall eating anything
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the hippocampus is needed for memories to be transferred to
long-term memory
...


The brain is comprised of neurons, which are cells that communicate with each other using electrical and
chemical signals
...
Neurons pass information to each other by converting electrical signals to chemical signals via the
synapse
...

The electrical impulse, called the action potential, moves along the axon to the dendrite and lasts less than
2 milliseconds
...
Once
a neuron is stimulated, the action potential travels down the axon and reaches the presynaptic terminal, which
causes the release of neurotransmitters
...

Acetylcholine (Ach) is a neurotransmitter that controls muscle movement, memory and cognition
...

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that controls mood, appetite and perception
...

The researchers studied a group of Buddhist monks who went on a 72-hour pilgrimage
to a holy mountain in Japan
...
The researchers took blood samples before
the monks ascended the mountain and immediately after they reported having
hallucinations
...
They reported
seeing ancient ancestors or feeling their presence
...

It can be concluded that the sensory deprivation triggered the release of serotonin,
which changed the monks' perception of the world
...


Hormones are chemicals that are secreted into the bloodstream and can have an effect on the physiology
and psychology of humans
...
Hormones cause physiological reactions in these cells, known as target cells
...

Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland which is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light
...
Cortisol controls arousal,
stress and memory
...
(2001)
AIM:
The aim of Wehr et al
...

RESULTS:
The results found that the SAD patients' melatonin secretion had a longer duration in
Winter than in Summer, but in healthy participants it was the same
...

METHOD:
The researchers surveyed 639 Mexican children (315 girls and 324 boys) and their
mothers living in low-income areas in urban Mexico, aged 2
...
Saliva samples were
taken in order to measure their cortisol levels
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the lower cortisol levels in children indicate that their stress
system is worn out, meaning that the body cannot prepare itself to deal with everyday
stress
...


A physiological response is an automatic reaction that triggers a physical response to a stimulus
...
It is thought that the environment can influence the physiological
process of neuroplasticity, as the continual repetition of behaviour will increase the connections between
neurons, which improves plasticity
...
The brain adapts and changes (functionally and physically) in response to
the environment
...
This is due to high levels of stimulation and numerous learning opportunities, which causes
the neurons to create a new connection in the brain, resulting in functional changes
...
This shows that the brain is in a continual state of change, from growth, in early
years, to change and refinement in adulthood, as we learn and have new experiences
...

Enrichment changes the cerebral cortex
...

A stressor is an external stimuli from the environment that causes a stress response from the body
...
The individual afflicted with PTSD experiences strong reactions
of fear, horror, anger and hopelessness for a period of time
...
PTSD can cause physiological changes in the brain, such as
decreasing activation in the hippocampus
...

METHOD:
An unspecified type of rats were used
...
The environment was either the enriched
condition, the deprived condition or the control condition
...
In the enriched
condition, the researchers placed 10-12 rats in a cage containing different stimulus
objects (e
...
In the control condition, three rats
were placed in the same cage
...
The dependent
variable was the weight of the rats' brains
...

RESULTS:
The results showed that the rats in enriched condition had an increased cortical
thickness
...
The enriched
condition had a denser frontal lobe, resulting in better thinking, planning, and decisionmaking
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that rodents learn and remember better in an enriched environment
...

Established a cause & effect relationship between environment and brain activity → high validity
EVALUATION:
Unclear whether it was toys or social activity that affected the rats’ brains → could cause
inconsistencies → lowers reliability
IMPROVEMENT: repeat the experiment but with two experimental conditions, one where the
rats have toys but are alone and another where the rats have toys and are with others
...


Rosenzweig & Bennet is principle B2 of the BLOA
...
(2000)
MRI → rich data, objective and not open to interpretation → reduces demand characteristics →
EVALUATION:
increases credibility
Matched pairs design was used → reduces individual differences, making data more consistent
→ increases reliability
Sample only used females → gender bias → lowers representational generalisability
IMPROVEMENT: Investigate female taxi drivers

LINK:

Therefore, this study supports that the environment can affect physiological processes,
as the taxi drivers’ knowledge of London increased the amount of grey matter in their
hippocampi
...
(2009)
26

AIM:
METHOD:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSION:

The aim of Carrión et al
...

27 adolescents between the ages of 10–17 years (16 PTSD and 11 healthy) participated
in a Verbal Declarative Memory Task
...
The participants had to encode 40 unique visually presented nouns and
retreive 32 of the same words from a longer list with 16 new words
...
They were asked to remember the words
...
They were asked to press
one of two buttons to indicate whether the word had been presented during the
encoding task
...

The results found that the participants who had PTSD performed worse than the healthy
participants
...
The participants who
performed worse on the test were those who also showed specific PTSD symptoms,
such as withdrawal from those who wanted to help them
...
Difficulty remembering trauma, feeling cut from others and showing lack
of emotion are symptoms of PTSD
...


See Cognitive Level of Analysis
...

Amnesia is the inability to learn new information or retrieve information that has already been stored in
memory
...
Amnesia has a
biological cause (e
...
brain damage) and affects cognition (e
...
memory)
...

 Episodic memories are memories linked to a certain time and place
...

Amnesia affects the medial temporal lobe and the hippocampus
...

 Anterograde amnesia is the impairment in the ability to recall new information after the onset
...

Assumptions of interaction between cognition and physiology:
 One area of the brain is responsible for one interaction between cognition and physiology
 Different areas of the brain control different functions and behaviours
STUDY: Scoville & Milner (1957)
LINK:
Therefore, this study shows an interaction between cognition and physiology as HM
had anterograde amnesia after his hippocampus was removed
...

METHOD:
A case study was conducted that examined KF, who was in a motorcycle accident and
suffered memory impairment
...
The researchers conducted 5 experiments testing the impact of brain damage to
27

RESULTS:

CONCLUSION:
LINK:

his memory
...

The results found that KF could transfer information from STM to LTM, but he suffered
problems with STM for different types of information
...
g
...

It was found that KF’s recency effect was 1 digit, whereas for most people this is 5 digits
...

Therefore, this study shows an interaction between cognition and physiology as KF’s
STM was impaired after he suffered brain damage
...


STUDY: Maguire et al
...


See Technology in Investigating Cognitive Processes
...
Genes are groupings of genetic information within the
DNA of any chromosome
...

Behavioural genetics is based on the assumption that genetic factors must influence behaviours to some
extent, since they are produced by bodies which are constructed from the instructions contained in DNA
...

 The phenotype refers to the set of characteristics a person actually develops or the physical
realisation or embodiment of the genetic instructions based on the environmental resources available
...

 Monozygotic (MZ) twins or identical twins share 100% of their genetic make-up because the come
from the same egg
...

 Parents, brothers and sisters share 50% of their genetic make-up
...

Concordance is the degree of similarity between genetically related and unrelated individuals
...

Genetics alone are not the sole cause of behaviour, environmental factors can also influence the
development of an organism
...


28

STUDY: Fernald, Burke & Gunnar (2008)
Large sample size of 639 people → high representational generalisability to the target population
EVALUATION:
of Mexicans in poverty
Culturally biased to Mexico → low inferential generalisability
IMPROVEMENT: Conduct a cross-cultural study
Unclear whether it was the genes or the environment that caused depression → lowers reliability

LINK:

Therefore, the study shows that genetic inheritance influences behaviour to a moderate
extent, as the mothers who lived in extreme poverty had children who were more
depressive
...

METHOD:
They conducted a meta-analysis that reviewed the results of 92 adult twins
...
Genetic factors might predispose
people to depression
...

CONCLUSION: They concluded that the fact that the concordance rate is way below 100% indicates
that depression may be the result of genetic predisposition or genetic vulnerability
...


STUDY: Caspi et al
...
(2003) was to investigate the possible role of the 5-HTT gene in
depression after experiences of stressful events
...
The participants were split into three groups depending on
the alleles of their 5-HTT gene (two short alleles, one short and one long allele, two long
alleles)
...
They were assessed at 26 years old on their
depression and stressful life events
...
Those participants with two long alleles reported fewer depression
symptoms
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the 5-HTT gene could indicate a vulnerability to depression
after stress
...

Longitudinal study → high temporal validity
EVALUATION:
All participants were 26 years old → low representational generalisability
Participants may be distressed due to the fact that they are more likely to be depressed → shows
that it is a socially sensitive issue

LINK:

Therefore, the study shows that genetic inheritance can influence behaviour to a high
extent, as the participants with the mutated 5-HTT gene were more likely to exhibit
depressive behaviours compared to the participants with the normal gene
...

29

METHOD:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSION:

458 women in London were surveyed on their life and depressive episodes
...

The results found that 37 women (8% of all the women) had been depressed
...
Workingclass women with children were four times more likely to develop depression than
middle-class women with children
...

It can be concluded that the link between recent negative life events, loss in childhood
and lack of social support or family discord made women more vulnerable to
depression
...


Evolution is a process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which organisms
slowly change some of their characteristics
...
The theory proposes that natural selection
is the gradual process by which nature selects the forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given
environment
...

Reproduction ensures the continuation of genes responsible for fitness
...
The theory of evolution is based on the assumptions that humans descended
from animal ancestors, and that our behaviour is the result of evolution shaping our biology
...

METHOD:
496 healthy pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 50 years were asked to
consider 32 'disgusting' scenarios (e
...
walking barefoot, stepping on an earthworm)
...
The participants were then asked to
rank how disgusting they found these scenarios
...
When Fessler controlled
the study for morning sickness, the women were only disgusted in the scenarios
involving food, such as maggots on a piece of meat
...

LINK:
Therefore, this study supports the theory of evolution, because it can be assumed that
the disgust behaviours were caused by the body wanting to protect itself from potentially
harmful situations
...
(2004)
AIM:
The aim of Curtis et al
...

METHOD:
The researchers conducted an online survey with 20 images
...
They were asked to ranked images according
to level of disgust
...
The highest ranked pictures were the most dangerous to immune
system
...
The
females were more disgusted and the disgust reaction decreased with age
...

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that evolution has taught people what to avoid
...

Evaluation of Fessler and Curtis et al
...


General Evaluation of Evolutionary Theory
Deterministic (one fixed outcome) → not necessarily the case
EVALUATION:

There are other approaches to psychology → not every behaviour is evolutionary (e
...

behaviours from the Social Learning Theory)
Doesn’t take into account individual factors and other factors → reductionist
No empirical evidence for how past individuals (e
...
cavemen) acted → unclear whether they
were influenced by evolution → questions validity of theory

See Ethical Considerations
...

Knowledge of genetic predisposition to depression could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy that could cause
more stress and worry, and an inability to cope with situations (e
...
exams, breakups)
...
Can also use Bouchard (1990)
...

METHOD:
A cross cultural, longitudinal study was conducted involving psychological and
physiological assessment starting in 1979
...
The mean
age was 41 years old (at the start of the study)
...

RESULTS:
The results found that 70% of intelligence is attributed to genetic inheritance, while 30%
is from other factors
...

31

Research methods are ways that researchers use and manipulate to conduct their studies to collect the
data of the topic under investigation
...
Another reason
that 'experiments' are used is that the laboratory setting of the experiment allowed the researchers to control
the many extraneous variables, which makes the experiment more standardised
...
g
...
There is a control group to compare against
...

 Field experiments – clear IV and DV, IV is manipulated by the experimenter e
...
they can purposefully
change something
...
Natural environment
...
Natural environment
...
g
...
e
...
Brewer &
Treyens
 Animal experiments – Usage of animals (e
...
rats) in any of the above experimental types in cases
where it is not possible to use humans
...
BIT is used to examine the brain, and allows the researchers to see where specific brain
processes take place
...
Different types of
observations are: participant/non-participant, covert/overt, naturalistic/controlled
...
Within
those questions, there may be a broad range of questions to eliminate participants from figuring out the
purpose of research
...

Pick any study from your level of analysis that utilise one of these methods, and link each of these characteristics to the
study
...
g
...
In psychology, ethics must be considered to ensure that participants (human and animals) are not
harmed and that the research conducted is ethically valid
...


32

Informed consent is when the participants are told of the purpose of the study, how their results will be used,
and making the participant aware of their rights in the study
...

Confidentiality is protecting participants from being identified from their data
...
g
...

Withdrawal rights is when the participants can withdraw their data at any point in research
...

Protecting participants from psychological harm is especially needed in studies that involve sensitive
topic issues (e
...
flashbulb memory and recalling distressing events) in order to limit the distress that the
participants experience
...

 Ethical considerations also increase the credibility of the researcher, because the researcher should
be trusted to follow ethics whenever in a study
...
g
...
Don’t discuss ethical considerations that are
obvious (e
...
debriefing), because it is often common knowledge (and a ‘duhh!’ moment)
...
g
...

Stigmatization is the biases held by people towards those that have or had mental illness
...

Labelling occurs when an individual is diagnosed based on symptoms of "deviant behaviour," society's
reactions to this label will produce additional pathology or behavioural disturbance that causes mental illness
or makes it worse
...
A group can be vulnerable and need protection from harm that may arise
from their mental health
...

 Knowledge of the vulnerable group’s symptoms (e
...
less able to handle stress) may affect how others
treat them (leads to stigmatization)
...

TIP: These ethical considerations interact with each other
...
Talk about
each ethical consideration and connect them together
...
They consist of three paragraphs
...
The 1st paragraph is the introduction
...
The 2nd paragraph is the body
...
The 3rd paragraph is the conclusion
...

The body is the Aim, Method, Results, and Conclusion (AMRCs) of the study that relates to the theory
...

Think of the structure like a funnel
...

 Minimum of two AMRCs (three is usually the average)
...

Simple ERQs are ones that are only looking at one facet of a theory or problem, e
...

Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies
...
Introduction – same as SAQ version of question
2
...
Evaluate study 1
4
...
Conclusion – give a general recap of studies and make a final statement on whether theory/idea can
be supported
This structure is good, as each study is examining schemas
...
g
...

For this question, you may have studies with different subject matters
...
Introduce every study’s subject matters in the 1st body paragraph OR
b
...

The rule is that you have to always introduce the subject matters of your studies before you talk about them
...

Examples of structures for this question would be:
Approach a
1
...

2
...
Evaluate Bartlett (1932)
4
...
Evaluate Allport & Postman (1947)
6
...
Evaluate Cole & Scribner (1974)
8
...
Introduction – explain memory, briefly touch on
how cultural factors can impact memory
2
...
Give an AMRC of Bartlett (1932)
4
...
Give an AMRC of Allport & Postman (1947)
6
...
Introduce the cultural factor of education
8
...
Evaluate Cole & Scribner (1974)
10
...


35

An introduction requires:
a
...

b
...

c
...

d
...

The most common mistake in introductions is treating them like a dictionary and not a coherent essay
...
Instead, try and link them
together
...

For more Complex ERQs, it could be wise to split the introduction over the course of the essay for better
organisation
...

In SAQs, it is expected that you reproduce as much detail as possible for the study
...
A good way to practice this is to use flash cards
...

AMRC Checklist:
 Given the aim of the study ☐
 Given, in the method, (if applicable):
o Number of participants ☐
o Gender of participants ☐
o Age of participants ☐
o Nationality of participants ☐
o Control and experimental groups ☐
o General procedure ☐
 Given, in the results, (if applicable):
o Percentages/numbers of participants who reacted a certain way ☐
o Any other details (time, age, etc
...
You have to give a minimum of 2, normally 3 strengths or limitations
of the study that you’ve just written
...

For top marks, you have to link your point to the question, otherwise it will be deemed irrelevant and
unfocused
...

1
...


36

A strength of the study was that it established a cause and effect relationship between the environment and
brain activity,
2
...

…which increases the study’s validity
...
Explain where this was evident in the study
...

4
...

This is a strength because the researchers were accurate to measuring the effect the environment has on
the physiological process of brain activity
...
In this case, ‘validity’ would be linked to ‘accuracy’ and the
question is to do with ‘the effect the environment has on physiological processes’
...
The
full evaluative point would be:
A strength of the study was that it established a cause and effect relationship between the environment and
brain activity, which increases the study’s validity
...
This is a strength because the researchers were
accurate to measuring the effect the environment has on the physiological process of brain activity
...
Top marks will be awarded to evaluative points that build upon each other, i
...
you
recognise that there are two sides to an aspect of the study
...
…it was unclear whether it was the toys or social activity that influenced the rats' brains,
2
...

3
...

4
...

5
...

Now put it all together:
Although the experiment shows a cause and effect relationship, a limitation was that it was unclear whether
it was the toys or social activity that influenced the rats' brains, which decreases the reliability
...
To improve this, an alternative approach would be to repeat the experiment again
but with two experimental conditions, one where the rats have toys but are alone and another where the rats
have toys and are with others
...

At the end of your evaluation, don’t forget to link your study to the question, i
...
how it supports or challenges
the key terms/theory with a reason
...

For studies, this is what I normally focus on when I use these terms:
Validity
37






Procedure of the study
Significance of results
Whether they took into account a holistic approach
Time period/age of the study

Reliability





Procedure of the study
Control/experimental groups and how many in each group
Number of participants
Whether a comparison was involved

Credibility




Whether the data was objective/subjective
What measures the researchers made to make subjective data more objective
The research method as a whole

Generalisability








Whether there was a sample bias (gender bias, culture bias, age bias, etc
...

Evaluating theories is much like evaluating a study, but it requires more critical thinking of what a certain
evaluative point means for a theory as a whole, such as applicability to psychologists and everyday life
...
Generally, theory evaluations should be bigger than study evaluations,
with 4 to 6 points compared to the usual 2/3
...
You have to prove to the examiner that you REALLY
know how the study fits with theory
...

RESULTS:

The results found that after the surgery, HM was unable to create new memories
...
Some events that
occurred before the surgery was forgotten (e
...
the death of his uncle 3 years prior), but his
childhood memories remained intact
...
When the researchers observed HM, he ate lunch in front of them and half an
hour later, he failed to recall eating anything
...


The 1st sentence of your conclusion should be a statement of affirmation, that is, the study shows what the
question is asking, as well with reasoning and an implicit link
...

In your subsequent sentences, connect as much as possible from the results to the key terms/concepts in
the introduction
...

Furthermore, he retained the same personality and his childhood memories were still intact because there
was no damage to the parts of the brain responsible for these aspects
...

Therefore, this study supports localization of function as the removal of the patient’s hippocampus (area of
the brain) impaired the patient’s memory (function), and thus caused memory loss
...
If you don’t have a conclusion,
the worst that can happen is that you’ll be marked down for organisation
...
Give short sentences that recap each of studies and their results AND/OR give recap of strengths
and limitations of theory
...
Give a general conclusion
...
e
...

the ideas of [theory/concept] can be supported, but more research needs to be conducted in order to
outweigh its limitations
...

This should be enough for a conclusion
39

This is a glossary of evaluative terms
...

Term
Associated Words
validity
accuracy
internal validity
accuracy; true to the aim
temporal validity
longitudinal period of time; outdated
construct validity
vague; hard to measure
external validity
population validity (synonymous with population; target population; wider population
representational generalisability)
ecological validity
artificial; unnatural; unrealistic; real-life; naturalistic
predictive validity
future behaviour
reliability
consistent; clarity
internal reliability
consistent within the study
inter-rater reliability
multiple researchers did not arrive at the same result
external reliability
repeating; other studies;
test-retest reliability
consistent within replications of the same study
generalisability
representational generalisability
population; target population; wider population
inferential generalisability
settings; other places
theoretical generalisability
theory; applicable; outside; valuable
credibility
objective; bias; reflexivity; trustworthy; true
replicability
repeated again; clear procedure; further support

Common biases and limitations you can talk about
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Gender bias
A sample that only consists of participants from one gender
...

Ethnocentrism
The inability to empathize with another culture; to assume that one's own
culture is the standard by which other cultures are assessed
...

Demand characteristics
Subtle cues that make participants aware of what the experimenter expects
to find or how participants are expected to behave

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