List of the research studies

LOs

  1. Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis
  2. Explain how principles that define the cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research
  3. Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the cognitive level of analysis
    1. Meta-analysis of fMRI
    2. War of the Ghost
    3. Picnic Basket
    4. Genie
    5. Clive Wearing
  4. Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the cognitive level of analysis
    1. Genie
    2. Clive Wearing
  5. Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process
    1. War of the Ghost
    2. Picnic Basket
  6. Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive process
    1. Meta-analysis of fMRI
  7. Explain how biological factor may affect one cognitive process
    1. Meta-analysis of fMRI
    2. Clive Wearing

 

Outline: Give a brief account or summary

Explain: Give a detailed account including causes and reasons

Discuss: Offer a considered and balanced review with a range of arguments

 

Research: Meta-analysis of fMRI

Researcher: Schwindt and Black 2009

Year: 2009

Aim: To test the effect of the episodic memory on AD

Methods: researchers conducted a meta-analysis of fMRI studies on episodic memory in AD patients; they compared the normal patients as a control group and AD patients as a experimental group.

Result: As a result, the control group showed more activity in a specific brain area, MTL, while the experimental group showed decreased activation in the MTL and the increased activation in the prefrontal cortex.

Conclusion: the MTL is related to the memory process, especially shown as Alzheimer’s disease. Now, it can be said that one biological factor MTL has some influences on one cognitive process, memory.

 

Research: War of the Ghost

Researcher: Bartlett

Year: 1932

Aim: to investigate

Methods:

  1. Experiment under control
  2. Native Americans and English were gathered and asked to read Native Americans folk tale “War of the Ghost”
  3. First methods: Serial reproduction
    1. First participant read the story and reproduced it on paper
    2. Second participant read first one’s reproduction and wrote is on paper
    3. 6 times
  4. Second method: Repeated reproduction
    1. Same participant read the story and reproduced on paper
    2. Time interval was from 15 mins to several years

Results:

  • Story was distorted because English people rephrased unfamiliar words such as canoes à boats
  • The story was made more understandable or suit to English people according to their culture and experiences
  • Main ideas were correct while details were distorted

Conclusion:

  • Schema affects memory
  • Remembering is a constructive or reconstructive process

Ethics:

Research: Picnic Basket

Researcher: Brewer and Treyens

Year: 1981

Aim: To investigate to what extent the schema is reliable

Methods:

  • Picnic basket was put in a university office
  • Participants were left in a university office room for 35 seconds and taken into another room
  • They were asked to write down things in the office as many as they could remember

Results:

  • Participants wrote down the things in “typical office”
  • They did not recall things which are not in “typical office” such as wine and picnic basket

Conclusion:

  • Their schema about the office room affected their memory and recalling skill
  • Memories were influenced by their own schema

Research: Genie

Researcher: Curtiss

Year: 1981

Aim: To investigate the sensitive period where languages are considered to develop (critical period)

Methods: Case Study

  1. Provided her a caring environment, teaching sign language, and trying to communicate with her
  2. Encouraged Genie to verbalize and socialize

Results:

  • After a year, her behavior level reached to that of 2-9 years old.
  • She started to use some language to tell about the past events even though it took a long time.
  • After 2 years, she was able to understand the numbers as well as language.

Conclusion:

  • Hypothesis of critical period was actually not always true because Genie had acquired some language skills outside of the critical period.
  • They suggested a hypothesis of sensitive period; for some cases, language would be acquired outside of the critical period.

Ethics:

Research: Clive Wearing

Researcher: Oliver Sacks

Year: 2007

Background:

  1. Clive Wearing was born in 1938
  2. He used to be a famous musicologist.
  3. His specific brain area, hippocampus and its surroundings, got destroyed by a virus.
  4. The broken area of brain caused anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia, which both are the serious problem of the memory.
  5. Anterograde amnesia is to be unable to remember things after a particular incident, and retrograde amnesia is to be unable to remember things before a particular incident.
  6. His memory lasts only for 7-30 seconds, and he cannot form any new memories.
  7. However, he still has some abilities to talk, read and play the piano.

Aim: To see how the damage on specific area of the brain, hippocampus, will affect the memory process and how it will cause amnesia.

Method: Case Study

  1. The MRI scan was used to identify the specific structures in Clive’s brain that were damaged.
  2. He also interviewed and observed Clive in order to gain insight into the extent of his amnesia

Result:

  • As a result, the MRI scan showed the damage in hippocampus and its surrounding areas.

Conclusion:

  • Hippocampus has a great role for the memory but it has nothing to do with his original abilities such as language, piano skills and kinetic movements.
  • Biological factor is a specific brain area, which is hippocampus
  • Cognitive process is the memory process.
  • The damage on hippocampus caused amnesia, or the defect of memory process; it means the hippocampus is responsible for the memory, or the cognitive process.

Ethics:

Research: Car Crash Study (Experiment for cause-and-effect relationship)

Year: 1974

Researcher: Loftus and Palmer

Aim:

  • To get a cause-and-effect relationship of some phenomena by comparing independent variable and dependent variable.
  • To prove the unreliability of human memory

Methods:

  1. 45 college students were gathered in a laboratory, under-control situation
  2. Showed a car crash film
  3. Were asked questions like “about how was the cars going when they hit each other?”
  4. For the different participants, researchers used different words, replacing “hit” into “smashed”, “collided”, “bumped”, and “contacted”

Results:

  • “smashed” : mean speed of 40.8 mph
  • “contacted”: mean speed of 31.8 mph

Conclusion:

  • The phrasing of the question could bring a change in speed estimated.
  • This phenomenon is due to schema activated by the chosen word.
  • It showed the schema actually was able to change the memory construction; it was really unreliable.