Blakemore and Cooper

Question 1

What was the aim of B&C’s study

Answer 1

To investigate the physiological and behavioural effects of a limited visual experience and whether brain plasticity occurs due to experiences rather than nature.

Question 2

What type of experiment was used in B&C’s study how do you know?

Answer 2

Lab experiment

-The experiment took place in highly controlled, artificial environment

Question 3

Define: visual tracking

Answer 3

The ability to follow the path of a moving object

Question 4

Define: depth perception

Answer 4

The ability to judge the position of an object in space e.g to decide how far away it is

Question 5

Define: Neurons and Plasticity

Answer 5

Plasticity is the ability for the brain to change at a cellular level due to the demands placed upon it from the environment

Question 6

What is the primary visual cortex

Answer 6

The vision area of the brain

Question 7

Describe the participants used in B&C’s experiment

Answer 7

• The study was carried out on kittens studied from birth until the report was compiled. They were randomly allocated to one of the two conditions (vertical/horizontal)
• One kitten from each of the 2 conditions were used to study neurophysical effects (changes in the brain)
• The kittens were housed in complete darkness until 2 weeks old

Question 8

Name three controls used in B&C’s experiment

Answer 8

• All cats wore a cone around their heads
• All cats were housed in complete darkness until 2 weeks old
• All cats were kept in the cylinders for 5 hours at a time

Question 9

What was the independent variable in B&C’s study?

Answer 9

Whether the kittens were reared in a horizontal or vertical environment

Question 10

What was the dependent variable in B&C’s study?

Answer 10

• The kittens’ visuomotor behaviour once they were placed in an illuminated environment
• Whether the horizontally raised kittens could detect vertically aligned objects and vice versa

Question 11

In B&C’s study, how old were the kittens when the routine of placing them in the conditioned cylinders stopped?

Answer 11

5 months old

Question 12

What is a conclusion made from B&C’s study?

Answer 12

• Visual experiences in the early life of kittens can modify their brains and have profound perceptual consequences
• A kitten’s visual cortex may adjust itself during maturation to the nature of its visual experience
• Brain development is determined by the functional demands made upon it, rather than pre-programmed genetic factors (not innate)
• The environment can determine perception at both a behavioural and physiological level

Question 13

What are the advantages of using kittens in B&C’s study?

Answer 13

• Kittens have very similar eyesight and visual cortex to us
• It would be unethical to carry out the study on humans

Question 14

What are the disadvantages of using kittens in B&C’s study?

Answer 14

• Kitten’s are not the same as human’s so genralisability is limited
• The kittens cannot consent to take part in the study so can be seen as unethical

Question 15

What makes B&C’s study reliable?

Answer 15

• Standardised procedure
• High in control
• Laboratory experiment
• Objective data collected (brain scans)

Question 16

What were the two conditions used in B&C’s experiment

Answer 16

Horizontal cylinder condition or vertical cylinder condition