BIOPSYCHOLOGY EVALUATION Flashcards
strength of fight or flight
SRY gene, found in males promotes male aggression, this may prime males to release more adrenaline.
ADDS FURTHER EXPLANATION TO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESPONSES
weakness of fight or flight
suggested that first response is freeze to assess situation
this suggests the f&f response is limited and doesnt fully explain cognitive and biological factors of the human response to danger
weakness of fight or flight
also been suggested women tend and befriend in response to threat.
tend- more likely to protect offsprin
befriend- form alliances w other women
strength of lof
brain surgery targets specific parts of brain involved in mental illness.
44 people had area of brain removed, associated w OCD. 30% met criteria for successful surgery
strength 2 of LOF
researchers use brain scans to show how wernickes area was active during listening task and brocas a reading.
research proves semantic and episodic memories are located in prefrontal cortex.
evidence
weakness of LOF
a researcher removed areas of prefrontal cortex in rats that were learning a maze. no area improved
higher cognitive processes arent localised
strength of brocas
case study of tan, brocas patient who could only say ‘tan’
provides evidence for LOF
strength of hemispheric lateralisation
when pps with connected brains were asked about wider details of an image, the rh was active. when pp were asked to look at finer, lh was active
SUGGESTS BOTH HEMISPHERES PROCESS INFO DIFFERENTLY, even in connected brains
weakness of lateralisation
a researcher identified from 1000 brain scans that people use certain hemispheres for different tasks, however there was not a dominant one.
SUGGESTS BOTH HEMISPHERES WORK EQUALLY
weakness of lateralisation
sperrys split brain research was compared to control group that didnt have epilepsy. differences between them could be confoundings.
SUGGESTS FINDINGS MAY BE RESULT OF EPILEPSY
strength of plasticity
research playing super mario tor 30 mins a day, for 2 months led to increase in grey matter linked to skills used in games eg hippocampus
supports how plasticity can cause structural changes
weakness of plasticity
plasticity can sometimes have negative effects, eg: drug use causes poor cognitive function later in life.
60-80% of amputees have been known to develop pain in missing limb caused my plasticity
negative effects
weakness of plasticity
plasticity can sometimes have negative effects, eg: drug use causes poor cognitive function later in life.
60-80% of amputees have been known to develop pain in missing limb caused my plasticity
negative effects
strength of functional recovery
understanring recovery has allowed us to develop neurohabilitation and encourages new therapies.
real life application
weakness of functional recovery
research used to compare stroke recovery only used 5 pps and no control group.
research may lack validity due to small sample size
strength of post mortem
contributes to understanding of brain
brocas and wernickes area was found by a post mortem exam
crucial to identify localisation
strength 2 of post mortem
patient unalive, therefore is not uncomfortable for them
weakness of post mortem
damage may be decay from death
cannot establish cause and effect between damage in brain and problems when alive
weakness 2 of post mortem exam
patient may not be able to give informed consent before they die
strength of FMRI
non invasive
doesnt use radiation or involve inserting instruments
risk free
strength 2 FMRI
high spatial resolution
detailed images, by the mm
clear image
weakness of FMRI
expensive
cause and effect issues as it only detects changes in blood levels, cannot establish cause and effect
weakness 2 of FMRI
low temporal resolution
lag around 5 seconds between images and actual activity
strength ( 3 )of ERP
cheaper than FMRI
non invasive- only skull cap
more specific measurements
strength ( long ) of ERP
high temporal resolution- accurately defects brain activity at resolution of millisecond
weakness of ERP (2)
little research that uses ERP, difficult to confirm findings
based on EEG, raw data and background noise is hard to remove
weakness of ERP
low spatial resolution, only shows brainwaves, not images
cannot pinpoint exact locations
strength of circadian rhythms
research has shown a relationship between shift work and poor health
suggests research provides an understanding of consequences
strength of circadian rhythms
they co ordinate the bodies processes: heart rate, digestion
this has allowed ‘chronotheraputics’ to be developed, medical treatment corresponding to bio rhythms
INC EFFECTIVENESS IN DRUGS
weakness of circadian rhythms
research is based on small samples
some people have sleep/ wake varying between 13-65h
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
strength of infradian rhythms
synchronisation of m cycle evolutionary value.
eg: advantage for ancestors to become pregnant tg, allowing babies to have access to breast milk if mother died
ADAPTIVE STRATEGY
may be explained through natural selection
strength 2 of infradian rhythm
light therapy developed from SAD
resets bodies internal clock
80% have had reduced SAD
IMPROVE LIVES
weakness of infradian rhythms
many factors affecting m cycle eg: stress, change in diet, exercise
CONFOUNDINGS
strength of ultradian
sleep scientists show heavy sleep reduces with age. resulting in lack of sleep and therefore results in reduced alertness in old age
IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF AGE RELATED SLEEP
strength of ultradian
sleep research conducted in lab
high controlled
extraneous controlled
INTERNAL VALIDITY
weakness of ultradian
large difference between pps in terms of duration of sleep stage
specifically 3 and 4
differences biologically determined
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
weakness of SCN
other circadian rhythms that are influenced by SCN
researcher showed changing feeding patterns in micr affected rhythm of cells in liver but not sleep
research in scn may have overshadowed
weakness 2 of SCN
studies that isolate endogenous pacemakers is rare. pacemakers and zeitgebers interact and it makes little sense to seperate for research
cannot be studied endogenous pacemakers in isolation, lower validity for research who attempt to isolate the influnce
weakness 2 of SCN
studies that isolate endogenous pacemakers is rare. pacemakers and zeitgebers interact and it makes little sense to seperate for research
cannot be studied endogenous pacemakers in isolation, lower validity for research who attempt to isolate the influnce
weakness of exogenous zeitberges
a case study of a born blind man, had circadian rhythm of 24.9
social cues and regular meal times didnt affect sleep wake
SOCIAL CUES ALONE NOT RESPONSIBLE
strength of exogenous zeitgebers
people who live in places with little darkness in the summer and little light in winter have similiar sleeping patterns all year
suggests sleep wake is primarily controlled by endogenous pacemakers
