1tel 01536 452620 fax 01865 313472 email schools.enquiries.uk@oup.com web www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/psychology

A spurious relationship?Most studies in this area have yielded correlational data only, failing to demonstrate a causal relationship between life events and stress-related illness. It is possible that a third variable affects both, e.g. people with high levels of anxiety report more negative life events and are more prone to illness.

Positive and negative eventsResearch using the SRRS appears to indicate that any life-changing event has the potential to damage health because it requires significant readjustment. This suggests that pregnancy and the death of a close friend would have the same impact on the individuals. Some critics argue that only undesired, unscheduled and uncontrolled changes tend to be really harmful.

SRRS Research on life changesIn order to test the idea that life changes are related to stress-related illnesses such as anxiety and depression, Holmes and Rahe (1967) developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, or SRRS (see right). This contains items which are ranked them in terms of how much readjustment would be needed by the average person. This yields a total number of life change units (LCUs) for an individual over a given period.

When Rahe et al. (1970) tested a military version of the SRRS on men aboard three US Navy ships, they found a small but significant positive correlation between the men’s LCUs over the previous six months and their illness over the same period. As there are both positive and negative events in the SRRS, this appears to indicate that it is not whether a change is considered negative that is important, but the amount of energy required in order to deal with the event that creates stress, and potentially illness.

Events such as the death of a loved one, divorce or a son or daughter

leaving home are often referred to as critical life events because they require a major transition in our lives. As such they can be a major source of stress.

Life changes and daily hasslesMajor life changes are relatively rare in most people’s lives, so relatively minor daily hassles are more likely to be a significant source of stress. DeLongis

e al. (1988) found a significant relationship between health and daily hassles but not for life events.

How science worksValidity – there are concerns over the accuracy of people’s memories for life events. For example, people who are unwell may feel a need to provide an explanation for their illness and so are more likely to report stressful events that might have caused it.

Reliability – there are also issues over the consistency of retrospective reports, with Rahe (1974) finding that test-retest reliability varies depending on the time interval between testing.

Life changes

Death of a spouse

Pregnancy

Divorce

Offspring leaving home

Fired at work

Problems with a ‘life changes’ explanation of stress

Individual differences

There are huge individual

differences in the impact of

life events such as pregnancy,

retirement and even relatively

minor events such as Christmas

or the annual holiday. Because

the impact of these events

varies from person to person it

becomes hard to predict illness

from SRRS scores alone.

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Example items

Rank Life Event (LCU)

1 Death of spouse (100)

2 Divorce (73)

4 Jail Term (63)

6 Personal injury or illness (50)

7 Marriage (53)

8 Fired at work (47)

10 Retirement (45)

12 Pregnancy (40)

17 Death of a close friend (37)

22 Change in responsibilities at work (29)

23 Son or daughter leaving home (29)

25 Outstanding personal achievement (28)

27 Begin or end school (26)

28 Change living conditions (25)

30 Trouble with boss (23)

33 Change schools (20)

36 Change in social activities (18)

41 Holiday (13)

42 Christmas (12)

43 Minor violations of the law (11)

71704.4Biological PSYcHologY liFE cHaNgES

Sample pages from The AS Visual Companion

K37

73

3

Also available in this series

Take a look inside...

s e c o n d e d i t i o n

for AQA ‘A’

T h e E xa m Co m p a n i o n

Mike Cardwell • Cara Flanagan

2

– Th

e Exam

Co

mp

an

ion

s e c o

nd

e di t i o

n C

ardw

ell • Flanag

an

– The Exam Companion

2

1How to get in touch:

web www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk

email schools.enquiries.uk@oup.com

tel 01536 741068

fax 01865 313472

Written by leading Psychology authors, Mike Cardwell and Cara Flanagan, this textbook is more of a companion than

ever before and is designed to help turn your understanding of psychology into even better examination performance.

Comprehensively re-designed to meet the needs of the latest AQA ‘A’ A2 specification, it has all the

features that students value so much from the previous edition plus a host of new features.

A unique combination of the best that a conventional textbook can offer with the

invaluable elements that are usually only found in study and revision guides.

The content is organized into magazine-style, highly illustrated double-page spreads.

Comprehensive coverage of both descriptive and evaluative components of all specification topics,

clearly distinguished on each page spread. This enabled students to respond effectively to the different

skill requirements of examination questions.

An emphasis on wider approaches, issues and debates in psychology, covered by special features

throughout the book, as well as in an introductory chapter on the ‘synoptic toolkit’.

A focus on what students need to construct informed and effective examination answers.

Revision-friendly features such as diagrammatic summaries and sample exam questions with student

answers and examiner comments.

From authors that have over 40 years of senior examining experience between them.

Mike cardwell and cara Flanagan have many years of experience as senior examiners, teachers and best-selling

authors. They are respected and trusted by teachers and students who have successfully used their resources for years

and see them at revision conferences and teacher INSET courses across the country.

Mike is a former Chief Examiner for A Level Psychology and a Senior Lecturer at Bath Spa University. He has written

extensively for A Level students.

Cara has many years experience as a senior examiner and teacher. She is a widely published educational author,

conference organizer and presenter and a highly-regarded INSET trainer.

Check our blog at www.folensblogs.com/psychcompanion for up-to-date research, answers to all the questions

in the book, and useful psychology links.

other titles in this series:

COPY TO BE UPDATED

s e c o n d e d i t i o n

2

2

1 How to get in touch:web www.oxfordsecondary.co.ukemail schools.enquiries.uk@oup.comtel 01536 741068 fax 01865 313472

for AQA ‘A’

The Mini Companion

Mike Cardwell • Cara Flanagan

– The M

ini C

om

pa

nio

n

Card

we

ll • Flanag

an

– The Mini Companion

1tel 01536 452620 fax 01865 313472 email schools.enquiries.uk@oup.com web www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/psychology

Structured and unstructured

In a structured observation the observer uses behavioural categories and sampling procedures to control or structure the observations. In an unstructured observation the observer records all relevant behaviour but has no system. This technique may be chosen because the behaviour to be studied is largely unpredictable.

Overt and covert

If a participant is aware of being observed (overt observation) they may alter their behaviour so validity is reduced. Observations can be made without a participant’s knowledge (covert observation), such as using one-way mirrors. This may raise ethical issues regarding invasion of privacy.

Participant and non-participant

In some observations the observer is also a participant in the behaviour being observed (participant observation) which is likely to affect objectivity. More often the observer is not a participant (non-participant observation).

Time sampling – Recording behaviours at regular intervals, e.g. every 30 seconds.

Sampling proceduresEvent sampling – Counting the number of times a certain behaviour (event) occurs in a target individual.

External validity

Naturalistic observations are likely to have high ecological validity but may have low population validity when the sample is limited.

Internal validity

May be affected by observer bias where observers’ expectations affect their objectivity. May also be affected by an inadequate system of behavioural categories.

Behaviour checklist and coding system for the strange situation.

ReliabilityInter-observer reliability is the extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers. Assessed by correlating the observations of two or more observers (total number of agreements / total number of observations). If this is more than +.80, then the observations show high reliability. To improve reliability observers should be trained in the use of the behavioural categories.

Behavioural categories In order to produce reliable observations it is necessary to devise objective methods to separate the continuous stream of action we observe into separate behavioural components i.e. operationalise the target behaviour(s). This can be done using a" Behaviour checklist – A list of component behaviours

that are operationalised." Coding system – A code is given to individual behaviours

for ease of recording.

Naturalistic Controlled

Observations made where everything has been left as it normally is.

The observations may be structured but the environment is unstructured i.e. uncontrolled.

Some aspects of the environment are pre-set or ‘controlled’ by the researcher.

The environment is controlled (i.e. structured) to some extent and the observations may be structured.

Advantages and weaknesses

+ Can discover new facts about behaviour.

+ High ecological validity.

- No control of extraneous variables.

- Problems with observer bias and reliability of observations.

Advantages and weaknesses

+ Can manipulate variables to observe effects.

- Reduced ecological validity.

- Possible investigator effects.

- Problems with observer bias and reliability of observations.

Behaviour checklist for the strange situation

EXPO exploration when with owner

EXPS exploration when with stranger

PLYO playing when with owner

PLYS playing when with stranger

PASO passive behaviours when with owner

PASS passive behaviours when with stranger

CONTO physical contact when with owner

CONTS physical contact when with stranger

SBYO standing by the door when with owner

SBYS standing by the door when with stranger

How to Carry out observations

47463.4ReseaRch Methods oBseRVatIoNaL techNIQUes

Take a look inside...

Sample pages from The AS Visual Companion

K37

73

3

Also available in this series

s e c o n d e d i t i o n

for AQA ‘A’

T h e E xa m Co m p a n i o n

Mike Cardwell • Cara Flanagan

2

– Th

e Exam

Co

mp

an

ion

s e c o

nd

e di t i o

n C

ardw

ell • Flanag

an

– The Exam Companion

2

1How to get in touch:

web www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk

email schools.enquiries.uk@oup.com

tel 01536 741068

fax 01865 313472

Written by leading Psychology authors, Mike Cardwell and Cara Flanagan, this textbook is more of a companion than

ever before and is designed to help turn your understanding of psychology into even better examination performance.

Comprehensively re-designed to meet the needs of the latest AQA ‘A’ A2 specification, it has all the

features that students value so much from the previous edition plus a host of new features.

A unique combination of the best that a conventional textbook can offer with the

invaluable elements that are usually only found in study and revision guides.

The content is organized into magazine-style, highly illustrated double-page spreads.

Comprehensive coverage of both descriptive and evaluative components of all specification topics,

clearly distinguished on each page spread. This enabled students to respond effectively to the different

skill requirements of examination questions.

An emphasis on wider approaches, issues and debates in psychology, covered by special features

throughout the book, as well as in an introductory chapter on the ‘synoptic toolkit’.

A focus on what students need to construct informed and effective examination answers.

Revision-friendly features such as diagrammatic summaries and sample exam questions with student

answers and examiner comments.

From authors that have over 40 years of senior examining experience between them.

Mike cardwell and cara Flanagan have many years of experience as senior examiners, teachers and best-selling

authors. They are respected and trusted by teachers and students who have successfully used their resources for years

and see them at revision conferences and teacher INSET courses across the country.

Mike is a former Chief Examiner for A Level Psychology and a Senior Lecturer at Bath Spa University. He has written

extensively for A Level students.

Cara has many years experience as a senior examiner and teacher. She is a widely published educational author,

conference organizer and presenter and a highly-regarded INSET trainer.

Check our blog at www.folensblogs.com/psychcompanion for up-to-date research, answers to all the questions

in the book, and useful psychology links.

other titles in this series:

COPY TO BE UPDATED

s e c o n d e d i t i o n

2

2

1 How to get in touch:web www.oxfordsecondary.co.ukemail schools.enquiries.uk@oup.comtel 01536 741068 fax 01865 313472

for AQA ‘A’

The Mini Companion

Mike Cardwell • Cara Flanagan

– The M

ini C

om

pa

nio

n

Card

we

ll • Flanag

an

– The Mini Companion