2- Biological psych

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  • Created by: livvvx
  • Created on: 11-05-19 18:48

Biological

-Key Theme 1= regions of the brain

-Key theme 2= brain plasticity

Asssumptions:

  • Focus on how nature (not nurture) influences our behaviour
  • Involves reducing (reductionism) expls of behaviour to purely bio factors

+= Scientific as often lab expts and measured objectively, deterministic so increases likelihood of being able to treat people with abnormal behaviour.

-= Reductionist as complex behaviours are reduced to bio levle, Focus on nature rather than nurture ignores social experiences, env encounters etc

Blakemore & Cooper (1970)

-Background:

  • According to research the physical structure of the brains of humans and cats is similar
  • In a normal cat, there are specialist neurones for responding to light and also neurones that specially respond to orientation/angle.
  • Hirsch & Spinelli- kittens wore a mask so that 1 eye; vertical stripes , 1 eye; horizontal stripes results= normal cortical organisation changed - neurones of visual coretx show plasticity

-Aim:

  • To investigate the effect on kittens' visual development of a restricted visual env consisting of either verticsl stripes only or horizontal stripes only.

-Design:

  • Lab expt- IMD
  • IV= horizontal or vertical
  • DV= behvaioural changes, neurophysiological changes

-Sample:

  • Lab raised kittens that were housed in complete darkness until 2 weeks of age.
  • Birth until 1 years old 

-Procedure:

  • Birth-2 weeks= housed in complete darkness
  • 2 weeks-5 months= visual experience of kittens manipulated (v or h)
  • specially designed cylindrical piece of apparatus in which there was a clear glass platform halfway up the cylinder on which the kitten was placed. The cylinder was 46cm in diameter and about 2m high. Inside and as far as kitten could see it was decorated either vertical high contrast black and white stripes or horizontal. The stripes varied in widths.
  • Kittens spent around 5 hours a day in this apparatus, they wore a wide black collar so that they could not see their own body- restricted their view to about 130 degrees, top cover was placed on cylinder.
  • 5 months= kittens stopped being placed in cylinder, would have now passed the critical period for visual development. 
  • Kittens were taken fir several hrs each week to a well-lit room, furnished with chairs and tables. Psychologists monitored the kittens' reactions.
  • 7.5 months= two kittens anaesthetised and their neurones were investigated. A normal cat would have neurons around the clock- both vertical and horizontal.

-Results:

  • Behavioural-
  • when firsy presented to well-lit room, both h&v kittens showed; visual deficits, no startle response when object thrust towards them, navigated around room by touch, showed a fear response when e.g. reached edge of table. After around 10hrs these disappeared.
  • permanent= clumsy head movements, often reached for objects way out of their reach, bumped into things as scurried around. 
  • The kittens were virtually blind to contrast of perpendicular to the orientation they experienced. This was tested by a) sheet of perspex- no reaction in 'wrong orientation' startle in 'right orientation' b) rod shaken infront of 2 kittens, if shaken v only v kitten responded, if shaken h only h kitten responded. 
  • H raised kittens didnt…

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