AQA Psychology A Level - Cognition and Development

Topic 1 - Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

…

Key facts about Piaget (3)

1. acclaimed Child Psychologist from Switzerland

2. first to develop theory on children’s thinking

3. believed child’s thinking was qualitatively different to adult’s thinking because their schema were not as detailed

Define ‘schema’ (1)

• what schema’s are considered innate? (1)

• a cluster of related facts usually based on previous experiences, and used to generate future expectations

e.g. a basic schema for a dog could be ‘fur, four legs, wet nose’

• innate schema = the human face - babies born knowing what human face looks like

Which 2 processes did Paiget believe we used to develop our schemas in childhood?

1. Assimilation

2. Accommodation

Define assimilation (1)

• give an example (in terms of dogs)

Assimilation:

• process of fitting new experiences into existing schema without making any change

Example:

> as we encounter more dogs, we gather more information about them and add it to our schemas of a dog (assimilation) e.g. some can be spotty, fluffy, big = more detailed schema

Define accommodation (1)

• give an example (in terms of dogs)

Accommodation:

• process of adjusting or changing existing schemas because new, conflicting information creates disequilibrium

Example:

> a cat has fur, four legs, wet nose but not a dog - so need a new schema for cat (e.g. include whiskers)

> a wild dog is similar to a dog - so need to adjust schema to include wild dogs

Define ‘equilibrium’ (1)

Define ‘lifespan learning’ (3)

Equilibrium:

• experiencing a balance between existing schemas and new experiences (using assimilation and accommodation)

Lifespan learning:

• process of assimilating and accommodating new experiences in life

• occurs through trial and error (discovery learning), where we discover answers ourselves rather than receiving direct answers

• so only possible when our minds are mature enough to understand new information

Describe what Piaget meant by equilibration (4)

1. the process of restoring mental equilibration (balance)

2. follows a state of disequilibrium/mental imbalance, where incoming info isn’t consistent with existing schema

3. balancing existing schema with new info to adapt to new experiences

4. involves process of assimilation (incorporating new info to existing schema) and accommodation (changing existing schema in light of new info)

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Innate schema

P - research support for innate schemas in infants

E - studies have found infants as young as four days old spent longer looking at image most closely resembling a face than images with jumbled features

E - shows some schemas may be innate e.g. human faces (as Piaget suggested), as children have a preference towards them

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Effectiveness of formal methods

P - research against discovery learning

E - research found children taught via formal methods generally performed better in reading, maths and english, which implies formal methods are more effective to acquire these skills than letting child discover/understand for themselves

E - shows discovery learning aspect of Piaget’s theory maybe inaccurate/ineffective during children’s cognitive development

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Other factors

P - other factors involved in cognitive development

E - Sinclair-de-Zwart found non-conservers used absolute terms like ‘big’ and single terms for different dimensions (e.g. using ‘small’ for ‘short’, ‘thin’, or ‘few’), conservers had greater vocab (e.g. ‘larger’) but when such words taught to non-conservers, 90% still unable to conserve

E - shows language may affect children’s ability to develop, and not all children learn in same way (not generalisable)

Topic 2 - Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development

…

Name the 4 stages of intellectual development (as stated by Piaget) - and ages

1. Sensorimotor (0-2 years)

2. Pre-operational (2-7 years)

3. Concrete operational (7-11 years)

4. Formal operational (11+ years)

Describe the sensorimotor stage

• what are infants learning at this stage (1)

• how do they do this (1)

• define object permanence (1)

• describe Piaget’s study for this - procedure (2) and findings (2)

• learning to coordinate sensory input (what they see, hear) with motor actions (hand movements, sensations)

• done through circular reactions - repeat actions over and over again to test sensorimotor relationships

• object permanence develops - understanding that an object still exists even when out of sight

• Piaget’s study:

  • Procedure - child given a toy to play with, then toy was covered with a blanket while child was watching

  • Findings - children under 8 months didn’t search for toy, children over 8 months searched for toy = object permanence

Describe Bower and Wishart’s alternative study into object permanence

• procedure (3)

• findings (2)

Procedure:

• lab experiment with 1-4 month old infants

• waited for infant to reach for an object, then turned lights off so object not visible

• filmed infant using infrared camera

Findings:

• infants continued to reach for object for up to 90 seconds after it wasn’t visible

• shows object permanence may develop earlier than Piaget claimed

Describe the pre-operational stage

• what is child’s logic like (1)

• define egocentrism (1)

• describe Piaget’s study for this - procedure (2) and findings (2)

• define class inclusion (1)

• describe Piaget’s study for this - procedure (2) and findings (2)

• believe most things are alive e.g. table, rely on appearance rather than reality

• egocentrism - children only see the world from their own perspective/viewpoints (stops at age 7)

• Piaget’s study:

  • Procedure - (three mountains task) doll placed in front of three mountain models opposite from child, children had to choose from set of pictures which one showed doll’s perspective

  • Findings - 4 year old children chose picture from their own perspective, not doll’s

• class inclusion - ability to understand difference between subcategories (subordinate) and broader (superordinate) categories → spaniel is both a dog (sub) and an animal (broad)

• Piaget’s study:

  • Procedure - showed children 4 toy cows (3 black and 1 white) and asked ‘Are there more black cows or more cows?’

  • Findings - pre operational children said more black cows (incorrect)

Describe Hughes alternative study into egocentrism (‘Policeman Doll’ study)

• procedure (5)

• findings (2)

Procedure:

• lab study of 30 children aged 3½ to 5 years old

• children shown a model of 2 walls that formed a cross

• a policeman doll and a boy doll were placed in certain sides/sections of the cross

• child instructed to hide boy doll from policeman by putting it in different sections of the cross

• study repeated using 2 policeman dolls

Findings:

• 90% of children able to successfully hide doll

• suggests children able to see situation from different perspective during pre-operational age, unlike egocentrism as Piaget suggested

Describe the concrete operational stage

• what is the child’s logic like (1)

• define conservation (1)

• describe Piaget’s study for this - procedure (4) and findings (2)

• define seriation (1) - give example

• define transitivity (1) - give example

• better reasoning abilities due to conservation, but still only applicable to physical objects (struggle with abstract ideas/imagination)

• conservation - ability to understand that properties of objects (e.g. number) stay the same, despite changes in appearance (e.g. spatial arrangement)

• Piaget’s study:

  • Procedure - showed children two rows of counters, asked if same amount in each row (there was, so child agreed), then spread out one row while child watched, then asked again if same amount in each row

  • Findings - children under 7 said there wasn’t, while children over 7 there was = able to conserve

• seriation - ability to mentally arrange objects/concepts in a quantifiable dimension e.g. height (shortest to tallest)

• transitivity - ability to understand relational properties between objects/concepts e.g. if x is bigger than y, and y is bigger than z, then x is bigger than y and z

Describe McGarrigle and Donaldson’s alternative study into conservation (‘Naughty Teddy’ study)

• procedure (4)

• findings (2)

Procedure:

• lab study of 80 children aged 4 to 6 years old

• children shown 2 rows of counters and asked if same amount in each row (there was)

• glove puppet ‘Naughty Teddy’ accidentally messed up one row of counters in front of child to spread it out and experimenter pretended to be cross with teddy

• child asked again if same amount of counters in each row

Findings:

• 62% children answered correctly, so could conserve (if change is accidental)

• suggests Piaget’s study had demand characteristic - deliberately changing counters and asking again

Describe the formal operational stage

• define idealistic thinking (1) - give example

• define hypothetico-deductive reasoning (1) - give example

• describe Piaget’s study for this - procedure (2) and findings (2)

• idealistic thinking - ability to imagine how things might be if certain changes are made e.g. thinking about an ideal world

• hypothetico-deductive reasoning - ‘thinking like a scientist’ e.g. developing hypotheses and testing them to determine causal relationships in a systematic way

• Piaget’s study:

  • Procedure - children given different lengths of string and weights to be attached, child had to investigate what factor affected speed of string/pendulum swinging with varying string lengths and number of weights

  • Findings - children under 11 changed weight and string at same time, children over 11 systematically changed string length and weights = systematic problem solving

Describe Robert Siegler’s alternative study into hypothetico-deductive reasoning

• procedure (3)

• findings (2)

Procedure:

• children given balance beam task

• discs placed on either side of centre of balance

• researcher changed number of discs or moved them along beam and asked children to predict which way balance would go

Findings:

• only children aged 13-17 were able to successfully predict effect on balance by considering interaction between weights and distance

• suggests hypothetico-deductive reasoning may occur later than Piaget suggested

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Generalisability

P - Piaget’s results difficult to generalise

E - Piaget came from and used children from a middle-class, European background who valued academic abilities, other cultures and social classes may value more basic level of concrete operations e.g. making things rather than thinking about abstract ideas

E - shows cultural bias (beta bias), as differences between cultures and classes minimised, and uses and emic approach, so not generalisable

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Applicability of theory in education

P - Piaget’s theories has had impact on effectiveness of education

E - Piaget’s theories imply certain concepts should only be taught when a child is biologically ‘ready’ so they can fully grasp it, the Plowden Report drew extensively on Piaget’s theory which led to major changes in UK education

E - shows important real-life applications of Piaget’s theory

Topic 3 - Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development

…

Key facts about Vygotsky’s theory (4)

• what did he agree with Piaget

• ‘what did he put greater emphasis on

• what did he believe was the prime determinant of development

• what did he believe in terms of nature and nurture

1. agreed with Piaget that child’s thinking is qualitatively different to adults

2. placed greater emphasis on social context

3. believed culture was the prime determinant of individual development

4. so believed development was environmental (nurture) - children’s interaction with others

   → (Piaget was on nature side of debate)

Name the key terms associated with Vygotsky’s theory (7)

1. Elementary functions

2. Higher mental functions

3. Experts

4. Semiotics (e.g. language)

5. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

6. Scaffolding

7. Social and Individual level

Define elementary (2) and higher (3) mental functions

Elementary functions:

• children born with these e.g. perception, memory

• a form of natural development (biological)

Higher mental functions:

• transformed from elementary functions by influence of culture

• are exclusively human

• e.g. use of mathematical systems

Describe the role of experts as an influence from culture (3)

Describe the role of semiotics (language) as an influence from culture (4)

Role of experts:

• anyone with greater knowledge than child is an expert

• child learns through problem-solving experiences shared with experts e.g. parents, teachers, more competent peers

• experts initially responsible for guiding’s child’s learning, which shifts to child’s responsibility as they age

Role of semiotics (language):

• semiotics are signs/symbols in specific cultures used by experts to transmit culture

• language is most important semiotic system (also maths)

• language starts as shared dialogue between adult and child (external speech)

• as child develops mental representation skills, they begin talking problems through in their head (internal speech) - enables intellectual development (internalised thought)

Define the Zone of Proximal Development (3)

ZPD:

• the gap between what can be achieved alone (where nothing new learned) and what can be achieved with help (challenge is too great)

• the region where cognitive development/learning occurs

• children move through the ZPD (with help from others)

Define scaffolding (3)

• describe each stage of scaffolding (5)

Scaffolding:

• process of adults acting as a supportive framework to help children move through ZPD

• Bruner and Woods et al. created steps/levels for scaffolding

  • demonstration (level 5) - showing the child how to do the task

  • marking critical features - highlighting important parts of task

  • direction maintenance - encouraging child to complete task e.g. pointing

  • reduction of degrees of freedom - focussing child on how to start solving task e.g. giving a specific suggestion

  • recruitment (level 1) - give general prompts for child to complete further tasks alone

• as child moves through ZPD, level of help from scaffolding is withdrawn from level 5 (most help) to level 1 (least help)

Define how a child goes from the social to the individual level (1)

Social and Individual level:

• all of child’s cognitive abilities first appear on social level (between people), then on individual level (inside of child)

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Cultural differences in development

P - cross cultural differences in intellectual development

E - a primitive counting system used in Papua New Guinea using the fingers, arms, shoulders and head had been found by researchers to disadvantage cognitive development compared to counting systems taught in this country for example

E - shows cultural experiences can enhance and limit cognitive development (e.g. mathematical abilities - higher mental function)

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Kanzi the bonobo

P - research support (animal study) for culture affecting intellectual development

E - Kanzi the bonobo was exposed to a language-rich culture by being ‘spoken to’ all the time through the use of a lexigram, so she had a higher intellectual development than other bonobos

E - shows basic elementary functions can be turned into higher mental functions (e.g. speaking) with the influence of human culture, specifically language

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support for ZPD and scaffolding

P - research support for scaffolding and ZPD

E - researchers observed mothers working with young children to solve puzzles of increasing difficulty, found mothers offered help in line with Vygotsky’s theory - if jigsaw too easy (below child’s ZPD) mothers helped little, if moderately challenging (within ZPD) mothers focussed on helping child solve puzzle themselves, and if too difficult (beyond ZPD) mothers intervened a lot

E - shows evidence for ZPD and scaffolding (even if they seem like abstract concepts), and shows applicability to learning success

4. PEE chain - weakness (extra)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Sinclair-de-Swartz study - language

P - other factors involved in language

E - Sinclair-de-Swartz study - those who couldn’t conserve taught more describing words were still unable to conserve/use these words

E - shows language maybe not always effective for cognitive development for all people, maybe other biological factors, so not generalisable

Topic 4 - Baillargeon’s Explanation of Early Infant Abilties

…

Outline Baillargeon’s study into object permanence (Violation of Expectations)

• procedure (3)

• findings (3)

Procedure:

• infants saw row of carrots passing along track behind a screen with a large window cut out

• expected event - small carrots pass below the window so no carrot tops seen in window

• unexpected event - large carrot tops should be seen in window when large carrots pass, but they weren’t seen

Findings:

• infants as young as 3 months showed surprise when observing unexpected event

• looked longer at large carrots, presumably because they expected carrot tops to be visible in window

• shows they had object permanence and understood principle of occlusion (view of carrots obstructed by screen)

Give two factors that were controlled in this study and state why this was done

1. Parents instructed to keep their eyes closed and not interact with child sitting on their lap during the procedure - child may imitate parents behaviour e.g. surprise

2. Double blind design used so observers noting interest/surprise were not aware if children looking at expected or unexpected event - reduces investigator bias and increases intra-observer reliability

Why did Baillargeon believe infants didn’t show object permanence in Piaget’s studies?

Baillargeon believes infants did have knowledge of object permanence in Piaget’s study, but had no motor skills to search for object = unable to display this knowledge

→ so strength of Baillargeon’s study

What are Physical Reasoning Systems (PRS)?

• describe Baillargeon’s study for this - procedure (1) and findings (3)

Physical Reasoning Systems (PRS) = innate mechanisms/basic logical principles that develop with age (as believed by Baillargeon)

→ Baillargeon’s study - covering principle:

• Procedure:

  • infants shown cover with perturbance (suggests object underneath)

• Findings:

  • infants initially showed surprise when cover removed and nothing underneath but not if object was smaller than perturbance

  • months later they showed surprise for size mismatch

  • shows this ability (identifying perturbance based on size) develops with age

Outline Baillargeon’s study into false beliefs

• procedure (3)

• findings (2)

Procedure:

• infant shown a woman given choice of a doll with blue hair and a skunk toy - woman shows preference for doll

• infant alone then shown skunk toy placed in box with blue hair protruding from it and a doll placed in plain box

• woman shown reaching for plain box

Findings:

• infants as young as 14 months showed surprise if woman opened box without blue hair protruding

• shows infants expected woman to hold a false belief

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Support for physical reasoning system

P - Baillargeon’s study offer a more sound nativist theory than others have proposed

E - other nativist researchers argue infants born with ‘core knowledge’ (e.g. basic knowledge of physical world), Baillargeon argues the covering principle research evidence disproves this as infants ability to expect results change/develop with age (e.g. expectation of size of perturbance developed later)

E - shows it is more likely infants born with physical reasoning systems rather than a core knowledge for things (e.g. the physical world - infants should, by this logic, have expectations about all events related to the covering principle at the same time)

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Impossible events more interesting

P - VOE method may lack internal validity

E - research has found infants may look longer at unexpected/impossible events because features of these events are more interesting than the expected/possible event (not because of their understanding of the physical world), infants’ gaze towards impossible events found to be better explained because of greater perceptual interest

E - shows study maybe not measuring its intended purpose as infant behaviour hard to determine, so lacks validity

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Generalisability for innate mechanisms

P - lack of evidence for innate mechanisms of all types of children - generalisability

E - Baillargeon hadn’t tested infants with different experiences e.g. those from different cultures which could challenge Baillargeon’s approach

E - shows potential cultural beta bias in theory (minimised differences between cultures), and it could be found that experience is more important than innate mechanisms

Topic 5 - The Development of Social Cognition; Selman’s Theory

…

Key aspects of Selman’s theory (5)

• what is central to social development

• how do social abilities develop

• what kind of research did Selman do into this

• what was his theory - what did it show

• is this theory nature or nurture

• perspective taking is the central dynamic for social development (a child taking on another persons perspective to understand how they think and feel)

• as our perspective taking abilities develop (in stages), so does our social ability

• Selman’s interpersonal moral dilemmas with children (e.g. Holly’s kittens - promised father she wouldn’t climb tress, but did to save kitten) tested this ability by requiring them to take other people’s perspectives

• he created a five stage theory - shows age-related progression from egocentric view to broader cultural/moral understanding of other people’s points of view

  → this makes it a nature based theory (similar to Piaget’s stages of cognitive development)

Name the 5 stages in Selman’s theory

1. Undifferentiated

2. Social Informational

3. Self-reflective

4. Mutual

5. Societal

Describe each stage, with ages (1 points for each stage)

1. Undifferentiated (3-6 years) → can differentiate self and others, but take their own perspective

2. Social Informational (6-8 years) → aware of difference perspectives but assume this is because others have different information

3. Self-reflective (8-10 years) → can see from the view of others, and realise other people do the same

4. Mutual (10-12 years) → can look at several perspectives objectively, as a third party

5. Societal (12-15 years) → can recognise how norms, beliefs, values, and conventions shape the perspectives of others

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Longitudinal research support

P - research support for maintenance of Selman’s stages

E - Selman’s original sample of ppts ranged from ages 4½ to 32 years old, when re-interviewing around 50 original boy ppts 2-3 years later he found most boys improved perspective taking skills in line with Selman’s stages and none had regressed

E - shows longitudinal data for this theory, which increases reliability and validity

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Perspective taking and pro social behaviour

P - research support for perspective taking and pro social behaviour

E - researchers found maturity of perspective taking skills positively correlated with pro-social behaviour and lack of perspective taking led to aggression, also found children with poor perspective taking skills had more difficulty forming and maintaining social relationships and less popular

E - show applicability to real life, so is generalisable, making it a more valid theory

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint:

P - practicality of this theory

E - facilitating perspective taking is crucial in various areas, in primary schools through play, in social skills training programmes as therapeutic sessions for people with mental disorders or for criminals to increase empathy (as this is a key reason they hurt others)

E - shows this theory is applicable and practical in real world settings to improve social development, so increases validity

Topic 6 - The Development of Social Cognition; Theory of Mind

…

Key aspects of Theory of Mind (6)

• how do infants show interest in people’s thoughts

• when do social relations begin and what do they require

• define theory of mind

• define false beliefs

• how are these related

• how is ToM investigated

• infants early behaviours like interactional synchrony and following people’s gaze shows they are interested in other people’s thoughts

• infants capable of social interaction, but social relations require a Theory of Mind (first appears around 3-4 years old)

• Theory of Mind = understanding other people’s perspectives and experience of the world e.g. their beliefs, intentions, motives, etc.

• False belief = understanding others may hold and act on mistaken (false) beliefs

• lack of theory of mind = unable to understand people can have false beliefs

• ToM investigated using various ‘mind-reading’ tasks e.g. false beliefs tasks, Sally-Anne Studies

Outline Wimmer and Perner’s study into false beliefs

• procedure (3)

• findings (3)

Procedure:

• researcher acted out story using dolls to children

• story - Max’s mother brought home chocolate, Max sees her put it in blue cupboard, Max goes out to play, mother uses chocolate and puts it in green cupboard, Max comes back and wants chocolate

• final questions to children - ‘which cupboard will Max look in?’

Findings:

• all 3 year olds said green cupboard

• some 4 years olds said blue cupboard

• all 6 year olds said blue cupboard (correct) - understand that Max will hold a false belief = so have ToM

Why was Baron-Cohen interested in the Theory of Mind explanation?

• ToM may explain autism - typical characteristic of autism is finding social interactions difficult → so unable to understand, predict, or adjust to other people’s behaviourO

Outline Baron-Cohen’s study into ToM (Sally-Anne Test)

• procedure (4)

• findings (2)

Procedure:

• three groups of ppts - normal children (mean age 4½), Down’s syndrome children (mean age 12 but lower mental age), and autistic children (mean age 12)

• told story (usually with puppets) → Sally puts marble in basket and leaves room, Anne moves marble into box, Sally returns

• children asked control question ‘where is the marble really?’

• then asked beliefs questions ‘where will Sally look for the marble?’

Findings:

• 85% of normal and Down’s syndrome children answered correctly (so ToM not related to intelligence)

• only 20% autistic children answered correctly - so don’t understand false beliefs

How did this differ for high functioning autistic individuals?

• so what test was made?

High functioning autistic individuals (e.g. adults) able to complete the Sally-Anne test accurately

→ so eyes task used

Outline Baron-Cohen’s study into ToM of high functioning autistics (eyes task)

• procedure (2)

• findings (3)

Procedure:

• ppts shown pictures of people’s eyes

• asked to select which emotions represented e.g. attraction vs repulsion, interested vs disinterested

Findings:

• normal adults had mean score of 20.3 out of maximum 25

• autistic adults had mean score of 16.3 out of maximum 25

• so can understand false beliefs, but not emotions of others

What did Baron-Cohen suggest about the basis of Theory of mind?

• what did he propose in terms of Theory of Mind’s development?

• suggested ToM has biological basis (nature)- appears at certain age, and doesn’t appear for some people

• proposed Theory of Mind Module (ToMM) - specific mechanism matures around age 4 allowing individual to understand other people’s mental states

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Too deterministic

P - ToM explanation is too deterministic

E - research into understanding of intention involved seeing if children followed someone else’s gaze and also looked where someone was pointing, it found autistic children behave very similar to ‘normal’ children

E - shows the theory may be too deterministic as it suggests having or lacking a ToM can be determined by early behavioural research, but this is not always true

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Influence of nurture

P - experience may be just as important as biology for development of ToM

E - research (Perner) found ToM appears earlier in children in large families - especially having siblings as children challenged more to think about feelings of others to resolve conflicts

E - shows nurture may cause individual differences that affect ToM development rather than just innate factors

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Ethnocentric study

P - ethnocentric research

E - Baron-Cohen’s sample only British and this approach to understanding autism is a Western perspective, it has been suggested that higher rates of autism in the west maybe due to other cultures not seeing some symptoms as abnormal

E - shows the idea of a lack of social interaction causing such issues may not be a universal perspective

Topic 7 - The Development of Social Cognition; The Mirror Neuron System

…

What are mirror neurons? (1)

• nerve cells that react when a person performs an action and when another individual performs the same action

Outline Rizzolati et al’s study into the discovery of mirror neurons (3)

• how was this then tested in human? (1)

• discovered mirror neurons accidentally when researching neural activity in macaque monkeys

• found certain neurons in premotor cortex of frontal lobe fired when monkey wasn’t doing anything, but watched experimenter doing something e.g. eating

• the same neurons fired when the monkey was doing the same action

  → EEG’s in humans tested this by having experimenters do an action and the ppts do it themselves - found similar results

What does Ramachandran suggest about mirror neurons? (2)

• proposed they explain the uniqueness of humans as a species as they are more developed in humans

• this is because they are involved in a number of social human behaviours, so allows social development success

What 4 social behaviours are mirror neurons largely involved in?

1. imitation

2. intention

3. empathy

4. language

How are mirror neurons involved in imitation? (3)

• what do they do generally

• why are they important

• do they always imitate people

1. mirror neurons records the activity of a person/animal as if observer is acting out same activity

2. important for acquisition of skills in cognitive and social development, especially in early age/infancy

3. MN’s generally ‘off-line’ - watch people’s movements but don’t imitate (expect in unavoidable situations e.g. yawning)

How are mirror neurons involved in intention? (3)

• what do studies show about our interest in intention

• describe the study showing this

• what was found and what does this show

• studies show we are more interested in why a person does something than what they do

• ppts shown 3 clips related to tea party - context clip (before tea, tea cup full and table clean), action clip (hand grasps cup as if to drink or clear it away), intention clip (context and action)

• MN activity in inferior frontal cortex during intention clip - so this area concerned with why people perform action

How are mirror neurons involved in empathy? (3)

• how can MN’s help perspective taking

• what can this help us develop

• why is this important

• MN’s may act as precursor to a more ‘general mind-reading ability’ - allow us to experience someone else’s actions as if they are our own

• so may help us develop a ToM, and therefore empathy (understanding how others feel)

• this is crucial for social development and prosocial behaviour

How are mirror neurons involved in language? (2)

• what has research found in this area

• what does suggest MN’s help for speech

• research finds existence of MN’s in Broca’s area during brain imaging techniques (involved in speech production)

• suggests MN’s assist imitation of speech sounds during early development

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support in epilepsy patients

P - research evidence from individual neurons

E - researchers (Mukamel et al) recorded activity of single neurons in 21 patients being treated for epilepsy, found cells active both when individual performed task and when observing task, active in various areas e.g. temporal lobe (memory) and premotor cortex

E - shows MN’s important for shaping human behaviours like imitation and empathy, and others like memory

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support for MN’s role in empathy

P - research support for MN’s role in simple empathy

E - researchers (Haker et al.) demonstrated an area of brain believed to be rich in mirror neurons is involved in contagious yawning, which is widely seen as an example of human empathy (the ability to perceive mental states of others), fMRI found considerable activity in Broadman’s area (right frontal lobe) when ppts imitated a yawn

E - shows social behaviour like empathy may be attributed to activity of MN’s

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research into autistic children’s brains - application

P - research into MN’s has practical application

E - research using brain scanning techniques observed which brain areas used by children as they watched faces showing anger, fear, happiness, sadness or no emotion, found only difference was autistic children’s brain had less activity in inferior frontal gyrus, which is part of MN system

E - shows that this research may open opportunities for strengthening MN’s via imitation activities to support people struggling with social development