Following a head injury, Aisha showed much less concern for other people and performed poorly when deciding between harmful and helpful actions in moral scenarios. A scan located the damage in one of four areas: the ventromedial pre-frontal cortex, the hippocampus, the cerebellum or the brainstem.
Which interpretation of Aisha’s changes after the injury is correct?
The hippocampus is the likely site because its volume is linked directly to moral reasoning.
The brainstem is the likely site because it weighs up moral choices without conscious effort.
The ventromedial pre-frontal cortex is the likely site because it links emotion to moral judgement.
The cerebellum is the likely site because it regulates personality and controls harmful impulses.
76 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Psychology 4.2 Theories/Explanations, covering 4.2.1 Situational factors on conformity and crowds, 4.2.2 Situational factors on culture and obedience; criticisms, 4.2.3 Situational Factors research study: Bickman (1974), 4.2.4 Dispositional factors on conformity, crowds, morality, obedience, 4.2.5 Brain in dispositional factors; criticisms, and 4.2.6 Dispositional Factors research study: NatCen (2011). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.