Chapter 1- The Major Issues Flashcards
the hard problem (Chalmers 1995)
given a universe of matter and energy, why is there a thing as consciousness
mind-body/ mind-brain problem
the issue of the relationship between mental activity and brain activity
biological psychology
the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience (brain functioning)
physiological explanations (machinery of the body)
relates behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs
ontogenetic explanations
describes the development of a structure or a behavior
evolutionary explanations
examines evolutionary history of a structure or a behavior
functional explanations
describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did
genes
units of heredity that maintain identity aligned along strands of chromosomes
portion of a chromosome composed of a double stranded chemical DNA (deoxyriboenucleic acid)
enzymes
biological catalysts that regulate chemical reactions in the body
homozygous
identical pair of genes on the two chromosomes
heterozygous
an unmatched pair of genes on the two chromosomes
dominant gene
shows a strong effect in either homozygous or heterozygous conditions
recessive gene
show effect in only homozygous condition
sex-linked genes
genes located on the sex chromosomes (XX-female) (XY-male)
autosomal genes
all other genes
sex-limited genes
genes that are present in both sexes but mainly have effects in one sex
mutation
a heritable change in a DNA molecule
micro duplication/ micro deletion
part of a chromosome that might appear once might appear twice or not at all
epigenetics
changes in gene expression without the modification of of the DNA; altering the chemical environment and the activity of genes through experience (new learning, drug addiction, maternal deprivation, etc)
heritability
how much characteristics depend on genetic differences
evolution
change over generations in the frequencies of various genes in a population
artificial selection
breeding animals/ choosing individuals with desired traits and making them parents of the next generation
lamarckian evolution (benefits the individual)
the use or disuse of some structure or behavior causes an increase or decrease in that behavior
altruistic evolution/ reciprocal altruism
behaviors that benefit others rather than the individual committing the behavior
returned behavior, animals help those who help them
evolutionary psychology
explanations of how behaviors evolved and why natural selection would favor it
fitness
the number of copies of ones genes that can endure in later generations
kin selection
selection in favor of a gene because it benefits the animals relatives
