Issues and debates Social Cognitive Biological Learning
Ethics: whether research Social - Milgram - voltage HM/ case studies of brain damage Raine (ps off medication for two LT - Skinners Rat study
follows ethical guidelines and was up to 450 and made the patients who may not be able to give weeks could potentially have led Pavlov's dog study
whether the research can be ps distressed informed consent to harm) Little Albert study
justified. BPS guidelines for Milgrams experiment
human research PCWIDD; could be seen as breaking Patient HM- Patient HM had his Wagner found that castrated
Animal Research laws and several ethical guidelines. hippocampus removed as a result male rodents (no production of Pavlov conditioned dog to
guidelines; HCPC guidelines for He told the participants of the effects of his continual testosterone) showed little or no salivate to bell each time it wa
clinical; Researching ethically that the experiment was seizures. This surgical procedure aggression compared to control rung. This animal research has
with children as participants. being carried out to test impacted rate transfer of his rodents, but when they were vast practical applications—>
how punishment can affect memory the STM store to his injected with testosterone, they treatment for drug addiction
leaning when in actuality, LTM. Due to the effect that the showed typical aggressive (aversion therapy causes
it was to see how obedient removal of his hippocampus had behaviours alcohol causing nausea).
people would be to on HMs memory, researchers had
PA—> helps understand and Although research is beneficial
authority figures who gave carried out tasks/procedures on
them destructive orders. prevent potential violent criminals for humans, not beneficial for
him for 50 years and continually
This was an element of sought his consent every time in society by castrating them and animal —> unethical research
deception which could they studied him. However, so lowering their testosterone dog was harnessed and was
thus suggest that the ppts there’s an element of unethical levels - protects society from not accommodated the way
didn’t actually give practices in the case study of HM danger Although beneficial for stated by the home office .
consent to take part in the since we can question the extent society - unethical to animal —> Ryder - ‘speciesism’- argued
study. Moreover, the exp to which patient HM was actually sentience bill 2021- states that that it is morally wrong to trea
could also be seen as able to give consent, taking into animals have the ability to feel joy animals differently to humans,
being unethical since the consideration the disturbance and sadness like humans do, so it so it was unacceptable to hook
maximum shock was 450 caused to HM following the is just as unethical to conduct up the dog and make it salivate
Volts which had to be surgical procedure carried out on research on animals as it is on in the same way it is wrong to
administered to the him. Nevertheless, it’s persuasive humans do on humans
learner. This caused moral to argue that this was needed
strain which could be seen since it allowed for psychologists
through the profuse to have a deeper insight into the Causing damage to brain Skinners rat conditioned
sweating and nail biting of role of the brain for our memory.
structure of animals is more through positive
the ppts. Whilst this was
indeed unethical, it could ethical than to humans - animals reinforcement- each time the
Baddeley and Sebastian and
be argued that this was in have shorter life span than rat pressed the lever, they
Hernandez Gil- both required
fact needed to see the humans, so many generations of were awarded with a pellet of
participants to memorise a list of
extent to which ordinary either semantically/acoustically animals can be studied - would be food. This animal research has
individuals would go to similar/dissimilar words in a space impractical and expensive if done PA —> TEP used in prisons to
obey the destructive of 30 seconds or a list of Spanish on humans where attrition rates modify behaviours - each time
orders of AFs so that numerals. Whilst it can be argued can affect the longitudinal prisoners show positive
Milgram could be given an that the mental strain that was research However, results may behaviours, they are rewarded
insight into the destructive placed on the ppts as they were lack generalisability, so findings - they can swap their token
,any ppt showed too much to gain important information fair However, still some health the ability to feel joy and
moral strain or discomfort, about the effect of external factors benefits—> effective drugs sadness/pain like humans do,
they could be taken out of such as a viral infection developed from animal research so it is just as unethical to
the experiment. A contraction (CW) or a motorcycle that has benefited both humans conduct research on animals
weakness of this is that accident (KF) on the memory. and animals as it is on humans
despite the ethical status Case studies provide
of Burgers experiment in psychologists with an ethical
comparison to Milgrams, method to gain information about
Raine et al found that
we aren’t able to tell to the memory since the external
murderers who were pleading
what extent ppts would go factors that were mentioned
NGRI had lower activity in their
to hurt ordinary people. It above, aren’t factors that are
brain-particularly in their PFC-
could be that the ppts who purposely given to patients, rather
in comparison to those who
administers shocks all the they are naturally occurring and
hadn’t committed murders and
way to the maximum thus it’s ethical for psychologist to
were not pleading NGRI. One
voltage of 150 volts, would study patients who have suffered
of the practical applications of
have stopped with an impairment of their
this study was that
administering shocks at memory due to external factors
psychologists would be able to
300 volts had they taken
screen people in society with
part in Ms exp which thus
PET scans in order to be able
shows how the
to identify potential murderers
conclusions from Burgers
and thus be able to observe
study may not suffice in
them to give them medication
explaining the atrocities
to boost the activity in
that occur around the
particular parts of their brain
world and in history.
with lower activity. This could
be seen as being highly
Realistic Conflict Theory- unethical since it could impose
The boys were highly on an individual’s dignity if
encouraged by Sherif as they’re constantly suspected of
well as those who were
potentially murdering another
observing their behaviour
individual in society as a result
to continue hurting one of the low activity in their brain.
another. The violence that
was seen from the boys
Testosterone experiment on
included the raiding of
rats- Wager et al (1979) -
each others cabins,
castrated mice and observed
swearing at one another
that aggression levels
and even burning each
dropped. When the castrated
others group flags. Most of
mice were injected with
the violence wasn't
testosterone, their aggression
prevented by the
, underestimation of the rats allowed Wagner to be able
outgroups beans in the to find useful findings about
bean counting activity the role of hormones such as
sufficed in showing the testosterone on aggression.
prejudicial behaviour of
the boys against one Brain scanning techniques-
another and thus One of the types of brain
supporting the hypothesis. scanning techniques used in
biological psych is the PET
scan which works by injecting
a patient with a radioactive
glucose tracer. As an
individual carries out a
cognitive task, the glucose is
used up and breaks down the
radioactive atoms hilst
releasing positrons. This form
of brain scanning was used by
Raine et al and could be seen
as being unite unethical in the
sense that it’s not only
invasive, it is also potentially
harmful singe because of its
use of radioactive substances
in the patient's body. A more
ethical brain scanning
technique is the FMRI scan
which uses an electromagnetic
field to produce a series of
successive slices of the brain
which is then converted into a
3D image of the brain- far less
invasive and dangerous
compared to the PET scan and
thus, more ethical.
Psychology over time: how has WMM episodic buffer was added in Biological knowledge has Learning theories knowledge
psychological explanations and 2001 to reflect how info is integrated developed over time in several has changed over time due to
, Baddeley. So the MSM informed 1848, most of the knowledge of saliva during digestion. He
later memory models like the about the brain and behaviour realised that the dogs learnt to
WMM to expand on STM was based on unscientific theories associate the food with
such as phrenology which held different objects such as the lab
then Tulving zoned into the LTM the idea that a person’s character coat of the researchers who
more (semantic and episodic) - could be determined by reading came to feed them. Then the
rather than just describing memory the configuration of bumps on the dogs were conditioned to
as a input process output model. skull. However, after 1948 our salivate to the sound of a bell
Evidence to support Tulving LTM —> understanding of the brain and Therefore, after severa
KC. So the MSM informed later how it affects behaviour changed experiments Pavlov theorised
memory models like Tulving LTM to with the appearance of case that we learn new behaviour
expand more on the LTM studies such as Phineas Gage through association. This wa
which showed the frontal cortex called classical conditioning. To
has a role in controlling emotions. an extent, it can be said tha
Then the use of schemas - Other case studies from stroke Pavlov’s theories were
reconstructive memory - PA- victims studied by Dr Broca and Dr developed over time by
hogeways dimentia care home - Wernicke showed that some Watson and Rayner who used
understanding of how memory works functions such as language are the classical conditioning
is still developing overtime and is localised in the left hemisphere. principles to conditioned little
useful for us to implement. The case Finally, the appearance of Albert to fear any white, fu
of Ron Cotton . Police can use Neuroscience and the creation of object. This knowledge led to
cognitive interviews— developed as brain scans revolutionised our the creation of treatments such
a practical application from Tulving’s understanding of how the brain as systematic Desensitisation
throes of episodic memories — as has an impact on behaviour. For and Flooding. However, thi
they try to relax the eye witness and example, Raine et al’s study theory was simplistic and did
reinstate context cues. Sally Anne — showed that aggression can be not explain behaviours that are
> developed into animations— researched by using PET scans. He not based on instincts such a
adapted for younger children found that criminals who pleaded hunger or fear. Therefore, we
not guilty due to insanity reasons can say that classica
showed a higher level of activity conditioning has not developed
in the amygdala and low level of as a theory over time.
activity in the prefrontal cortex.
This research on brain scans for However, Skinner who was a
behaviourist and wa
the first time, produced evidence
concerned with making
that was observable and
psychology a science, took
objective. Researchers could
replicate the studies and observe some of the principles o
classical conditioning a
the same findings as PET scans
Pavlov’s methods followed
can produce the same images as
