biological Flashcards
1
Q
rogers
(2011)
serotonin: aim
A
- investigate the role that serotonin plays in perceiving emotional intimacy
2
Q
rogers
(2011)
serotonin: procedure
A
- participants were 40 healthy male adults
- half the participants received a drink with tryptophan in it which increases levels of serotonin and the other half had a drink without it
- after participants were given photos of couples and asked to rate how “intimate” and “romantic” the couples seemed
3
Q
rogers
(2011)
serotonin: results
A
- participants with lower serotonin (did not have tryptophan) rated the couples less intimate and romantic than the other group
4
Q
rogers
(2011)
serotonin: conclusion
A
- serotonin plays a role in how humans judge the closeness of people’s relationships
- possible implications of depression as they perceive their relationships as less than they are
5
Q
rogers
(2011)
serotonin: evaluation
A
- casual relationship between the levels of serotonin and ratings of relationships
- rating closeness is not something people would do in real life, low ecological validity
- only in one culture (british) findings should be replicated on a bigger scale
6
Q
albert
(1986)
testosterone: aim
A
- investigate how testosterone influences aggression in “alpha male” rats
7
Q
albert
(1986)
testosterone: procedure
A
- rats were placed in cages and the alpha males were identified by observation
- alpha males randomly assigned to one of 4 conditions
- A castration
- B castration followed by implanting tubes of testosterone
- C castration followed by implanting empty tubes
- D “fake” operation where rats were cut open and sewn up again with no change
8
Q
albert
(1986)
testosterone: results
A
- A and C rats whose testosterone levels were diminished displayed less aggression
- B and D rats testosterone levels remained the same so there was no change in behaviour
9
Q
albert
(1986)
testosterone: conclusion
A
- testosterone plays an important role in aggression and status seeking
- higher testosterone = higher levels of aggression and dominance
10
Q
albert
(1986)
testosterone: evaluation
A
- carefully controlled extraneous variables in a lab, causal relationship between IV (testosterone levels) and DV (aggression and status)
- rats may not be generalizable to humans
- permanent surgery on rats, ethical?
11
Q
dabbs
(1995)
testosterone crimes: aim
A
- investigate the relationship between testosterone and criminality
12
Q
dabbs
(1995)
testosterone crimes: procedure
A
- testosterone levels were measured by saliva samples from 692 male prisoners
- prisoners criminal records analysed for violent and non violent crimes
13
Q
dabbs
(1995)
testosterone crimes: results
A
- prisoners with higher testosterone levels, more likely to commit violent crimes (rape, murder, assault)
- prisoners with lower testosterone levels, non violent crimes (credit card fraud etc)
14
Q
dabbs
(1995)
testosterone crimes: conclusion
A
- testosterone is seemingly linked to violent criminal acts
15
Q
dabbs
(1995)
testosterone crimes: evaluation
A
- correlational study as no variables were manipulated
- can’t be sure testosterone was the cause of people being more violent
- lots of extraneous variables
- strength is large sample size
- only conducted on males so not generalizable to women
16
Q
savic et al
(2009)
human pheromones scan: aim
A
- investigate whether human pheromones exist and how they impact our brains
17
Q
savic et al
(2009)
human pheromones scan: procedure
A
- researchers exposed participants (24 men and women) to the smell of two chemicals
- chemicals were almost identically to naturally produced sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen
- as participants smelled the chemicals their brains were scanned with a PET machine
18
Q
savic et al
(2009)
human pheromones scan: results
A
- hypothalamus became activated in men when they smelled the female hormone and in women when they smelled the male hormone
- hypothalamus is linked to sexual behaviour and not normally activated by other smells
19
Q
savic et al
(2009)
human pheromones scan: conclusion
A
- suggests sex pheromones exist in humans and they influence sexual behaviour
20
Q
savic et al
(2009)
human pheromones scan: evaluation
A
- well controlled lab experiment showing a causal relationship between the chemicals (IV) and activity in the hypothalamus (DV)
- small number of participants, needs to be replicated to confirm
- measured changes in brain activity not actual behaviour
- would these people act on the brain activity? unknown
21
Q
zhou
sex pheromones: aim
A
- investigate how sex pheromones (chemicals) can alter perception
22
Q
zhou
sex pheromones: procedure
A
- involved 4 groups of people
straight men, straight women
gay men, gay women - participants were shown a shape made out of light dots that appeared to be walking
- the gender of the shape was androgynous but participants had to say whether or not they thought the shape was male or female
- during this the scent of either a male or female pheromone was released in the air
- male sweat, female urine
23
Q
zhou
sex pheromones: results
A
- participants responded to the pheromones of the gender they were attracted too
- when straight women/gay men smelled the male pheromone, they were more likely to view the figure walking as male vice versa
24
Q
zhou
sex pheromones: evaluation
A
- well controlled lab experiment, casual relationship between IV and DV
- low ecological validity
- pheromones came from areas that people wouldn’t normally be exposed too
- not sure how it would impact real world behaviour or if it even would have an effect
25
Q
francis et al
(2003)
genes and environment: aim
A
- investigate how the interaction between genes and the environment impacts how rats nurture their offspring
26
Q
francis et al
(2003)
genes and environment: procedure
A
- mothers separated into groups of either high licking or low licking
- licking in rats is a sign of care and affection
- after 12 hours of being born rats with high licking mothers were switched to rats with low licking mothers and vice versa
27
Q
francis et al
(2003)
genes and environment: findings
A
- rats raised by high licking mothers were less stressed and grew up to be high licking mothers too even if their biological mother was a low licker
- lost the methyl groups around high licking causing that gene to be turned on
28
Q
francis et al
(2003)
genes and environment: conclusion
A
- being in a loving environment impacts genes
- those epigenetic changed genes are passed on to the next generation
29
Q
francis et al
(2003)
genes and environment: evaluation
A
- well controlled experiment
- use of animals is less unethical, switching human babies in real life?
- easier to study across generations due to rats and not humans
- done on rats so not sure generalizable to humans
30
Q
Gottesman and Goldsmith
(1994)
twin crimes: procedure
A
- studied 85 sets of young twins
- looked at criminal conviction records
31
Q
Gottesman and Goldsmith
(1994)
twin crimes: results
A
- the concordance rate of juvenile delinquency in MZ twins was 0.91 (91%)
- when compared to 0.73 (73%) for DZ twins.
- if one identical twin broke the law, there was a 91% chance the other twin had
- For DZ twins, this dropped to 73%.
32
Q
Gottesman and Goldsmith
(1994)
twin crimes: conclusion
A
- suggests genetics is a factor, if behaviour was because of environmental factors, we would expect closer or identical rates of concordance between MZ and DZ twins.
- they’re higher for MZ twins, we know genetics is a factor but since it’s not 100% for MZ twins, it’s not the only factor.
33
Q
Gottesman and Goldsmith
(1994)
twin crimes: evaluation
A
- high ecological validity
- shows nature has a role in criminal activity
- can’t be sure of the environment they grew up in
