Core studies - Biological Psychology - Blakemore and Cooper Study

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To investigate the development of the primary visual cortex in cats and to find out if some of its properties such as orientation selectivity are innate or learned

Question 2

Sample

Answer 2

• 2 kittens
• Studied from birth until the completion of the research
• 1 kitten reared in horizontal environment
• 1 kitten reared in vertical environment
• All of the kittens were in the critical period of their lives from 0-3 months

Question 3

Research method

Answer 3

• Lab experiment
• Independent measures design

Question 4

What was the IV

Answer 4

Whether the kitten was reared in an environment with horizontal or vertical stripes

Question 5

What was the DV

Answer 5

Measurements of behavioural and physical blindness

Question 6

What was the Procedure

Answer 6

1. Kittens housed from birth in a dark room for 2 weeks
2. Put into a platform of a cylinder with either horizontal or vertical stripes for five hours a day and the rest of time in a dark room
3. This procedure stopped when they were 5 months old (beyond the ‘critical period’)
4. Taken for several hours a week from dark to well lit furnished rooms (table and chairs)
5. Visual reactions observed and recorded
6. At 7.5 months, two of the kittens anaesthetised for a neurophysiology test.

Question 7

What were the Behavioural findings

Answer 7

Kittens would not detect objects that were of a different orientation to that of the environment they were reared in

Question 8

What were the Physical Findings

Answer 8

Kittens raised in the vertical environment had problems with neurons in the horizontal recognition plane firing and vice versa for kittens raised in the horizontal environment

Question 9

Conclusions

Answer 9

1. Visual experiences in the early life of kittens can modify their brains and show brain plasticity
2. A kitten’s visual cortex may adjust itself during the critical period to the nature of its visual experience
3. The environment can determine perception at both a behavioural and physiological level - at least in cats

Question 10

Link to Key Theme

Question 11

Link to Area