Biological_Processes_and_Psychological_Explanation

ANONYMOUS - P.I: XXXXXXXXXX DSE212 EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY Biological Processes and Psychological Explanation TMA 02 PART 1 –ESSAY PART 2 METHODS EXERCISES TMA 02 Part 1 Write an essay of 1000 words on Option B essay question: Option B: Explain, with examples, of studies of brain damage or disruption to normal brain activity have informed us about the relationship between brain activity and behaviour in normal functioning. The brain, mind and behaviour have a very complex, yet well defined, relationship. The brain is the body’s communication headquarters. It deals with, processes and acts upon all information it receives in an organised, timely fashion. The information comes from various sources via the sensory system, and then it relays information to different parts of the motor system. These messages from the brain effect either muscle or behavioural patterns. When a break in the chain occurs, it can result in various brain disorders such as stroke, schizophrenia, depression or abnormal behaviour encompassing violent and aggressive outbursts. However, there are a number of factors which could also lead to abnormal behaviour, for example neurotransmitter and hormone imbalance, genetic predispositions, temperament, brain dysfunction and socioeconomic factors. Various studies of malfunctioning brains have shown tremendous differences from the normal functioning brain. In the case of a stroke victim, when a stroke occurs the normal brain ceases to function as it was, “neurons starved of oxygen, they rapidly begin to die and the brain becomes damaged at the site of the attack” (Brain Explorer, 2010). This leaves the person with possible impaired motor functions, speech loss, and other cognitive disturbances. Brain trauma is another cause of brain malfunction. One of the first studied examples of this was that of Phineas Gage. He obtained his injury while working on a railroad construction in 1848, when a large iron rod pierced his skull damaging his frontal lobes, causing an alleged change of character and behaviour. This was one of the first cases to be studied and to which a link to be found suggesting that damage to certain areas of the brain affected by a traumatic brain injury could determine a change in behaviours and personality of the individual. Another more up to date example is that of a man called Michael Hill. He was a normal healthy man at the time of the incident when he answered his front door and was ‘stabbed in the brain with a 20cm (8inch) knife on April 25th 1998’ (Wikipedia, 2010). Reports showed that he then proceeded to walk to a friend’s house and get help, while having all his functions working perfectly. This huge brain trauma resulted in permanent damage to his memory and paralysis to his left hand, however, the knife missed all major blood vessels and didn’t sever the corpus collosum, through which the brain receives messages to both hemispheres of the brain. Roger Sperry in 1969 as a treatment for severe epilepsy pioneered the ‘Split Brain Research’(Wikipedia, 2010). He severed through the corpus collosum to reduce the effects of epilepsy in one of his patients. In normal brain activity the brain generates electrical activity in an orderly way. When this is disrupted by neurons discharging signals inappropriately this is seen as a cause of epilepsy. This severing of the corpus collosum resulted in the reduction of epilepsy in the patient, however this proved problematic because when testing the patient they found that ‘learning was unavailable to the other hemisphere of the brain’ (Toates, 2007.p.267.), because each hemisphere can cope with different information and can deal with both things, this demonstrated that ‘two halves of the brain may each contain consciousness’ (Wikipedia, 2010). Schizophrenia also effects the brain of the person with the disease develops differently than a normal person. Neurotransmitters in the brain are believed to misfire changing the chemical balance of the brain, too much dopamine, which in turn causes behavioural problems. Changes in the forebrain occur due to ‘the reduction of the grey matter in the frontal lobes and the decreased brain volume and activity’ (Brain Explorer, 2010), so areas such as social and cognitive functions suffer therefore respond inappropriately to social situations. It has been suggested that certain stressful life events could act as a trigger for schizophrenia in those who may have a genetic predisposition to this illness. Drugs also can effect brain function and change behaviour, which in turn alters the person’s environment, which changes the behaviour again which changes and disrupts cognition. Drugs can dramatically alter behaviour and brain function and can cause schizophrenia and depression, due to the drugs changing the activity of the synapses, ‘by blocking the reuptake of a particular neurochemical’ (Toates, 2007. p261). There are many medical techniques which are non-invasive to help detect brain injury or malfunction. These neuroimaging techniques help determine what the actual diagnosis is and what the prognosis is and the appropriate treatment, if any, should be given. Firstly, there are C.T. scans, computed tomography. This uses x-ray beams which can show cross sections of the brain and the damage caused either by disease or traumatic brain injury. Also there are MRI scans, magnetic resonance imaging. These can be used to produce a dimensional picture of the brain by using a magnetic field and radio waves, which in turn creates the brain image, without the use of radiation, unlike C.T scans. The MRI scans can be used for the diagnosis of brain tumours, dementia, stroke and many other illnesses. However, the most recent techniques are the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI). This is used in conjunction with the person performing cognitive tasks, such as memory games, as shown on the Open University DVD concerning brain imaging (DVD, Programme 2, Brain Scanning, The Open University, 2007) and the FMRI shows which part of the brain is being activated. This also helps standardise all the data the FMRI produces as it can be compared and the results shared across labs if needed. Reflecting on all of the studies and observations which have been done on malfunctioning and normal brains a general assumption is forming regarding brain and behaviour. Chemical and brain malfunctions do result in direct behavioural consequence. However, the brain has lots of sources that produce individual behaviour and these can be biological, personality and socioeconomic factors, all of which go towards changes in behaviour. Word count: 983 References http://www.brainexplorer.org/brain_disorders/Focus_Stroke-shtml, Jan 2010 http://www.brainexplorer.org/brain_disorders/Focus_Schizophernia_shtml, Jan 2010 The Open University. (2007). Brain Scanning [DVD Programme 2]. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Toates, F. (2007). Biological Processes and psychological explanation. In D. Miell, A. Phoenix, & K. Thomas (Eds), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed., pp225-283). Milton Keynes: The Open University. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hill_(stabbing _survivor), Jan 2010 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry, Jan 2010-01-06 Part 2 Methods Exercise Question 1 Q1, (a) Attractiveness and Asymmetry are the two variables shown in the scatter plot of figure 1. Q1, (b), (ii) Negative. The correlation appears to be negative as the higher the asymmetry the lower the attractiveness. Q1, (c), (ii) Strong. As Cohen states the coefficient of + -0.5 to +-0.8 indicates a strong relationship. Q1, (d), (iv). Facial symmetry is not the only determinant of whether someone appears attractive. Q1, (e). The change has occurred due to the removal of participant 18 which has now brought the co-efficient up. Participant 18 also looks like an anomaly for the general population, compared to the line of best fit. Q1, (f). Mark may have let personal feelings and previous history of his students influences his ratings. Also student’s personalities may have influenced his score. All volunteers were female and it was only his opinion of who was attractive or not. Question 2 Q2, (a), (iii) The type of session (with or without mobile phone). Q2, (b), (ii) The average time taken to respond to target stimuli in each session. (v) The target stimuli were detected in each session. Q2, (c), (iii) Within participants, because all the participants did sessions 1 and 2. Q2, (d), (i) The number of target stimuli that appeared during each session. (iv) The average age in each group. Q2, (e), (i) Practice on the particular sequence of stimuli. (ii) The age of the participant. Q2, (f) The changes would be to change the order of the sequence of stimuli from participant to participant to eliminate the practise effect. Also using a larger sample would deal with the difference of age between participants. Q2, (g) Some possible reasons for there to be no real performance differences in the two sessions could be the ‘experimenter effect’, where verbal or non verbal hints or clues could be given by the experimenter either conscious or unconsciously. Another reason could be practise effects, as every time a participant spots visual stimuli they will get better at responding. Also another reason for performance differences could be order effect. By not changing the order of the stimuli this can introduce a confounding variable into the experiment. Question 3 In a paragraph, describe how you might design an experiment to test the idea that mnemonics do help people recall four digit PINs max 350 words Forty people would be asked to participate in a study to see if mnemonics do help recall of PINs. The type of experimental design would be between participant design. The average (median) age of the participants would be 56 years old, with the expectation that the sample population would have a broad range of ages from 20s through to early 70s. They would then be divided into two groups through the tossing of a coin. Once 20 had been chosen for one group the remainder would automatically be in the other group to ensure that there are even numbers in each group (this would remove the possibility of throwing 40 ‘heads’). The ‘heads’ group would be allowed to recall numbers with a mnemonic aide, as detailed in the table below, and the tails group would not. Each participant in these groups would be given a list of ten, four digit numbers (see table below) to remember, without consulting any other group or individual participant. They would be given 10 minutes to do this exercise and then after this time they would be tested as individuals all at the same time. After this the information would be collated, analysed and reported on. The independent variable would be using the mnemonic aide; the dependant variable would be the recall success of each of the numbers. They would be operationalised by how many numbers could be remembered from the list. However, the confounding variable might be the average age of the participants; this could be counterbalanced by having a larger sample and through ensuring that each ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ group had a similar spread of ages in them. Alternatively, the sample population could be designed with a very narrow age range (e.g. +- 3 years from the median). Another opportunity would be to study the effects of age groups and actually use the current confounding variable as a point of study. |Numbers |Mnemonic | |1218 |Tchaikovsky reversed | |6196 |England World cup jumbled | |3112 |New Year’s Eve | |7105 |Upside down SOIL and reversed | |1963 |JFK died | |1109 |UK version of Twin Towers | |9991 |Great fire of London upside down and reversed | |2112 |Winter solstice | |1980 |John Lennon Died | |1815 |Waterloo |