Psychology Test for Week 7 11/3/25 Flashcards
What is ONE technique that is used to study the brain?
One technique used to study the brain is MRI.
MRI is Magnetic Resonance Imaging and it is a medical technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the psychological processes inside the body. It creates detailed images of nearly every structure and organ inside the body. MRI uses magnets and radio waves to produce images on a computer. MRI does not use ionizing radiation because it relies on strong magnetic fields and radio waves to. Images produced by an MRI scan can show organs, bones, muscles and blood vessels.
What is localisation of function?
the idea that certain functions (e.g. language, memory, etc.) have certain locations or areas within the brain. For example, damage to the Broca’s area can impact speech production.
In 1968 Roger Sperry exemplified this through performing a split-brain surgery on his patient with epilepsy. The surgery involved severing the corpus collosum, which relays information between the two halves of the brain, to inhibit epilepsy from spreading through the hemispheres. The result of this surgery showed that the patient was unable to verbalize objects seen by his right visual field (controlled by the left hemisphere) but was able to draw them. This information was then externally communicated to the right hemisphere as the object he had drawn, then he was able to verbalize it.
This indicates that the left hemisphere is responsible for language processing. However, as he could still draw the object, the right hemisphere is responsible for visual and special understanding.
What is neuroplasticity and name the two types
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to experience, learning, or injury. It involves two key processes:
- Neural Network Strengthening (LTP)
LTP makes neural connections stronger with repeated use, helping with learning and memory.
Example: Practicing an instrument strengthens brain pathways, making it easier over time. - Neural Pruning (LTD)
LTD weakens or removes unused neural connections to optimize brain function.
Example: If you stop using a language, you may forget words over time.
An example of a study relevant to neuroplasticity is Maguire (2000) | Study of taxi drivers where it had examined whether structural changes could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation.
Study one neurotransmitter and its effect on behaviour
Neurotransmitter: Dopamine
Function: Dopamine is a chemical messenger that plays a key role in reward, motivation, and pleasure.
Effect on Behavior:
- Motivation & Reward: Dopamine is released when we experience something pleasurable, like eating or achieving a goal, reinforcing behaviors.
- Learning & Memory: It helps in reinforcing learning by making rewarding experiences more memorable.
- Movement Control: Dopamine is essential for smooth movement, and its deficiency is linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Study one x hormone and its effects on behaviour with reference to one study
One hormone is adrenaline. Adrenaline plays a role in the Fight or Flight response which is an involuntary response to a threatening, fearful or stressful situation that includes physiological changes produced by the sympathetic nervous system.
The brain interprets any kind of stress as a fight or flight situation which triggers a release of adrenaline. If you don’t have to fight or flee, that adrenaline can make you tense. Anything that makes you anxious also triggers a release of adrenaline. A study that analyses the effects of adrenaline on the creation of emotional memories is from McGaugh and Cahill (1995) where participants took part in a series of slides alongside a storyline to each one. In one group, the story was uninterested. The second group heard a story that was very traumatic about a young body who was in an accident and his feet were severed. The participants came back two weeks later and were asked a series of questions about the slides. Those that were in the more emotionally condition remembered than those who were in the boring conditions.
To examine the role of adrenaline, the researchers repeated the procedure but administered beta-blockers to participants, which inhibit the release of adrenaline. They hypothesized that if adrenaline were blocked, the amygdala would be unable to generate emotional memories. This hypothesis seemed to be confirmed, as the group that received beta-blockers recalled no more details about the slides than those who heard the neutral story.
These findings suggest that adrenaline interacts with the amygdala and plays a crucial role in forming emotional memories.
Study one pheromone and its effect on behaviour.
Pheromones are chemicals that are produced and released into the environment through glands outside the body and affect the behaviour (usually sexual) of others of the same species. This has been found in research conducted on animals though there is not as much conclusive evidence on humans.
One potential substance that could be a pheromone in humans however are genes are called MHC. This was found through a study done by Wedekind in 1995 named the “Smelly T-Shirt Study” which was conducted to test if these genes influenced humans mate preferences through scent. It tested a group of men who were asked to wear a plain cotton t-shirt for two days without perfume, deodorant, smoking, or eating spicy food. After the two days the t-shirts were put into boxes with holes. Women were then made to smell each of them and rate them according to pleasantness and attractiveness.
The results of this showed that the women preferred the t-shirts of men with MHC genes very different to them. They also tested another group of women who took oral contraceptives, and their rating was reversed. This further proved that pheromones had an effect on human mate selection and hormones can alter them.
The results were the way they were because women preferred the genes of men with different genes in order to create offspring that had more immune system diversity to create healthier babies with a better chance of survival.
This also connects to evolutionary mechanisms and how our exposure to pheromones can attract us to potential partners for our offspring?
Discuss a gene and their effect on behaviour
An example of this is kinship:
Scientists study how traits and behaviors run in families by looking at family trees across generations. This helps them determine whether a trait is inherited.
How Genes Are Passed Down:
A child gets half of their genes from their mother and half from their father.
Siblings (brothers and sisters) share about 50% of their genes.
Grandparents pass down 25% of their genes to their grandchildren.
First cousins share about 12.5% of their genes.
How Scientists Study Inherited Traits:
Scientists compare how closely related family members are and check if they have similar traits. If a trait is mostly inherited (has high heritability), close relatives (like a child and their mother) will be more alike than distant relatives (like second cousins) or unrelated people.
For example, if intelligence (IQ) is highly genetic, a child’s IQ will be more similar to their mother’s IQ than to a second cousin’s or a stranger’s IQ.
Study one example of an evolutionary explanation for behaviour
Survival of the fittest:
- The best adopted organisms are able to survive. most desirable characteristics get passed down from parents to their offspring
1. sexual selection - ‘best mate’ is chosen to produce and protect the most health offspring
2. intrasexual selection - competition between one sex (usually males) for access to mates. the strongest ends up being able to pass on his (or her) genes
Discuss a gene and their effect on behaviour
- Twin studies = the development of identical twins is compared with the development of fraternal twins
- Twin studies - aka monozygotic (MZ) twins (identical twin)
In twin research, the correlation found between twins is called the concordance rate.
Concordance rate = the probability that the same trait will be present in both members of a pair of twins
In twin studies
If genes? Identical > fraternal
If environment Identical = fraternal
If identical twins (monozygotic) are more similar than fraternal twins → This suggests that genes play a significant role in that trait, since identical twins share 100% of their genes, while fraternal twins share only about 50%.
If identical twins and fraternal twins are equally similar → This suggests that the environment is the main influence, because both types of twins share similar environments, but only identical twins share all their genes.
Discuss a gene and their effect on behaviour
Monozygotic (MZ) twins share the same genes but do not have a 100% concordance rate because their environments can differ. Factors like stress, diet, and life experiences influence which genes are expressed, leading to differences in traits and behaviors. The nature vs. nurture debate has evolved into the idea of gene-environment interaction, where both genetics and environment shape behavior together. Even if someone has a gene for a specific behavior, that behavior will only occur if the gene is expressed, which can be influenced by environmental factors.
What is the aim, procedure and findings of - Maguire (2000) - Study of Taxi Drivers?
The study looked at whether the brain changes in people with lots of experience in navigation. Researchers used MRI scans on 16 right-handed male London taxi drivers with over 1.5 years of experience and compared them to scans from 50 right-handed men who were not taxi drivers. The results showed that taxi drivers had more grey matter in the back part of both sides of the hippocampus. The longer someone had been a taxi driver, the larger this area was, especially on the right side. This suggests that practicing navigation for a long time can change the structure of the brain.
What is the aim, procedure and findings of McGaugh & Cahill (1995) – the role of emotion and adrenaline in the creation of memories
The study looked at how emotions affect memory and whether feeling emotional helps people remember better. Participants watched slides with stories; one group saw a simple hospital visit, while the other saw a dramatic accident. A memory test showed that people who saw the emotional story remembered more details, especially the intense ones. However, those who took propranolol, a drug that blocks adrenaline, did not remember as well, even after seeing the emotional story. This suggests that adrenaline, released during emotional moments, helps strengthen memories.
What is the aim, procedure and findings of Roger Sperry (1968) - split brain research
Roger Sperry’s research studied how the two sides of the brain work separately in people with split brains. In one test, when an image was shown on the left side, processed by the right brain, participants couldn’t say what it was but could point to it with their left hand. But when the image was on the right side, processed by the left brain, they could describe and name it, showing that the left side controls language. In another test, people couldn’t name objects they touched with their left hand (right brain), but they could describe objects felt with their right hand (left brain). This showed that each side of the brain has different jobs.
What was the aim, procedure and findings of Wedekind (1995) – Smelly T-Shirt Study
Wedekind’s study looked at whether people are naturally attracted to the scent of those with different genes, which could help create stronger immune systems in offspring. In the study, 44 men wore T-shirts for two nights without any scented products, and 49 women later smelled and rated them based on how pleasant they found the scent. The results showed that women preferred the smell of men with different immune system genes (MHC) from their own and found the scent of men with similar genes less pleasant. This suggests that people may be naturally drawn to mates with different genes to increase the chances of having healthier children.
