Intro= Overview & Issues Flashcards
What are the 2 most profound & difficult questions?
- Why is there something rather than nothing (physics)
- Mind brain problem/mind body (Physics & psych)
What is the Mind-Body problem?
-It is the question of how the mind relates to brain activity
What is the meaning of Fundamental Property?
-It is one that CANNOT be reduced to something else
Why can’t consciousness be considered as fundamental property?
-It only occurs in certain parts of the nervous system just some of the time (not including dreamless sleep or coma)
What is Biological Psychology?
-It is the study of physiological, evolutionary & developmental mechs of behavior & experience
What is the goal of Biological Psychology?
-It is to relate issues of biology to psychology
What are the 2 cells that we find in the brain?
- Neurons
- Glia
What is the difference between Neurons and Glia?
-Neurons convey messages over great distances and they are larger than Glia cells
What are the 3 points that must stick with me forever?
- Perception occurs in your brain
- Mental activity & certain types of brain activity are INSEPARABLE= monism
- Be cautious about what is an explanation & what is not
What is Monism?
- It is the idea that the universe consists of only 1 type of being
- AKA your thoughts/experiences are the same thing as your brain activity
- Nearly all neuroscientists & philosophers support this
What is the opposite of Monism?
-Dualism
What is Dualism?
-It is the idea that minds are 1 type of substance & matter is another
What are the 4 categories that biological explanations fall under?
- Physiological
- Ontogenetic
- Evolutionary
- Functional
What is a Physiological explanation?
-It relates behavior to brain & organ activities= machinery of the body
EX; Chemical reactions that allow hormones to influence brain activity
What is an Ontogenetic explanation?
-It describes how a structure/ behavior develops
EX; influence of genes, nutrition, interactions
What is an Evolutionary explanation?
-It reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior
EX; call to attention to behavioral similarities among related species
What is a Functional explanation?
-Describes WHY a structure/ behavior evolved as it did
EX; advantages of a certain gene
What are the 4 reasons why researchers use animal subjects to test on?
- The underlying mechs of behavior are similar across species= sometimes easier to study vs humans
- We are interested in animals for their own sake
- What we learn about animals shed light on human evolution
- Legal/unethical restrictions prevent certain types of human testing
What are the 2 sides of opposition?
Minimalists & Abolitionist
What does the Minimalist side of animal testing?
- Toleration of certain types of animal research
- Favor firm regulation of the type of animals used & the amount of stress induced
What is the Abolitionist side of animal testing?
-Believe that all animals have the same rights as humans and cannot give informed consent= CANNOT be used for research
What are the 3 R’s in the legal standard of animal research?
- Reduction=using fewer animals
- Replacement= Using substitutes/ computer models
- Refinement= reducing the amount of pain/ discomfort
What is a research university/ facility required to have for animal testing?
-Institutional Animal Care and Use Commitee= made up of vets, community reps, & scientists to evaluate proposed experiments
