Professional Documents
Culture Documents
These principles are the main ideas that have driven focused
research on specific areas of behaviour and cognition.
They also allow us to understand how behaviour can be
influenced by cognitive processes
Define cognition
Were asked to read The War of the Ghosts a Native American folk tale.
Tested their memory of the story using serial reproduction and repeated
reproduction, where they were asked to recall it six or seven times over various
retention intervals.
For example, hunting seals changed into fishing and canoes became
boats.
These changes show the alteration of culturally unfamiliar things into
what the English participants were culturally familiar with,
Participants then heard a story which was based on 72 points, previously rated by a group of people
based on their importance to a potential house-buyer (leaky roof, damp basement) or a burglar
(10speed bike, colour TV).
Participants performed a distraction task for 12 minutes, before recall was tested.
After another 5 minute delay, half of the participants were given the switched schema. Participants
with burglar schema were given house-buyer schema and vice versa.
Shorter Method:
Participants read a story from the perspective of either a burglar or potential home buyer. After they had
recalled as much as they could of the story from the perspective they had been given, they were shifted
to the alternative perspective (schema) and were asked to recall the story again.
Results:
Participants who changed schema recalled 7% more points on the second recall
test than the first.
There was also a 10% increase in the recall of points directly linked to the new
schema.
The group who kept the same schema did not recall as many ideas in the
second testing.
Research also showed that people encoded different information which was
irrelevant to their prevailing schema (those who had buyer schema at encoding
were able to recall burglar information when the schema was changed, and vice
versa).
This shows that our schemas of knowledge, etc. are not always correct,
because of external influences.
Summary: On the second recall, participants recalled more information that
was important only to the second perspective or schema than they had done on
the first recall.
Conclusion:
Schema processing has an influence at the encoding
and retrieval stage, as new schema influenced recall at
the retrieval stage.
Evaluation:
Strengths
Controlled laboratory experiment allowed researchers to determine
a cause-effect relationship on how schemas affect different memory
processes.
Limitations
Lacks ecological validity
Laboratory setting
Unrealistic task, which does not reflect something that the general
population would do
Connection of study to question
This study provides evidence to support schema theory affecting
the cognitive process of memory.
Strength of schema theory there is research evidence to support it.
Supporting Study 3:
Brewer and Treyens (1981) picnic basket
Introduce Study/Signpost:
The study
Aim:
To see whether a stereotypical schema of an office would
affect memory (recall) of an office.
Methods:
Participants were taken into a university student office
and left for 35 seconds before being taken to another
room.
They were asked to write down as much as they could
remember from the office.
The Study
Results:
Participants recalled things of a typical office
according to their schema.
They did not recall the wine and picnic basket that were
in the office.
Conclusions:
Participants' schema of an office influenced their
memory of it.
They did not recall the wine and picnic basket because it
is not part of their typical office schema.
Evaluation:
Strengths:
Strict control over variables --> to determine cause &
effect relationship
Limitation:
Lacks ecological validity
Laboratory setting artificial environment
Task does not reflect daily activity
Connection of study to question
This study provides evidence to support how our
schemas can affect our cognition/cognitive processes,
in particular memory.
Methods:
In the study there were three conditions:
They found that subjects asked to draw from memory a clock that had Roman
numerals on its face typically represented the number four on the clock face as
IV rather than the correct IIII, whereas those merely asked to copy it
typically drew IIII.
Conclusions:
French and Richards explained this result in terms of schematic knowledge of
roman numerals affecting memory retrieval.
The findings supported the idea that subjects in the copy condition were more
likely than subjects in other conditions to draw the clock without invoking
schematic knowledge of Roman numerals.
Evaluation:
Strengths:
Strict control over variables to determine cause & effect
relationship
Limitation:
Lacks ecological validity
Laboratory setting artificial environment
Task does not reflect daily activity
Connection of study to question
This study provides evidence to support how our
schemas can affect our cognition/cognitive processes,
in particular memory.
Our schemas influence what we recall in our memory.
Results:
In STM, better recall of acoustically different than acoustically similar words
more errors with similarly sounding words than distinctly sounding words
Slightly better recall of semantically different words than semantically similar words
Conclusions:
In the STS, information is encoded acoustically because recall is affected by the sound of
words
Study 2 LTM Encoding (same guy)
Aim:
To investigate encoding in LTM
Method:
Participants were given the same lists of words in the previous experiment for STM
Results:
In LTM, no difference in recall of acoustically different and acoustically similar words
Much better recall of semantically different words than semantically similar words
Conclusion:
In LTM, there is semantic encoding because recall is affected by meaning of words
Evaluation:
Strengths
Laboratory experiment
History:
Conclusion:
Findings suggest that:
STM & LTM are separate
STM is not required for LTM
There may be more than one STM store --> it is possible to suffer
impairment of verbal information without affecting auditory
information
Evaluation:
Strengths
Case study Realistic
In-depth information
Limitations
Cannot be generalised to the whole population
Relevance??
This study supports the idea that memory stores are not
unitary. KF suffered impairment of some types of STM
(verbal) but had others fully intact (auditory) STM store is
not unitary
Experiment time
Evaluation of the MSM Model
STRENGTHS (+)
Influential; early model that stimulated further research into memory
processes
Still accepted by most psychologists and is still widely used
Considerable evidence for demonstrating the existence of STM and LTM as
separate memory stores
Based on considerable evidence and evidence for the model is gained from a
variety of sources
e.g. studies of brain damaged individuals
Whereby these studies support the distinction between STS and LTS
Some patients with amnesia suffer damage tLTM but not STM, and vice versa
As demonstrated by Shallice & Warrington (1970); Milner (1966); Baddeley (1997)
Strengths contd
Demonstrates insight into different memory processes,
such as:
Demonstrates differences in encoding,
i.e. STM = STM = acoustic, LTM = semantic
Demonstrates differences in capacity,
i.e. STM = 72, LTM has no limits
Demonstrates differences in duration
i.e. STM = approx. 20 seconds (Peterson & Peterson, 1959),
LTM = 48 years (Bahrick et al.,1975).
Demonstrates in ability to form declarative or procedural
memories by patients with brain damage, amnesia.
Limitations of MSM
There is emphasis on the amount of information taken into
memory
Focuses too much on the structure of memory systems
rather than providing an explanation on how it works
(functioning/ processing)
Reductionist*, oversimplifying memory processes (Eysneck
& Keane, 1995) too simple
Model suggests that rote rehearsal is the only way information transfers from STM tLTM
Too simple
Ignores any other factors such as effort and strategies people employ to remember things
Studies have questioned whether the more information is rehearsed, the more likely it is
to be transferred tLTM
Rehearsal may be what occurs in laboratory experiments but this lacks ecological validity
Most people rarely actively rehearse information in daily life, yet information is
constantly transferred into LTM (Eysenck and Keane, 1995)
Method:
Participants were presented with auditory lists of 24 words
Different groups of participants were asked to perform one of the following tasks
requiring different levels of processing
Method:
Participants presented with a series of 60 words about which
they had to answer one of three questions, requiring different
depths of processing.
Participants were then given a long list of 180 words into which
the original words had been mixed.
They were asked to pick out the original words.
contd
Results:
Participants recalled more words that were semantically processed
compared to phonemically and visually processed.
Conclusion:
Semantically processed words involve deep processing which results in
more accurate recall.
Evaluation:
Strengths
Laboratory experiment
strict control over variables
able to determine a cause-effect relationship between
Weaknesses
Laboratory experiment
Lacks ecological validity
Task is unrealistic; does not reflect daily activity participants would do
EVALUATION OF THE LOP MODEL:
STRENGTHS (+)
Overcomes criticisms of the Multistore Model as being
too simple methods of remembering. LOP was very
influential when first proposed.
Much research and evidence supporting the LOP
theory's idea that deep processing aids memory.
Strengths contd
It changed the direction of research and stimulated further
research into memory Accounts for why some things are
remembered better and for longer than others. LOP theory
is useful in daily life as it shows how elaboration, which
requires deeper processing, leads to better memory. It helps
to understand processes at learning stage. Improvements
on Multi-store model of memory:
Does not make strict distinction between STM & LTM
Does not regard LTM as simple storage unit, rather a complex
processing system
Encoding is not simple and straightforward
improvement on the MSM's account of transfer from STM to
LTM
Focuses on mental processes rather than structures
Weaknesses of LOP
Lacks ecological validity
all the evidence based on laboratory experiments LOP
theory focuses on the processes rather than structures
of memory.
Evidence (e.g. Clive Wearing, KF) supports memory
structures of STM and LTM stores proposed by MSM.
Problems with Deep Processing
Major limitation difficult to define deep processing
It is vague and cannot be observed, making it hard to measure
objectively
Circular definition deeply processed information will be
remembered better, but the measure of depth is how well
information is remembered.
LOP theory is descriptive rather than explanatory. Though
later research has attempted to explain how and why deep
processing is effective in aiding memory, the original theory
did not provide a detailed explanation of this (Eysenck and
Keane, 1995). Ordering of memory of LOP (semantic better
than phonological better than structural) is not
always supported by research.
More limitations
Several studies have shown that deeper processing does not
guarantee better memory. Participants usually spend more
time and effort on the tasks requiring deeper processing.
Type of processing, amount of effort and length of
processing time are often confounding
Method:
They conducted a meta-analysis of fMRI studies on episodic memory in AD
patients, compared to normal & AD patients.
Results:
There was greater brain activity in the MTL and frontal lobe in the control
group.
Compared to controls, the AD patients showed decreased activation in the MTL
and increased activation in the prefrontal cortex.
Conclusion:
It was well-established that AD patients show decreased activation in the
MTL.
Connection of study to question
Connection of study to question
Schwindt and Blacks study supports the biological factor
of the MTL in causing AD and thus, impairment in
memory.
Outline the series of stages that AD develops in so you
could link it with the next biological factor:
Aim:
To test how the hippocampi region interacts with AD/To investigate
metabolism in the hippocampus, which is when the neurons in the brain
activate responses in the body and dies.
Method:
Followed a sample of 52 normal participants for a period of 9 24 years
(longitudinal).
They used a brain scan based computer program that measures metabolic
activity in the hippocampus.
Results:
Reduced metabolism in the hippocampus was associated with later AD.
Connection of study to question
Mosconis study supports the role of the hippocampus in AD.
This can be explained by the fact that the hippocampus of normal
people contains high concentration of acetylcholine (Squire, 1987).
This results from severe brain tissue loss in areas of the forebrain,
known to secrete acetylcholine.
Method:
Eighteen older participants were enrolled from the longitudinal sample
of the Washington University Alzheimers Disease Research Centre
and screened to exclude neurological illness, psychoactive medications
and medical conditions that may produce cognitive impairment.
Results:
Presence of amyloid-B protein 42 in early AD starts a chain of events
that leads to AD.
Method:
Made lesions in specific neural pathways in rats to determine the
functions of the damaged pathways and disrupt the conditioning
response.
The lesions were first made in the auditory context where the
brain processes sound.
All groups were told that they were going to be given an injection of Suproxin in order to test its effects
on vision
Even though men were really receiving adrenaline and:
Informed of the correct effects of adrenaline (under the impression that it was suproxin)
Given no information on effects
Given false effects
Last group was given a placebo
4 Groups divided into 2 subgroups
Condition 1 euphoria
Confederate encouraged participant to play with games inside the waiting room (with office equipment)
Condition 2 anger
Confederate completed a questionnaire at the same pace as the participant but became more and more angry
as the questions became more personal
Participants were observed for changes in emotion
Participants were then asked to fill out a questionnaire detailing their state of emotion
Results:
Showed that participants that were given information on
the effects of adrenaline showed minimal changes in
emotion because they had an accurate explanation of their
emotion
But those who had been told no effect showed much higher
changes in emotion because they had no explanation for
their state of arousal, so they used cues of the confederate's
behaviour and labelled their emotions
These participants changed their behaviour according to
cognitive appraisal of their emotions, rather than specific
physiological arousal, indicating that only general arousal is
required.
Conclusion
Researchers concluded that emotion occurs by a
process of cognitive labelling: the interpretation of
physiological cues is combined with contextual cues to
construct a person's subjective experience of emotion
Connection of study to question
This study supports that a combination of
physiological change (adrenaline) and cognitive
labelling (appraisal of the situation) can contribute to
changes in emotion
Introduce importance of first theory Lazarus Theory
of Appraisal:
Aim:
To demonstrate the influence of appraisal on emotional
experiences.
Method
Participants were shown a stressful film about unpleasant genital
surgery depicting Aboriginal boys have circumcision in the context of
puberty.
According to the TFT, emotion results from physiological arousal and cognitive labelling
These theories have been supported through much research, and although there were a
few limitations within the studies, there have been no other theories or research that
opposes the idea that biological and cognitive factors influence emotion.
Therefore, all of these theories suggest that both cognitive and biological factors interact
in emotion to a LARGE extent
Evaluate one theory of how emotion may
affect one cognitive process.
One theory of how emotion may affect the cognitive
process of memory is Flashbulb Memory (FBM)
suggested by Brown & Kulik (1977).
Theory of FBM involves how emotion affects memory by
enhancing it.
According tLe Doux, the arousal of emotion can facilitate the
memory of events that occur during the aroused state;
however, even though these emotional memories are
emotions evoked by a particular event, the memories may not
always be correct. (MOVE TO EVALUATION)
Flashbulb Memory (FB)
Flashbulb Memories is a special kind of emotional
memory, which refers to vivid and detailed
(photographic-like) memories of highly emotional
events that appear to be recorded in the brain as
though with the help of a cameras flash.
I.E. 9/11
What you were doing when you heard about the death
of a loved one
Car Accidents
FBM explained
Brown & Kulik (1977) also argued that the special
biological memory mechanism of FBM is triggered
when an individual usually encounters significant,
often unexpected and emotional events or experiences.
Events that have excessive levels of surprise and
emotion
Therefore creating a FBM of the immediate
experiences surrounding the highly emotional (happy)
experience or traumatic event
FBM Explained
FB memories also have unique features that
distinguish them from other memories they are more:
vivid, detailed, accurate, long-lasting, consistent and
easy to remember
This is in contrast to normal memories, which most
researchers are believed to be selective, unreliable and
malleable (easily changed or distorted).
Examples?
Main Study: Brown and Kulik
(1977)
Aims:
They found that J.F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 led to the most flashbulb memories
of all participants (90% of participants recalled this in context and with vivid detail)
African Americans recalled more FBM's of civil right leaders; e.g. the assassination of
Martin Luther King more than the Caucasians recalled it (as a FBM)
For the tenth event (which was self-selected) most participants recalled shocking events
like the death of a parent
Conclusions
This study carried out by Brown and Kulik (1977) supported the theories of flashbulb
memories whereby they :
Form in situations where we encounter surprising and highly emotional information
Are maintained by means of overt rehearsal (discussion with others) and covert rehearsal
(private)
Differ from other memories in that they are more vivid, last longer and are more consistent
and accurate
Require for their creation the involvement of a specialized neural mechanism which stores
information permanently in a unique memory system
Evaluation of Brown and Kulik
Relevance to the topic?
FBM can be explained in how emotion can
affect/influence memory by either enhancing it or
impairing it.
Enhanced memory leads to more vivid memories of the event
(FBM) Impairing memory leads to
Repression due to traumatic events
Repression is used to describe a certain type of memory,
usually of a traumatic type, when information cannot be
retrieved as a result of being locked out of our consciousness.
Mood dependent memory, emotion dependent
Study 2: Conway et al (1994) UK and non-
UK on Flashbulb Memory
Aim:
To test the theory of Flashbulb Memory
Methods:
Participants were either UK or non-UK undergraduates
Was based on the resignation of Margaret Thatcher (British
Prime Minister,1990)
Participants were asked and interviewed about the event a few
days after the event
They were asked again 11 months after the event
Results:
They found that 86% of UK participants still had FBM of the
resignation of Margaret Thatcher
While there were fewer non-UK participants (29%) had
flashbulb memories of the event
Contd.
Conclusions:
Thus, Conway claimed that this event met the criteria for FBM for British
people as it was an unexpected and highly significant event pertaining to their
culture, therefore arousing deep emotions, influencing the special neural
mechanisms and therefore creating FBM of the event.
Evaluation:
Strengths :
Ecologically Valid: real event
Interview: in depth qualitative data
Not focused (don't have specific questions Questionnaire)
Limitations
Distress in having to remember a tragic event and some methodology was not
controlled
Connection of study to question
Suggests that flashbulb memories exist and are different from normal
memories
However, they may only exist for events with personal significance
Evidence arguing against Flashbulb
Memory: Neisser and Harsch (1992)
One of the most significant research arguing the validity
and accuracy of FBM is by Neisser (1982), and later on by
Neisser and Harsch (1992).
Neisser questioned the idea of FBMs, in which he
suggested that the memories are so vivid because the event
itself is rehearsed and reconsidered after the event.
According to Neisser, FBM may simply be a narrative
convention, governed by conventions of a storytelling
schema
Neisser also argued that FBMs are subject to the same
types of inaccuracy and forgetting as any other memories.
Neisser and Harsh
Aim:
To investigate the accuracy of flashbulb memory
Methods:
Participants were asked to report on the circumstances
of their learning about the challenger space disaster on
1986.
Neisser and Harsch investigated peoples memory
accuracy of the incident 24 hours after the accident
and then again two years later.
Neisser and Harsh
Results:
1 day after the disaster, 215 of the participants reported that they heard about
the disaster on television
Those that recalled 2 and a half years later, 45% said they heard it on T.V
Clearly, their memories of how they learned the news about the challenger
disaster changed over time
Assuming that participants' memories were more accurate one day after the
disaster, it can be concluded that their memories about how they had heard
about the news had deteriorated significantly during the subsequent two and a
half years.
Conclusions:
Connection of study to question
This thus suggests that FBM are not reliable (as influenced by post-event
information).
Neisser and Harsch claimed that such findings suggest that FBM's may just be
ordinary memories
Arguing Study 2: Wright (1993) Hillsborough
Disaster and (5 months) recall
Aim:
To investigate the accuracy of FBM
Methods:
Interviewed people about the Hillsborough disaster
After 5 month he asked participants to recall what had happened at this event/disaster
Results:
After five months, memories were vague, and subject to systematic biases.
Found that memories were a blend of their own real experiences, and information that
had come after the event.
Conclusions:
Thus concluding that flashbulb memory is no different to any other type of memory
Shows that the memory that is flashbulb can decay over time, unlike as assumed
Method:
White and Black Americans participated in the study.
This method was repeated and the picture was shown to the Black
Participants
Contd.
Results:
White participants:
After a few retellings, the story had changed so that the black man was the
aggressor, holding the knife.
Black Participants:
Results were not the same as what the white participants had recalled. There
were more correct observations from the black participants in relation to the
picture showed to them.
Conclusions:
This study is an example of how through the social environment, what we
expect (based on stereotypical schemas) can distort what we actually hear and
process into our memory.
White people were heavily influenced by the history of racism from the acts of
the olden-days America, whom discriminated against and placed heavy
prejudices on Black African American people. Thus, the history of how black
men were portrayed as aggressive and dangerous may have also influenced how
they interpreted the story, affecting their schemas.
contd
Evaluation: Limitations:
Lacks ecological validity
Artificial stimulus picture rather than real life experience
Ethics
Methods:
They gave Guatemalan children a memory task that was meaningful in local terms; constructed a
diorama of a Mayan village located near a mountain and a lake, similar to the locale in which the
children lived.
Each child watched as a local experimenter selected 20 miniature objects from a set of 80 and placed
them in the diorama.
Objects included (the kind of things that would be found in a real town):
Cars
Animals
People
Furniture
Then the 20 objects were returned to the group of 60 others remaining on the table. After a few
minutes, the children were asked to reconstruct the full scene they had been shown.
This methodology was then repeated to children from the united states (to their counterparts)
contd
Results:
Under these conditions, the memory performance of the Mayan
children was slightly superior to that of their United States
counterparts.
Methods:
Tested the memory ability of non-schooled children in the Kpelle tribe
in Liberia and compared them with US school children.
contd
Results:
The Kpelle children did not improve their performance in free recall memory tests after
the age of 10 in the same way as US children; after 15 trials they only remembered 2 more
items.
Kpelle children who attended school had similar performance to US school children.
School children in US and Liberia used categorical recall; they appeared to have chunked
the items in to linked categories as they recalled them in groups such as utensils, clothes,
vegetables, tools.
When items were presented as part of a story the Kpelle children (non-schooled) had
equally good performance as the US children.
Children with formal schooling in America and Liberia used this mnemonic which
improved their memory of the items. Children without formal schooling however, did
not use the categories to aid their recall and subsequently did not remember as much as
children who had attended school.
Connection of study to question:
This study supports that culture affects memory.
The Kpelle children performed just as well as their US counterparts
in a culturally-familiar memory task, but not on a free recall task.
This is because the free-recall task that Cole and his colleagues
originally used to assess memory among Liberian tribal people has
no precise analogy in traditional Liberian cultures, so it is not
surprising that the corresponding way of remembering would not
be acquired.
Cognitive skills (memory) are dependent on the environment
which is made up of education, social interaction, technology
and in this case, culture.
Therefore, human cognition is culturally dependent in the way that cognitive abilities
are influenced by the social and cultural context in which people live.
The implication of these studies is that although the ability to remember is a universal
intellectual requirement, specific forms of remembering are not universal, as factors such
as cultural aspects are different, in that not cultures have the same memory strategies.
As demonstrated by the studies, people learn to remember in ways that are relevant for
their everyday lives.
The studies established, in particular Bartletts work, showed that memory is, to a
significant extent, a construction; moreover, one that relies heavily on the schemas we
develop in our cultural settings.
And that the schemas we develop from our cultural backgrounds can influence the
cognitive process of memory.
Ethical Considerations in Cognitive
Psychology
In psychology, ethics must be considered to ensure
participants (humans and animals) are not harmed and
that research conducted is ethically valid
Researchers should always conduct research in an
ethical manner and studies should always be critically
evaluated for ethical issues.
Ethical standards made by the American Psychology
Association (APA) that all research done in psychology
must abide by.
These Ethics Are:
Protection of participants
Participants should be protected from physical and mental harm
and distress
This includes humiliation, stress, injury, etc.
Consent
Participants must be informed of the true aims and nature of
research before giving consent
Sometimes it is not possible to give full information about
research.
Participant bias: knowing the true aims of a study may affect
participants' behaviour and thus the results of a study
It is considered acceptable not to give full informed consent if
no harm is expected
Ethics contd.
A guardian or family member should also give consent to the
study if the participants are
Children under 18 years of age
Aim:
To investigate the sensitive period hypothesis there is a
sensitive learning period (before puberty) during which
language must be acquired to develop normally.
More about Genie and Ethics
Method:
Researchers encouraged her to verbalise and socialise.
They communicated with her, taught her sign language, and provided a caring
environment for Genie.
Participant Protection
Genie was protected from harm during the study
But when researchers concluded the study, Genie was left to live in an adult foster home
Genie may have experienced mental distress from the dramatic change in environment
and carers and the leaving of the researchers
And more,,,
Consent
Genie could not be fully informed or give consent to the study due to language
restrictions and mental state
But Genie was not in a healthy state of mind to understand the nature and aims of the
study
Confidentiality
Her identity was kept anonymous as 'Genie' is not her real name
Although her real name was not revealed, her case was exposed to the world of
psychology
And a little more
Debriefing
Genie was not debriefed at the end of the study
She ended up living in an adult foster home, still requiring treatment as she is
still language impaired.
However, since she did not know that she was being studied, she would not
desire a debriefing.
Leads to the questioning of objectivity and their aims for studying Genie
Clive Wearing (Sacks 2007)
Background:
Clive Wearing was a musician who got a viral infection encephalitis.
This left him with serious brain damage in the hippocampus, which caused
memory impairment.
He suffers:
anterograde amnesia impairment in ability to remember after a particular
incident
retrograde amnesia impairment in ability to remember before a particular
incident.
Wearing still has ability to talk, read, write, and sight-read music (procedural
knowledge)
His memory lasted 7-30 seconds, and he was unable to form new memories.
Ethical issues of this study
Consent
Wearing did not give consent to being in a study
Confidentiality
Sacks violated Wearing's right to confidentiality
Withdraw
Wearing would not remember being in a study or his right to withdraw and so would not
express any desires to withdraw
Wearing Contd
Debriefing
Wearing was not debriefed
Ethics:
Participant protection
6 male cats were placed in a drum with only vertical or only horizontal lines
Kittens were made to wear a cuff around the neck to prevent them seeing lines of any
other orientation
Cats may have experienced distress from being forced to live in a confined, unnatural
environment and wearing a cuff
The cats' primary visual cortex would fire in response to the lines presented in the
orientation they were exposed to and not lines which were perpendicular
There was physical degeneration in the visual cortex as a result of the lines the cats were
exposed to
Researchers caused permanent physical damage to the cats' visual cortex
Animal ethics
Researchers had done permanent damage to the cats that may have affected
their ability to live a normal, pain-free live
Consent
Cats could not be fully informed about the study
But cats would not be able to understand if they were being studied
Aim:
Maguire hypothesized that full licensed taxi drivers in London would have a
different hippocampi structure in their brains compared to normal people.
Methods:
This was based on the knowledge that London taxi drivers must do a two-year
training course where they end up being able to find their way around the city
without a map.
MRI scans were used to scan the structure of their hippocampi, which were
compared to already existing MRI scans of healthy males who did not drive
taxis.
And so
Results:
Taxi drivers left and right hippocampi had a larger volume compared to the non-taxi
drivers.
Conclusions:
Maguire concluded that there was probably a redistribution of grey matter in the
hippocampi of taxi drivers due to the regular use of the spatial memory skills required to
remember roads; the neurons are stronger in areas of the brain which are used most.
Maguire used MRI scans to investigate the structure of the hippocampi, which would not
be able to be seen using other technologies such as an EEG or a PET scan
HM will work
Connection of study to question
By using MRI scanning technology, researchers were
able to investigate the cognitive process of memory
and make a correlation between certain brain areas
(biological factor) and memory (cognitive process).
MRI scans were used to see the structures of the brain
to determine the extent of brain damage
The structures would not be able to be clearly seen using
other technologies such as EEGs or CTs.
Language and Brain Imaging
Technology 2: PET Scans
Describe PET brain imaging technology
Background:
37 year old man (known as MA) with normal speech functions who was participating in a
normal speech study
Researchers were curious to know if this might have had something to do with his ability
to speak despite the brain damage (that should have prevented him from doing so.
And so
Methods:
Researchers compared MA to 12 control participants, who were fluent in sign language
PET scanning technologies were used while the participants produced narrative speech or signs
Results:
MA's right hemisphere was more active than the controls' during the production of both speech and
sign language
Conclusion:
Language function seems to have developed in the right hemisphere instead of the left hemisphere as
an adaptation following his early brain damage
The ongoing activity in the brain would not be able to be seen using other technologies such as EEGs or
MRIs.
Conclusion
What is the significance of using brain scans? Answer the
question