Flashcards
Blakemore and Cooper
Cards in this deck (13)
- 1BackgroundHirsch and Spinelli (Stanford Uni)
-Study on rearing kittens with one eye seeing vertical stripes and the other seeing horizontal stripes
-Neurones monocularly driven, preferred orientation is the same way as stripes
The neurones in visual cortex showed plasticity- developed according to experienced environment
- B-C replicate study but with both eyes Binocularly - 2Aims-Investigate Behavioural and Neurophysiological effects on kittens neurones in the visual cortext
-Investigate the responces of the kittens brain development to their environment and illustrating brain plasticity - 3Procedure0-2 Weeks
- Kittens in a complete dark room
2 Weeks- 5 Months
-In apparatus (cylinder) 5hrs a day, rest time in black room, visual environment manipulated; Vertical/Horizontal stripes
-Kittens inspected the wall for a long time
- After 5 months 'sensitive' period for visual development ended - 4Behavioural Results-Initial Reaction= Visual Defects
-After 10hrs some disappeared; Visual placing, Startle response, easily navigates
-After 10hrs some remained; clumsy at tracking objects, jerky head movements, bad visual depth perception, bumped into things - 5Behavioural Results-Horizontally raised kittens did not see vertical lines
-Vertically raised kittens did not see horizontal lines
1. Perspex sheet with black and white lines presented to them. 'Wrong' Orientation= No response. 'Right' Orientation=Startle response
2. Rod shaken infront of them, the kitten only saw the rod is shaken in the same orientation
as the stripes they were brought up in - 6Neurophysiological Results-Normal Cat; Have a balance of vertical and horizontal neurones, both preferred orientation
- Vertical cat; No neurones in the horizontal orientation, preferred orientation was vertical
-Horizontal cat; No neurones in the vertical orientation, preferred orientation was horizontal - 7Conclusions-Development of visual space responds to experienced environment
- Brain Plasticity- neurones with a preferred vertical orientation changed to a horizontal preferred orientation when the environment was only horizontal - 8Ethics and Ethnocentric-Niether relevant
- Conducted within guidelines by Home Office for animal studies
-Studied cats; not relevant, comparative psychology - 9Reliability-Controlled conditions, set out procedures, can be tested to find test-retest
-Does not state sample size except from 2 kittens used for neurophysiological findings so need a larger sample - 10Validity-High concurrent-supported brain plasticity
-Infer cause and effect due to high controls
-Low EV; lab, kittens wouldn't only see lines of one orientation
-Low Population; Only 2 kittens no breed, can't be generalised - 11DebatesNature-Nurture
-Nat; neurones had an originally preferred orientation
-Nur; restricted visual environment changed preferred orientation so neurone adapted to the environment
Psych as a Science
-controlled observation and experiment
-fulfils scientific criteria
-Falsifiable; replicate with other kittens
Ethics
-conducted ethically according to animal research guidelines - 12Links to Biological Area-Investigating the effects of the environment of the kittens developing brain and how this affects their behaviour
-Demonstrated brain plasticity as their eyes become normal again - 13Link to Key Theme-Cats visual neurones change their preferred orientation, cats reared with horizontal environment will only develop horizontal vision and vertical environment=vertical vision
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- A level Psychology (Biological Area) Flashcards on Blakemore and Cooper, created by Amy O'Farrell on 25/10/2016.
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- Amy O'Farrell
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