Advanced research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Advanced research methods - Essay Example Some individuals are more susceptible to stresses than others. Individuals that are often stressed may have built up some form of a tolerance enabling them to work better under the stress and elevated cortisol than others. Further limitations of this study include the small sample size. In addition the research study does not determine the possible long term effects of individuals administered cortisone and the effects on the memory. Although the research demonstrated that individuals given higher doses (in this situation specifically women) were shown to have a decrease in short term memory the research does not assess the dose given and possible variables that could alter the results. Among these variables are certain psychological conditions such as anxiety, clinical depression, schizophrenia and thyroid problems. All of these psychological conditions can alter the way the individual perceives the stresses associated with high cortisone levels. Researchers also fail to establish i f participants are taking medication. Medication can affect the way cortisol effects the participants. In order to address these limitations in the study I proposed a further research be done in the form of a new study. I hypothesize that cortisol will decrease immediate memory performance but will yield long term memory increases for neutral stimuli. In this study the dependent variables is the cortisol the participant received. The independent variable will be the dosage of cortisol that was administered to the participant dependent upon the group (15mgs, 20mgs, 25mgs, 30mgs). Participants will be measured in 8x2 groups of 20 in two different conditions. One group will view fifty non-emotive pictures. The second group will be read a detailed story. The groups will be further divided into groups of ten through random assignment. When the participant takes the test is dependent upon which group of ten the participant is in. The