Biological Level Of Analysis Concepts Flashcards
What does the biological level of analysis argue (what’s its main idea)?
There are physiological origins of many behaviors, and that human beings should be studied as biological systems.
How is the biological level of analysis bidirectional?
The environment and cognition may interact with biological systems and affect physiology (i.e. biology can affect cognition and cognition can affect biology).
What is the nature versus nurture debate?
A debate over whether human behavior is the result of biological or environmental factors.
What is the interactionist approach?
An approach used by modern psychologists that does not rely solely on either nature (biological) or nurture (environment), but adopts a more holistic picture of human behavior. This is also the goal of IB psychology.
What are three principles of the biological level of analysis?
- Behavior can be innate because it is genetically based (If this principle is accepted it is logical to believe that evolution may play a key role in behavior).
- Animal research can provide insight into human behavior.
- There are biological correlates of behavior.
What is the aim of researchers working at the biological level of analysis?
To find a link between a specific biological factor and a specific behavior (find biological correlates of behavior).
What is the reductionist approach to the study of human behavior?
A micro-level research which breaks down complex human behavior into its smallest parts (for example, focusing on the role of a gene, a neurotransmitter, or a protein).
What are neurons?
Neurons are nerve cells that send electrochemical messages to the brain so that people can respond to stimuli – either from the environment or from internal changes in the body.
What are neurons?
Neurons, one of the building blocks of behavior, are nerve cells that send electrochemical messages to the brain so that people can respond to stimuli – either from the environment or from internal changes in the body.
What is neurotransmission?
The method by which electrochemical messages from neurons are sent. An electrical impulse travels down the axon of the neuron, releasing neurotransmitters which then cross the synapse between two neurons. After crossing the synapse, the neurotransmitters fit into receptor sites on the post-synaptic membrane. Once the message is passed on, the neurotransmitters rare either broken down or reabsorbed by the terminal buttons.
What is the body of a neuron called?
The axon
What is the gab between two neurons called?
A synapse
What are neurotransmitters?
The body’s natural chemical messengers which transmit information from one neuron to another.
What is stored in neurons’ terminal buttons?
Neurotransmitters.
What is reuptake?
When neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the terminal buttons.
Neurotransmission underlies behavior such as what?
Mood, memory, sexual arousal, and mental illness.
What effect does the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine cause?
Muscle contraction, and a role in the development of memory in the hippocampus.
What effect does the neurotransmitter Dopamine cause?
Voluntary movement, learning and feelings of pleasure.
What effect does the neurotransmitter Norepinephrine (nonadrenaline) cause?
Arousal, alertness, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.
What effect does the neurotransmitter Serotonin cause?
Sleep, arousal levels, and emotion.
Sensory deprivation triggered the release of what neurotransmitter?
Serotonin
Higher levels of serotonin activated which parts of the brain?
The hypothalamus and the frontal cortex.
Prior to the development of modern scanning technology, what was one of the most common ways to study the brain?
Through the use of case studies of brain damage.
Case studies of brain-damaged patients are often carried out how?
Longitudinally – that is, over a long period of time – in order to observe both the short-term and long-term effects of damage.
