Introduction to Psychology - 1010 6.0B
Assignment

Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Jubis
Due Date: Friday, July 12 by 5:00pm
Name: Danielle Jackson
Student Number: 207457724

1A) Utilizing the experimental method of research to test the effects of caffeine on memory, one must first establish a hypothesis. For this experiment, the hypothesis would simply state; that if a person consumes 2 cups of a caffeinated beverage over the course of 3 hours then their recall of information, learned earlier that day, will be faster and more accurate on a short answer test. The independent variable in this experiment would be the caffeine as it is the factor that is being manipulated and examined to see if it has any effect on a participant’s memory. The dependent variable in this experiment would be memory or specifically the participant’s ability to recall information as it may change as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable of caffeine.
To begin the experiment, participants will be randomly assigned to either the control group, the group not exposed to caffeine, or to the experimental group, the group exposed to caffeine. The control group will be given a placebo and the experimental group will be given the caffeinated beverage. The two groups will be given a short story to read and review for one hour at the beginning of the experiment. Over the course of the next hour, participants in the experimental group will be given 2 cups of a caffeinated beverage while participants in the control group will be given 2 cups of a non-caffeinated beverage. After the hour has elapsed, all the participants in the experiment will be given a short answer test on the information contained in the short story. The participants will be evaluated on how fast they complete the test as well as how accurate their answers are. The test results should indicate whether or not caffeine has had an effect on a participant’s memory.

1B) Random assignment must be utilized in order to control for extraneous factors. The use of random assignment will help minimize pre-existing differences between the individuals assigned to the control group and individuals assigned to the experimental group. For example, if 10 out of 100 participants have high school education, then by using random assignment about 10% of participants in both, the experimental group and the control group, should have high school education. Random assignment creates a more equalized representation of the participants in each group and therefore will help to determine whether or not the treatment of caffeine has had an effect on memory.

1C) Memory in this experiment will be defined as the recall of information that was learned earlier in the day. The time taken to complete the test and the accuracy of the answers on a short answer test will test for this operational definition of memory.

1D) Study habits may act as a confounding variable. Some of the participants may have developed study habits utilizing effortful processing strategies such as “chunking” and “mnemonics” that will help them to be more successful at recalling information and completing a short answer test. Consequently, better results on the test may be due in part to superior study habits of some participants which will act to confound the caffeine’s effect on memory.

1E) A cause and effect conclusion can be drawn from this experimental method of research. Depending on the results of the above experiment, one could surmise, for example, that caffeine has a strong positive effect on memory. Two cups of caffeine consumed over the space of an hours will cause our recall of information, previously learned that day, to be faster and more accurate during a short answer test.

1F) The placebo effect is a result of an individual’s expectation that leads them to experience some change, from the independent variable, even though they had not been administered the actual treatment. It is definitely a concern in this experiment as the participants in the control group will be unaware that the beverage that they are consuming does not contain caffeine. Without actually consuming caffeine, these participants may experience some of the sensations associated with drinking a caffeinated beverage because of their expectations of how they think caffeine will affect them. It is important to try and control for this effect.

1G) In most experiments the participants are usually not aware of or are “blind” about which treatment they may or not be receiving. The double-blind procedure occurs when both, the participants and the research staff, are unaware of which treatment, experimental or controlled; any of the participants may or may not be receiving. In doing so, it is hoped that the effects caused by both the researchers and participants expectations of how the independent variable might act on the participants will be eliminated. In the above experiment, the double-blind procedure would not be necessary. The time participants take to complete the test, as well as their ability to recall information more accurately would not be greatly influenced by the observations of a researcher. Therefore, the results of the experiments should not be altered based on the awareness by the researcher of which caffeine treatment the participants may or may not be receiving.

2 A) No, you would not be able to conclude that caffeine consumption causes sociability using the correlation method. The correlational method of research does not indicate whether or not a cause-effect relationship exists between these two variables. Establishing the correlation coefficient can help us to see how well one variable can predict the other. In this case, the correlation method tells us that those who consume higher amounts of caffeine also tend to be more sociable. There may be a positive correlation between the two, but this only tells us that people who are more sociable also consume greater amounts of caffeine. It does not tell us that people are more sociable because of higher consumption of caffeine.

2B) Two variables that would likely be positively correlated with caffeine consumption in university students would be anxiety and study habits. The higher the consumption of caffeine by university students, the higher their anxiety levels would have a tendency to be. In addition, university students often rely on caffeine to help keep them alert in order to study or to complete course work. There is a tendency for university students to consume more caffeine when they are studying for exams or striving to meet academic deadlines. The higher the consumption of caffeine by university students, the stronger their study habits would have a tendency to be.

2C) Two variables that would likely be negatively correlated with caffeine consumption in university students are the number of hours a student sleeps each night and the amount of food a student consumes each day. The higher the student’s consumption of caffeine during the day, the smaller the amount of food they tend to consume in that same day and the fewer hours of sleep they would tend to get that night.

2D) The correlation coefficient between IQ and shoe size of -0.89 indicates a very strong negative relationship between the two variables. It helps us see how well each variable predicts the other. In this case, a higher IQ strongly predicts the likelihood of a smaller shoe size.

3A) Classical conditioning occurs when we learn to associate two or more stimuli. The association between feeling ill and the sight of the green plate was likely the result of associating the green plate (a neutral stimulus that became a conditioned stimulus) with the unconditioned stimulus (e.g. food that can trigger an allergic reaction i.e. nausea). For example, the nausea inducing food was placed on the green plate and presented to me several times until I began to associate nausea with the green plate. The unconditioned response would be feeling ill whenever the food that causes the allergic reaction is presented. The conditioned response would be feeling ill whenever the green plate is presented.

3B) Generalization can occur when our conditioned response can be triggered by stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. An example of generalization in this situation would be my feeling ill at the sight of any plate of varying size and colour.

4A) Exposure therapy and aversive conditioning are both behaviour therapies that use classical conditioning techniques. Both therapies are considered “counterconditioning” and focus on replacing unwanted responses. Exposure therapy attempts to eliminate a fear or conditioned response through continual exposure to the conditioned stimulus. For example, someone who has a fear of the dark may be slowly exposed to an increasingly darkened room every night while accompanied by relaxing music in order to reduce and eventually eliminate that fear. As a result, they may experience reduced anxiety when exposed to the dark, thus, altering their behaviour. Aversive conditioning associates an unpleasant state with unwanted behaviour. Aversion therapy attempts to establish a conditioned response or aversion to a conditioned stimuli. For example, a dog may pull on a leash whenever he is taken for a walk by his owner. One way this behaviour could be modified is for the owner to use a choke collar. In time, the dog will come to associate pulling on the leash with being choked and he will change his behaviour by not pulling on the leash. In both cases through counterconditioning, the desired behavioural changes are achieved.

4B) The fundamental difference between aversive conditioning and systematic desensitization is that they are opposite in their classical conditioning approach relating to conditioned responses (CR) and the type of conditioned stimuli (CS). One therapy tries to extinguish a CR while the other therapy tries to establish a CR. Systematic desensitization attempts to eliminate aversions (CR) to stimuli (CS) that are usually harmless whereas aversion conditioning attempts to create aversions (CR) to stimuli (CS) that are usually harmful.

4C) Behaviour modification and systematic desensitization are related because they both involve using reinforcement to extinguish or eliminate unwanted behaviours. For example, using behaviour modification a rat could be conditioned to press a lever, if by pressing this lever food (positive reinforcement) was always dispensed. Systematic desensitization uses the relaxing environment and calming techniques as positive reinforcement. Both therapies utilize a progressive or step by step approach to help shape behaviours.

5A) Assuming that through encoding that this incident has made it into my long-term memory, some of the main reasons that it now may have been forgotten are; storage decay and retrieval failure; including interference and motivated forgetting. Storage decay would suggest that the memory of that particular event may have been forgotten as a result of not being accessed. It is possible that the memory of wearing slippers to school might have gradually faded from my memory until it was discarded. Retrieval failure can also prevent us from acquiring memories from long term storage. This particular memory may have been forgotten because there was an insufficient amount of retrieval cues to access the memory. For example, my mood at the time of reminiscing may not be reflective of the humorous nature of the adventure set out in the memory and it might therefore be difficult to recall the memory as it is not mood congruent. Interference can also inhibit the retrieval of a memory because of competing information. In the case of retroactive interference, information that we have already learned may be more difficult to recall because of new information being learned. It might be harder to recall this particular memory as newer events associated with my childhood friend are easier to retrieve from my memory than ones that happened in childhood. Motivated forgetting can lead us to repress memories that are associated with painful events or events that we are unable to accept. This childhood memory may have been repressed as it was very embarrassing for me when other childhood friends who witnessed the incident later made fun of the two of us. As a result, I now have difficulty accessing it.

5B) The misinformation effect, which occurs outside our awareness, is a result of being exposed to misleading information which leads to “misremembering” as the misinformation becomes incorporated into our memory. In the case of the memory described in 5A, the misinformation effect could have played a part if my childhood friend had herself been exposed to misleading information regarding the event. She may have incorporated this inaccurate information into her memory and she may have formed a “false” memory. What she remembered may not have actually happened but she now believes it to have happened and she perceives it to be a true memory. I would therefore have no recollection of this “false” memory.