Module 2 Flashcards
Psychology/biopsychology has its historical roots in:
a) biology
b) chemistry
c) philosophy
d) psychology is a young science with no historical roots
c) philosophy
Who established psychology as an academic discipline at Queen’s University?
a) Richard Beninger
b) Hans Dringenberg
c) Donald Hebb
d) George Humphrey
d) George Humphrey
One of the fundamental differences between philosophy and psychology is the fact that…
a) only philosophy deals with the nature of human experience
b) only psychology attempts to understand consciousness in all species
c) only psychology has evolved into an empirical science
d) only philosophy has the answers to fundamental questions of human nature
c) only psychology has evolved into an empirical science
Rats are able to discriminate…
a) their own behavioural state
b) walking from grooming
c) rearing from grooming
d) all of the above
d) all of the above
What is Cross-modal plasticity?
Cross-modal plasticity refers to a re-arrangement of the functional organization of the brain, particularly the arrangements of different sensory areas of the neocortex.
(This type of re-arrangement is often observed in humans who lack one sensory modality from birth or early postnatal life, such as congenitally (that is, present at birth) blind or deaf individuals.)
Cross-modal brain plasticity refers to:
a) the ability of the brain to recovery from brain damage
b) shifts in the functional organization of the brain between sensory modalities
c) shifts in the functional organization of the brain within one sensory modality
d) the disappearance of an anatomical brain area that is not used
b) shifts in the functional organization of the brain between sensory modalities
Applying stimulation to the occipital lobe/visual cortex during Braille reading will:
a) interfere with reading performance
b) enhance reading performance
c) improve visual perception
d) cause participants to learn Braille at a faster rate
a) interfere with reading performance
Neurons in area MT are responsive to:
a) touch
b) emotional face expressions
c) visual motion
d) tone sequences
c) visual motion
Brain plasticity:
a) is greater in young brains
b) is limited to a period of early postnatal life
c) increases over the life-span
d) is observed only in brains deprived of sensory input
a) is greater in young brains
You know how to define cross- modal brain plasticity. How would you define intra-modal plasticity?
a) the enlargement of a brain area that is deprived of input
b) shifts in the functional organization of the brain within a sensory modality
c) it is the same as cross-modal plasticity
d) none of the above are an appropriate definition
b) shifts in the functional organization of the brain within a sensory modality
Imagine you lose one finger of your hand due to an accident. What might happen to the brain representation of that finger?
a) neurons representing the lost finger will die off
b) neurons representing the lost finger might become responsive to inputs from the remaining fingers
c) same as (b), but only in adult individuals
d). same as (b), but to a greater extent in young individuals
d) same as (b), but to a greater extent in young individuals
What is DNA methylation?
A process where a methyl group becomes attached to DNA molecules and can change the expression of the affected gene without altering the DNA itself.
True or False?
Epigenetics suggests traumatic events will not only change those who have experienced such events firsthand, but also their children and grandchildren.
True.
Epigenetics refers to
a) changes in the genetic code (DNA)
b) changes in DNA transcription
c) changes in mRNA translation
d) inheritance mechanisms not directly related to the genetic code
d) inheritance mechanisms not directly related to the genetic code
Dias and Ressler (2014) found that the offspring of mice that had learned to fear a specific odor:
a) do not respond to that odor
b) are more likely to approach that odor
c) show a startle response to that odor
d) avoid that odor
c) show a startle response to that odor
The mechanism for this epigenetic effect (in the Dias & Ressler mice/odor study) was:
a) histone remodeling
b) increased DNA methylation
c) decreased DNA methylation
d) changes in DNA structure
c) decreased DNA methylation
René Descartes advocated a philosophy (Cartesian dualism) that, in a sense, gave one part of the universe to science and the other part to the Church. He argued that the universe is composed of what two elements?
(1) physical matter, which behaves according to the laws of nature and is thus a suitable object of scientific investigation—the human body, including the brain, was assumed to be entirely physical, and so were nonhuman animals; and
(2) the human mind (soul, self, or spirit), which lacks physical substance, controls human behavior, obeys no natural laws, and is thus the appropriate purview of the Church.
Most of the early North American experimental psychologists were totally committed to the ________ side of the nature–nurture issue.
nurture (learning)
Who is considered to be the father of behaviorism?
John B. Watson
At the same time experimental psychology was taking root in North America, _________ (the study of animal behavior in the wild) was becoming the dominant approach to the study of behavior in Europe.
ethology
European ethology, in contrast to North American experimental psychology, focused on the study of ________ behaviors.
instinctive
(behaviors that occur in all like members of a species, even when there seems to have been no opportunity for them to have been learned), and it emphasized the role of nature, or inherited factors, in behavioral development.
There are two lines of evidence against physiological- or-psychological thinking (the assumption that some aspects of human psychological functioning are so complex that they could not possibly be the product of a physical brain). What are those 2 lines of evidence?
1) The first line is composed of the many demonstrations that even the most complex psychological changes (e.g., changes in self-awareness, memory, or emotion) can be produced by damage to, or stimulation of, parts of the brain.
2) The second line of evidence is composed of demonstrations that some nonhuman species, particularly primate species, possess some abilities (e.g., complex problem solving) that were once assumed to be purely psychological and thus purely human.
What is asomatognosia? ,
A deficiency in the awareness of parts of one’s own body.
(Asomatognosia typically involves the left side of the body and usually results from damage to the right frontal and parietal lobes. The point here is that, although the changes in self-awareness displayed by the patient were very complex, they were clearly the result of brain damage: Indeed, the full range of human experience can be produced by manipulations of the brain.)
What is widely regarded as one hallmark of the human mind?
Self-awareness.
(But G. G. Gallup’s research on self- awareness in chimpanzees shows that nonhumans, which are assumed by some people to have no mind, are capable of considerable psychological complexity—in this case, self-awareness. Although their brains are less complex than the brains of humans, some species are capable of high levels of psychological complexity)
Now, let’s look at a way of thinking about the biology of behavior that has been adopted by most biopsychologists. This model boils down to the single premise that all behavior is the product of interactions among what three factors?
(1) the organism’s genetic endowment, which is a product of its evolution;
(2) its experience; and
(3) its perception of the current situation.
(Review Figure 2.3 on p.49 in the textbook)
Modern biology began in 1859 with the publication of what book by Charles Darwin?
On the Origin of Species.
(In this monumental work, Darwin described his theory of evolution—the single most influential theory in the biological sciences. Darwin was not the first to suggest that species evolve (undergo systematic change) from preexisting species, but he was the first to amass a large body of supporting evidence and the first to suggest how evolution occurs.)
Darwin presented what three kinds of evidence to support his assertion that species evolve?
(1) He documented the evolution of fossil records through progressively more recent geological layers.
(2) He described striking structural similarities among living species (e.g., a human’s hand, a bird’s wing, and a cat’s paw), which suggested that they had evolved from common ancestors.
(3) He pointed to the major changes that had been brought about in domestic plants and animals by programs of selective breeding.
(However, the most convincing evidence of evolution comes from direct observations of rapid evolution in progress. For example, Grant (1991) observed evolution of the finches of the Galápagos Islands—a population studied by Darwin himself—after only a single season of drought.)
Darwin argued that evolution occurs
through natural selection. What is natural selection?
He pointed out that the members
of each species vary greatly in their structure, physiology, and behavior and that
the heritable traits associated with high
rates of survival and reproduction are
the most likely ones to be passed on to
future generations.
He argued that natural selection, when
repeated for generation after generation,
leads to the evolution of species that are better adapted to surviving and reproducing in their particular environmental niche.
Why is social dominance an important factor in evolution?
1) In many species, dominant males copulate more than nondominant males and thus are more effective in passing on their characteristics to future generations.
2) In some species, dominant
females are more likely to produce more
and healthier offspring.
Why are courtship displays an important factor in evolution?
Courtship displays are thought to promote the evolution of new species.
A species is a group of organisms reproductively isolated from other organisms; that is, the members of a species can produce fertile offspring only by mating with members of the same species.
A new species begins to branch off from an existing species when some barrier (either geographic or behavioral) discourages breeding between a subpopulation of the existing species and the remainder of the species. Once such a reproductive barrier forms, the subpopulation evolves independently of the remainder of the species until cross-fertilization becomes impossible.
Only the suitable exchange of displays between a courting couple will lead to reproduction.
Define conspecifics.
Members of the same species.
Describe the evolution of vertebrates.
Complex multicellular water-dwelling organisms first appeared on earth about 800 million years ago. About 250 million years later, the first chordates evolved (animals with dorsal nerve cords). Chordates
are 1 of the 40 or so large categories, or phyla, into which zoologists group animal species.
The first chordates with spinal bones to protect their dorsal nerve cords evolved about 25 million years later. The spinal bones are called vertebrae, and the chordates that possess them are called vertebrates.
The first vertebrates were primitive bony fishes.
Describe the evolution of amphibians.
About 410 million years ago, the first bony fishes started to venture out of the water.
Fishes that could survive on land for brief periods of time had two great advantages: They could escape from stagnant pools to nearby fresh water, and they could take advantage of terrestrial food sources.
The advantages of life on land were so great that, through the process of natural selection, the fins and gills of bony fishes transformed into legs and lungs, respectively, and so it was that the first amphibians evolved about 370 million years ago.
Amphibians (e.g., frogs, toads, and salamanders) in their larval form must live in the water; only adult amphibians can survive on land.
Describe the evolution of reptiles.
About 315 million years ago, reptiles (e.g., lizards, snakes, and turtles) evolved from a branch of amphibians. Reptiles were the first vertebrates to lay shell-covered eggs and to be covered by dry scales.
Both of these adaptations reduced the reliance of reptiles on watery habitats. A reptile does not have to spend the first stage of its life in the watery environment of a pond or lake; instead, it spends the first stage of its life in the watery environment of a shell-covered egg.
And once hatched, a reptile can live far from water because its dry scales greatly reduce water loss through its water-permeable skin.
Describe the evolution of mammals.
About 225 million years ago, during the height of the age of dinosaurs, a new class of vertebrates evolved from one line of small reptiles.
The females of this new class fed their young with secretions from special glands called mammary glands, and the members of the class are called mammals after these glands.
Eventually, mammals stopped laying eggs; instead, the females nurtured their young in the watery environment of their bodies until the young were mature enough to be born. (The duck-billed platypus is one surviving mammalian species that lays eggs.)
Today, most classification systems recognize about 26 different orders of mammals. The order to which we belong is the order primates. We humans—in our usual humble way— named our order using the Latin term primus, which means “first” or “foremost.”
Apes (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees) are thought to have evolved from a line of Old World monkeys. Like Old World monkeys, apes have long arms and grasping hind feet that are specialized for arboreal (treetop) travel, and they have opposable thumbs that are not long enough to be of much use for precise manipulation. Unlike Old World monkeys, though, apes have no tails and can walk upright for short distances. Chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of humans; almost 99 percent of genes are identical in the two species, however, the actual ape ancestor of humans is likely long extinct.
Today, what are the seven classes of vertebrates?
three classes of fishes, plus amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Why have primates proven particularly difficult to categorize?
Primates have proven particularly difficult to categorize because there is no single characteristic possessed by all primates but no other animals. Still, most experts agree there are about 16 groups of primates.
Describe the evolution of humankind.
Primates of the same group that includes humans are known as hominins. Hominins include six sub-groups including Australopithecus and Homo. Based on the fossil record, Homo is thought to be composed of at least eight species; seven of which are now extinct.
Neanderthals (Homo Neanderthalensis are one of those extinct Homo species. And we humans (Homo Sapiens) are the only one still kicking around.
Many experts believe that the Australopithecines evolved about 4 million years ago in Africa from a line of apes (australo means “southern,” and pithecus means “ape”). Several species of Australopithecus are thought to have roamed the African plains for about 2 million years before becoming extinct. Australopithecines were only about 4 feet tall, and they had small brains, but analysis of their pelvis and leg bones indicates that their posture was upright. Any doubts about their upright posture were erased by the discovery of the fossilized footprints.
The first Homo species are thought to have evolved from one species of Australopithecus about 2 to 2.8 million years ago.
One distinctive feature of the early Homo species was the size of their brain cavity, larger than that of Australopithecus but smaller than that of modern humans. The early Homo species used fire and tools and coexisted in Africa with various species of Australopithecus for about a half-million years, until the australopithecines died out.
Early Homo species also lived outside of Africa for about 1.85 million years. Then, about 275,000 years ago, early Homo species were gradually replaced in the fossil record by modern humans (Homo sapiens).
Paradoxically, although the big three human attributes—large brain, upright posture, and free hands with an opposable thumb—have been evident for hundreds of thousands of years, most human accomplishments are of recent origin. Artistic products (e.g., wall paintings and carvings) did not appear until about 40,000 years ago, ranching and farming were not established until about 10,000 years ago, and writing was not used until about 7,500 years ago.
Why is it difficult to reconstruct the events of human evolution?
Because the evidence is so sparse. Only a few partial hominin fossils dating from the critical period have been discovered. However, three important hominin fossil discoveries have been particularly enlightening.
What 3 important hominin fossil discoveries have been particularly enlightening for understanding the events of human evolution?
1) An uncommonly complete fossil of a 3-year-old early Australopithecus girl in Ethiopia.
2) Fossils indicating that a population of tiny hominins inhabited the Indonesian island of Flores as recently as 18,000 years ago.
3) Several early Australopithecine fossils with combinations of human and nonhuman characteristics in a pit in South Africa.
Describe nine commonly misunderstood points about evolution.
1) Evolution does not proceed in a single line. Although it is common to think of an evolutionary ladder or scale, a far better metaphor for evolution is a dense bush.
2) We humans have little reason to claim evolutionary supremacy. We are the last surviving species of a group (i.e., hominins) that has existed for only a blip of evolutionary time.
3) Evolution does not always proceed slowly and gradually. Rapid evolutionary changes (i.e., in a few generations) can be triggered by sudden changes in the environment or by adaptive genetic mutations.
4) Few products of evolution have survived to the present day—only the tips of the branches of the evolutionary bush have survived. Fewer than 1 percent of all known species are still in existence.
5) Evolution does not progress to preordained perfection—evolution is a tinkerer, not an architect. Increases in adaptation occur through changes to existing programs of development; and, although the results are improvements in their particular environmental context, they are never perfect designs. (Ie: the fact that mammalian sperm do not develop effectively at body temperature led to the evolution of the scrotum— hardly a perfect solution to any design problem.)
6) Not all existing behaviors or structures are adaptive. Evolution often occurs through changes in developmental programs that lead to several related characteristics, only one of which might be adaptive— the incidental nonadaptive evolutionary by-products are called spandrels. (One example of a spandrel is the human belly button—it is a nonfunctional by-product of the umbilical cord. Also, behaviors or structures that were once adaptive might become nonadaptive, or even maladaptive, if the environment changes.)
7) Not all existing adaptive characteristics evolved to perform their current function. Some characteristics, called exaptations, evolved to serve one function and were later co-opted to serve another. For example, bird wings are exaptations—they are limbs that initially evolved for the purpose of walking.
8) Similarities among species do not necessarily mean that the species have common evolutionary origins. Structures that are similar because they have a common evolutionary origin are termed homologous; structures that are similar but do not have a common evolutionary origin are termed analogous. The similarities between analogous structures result from convergent evolution, the evolution in unrelated species of similar solutions to the same environmental demands. (ie: a bird’s wing and a human’s arm have a basic underlying commonality of skeletal structure that suggests a common ancestor; in contrast, a bird’s wing and a bee’s wing have few structural similarities, but they both evolved because of the common advantage of flight)
9) There is now considerable evidence that Homo sapiens mated with other Homo species (e.g., Neanderthals) they encountered. The discovery of this pattern of mating changes the way we should view our origins: We are not the product of a single ancestral Homo population; rather, we are the combined offspring of many Homo populations that once coexisted and interacted.
True or False?
Brain size and intellectual capacity are closely related.
False.
Although healthy adult human brains vary greatly in size—between about 1,000 and 2,000 grams—there is no clear relationship between overall human brain size and intelligence.
A more reasonable approach to the study of brain evolution has been to compare the evolution of different brain ________.
Regions.
(For example, it has been informative to consider the evolution of the brain stem separately from the evolution of the cerebrum (cerebral hemispheres). In general, the brain stem regulates reflex activities that are critical for survival (e.g., heart rate, respiration, and blood glucose level), whereas the cerebrum is involved in more complex adaptive processes such as learning, perception, and motivation.)
Comparing the brain stems and cerebrums of several species that are living descendants of species from which humans evolved draws what three important points about the evolution of the human brain?
1) The brain has increased in size during evolution.
2) Most of the increase in size has occurred in the cerebrum.
3) An increase in the number of convolutions—folds on the cerebral surface—has greatly increased the surface area of the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of cerebral tissue.
