Classic Study Flashcards
What is the classic study for biological psychology
Raine (1997)
What was Raines (1997) aim?
To get the hypothesis that pp (murderers) pleading NGRI would show brain dysfunctions in areas of the brain associated with violence
Specifically the amygdala and pre frontal cortex amongst others
Why was Raines (1997) aim useful to consider?
Further our understanding of potential causes of violence
Provide evidence for the nature nurture debate
Also how those pleading NGRI may need different prison sentences
Who were Raines (1997) pp?
Experimental group:
41pp, 39 male, 2 female
All had some form of brain damage, such as 6 had Sz
Control group:
41pp, 39 male, 2 female
Control group were match for age and gender
None had any history of mental health apart from 6 who had Sz
What was Raines (1997) procedure?
All did CPT (focussing on blurred numbers)
Pp started this 10 minutes before being injected with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)
Then carried on with CPT for 32 minutes, then had PET scan
What were Raines (1997) findings?
Lower activity in the pre-frontal cortex
Higher activity in the right thalamus
Higher activity in the right amygdala, lower activity in the left amygdala
What do Raines (1997) findings suggest?
Pp pleading NGRI do have brain dysfunctions in areas of the brain associated with violence
What as the generalisability of Raine like?
High, large sample
Reliability of Raine (1997)
High,
Standardised procedure, set events happened in a set order, so easily repeatable and highly reliable
Applicability of Raine (1997)?
Furthers our knowledge of potential causes of violence,
provides evidence suggesting nature
Points to NGRI having different prison sentences such as time spent on a psychiatric ward
Validity of Raine (1997)?
CPT was an artificial task and may not accurately represent differences in brain function relating to violence and so the results do lack validity
However, can’t change brain function
However, interpreting the brain function can still be subjective
However, taken of mess for two weeks
Ethics of Raine (1997)?
All ethical guidelines were adhered to
