Limitations of brain imaging studies

Question 1

Brain imaging studies usually involve a small number of participants

Answer 1

because of the limited availability and the high cost of technology, many brain imaging studies have fewer than a few dozen participants

Question 2

Brain imaging studies tend to focus on simple aspects of behavior

Answer 2

even seemingly simple tasks involve the smooth coordination of multiple brain regions

Question 3

Brain imaging may not increase understanding of a psychological process

Answer 3

for example, although brain imaging might point to a particular brain structure as being involved in, say, fear or romantic love, knowing this may not advance our understanding of the psychological experience of fear or romantic love

Question 4

Brain imaging isn’t necessarily a more “scientific” explanation

Answer 4

functional MRI seems more like “real” science than many of the other things that psychologists are up to. it has all the trapping of work with great laboratory

Question 5

Looking at brain-scan images