debates

• Neuroscience (Debate-Understand consciousness)


  Positive - The seat of consciousness was found to be in the claustrum according to Crick and Koch (1998). To prove this an experiment was done involving the electrical stimulation of an electrode placed near the claustrum of a 54yr old woman with severe epilepsy. When the electrode was stimulated she stared blankly and did not respond to visual or auditory commands, Koubeissi et al (2014).

  Negative - It could be argued that individuals in a permanent vegetive state should be removed from life support in the instance that they are found to have lost consciousness. There is also problems with the evidence as it was only a case study and of a particular individual who had an 'abnormal' brain.
• Neuroscience (Debate-Treat criminal behaviour)

  Positive - Cherek et al (2002) investigated the levels of impulsivity and aggression in males with a history of criminal behaviour and conduct disorder. Half received a placebo and the others had paroxetine, an SSRI antidepressant. He found that at the end of the 21 days those taking paroxetine showed a significant decrease in aggression and impulsivity with no change upon taking the placebo.

  Negative - Martha Farah (2004) states that if courts use neurological intervention it could cause prisoners to lose their free will as it could be offered as an alternative to a prison sentence to those previously convicted.
• Neuroscience (Debate-Enhance neurological functions)

  Positive - Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) passes a current over particular areas of the brain and can, according to Cohen Kadosh et al (2012), improve memory, problem-solving and attention capabilities.

  Negative - Cohen Kadosh et al also warns of the use of TDCS technology as no training or licensing rules needed to be a practitioner. TDCS is also not available to everyone, providing some people with an unfair advantage over others.
• Neuroscience (Debate-Improve marketing techniques)

  Positive - Using neuroscience means the social desirability bias can be avoided when researching what truly catches people's eyes when looking at adverts by tracking eye movements. A company, Sands Research, used such eye tracking equipment to make a highly successful advert for Volkswagen.

  Negative -Wilson et al (2008) believes that using neuroscience in advertisements could cause our free will to be manipulated. Nelson (2008) found that 5% of brain scans used by marketing companies show 'incidental findings'. As researchers are not obliged to follow certain ethical protocols they do not need to advise a person on findings, even if the finding was evidence of a tumour.
• Contemporary Debate: The Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony - Eyewitnesses are NOT Reliable


  Post-event Information- info suggested after the event can become incorporated into the original memory. Loftus&Zanni(1975) demonstrated this by asking a question and changing the word 'a' to 'the' which affected how people responded.

  Crimes Are Emotive Experiences- eyewitnesses may not be reliable because the crimes they witness are emotionally traumatised and Freud argued that painful memories are pushed into the unconscious.

  Child Witnesses Are Not Reliable- children are prone to fantasy and their memories may be especially affected by suggestions made by others
• Contemporary Debate: The Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony - Eyewitnesses Are Reliable


  Post-event Information- research is misleading as it tends to focus on details that are not central to the incident thus more susceptible to corruption. Not all research suggests post-event info is misleading e.g Loftus (1979b).

  Crimes Are Emotive Experiences- Some psychologists believe that events that are emotionally shocking can create accurate and long-lasting memory.

  Child Witnesses Are Reliable- Davies et al (1989) children between the ages of 6-11 are fairly accurate as they do not usually make things up or deliberately lie. Anastasi&Rhodes(2006) found that all age groups are more accurate when identifying an offender from their own age groups.