Blakemore & Cooper - Biological Flashcards
What was the aim of Blakemore’s study?
The aim was to limit the visual experience of kittens to one orientation and to compare behaviours from these restricted visual environments on the kittens. It also aimed to investigate physiological effects on the kitten’s visual cortex. This study would therefore investigate the responses of the kittens’ brain development and illustrate brain plasticity in their developing visual sense/see whether brain development/plasticity occurs due to experiences rather than nature.
Procedure of blakemore’s study
- The kittens were housed from birth in a completely dark room
- from 2 weeks the visual experience of the kittens was manipulated due to the apparatus they were placed in.
- they spent 5 hours a day in the apparatus with a collar on
- Came to an end when they were months old
•neurophysiological findings: B and C on two of the cats at 7.5 months old.
Results of Blakemore’s study
- when first exposed to a well lit room, they showed clear visual deficits. Eg: no startle response, no visual placing, navigated by touch…
- After around 10 hours in a well lit room the deficits disappeared as they began to show startle response and visual placing.
- Some deficits remained. Eg: they walked very clumsily and tried to reach for things that were on the opposite side of the room.
- they showed no response to their unfamiliar orientation but a startle response to their familiar orientation.
- The neurophysiological findings found that the horizontally raised kitten had no neurones in the vertical orientation and vice versa. These distributions are totally abnormal.
Research method of Blakemore’s study
- Highly controlled lab experiment
* IV = manipulation of the type of visual environment
Sample of Blakemore’s study
Unclear. Just says that 2 kittens were used from the sample for the neurological part of the study.
Debates & issues linking to blakemore
Ethical - ✔️✖️
Validity - ✔️
Sample - ✖️
