Chapt. 1 Flashcards
What is Biological Psychology?
the study of the physiological, evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience (strong emphasis placed on brain functioning)
Dorsal view of the brain is…
view from above
Ventral view of the brain is…
view from below
Neurons do what?
communicate with each other
What are the 4 Biological Explanations of Behavior?
Physiological
Ontogenetic
Evolutionary
Functional
Define the Physiological explanation of behavior.
it relates behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs
Define the Ontogenetic explanation of behavior.
it describes the development of a structure or behavior
Define the Evolutionary explanation of behavior.
reconstructs evolutionary history of a behavior or structure
Define the Functional explanation of behavior.
it describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.
What two key issues interact to shape human behavior?
Genes & Behavior
Inheritance occurs through..
genes
Chromosomes are..
strands of genes
Genes are..
a portion of a chromosome and is composed of DNA
RNA
a single strand chemical that can serve as a template/model for the synthesis of proteins
Homozygous means…
a person has an identical pair of genes on the 2 chromosomes
Heterozygous means..
a person has an unmatched pair of genes on the 2 chromosomes
Dominant genes…
show a strong effect in either the homozygous or heterozygous condition
Recessive genes…
show their effects only in the homozygous condition
Autosomal genes
all other genes except for sex-linked genes
Sex-linked genes
genes located on the sex chromosomes (X&Y)
What chromosomes do females have?
2 x chromosomes
What chromosomes do males have?
an x & y chromosome
Sex-limited genes
genes that are present in both sexes but mainly have an effect on one sex
Mutation
a heritable change in a DNA molecule
Epigenetics
a field that is concerned with changes in gene expression without the modification of the DNA sequence
Monozygotic
twins from one egg
fraternal
twins from two eggs
Heritability
how much characteristics depend on genetic differences
Evolution
a change in the frequency of various genes in a population over generations (regardless if it is helpful or harmful to species)
What two questions does Evolution attempt to answer?
- How did some species evolve?
* How do species evolve?
Lamarckian Evolution
the us or disuse of some structure or behavior causes an increase or decrease in that behavior
Evolutionary Psychology
focuses upon functional and evolutionary explanations of how behaviors evolved
Group Selection
a controversial hypothesis that states that altruistic groups survive better than less cooperative ones
Kin Selection
the “favored” explanation: selection for a gene that benefits the individual’s relatives
Reciprocal Altruism
the idea that individuals help those that will return the favor
