Perry et al.

• State the assumptions of the social approach

  1. Behaviour, cognitions and emotions are influenced by social contexts, social environments and groups
  2. Behaviour, cognitions and emotions are influenced by the actual, implied or imagined presence of others
• How many assumptions does the social approach have?

  2
• How does social salience affect interpersonal interactions?

  It determines the importance of social cues
• What is interpersonal distance (personal space)?

  • Relative distance between people
  • Area of space preferred to be unentered
  • Bubble that moves with the person
  • Varies based on social context
• What are the effects of oxytocin (OT)?

  • Promotes social behaviour
  • Plays a role in bonding, childbirth and breastfeeding
  • Can elicit cohesion or hostility and jealousy towards strangers
• What is oxytocin?

  A social hormone (that can also act as a neurotransmitter) found in humans that heightens the importance of social cues and is linked to positive social behaviours such as helping others
• What is social salience?

  The attention someone gives to cues from other people e.g. body language, interpersonal distance and expressions
• What are social cues?

  These are facial expressions or body language which people use to send messages to one another, for example, a smile to indicate happiness
• Describe intimate distance

  This is used between romantic partners or very close family members and involves all senses
• Describe personal distance

  This is used with other people in most everyday interactions, in which we can see, touch and hear the other person
• Describe social distance

  This is used in formal interactions with others, in which we may use louder voices, body movements and eye contact
• Describe public distance

  This is used to keep distance from public figures (e.g. someone making a speech), in which a loud voice and body movements usually feature
• What is empathy?

  The ability of one human to recognise and understand the thoughts, feelings and experiences of another. It involves how people respond to the observed experiences of others, seeing or imagining experiences from the other person's POV and feeling concerned/upset for them
• Outline Scheele et al's findings on OT

  • Administration of OT to males in monogamous relationships increased their preferred interpersonal distance from an attractive female when in the presence of a female researcher
  • Not the same with a male researcher
  • OT had no effect on single men ppts and no effect in promoting 'closer' interpersonal distance
• Explain the link between empathy and preferred interpersonal distance

  Individual differences in empathy abilities suggest that this trait can shape how people process social cues and respond emotionally.
• Outline the social salience hypothesis

  • predicts that OT increases attention to social cues, affecting how they process them and respond
  • depends on the social setting
  • OT will have varying effects e.g. one feels more comfortable and another feels stressed
• State the two aims of Perry et al's study

  1. To test the differential effect of the social hormone oxytocin (OT) on preferred interpersonal distance in relation to a person's empathy ability
  2. To find out whether highly empathetic individuals would prefer closer distances while low empathy individuals would prefer greater interpersonal distances when given OT
• Where was the laboratory experiment conducted?

  University of Haifa
• What design was used for the participants in the experiments?

  Repeated measures design whereby all the ppts took part in 2 experiments. They counterbalanced the order e.g. exp. 1 then 2 and vice versa to prevent order effects.
• What was the first independent variable in the study?

  Whether the participants received nasal drops containing OT or placebo (saline solution)
• How was the first independent variable operationalized?

  OT administered or placebo administered
• What method was used to avoid order effects in the study?

  Randomisation of treatment order on whether saline or OT was administered first
• How long after the first administration did participants return for the second administration of nasal drops?

  One week later
• How were participants categorized into high or low empathy groups?

  Using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
• What scores defined the high empathy group?

  Scores of 40 and over
• What scores defined the low empathy group?

  Scores of 33 and under
• What was the third independent variable in Experiment 1?

  Preferred interpersonal distance from a stranger, an authority figure, a friend and a ball
• What was the third independent variable in Experiment 2?

  Preferences for spatial arrangement of chairs (measure of interpersonal distance) and a table and plant (control condition)
• What was the mean age of participants in the study?

  25.29 years
• What were the criteria for participants regarding psychiatric history?

  No history of psychiatric or neurological disorders
• How many participants were in the high empathy group?

  20 participants
• How many participants were in the low empathy group?

  20 participants
• What are the main components of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)?

  • 28-item self-report questionnaire
  • Four seven-item subsections
  • Each subsection assesses a different component of empathy
• How was the preferred distance operationalized in Experiment 1?

  Using the computerised version of the Comfortable Interpersonal Distance (CID) Paradigm (a scale from 0-100)
• How was the preferred distance operationalized in Experiment 2?

  Calculated values for distance and angle between chairs
• What were the two dependent variables measured in Experiment 2?

  Mean average preferred distance and angle
• What was the age range and mean age of participants in the study?

  19-32 years and 25.29 years
• How many participants were left-handed?

  Five participants
• What was the primary research method used in Perry et al's study

  A laboratory experiment in an artificial environment
• Key features of the administration procedure that increased validity

  1. Double-blind procedure - prevents demand characteristics + eliminates bias
  2. Randomised order - reduces order effects