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Roger Sperry 1968 Split-Brain Research into Hemispherical…
Roger Sperry 1968
Split-Brain Research into Hemispherical Lateralisation
Aim:
To study how two separated hemispheres deal with speech and vision
Procedure:
11 split brain individuals
Participnts look at a dot in the centre of a screen
Image/word would appear either left/right of the dot
Asked to say the image/word, if they couldn't say it asked to draw it with their left hand and their eyes closed
Findings:
Participants could see an object shown to the RVF (linked to LH)
Could not do this if it was on the left
If verbally an answer couldn't be given they could use their left hand
Shows the brain has seen the object and that language is on the left
Conclusion:
Main conclusion is that the left hemisphere is more geared to analytical and verbal tasks - and the right is more adept at performing spatial tasks and music.
The right hemisphere can only produce rudimentary words/phrases but contributes emotional and holistic content to language.
Evaluation:
W - Experimental design
Independent groups so ppts have individual differences (epilepsy) - performance on task may therefore be different
W - Experimental method
Quasi variable means Sperry couldn't control the damage to the corpus callosum
S - Experimental method
Lab = control, time set for the word to appear stayed the same
W - Low ecological validity
Most would use both visual fields in every day life rather than just the one
S - High reliability
Controlled nature allowed Sperry to replicate the findings with each ppt on many occasions
S - Application
Contributed to the debate about consciousness - helps provide a better understanding how split brain might affect tasks they complete
W - Low generalisability
Could be argued that epilepsy caused extreme lateralisation rather than split brain - cannot conclude that lateralisation occurs the same in everyone