Sperry Flashcards
Method
Quasi experiment because the IV was naturally occurring. However, can be seen as a series of case studies because Sperry didn’t perform the surgeries.
IV - presence or absence of split brain
DV - recognising, drawing and naming objects
Participants
11 participants. Male and female
2 of the participants had surgery way before the experiment and 9 had it recently
They were all right handed
Visual test
Stimuli was either show to their LVF or their RVF or both. If they were only shown one then they had to cover the opposite eye. They run had to recall the object that they had seen on the screen
Visual test results
When image was shown to RVF they could name image and find item using right hand.
When image shown to LVF they couldn’t name it but they could draw the image and find with left hand
Tactile test
They had an object placed in one of their hands while they were blindfolded and they had to name the object
Tactile test results
Object in right hand they could name and describe it and find object in bag with right hand but not left
Object in left hand they couldn’t name or describe and could find item in bag with left hand but not right
Visual and tactile test
Image presented to their LVF or RVF then they had to find the correct object from behind the screen
Visual and tactile test results
RVF they could find the object with right but not left
LVF they could find object with the left hand but not the right
Test of right hemisphere
Shown geometric shapes in both visual fields then shown a nude picture in their LVF only
Right hemisphere test results
Participants giggles and blushed at the nude but they didn’t know why. They couldn’t say what it was because it didn’t got to the left hemisphere
Conclusion
Dominant hemisphere was the left because language and skills are based their. Right was responsible for pictures and emotions They give us the ability to speak.Severing the corpus callosum stops the hemispheres communicating so ha e their own stream of memories and consciousness.
Strengths
Quasi experiment so allows to to test variables hat wouldn’t be possible within a lab or unethical to manipulate
Aim
Effect of hemisphere deconnection and the functions of the left and right hemisphere