Biological Area Flashcards

Question

How socially sensitive is the research of Sperry?

Answer 1

It can be socially sensitive as people with a commissurotomy could be discriminated against for not having the ability to do certain things anymore

Answer 2

Sperry carried out controlled laboratory experiments and these fulfil the scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication. As it would be possible to prove false what Sperry is saying about the abilities of split-brain patients by replicating his study with a fresh sample of such patients, in theory his work is falsifiable.

Answer 3

Mischel et al (1972) tested 4-year-old children. Putting a marshmallow in front of them, the child was told the researcher would be leaving and they could either eat it immediately or wait and get an extra marshmallow when the researcher returned.

Answer 4

(Experiment 1 – behaviour) To see if low delayers on the marshmallow test at age 4 years (i.e. people who found it hard to delay gratification at that age) still struggled with resisting temptation in adulthood. (Experiment 2 – the brain) To examine activity in areas of the brain thought to be associated with the ability to resist temptation.

Answer 5

Experiment 1- 27 low delayers and 32 high delayers Experiment 2- 11 low delayers and 15 high delayers

Answer 6

Experiment 1: ppts were shown a series of faces on a laptop computer. Some of these had neutral expressions but, in the hot version of the task, ppts saw either happy or fearful faces. Ppts were told to press a button when they saw a particular expression on a person's face. (GO on a fearful face, NO GO on a happy face) Experiment 2: ppts had to repeat the Go/NoGo task but this time inside a fMRI scanner

Answer 7

Exp 1: Both groups performed with a high level of accuracy on the 'Go' trials in both hot and cool versions. Low delayers made more mistakes on the hot task Exp 2: Both groups scored highly on accuracy on go tasks, low delayers made more false alarms (low delayers 14.5% and high delayers 10.9%)

Answer 8

Exp 1: the ability to delay gratification is a relatively stable characteristic within people Exp 2: differences between people in their ability to show self control and delay gratification can be related to neurobiological differences.

Answer 9

Casey et al .’s study falls within the biological area as it is investigating whether there are specific regions of the brain that impact on our ability to resist the temptation of rewarding stimuli. Specifically, it provided empirical evidence that our biology has a significant part to play in our ability to defer gratification.

Answer 10

In relation to the key theme of regions of the brain, Casey et al .’s study revealed that there are two regions of the brain that have an impact on our ability to resist temptation and defer gratification. Specifically, the study found empirical evidence for Metcalfe and Mischel’s ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ processing systems in the brain that affect self-control. The ‘hot’ system is in the ventral striatum and the ‘cool’ system is in the inferior frontal gyrus.

Answer 11

Casey et al . conducted their study under controlled conditions, using standardised instructions, testing and procedures. This high level of control means that the study is high in design validity, as extraneous variables that could impact on the study have been strictly controlled. There are problems with the sample of Casey et al .’s study that make us question the study’s population validity In terms of ecological validity, the Go/No-Go tasks in this study are contrived tests that do not have a direct equivalent in everyday life. While the momentarily flashed static image of a happy face may elicit a realistic response from the participant, it is possible that it may not. Therefore Casey et al .’s findings might not tell us how people respond under normal conditions. Similarly, being scanned in an fMRI scanner while doing a Go/No-Go task is not something that a person would have to do every day and the strangeness of it could have had an impact on the performance of the participants on the test.

Answer 12

One of the weaknesses of longitudinal studies that are conducted over decades (as in this study) is that they are not timeand cost-effective to replicate. For instance, if we wanted to repeat Casey’s study to establish its reliability, we would have to start out with four-year-olds and follow them through into their forties. It would therefore not be easy to establish the reliability of Casey’s research.

Answer 13

On the one hand, since Casey’s study tells us that self-control and deferred gratification is affected by the anatomy and physiognomy of our brain, we could argue that Casey’s study is not ethnocentric as it was investigating a species specific behaviour. On the other hand, the research was only conducted in America, and it may well be that being raised in a culture of capitalism and consumerism, which puts temptation in people’s way more than other cultures might, means that there may not be as many ‘low delayers’ in other cultures. This would mean the findings of this study were ethnocentric and we should be cautious in assuming that a lack of self-control is either ‘natural’ or a universal human trait.

Answer 14

The difference can be clearly seen in the Marshmallow Test at age four years, and Casey’s study, among others, shows the stability of this lack of self-control over time. On the other hand, by the time we are four we have learned a great deal about the ability of our environment to reward us, and will also have seen others modelling resisting temptation or not by that age, so nurture could also have an influence.

Answer 15

Are we born with brain differences that mean that some of us can easily resist temptation and work towards long-term goals and others of us are pre-wired to become ‘low delayers’ and vulnerable to a range of threats to our mental and physical health later in life.

Answer 16

It's more reductionist because it focuses on the single factor of being either low delayer or high delayer and how it affects the ability to delay gratification

Answer 17

It's more individual because being a low or high delayer is something that is part of our personality and something that is innate to us.

Answer 18

Casey et al .’s point out that ‘resisting temptation in favour of long-term goals is important for individual, societal and economic functioning’ Studies have linked being a high delayer aged four years to the development of better social-cognitive and emotional coping in adolescence and it also protects against physical and mental health problems in middle age, e.g. ‘high BMI, cocaine/crack use, features of borderline personality disorder, anxious overreactions to rejection, and marital divorce/ separation’ Casey suggests that such predictions are significant.

Answer 19

The study was conducted ethically as the participants consented to be studied, no deception was used and they were neither harmed nor unduly stressed by the experimental tests. The fact that a number of participants who had taken part in experiment 1 chose not to take part in experiment 2 demonstrates that they clearly had the right to withdraw.

Answer 20

It can be socially sensitive because people who are low delayers can be discriminated against for not being able to delay gratification as well as high delayers.

Answer 21

Casey et al . carried out a controlled laboratory experiment and this method fulfils the scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication. As with many biological area studies, this supports the claim that psychology is a scientific discipline.

Answer 22

In terms of the extent to which Casey et al .’s study changes our understanding of the key theme of ‘regions of the brain’, it can be seen as adding to Sperry’s research by telling us about the role that other regions of the brain appear to play (apart from the corpus callosum); it also suggests other ways to research regions of the brain (e.g. by using fMRI scanning).

Answer 23

Casey et al .’s study does not change our understanding of cultural diversity, since both Sperry and Casey were studying the brain structure or function of individuals in America, and their studies were not concerned with social or cultural differences.

Answer 24

However, Casey et al . were studying typical participants whereas Sperry’s were atypical, having suffered severe epilepsy and having had a commissurotomy.

Answer 25

Casey’s study changed our understanding of individual diversity as it suggests that there are brain differences in typical people in the areas of self-control that can explain individual differences in response to a range of ‘tempting’ stimuli in the environment.

Answer 26

Brain plasticity - your brain adapts and changes according to what you do in your life. Blakemore & Cooper were inspired by the work of Hirsch & Spinelli. They were interested in neurons in the visual cortex of the brain. They found they could change the way the neurons in the visual cortex aligned themselves by controlling what kittens could see as they grew up. Kittens were raised could only see vertical stripes in one eye and horizontal stripes in the other eye. When the cats were then released into an everyday environment, the researchers found that they had visual impairments.

Answer 27

The aim was to investigate how being raised in a visually restrictive environment would affect the visual brain development of cats. Compare the behavioural consequences of raising kittens seeing only horizontal or vertical stripes. Investigate the neurophysiological effect on neurons in kittens’ visual cortex (brain plasticity)

Answer 28

2 kittens from birth until approximately 1 year of age.

Answer 29

The newborn kittens were kept in a completely dark room for the first 2 weeks of their life Kittens were put into a striped cylinder for 5 hours a day. They wore a black collar so were only able to see vertical/horizontal stripes. At five months, the kitten was taken into a well lit room with furniture to be test their behaviour

Answer 30

Visual deficits when first released into a 'normal' room: -They showed 'behavioural blindness' in that the kittens raised in the horizontal environment could not detect vertically aligned objects and vice versa -When a rod was waved in front of them, the cats would reach out to play with it but only when held in the same orientation as the visual environment they were raised in -The neuron's in their brain had been re-wired (ones that usually responded to horizontal orientations now responded to vertical orientations in the vertically raised kitten. Showing brain plasticity

Answer 31

The difference between the kittens suggests that neurons can change their preferred orientation according to the stimulation they receive, matching the ability of the brain to respond to the features in its visual input.

Answer 32

Blakemore and Cooper’s study falls within the biological area as it is investigating the effect of the environment on the developing brain in cats. Specifically, it demonstrated the plasticity of the kittens’ brains as neurones originally primed to prefer either a horizontal or vertical orientation would switch to prefer the opposing orientation when the early visual environment the kitten experienced seemed to require this adaptation.

Answer 33

In relation to the key theme of brain plasticity, Blakemore and Cooper’s study demonstrated that in the developing brains of cats the visual neurones will change their preferred orientation such that a cat raised in a restricted horizontally oriented environment will develop horizontal vision only and a cat raised in a restricted vertically oriented environment will develop only vertical vision.

Answer 34

The study was conducted with a high level of control so the researchers could be confident that the findings were caused by the restricted visual environment in which the kittens were raised. This means the study had high design validity. The researchers measured the effects of the restricted visual environments in which the kittens were raised using both behavioural and neurophysiological measures. These measures both showed evidence that the kittens raised in the horizontal visual environment did not see in the vertical orientation and that the opposite was true of the kittens raised in the vertical environment. These findings are concurrently valid and each supports the researchers’ claims that the development of the kittens’ brains had been influenced by their environment. It is low in population validity as cats are not representative of humans and therefore results may not be able to be generalised to the human brain. It can also be argue that this is not ecologically valid, this is because only looking at vertical/or horizontal lines and being trapped in a cylinder of a prolonged period of time is not true to life.

Answer 35

As the study was conducted under controlled conditions and the researchers give detailed descriptions of their procedure then it would be possible for this study to be repeated and tested to see if it had test– retest reliability. The study does not explicitly state the sample size, just that two kittens – one raised in a vertical environment and the other in a horizontal environment – were used for the neurological part of the study. Ideally, the study would have been carried out on a larger sample of cats, to establish that these were not ‘fluke’ results.

Answer 36

This study is from comparative psychology and studied cats. It is not relevant, therefore, to the discussion of ethnocentrism in research.

Answer 37

The study by Blakemore and Cooper showed that the development of visual orientation in cats was a product of both nature and nurture. Nature provided the kittens with neurones with a preferred orientation, but the restricted visual environment in which the kittens were raised meant that nurture had a strong effect on how their brains developed in terms of orientation of their vision. The kittens’ visual neurones adapted to the environment that the kittens experienced.

Answer 38

It can be more deterministic because it suggests that you will get accustomed to your environment, no matter what. For example, the kittens became accustomed to their environment, either horizontal or vertical lines and it affected their brains and capabilities.

Answer 39

More reductionist because it suggests that the single factor of the environment influences what happens to the visual neuron's of the kittens.

Answer 40

It is more situational as the circumstances the kittens were placed in, either horizontal/vertical environment influenced their visual neurones.

Answer 41

It's useful as it explains how the environment can influence bodily functions, especially like visual neurones.

Answer 42

The study was conducted within the strict ethical guidelines laid down by the Home Office for studies conducted on animals.

Answer 43

It isn't particularly socially sensitive as kittens cannot be subject to discrimination and prejudice from this research.

Answer 44

Blakemore and Cooper carried out controlled laboratory observations and experiments and these fulfil the scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication. As with many biological area studies, this supports the claim that psychology is a scientific discipline. In theory, it would be possible to prove false what Blakemore and Cooper are saying about the impact of the visual environment on the visual neurones of kittens by replicating their study with a fresh sample of kittens; as such, their work is falsifiable.

Answer 45

This study focuses on the role of the hippocampus. This is a part of the brain located in the temporal lobe in the limbic system. Humans have two hippocampi: one on each side of the brain.

Answer 46

To investigate the differences in the hippocampi of London taxi drivers compared to controls. Also, to further investigate functions of the hippocampus in spatial memory.

Answer 47

16 male London taxi drivers, all right handed, between ages 32 and 62, been licensed for at least 18 months, all passed ‘The Knowledge’.

Answer 48

Taxi drivers had a MRI scan of their brains taken. The scans were then compared against MRI scans of a control group. The scans of the 16 taxi drivers and the 50 people in the control group were then analysed in two ways: -Pixel counting: a 2D measurement of area. -VBM: a 3D measurement of volume. It was the volume of grey matter that was measured the MRI scans of taxi drivers were subjected to further analysis, correlation between length of time as a taxi driver and volume of grey matter in hippocampus

Answer 49

-Taxi drivers had significantly more grey matter in the posterior of their hippocampus but significantly less grey matter in the anterior part. -There was a negative correlation between time spent as a taxi driver and volume of anterior hippocampi.

Answer 50

The study showed regional differences between the hippocampi of London taxi drivers compared to a control group of non-taxi drivers. It seems that relying on navigational skills as part of your job is associated with a redistribution of grey matter in the hippocampus (from the anterior to the posterior hippocampus).

Answer 51

Maguire et al .’s study falls within the biological area as it is investigating neuroplasticity in the brains of adult human subjects. Specifically, it demonstrated the plasticity of the hippocampi in London taxi drivers. The study also used an MRI scanner to gather data and this gives biological data. In this case, a structural MRI scanner was used to measure grey matter volume in the hippocampi of the participants.

Answer 52

In relation to the key theme of brain plasticity, Maguire et al .’s study demonstrated that the fully developed adult human brain could change and adapt to environmental demands placed upon it. Specifically, the study showed brain plasticity in the hippocampi of taxi drivers in London on ‘The Knowledge’, with the hippocampi reducing in volume in the anterior hippocampus and increasing in volume in the posterior hippocampus with time spent as a black cab London taxi driver.

Answer 53

Matching of the gender, handedness, good psychological and physical health, and age of taxi drivers and control participants for the pixel counting gave a high level of control over the study and means that the study is high in design validity. The volume differences in the hippocampus were established by two concurrently valid independent measures (VBM and pixel counting), supporting the validity of the findings. The validity of this theory is supported by the correlational evidence, which showed that the changes in hippocampal volume correlated with time spent as a taxi driver. Changes in the hippocampus were more marked as time spent as a taxi driver increased. The validity of the findings is also supported by the fact that evidence from comparative studies with animals and brain-damaged patients are consistent with the findings from the taxi drivers.

Answer 54

As this was a highly controlled laboratory experiment that collected quantitative data, this study could be repeated and tested to see if it had test– retest reliability

Answer 55

On the one hand, since brain plasticity in the hippocampus in response to the spatial demands of our environment is affected by the anatomy and physiognomy of our brain, we could argue that Maguire et al .’s study is not ethnocentric as it was investigating a species-specific behaviour. On the other hand, it could be that there is something unique to the experience of being on The Knowledge, or something different about those cab drivers who succeed on the course when many drop out, that might mean that the results are in fact only representative of London cab drivers.

Answer 56

Maguire et al .’s study shows how nurture in the form of the environmental demands placed upon the spatial memory of black cab London taxi drivers led to brain plasticity in their hippocampi. Their spatial knowledge improved with experience and as their experience increased so their hippocampi changed to accommodate the demands placed on their spatial memory.

Answer 57

It is more deterministic because it suggests that if you take the 'Knowledge' that your hippocampi volume will change.

Answer 58

It's more reductionist because it focuses on the single factor of whether or not taxi drivers who have taken the knowledge have a different volume hippocampus.

Answer 59

It can be situational because the circumstances of having learnt the knowledge has influenced the volume of their hippocampus.

Answer 60

The study is useful in that it furthers our understanding of how the brain works, and provides evidence about the plasticity of the brain. As the authors suggest, there are implications for braindamage sufferers in what this study reveals about neuroplasticity: rehabilitation of individuals who have suffered brain damage might be assisted if it was clear which areas of the brain are capable of adaptation and what environmental cues might stimulate them to change.

Answer 61

no ethical concerns: the participants were not deceived; they gave their informed consent; they had the right to withdraw; and they were not negatively affected by their experience.

Answer 62

It can be socially sensitive as taxi drivers may be subject to discrimination for having different volume hippocampi and not being able to remember more spatial information.

Answer 63

Maguire et al . carried out a highly controlled experiment and this method fulfils the scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication. As with many biological area studies, this supports the claim that psychology is a scientific discipline. In addition, the data were gathered using an MRI scanner and this objective method of measurement also means that this study can be considered to be highly scientific.

Answer 64

In terms of the extent to which Maguire et al .’s study changes our understanding of the key theme of ‘brain plasticity’, it clearly adds to Blakemore and Cooper’s study in confirming that brain plasticity can occur, but this time in humans rather than cats and in the hippocampus rather than in visual neurones.

Answer 65

investigating the anatomy and physiognomy of the brain. Brain imaging techniques, such as structural and functional MRI scans, allow research to be carried out to study the live and active human brain, and to identify individual differences in participants’ brains that may help to explain individual diversity.

Answer 66

It would be difficult to establish reliability of either study. In sperry it would not be possible to find a suitable sample for a replication sperry's study since commissurotomy is no longer commonly a treatment for epilepsy. Similarly, it would also be difficult to replicate as it was a longitudinal study testing ppts from the age of 4 through to their 40s The studies both demonstrate the functions of specific regions of the brain. Sperry shows that the corpus callosum plays an important role in communication between the two hemispheres. Similarly in Casey, the ventral striatum and inferior frontal gyrus are important in self control

Answer 67

Casey's study is more generalisable because research was conducted on abnormal subjects, ones that had severe epilepsy. Whereas Sperry's study studied the brains of normal adults and therefore Casey's results may be more generalisable The technology used in the studies. In sperry, there was no benefit of technology, so any activity from the right hemisphere could only be inferred from what the ppts could and couldn't do. Whereas in Casey, the use of the fMRI machine helped to scientifically observe the functions of the regions of the brain they were interested in.

Answer 68

The research aimed to gather objective evidence. In Blakemore and Cooper, took neurophysiological measures of the visual neurones of the kittens. Similarly, in Maguire this was achieved by using MRI scans to objectively measure the volume of grey matter in the hippocampus of the taxi drivers. The studies both showed examples of brain plasticity. For example in Blakemore and Cooper, the neurones of the kittens were the same as the environment they were brought up in which is different to a normal cats. Similarly in Maguire, the grey matter volume redistributed to more in the posterior and less in the anterior in the taxi drivers.

Answer 69

The sample, in Blakemore and Cooper, 2 kittens were the sample. Whereas, in Maguire, there were 16 taxi drivers who were all right handed. What they were studying. Blakemore and Cooper were studying the brain of cats whereas, Maguire was studying the brain of humans.