hormones Flashcards
what are hormones?
hormones are chemical messengers that are produced in endocrine glands and released into the bloodstream. the operate slow process but their effect on behavior is long-lasting. the relationship between hormones and behavior is bi-directional.
what are hormones responsible for?
Regulate long-term ongoing processes such as growth, metabolism, digestion or reproduction, help maintain homeostasis. Hormones also regulate puberty changes, aging and mood/behavior. Thus, hormones influence anatomy, physiology, and behavior
what is adrenaline responsible for?
produced/secreted by adrenal glands
their are responsible “fight or flight” response
activates the sympathetic nervous system
physical manifestation: sweating. blood stream, increase, heart rate increase
cognitive manifestation: plays a role in the creation of emotional memories (FBM)
When adrenaline is released due to stressor, it activates the amygdala which in turn activates other brain structures like the hippocampus leading to a better storage of emotional information.
what is oxytocin responsible for?
“love/cuddle hormone”
secreted by the pituitary glands in the hypothalamus
promotes lactation in while and through breastfeeding
creates the bond between mother and child
promotes trust and fidelity between humans , but research has also found such result in dogs
what is on study investigating adrenaline?
McGaugh and Cahill (1995)
what are 2 studies investigating oxytocin?
Baumgartner et al (2008)
scheele et al (2012)
what was the aim of Scheele?
To investigate if oxytocin promotes fidelity in men.
what were the two tasks participants were asked to do in Scheele?
the “stop distance paradigm”
the “approach/avoidance task”
what were the results of Scheele?
first task ” showed oxytocin stimulated men in a relationship, but not single ones, to keep a great distance between themselves and an attractive woman.
There was no difference for the placebo group between single and taken men.
the second task showed that the only group of pictures affected by oxytocin and relationship status was the positive social group. There was no difference for the placebo group between single and taken men
what are 2 strenghts of Scheele?
double- blind design
independent samples design
what are two limitations of Scheele?
results of first task can depend of participants comfort level and not the hormone (confounding variable)
attractiveness is hard to operationalize
what is the aim of Baumgartner?
investigate the role of oxytocin on behavior following breaches of trust.
what were the results of Baumgartner?
Participants who had received a placebo before they started playing were more likely to decrease their rate of trust after they had been briefed that their trust had been broken.
Participants who had received oxytocin in the nasal spray continued to invest at similar rates. Apparently, it did not matter to them that their partner had broken their trust.
The researchers also observed different brain areas were active in the two groups: participants in the oxytocin group showed decreases in responses in the amygdala, meaning that they did not fear as much as the control group
what are two strengths of Baumgartner?
highly controlled experiment
fMRI
what are two limitations of Baumgartner?
low ecological validity, fMRI artificial environment
reductionistic
