Psychology

• What is anecdote in Psychology?

  In psychology, an anecdote is comparable to a case study, but without the scientific rigour required. Both tell the story of one event that happened to one person, however the former does not hold any weight as scientific evidence because it is not formally recorded.
• In the brain, grey matter is located on the outside of the cortex (periphery) where all the cell bodies are located, while white matter is located on the inside of the brain.
• Ethics are the correct rules of conduct necessary when carrying out research. We have a moral responsibility to protect research participants from harm.
• however important the issue under investigation, psychologists must remember they have a duty to respect the right and dignity of their participants. must abide by moral principals and rules of conduct
• What are ethical guidelines?


  Codes of practise that are designed to be followed as a guide by people involved with psychological research. They allow people to understand what is deemed right or wrong and how to apply this knowledge to their research procedures.
• what is the role of the ethics committee?

  • to review research proposals that plan to use human participants in order to make sure that they meet guidelines in the Australian code of ethics.
  • The ethics committee will decide whether there has been similar composed research that nullifies the purpose of the current proposal, and whether the risk to participant welfare outweighs the any benefit research would have to society
• how many human research ethics committees (HREC) are there in australia?

  There are more than 200 in Australia. Most hospitals and universities have 1
• What happens once a study is approved?

  the ethics committee will monitor the research study and is able to step in and stop the study from continuing if they suspect that any ethical guidelines have been breached
• what is protection from harm?

  researchers must protect the physical and psychological wellbeing of participants, following guidelines can help accomplish this

  • one way to reduce the risk of continued psychological harm after a study is to debrief participants
• what is informed consent?

  researchers must obtain written consent from participants (using a consent form)

  • participants under eighteen-years-of-age, or those lacking the intellectual ability to give informed consent, need to have their legal guardian proved consent on their behalf.
  • the consent form should include the purpose of the study, what the participant is required to do, whether they are potential risks of participating in the study, the length of time the study will take place and explain the withdrawal rights of the participants.
• what are withdrawal rights?

  participants can end their participation in a study, or have their results removed during or at the completion of the study without pressure or penalty.

  • withdrawal rights must be explained within the informed consent procedure
• what is confidentiality?


  information collected participants must be stored in a secure manner and then disposed of when no longer required.

  • confidentiality is concerned with HOW information collected from participants is safeguarded
  • if the researcher wishes to publish or share results, participants names are not able to be used (instead, perhaps, a number allocated), and written consent from the participant (or legal guardian if the participant is under eighteen years of age) must be obtained
• Privacy means


  only information relevant to the study should be collected from participants.

  • privacy is concerned with WHAT information from participants is collected
• what are voluntary participants?

  participants partake in a study because they choose to do so.

  • participants cannot be bribed to participate or be at risk of failing a course (like a uni course) if they do not take part.
• Deception: this is used when participants knowing the true purpose of the study would affect the results

  • if using deception causes the risk to participants to outweigh the potential benefits of the research to society, it should not be used
• what is debriefing?

  an explanation given to participants at the conclusion of a study

  • if there was deception in the study, participants need to be informed of this, an opportunity for counseling should be provided, any mistaken beliefs participants may have formed during the study must be dispelled, and the participant‘s right to remove their results from the study needs to be upheld
• Sa me i


  Sensory afferent

  Motor efferent

  interneurons
• What is a lobotomy

  A psychosurgery designed to treat a psychological condition involving a sharp surgical tool to sever the neural connections between the frontal lobe which controls memory, emotions and problem solving skills.
• where is a lobotomy performed

  there are two types of lobotomy, prefrontal and transorbital.

  Prefrontal: holes are drilled into the side of a persons skull

  transorbital: a surgeon accesses the brain through their eye sockets.
• intended patients of a lobotomy included:

  People with psychosis symptoms and mental health conditions such as depression. He believed he could cure them but some peoples conditions worsened and some got better.
• ethical guidelines perspectives on lobotomy’s

  • Is the lobotomy necessary
  • Protection from harm
  • informed consent
  • Voluntary participation
• what happens to the patients

  many people lost their ability to feel emotions and became apathetic, unengaged, and unable to oncentrate. others became catatonic and even died.
• Lobotomy effectiveness 


  Moniz and Freeman both reported significant improvements in many of their patients. However some experienced worse symptoms, lobotomy's were still popular
• dynamic images


  images of the brain in action; showing activity in the brain
• Structural images


  Images that visualise the various structures/anatomy of the brain
• spatial resolution 


  the level of detail in an image (clarity)
• temporal resolution


  the amount of time it takes to generate an image; so how accurately changes in the brain can be detected
• non-invasive 


  does not cut or enter the human body
• CT Scan usefulness/ how it works

  • Participant is given a substance called contrast allowing blood vessels to be highlighted and an interpretation to be made
  • Useful for locating and identifying brain abnormalities and injury
  • can help identify the location and size of a tumour and extent of damage caused by stroke or injury
  • been used to look for abnormalities in the brain structures of people with mental illnesses
• CT scan limitations

  • images show only brain structure but not as well as scanners with x-ray techology
  • x-rays aren’t great at imaging tissue
• MRI

  • uses magnetic fields to vibrate atoms in the brain’s neurons to generate a computer image of the brain .
  • images are clearer and more detailed than a CT scan and can also be produced in colour.
  • been primarily used for diagnosing structural abnormalities but can detect and display extremely small changes in the brains anatomy
• FMRI shows the fact that blood is more oxygenated in highly active parts of the brain
• FMRI is preferred in psychological research as it can take numerous pictures of the brain in rapid succession, detecting brain changes as they occur
• Colour variations


  Reflect the activity of different brain areas and structures while a participant engages in an experimental task
• Standard MRI technology

  Produces better images than a PET scanner
• FMRI doesn't expose patients to radioactive tracers
• FMRI

  Detects and records brain activity by measuring oxygen consumption across the brain
• FMRI images

  Highly detailed and precise
• FMRI provides an image of brain activity averaged over seconds rather than minutes
• FMRI images of brain structures and activity are more highly detailed and precise