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Biological Approach Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 key assumptions of the Biological Approach?

A

1) Human behaviour is influenced by physical processes.

2) Everything psychological was first biological

3) To study human behaviour, we must look at biological structures.

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2
Q

Describe key concept 1: Genotype and phenotype

A

Our genetic makeup (genotype) is made up of genes, expressed through physical, behavioural, and psychological characteristics (phenotype).

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3
Q

Describe key concept 2:
Brain and neurochemistry

A

Behaviour is influenced by brain chemicals such as neurotransmitters, hormones. For example, Serotonin, Dopamine, Adrenaline, GABA, Acetylcholine.

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4
Q

How can the Biological Approach be applied?

A

Treatment of illnesses using drugs (Biomedical model).

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5
Q

How do psychologists use the biological approach?

A

1) Brain scanning techniques
2) Chem experiments and drug trials
3) Animal experiments
4) Case studies of ppl with injuries or abnormalities (e.g., HM, KF etc.)
5) The study of twins and families

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6
Q

Name 3 key research studies for the Biological Approach.

A
  1. Lab experiments
  2. Twin studies (monozygotic vs dizygotic)
  3. Brain scanning technology techniques e.g., FMRIs, EEGs, ERPs
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7
Q

What is the definition of a genotype?

A

Your genetic makeup (biological).

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8
Q

What is the definition of a phenotype?

A

The way your genes are expressed through physical.

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9
Q

What environmental factors influence phenotype?

A

Exercise, sleep, nutrition, and water.

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10
Q

What is the definition of concordance rates?

A

The percentage of pairs of twins or other blood relatives who exhibit a particular trait or disorder.

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11
Q

What is the definition of a twin study?

A

Research that assesses the shared contributions of heredity and environment using twins. Usually by comparing the characteristics of identical and fraternal twins and weather they’ve grown together or apart.

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12
Q

What two parts make up The Nervous System?

A

The CNS (Central Nervous System) or the PNS (Peripheral Nervous System).

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13
Q

What make up the CNS?

A

Its made up of the brain and Spinal cord- referred to as ‘central’ since it combines info from the entire body and coordinates activity across the whole organism.

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14
Q

The brain is the centre of all consciousness, what functions of the body is it responsible for?

A

The 5 senses, speech, thinking, awareness, and movement.

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15
Q

What is the spinal cord and what is it responsible for?

A

The spinal cord is an extension of the brain- it sends motor commands from the brain to the body and sensory info from the body to the rain and coordinate reflexes. As well as being responsible for reflex actions like pulling your hand away from a hot stove.

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16
Q

What does the PNS do? What is it further sub-divided into?

A

It transmits messages, via millions of neurons (nerve cells, to and from the CNS. Its sub-divided into the ANS and the SNS.

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17
Q

What does the SNS do?

A

It controls the muscle movement and receives info from sensory receptors.

Moreover, it promotes ‘rest and digest’ processes; heart rate and blood pressure lower, gastrointestinal periostitis/ digestion restarts, etc.

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18
Q

What does the ANS do?

A

Covers vital functions in the body such as breathing, heart rate, digestion sexual arousal and stress response

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19
Q

What is The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)?

A

Three stages of stress proposed by Hans Selye.

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20
Q

Describe the resistance stage of GAS?

A

Involves your body working to return itself to its normal state following the stress reaction (homeostasis). The PNS is activated. You’ll slowly calm down; your heart rate and blood pressure will return to normal.

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21
Q

Describe the alarm stage of GAS?

A

When your body responds to the source of the stress. The CNS is activated, which triggers the cascade of physical reactions known as ‘fight or flight’ response.

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22
Q

Describe the exhaustion stage of GAS?

A

Prolonged or chronic stress leads to the last stage-exhaustion. Enduring stressors without relief drains your physical, emotional, and mental resources to the point where your body is no longer able to cope with stress.

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23
Q

What is ATP?

A

An adenosine triphosphate produced by the mitochondria (what gives energy).

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24
Q

What pathway is activated in the short term or acute stress response that triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response?

A

The sympathomedullary pathway (SAM).

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25
Q

What regulates long term or chronic stress?

A

The hypothalamic- pituitary- adrenal (HPA) system.

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26
Q

What often triggers a stressful situation that activates the amygdala (part of the limbic system) is activated?

A

A stressor (stimulus or threat) that’s causes stress.

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27
Q

What does the amygdala do once activated by a stimulant?

A

Responds to sensory input (5 senses) and connects sensory input with emotions associated with the ‘fight or flight’ response (e.g., fear or anger).

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28
Q

What does the amygdala do if the situation is deemed as stressful or dangerous?

A

It sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, which communicates this to the SNS (if the response is a short term response).

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29
Q

What is the SAM?

A

A bodily system designed to cope with acutely stressful situations. It is often life-saving as it means an individual can react with speed when under real or perceived threat. The end result is the release of adrenaline, which aids the fight or flight response.

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30
Q

What is the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system?

A

Involves the CNS and the endocrine system to adjust the balance of hormones in response to stress.

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31
Q

What stress hormone does the adrenal cortex release? What does it do once its released?

A

Cortisol- the immune system is suppressed when this happens.

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32
Q

What is the function of cortisol?

A

This has a number of functions, including releasing stored glucose from the liver (for energy), and controlling swelling of an injury.

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33
Q

What can disrupt almost all the body’s processes, putting you at a higher risk of health problems?

A

The long-term activation of the stress response system and too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones.

34
Q

List examples of health risks faced by the long-term activation of the stress response system:

A

Anxiety, depression, digestive issues, headaches, muscle tension and pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep problems, weight gain, and memory and concentration impairment.

35
Q

What is typically seen as a male response to danger and stressful situations?

A

The ‘fight or flight’ response.

36
Q

What is typically seen as a female response to danger and stressful situations?

A

The ‘tend and befriend’ response.

37
Q

What is theorised in Taylor et al (2000)?

A

According to Taylor et al 2000, women are more likely to protect their offspring (tend)and form alliances with other women (befriend)
- The ‘fight or flight’ response may be counter intuitive as running can make you seem weak.

38
Q

List some ways can we relieve stress?

A
  • Journaling
  • Sleep
  • Exercise
  • Gaining weight
  • Antidepressants (6 months at most)
  • Socialising
  • Balanced diet and good nutrition- minerals like magnesium
  • Water
  • Take time alone
39
Q

What are hormones?

A

Chemical substances that act like messenger molecules in the body

40
Q

Name the 10 main Endocrine glands:

A
  • Hypothalamus gland
  • Pituitary gland (in your brain)
  • Pineal gland (in your brain)
  • Thyroid gland (in your neck)
  • Parathyroid gland (in your neck)
  • The thymus gland (between your lungs)
  • Adrenals glands (on top of your kidneys)
  • Pancreas gland (behind your stomach)
  • Ovaries
  • Testes
41
Q

Where is the Pituitary gland’s located?

A

The hypothalamus at the base of the brain.

42
Q

What are the Pituitary gland’s functions?

A

It’s the major endocrine gland- often referred to as the ‘master gland’ seeing as it messenger hormones control all the other glands in the endocrine system.
- However, it mostly carries out instructions from the hypothalamus.
- In addition to messenger hormones, the pituitary also secretes the growth hormone, endorphins for pain relief, as well as a number of key hormones that regulate fluid levels in the body.

43
Q

Nerves vs hormones:

A

Nerves:
1) Very fast action
2) Act for a very short time
3) Act on a very precise area
Hormones:
1) Slower action
2) Act for a long time
3) Act in a more general way

44
Q

Case Study: What is the Curious Case of Phineas Gage?

A
45
Q

What does Localisation theory suggest?

A

Localisation theory suggests that certain areas of the brain are responsible for certain processes, behaviours and activities.

46
Q

What are the 3 main strengths of localisation theory?

A
  • There is brain scan evidence to support it- i.e., Peterson et al. (1988): found that Wernicke’s area was active when performing listening tasks and Broca’s area was active when undertaking reading tasks. This supports the idea that different areas of the brain have specific functions.
  • Support from neurological evidence- i.e., Dougherty et al. (2002): found that a third of OCD sufferers who had part of the cingulate gyrus removed from their brain showed improvement in symptoms following the procedure. This, and similar studies of neurosurgery, shows that particular areas of the brain may be responsible for specific behaviors.
  • Support from case studies- i.e., The tamping rod that went through Phineas Gage’s cheek removed his frontal lobe and turned him into a ‘different’ person.
47
Q

What is 1 limitation of localisation theory?

A

The existence of contradictory research- i.e., Lashley (1950): removing different parts of the cortex in rats suggests the holistic distribution of cognitive functions.

48
Q

What are the functions of the frontal lobe?

A

Associated with higher order functions, including planning, abstract reasoning, and logic.

49
Q

What are the functions of the temporal lobe?

A

To processes auditory information.

50
Q

What are the functions of the parietal lobe?

A

Parietal lobe- vital for sensory perception and integration, including the management of taste, hearing, sight, touch, and smell.

51
Q

What are the functions of the occipital lobe?

A

It’s the visual processing area of the brain like face recognition and depth perception.

52
Q

Where is the motor cortex located?

A

Frontal lobe

53
Q

What is the role of the motor cortex?

A

It’s responsible for voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles.

54
Q

Where is the sensory cortex located?

A

The parental lobe.

55
Q

What is the role of the sensory cortex?

A

It receives incoming sensory information from the skin to produce sensations related to pain, pressure, temp, etc.

56
Q

Where is the auditory cortex located?

A

The temporal lobe.

57
Q

What is the role of the auditory cortex?

A

It’s responsible for analysing and processing speech-based information.

58
Q

Where is the visual cortex located?

A

Occipital lobe.

59
Q

What is the role of the visual cortex?

A

It receives and processes visual information through different parts such as colour, shape, and movement.

60
Q

What is the machine analogy?

A

That health hinges on genetics and its hardwired or fixed/static. Drugs are used to support this theory. It gave rise to the Genetic Model.

61
Q

What is the plastic analogy?

A

That health hinges on epigenetics (lifestyle), in this analogy its soft-wired and changing. The use of lifestyle to support this theory. It gave rise to the Plasticity Model or Neuroplasticity.

62
Q

What is brain plasticity?

A

The ability of the brain to make new neural connections and amend existing connections. During childhood, new connections are made, and ones that are used will be deleted.
Originally, it was thought that this process is only takes place in childhood, as the brain grows and develops. However, there is evidence that the process can happen in adulthood as well as a result of learning and experiences.

63
Q

What is an example of brain plasticity?

A

e.g., at 3 years old the brain has twice as many connections (synapses) per neurones in the adult brain. We lose synaptic connections…

64
Q

What 2 studies support the research of brain plasticity?

A

1) The London Taxi-cab study
2) Draganski et al (2006)

65
Q

The London Taxi-cab study
- Maguire et al (2000) studied London taxi drivers, finding that their brains had a larger posterior hippocampus (part involved in cognitive and spatial processing) than a matched control group.
- This is possibly due to the fact that the drivers need to pass ‘The Knowledge’ (a comprehensive test of London’s streets and traffic routes).
- The loner the participant had been a London taxi driver, the larger their posterior hippocampus. This suggested that parts of the brain will develop according to experience, in this case improving their spatial navigational skills.

A
66
Q
A
67
Q

What are high levels of the male sex hormone testosterone associated with?

A

The development of a masculine- typical gender in both males and females.

68
Q

Testosterone is triggered prenatally of the ___ gene (contributed by the Y chromosome), which starts the ________________ of the embryo. The default developmental pathway is ______, which means without testosterone the foetus becomes female.

A

1) SRY
2) masculinisation
3) female

69
Q

Baucom et al

A
70
Q

What studies have found that men have a bigger amygdala than women?

A

Knickmeyer and Baron-Cohen

71
Q

What is Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)?

A

A condition where a genetically female foetus is exposed to abnormally high levels of testosterone. The outcome is the foetus will develop external genitalia resembling a penis.

72
Q

What behaviours do CAH children raised as girls typically display in childhood and adulthood?

A

CAH children raised as girls often show play behaviour and toy preferences more typical of boys. In adulthood women with CAH express satisfaction with females’ typical identity.

73
Q

What did Hines (2006) suggest about CAH children raised as girls?

A

Hines (2006) suggests that around 5% want to live as a man.

74
Q

What is Complete Androgyn Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS)?

A

CAIS is atypical gender development, where a genetically male fetus becomes ‘immune’ to the effects of prenatal testosterone. So, the individual is born with female-resembling external genitals.

75
Q

What did Hines (2006) suggest about CAIS children raised as boys?

A

Hines (2006) suggests that boys with CAIS often engage in play that is more typically female. The core gender identity of men with CAIS is almost always female-typical.

76
Q

What is Oestrogen responsible for relating gender?

A

The development of female sexual characteristics at puberty. It also regulates the menstrual cycle and is believed to cause increased emotionality just before menstruation known as Pre-Menstrual Tension or Syndrome (PMT or PMS).

77
Q

What type of processes does Oxytocin (‘love hormone’) aid?

A

It aids the emotional bonding between mothers and their children. It stimulates lactation and is also released during sexual intercourse/promotes bonding by adults.

78
Q

What is Turner Syndrome (TS)?

A

Were you only have one X chromosome.
Adults with TS don’t get their menstrual cycle, ovaries, or breasts.

79
Q

What gender does Bondy suggest most people with TS identify as?

A

Bondy suggest most identify as a woman and only a tiny % experience gender dysphoria.

80
Q

How may people have TS?

A

1 in 5000 have this.

81
Q

How does evolution effect gender (masculinity and femininity in gender)?

A

Evolved masculine and feminine behaviour can be inherited from social environment – not just from genes. The different ways men and women behave, passed down from generation to generation, can be inherited from our social environment – not just from genes, experts have suggested.

--Psychology-- (6 decks)

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