Biological (CONTEMPORARY) - regions of the brain - CASEY

Question 1

comment on the background

Question 2

define delayed gratification

Answer 2

ability to resist temptation and is [art of long term life success

Question 3

psychologists believe we us ______ ______ ______ to delay gratification by suppressing inappropriate thoughts or actions

Answer 3

cognitive control strategies

Question 4

explain the cognitive strategy of ‘cooling’

Answer 4

your attention is placed on the ‘cool’ features of a stimulus like the shape of a piece of cake rather than the ‘hot’ or appealing features like the taste
this cognitive difference between people may explain why some are naturally better at resisting temptation than others

Question 5

hot and cold tasks in this study

Answer 5

hot - expression on a face
cold - gender in a facial picture

Question 6

define localization of function

Answer 6

different region/areas of the brain have different responsibilities

Question 7

name the two areas of the brain studied

Answer 7

inferior frontal gyrus
ventral striatum

Question 8

inferior frontal gyrus

Answer 8

located in the prefrontal cortex plays a role in our interpretations of facial expressions and how we act emotionally
this region is involved in resolving any competing motive by employing cognitive control when delaying rewards

Question 9

ventral striatum

Answer 9

this area facilitates and balances motivation such as inhibiting your behavior in a complex social situation
this region is associated with more immediate choices and rewards, your desires and emotions

Question 10

individuals with a greater activity in the ______ should be able to exhibit more cognitive control and so are better at delaying gratification

Answer 10

inferior frontal gyrus

Question 11

individuals with a greater activity in the ______ suggest a person has a stronger feeling about the reward on offer so is less likely to delay their gratification as they can’t resist temptation and would have to act on impulse

Answer 11

ventral striatum

Question 12

aim of the study

Answer 12

assess whether delay of gratification in childhood predicts impulse control activities to alluring cues or social cues in terms of both behavior and brain function

Question 13

describe the research method

Answer 13

quasi experiment as ithas a naturally occuring IV - whether the participants are a high or low delayer
-high delayers were participants who resisted the cookie at 4 yrs old
-low delayers were participants who did not resist the cookie at 4 yrs old
additionally some participants completed self control scales in their 20s and 30s (self report method)
repeated measures as participants in experiment 1 did both ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ tasks

Question 14

name the DVs

Answer 14

-experiment 1performanceon impulse control task (reaction time and accuracy)
-experiment 2 performance on impulse control task (reaction time and accuracy) and imaging results using fMRI

Question 15

the study is ______ as it followed some participants from 4yrs to 40yrs so tracking development of the high and low delayers as children into adulthood

Answer 15

longitudinal

Question 16

describe the sample

Answer 16

562 4yr olds from Stanford Nursey who completed the delay of gratification marshmallow test in 60/70s
117 contacted
59 took part in experiment 1
27 took part in experiment 2

Question 17

procedure experiment 1 - run 1

Answer 17

cool task - gender
go- male
no go - female
160 pictures (120m,40f)
hit button when see male
refrain when see female

Question 18

procedure experiment 1 - run 2

Answer 18

cool task - gender
go - female
no go - male
160 pictures (120f,40m)
hit button when see female
refrain when see male

Question 19

procedure experiment 1 - run 3

Answer 19

hot task - expression
go - happy
no go - fearful
160 pictures (120h,40f)
hit button when see happy
refrain when see fearful

Question 20

experiment 1 - run 4

Answer 20

hot task - expression
go - fearful
no go - happy
160 pictures (120f,40h)
hit button when see fearful
refrain when see happy

Question 21

in summary what did part 1 of the procedure find

Answer 21

no difference in reaction time of pressing button
high and low delayers - similar on accuracy for go trials both hot and cool
accuracy on no go -different- low delayers commiting more false alarms - because they act more on impulse

Question 22

describe the procedure

Answer 22

participants were tested in their own homes via pre-programmed laptops and completed two versions of a ‘go/no go task’ in which they had tp either press a button (go) or withhold from pressing the button (no-go)
before task started on screen standardized instructions were displayed telling participants to respond quickly and accurately as possible

Question 23

the screen identified which sex was to be the ‘go’ or target stimulus for each trial. Each face was displayed ______ for ______ with a ______ between faces

Answer 23

one at a time
500ms
1 second interval

Question 24

experiment 2 - run 1 and 2

Answer 24

hot task
go - happy
no go - fearful
48 pics (35h,13f)
hit button when see happy
refrain when see fearful
combined data for the 2 runs

Question 25

experiment 2 - run 3 and 4

Answer 25

hot task
go -fearful
no go - happy
48 pics (35f,13h)
hit the button when see fearful
refrain when see happy

Question 26

what did part 2 of the procedure find

Answer 26

no difference in reaction time
more false alarms by low delayers in the no go tasks again

Question 27

describe an fMRI

Answer 27

functional neuroimaging procedure using MRI technology that measures brain activity by detecting associated changes in blood flow
participants were scanned with a functional magnetic resonance imaging whilst they completed a hot version of the go/no go task
task was presented on a projection screen and a5 button electronic response pad was used to record responses to facial stimuli and reaction times