exogenous zgeitgeibers Flashcards
strength: real life implications
E – Sleep deprivation is a growing problem in the modern world. Issues with sleep have been linked with every mental health condition, as well as a huge range of physical health conditions.
E – Research into the role of exogenous zeitgebers and endogenous pacemakers on the sleep/wake cycle has helped reveal how features of the modern world, such as increased use of blue-light emitting devices, are resulting in sleep deprivation. Such research has also led to other interventions, such as the prescribing of melatonin for people who suffer from sleep disorders.
L – Therefore, there is great social value in understanding how exogenous zeitgebers and endogenous pacemakers affect the sleep/wake cycle.
limitation:research may be overstated.
E – Studies of individuals who live in Arctic regions (where the sun does not set during the summer months) show that they can maintain a normal sleep/wake cycle.
E – If light did play a decisive role in regulating the sleep/wake cycle, then we would expect people who constantly exposed to light to experience severe disruption to their sleep/wake cycle. Findings such as this which suggest otherwise might indicate that light does not play a significant role in regulating the sleep/wake cycle.
strength:illustrates the importance of taking an interactionist approach.
E – Interactionist explanations challenge simple nature vs nurture accounts of phenomena, as they explore the ways in which biological and environmental factors interact.
E – Explaining the sleep/wake cycle with reference only to biological factors or environmental factors is impossible, as neither factor by itself can regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Instead, explaining the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle requires accounting for how environmental stimuli (like the exogenous zeitgeber of light) and biological components (like the SCN and pineal gland) interact in a dynamic way.
L – Therefore, the effect of the exogenous zeitgebers and endogenous pacemakers on the sleep/wake cycle can only be understood using an interactionist approach.
