biological approach Flashcards
main assumptions BIOLOGICAL
behaviour cognitions and emotions can be explained through the working of the brain and hormones
Siminlarities and diff between peole can be explained in termns of biological factors
role of genetics, brain function, hormones and neurotransmiteers
backround and psychology - CANLI
Background
There appears to be a link between the amygdala and emotional experiences
Other studies showed that greater amygdala activation results in stronger memories, however they made use of independent groups design…
Psychology being investigated
fMRI scanning techniques can help us to understand emotional behaviour
Investigate the connection between amygdala activation and emotional-based long-term memory recall
Structural scans take detailed pictures of the structure of the brain
Functional scans are able to show activity levels in different areas of the brain.
aim CANLI
to investigate whether the amygdala is activated to different degrees depentding on the emotional intensity to a stimulus
to investigate whether the memory is better for a stimuli for which the amygdala had been activated to a greater extent
design sample cANLI
repeated measures, lab
volunteer
10 right-handed females
Females were chosen in this study because they show greater physiological activation than men, their activation is found to match their ratings of valance, therefore more reliable results
Right handed - all have memory on the same side of the brain, more reliable results
iv/dv CANLI +
standardisation and analysis
iv: Level of perceived emotional arousal
dv:
1. Emotional experience by participants in response to the scenes
2. Recall of the scenes by participants
For 1)
Participants had to choose from four buttons to indicate emotional arousal on a scale from
0 (‘not emotionally intense at all’) to 3 (‘extremely emotionally intense’).
all had same rating scale → more reliable
quantitative data → emotional experiences not subjective to the interpretation of the researcher → more valid results
Not qualitative → less detail on why some scenes resulted in different emotional experiences of participants → reduced scope of findings
Only four buttons → restriction of potential responses → possibly reduced validity
For 2)
Regard to whether they had seen the scenes before or not, if they had seen it, whether they remembered with certainty response ‘remember’ or had a less certain feeling of familiarity response ‘know’
procedure CANLI
96 scenes ‘International Affective Picture System’ stimuli set. (rated by valence and arousal) that were presented via an overhead projector and mirror to allow them to see it while in the fMRI scanner.
All of the participants had given informed consent
The individuals who were operating the fMRI scanner were fully trained and competent
The order of scenes were randomised across the participants, with each picture presented for a period of 2.88 seconds.
There was then an interval of 12.96 seconds, where participants viewed a fixation cross to prevent carryover effects of emotionality from one scene to the next
To measure activity in the brain, fMRI data were collected by a 1.5 Tesla fMRI scanner, which was used to measure blood–oxygen level-dependent contrast.
Three weeks after the first stage, participants were tested in an unexpected recognition test in the laboratory.
During this task they viewed all of the 96 previous scenes and 48 new scenes (foils selected to match the previously presented scenes in their valence and arousal characteristics)
RESULTS CANLI
Amygdala activation was significantly correlated with higher ratings of experienced emotional intensity
There was a positive correlation between emotional intensity and arousal. The r value= +0,68
There was a negative correlation between emotional intensity and valence. The r value= - 0,66
The follow-up memory task:
* Follow up memory task indicated that memory performance was better for scenes rated as highly emotionally intense than for scenes rated as less emotionally intense.
CONCLUSIONS CANLI
The amygdala is activated to different degrees depending on the emotional intensity of a stimulus
Memory is better for stimuli for which the amygdala had been activated to a greater degree (there is also a higher confidence in such memories)
Application to everyday life CANLI
Technique used and findings could be applied for diagnosis of overstimulation of the amygdala, could play a role in PTSD, could be used to help develop treatment to reduce overactivity of the amygdala
Associating emotions to information, such as thinking of emotional examples for concepts learnt in school could help take advantage of amygdala activation and remember information for better and for longer
Useful for advertising agencies - If emotionally intense information is more likely to be recognized or recalled at a later date then advertisements that will appear on television or in magazines may be designed specifically to contain intense imagery
aim Dement and K and IV/DVs for each
Investigate in which stage of the sleep dreaming occurs - REM or nREM
IV: stage of sleep DV: no forecalled dreams from each
Can participants accurately estimate the length of time they slept
IV: duration of sleeo DV: no of correct dream lenght estimates
Investigate the relationship between the directing of eye movement during sleep and direction of activity in dreaming
IV: direction of eye movement DV: dream content
Does the duration of REM sleep correlate with the no of words used to describe a reported dream?
the toatl no of wordls to describe a dream was correlated to the duration of. dream
DESIGN and sample DEMENT
Lab Experiment (REM and nREM occur naturally, conducted in a lab)
Use of self reports, observation
Design: Repeated Measure (all participants were woken at various points)
Sampling technique not stated
Initially 9 participants ( 2 withdrew, 2 only slept 1 night)
5 participants studied intensively
7 males 2 females
4 used minimally - to confirm results
Slept in the laboratory of the University of Chicago
data dement
quantitive: instances of dream recall, dream lengths estimations, no of words used to describe dream
qualitative: description of dreams
procedure DEMENT
they went to bed in a lab, electrodes attached near the eyes, on the scalp
as sleep began researcher observed EEG trecord and noted when a participant entered REM
suring REM the expreimented pressed a button to ring a bell situatef next to wake them
if a dream was recalled the etails were spoken into a recorder, the same was done when participants were in nREM and when the experimened wanted to test the duration of REM sleep participants were woken up after 5/15 min
controls DEMENT
All participants were asked to not drInk alcohol(depressant) or caffeine (stimulant)
All participants were asked to report the laboratory their normal bedtime
The way in which the participants were woken (bell) and the way in which their dreams were recorded (tape recorder) were standardised
No contact between experimenter and participant
Room for sleeping in quiet and dark
results DEMENT
Around 80% dreams were recalled when woken in REM compared to 7% when woken in NREM
Horizontal eye movement: watching two people throwing tomatoes at each other, driving a car at an intersection a car sped from left to right, driving a car and looking ahead then a man appeared on the left
Vertical eye movement: climbing up a ladder and looking down, bouncing a ball and throwing into the basket
Little or no movement: dreams about looking into distance, such as driving a car
The no. of words used to describe a dream revealed significant positive correlations with the length of the REM period
