Biological Rhythms - Evaulation Flashcards
What are the three evaluation points you can use?
1 - Issue and debate - Determinism.
2 - Issues with case study evidence.
3 - Practical application to shift work.
What is the issue and debate that we can use?
Determinism vs free will.
What is the argument for the determinism half for the issue and debate?
The idea that the sleep-wake cycle is purely controlled by the SCN is determinist because it is assumed humans have no choice over their sleeping patterns.
What is the argument for the free will hold of the issue and debate?
However, it may be that we do have free will and choice over our sleep-wake cycle because some people are able to work at night and sleep during the day.
What is the main point for the practical application to shift work?
Shift work has been found to lead to desynchronisation of circadian rhythms and can lead to adverse cognitive and physiological affects.
What has research show to demonstrate the practical application to shift work argument?
It has shown that night shift workers have a lapse of concentration at 6am which increases the likelihood of accidents.
It has also shown that shift workers are 3x more likely to suffer from a heart disease as a result of the stress adjusting to sleep/wake cycles.
As for the research done into practical applications to shift work, what economic implications does it have?
In terms of maintaining worker productivity and preventing accidents in the workplace.
What is the main issue with case study evidence that the Siffre study is a prime example of?
It was only on one individual, and the other studies were carried out on only a few people.
As for the issues with case study evidence, what is the consequence of the studies being done to very small samples?
It is impossible to generalise.
There may be individual differences.
Siffre noted that when he went into the cave at 60 yrs old his body responded differently. - His cycle became more like a 48 hour cycle.
What is a good tail for the point that there are issues with case study evidence?
This suggests results cannot be generalised from these small samples onto everyone, factors such as age and gender may have significant affects on our circadian rhythms.
