Evaluation Flashcards
Split brain research evaluation
+ Demonstrate lateralised brain functions (concluded that left for analytical and verbal and right for spatial and music)
+ Strengths of the methodology (less than 0.1 seconds image was shown)
+ Theoretical basis (sparked off philosophical debate on the conscious and the degree of communication between hemispheres)
– Issues with generalisation (unique participants, epilepsy may have affected brain)
Plasticity evaluation
+ Practical application (neurorehabilitation)
– Negative plasticity (drugs, increased risk of dementia due to brain’s ability to rewire itself)
+ Age and plasticity (golf study done on age 40-60 better neural representation after training)
+ Support from animal studies (kitten and eye sown shut)
+ Concept of cognitive reserve (longer in school = more likely to have a disability free recovery)
FMRI evaluation
+
o It doesn’t rely on the use of radiation
o Virtually risk-free, non-invasive and straight forward to use
o Produces images that have a high spatial resolution
–
o It’s expensive compared to other techniques
o Can only capture a good image if a person stays perfectly still
o Poor temporal resolution
o Can only measure blood flow, doesn’t hone in on activity of individual neurones
EEG evaluation
+
o Proved invaluable in diagnosis of condtions such as epilepsy
o Contributed to understanding of the stages involved in sleep
o High temporal resolution
–
o Generalised nature of information received
o Can’t pinpoint the exact source of neural activity
ERPs evaluation
+
o Limitations of EEGs are addressed
o Bring much more specificity to the measurement of neural processes
o Good temporal resolution
–
o Critics have pointed to a lack of standardisation in ERP methodology between different research studies which makes it difficult to confirm findings
Post Mortem evaluation
+
o Vital in providing a foundation for early understanding key processes in the brain
o Broca and Wernicke both relied on post-mortem studies
–
o Causation is an issue
o Observed damage to the brain may not be linked to the deficits under review but some other trauma or decay
o Issue of ethical issues, HM lost ability to form memories and couldn’t provide fully informed consent but post-mortem research was still done on his brain
Localisation evaluation
+ Brain scan evidence (Peterson et al. reading task-brocas area and listening task- wernickes area)
+ Neurosurgical evidence (lobotomies)
+ Case study (Phineas Gage)
– Lashley’s research (rat, removing cortex and learning maze)
Humanistic evaluation
+ Not reductionist (holistic)
- Limited application (rogerian therapy didn’t have a big impact on the discipline of Psychology)
+ Positive approach (bringing the person back into psychology)
- Untestable concepts (self actualisation can’t be measure in an experiment)
- Cultural bias (self actualisation can’t apply to collectivist cultures)
Psychodynamic evaluation
+ Explanatory power (explains range of phenomena and draws link between childhood and adult life)
- Case study method (little Hans)
- Untestable concepts (unconscious mind)
+ Practical applications (therapy, hypnosis)
- Psychic determinism (everything has meaning, slips of the tongue)
SLT evaluation
+ the importance of cognitive factors in learning is addressed (meditational process)
- over-reliance on evidence from lab studies (bobo doll)
- underestimates the influence of biological factors (boys more aggressive in bobo doll experiment)
- less determinist than the behaviourist approach (some element of free will if there is choice)
- explains cultural differences in behaviour (learning behaviour)
Behaviourism evaluation
+ Scientific credibility (methods and language, giving status to psychology)
+ Real-life application (token-economy, phobias)
- Mechanistic view of behaviour (applies more to animals)
- Environmental determinism (all behaviour caused by learning from environment)
