IB Psychology 1.2 Causality Questionbank

Discuss the following study with reference to two or more of the following concepts: bias, causality, measurement, and/or responsibility.

Brown and Harris investigated the social factors that make depression more likely in women. They interviewed a large sample of women in a district of London about recent stressful life events and their social circumstances, and assessed who had become depressed. Depression was much more common in women who had experienced a severe life event or major difficulty. Certain 'vulnerability factors' increased the risk that such events would lead to depression: lacking a close confiding relationship, having several young children at home, not working outside the home, and the loss of one's own mother in childhood. The researchers concluded that depression in women arises from an interaction between provoking life events and social vulnerability factors.

Disclaimer: Content used in IB assessments is taken from authentic, third-party sources. The views expressed within them belong to their individual authors and/or publishers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IB.

References: Brown, G. W. and Harris, T., 1978. Social Origins of Depression: A Study of Psychiatric Disorder in Women. London: Tavistock. source adapted.

Discuss the following study with reference to two or more of the following concepts: bias, causality, measurement, and/or responsibility.

Loftus and Palmer investigated whether the wording of a question could change what people remember about an event. In one experiment, 45 participants watched film clips of car accidents and then answered questions about what they had seen. The critical question asked how fast the cars were going when they 'hit' each other; for different groups the verb was replaced with 'smashed', 'collided', 'bumped', or 'contacted'. Mean speed estimates were highest for the group given 'smashed' and lowest for 'contacted', although all groups had watched the same clips. In a second experiment, participants who had heard 'smashed' were more likely a week later to report having seen broken glass, although there was none in the film. The researchers concluded that information supplied after an event, through the wording of a question, can be integrated into memory, supporting a reconstructive view of memory.

Disclaimer: Content used in IB assessments is taken from authentic, third-party sources. The views expressed within them belong to their individual authors and/or publishers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IB.

References: Loftus, E. F. and Palmer, J. C., 1974. 'Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory.' Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13(5), pp. 585 to 589. source adapted.

In the context of health and well-being, evaluate the claim that cultural factors cause differences in the prevalence rates of mental health disorders between cultures or populations.

In the context of health and well-being, evaluate explanations of addiction with reference to causality.