Biological Area- Sperry

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

He was a neurophysiologist
Wanted to support the idea that the brain consists of 2 parts
Carried out an experiment on participants who had undergone a split brain operation

Question 2

Corpus collosum

Answer 2

Bundle of fibres that link two sides of brain together

Question 3

Contra lateral control

Answer 3

Each hemisphere in our brain controls opposite parts of the body

Question 4

Lateralisation of function

Answer 4

Refers to speciality of each hemisphere of brain

Question 5

Aim

Answer 5

Study effects of the hemispheric disconnection and the functions of the separated hemispheres

Question 6

Research method

Answer 6

Quasi experiment due to naturally occurring group

Question 7

Sample

Answer 7

11 men who has severe epilepsy and previously undergone split brain operation

Question 8

Procedure, findings & conclusions - visual tasks

Answer 8

Objects presented to left visual field- info went to right brain- the participants could draw and describe. Left hemisphere does language

Objects presented to right visual field- info went to left brain- the participants could draw but not describe what or why. Right doesn’t focus on language

Nude pin presented to left visual field- info went to right hemisphere- the participants were giggly and embarrassed but couldn’t say why. Suggests there is a 2nd conscious entity

Question 9

Procedure, findings and conclusions- tactile tasks

Answer 9

Objects felt by right hand- info went to left brain and the participants could identify the object. Tells us left hemisphere is language

Objects felt by left hand- info went to right brain and the participants could not identify what it was and there was no con ions awareness of it. Tells us right is creative

Question 10

Ethics

Answer 10

All upheld

Question 11

Internal reliability

Answer 11

General trends in lateralisation of brain functions

Procedure controlled and in lab conditions

Question 12

External reliability

Answer 12

Small study- condition is very rare

Question 13

Construct validity

Answer 13

Could have been caused by epilepsy; life threatening nature of disorder

Question 14

Population validity

Answer 14

Sample cannot be generalised from because they had undergone major brain surgery so there were lots of individual differences

Question 15

Ecological validity

Answer 15

Not true to real life as eyes have time to move to transfer info to both visual fields

And in tactile tasks hands can touch

Question 16

Ethnocentrism

Answer 16

Not ethnocentric as it investigated a species- specific behaviour

Was because there were individual differences due to environmental influences and culture, could vary for those no born in western environment

Question 17

Links to biological area

Answer 17

It investigates regions of the brain and lateralisation of brain function. Specifically demonstrated importance of corpus collosum pathway between two sides of the brain and the function each one performs