Biological Psychology- Blakemore and cooper and Maguire

Question 1

What does the biological approach state

Answer 1

The biological approach states that all behaviour has a physiological origin-all thoughts feelings and behaviours have a biological basis. States that physiological differences are due to genetics and we inherit charecteristics from out parents
Researchers in this area do believe that although genetic information is inherited the environment the individual is in can alter how genetics are demonstrated and how an individual matures

Question 2

What is brain plasticity

Answer 2

Relates to grey matter which can forge, refine, weaken and sever neural connections in our brain. Changes in our physical brain emerge as changes in our abilities and behaviour

Question 3

What is the background of Blakemore and Cooper (4)

Answer 3

Blakemore and Cooper were inspired by the process of brain plasticity, which is when the grey matter of the brain changes both structurally and functionally, functionally in terms of strengthening or weakening of neural pathways. They were particularly interested in the brains of kittens, as there was evidence that their brains adapt to the environment that they are in and their grey matter has a similar structure to that of humans. Research by Hirsch and Spinelli showed that early visual experiences can change the orientation of the visual cortex of kittens and testing this using a monocular method findings neural pathways were weakened in one eye. Blakemore and Cooper wanted to expand on this by doing a binocular study in which the kittens experienced either a horizontal or vertical environment with both eyes to see if this would cause the brain to plasticise.

Question 4

What is the aim of Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 4

To investigate the development of the primary visual cortex in cats and to find out if some of its properties such as orientation selectively are innate or learned

Question 5

What were the participants in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 5

2 kittens were randomly allocated to the horizontal or vertical conditions
All kittens were in the critical period of their lives from 0-3 months where the brain is most vulnerable to change

Question 6

What was the research method used in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 6

A lab experiment with an independent measures design
Independent variable = Horizontal or vertical stripes
Dependent variable = Measuring behavioral and physical blindness

Question 7

Outline two controls of Blakemore and Cooper and explain why they were used

Answer 7

Both kittens wore a black collar to restrict their view and only see stripes
Both kittens were kept in a dark room when not in the cylinder to isolate the IV and establish cause and effect

Question 8

What does the visual cortex in kittens mean

Answer 8

When exposed to certain environments kittens can be blind to the world

Question 9

What does behavioral blindness mean

Answer 9

When kittens behavior changes to make it seem like their blind

Question 10

What does physical blindness mean

Answer 10

Actual biological changes within the visual cortex when the neurons are actually not working

Question 11

What were the behavioural findings from Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 11

“Behavioral blindness” was shown which means that kittens raised in the horizontal environment couldn’t detect vertically aligned objects and vice versa. So both sets of kittens remained blind to contours perpendicular to the stripes they had lived with
Evident as only the eyes of the kittens brought up in vertical stripes followed and played with the rod- if it was held and shaken vertically only the eyes of the kitten brought up in the horizontal stripes followed the rod if held horizontally

Question 12

What were the physiological findings of Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 12

Physical blindness occurred- -evident when certain cells were not firing. The kittens raised in the vertical environment had problem with their horizontal plane recognition cells firing and the kittens raised in the horizontal plane environment had problem with their vertical plane recognition cells firing

The patterns of the visual neurons would be balanced so they would have a balance of horizontal and vertical neurons.
But the findings from the kittens in this study did not show the same neuronal pattern. What they found was abnormal
Kittens raised in the horizontal environment had no neurons in the vertical environment and vice versa

Question 13

What are the conclusions for Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 13

1- Visual experiences in the early life of kittens can modify their brains and show brain plasticity
2- A kittens visual cortex may adjust itself during the critical period to the nature of its visual experience
3- The environment can determine perception at both a behavioural and physiological level in cats

Question 14

What were the strengths of the research method used in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 14

Highly controlled lab conditions e.g. wore a collar around their necks so no other lines could distort their visual field and as a result were able to conclude that it was the type of environment in which kittens were raised that caused the kittens observed blindness. High internal validity​

Question 15

What were the weaknesses of the research method used in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 15

However, there is a lack of application to the real world due to the highly artificial environment – in reality cats would not be in such as restricted environment of contrasting black and white horizontal/vertical stripes in a small cylinder. Low ecological validity so we cannot generalize to real life situations that cats may go through.

Question 16

What are the strengths of the quantitative data in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 16

Quantitative in terms of the neurobiological findings:​
Such quantitative data provides scientific objective evidence of brain plasticity in the kittens. Collecting quantitative data also enables research to be repeated and tested for be reliability ​

Question 17

What are the strengths of the qualitative data in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 17

Qualitative as the authors describe the kittens reactions such as following/not following the rod shaken in front of them, or no startle response etc:​

 This provides detailed descriptive examples of the differences observed in the kittens raised in two different environments . More useful due to the insight​

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Question 18

What are the ethical strengths with Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 18

The kittens were treated with the respect and responsibility laid out by the BPS for animal research (these are different for animals!) ​
The lack of protection of participant meant they got to observe more insight into the biological behavior of the kittens
If we didnt expose them to the conditions we wouldnt conclude that the brain plasticises

Question 19

What was the weakness of ethics in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 19

However, the cats demonstrated some long lasting clumsiness as a result of the experiment- physical harm​
suffered severe and
seemingly permanent deficits in their visual perception, such as an inability to keep their head still
and problems perceiving distance. This breaches the BPS ethical guideline of protection from physical and psychological harm
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Question 20

What are the validity strengths with Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 20

High internal validity as high levels of control so researchers can be confident that the findings were caused by the restricted visual environment ​

Concurrent validity: Research measured both behavioural and physical behaviours of kittens raised in a restricted environment and both measures concurred with one another as both behavioural and physical blindness was shown) which means both measures are concurrently valid as they both support the claim that the development of kittens brains has been influenced by the environment ​

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Question 21

What are the weaknesses of validity in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 21

Low population validity as the sample of 2 kittens is not applicable to how other kittens might respond, nor is it representative of how the human brain may plasticise.​

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Question 22

What are the strengths of reliability in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 22

The highly standardised procedures does allow for replication. High internal reliability​. For example both kittens were placed in a device for 5 hours a days and both kittens were kept in a dark room when not in the cylinder

However, the quantitative data allows for consistency to be checked, so high external reliability to some extent ​
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Question 23

What are the weaknesses of reliability in Blake more and Cooper

Answer 23

The study does not explicitly state the sample size, just the two conditions where one kitten participated in each. Ideally we would like to see results of more kittens from each environment to check for consistency. Low external reliability​

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Question 24

What are the weaknesses of the sample in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 24

The evidence presented came from the brains of just two cats so it could lack generalisability to other animals. Therefore we would have to be cautious about making claims about the environment and how it impacts on brain development, especially in humans. Low population validity/ generalisability to humans​

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Question 25

What are the strengths of the sample in blakemore and Cooper

Answer 25

However, the brains of cats have similar structures to human brain, allowing for some representation of brain plasticity in humans. ​

Question 26

How does Blakemore and Cooper fit the nature debate

Answer 26

The study shows both nature and nurture, therefore, is highly interactionist, which is incredibly useful as it expands our understanding of how innate factors interact with learnt behaviour to form what we do. ​

Nature provided the kitten with neurons with a preferred orientation and they were also born with a fully formed visual cortex so this was innate. ​

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Question 27

How does Blakemore and Cooper fit the nurture debate

Answer 27

Nurture- The restricted and manipulated environment in which the kittens were raised had a significant impact in terms of how the visual cortex developed e.g. the opposite neurons to the environment were not firing. So the kittens visual neurons adapted to their environment- leant​

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Question 28

How is Blakemore and Cooper useful

Answer 28

Extremely useful in helping us to understand functional brain plasticity and the impact the environment has on brain development. This could one day potentially lead us to develop practical applications on how best to train the brain to correct many behaviours​

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Question 29

How is Blakemore and Cooper limited in usefulness

Answer 29

But what can we really learn from animals about the plasticity of the human brain? Especially because of the limited sample, what can we really learn about plasticity in other animals if anything? Also, the environment they were raised in is so unrealistic and cannot be applied to other particular environments of animals or humans ​

Question 30

How is blakemore and Cooper scientific

Answer 30

Scientific equipment (electrode) measures neurophysiology= High objective​

High controls - the ability to establish cause and effect between a specific change in the environment and whether that impacts upon behavioural and physical blindness​

​Highly standardised= Procedure can be easily replicated ​

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Question 31

How is Blakemore and Cooper unscientific

Answer 31

However, the qualitative data collected in the lab when measuring behavioural blindness may have been misinterpreted so may have been subjective​

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Question 32

Explain a strength and weakness of the usefulness of the Blakemore and Cooper study

Answer 32

To some extent, the study by Blakemore and Cooper is useful, as it enhances our knowledge of functional brain plasticity and how the environment can influence the development of the brain during the critical period of life. For example, Blakemore and Cooper found that the kitten raised in an environment were it saw only horizontal contours, could not recognise or respond to any vertical objects or contours after the experiment, showing it’s visual cortex had plasticised due to it’s environment. This is highly useful, as we can use this knowledge to educate students on the importance of exposing themselves to knowledge that they will need in exams or later in life, in order to avoid their brain cells and neural pathways from weakening. ​

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However, the study lacks usefulness due to the unrepresentativeness of the sample and lack of generalisability to human brain plasticity. For example, the sample consisted of 2 kittens, during the critical period for cats which is 0-3 months. It found that the kittens raised in the horizontal environment couldn’t see vertical shapes or contours, however, we cannot generalise these findings to human babies during their critical period, reducing the practical applications that could be created towards brain plasticity in humans. This is a weakness as this lack of population validity doesn’t allow biological psychologists to enhance their understanding of brain plasticity in humans, limiting the extent to which the conclusions can be used on a wider scale. ​

Question 33

Evaluate the strength and weaknes of scientific nature of the Blakemore and Cooper study

Answer 33

One strength of the study by Blakemore and Cooper is the highly scientific nature, as objective quantitative measures were used to measure brain plasticity in kittens. For example, an electrode was used and placed in the kitten’s visual cortex in order to gather objective measures regarding the neurons and whether or not they were firing, allowing them to find that the kitten raised in the horizontal environment had no vertical neurons firing that were vertically orientated. This is a strength of the study as it allowed Blakemore and cooper to make scientific conclusions that are based on data that cannot be misinterpreted, increasing the reputation of psychology as a science. ​

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However, a weakness of the study is the lack of external reliability due to the small sample size and inability to check for consistency. For example, only 2 kittens were used throughout this experiment, meaning that only 2 sets of data were collected. Despite the data being quantitative and therefore easier to check for consistency, the small sample size limits Blakemore and coopers ability to establish high external reliability, as they have limited data to compare. This is a weakness as it limits the ability to be certain whether larger numbers of kittens would have the same plasticity effects if they were exposed to the same limited environment, reducing the replicability of the findings and scientific nature of the results

Question 34

Explain why the study by Blakemore and Cooper is a laboratory’s experiment (2)

Answer 34

The study is a lab experiment as the kittens were kept in an artificial controlled lab in order to be tested and there was a manipulated independent variable, whether the kitten was in the horizontal or vertical environment, and a measured dependent variable, their visual and physical blindness.

Question 35

Outline one reason why the study by Blakemore and Cooper can be considered unethical (2)

Answer 35

The study by Blakemore and Cooper may be considered unethical because the kittens were exposed to psychological harm as they were in darkness from birth, causing distress and emotional harm to the kittens.

Question 36

Outline one physiological finding from the study. (2)

Answer 36

One physiological finding was that the electrodes indicated that the kittens that had been in the vertical environment had no neurons that preferred horizontal contours firing and vice versa.

Question 37

Explain how Blakemore and cooper link to the key theme of brain plasticity. (4)

Answer 37

Blakemore and Cooper researched the brain plasticity of the visual cortex of kittens based on their early visual experiences. (1) 2 kittens were used and kept in darkness from birth. (1) Then after a 2-week period, they were exposed to either a horizontal or vertical environment in a purpose made cylinder for 5 hours of the day until the age of 5 months which was past the critical period. (1) It was found that after this period, the kittens that were in the purely horizontal environment had no neurons firing that preferred vertical contours. This links to the key theme of brain plasticity as the findings illustrate that the kitten’s visual cortex plasticised to prefer the environment and visual contours that they had been exposed to. (1)

Question 38

Explain how Blakemore and cooper links to the biological approach. (4)

Answer 38

The biological approach assumes that all behaviour has a physiological origin and is caused by genetics that we inherit, however, the way in which these genetics demonstrate themselves is due environmental experiences. Blakemore and Cooper link to the biological approach as their findings illustrate that the kitten’s visual cortex plasticised due to the environment they were raised in. They were all born with a normal functioning visual cortex in which all contours were preferred and recognised, however, due to the horizontal or vertical environment exposure, the kitten’s visual cortex changed and the neurons only preferred the contours they had been exposed to. This illustrates that their innate physiological factors were changed by their environmental experiences.

Question 39

Outline what the study by Blakemore and Cooper tells us about brain plasticity. (2)

Answer 39

Blakemore and Cooper tell us that functional brain plasticity does occur based on the environment we are exposed to. This is illustrated as depending on which environment the kittens were exposed to, only horizontal contours or only vertical contours, their visual cortex plasticised so that the neurons only preferred the contours they had been exposed to.

Question 40

What is the weakness of the independant measures design in Blakemore and Cooper

Answer 40

The researchers used an independent measures design and so different kittens participated in
each condition. This does not control for the confounding effects of individual participant
variables, where differences in genetic predispositions for visual development and the rate of such
development may have been the reason for differences in brain development, rather than the
changing visual environment. This therefore reduces the validity of the conclusions drawn. `

Question 41

What is the hippocampus

Answer 41

One of the major structures of the limbic system which is charge of navigation

Question 42

What is the background of Maguires study

Answer 42

Maguire was inspired by previous research that had been done, specifically by Blakemore and Cooper about functional brain plasticity, however, she wanted to expand on this and research structural brain plasticity. She wanted to investigate the hippocampus, which is a major part of the limbic system in charge of navigation. Previous research had suggested that the hippocampi of some animals grows in size during times when their navigational and special reasoning skills are exercised more often. However, there had been no research illustrating whether human brains would plasticise as a result of environmental changes, therefore, Maguire wanted to investigate this further and the best people to use were London Taxi Driver as they had to learn ‘The Knowledge’ of London and had much navigational experience.

Question 43

What was the aim of Maguires study

Answer 43

To investigate the differences in the brains of London taxi drivers and a control group who were not taxi drivers.

Question 44

What were the sample of the experimental group in Maguires study

Answer 44

16 male taxi drivers
Healthy all right handed
Mean age of 44 years
Taxi driver job duration hof 14.3 years

Question 45

What were the sample of the control group in Maguires study

Answer 45

16 male non taxi drivers
All right handed
Mean age of 44 years
No medical neurological or psychological health problems

Question 46

What as the experimental design used

Answer 46

Matched participants with independent measures

Question 47

Why was the research method a quasi experiment in Maguires study

Answer 47

The naturally occurring IV of whether the participants were taxi drivers or not

Question 48

What was the independent variable of Maguires study

Answer 48

Taxi drivers or not taxi drivers

Question 49

What was the dependent variable of Maguires study

Answer 49

The volume of the hippocampus

Question 50

What was done to see if the hippocampal volume increased within time

Answer 50

Maguire conducted a correlational analysis of the size of the hippocampus of the taxi drivers and the length of time they had been in their profession.

Question 51

What were the scans of the control group selected from in Maguires study

Answer 51

Selected from the structural MRI scan data base at the same unit where the taxi drivers were scanned

Question 52

What is a VBM (voxel based morphometry)

Answer 52

an automatic procedure that “normalises” the scans to a template to eliminate overral brain size as a variable and then identifies differences in grey matter density in diff regions of the brain

Question 53

What is pixel counting

Answer 53

Compared the volume of anterior body and posterior cross sections of the taxi drivers hippocampi with those of a previosuly age gender matched sample of 16 controls

Question 54

What does anterior mean

Answer 54

Near the front

Question 55

What does posterior mean

Answer 55

Near the back

Question 56

What is the body

Answer 56

In the centre

Question 57

What were the VBM results in Maguires study

Answer 57

Showed no sig difference between the brain of the 2 groups but Taxi drivers had significantly greater grey matter in their right and left posterior hippocampi compared to controls
In the controls there was a relatively greater grey matter volume in their right and left anterior hippocampi compared to taxi drivers

Question 58

What were the results using pixel counting

Answer 58

Taxi drivers had a significantly greater posterior hippocampal volume than controls on both sides
Controls had a significantly greater anterior right hippocampal volume than the taxi drivers and a significantly greater hippocampal body volume on the right than the left

Question 59

What were the correlational results of Maguires study

Answer 59

As the years taxi driving increased the volume of posterior hippocampi increased so positive correlation
However as the years taxi driving increased the volume of anterior hippocampi decreased

Question 60

What were the conclusions for Maguires study

Answer 60

There are regionally specific structural differences between the hippocampi of licensed London taxi drivers compared to those who do not drive London taxis- shows evidence of brain plasticity
Also indicate the possibility of local plasticity in the structure of a normal human brain which allows it to adapt in response to prolonged environment stimuli

Question 61

What were the strengths of the research method in Maguires study

Answer 61

High control over extraneous variables due to matched pairs design- used to match key charecteristics which may have affected the hippocampus like age gender and right handed so removed ind differences
Correlational analysis was done to establish the relationship between the volume of grey matter in the hippocampus and time as a taxi driver-

Question 62

What were the weaknesses of the research method in Maguires study

Answer 62

Quasi experiment so there will always be individual differences that are not accounted for as participants cannot be randomly allocated to conditions due to naturally occurring IV so impacts internal validity

Question 63

What were the strengths of Maguires sample

Answer 63

Using males removes gender being an extraneous variables

Question 64

What were the weaknesses of Maguires sample

Answer 64

Androcentric sample so gender bias so dont know the brain plasticity of female taxi drivers
All live in London- area bias based on location so we dont know the brain plasticity of taxi drivers in different locations

Question 65

What are the strengths of the type of data used in Maguires study

Answer 65

Quantitative data colllected so increases external reliability as easier to check for consistency to establish trends and patterns
The use of highly technical equipment like the MRI scanner allows for objectivity

Question 66

What are the weaknesses of the type of data collected in Maguires study

Answer 66

No qualitative data collected so reduces insight into hippocampi so reduces usefullness

Question 67

What was ethical about Maguires study

Answer 67

Carried out according to BPS guidelines so no ethical concerns- participants not deceived and informed consent was given due to volunteer sample

Question 68

What was unethical about Maguires study

Answer 68

Process of having an MRI can cause anxiety and emotional harm so protection of participants could be somewhat violated

Question 69

What were the strengths of validity in Maguires study

Answer 69

Matched based on gender and age so removes individual differences high in internal validity
Researcher blind to conditions to previous researcher bias
Correlation was also run to further support the findings of the experiment

Question 70

What were the weaknesses of validity in Maguires study

Answer 70

Low control over extraneous variables as participants would not usually have an MRI scan in their daily lives as taxi drivers

Question 71

What are the strengths of reliability in Maguires study

Answer 71

High internal reliability- standardised procedure like how all men had the same MRI scan and same software was sued to analyse them
High external reliability- generates quantitative data and also scientific and objective equipment used like MRI scanner to check for consistency

Question 72

What are the weaknesses of reliability in Maguire

Answer 72

No qualitative results so reduces insight into the hippocampus
External reliability could be low due to the fact that the sample was quite small and no women were used so no room for wide comparison for results or comparison of female hippocampal volume

Question 73

What are the strengths of ethnocentrism in Maguire

Answer 73

Could argue that spatial demands of the hippocampus in response to our environment is affected by the anatomy of the brain which is not ethnocentric as found in humans from all cultures

Question 74

What are the weakensses of ethnocentrism in Maguire

Answer 74

Only using taxi drivers situated in London so we dont know about the hippocampal volumes in taxi drives in different cultures

Question 75

Explain why Maguire et al used London Taxi drivers in their study of spatial memory (2)

Answer 75

Maguire used London Taxi drivers as they are frequent navigators, meaning that their hippocampi will be exercised everyday whilst they are working, as the hippocampus helps with navigational skills.

Question 76

Describe two findings from the study by Maguire on spatial memory (4)

Answer 76

One finding was that the taxi drivers had a larger volume in their posterior hippocampi, which is in charge of navigation to frequently visited locations, compared to the controls who had a relatively larger anterior hippocampus. (2) Also, she found that other than this difference, there were no significant differences in the volume of any other region of the brain in the taxi drivers and the controls. (2)

Question 77

Explain the term positive correlation, with examples from the study. (2)

Answer 77

A positive correlation is the trend that as one co variable increases, as does the other. For example, Maguire found that as years taxi driving increased, so did the volume of their posterior hippocampus.

Question 78

Outline one control used with the Maguire study and explain why it was important to use that control (4)

Answer 78

One control was that all of the taxi drivers and controls were male. This is because there is some evidence that the structure of the male and female brain is different. The control is important so that the gender of the participant doesn’t become an extraneous variable, and so the independent variable of taxi driver or not is the only thing impacting the volume of their hippocampus.

Question 79

Compare the similarities and differences between Blakemore and Cooper and Maguire. (8)

Answer 79

One similarity between the two studies is that they are both highly scientific as they both use objective scientific equipment. In Blakemore and coopers study of the plasticity of the visual cortex in kittens, they used electrodes in order to objectively measure the function of the neurons in their visual cortex, allowing them to find that the neurons firing were only the ones matching the environment they had been raised in. Similarly, in Maguire’s research into the hippocampi of taxi drivers and non-taxi drivers, she used VBM, a new scientific objective technology which measured the whole of the hippocampus in an MRI scanner. This allowed her to find that the volume of the posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers was larger than non-taxi drivers.

However, one difference is that Maguire is more generalizable than Blakemore and Cooper based on the sample. Generalisability is the extent to which we apply the findings of research outside of the research e.g. to the wider population. In Blakemore and Cooper’s research into the visual cortex of kittens, the research was done on kittens, meaning we cannot apply the findings of that fact that the neurons of the kittens only preferred the contours of the environment they were exposed to, to humans. On the other hand, Maguire’s study on the volume of the hippocampus, she did this research on human taxi drivers, therefore, the findings that the posterior hippocampus of regular navigators such as taxi drivers is larger, can be applied to other humans.

Question 80

Explain how the study by Maguire links to the key theme of brain plasticity (4)

Answer 80

Maguire studied the volume of the hippocampus of taxi drivers to see if it was different to non-taxi drivers. She used 16 male taxi drivers who were all right handed and mentally well and matched these individual differences with a group of control males, who were all non-taxi drivers. She used an MRI scanner and VBM technology to measure the volume of the hippocampus of the experimental and control group and compared them. She found that the volume of the posterior hippocampi of the taxi drivers was larger than the control group, linking to the key theme of brain plasticity as this clearly illustrates that structural brain plasticity can occur based on environmental navigational experience

Question 81

Explain how the study links to the biological approach (4)

Answer 81

Biological psychologists suggest that although behaviour had a physiological origin and genetic information is inherited, the environment an individual is in can alter how genetics are demonstrated (1). Maguire’s study examined structural brain plasticity in London taxi-drivers vs non-taxi drivers, and found that taxi drivers had significantly greater grey matter volume in their posterior hippocampus (responsible for spatial navigation of routes already visited) in comparison to controls (1). Maguire therefore links to the biological approach as she explores the innate brain region of the hippocampus, which is part of everyone’s physiology; yet the way in which the volume of this region of the brain plasticises is due to the environmental experiences we have e.g. taxi drivers have vast navigational experience of London, leading to increased volume in this region. (2)

Question 82

To what extent does the study by Maguire enhance our academic knowledge of brain plasticity in relation to individual differences? (5)

Answer 82

To a large extent, Maguire enhances our knowledge of brain plasticity through social diversity, as although Blakemore & Cooper examined functional brain plasticity in cats, Maguire examined a different social group of humans to assess structural brain plasticity. For example, Blakemore and Cooper investigate the functional plasticity of the visual cortex in kittens and found that if the kitten had only been exposed to a horizontal environment during the critical period of life, then their vertical neurons did not fire or have any activity. However, this research was not applicable to human brains. Still, Maguire enhances our understanding of social diversity as she explored structural plasticity in a different social group - by assessing the volume of the hippocampi in human taxi drivers, finding that the volume of their posterior hippocampi was significantly larger than the control group. Thus, showing that the human brain is also capable of plasticity due to environmental demands. Maguire’s research is therefore much more useful, as we can apply these findings to humans and encourage brain training and the importance of exercising certain regions of the brain as we know now that they will plasticise based on the environmental activity we participate in.

Question 83

Discuss the scientific nature of Maguires study

Answer 83

Maguires study can be considered highly scientific as it has the use of scientific equipment which allows for quantifiable measures. For example each of the 16 taxi drivers and non taxi drivers were given an MRI scan in order to measure the volume of their hippocampi and objective software like like VBM and pixel counting were used to measure this. This is a strength for the study as Maguire was able to objectivly measure how our environment can alter the structure of the brain increasing the reputation of psychology as a science

However the study may be seen as to lack scientific rigor due to the use of a correlation meaning we cannot establish cause and effect between co variables. For example maguire found a positive correlation between years taxi driving and volume of posterior hippocampi however we cannot isolate these variables as their may be other factors impacting its relationship such as dispositional factors like intelligence. This is a weakness as it limits our abilities to find a cause of hippocampal volume limiting the scientific conclusions of research into structural brain plasticity

Question 84

Outline how Maguires study is reductionist/holistic

Answer 84

Maguires study can be considered reductionist to some extent however it is largely a holistic study as it considers the interaction between nature and nurture when exploring structural brain plasticity. For example, Maguire found that the innate size of the hippocampus that we are born with when interacted with the environment and navigational experiences the volume can increase and structural plasticity can occur. This is a strength as looking holistically at brain plasticity can enhance peoples knowledge on how they can manipulate their environment like by training their brains in order to change the innate volume of their grey matter and become improved at a certain skill

However the study can be seen as reductionist on some level as the main focus is the biological and innate factor of the brain and how it can plasticise. For example, Maguire focuses mainly on how our physiology can change and grow by comparing 2 different groups of men both who have different navigational experiences. This is a weakness as a reductionist approach to research can be seen as deterministic as Maguire suggests that the volume of your hippocampus can predetermine your navigational skills removing choice from the individual

Question 85

`Discuss to the extent Maguires study can be considered useful

Answer 85

Maguire study is considered useful to a large extent due to the fact that the findings of brain plasticity in the hippocampus improve our academic knowledge of the changes of brains in humans. For example Maguire found out that the hippocampi of taxi drivers increases over time as they progress through their career as a taxi driver. In paticular the posterior hippocampi which is in charge of frequently visited locations. This is a strength as of the study as these findings allow us to develop practical applications to promote the importance of exercising parts of the brain as they will grow stronger

On the other hand Maguires study can be seen to lack usefullness due to the fact that the sample is very specific to a certain type of navigator therefore reducing population validity. For example Maguire experimental sample were 16 London taxi drivers all of which have a paticuler navigational skill of the streets of London and nowhere else meaning we cannot apply these findings to different navigators who have to navigate different environments. This is a weakness as it reduces to ability to be able to apply these findings to all navigators in order to see consistency of brain plasticity of all hippocampi and not just one group of men