pack 1 - case studies and qualitative data

what is cognitive psychology concerned with

internal mental processes such as language, memory, problem solving and thinking

explain the computer analogy about the brain

its a storage system receiving information from the environment it then processes the information and gives an output - computer hardware is the structure of the brain and the software are the experiences we have that we write into the program/system

where does most of cognitive psychology research come from it

laboratory experimental research

what is cognitive neuropsychology

the study of patients with brain damage to determine the impact of the damage on capacity and functioning

what are the four main key assumptions of cognitive psychology

thoughts influence behaviour like how thoughts act as mediational processes between stimulus and behavioural response, humans are information processors, the mind operates in a similar way to a computer, internal mental processes can and should be investigated scientifically

what is the definition of memory

the capacity to retain and retrieve information

name types of therapies that use cognitive ideas

cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety

what is epilepsy

a neurological condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures - abnormal bursts of neurons firing off electrical impulses in the brain

facts about henry molaisons case study ()

born in 1926, at age of 7 was knocked off his bike, at 10 he began to have minor epileptic seizures, at 16 he began to have major epileptic seizures, worked on an assembly line but at age 27 despite medication his seizures became so severe he couldn’t work or lead a normal life, monitored by neurosurgeon william scoville offered bilateral mesial temporal lobe resection

what happened in henry molaisons bilateral mesial temporal lobe resection

remove 5cm of the bilateral mesial temporal cortex and 2/3 of his hippocampus

what was the aim of the henry molaisons case study

to find out the effects of henry molaisons brain surgery on his functioning in particular his memory

what are the 6 methods henry molaison was studied

observations, interviews, experimental tasks, standardised IQ tests, standardised memory tasks, MRI scans taking during his life and after his death

how was HMs memory affected negatively (6)

forget daily events, underestimated his age, forgot names of people he’d been introduced, couldn’t recognise hospital staff, couldn’t learn new words, severely impaired at recognising faces

how was HMs memory not affected (9)

spatial and sensory memory was intact, normal intelligence levels and perceptual functions, personality remained the same, sustained attention, intact digit span, acquire new motor skills, recognise a few famous people

what is (non) declarative memory

non declarative memory - unconscious memory of skills and how to do things, declarative memory - memory of facts and events

what are conclusions of the HM case study (5)

**memory is a** **distinct cerebral function**, **medial temporal lobe is important for memory**, memory is not a single faculty of the mind - multiple memory systems in the brain, distinction between STM and LTM and declarative and non declarative memory

what is the generalisability of HMs case study like

low generalisability as there was only one participant who may be different to other people - epilepsy so findings about memory might not be generalisable to others

what is the reliability of HMs case study like (2)

low reliability as the case study cant be replicated as he was studied over a long period of time (51 years), much of the data was gathered was qualitative from observations and interviews

what is applicability of HMs case study (5)

one of the first studies to show that there are distinct memory functions, good springboard for future research, allows us to understand how memory is localised in the brain, gives us insight into the experiences of people suffering memory loss, helps psychologists to develop strategies to help people with brain injury/memory loss

what is validity of HMs case study like (2)

high validity as HM was studies through a variety of methods which gave us rich detailed understanding of his memory issues, low validity as it was a case study there was no control extraneous variables

what is the ethics of HMs case study like (2)

HM had no memory so he couldn’t give informed consent, never gave permission for his brain to be preserved (or closest relatives)

describe the qualitative research process (6)

create research question, collect data through unstructured/semi interviews, questionnaires, group discussions, speech analysis, literature reviews ect, transcribe data, look for themes and ideas, reach conclusions based on themes and answer research question, explain and justify conclusions using evidence from analysis

what are strengths of case studies of brain damages patients on understanding how memory works (3)

it is ethical as we have a unique insight into how memory works as deliberate damage to memory/brain isn’t ethical, produces qualitative data so it gathers rich detailed data about memory, can take a long time so we can observe the individuals development of memory over time (whether it declines or improves)

what are weaknesses of case studies of brain damages patients on understanding how memory works (3)

the case studies are based on one person/small group so the memory damage may not be the same for everyone, up to subjective interpretation so there can be low inter validity, takes a long time to participants may drop out so then we can’t use/study their memory