David Kraft is a psychotherapist who uses hypnosis in treatment to enhance his work. Hypnosis is a tool to be used in conjunction with psychotherapy, CBT, medical or dental work.

David Kraft is a fellw of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis (BSCAH).

If you would like help in finding a therapist, please call 0207 467 8564, for an appointment.

David Kraft

Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist

For more information about BSCAH, please go to their website at http://www.bscah.com/

Finding a therapist in London can be hard work, so it is often helpful to go to a recognized organization in order find a suitable therapist who can help you. London Hypnotherapy UK recommends UKCP and BSCAH.

The Central Nervous System and Human Behaviour

The following report provides a basic introduction to the central nervous system and how it affects behaviour. There are two communication systems—the central nervous system (CNS) and the hormonal system. Part 1 describes neuronal communication in the CNS, while Part 2 illustrates how human behaviour—mood, emotion, motivation, aggression and ideomotor control—is affected by neuronal systems in the brain.

Neurons are cells which transmit and process information. There are two main components of the neuron—the ‘cell body’, which contains the nucleus, and a long extension called ‘a process’. Neurons are found throughout the body. Neuronal transmission can be subdivided into two discrete structures—the central nervous system (CNS), which represents the largest part of the nervous system, and the peripheral nervous system, which controls the communication of neurons outside the CNS. The CNS, contained within the dorsal cavity, comprises the brain (cranial cavity) and the spinal cord (spinal cavity).

Toates (2007) describes basic neuronal activity in the context of a simple reflex reaction.  He points out that, when someone’s foot comes into contact with a sharp object, the neurons at the skin’s surface act as detectors, and, once stimulated, an electrical-chemical reaction takes place while messages are immediately directed towards the spinal cord and onto the brain.

In this example, for a split second, there is a significant increase in electrical activity in the foot—viz., the amount of voltage in a certain number of neurons in the skin of the foot has increased. The sudden change in electrical excitation, and its return to a base value, is called action potential. Action potentials travel incredibly quickly. These neurons, which convey information to the CNS through the spinal cord and then on to the brain, are sensory neurons: the brain then interprets the messages as pain. These messages, in most cases, will lead to an appropriate motor response—i.e., the person will take his foot away from the offending object. The action potential in this neuron will initiate muscle movement. These neurons are known as motor neurons.

Neurons communicate information through the synapse—a minute gap between cells. This is known as synaptic transmission. In this process, where one neuron passes on information to another neuron, the first neuron (‘sending neuron’) is known as the pre-synaptic neuron, while the second (‘receiving neuron’) is referred to as the post-synaptic neuron. It is important to note that, although the transmission of information in the brain is electrical, neuronal communication is a chemical conduction (Toates, 2007). When the action potential reaches the synapse, it releases neurotransmitters (chemical transmitter substances) which move across the synaptic cleft and interact with the specific receptors in the post-synaptic membrane (Kalat, 2000).

The chemical change at the synapse can be excitatory or inhibitory. In the first instance, excitation, there is an increased possibility of the post-synaptic neuron to exhibit action potential. However, a neurotransmitter can display inhibition; here, the second cell is less likely to show action potentials and there is a suppression of activity. One needs to be cautious when making assumptions about the link between psychological processing and neurochemical activity; nevertheless, biologically-orientated psychologists (for example, Toates, 2001; Stevens, 1996; Lefkowitz, Caron and Stiles, 1984) believe that, to a certain extent, our mood, emotion, action, motivation and body regulation are controlled by, and inextricably interconnected with, the neuronal pathways in the CNS. And, further, some reductionist biological psychologists, for example Crick (1994), believe that all psychological events can be explained in the context of neurochemical activity.

More importantly, changes in synaptic activity and neuronal function can cause one’s behaviour, mood or cognitive function to be altered. The main neurotransmitter systems are the noradrenaline system, the serotonin system and the cholinergic system. Thus, alcohol and cocaine alter synaptic activity—they interfere with cognitive functioning. Some people, having drunk large quantities of alcohol, suffer memory loss, while others loose their inhibitions, and perform acts which would be previously feared. Cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine and leaves the neurotransmitter in the synaptic gap for a longer period of time. Cocaine users experience a ‘high’ when influenced by the drug; however, the dopamine depletion after a period of time can lead to an acute, but transitory, depression (Toates, 2007).

Prozac, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) blocks the reuptake of the serotonin being taken back into the neuron from which it was released, thus increasing its activity at the receptors. It is important to note that, like the monoamine neurotransmitters (MAOIs) and the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), prolonged use of SSRIs may not be effective and can lead to homeostasis or even down regulation (Sampson, 2001; Leykin, Amsterdam, DeRubeis et al, 2007). Nevertheless, antidepressants have continued to be used in the treatment of depression and, to some extent, monoamine neurotransmitter abnormalities—be they dopaminergic, serotonergic or noradrenergic—are involved in and related to depressive syndromes (McNeal and Cimbolic, 1986). Further, extreme stress and prolonged hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis mediated dysfunction can lead to depression and a downstream of pathophysiological self-regulation (Anisman and Zacharko, 1982; Mello, Mello, Carpenter and Price, 2003). 

Finally, in addressing the question, ‘how human behaviour is mediated by the nervous system’, having given some examples pertaining to neural regulation and transmission, it is important to clarify and draw attention to two branches of the CNS—namely, (1) the somatic nervous system (SNS) and (2) the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The SNS is responsible for and controls skeletal muscles and voluntary behaviour. The neurons of (normally) the frontal cortex communicate with the motor neurons of the peripheral nervous system, causing muscle contraction (Toates, 2007). Any damage to the frontal cortex due to cerebrovascular accidents or severe head injury can lead to impaired motor control.    

By contrast, the ANS is connected with involuntary, unconscious movement and response. The ANS controls emotion (crying, laughing), the production of saliva, breathing, heart rate, sweating amongst other things.  Stress, again, can cause fatty substances to sit in our circulatory pathways, producing high levels of cortisol and increased heart rates (Toates, 2007). As a result, in these situations, people sweat and get increasingly anxious: these physiological responses are all the result of autonomic,   defensive mechanisms.

Essay References

Anisman H & Zacharko RM (1982). Depression: the predisposing influence of stress. The Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 5: 89-137.

Crick F (1994). The astonishing hypothesis: the scientific search for the soul (London: Simon & Schuster).

Kalat, JW (2000). Biological Psychology  (Pacific Grove: California/Brooks Cole). 

Lefkowitz RJ, Caron MC, Stiles GL (1984). Mechanisms of membrane-receptor regulation. Biological, physiological and clinical insights derived from studies of the adrenergic receptors. New England Journal of Medicine, 310: 1570-79.

Leyton Y, Amsterdam  JD, DeRubeis RJ, Gallop R, Shelton RC & Hollon SD (2007). Progressive resistance to a selective serotonin inhibitor but not to cognitive therapy in the treatment of depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75 (2): 267-276. 

McNeal ET & Cimbolic P (1986). Antidepressants and biochemical theories of depression. Psychological Bulletin, 99 (3): 361-374.

Mello AAF, Mello MF, Carpenter LL & Prive LH (2003. Update on stress and depression: the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) axis. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 25 (4): 231-38.

Sampson SM (2001). Treating depression with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: a practical approach. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 76 (7): 739-44.  

Toates, F (2007). Biological processes and psychological explanation. In D Miell, A Phoenix & K Thomas (eds.) Mapping Psychology: Book 1 Introduction and Chapters 1-5 (Milton Keynes: Open University Press): 225-283.

Part 2: Methods Exercises

Question 1

(a) The control for perceived harmfulness—the fact that all the creatures were harmless and were found injured in the wild—was not entirely successful, because most participants considered rats as potentially threatening, injured or not.

(b) The two variables were (1) ‘Ugliness’ (a subjective mean score of how ugly the animals were), and (2) ‘Rated Distance’, (how far away the participants would keep away from the animal).

(c)

(i) The scatterplot shows that there is a strong correlation coefficient.

(ii)  As the value of the variable on the x-axis increases, generally, the value of the variable on the y axis increases.

(iii) Generally, the more ugly the animal, the greater distance, on average, participants would stay away from each animal. Note ugliness was measured on subjective responses from individuals on a scale from 1-10 (1=least ugly; 10=most ugly). 

(d) 0.723 is a strong correlation coefficient.

(e) The researcher would design a field experiment. In the first instance, he would ask a veterinary surgeon permission to use five injured/sedated animals for an experiment and would position these animals in the centre of a small forest. The researcher would then, one by one, measure the participants’ willingness to approach each animal (in metres).  Each participant, having approached each animal will be required to rate each animal on ugliness. This will be done using a scale from 1-10 (1=least ugly; 10=most ugly). Each test will be recorded at the same time each day, and each animal will show no movement. Rats will not be used in the experiment.      

Question 2

(a)

(i) This experiment is a ‘Between-Participants Design’.

(ii) The ‘Within-Participants Design’, also called ‘repeated measures’, is an experiment which requires each participant to take part in two separate conditions; the Piliavin, Rodin & Piliavin (1969) experiment cited measures the occurrence of altruism in 103 different trials on the 8^th Avenue in New York. Different participants are involved in each trial. This is an independent sample design.   

(b) The participants were the passengers travelling on the subway.

(c)  The dependent variable is the number of participants who helped the victims on each occasion. The researchers measured this variable to see how it was affected by the independent variable. Perhaps, a suitable label would be, ‘level of altruism’. 

(d) Non-intrusive female observers recorded whether or not one or more passengers helped them (although the text intimates that passengers were either helped or not at all).

(e) The independent variable is the type of victim—an apparently disabled person or a person pretending to be drunk. A suitable label would be, ‘disabled/drunk’.

(f) This was a random allocation exercise.

(g) Other independent variables that could be considered would be correlation between altruism and race—that is to say, the likelihood of people helping an African American versus a Caucasian American. 

(h) The researchers did not consider any distress or inconvenience that this might have caused the unknowing participants. No feedback was given, and this might have affected some participants’ willingness to travel on the subway in the future. 

Question 3

(a) The researchers controlled the experiment by randomly allocating the children to groups, but by telling them that they were assigned to a specific group for a reason—that is to say, that they preferred abstract painting A or B. 

(b) All the children were the same age (aged 10-11).

(c)

(i) The fact that one school was a mixed independent school and the other was a girls’ school could be a confounding variable.

(ii) There were, probably, more girls in the experiment than boys. Some girls might have favoured responses from girls in both schools (over the boys in one school). In addition, some pupils might have favoured students’ responses from their own school over the other school.

(iii) The researchers could design two separate experiments—the first for the mixed school, and the second for the girls’ school.

(d)

(i) Pupils could favour the responses from pupils in their own school.

(ii) Again, the researchers would reduce confounding data by limiting each experiment to one school.

The purpose of this report is to describe two different methods that have been used to investigate identity—(1) The Twenty Statements Test (Kuhn and McPartland, 1954) and (2) Marcia’s Semi-Structured Identity Status Interview (Marcia, 1966, 1980, 1994). Essentially, this report is in two parts: part 1 describes the two different methods, placing them in context, and part 2 discusses the importance of these approaches to our understanding of identity.

Methods: The Twenty Statements Test and Marcia’s Semi-Structured Identity Status Interview

Since William James’ psychological theories of identity and self consciousness (James, 1890), many researchers have devised methods and theories further to explain the concept of identity. Important theories include: (1) The Psychosocial Theory (Erikson, 1956, 1968; Marcia, 1966), (2) Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1986; Turner, 1982) and (3) Social Constructionism (Gergen, 1999). Although not associated with the identity theories above, the Twenty Statements Test (TST) is a useful tool for researchers investigating identity. Here, participants are given 12 minutes to jot down their individual responses to the question, ‘Who am I?’ They are required to answer the question 20 times. It was found that participants taking part in the experiment revealed simple, important facts about themselves, such as age, gender, marital status, as well as more complex, subtle insights into their personality, such as information about self image or personal belief systems. Answers can be categorised as follows:

(1) Physical Self (height, hair colour)

(2) Social Rôle (footballer, student)

(3) Personality (kind, sensitive)

(4) Existential (religious, human being)

The categorisation of these answers has been modified by many researchers and reviewers (Montemayer and Eisen, 1977; Miell, Phoenix and Thomas, 2007).

James Marcia’s Semi-Structured Interview is inextricably linked to the Psychosocial Theory of identity. Like Erikson, Marcia focused his attention on adolescence (Erickson’s fifth psychosocial stage) and devised a questionnaire which was intended to analyse the changing nature of adolescents’ self identity. Marcia restricted his studies to male college students (aged 18-25) until the 1970s. Typically, the semi-structured interviews would last between 15-30 minutes and followed the same overall outline, although derivations were allowed in order to explore areas more thoroughly. These interviews were designed to examine particular themes, but the confederate experimenters—usually psychology students on the campus—were allowed to change the order of the questions, and this flexibility enabled them to pursue important ideas and concepts (Miell, Phoenix and Thomas, 2007). In addition, because the interviews were taped, the experimenters were able to make the process more conversational. Once all the information was collated, Marcia would then construct a scoring manual and each participant would be evaluated against the criteria. Thus, this approach is both quantitative, in its coding of participants’ comments and analysing percentages of answers, and qualitative, in the identifying of general themes and overriding conceptions. Marcia focused on adolescents’ commitment and crises levels associated with jobs, politics, sexuality, religion, relationships and ideology.

Comments

The TST is a subjective approach for analysing identity, and it continues to be used today in various modified forms. After posing this simple question, participants, having responded with various answers which correspond to their own physical appearance or social rôle, may begin to question or recall their own personal experience and rôle in society. This approach is firmly in the hermeneutic tradition.

Of course, answers may depend on age. Montemayer and Eisen (1977) found that the TST revealed significant differences between age groups. For example, 9 year-olds tended to limit their answers to physical descriptions (‘I am thin’/’I wear bright clothes’) and likes and dislikes (‘I like dogs’/‘I hate opera’). Older children, in their answers, addressed social rôles (‘I am a team rep’) and personality (‘I am generous’). However, older teenagers (17-18 year olds) included information which was related to an abstract world (‘I am atheist’). Further, the older the children, the more they seemed to qualify their answers; for example, a seventeen year-old girl might state that she, ‘is usually generous unless [she] is tired’. Kuhn and McPartland (1954) found that the TST revealed answers which enabled them to draw conclusions about the self concepts of different age groups.

The TST is a simple approach which can also help the participant to analyse himself in isolation or in a social context. Thus, this method is introspectionist. It enables the researcher quickly to gain access to the participants’ identity and self esteem using the client’s own words. There is also the possibility of using this approach in a clinical setting. For example, a skilled psychologist may, when working with someone suffering from low self esteem, be able to draw out associations related to the client’s social identity.

Marcia’s Semi-Structured Interview has been modified many times and, perhaps, is the most well-known approach used by researchers in the study of identity (Kroger, 2000). Although the task experimenters follow the same outline, the flexibility of the approach—that is to say, the changing of the order and the qualifying remarks from the students—make it possible for the interjudge to gain some insight into the participants’ intrinsic identities and belief systems. For example, in the study by Marcia in 1966, a sample question in the occupational area was:

How willing do you think you’d be to give up going into_______if something better came along? (Marcia, p553)

Students qualified their answers, and the analyst categorised them into four statuses: (1) ‘Identity Achievement’ (subject committed to an occupation and ideology after crises), (2) ‘Moratorium’ (subject in a crisis period; vague), (3) ‘Foreclosure’ (subject not having experienced crisis; lack of belief; still fulfilling parents’ goals) and (4) ‘Identity Diffusion’ (subject has lack of commitment). A great deal of information about personal/social identity can be taken from one or two terse responses. Sample answers to the above question were as follows:

[Identity Achievement] Well, I might, but I doubt it. I can’t see what “something better” would be for me.

[Moratorium] I guess if I knew for sure I could answer that better. It would have to be something in the general area—something related.

[Foreclosure] Not very willing. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. The folks  are happy with it and so am I.

[Identity Diffusion] Oh sure. If something better came along, I’d change just like that. (Marcia, p553)

Although this approach is time consuming and focuses on personal identity without giving much thought to the individuals’ rôle in a social context, the Semi-Structured Interview is a useful tool for analysing personal identity.

WORD COUNT: 999 (excluding references and headings)

References for Part 1

DSE 212 (2007). Exploring Psychological Research Methods (Milton Keynes: Open University Press).

Erikson EH (1956). The problem of ego identity. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 4: 56-121.

Erikson E (1968). Identity, Youth and Crisis (New York: WW Norton & Co.).

Gergen K (1999). An Invitation to Social Construction (London: Sage)

James W (1890). Principles of Psychology (New York: Holt).

Kroger J (2000). Ego identity status research in the new millennium. International Journal for the Study of Behavioral Development, 24 (2): 145-8.

Kuhn MK, McPartland S (1954). An empirical investigation of self attitudes. American Sociological Review, 19: 68-76.

Marcia JE (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3: 551-8.

Marcia J (1980). Identity in adolescence, in J Adelson (ed.) Handbook of Adolescent Psychology (New York: Wiley).

Marcia J (1994). The empirical study of ego identity, in H Bosma, T Graafsma, H Grotevant and D de Levita (eds.) Identity and Development: an Interdisciplinary Approach (London: Sage).

Miell D, Phoenix A, Thomas K (2007). Mapping Psychology: Book 1 Introduction and Chapters 1-5 (Milton Keynes: Open University Press).

Montemayer R, Eisen M (1977). The development of self conceptions from childhood to adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 13 (3): 314-9.

Tajfel H, Turner JC (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour, in  S Worchel and LW Austin (eds.) Psychology of Intergroup Relations (Chicago: Nelson-Hall).

Turner JC (1982). Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group, in H Tajfel (ed.) Social Identity and Intergroup Relations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Part 2: Ethics Questions

Scenario 1

Question 1

No. The proposed investigation raises ethical concerns. Psychologists, including students, have an obligation to uphold professional standards, and here, they make no attempt to explain the nature of the research to the children. The BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (British Psychological Society, 2006) states that participants should be given, ‘ample opportunity to understand the nature, purpose, and…consequences of any…research participation’ (1.3 i). Consent forms were not mentioned (1.3 ii). There is a case, however, for observing individuals in public if they would, ‘reasonably expect to be observed by strangers…[and] believe they are unobserved’ (1.3 ix). However, no consent had been given from the Headteacher or the parents either.

WORD COUNT (excluding numbers and the one reference): 99

Question 2

The following proposal is a revised version of the original: it follows the principle tenets of the original observational approach while upholding the standards of ethical decision making—particularly informed consent (1.1 i; 1.3 xii; 3.3 i)—set by the BPS (British Psychological Society, 2006).

Stage 1

All students should explain to the Headteacher the purpose of the study and obtain written permission to carry out the observation (1.3 i).

Stage 2

The students should then write a detailed consent form (1.2 i; 1.2 ii; 1.3 i) for the parents to sign: this document should confirm: (1) the aims , (2) that no recordings will be taken (1.2 x), (3) that they will respect anonymity, (4) that any parent has the right to withdraw his/her child from the experiment (3.3 vi; 1.4 iii) and (5) that no financial compensation will be given (4.2 iv).

CRB checks received, they can proceed at a designated time, providing they make no contact with the children (4.2 i), that they wear school passes, and that members of staff are in situ. Feedback will be given (3.4 i).

WORD COUNT: 143

Scenario 2

Question 1

This study focuses on the influence of models on impressionable adolescents. Here, in order to use direct quotations from young people, Susie should have spoken to the adolescents, asking them whether they would be happy to participate or help with her research (1.3 i). With the appropriate consent forms, she would then be able to tape the conversation. Alternatively, she could devise a number of questions, akin to Marcia’s Semi-Structured Identity Interview (Marcia, 1966), which would focus on self-stereotyping and adolescent ideals. Again, Susie must make sure that she receives consent forms (1.3 ii) and explains the nature of the intended research (1.3 i).

WORD COUNT: 96

Reference to Question 1

Marcia JE (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3: 551-8.

Question 2

Quotations are useful for hermeneutic analysis; however, it is important to ensure the participants’ anonymity (1). The postgraduate researcher would be well advised to change all the names of the participants and remove any text or clues which might identify one of the students (DSE212, p34)

WORD COUNT: 44

Reference to Questions 2

DSE 212 (2007). Exploring psychological Research Methods (Milton Keynes: Open University Press).

Question 3

This study investigates the damaging effect of models on impressionable teenagers and the rise of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. First, researchers will ask students whether they would like to be involved in the study, obtain consent forms (1.3 ii) and explain the purpose of the study (1.3 i). Researchers will then allocate twenty adolescents (10 girls, 10 boys; age 15-16) to two groups. Each group will comprise 5 girls and 5 boys and will follow the same format. A moderator will initiate a discussion by asking some probing questions related to the media’s portrayal of famous models, diet control and disorders, and perception of body weight. All students have the right to speak or to stay silent (3.3 vii). Further, the moderator will ensure that all students’ opinions are respected (1.1 i; 1.1 ii) and that all participants receive and have the opportunity to comment on the pre-publication transcript. Students can withdraw any comments (3.3 vi).

WORD COUNT: 145

Scenario 3

Question 1

This study, in its present form, does not comply with the ethical principles of the British Psychological Society. On analysis, one is drawn to the issue of respect (principle 1). In order to reduce socially desirable responding, the researcher has decided to add further, unrelated questions, telling the participants that the research addresses several topics. At first glance, this approach may be considered to be deceptive (1.3 xii); it is, thus, extremely important that researchers respect the clients’ knowledge, insight and experience (1.1 ii), ask permission to transcribe the interview from the tape recording (1.2 x) and follow up the study with a debrief (3.4 i; 1.2 iv; 1.1 ii).

WORD COUNT: 99

Question 2

I think that it is important to advise the participants that this study will focus on one specific topic and that, in order to provide more objective answers in the semi-structured questionnaire, the researchers have decided to withhold the precise nature of the investigation until completion. It is important to make this point at the start so that participants do not feel deceived (1.3 xii) or even patronized (1.1 ii); and, although they will be aware of an unknown hypothesis, the questions, as a result, might well draw out some unbiased responses. All participants have the right to decline answering any questions (3.3 vii).

WORD COUNT: 98

Question 3

At follow up, I would explain the precise nature and parameters of the investigation on students’ concepts associated with religious identity (3.4 i); however, I would also take care not to give any personal opinions which might carry any unintended weight (3.4 ii) or suggest social criticism.

WORD COUNT: 45

Although it is beyond the scope of this report to categorize each of the outlined perspectives still further, it would, nevertheless, be useful to refer to other subdivisions of the above approaches to psychology.

In the first instance, the author will be looking at sex and gender. This topic has fascinated scientists over the years and has been controversial; it is also a good example of how one topic can encompass different levels of analysis. Generally speaking, a biological psychologist would focus on hormonal activity, genes, the differences and similarities between female and male brains, and the biological factors associated with behavioural and cognitive gender differences; a psychologist working within the evolutionary perspective would consider optimal reproductive styles of males and females, parental investment, sexual competitiveness and male commitment; social constructionists would discuss gender stereotypes, social identity, the importance of school for gender-specific behaviour, and the struggle for equality; and psychoanalysts, depending on his or her school of thought, would speak of the importance of sexuality and gender relations in the development of the self and, more specifically, on oedipal themes, the development of the ego/super ego, identification and the symbolization of the penis.

All four perspectives seek to explain the differences and similarities between males and females. The biological approach provides evidence of the differences between male and female hormones, brain regions and genetic characteristics. However, it does not attempt to address the question of human experience. So, on its own, it does not provide any information about the psychology of the sexes. Biological psychology, therefore, co-exists with the social constructionist prospective—the two approaches neither conflict not do they complement each other. Social constructionist psychologists have concentrated on how individuals develop their sense of identity through their social interaction—at school, and with parents and friends. They argue that, as soon as a baby is ‘labelled’ a girl or a boy, he or she is dressed in blue or pink clothes and begins his or her life-long journey where (s)he discovers his or her unique identity through ‘male-’ or ‘femaleness’ respectively.

Although both within the hermeneutic tradition, psychoanalytic theory and social constructionism generally conflict. Freudian psychoanalysts concentrate on early aggressive and libidinal drives and the internalization of meanings concerning sexual difference. A central theme is the oedipal conflict. In early childhood, a boy discovers that he has a penis and fantasizes about removing the father and keeping the mother—a source of care, love and attention—all to himself. Again, according to Freud, girls envy boys because they do not possess this symbolically powerful external genitalia. However, this theory conflicts with the social constructivist prospective because it does not account for how boys and girls later interact and discover their gender identity at school. It does not take into account the fact that girls often obtain gender equality and even superiority possibly due to the fact that they are able better to connect with the female dominant teaching staff present at primary schools.

Evolutionary psychology, like the biological prospective, embraces the scientific approach. Through it investigation of human sexual, parental, emotional and protective type behaviours, it seeks to elucidate the differences between the sexes. But, while it looks at the behaviour of primates tens of millions of years ago, it does not look specifically at the complex behaviour of humans today. Does it therefore conflict with the social constructionist perspective? Certainly. However, evolutionary researchers stress that the male and female feelings are unconscious—that is to say, that they are archetypal predispositions that underpin our behaviour. Further, Buss (2000) said that more understanding of our ancestral heritage could help us to understand and prepare for difficult instances within modern-day relationships.

Now, for some examples in the context of life span development. Evolutionary psychologists stress the importance of having a secure, protective base. This protective base is of primordial importance for females because it is an indication of male commitment, and it ensures that she has a safe place during the long process of rearing her children. It is complementary with psychoanalytic theory—specifically attachment theory—because it is vital that a child has a secure place so that he can develop his ability to explore the outside world knowing that he can return home at any time (Bowlby, 1988).        

Bowlby, a developmental psychologist and attachment theorist, combined psychoanalytic theory, looking at the relationship between mother and infant, cybernetics, ethology, neuroscience, and how complex networks of neurons in the amygdala imprint information about their emotional environment, evolutionary theory and primordial instinct, object relations theory as well as developmental psychology. It is clear that he saw many of the above perspectives as complementary. Of note, he explained that individuals had a primary drive, and that they had a primary attachment with the mother. Here, object relations theory complements both evolutionary and biological perspectives. He also emphasized that the internal working model set up here was essential for future relationships (Bowlby, 2000). Erikson (1950), essentially a psychoanalyst, also complements the social constructivist approach with his psychosocial model of development.

An evolutionary psychologist, by contrast, might say that adaptive future relationships will help secure future offspring, while Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, focussing on the ages 0-2, 2-6, 6-12 and over 12 years of age, and which concentrates on first sequences, concrete operations and, finally, abstract reason seems to co-exist with evolutionary psychology and social constructionist theory. Some might argue that Piaget was also an evolutionary psychologist because he, like Darwin, observed his own children in order to draw conclusions about cognitive development.

In essence, Piaget’s theory of genetic epistemology refers to the study of intelligence in relation to one’s adaptation to their personal environment. Thus, this theory draws from cognitive and social constructionist thought. But, why are certain people better than others at particular skills? For example, take a woman who is a highly successful opera singer. She might be good because she was repeatedly played classical music in the womb and this subliminal and transferiential musical education gave her an innate ability to sing beautifully well (biological). On the other hand, she might have heard her mother sing and, consciously or otherwise, realized that this ability attracted the attention of the father (psychoanalytic). Another theory is that she realized that singing gave her an advantage and prestige over the other girls in the class (interpersonal/social constructionist), or even that a rival sibling had experienced this first and she wanted the same for herself. She might have been blessed with a genetic make-up which gave her particularly proportioned vocal chords which made a beautiful sound and, with little practice, would be able to develop rapidly (biological). By contrast, she might have worked extremely hard on her voice (behavioural). Further, she might have had an archetypal pre-disposition to sing, with an innate knowledge that it attracts good quality mates (evolutionary). It is likely, however, that the singer was affected by a number of environmental and historical contexts—this is the basis of developmental contextualism.           

This report, with its many examples, has shown that psychology is a complex, multi-faceted discipline which, although some theories co-exist and have little point of contact, draws from information across many perspectives. It is the juxtaposition of opposing perspectives which makes psychology a challenging and constantly evolving subject.

TOTAL WORDS: 1, 515

References

Bowlby, J (1988). A secure base: clinical applications of attachment theory. (Routledge: London).   

Buss DM (2000). The evolution of happiness. American Psychologist, 55:15-23. 

Cooper T & Roth I, eds. (2007). DSE212 Challenging Psychological Issues. (Open University Press: Milton Keynes).

Erikson EH (1950). Childhood and Society. (Norton: New York).  

Abstract (99 words)

This study examines the view of attachment theorists within the object relations school that significant others in early life—that is to say, important, often older, influential figures—play an important role in an adult person’s psychological development, particularly with regard to later sexual relationships. A qualitative, thematic analysis was carried out on one pre-existing, and pre-transcribed interview between a psychology student and a 50 year old lady—Chloe. Third level thematic analysis provides evidence that dominant and influential figures—notably, parents, guardians and surrogate parents—shape the way in which individuals build relationships with others in later life.      

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Introduction (755 words)

Throughout this study, through the discursive, thematic analysis of the text, and while constructing the report, I have kept within a social constructionist perspective—specifically, keeping in mind attachment theory. At the heart of developmental psychology is the assumption that vertical relationships with significant others in early childhood influence children’s psychological development. These influences shape the way that children interact with their peers but also affect the way in which they develop relationships with adults later in life. This topic is one that is extremely complex, and it is beyond the scope of this report to give a detailed analysis of attachment theory; however, there are a number of important aspects of this theoretical stance that are apposite to this study.

One of the most important themes in attachment theory is consistency or, rather constancy. It is extremely important for young children to know that they have a secure base to return to after they have explored some small part of the world. For instance, the healthy child, knowing that the parent will still be there after closing his eyes, will enjoy the peek-a-boo experience: it acts as a mechanism for testing reality, it begins the process of subjectivity for the child and, further, this ‘engagement-disengagement behaviour’ helps the child to explore the world in a safe way (Horner, 1985). 

However, when this security is disturbed, for instance when a member of the family triad moves away or separates permanently, consistency is interrupted. Similarly, when the family moves around too frequently, or when the family moves to another country where the child has to find new friends in a completely different culture, this can cause emotionally instability. The family home, as a unit, is thus extremely important. The importance of having a secure base and a consistently attuned relationship continues in later life. We are drawn to our significant others: we spend more time with older, wiser individuals who inspire us (vertical relationships) and feel attached, and are drawn towards, our sexual partners (horizontal relationships). And, when these relationships fail in some way, we often feel let down, and this has an impact on our every day lives.

Ainsworth and Bowlby (1991), key figures in the development of attachment theory, spoke constantly about how important it is for the child to have a secure base. Of paramount importance, however, was what they called the ‘primary attachment’—the relationship the child has with his mother. This should be a warm, continuous and intimate relationship where the child is protected from danger and is able to communicate effectively (Bretherton, 1997).  Here, the healthy child should be able to build an ‘internal working model’ of the mother in order to comfort himself—with the aid of a blanket or mobile toy of some kind—when she is not there. Later in life, this self comforting can manifest itself in the form of listening to music, reading a book or watching the television. Insecure individuals—those who have been let down by significant others in the past—find it more difficult to comfort themselves, and some turn to alcohol or drugs, some go to extremes to gain some sort of satisfaction, and many find it difficult to hold down relationships in adult life. Indeed, Hazan and Shaver (1987) gathered a large quantity of information on people’s attachment styles and devised three different stances: (1) Anxious avoidant style (Insecure), where the individual is somewhat uncomfortable being close to others, (2) Secure Style, where the individual finds is relatively easy to get along with others and (3) Anxious Ambivalent Style (Insecure), where other people are reluctant to get close to the individual. Further, Main, Kaplan and Cassidy (1985) used a standardized interview to explore how adults describe their childhood experiences with their parents; from the analysis of the data, they also described the extent to which significant others in early life affected children’s psychopathogy and their relationships later in life.

Importantly, however, it has been found that some adults, having experienced a difficult or enmeshed interaction with a family member as a child, are able, in the right circumstances, to move on in their lives and develop strong, secure marital relationships as an adult (Ainsworth, 1989). This is known as earned security (Main and Goldwyn, 1984).

The following iterative thematic analysis (involving re-working and re-drafting), which is in line with the above theoretical framework, looks at the way Chloe’s family dynamics have affected her relationships in adult life. The research question is as follows:

‘How do adults perceive that significant others in their lives have affected their development?’

Method (215 words)

The thematic analysis in this study has been taken from pre-existing material—a transcribed interview between a psychology student, Helen Lucey, and a participant, Chloe. In order to protect the privacy of both researcher and participant, and to respect the confidentiality of all concerned, the names have been changed. In addition, the interviews on the DVDs were played by actors but were based on interviews with the original research participants. This study focuses on the second of the two recorded interviews, but, in both cases, informed consent was given; further, both interviews have been edited in order to produce shorter extracts for analytical purposes. Thus, the research conforms to the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (British Psychological Society, 2006): informed consent has been given and both participants have been treated with mutual respect.

In the carrying out of the thematic analysis, I first highlighted the most important elements of the text in respect to the way in which Chloe’s past had influenced her development in later life. The next two stages (2^nd order coding and 3^rd order coding) involved a great deal of reflexivity, condensation, categorization and narrative structuring techniques. Finally, I compiled a number of important themes which indicated the extent to which Chloe had been affected by significant others in her childhood. 

Analysis (684 words)

At the beginning of the interview (see the appendix), the psychologist asked Chloe about her early relationships as a child and how she thought that they had influenced her in later life. Immediately, I was struck by the fact that Chloe had gone through an extremely difficult time with her mother when her father had left home. Her mother had been affected dramatically and had transferred a great deal of her pain towards her daughter, Chloe. In addition, Chloe was expected, somehow, to, ‘fill in for [her] dad’ and, ‘be a grown up’; certainly, she was too young to play this role and wasn’t sure how to act in this complex situation. She had to guess. It is interesting to point out that, in the first part of Chloe’s free association, between lines 20 and 34, she prefaced many of her recollections with the words, ‘sort of’—in fact, she said these words fourteen times. Perhaps, at the time of the interview, she was still unclear how she was supposed to behave. It is clear that the situation of being without a father and coping with her mother’s highly-charged emotional behaviour had had a deleterious affect on Chloe’s well being, and the process of analysis has revealed ways in which this has affected her future, adult relationships.

After reviewing the text and simplifying the codification, taking into account the research question, I have identified three main themes which point out that the early relationship between Chloe and her mother, from the age of eight onwards, had somewhat failed.

(1)   Mother’s depressive and self-centred behaviour

When the father left, Chloe described her mother as someone who had become, ‘really, really down and very, very needy’. Mothers have an instinct to support an nurture their children, but when this is reversed, and when the mother needs more support than the child, problems occur. Attachment theory is centred on the fact that the mother should support and care for her children. Chloe said of her mother that,

‘She was very depressed and very sad and…needy and there wasn’t really…much room for me, it was…it felt as if everything was…to do with what she needed’.

Further, Chloe felt unsupported: her mother was unable to empathize with or support her daughter, or even help her with any of her emotional problems. She reported that,

‘She wasn’t…good at…like if I was sad…she would be…very dismissive about it, what have you got to be sad about? And, you’re not really allowed to be sad.’

Chloe was also not able to express happiness:

‘And if I was very cheery about something it was like: oh, well it’s all right for you’.

As a result, Chloe felt that she had lost both ways (line 41): she was made to feel guilty about her feelings. More will be said about this theme in the third part of this section.  

(2)   Disappointment

When her father left, Chloe built up an idealized internal object of her father.

‘He was a super duper… a wonderful person and he loved me in all the, you know, in a very sort of complete way, a very accepting way’.

However, her dreams and illusions were shattered when she realized that he was, ‘a pompous and insecure person’, and he was, ‘not good…if [she was] grumpy’. Chloe was also disappointed about living with his new family.

(3)   Feelings of guilt (separation anxiety disorder and happiness)

From the text, Chloe made it clear that her mother disapproved of her being happy and made her feel guilty. The early relationship between mother and daughter was highly-charged and enmeshed: she felt that she was, ‘closely interwoven’, that she was, ‘too tied up together’ and, ‘too close’. Chloe used these phrases to describe the way that she felt prior to moving away to do her PhD. She also felt guilty when she met her first partner, and this manifested itself in her separation anxiety disorder:

‘I’d gone away, I’d left her; I’d got married and I was very happy, so I felt really bad about that, and I felt like I was deserting her…’

Discussion (420 words)

The main aim of this investigation was to use a personal account to draw out examples of how significant others affect psychological development. The three themes identified in the analysis show clearly how these early influences have affected Chloe’s future relationships. As soon as Chloe got back from her honeymoon, she felt miserable. She felt guilty about leaving her mother and also that she was happy. Her separation anxiety disorder, coupled with her feelings of guilt associated with her own happiness, had begun to interfere with her adult relationship. This links directly back to the fact that her mother, having lost her husband was not going to lose a daughter too, especially if she intended going to university and finding a husband of her own. One can only speculate how the theme of disappointment manifested itself within this relationship. It is interesting that she did not mention this in the interview.

It is important to point out here that, up until the stage when Chloe had decided to move away and work on her research degree, she felt too close, and perhaps controlled by her mother. The transferiential feelings of guilt had affected her relationships and also her ability to study (or make personal plans) on her own. She made a definite move away. Towards the end of the interview, Chloe used the word ‘space’ to describe a healing process: she was able to be disinterested about her mother, and to see the good things about her; she began to shift the blame away from herself; she didn’t feel guilty; and generally felt a lot happier. As a result, her second, ongoing relationship with Ian was a much more positive experience.

The extent of this adaptive behaviour was unexpected. Chloe, despite the extreme circumstances surrounding her childhood, had been able to work through her problems and build a successful relationship. This stresses the significance of ‘earned security’ in adult life (Main and Goldwyn, 1984): the fact that, regardless of early trauma, adults are able to have successful partnerships. In this case, it was Chloe’s acceptance and the fact that she had been able to disengage herself from her mother’s control that contributed to her well-being.

These findings support the view of attachment theorists that the mother/father bond with a child needs to be caring, attuned, supportive and consistent. The consequences of bad parenting can affect the child’s ability to have successful adult relationships in the future and, in addition, can limit their capacity for autonomy and adaptive self- nurturing.  

Reflexive Analysis (346 words)

It is inevitable, in an analysis of this kind, that a researcher is influenced by the comments of the participant and, to a certain extent, brings his own, personal experiences into play. These experiences affect and influence the interpretations. For instance, even the most experienced psychoanalysts, having undergone extensive and thorough personal analysis several times a week for many years, and having been trained to be unbiased and non-judgemental, still influence their patients in the comments that they make. Counter-transference is a common, and often helpful, phenomenon.

This thematic analysis was no exception. I think that I was influenced by the fact that Chloe felt guilty about moving away; I have experienced this myself, and I know many people who have also suffered guilt about separation. I also know the importance of personal space and how it is important to find somewhere away from one’s parents so that one can study effectively. In addition, I, even from the limited amount of information on the page, had some idea of the similar demographic position which Chloe had taken. I, thus, had to re-address the initial codification of the text. In the first instance, I noted the importance of space and fulfilling personal goals, but I realized that my own intentions and pre-occupations had affected my judgement—the important point was that Chloe had begun to move away from her mother and been able to work through her problems and build a successful relationship with Ian.

It would be interesting to add pauses to the text and to analyze the number of pauses and how they affected the content. Further research could be done in this area. In addition, I would be interested to analyze the significance of some of the repetitions and the repeated words and phrases such as ‘space’, ‘sort of’, ‘linking’ and ‘disappointment’ to name but a few. And, although I was interested in these phrases at the beginning of the analytical process—and I had to concentrate more specifically on the themes related to the research question—further investigation might reveal some  important implications. 

  TOTAL WORDS: 2, 489        

References

Ainsworth M (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44 (4): 709-716.

Ainsworth MS & Bowlby J (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist, 46 (4): 333-341.

Bretherton, I (1997). Bowlby’s legacy to developmental psychology. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 28 (1): 33-43.

British Psychological Society (2006). Code of Ethics and Conduct (March, 2006).

Hazan C and Shaver P (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52 (3): 511-524. 

Horner TM (1985). Subjectivity, intentionality, and the emergence of reality testing in early infancy. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 2 (4): 341-363. 

Main M and Goldwyn R (1984). Predicting rejection of her infant from mother’s representation of her own experience: implications for the abused-abusing intergenerational cycle. Child Abuse and Neglect, 8 (2): 203-217.   

Main M, Kaplan N and Cassidy J (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: a move to the level of representation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50: 66-104.

This report assesses the value of neuropsychological studies on memory impairment and the examinations of exceptional memory and how these contribute to our understanding of memory itself.

For some time, psychologists—Ebbinghaus (1997) and Anderson (1971), amongst many others—have used the expressions ‘encoding’, ‘storage’ and ‘retrieval’ when describing the component processes of memory. The concept of ‘encoding’ is particularly helpful because it describes the way in which humans categorize stimuli. Codes are formed using a combination of all our sensory modalities, our cognitive reasoning and unconscious processing. The word ‘sea’, for example, can be stored in a manner which focuses on its appearance (visual), its meaning (semantic), its action (motor/kinaesthetic), its sound (auditory), its taste, (gustatory) or even its smell (olfactory). Information can also be encoded in response to affect, pleasure and pain or a combination of these encoding systems. It is perhaps in the analysis of encoding and in the processes involved in recall that will enable us to understand memory better.

This hypothesis brings about some important questions. Why do some people forget names but are able to recount stories from the past? What is the best way to study for an exam—in short bursts, the night before, or over a course of several weeks? And, why do some older individuals suffer from short-term memory loss? It is beyond the scope of this report to answer all of these questions; however, the analysis of exceptional and impaired memories might help us to understand further how memory works.

It is important at this point to define short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM). STM refers to recent memory and LTM holds coded information for a significant amount of time. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) described STM as a ‘workbench’ system of memory; they proposed that humans take in new knowledge and relate it to the past.  

So, if STM works in tandem with LTM, and LTM recall relies on the activation of coded information, perhaps one way to analyze memory is to focus on individuals with exceptional memory. Luria (1969) described the exceptional ability of SV Shereshevskii, a man who was able to memorize long lists of nonsense syllables and numbers. Astonished by this man’s exceptional ability, Luria set about to analyse the skills that he used. First, the subject used elaborate mental images to help him to remember the various stimuli in the memory tests. His memory was aided by his synaesthesia—his ability to link one sensory modality with another. However, Shereshevskii scored within the normal range for standard intelligence tests. How does this example help psychologists to understand how normal memory function works? One answer is that the imagery and associative techniques used by Shereshevskii could help to enhance ‘normal’ memory ability. In short, the encoding of the imagery and mnemonics aid memory.

Wilding and Valentine (1994) in an experiment gave ten memory experts a number of different memory tests, including story recall, word and digit recall, autobiographical memory and face recognition. They concluded that ‘memory strategists’ used every day memory tricks to recall long lists of stimuli.

What are these every day tricks? Luria (1969) described three strategies that are useful, and, although this list was used specifically to enhance one’s ability to remember meaningless words, the techniques are transferable. The strategies are as follows. (1) Semanticisation. Here, one converts the information to something that is meaningful. In the case of Shereshevskii, he attached a Russian meaning to the made-up Italianate word.  (2) Association. Memory can be enhanced by association—perhaps, the sound of the word, the shape or colour (3) Imagery. Forming an image or symbol can magnify the efficiency of one’s learning. For instance, one might associate an apple with the shape one has to make with one’s hands and mouth in order either to make the first syllable of the word or to eat it. Needlesstosay, imagery has been used by primary school teachers for decades: the alphabet is taught by associating each letter with an inanimate object (A for apple; B for bear etc.).

It is clear that the techniques used by exceptional memory experts can help us better to understand how we can enhance memory recall. Further evidence has been collated by Maguire, Frackowiak et al (1997) who used PET imaging to scan taxi drivers’ brains while they imagined complex routes in London. Results showed that the right hippocampus was activated when they imagined complex routes, but, in the control, where they simply visualized landmarks, activity in this rejoin disappeared. This report indicates that the hippocampus not only plays an active role in recalling and transferring episodic information to the temporal cortex, thus establishing the stimuli as semantic memory, but it also stores spatial memory.

In 2003, Maguire, Valentine et al, using brain imaging, showed that superior memorizers’ skills were not driven by intellectual ability, but by spatial learning techniques which engaged the hippocampus. Further, Mayer (1983) investigated the effect of sheer repetition on memory recall—again, this technique has been used by primary and secondary school teachers for centuries.

But, perhaps, it is through the analyses of memory impairment that we are likely to gain more insight. If we can show why people vary in their ability to recall information, pin-pointing specific areas of the brain, we might be able to understand the specific structures of memory.

The concept of localization of memory has been prevalent since the late 19^th century. Broca and Wernicke (cited in Penfield and Roberts, 1959), who performed autopsies on patients who had suffered from severe language difficulties during their lifetime, deduced that these problems had been caused by lesions to specific areas of the brain in the left hemisphere.

Since then, brain scanning techniques such as fMRIs and PETs have analyzed brain activity during task performance. This technology has enabled neuropsychologists to target specific areas of the brain and have helped them better to understand how memory works. There have been studies on ‘double dissociation’, where a patient’s memory function appears normal in one respect (say, with regard to LTM) and impaired in another (say, STM). These studies (for instance, Warrington and Shallice, 1969; Scoville and Milner, 1957; Mangels et al, 1996) suggest that there are areas of the brain which are responsible for different types of memory. However, the brain is adaptable. Children’s brains are the most adaptable to change; if a child has damage to the left side of the brain, often (s)he will compensate on the right side—(s)he might develop language on the right hemisphere (Vicari et al, 2000). In addition, although to a lesser extent, adult patients suffering from brain injury also make adjustments (Nudo, 2003).

Tulving (1972) subdivided memory into two categories: (1) episodic, referring to the long-term memory of personal events and information and (2) semantic memory, which is responsible for general knowledge. In a report by Vargha-Khadem et al (1997), three young people who had suffered damage to the hippocampal region at birth—notably, the adjacent temporal cortex was left in tact—all had difficulty remembering any specific episodes in their lives. By contrast, Bozeat et al (2000) described cases in which patients had suffered damage to the temporal cortex, with no injury to the hippocampus: these patients’ episodic memories for personal experience were normal, but they had a highly reduced loss of memory associated with facts and meanings of words.

These reports suggest that the hippocampus is responsible for ‘episodic’ memory, and the temporal cortex for ‘semantic’ memory. There have been criticisms of these theories. Conway et al (1997) spoke of the interaction of episodic and semantic memory: they pointed out that repeated experiences are important for our understanding of general knowledge. Tulving (1985) pointed out that memory was built on a number of interconnected systems and operating components—viz., neural substrates and their cognitive and behavioural correlates. He added ‘procedural memory’ (‘learning how’ to do something), and made it clear that all three memories worked in conjunction with each other.

However, although the brain is highly adaptable, it is clear that damage to certain areas of the brain can lead to memory impairment. Warrington and Shallice (1969) reported the case of KF who suffered injury to the left parieto-occipital lobe after a motorcycle accident. As a result, his LTM was left unscathed, but his STM was reduced so severely that he was only able to remember one or two objects at a time. Scoville and Milner (1957) reported a case of a man (HM) who, because of his severe epilepsy, had hippocampal and temporal cortex tissue removed. As a result, HM was unable to formulate any long term memory.

In conclusion, it is clear that memory is a highly complex and interrelated system, and its efficiency relies on the way we construct and reconstruct our past experience, knowledge and associative information. But, it is in our understanding of exceptional memory and memory impairment that helps us to understand the extent and limitations of the memory system.

TOTAL WORDS: 1, 495

References

Anderson RC (1971). Encoding processes in the storage and retrieval of sentences’. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 91 (2): 338-40.

Baddeley AD and Hitch G (1974). ‘Working memory’ in GD Bower (ed.) Recent Advances in Learning and Motivation, 8 (New York: Academic Press).

Bozeat S, Lambon-Ralph MA, Patterson K, Garrard P and Hodges JR (2000). Non-verbal semantic impairment in semantic dementia. Neuropsycholgia, 38: 1207-15.

Conway MA, Gardiner JM, Perfect TJ, Anderson SJ and Cohen GM (1997). Changes in memory awareness during learning: the acquisition of knowledge by psychology undergraduates. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 126: 393-413.

Ebbinghaus, H (1997). Memory (Toronto: York University).

Luria A (1969). Mind of a Mnemonist (London: Jonathan Cape).  

Maguire EA, Frackowiak RSJ and Frith CD (1997) Recalling routes around London: activation of the right hippocampus in taxi drivers. Journal of Neuroscience, 17: 7103-10.

Maguire EA, Gadian DG, Johnsrude IS, Good CD, Ashburner J, Frackowiak RSJ and Frith CD (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 97 (8): 4398-4403. 

Maguire EA, Valentine ER, Wilding JM and Kapur N (2003). Routes to remembering: the brains behind superior memory. Nature Neuroscience, 6 (1): 90-95.

Mangels JA, Gershberg FB, Shimamura AP, Knight RT (1996). Impaired memory retrieval from remote memory in patients with frontal lobe damage. Neuropsychology, 10 (1): 32-41.

Mayer RE (1983). Can you repeat this? Qualitative effects of repetition and advanced organizers on learning from science prose. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75: 40-9.

Nudo RJ (2003). Adaptive plasticity in motor cortex: implications for rehabilitation after brain injury. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 41 Suppl: 7-10.  

Penfield W and Roberts L (1959). Speech and Brian Mechanisms (Princeton University Press: Princeton).

Scoville WB and Milner B (1957). Loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 20: 11-21.

Tulving E (1972). ‘Episodic and semantic memory’ in E. Tulving and W. Donaldson (eds.) The Organization of Memory (pp382-403). (New York: Academic Press).  

Tulving E (1985). How many memory systems are there? American Psychologist, 40: 385-98.

Vicari S, Albertoni A, Chilos AM, Cipriani P, Cioni G and Bates E (2000). Plasticity and reorganization during language development in children with early brain injury. Cortex, 36 (1): 31-46.  

Vargha-Khadem E, Gadian DG, Watkins KE, Connelly A, Vann-Paesschon W and Mishkin M (1997). Differential effects of early hippocampal pathology on episodic and semantic memory. Science, 277: 376-79.

Warrington EK and Shallice T (1969). The selective impairment of auditory verbal short-term memory. Brain, 92: 885-96.

Wilding J and Valentine E (1994). Memory champions. British Journal of Psychology, 85:231-44.

Abstract {119 words}

The Stroop condition has an interfering effect on colour recognition: the automatic tendency for individuals to read words and associate their meaning and visual characteristics cause task conflict. This study, using a within-participant design, provides statistical evidence to prove the hypothesis that individuals are able better to process ink colour when reading neutral words. 20 adult participants (11 male, 9 female; mean age=46.25; age range=30—60) are given two conditions: the Stroop (experimental) condition involving the colour recognition of 30 incongruent colour words, and the control condition, involving the colour recognition of neutral words. Results show that the Stroop effect causes a significant difference when compared with the neutral condition. The hypothesis was verified and the null hypothesis rejected.

Introduction {643 words}

The sensory organs have a vast amount of information to process, but not all of this can be assimilated at the same time: cognitive processing—that is to say, in this case, attention—is a selective mechanism. Or, perhaps, as Simons and Levin suggest (as cited in Edgar, 2007), attentional processing is one of limitation, and the brain acts as a ‘limited-capacity central processor’ (Kahneman, 1973).

In short, we cannot process everything. But these initial superstitions have lead to a number of subsequent questions and investigations. Many people today talk about the concept of multi-tasking (the brain doing two or more activities at the same time. This concept has been investigated by Posner and Boies (1971). They conducted a dual task experiment which involved participants performing a visual and an auditory task, and they found that individuals responded more slowly to the visual task when the auditory stimulus was heard at the same time.

McLeod (1977) amended the Posner and Boies experiment simply by asking participants to substitute the ideomotor response to the auditory tone with a verbalization of the word, ‘bip’. Results showed that reaction time was not slowed down when participants were required to perform two simultaneous functions in the same mode. They concluded that, when the responses were of the same mode (i.e. both being manual), there was inhibition, but, when the responses were separated (i.e. when they were manual and visual), inhibition diminished or disappeared.

Cognitive psychologists have been interested in exploring this aspect of attention for many years before these experiments of the 1970s. In the original Stroop test (Stroop, 1935), participants were asked to name the ink colour of certain words. It was found that, in general, participants’ reaction times to incongruent colour-words were slower than when compared with neutral stimuli. For example, participants reading yellow, written in red, would experience more interference when compared to the reading of a neutral word. This is known as the ‘interference effect’. Several years later, Dalrymple-Alford & Budayr, (1966) found that comparative reaction time was quicker when participants were asked to recall congruent colour words—for example, green written in green. This is known as the ‘facilitation effect’.

When an individual reads an incongruent colour word (such as red, written in yellow), the irrelevant word dimension contains conflicting information: two types of perception are working together side by side—conscious perception and unconscious perception. This contradiction is an informational conflict and suggests that people read words, to a certain extent, automatically (Goldfarb & Henik, 2007; Rogers & Monsell, 1995).

Recently, a number of studies has focussed on the Stroop effect and dual tasks in order to address more complex questions. Advances in functional brain imaging techniques have allowed neuroscientists to pinpoint specific areas of the brain and to monitor their activity while performing single or simultaneous tasks. MacDonald et al (2000) showed that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was active when naming colours while the anterior cingulated cortex, which seemed to act as an overriding monitoring mechanism, was actively engaged in response to incongruent stimuli.

MacLeod and MacDonald (2000) have supported this finding and added that both congruent and incongruent Stroop stimuli cause more task inhibition than neutral stimuli because of anterior cortex activation; Goldfarb and Henik (2007) investigated the behavioural expression for this pattern; and Anan, Liberman, Trope and Algom (2007) investigated a picture-word version of the Stroop test.       

There are certain psychological questions that are important to consider when undertaking a study of this kind. To what extent do individuals access information on a conscious and unconscious level? Why is automatic (and, indeed, autonomic) processing important in our every day lives? And, what are the benefits and drawbacks of automatic processing? It is beyond the scope of this study to answer these questions. However, this experiment, an adaptation of the original Stroop experiment (Stroop, 1935), will go one stage further to confirm the fact that incongruent stimuli cause more processing interference than neutral ones, and, in turn, this may add to our overall knowledge of unconscious and conscious processing.

Method {612 words}  

Design

A within-participants design was employed. The independent variable was the Stroop/Non Stroop Effect. The two conditions were as follows. Condition 1 involved participants naming the colours of incongruent words (words associated with a colour but written in an incongruent colour): this Stroop effect condition was the experimental condition. Condition 2, by contrast, involved participants naming the colours of neutral words (words not connected, universally, with a colour). This was the control condition.

A two-tailed experimental design was employed which assessed the hypothesis that the Stroop effect caused a significant difference to participants’ reaction time.  

Participants were asked to name the colour of the ink of 30 words written on a piece of A4. The words were written randomly in 6 different colours (red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple); there were fifteen words in each of the two columns on the page. In order to avoid confounding variables with respect to the practise effect, participants in the odd numbered rows (1,3,5…) were given condition 1 first, followed by condition 2, while participants in the even rows (2, 4, 6…) worked vice versa. For both conditions, the researcher measured the total time each participant took to read the 30 words (the dependent variable). Results were measured to the nearest second. All the words were single syllable words—each of them was used five times—and, in addition, there were thirty words in each condition.  

Participants

The first sixteen participants in this study were colleagues, family and friends associated with the Psychology Department at the Open University, while the last four were the researcher’s personal colleagues—all teachers at a school in London (total n=20; 11 male, 9 female; mean age=46.25; age range=30—60).     

Materials

The researcher used a stopwatch to measure the total times to the nearest second. Each participant was given three pieces of paper. The first sheet showed the six possible colours—red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple—and the second two sheets were the two conditions, each one containing 30 words in different coloured inks. There were 6 words in total and each one was repeated randomly 5 times (see Appendix 2). The researcher also printed out several copies of the consent from for participants to read and sign.   

Procedure

Each participant was asked whether they would be prepared to take part in a cognitive psychology experiment. All four colleagues were given consent forms which they all signed. The researcher gave brief details about the present research, that it was intended for an assignment for part of an Open University Course: he explained that the experiment involved colour recognition, but the precise nature of the test and the hypothesis were not given. Participants understood that their involvement was voluntary and that they had the right to withdraw at any time. Further, the researcher confirmed that their work was anonymous. To limit confounding variables, each participant was given exactly the same information before taking part in the experiment—no additional help or guidance was given to any one participant (see Appendix 1). Participants were tested individually. The researcher read the instruction verbatim. All participants said aloud the colour of the ink for each word and completed each test one after the after. Consistently, there was a one minute gap between intervals. Finally, the researcher provided each participant with a full debrief, discussing the precise nature of the project and theories associated with the Stroop effect.    

Results {163 words}

The research hypothesis in this project was that the participants’ reaction time would be slower in condition 1 when compared with condition 2. Times were measured to the nearest second (see Table 1). Out of the total number (n=20; see the results, Table 1), twelve participants completed condition 1 more slowly when compared to condition 2, while five were slightly faster and three were the same. The mean time score for condition 1 was 24.25 (SD=5.27); condition 2 was 21.75 (SD=5.866). In addition, a paired sample t-test was performed on these data, and this showed that the difference between these conditions was significantly different (t=2.471; df=19), the standard error mean being 1.012. There was also a strong positive correlation of 0.675 (see Graph 1), as measured by the Pearson Correlation Coefficient. There was a significant statistical difference in the results; the probability level (p=0.05; lower=0.382; upper=4.618) showed that the hypothesis (that the stroop effect delays reaction time) had been sustained, and the null hypothesis had been rejected.

Discussion {508 words}

The results in this study showed that there was a statistical difference between the Stroop condition and the control. When participants performed the experimental task, the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) was more active when responding to incongruent stimuli (Bench et al, 1993), while the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was more active when naming ink colour (MacDonald et al, 2000). In short, individuals’ reaction time to visual stimuli varied when it was associated with other automatic functioning. This theory is in line with the comments made by Kahneman (1973) on the limited capacity of the central processor—the fact that we analyse information and unconsciously integrate stimuli with associations held in our memory. Indeed, MacLeod and MacDonald (2000) postulated that both congruent and incongruent Stroop stimuli cause more interference or inhibition than neutral stimuli.        

However, there was a number of confounding variables in this experiment that, in its present design, were unavoidable. The practise effect of doing both conditions simultaneously was limited due to the fact that the researcher counterbalanced the order of the experimental condition and the control. And yet, it seemed that the participants were working out the nature of the experiment throughout the exercise. Indeed, some participants commented that they were trying to work out which condition would hinder their reaction time. One participant said that his eye sight was failing and that, although he could read the words, he was able to ‘blank the meaning out’; it will remain unknown whether this was an unconscious or conscious process. Another participant was unsure whether he was supposed to read the words as quickly as possible or not, even though it was stated clearly on the instructions sheet. Indeed, after doing condition 1, he said that he would try reading the next group of words more quickly. Other confounding variables included the fact that some of the teachers had obviously read a fair amount of psychology and that they had a clear understanding, although they were not certain, about the precise nature of the experiment.

Nevertheless, the strong positive correlation (0.675) shows that the hypothesis is verified; 12 out of the 20 participants showed a marked delay in their reaction time in condition1 and the t score (t=2.471) confirms this. The mean score for condition 1 was 24.25 (SD=5.27); the mean for condition 2 was a faster 21.75 (SD=5.866).

Individuals have a direct experience associated with different stimuli, and this affects their respective construal of the stimulus. People will differ in the amount of high-level abstract mental representations required for cognitive tasks. Perhaps more studies into these differences are required. Further investigation could lead to an experiment which will attempt to analyze individuals’ reaction time to their favourite colour when compared with other colours. Additionally, it would be interesting to investigate whether colour recognition is delayed significantly when looking at shapes rather than words: a comparison could be made between these two stimuli.  

In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that the Stroop effect causes a significant reaction time delay when compared with the control. Individuals find it difficult to avoid responding to the associations of colour-words and this causes encoding interference.

TOTAL WORDS: 2045

References

Bar-Anan Y, Liberman N, Trope Y, Algom D (2007). ‘Automatic processing of psychological distance: evidence from a Stroop task’. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136 (4): 610-622.

Bench CJ, Frith CD, Grasby PM, Friston KJ, Paulesu E, Frackowiak RS, Dolan RJ (1993). ‘Investigations of the functional anatomy of attention using the Stroop test’. Neuropsychologia, 32:907-922.

Dalrymple-Alford EC, Budayr B (1966). ‘Examination of some aspects of the Stroop color-word test’. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 23:1211-1214.

DSE 212 (2007). Exploring Psychological Research Methods (Milton Keynes: Open University Press).

Edgar G (2007). ‘Perception and attention’. In D. Miell, A. Phoenix & K. Thomas (eds.) Mapping Psychology, pp. 3-50 (Open University: Milton Keynes).

Goldfarb L, Henik A (2007). ‘Evidence for task conflict in the stroop effect’. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 33 (5): 1170-1176.

Kahneman, D (1973). Attention and Effort. (Prentice-Hall: New Jersey).

MacDonald, AW III, Cohen JO, Stenger VA, Carter CS (2000). ‘Dissociating the role of dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulated cortex in cognitive control’. Science, 288: 1835-8.

MacLeod CM, MacDonald PA (2000). ‘Interdimensional interference in the Stroop effect: uncovering the cognitive and neural anatomy of attention’. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10: 383-391.

MacLeod PD (1977). ‘A dual task response modality effect: support for multi-processor models of attention’. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29: 83-9.

Posner MI, Boies SJ (1971). ‘Components of attention’. Psychological Review, 78 (5): 391-408. 

Rogers RD, Mansell S (1995). ‘Costs of predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks’. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124:207-231.

Stroop, JR (1935). ‘Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions’. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18 (6): 643-62.

Appendices {completed data set + the completed output from SPSS showing the results of the analysis}

Table 1

The following table shows the data collected from Chapter 7 of Exploring Psychological Research Methods (DSE212, 2007). These participants—either colleagues at the Open University, or family members and friends—were all given the appropriate consent forms and gave their consent to participate in this experiment. They were naïve to the specific hypothesis of the stroop effect, although they were debriefed at the end of the experiment. The last four lines, written in bold, are the results obtained by the author. 

Note 1: the data collected were measured to the nearest second.

Note 2: Participants (odd numbers) were given condition 1 and then condition 2 to complete, while the remaining even-numbered participants completed the test in the opposite order. 

Table 2

                                                    a) Paired Samples Statistics

                                                  b) Paired Samples Correlations

                                                c) Paired Samples Test

Table 3

                   Bivariate Correlation of Conditions 1 & 2 using Pearson Correlation Coefficient

**  Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Graph 1 showing a strong positive correlation:

                                                      ConditionTwo

Appendix 1: Instructions to Participants

‘In a moment, I will place a sheet of A4 paper in front of you that contains two columns of words. You will notice that the words are written in six different colours of ink—red, blue, green, yellow, orange and purple. What I would like you to do is say, out loud, the colour of the ink each word is written in. Start with the word at the top of the left column and work downwards. When you have finished all the words in the left column, start on the right column.

Remember, I do not want you to read the word itself to me; instead, I want you to state what colour of ink it has been written in. You should work through the list as quickly as you can.

To help you, here are some examples:

CHAIR

For the item above you would respond “blue”.

HOUSE

For the item above you would respond “red”.

Do you understand what you will be required to do?

(If yes, then proceed to task; if no, go through the examples again)’.

Appendix 2 (Materials): Colour Test Sheet and Two Conditions

Red = “Red”

Orange = “Orange”

Blue = “Blue”

Purple = “Violet”

Green = “Green”

Yellow = “Yellow”

b) Condition 1

c) Condition 2

I read ‘Either/Or’ and various Kierkegaard when I was at school and got really into it. Oli and I used to rush to the library after our philosophy class in order to look up some of the theories that our teacher had talked about. I also read Nietzsche too. What I found fascinating is that many of us live in society and are bound by societies rules and modes of action. I began to challenge these rules and to think more liberally about rules and laws. I realized very early that living a purely hedonistic or anarchic life would only cause me problems. I found that becoming aware of your personal freedom, one only realizes what one can’t do. However, I have lived my life challenging perceptions which are just accepted by some people. Indeed, there seems to be a collective conscious book of laws that even bridges across from culture to culture. I challenge these.

The thought that humans are basically alone in the world is very negative. And, I don’t agree. Existential therapists feel that it is are connection with others that makes are lives bearable. So, we are not alone. Existential therapist would disagree with me there, and say that the search for meaning and contentment must come from inside rather than from others. I disagree with this fundamentally. However. in Albert Camus’  ‘L’Etranger’, the protagonist (hero/anti-hero) does reject his pre-existing theories on human existence and morality, and invents his own, subjective modus vivendi.

Subjectivity is at the heart of this philosophy. The concept of the ‘good life’ is something that I have had in the back of my mind since I learnt about this philosophy at school. It means that one is prepared and has the courage to lead one’s own life and take responsibility for the consequences. One creates meanings for one’s self. By creating and asking questions; by building and enjoying one’s own-crafted adventure, one is happy in fulfilling one’s own personalized potential.

During existential therapy, clients are encouraged to feel that their lives our coincidental and attention is focussed on the present. One begins to have a more dissociative idea about one choices in life, and one becomes freer to make choices. By accepting that one has no destiny, the idea is that one may become more accepting about life and the freedom of choice.

In the business world, companies use non-disclosure agreements (NDA) or confidentiality agreements (CA), as well as confidential disclosure agreement forms (CDA) and proprietary information agreements (PIA). These are legal documents between companies: these documents list confidential material and information that that must not be shared with one another.

In psychotherapy, there are no such documents but there is a rule that is understood by both therapist and client that everything he says will not be passed on to any other person. In fact, I do say on my application form that all information is kept in the strictest of confidence. I explain to my clients that confidentiality is extremely important and that all their notes and personally details are kept under lock and key. This is of paramount importance because during therapy, many individuals give information about their unconscious desires and inner conflicts and of this information is given to a third party it could have a disastrous effect on an individual’s well being and trust of their therapist.

In 1996, the United States Supreme Court in Jaffe v. Redmond 518 U.S. 1 ruled against the disclosure of a psychotherapist’s notes. The court explained doctors treat physical ailments objectively. By contrast,

‘Effective psychotherapy depends upon an atmosphere of confidence in which the patient trusts the psychotherapist’s commitment and capacity to protect their frank and complete disclosure of facts, emotions, memories and fears’.

However, I do point out that on occasions, some material is helpful for other clinicians and that, from time to time, I publish information in academic journals. Clients still have anonymity. No names are mentioned—in fact, a pseudonym is always used—and names of places, and recognizable features of home life are not specified. For example, If a lady called Sophie went to the University of East London and met her boyfriend, Bill, who was also studying chemistry in year 3 of the degree course, and I needed to include this in the study because it was important to the case material, I would probably write something like the following:

‘ Sandra went to meet her boyfriend at the university: they were both doing the same course and were both in their final year’.

In the past, it used to be necessary to write to clients’ GPs after the first session; and, in many instances, clients would be referred by GPs in the first place. Nowadays, it is up to the client whether he wants his GP to know or not, and if this is the case, a signed consent form is needed.

There are exceptions to this confidentiality rule. If it becomes apparent that the client or a member of the family is being abused and that the appropriate steps have not been taken by the client to resolve this issue, therapists must explain to their clients that they have a moral and ethical obligation to pursue this. In these instances, I would explain that, now I am aware of this information, and know that nothing is being done to stop this abuse, I need to deal with this in the appropriate manner. Indeed, if legal proceedings occur, I might have to break confidentiality; however, again, I can only do this once the consent forms have been signed and dated. There are some other exceptional circumstances where confidentiality should be broken, and this refers to a situations in which the client or acquaintance is in mortal danger. In these instances, it is always advisable for therapist to speak to their professional body—specifically the ethics committee—and ask them for their advice in this situation.

I should briefly like to mention two theories of his which I have found to be very helpful in my work as a psychotherapist and then I would like to expand on one particular theory.

His theory of the ‘vicious circle’ is very important. He points out that there is a vicious circle in communication, and that behaviour produces a reaction which, in turn, produces a subsequent behaviour from the interlocutor. Therefore the behaviour of X affects Y and he reacts in a certain way; then, Y behaves in a certain away and this is followed by X behaving in a certain fashion. Two presupposition of NLP take on board this theory—(1) ‘we calibrate on behaviour’, and (2) ‘words are not what they represent’ (Brookhouse, 2012).

Symmetrical relationships are also very important. He pointed out that there are two types of relationships:

Symmentrical relationships which involve people who are equals although competitive.

Complementary relationships in which there is unequal balance (eg the dominance-submission type between parent and child; or exhibition/spectatorship type between performer and audience).

Brookhouse S (2012). Conference presentation at the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy. 25 March 2012.  

Double Binds       

Bateson studied with Donald Jackson, Jay Haley and John Weakland in the 1950s and did a huge amount of pioneering work on schizophrenia and its aetiology. They described the concept of ‘double binds’ and said how destructive this was to the development of a child’s behaviour. The pointed out that it a child was consistently given double binds by mother or father (or both) during development, he would then begin to construct the world out of contradictory cues and emotional messages. From the reading that I have done into the aetiology of neurosis, I have found that the double bind has a hugely negative effect on child development and one’s ability to act authentically in adult life. One only has to go back to the work of BF Skinner to remember the stress that was caused to the rat who came to a junction knowing that, although he received conditioning through the sense of smell that both doors could contain food, that  one door had food and the other didn’t. This caused anxiety. Wolpe (1958) also spoke of the manipulative nature of double binds in the context of the family.

I am sure that most here already know this term. But for the few that don’t, this is my definition. A double bind occurs when, normally, an authority figure—say, a parent, boss or teacher—gives mixed messages to his or her interlocutor. This person becomes a victim because he is unable to leave the communication field and he knows that either failing to fulfil one of the requests will result in punishment of some kind, or failure to believe that one of the statements is true will resilt in a misattunement of what is being said or displayed.

Examples of this are as follows:

1. The mother tells her daughter that she loves her but her face shows hatred or indifference.

2. Father to daughter: ‘You must take the rubbish out in the pouring rain, but only if you want to’.

3. Mother to son: ‘You must love me’.

4. Teacher to pupil: ‘Speak when you are spoken to’; and in the next instance, ‘Don’t talk back!’.

5. Father to son: ‘I am very angry with you—[with a big smile on his face] come here an give me a cuddle’.

In these instances, the victim is unable to define the paradoxical situation, and is unable to confront or resolve the conflict internal or externally. Thus, there is an entanglement of communication. The words, tone of voice and body language are not in sync with each other.

This theory is very helpful for us as psychotherapists because we can use positive double binds in order to provide choice in the consulting room. And, if one uses double binds and the apposition of opposites, as well as a response set one can really help clients to move on and reduce resistance in the therapy and in the hypnosis.

Here are some example of positive double binds. In fact, many NLP trained therapists do not know the origins of this term and call all ‘positive double binds’ simply ‘double binds’. But psychoanalysts, quite rightly I think, place a huge amount on the destructive nature of this in the family context.

Here are some examples:

1. Therapist to client/patient: ‘Would you like to feel completely comfortable and relaxed on that chair or the other chair’.

2. Therapist to client while encouraging time distortion: ‘ Did it seem a very long time to you or just sort of a really long time to you?’.

3. Therapist to client: ‘Are you ready to give up smoking now or in a few moments time?’.