Chapter 1 Terms

Question 1

biological psychology

Answer 1

the study of the biological basis of mind and behaviour

Question 2

correlation

Answer 2

a measure of the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

Question 3

cumulative selection

Answer 3

the occurrence of natural selection over many successive generations

Question 4

dualism

Answer 4

the belief that the mind and brain exist as seperate entities

Question 5

emergent property position

Answer 5

a materialist position that claims that the mind arises from the functioning brain

Question 6

evolution

Answer 6

the underlying organizing principle for the health sciences that proposes that complex organisms arose from simpler ancestors

Question 7

evolutionary explanation

Answer 7

an explanation for behaviour that identifies how it has enhanced the reproductive success of ancestral members of the species

Question 8

functional explanation

Answer 8

an explanation for behaviour that identifies the immediate purpose of the behaviour

Question 9

mind-body problem

Answer 9

a philosophical problem concerning the nature of the mind and brain and how each influences the other

Question 10

monism

Answer 10

the belief that only one entity, either the mind or the brain, exists physically. Most biological psychologists believe that the brain the physical basis of the mind

Question 11

natural selection

Answer 11

the idea that those individuals within a species that are best able to exploit the current environmental conditions will be disproportionately successful in reproducing

Question 12

neoteny

Answer 12

the tendency to retain juvenile characteristics into adult hood

Question 13

neuron

Answer 13

the basic cell type in the nervous system

Question 14

neuroscience

Answer 14

an integrated approach to the study of the brain and mind involving many sciences and other related disciplines

Question 15

neurotransmitter

Answer 15

a molecule released from one neuron that crosses the synapse to influence the next neuron

Question 16

ontogenetic explanation

Answer 16

an explanation for behaviour that identities how the body has developed to the point that the behaviour can now occur

Question 17

physiological explanation

Answer 17

an explanation for behaviour that identified the brain structure and pathways that explanation

Question 18

reductionist explanation

Answer 18

an attempt to explain complex behaviour in terms of simpler underlying processes

Question 19

somatic variable

Answer 19

a variable that concerns some internal body function or process

Question 20

speciation

Answer 20

a central evolutionary concept in which new species arise from existing species

Question 21

species

Answer 21

organisms that share the ability to reproduce with each other

Question 22

synapse

Answer 22

the location at which one neuron influences the next neuron in the circuit

Question 23

taxonomy

Answer 23

the science of classifying and naming organisms.