OCR Psychology - Biological Area

What is the principle of the biological area?

The biological area looks at how brain structures, hormones, neurotransmitters + genes affect behaviour

How can brain structures affect behaviour? (Principle)

Casey et al. found higher activity in the ventral striatum + lower activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (biological factors) are linked with a low threshold of delaying gratification

How can hormones affect behaviour? (Principle)

Studies have shown that higher testosterone levels (biological factor) are linked with more aggressive behaviour

How can neurotransmitters affect behaviour?

Low levels of seretonin, noradrenaline + dopamine (biological factors) can lead to depression

How can genes affect behaviour?

The MAOA (warrior) gene (biological factor) is linked with more aggressive behaviour

What is localisation of function?

The idea that certain parts of the brain have specific functions.

What is brain lateralisation?

Certain brain functions are limited to one hemisphere of the brain

What does the corpus callosum bridge?

It bridges the right and left hemispheres of the brain

What does the corpus callosum do?

It enables the right and left hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other

What is contralateral control?

When movement on each side of the body is controlled by the opposite side of the brain

What was Sperry’s aim?

To investigate the effects of hemispheric deconnection on perception + memory

What was the IV in Sperry’s study?

Having a split brain or not

What was the DV in Sperry’s study?

The participants’ ability to perform a variety of visual + tactile tests

What was the research method used in Sperry’s study?

Quasi experiment

What was the sample in Sperry’s study?

11 participants who had undergone hemisphere deconnection

How was the procedure in Sperry’s study standardised?

The participant would have one eye covered, centre their gaze on a fixed point in the centre of an upright translucent screen, then visual stimuli were put on the screen at 1/10 of a second

What is an example of a test carried out in Sperry’s study?

A visual stimulus was flashed either to the LVF / RVF and the participants were asked to describe them

What was the result of the visual tests?

Information presented to the RVF could be described in speech + writing with the right hand

What was the result of the tactile tests?

Objects placed in the right hand could be described in speech or writing with the right hand

What is a conclusion of Sperry’s study?

People with split brains have two separate visual inner worlds, each with its own train of visual images

What was the aim of Casey et al.’s study?

To test whether delay of gratification in childhood predicts impulse self-control in adulthood

What was the sample in Casey et al.’s first experiment?

59 participants (23 males + 36 females)

What was the sample in Casey et al.’s second experiment?

27 participants (13 males + 14 females)

What was the research method used in Casey et al.’s study?

Quasi experiment

What was Casey et al.’s study also?

Longitudinal study, followed participants from age 4 - their 30s

What was the IV is Casey et al.’s study?

Whether the participants were high delayers or low delayers

What was the DV in Casey et al.’s study?

Accuracy on the go / no-go task + fMRI activity readings

How was the procedure standardised in Casey et al.’s first experiment?

Participants completed two versions of the go / no-go task, the hot task + the cold task. The hot task had fearful + happy faces, the cold task had male + female faces with neutral expressions

Where did Casey et al.’s first experiment take place?

In participants’ homes on pre-programmed laptops

What were the results for Casey et al.’s first experiment?

Low delayers performed worse on the hot task compared to the high delayers

What was the procedure in Casey et al.’s study?

Participants did the hot + cold versions of the go / no-go task using an fMRI scanner

What was the result of Casey et al.’s second experiment?

Low delayers made more mistakes than high delayers

What is a conclusion of Casey et al.’s study?

Resistance to temptation appears to be a relatively stable characteristic over an individual’s lifetime

What does high activity in the inferior frontal gyrus + low activity in the ventral striatum lead to?

A greater ability to resist temptation + delay gratification

What is an application of Casey et al.’s study?

As the ability to delay gratification affects several areas of our lives, low delayers should be taught while they are young

What is an application of Sperry’s study?

Increased understanding of how damage to a particular hemisphere can affect how the brain functions

What is the aim of Blakemore and Cooper’s study?

To investigate the effect on kittens’ visual development of a restricted visual environment, consisting of either vertical / horizontal lines

What research method did Blakemore and Cooper use?

Laboratory experiment

What experimental design did Blakemore and Cooper use?

Independent measures design

What was the IV in the Blakemore and Cooper’s study?

Whether the kittens were reared with vertical / horizontal lines

What were the DVs in Blakemore and Cooper’s study?

The kittens visumotor behaviour when the kittens were in normal environments, whether the kittens could recognise vertically / horizontally aligned objects + the neural activity in the kittens’ brains was measured

What is visumotor behaviour?

How the kittens’ movement was synchronised with what the kittens saw

How was the procedure in Blakemore and Cooper’s study standardised?

Kittens were put into vertically / horizontally lined cylinders for 5 hrs per day from 2 wks old, the kittens wore wide collars that limited their visual fields to 130°, the routine ended when they were 5 months old

Why were two of the kittens anaesthetised and how old were they?

To monitor their neurons in the visual cortext at 7.5 months old

What is visual placing?

Animal reflexes in placing their legs to reach a surface they can see

What is a startle response?

A quick automatic protective response, e.g tensing muscles

How did the kittens display behavioural blindness?

The kittens raised in vertical / horizontal environments could not recognise the other lined objects

How long did it take the kittens to start to recover?

10 hrs

Did the kittens have any permanent defects?

Yes, they were clumsy + had jerky head movements

What is a conclusion of Blakemore and Cooper’s study?

Visual experiences of being raised in vertically / horizontally lined cylinders can change their brain + behaviour

What is an application of Blakemore and Cooper’s study?

Visual impairments such as squints have to be detected early or they can have long term consequences

What was the aim of Maguire et al.’s study?

To investigate whether there was a difference in hippocampal volume between individuals who did / did not have extensive navigational experience

What was the experimental sample in Maguire et al.’s study?

16 right-handed male London taxi drivers, aged 32-62 years old

What was the IV in Maguire et al.’s study?

Whether the participant was a London taxi driver or not

What research method did Maguire et al. use?

A quasi experiment

What experimental design did Maguire et al. use?

A matched participant design

What was the DV in Maguire et al.’s study?

Volume of hippocampi measured by analysing MRI scans with VBM + pixel counting

How was the procedure standardised in Maguire et al.’s study?

The amount of grey matter in their brains was calculated + their hippocampal volume, the same researcher counted the pixels on all the scans

What is voxel-based morphometry (VBM)?

A method of calculating the volume of grey matter in different regions of the brain

What is pixel counting?

A method used to measure the volume of the anterior + posterior hippocampi

What was the researcher “blind” to in Maguire et al.’s study?

The conditions that the brain scans came from + VBM results

What were some results of Maguire et al.’s study?

Licensed London taxi drivers had significantly larger posterior hippocampi volumes + this positively correlated with the number of years spent as a taxi driver

What is a conclusion of Maguire et al.’s study?

There are regionally specific structural differences between the hippocampi of licensed London taxi drivers + those who are not

What is an application of Maguire et al.’s study?

This suggests that the brain can change in response to the environment, this could help rehabilitate people with brain damage

What are strengths of the biological area?

Uses scientific research methods + has practical applications to real life

What are weaknesses of the biological area?

Its research often lacks ecological validity + is often reductionist