Biopsychology evaluations Flashcards
Fight or flight
2-
-contradicting theory eg. Gray suggests there’s a freeze response where people try to avoid confrontation all together. During the freeze response animals and humans are hyper-vigilant to decide the best course of action
-contradicting theory eg. Taylor et al. suggested females adopt a tend and befriend response in a dangerous situation. Women are more likely to protect their offspring and form alliances than to fight or flight.
Localisation of function
2+,2-
+supportive research eg. Peterson et al. used brain scans to show Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task + Broca’s during a reasoning task
+practical applications eg. when dealing with people who have had a stroke we can identify which area of he brain is affected by their symptoms
-contradicting research eg. Danelli reported EB who had his left hemisphere removed when he was 2. Found he could speak almost normal by the age of 17
-most evidence is case studies, which are very specific, so difficult to generalise
Split brain research
2+,2-
+supportive research eg. Rasmussen + Milner found left hemisphere= language, right= spatial/ artistic -shows brain is lateralised
+highly controlled eg. image shown for 200 milliseconds to make sure only one hemisphere was tested at a time
-lacks population validity as used 11 male pps + different pps had slightly different operations, difficult to generalise
-lacks ecological validity, tasks were controlled, doesn’t reflect how brains are used in everyday life, difficult to generalise
Plasticity + functional recovery
2+,2-
+practical applications, therapy can be used after brain trauma to aid recovery by retraining the brain
+research evidence eg. Schneider found people with college education recovered better from brain trauma than those who didn’t finish high school. Suggests a greater educational attainment could act as a cognitive reserve to aid recovery.
-Previous research was carried out in America where you have to pay for healthcare. college students may have better jobs, more money so get better healthcare
-Not straight forward or smooth as some research suggests. Therapy takes lots of time and effort and can be exhausting
fMRI
2+,2-
+non-invasive, doesn’t require anything to be inserted into the body or require exposure to harmful radiation, more ethical than other method
+objective, unlike other measures eg. verbal reports are subjective by pp and researcher, not affected by researcher bias, reliable
-impractical, expensive compared to other techniques and requires the pp to stay still to capture a clear image, may not be suitable for everyone
-low temporal resolution, takes 1-4 seconds to see an image, not instant
EEG
2+,2-
+very accurate, records brain activity in real time rather than producing a still image, researcher can measure brain activity when completing a certain task
+high temporal resolution, 1-10 milliseconds, changes seen almost immediately
-Not specific, only gives a general overview of electrical activity, can’t pinpoint the exact source of neural activity
-only detect activity in superficial regions of the brain, can’t reveal what’s going on deeper in the brain eg. hippocampus
ERP
2+,1-
+accurate as provides a continuous measurement of processing in response to a stimulus, good temporal resolution 1-10 milliseconds
+reduces demand characteristics as can measure how stimuli are responded to without the pp actually giving a response, reduces social desirability bias as pps have no conscious control over brain activity
-surface measurment, can’t detect activity deeper in the brain eg. hippocampus
Post mortem
1+,2-
+allow detailed analysis of the full brain which wouldn’t be possible through other methods, allows researchers to examine deeper regions eg. hippocampus
-confounding variables can influence the results of a post mortem eg. cause of death, time between death and post mortem, drug treatments, age- difficult to make comparisons
-problems with establishing causation, PM are retrospective so difficult to follow up on anything that arises, damage may not be a result of the suspected cause, difficult to make conclusions
Circadian rhythms
2+,2-
+supportive research eg. Folkard, 12 pps in dark cave for 3 wks. went to bed at 11.45 got up at 7.45. Clock as gradually sped up meaning a day was 22hrs long. none could adjust suggesting body clock can’t be overridden by external cues
+practical applications eg. shift workers have to regularly adjust sleep/wake cycle which has shown to cause consequences on health eg. 3x more likely to develop heart disease. Research into circadian rhythms can be beneficial for the economy
-confounding variable eg. pps weren’t isolated from artificial light, which can adjust circadian rhythm
-methodological problems eg. small sample size, difficult to generalise
Effect of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers
2+,2-
+research evidence eg. Siffre stayed in a cave for 179 days, but his circadian rhythm increased to longer than 24 hrs. Shows we have an internal body clock that tries to keep to a 24hr rhythm but without external cues it becomes longer than 24hrs.
+practical applications eg. helps to explain jet lag and effects of shift work, understanding interaction between endogenous pacemakers + exogenous zeitgebers can help reduce these problems
-Siffre’s research has methodological problems, because it was a small sample size of 1 pp, individual differences affect endogenous pacemakers. Difficult to generalise
-Research evidence lacks ecological validity as done in artificial environments like labs or caves, isn’t like everyday life so difficult to generalise
Biological rhythms: infradian and ultradian
2+,2-
+research evidence eg. Dement + Kleitman monitored sleep patterns of 9 pps in a lab. Brain activity was recorded on an EEG. Found everyone had periods of REM sleep, but if woken during REM they were more likely to remember their dreams, supports sleep cycle is an ultradian rhythm that goes through distinct phases
+practical applications eg. phototherapy used to treat people with Seasonal affective disorder as a lightbox stimulates strong light in the morning and evening which resets melatonin levels, relieved 60% of sufferers
-Research evidence has methodological problems eg. lacks ecological validity as done in a lab.
-contradicting evidence eg. Yang + Schank researched on 186 Chinese women and their menstrual cycles who lived with each other for a year. Found women living in groups cycles didn’t synchronise questioning the influence of exogenous zeitgebers, suggesting the menstrual cycle is only due to biological factors
