Paper 2 psychology

Question 1

what are hemispheres of the brain connected by

Answer 1

the corpus callosum

Question 2

what is the left hemisphere of the brain responsible for

Answer 2

language, logic, problem solving

Question 3

what is the right hemisphere of the brain responsible for

Answer 3

facial recognition, spatial comprehension, emotions

Question 4

which side of the brain does info arriving at the left/ right visual field go to

Answer 4

opposite sides

Question 5

what happens in split brain research

Answer 5

corpus callous is severed in extreme cases of epilepsy, info can no longer pass between the hemispheres

Question 6

sperry split brain research A01 method and results:

Answer 6

11 ppts who had corpus callosums severed vs control group. had to do tasks isolating a single visual field. if a pic was shown in right visual field ppts could say what it was. if shown in left visual field they couldn’t say what it was- they could still pick up an object with their left hand to represent what they saw with their left eye (right hemisphere)- spatial recognition

Question 7

sperry split brain research A01 conclusions:

Answer 7

diff areas of the brain= diff functions. left hemisphere of the brain or right visual field can convert sight into spoken/written language .info from right hemisphere can’t be transferred to left. right hemisphere can still produce a non verbal response

Question 8

sperry split brain research A03

Answer 8

• case study + experiments - obtain both quantitative and qualitative data, increases reliability and validity.
  X- small sample of 11- difficult to generalise
  X- cofounding variables- epilepsy was caused by brain damage and ppts were on medication this could’ve effected results, difficult to extrapolate to ppl w out epilepsy/ split brain treatment
  X-lacks ecological validity- was a lab experiment- however highly controlled 1/10th of a second an image flashed, not enough time for info from one visual field to pass to another so only 1 hemisphere would receive info also had a fixation point

Question 9

what is plasticity

Answer 9

plasticity: the ability of the brain to alter its structure and function in response to changes in the environment

Question 10

describe neural pathways

Answer 10

new info new neural pathways
keep using neural pathways they become stronger
stop using neural pathways they get weaker

Question 11

what is functional recovery

Answer 11

brain damage results in loss of function, the brain has the potential to recover some of this function due to plasticity, healthy areas take over function of damaged areas

Question 12

plasticity and functional recovery A03

Answer 12

Maguire et al- 16 male taxi drivers memorising maps and routes in London for an exam, their brain structures were compared to a control, they had much larger posterior hippocampuses- suggesting brain can reconfigure itself to adapt to new demands like memory
Danielli et al- case study of EB who had a tumour and had to get his brocas and wernickes area removed, immediately lost all language ability after 2 years able to speak as right hemisphere took over.
phinneas cage- pole severed his brain but was able to function as normal, only minor difficulties like anger sustained.

Question 13

FMRI A01+3

Answer 13

3D scans that provide structural and functional info- shows changes in brain activity
ppt asked to carry out a task whilst in scanner- part of the brain involved in that activity will be more active
can be used to see damaged areas of the brain/ abnormal activity
-non invasive method
X- expensive, claustraphobic (in an enclosed space)

Question 14

EEG’s A01+3

Answer 14

shows overall electrical activity of the brain
multiple electrodes placed on scalp- electrical activity recorded for a period of time- produces a pattern of waves representing arousal/ consciousness
used in sleep studies and conditions like depression and schizophrenia.
-non invasive, cheaper than fMRI
X- poor spatial resolution, hard to work out which area of the brain the waves originate from

Question 15

ERP A01+3

Answer 15

how an EEG wave changes in response to a stimulus
used in memory research
X- background noise must be completely eliminated- difficult to do

Question 16

post mortem A01+A03

Answer 16

dissect dead ppl brains, if someone w a medical condition died post mortem shows structural abnormalities
provides evidence for localisation of function
X- requires dead people who don’t benefit
X- doesn’t establish cause and effect
X- might not be generalisable to alive people

Question 17

psychodynamic A01

Answer 17

freud believed all behaviour and feelings are influenced by unconscious drives which stem from childhood experiences. Unconscious- preconscious- conscious.
triparte personality: id (demands instant pleasure), ego (in touch with reality, responsible for compromise to reduce tension, superego (morals, guilt, pride)
defence mechanisms: protects the go and reduces conflict between the id and superego.
Denial, displacement, repression.
psychosexual stages: fixation can occur at any stage resulting in issues in later life OAPLG

Question 18

psychodynamic A03

Answer 18

X psychic determinism- believes later life is controlled by powerful unconscious that have resulted from childhood
X idiographic case studies- Little Hans, difficult to generalise to wider populations, also freud interpreted them himself with abstract concepts like oedipus complex- other psychologists wouldn’t say the same thing about his interpretations- lack inter rater reliability
X unscientific- concepts like the tripartite personality and the psychosexual stages are unfalsifiable- Karl popper said its a fake science
X gender bias- concepts like penis envy suggest women are envious of men for their penis and suggest inferiority.
- psychoanalysis

Question 19

humanism A01

Answer 19

humans have free will over their behaviour and should be viewed holistically. humans want to reach self actualisation. maslows hierarchy of needs: humans work through the hierarchy to reach self actualisation, very few people reach it.
rogers: humans have a basic need to feel valued and accepted by others (unconditional positive regard) but in society we are valued by our conditions of worth which affect our congruence.
incongruence occurs when our ideal self is too far from our current self
person centred counselling: a talking therapy where unconditional positive regard is given, reducing incongruence and helping patients self actualise

Question 20

humanism A03

Answer 20

X unscientific-concepts like self actualisation are unfalsifiable- proud of being anti science
- holistic- positive approach that believes people can change and they have free will
X- cultural bias- individualistic cultures prioritse individual success and achievement whereas collectivist cultures believe in success of the whole community therefore making it much more difficult to self actualise
X- idiographic