SAQ's BIO The Brain and Behaviour Hormones Flashcards
McGaugh + Cahill Aim
study the effect of adrenaline on the creation of emotional memories
McGaugh + Cahill Procedure
They had participants watch a series of slides while listening to a story. In one group, the story was uninteresting. The second group heard a story that was very traumatic about a young boy who was in an accident and his feet were severed. After two weeks, the participants came back and were asked to answer a series of questions about the slides. Those that were in the more emotionally arousing condition remembered more than those in the boring condition.
To test the role of adrenaline, they repeated this procedure but gave the participants beta-blockers that interfere with the release of adrenaline. It was hypothesized that if adrenaline is blocked, then the amygdala would not be able to produce emotional memories.
McGaugh + Cahill Findings
The group that took beta-blockers remembered no more detail about the slides than the group that heard the boring story.
It appears that by interacting with the amygdala, adrenaline plays a key role in the creation of emotional memories.
Zhou et al. Aim
wanted to see if androstadienone influenced human sexual behavior.
Zhou et al. Procedure
a sample of heterosexual men and women and gays and lesbians watched stick figures walking on a screen and then were asked to guess the gender of the stick figure. While watching the screen, the participants were exposed to the smell of cloves. In the experimental condition, the cloves were mixed with androstadienone, and in the control condition, only cloves were used.
Zhou et al. Findings
The findings showed that when heterosexual females and gay men were exposed to androstadienone, they had a higher rate of identifying the stick figures as “masculine” than the control group. In addition, Androstadienone had no significant effect on men or lesbian women. The researchers concluded that Androstadienone could be a pheromone that influences mating behavior in humans.
Explain one ethical consideration in one study of hormones or pheromones
An ethical consideration in one study of hormones or pheromones is undue stress or harm in the McGaugh & Cahill study. The consideration of stress or harm in psychological studies refers to the protection from any stress/harm that a participant would encounter in everyday life. If unexpected stress does occur, or is unavoidable due to the nature of the study, researchers must minimise it as much as possible and provide appropriate support (i.e. debriefing or counselling).
Explain the effect of one hormone on human behaviour with reference to one study
One hormone that affects human behavior is adrenaline. It is produced by the adrenal glands and plays an important role in what is called the “flight or fight response.” When we are afraid, the brain signals the release of adrenaline, which then stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in:
- Increased blood flow to muscles
- Increased heart rate
- Increased breathing rate
This prepares an organism to either fight against a threat or to run away from it.
Since we often create strong memories of things that have frightened us…
Explain one effect of one potential pheromone in human behaviour with reference to one study
A pheromone is a chemical substance produced and released into the enviornment by an animal affecting the behavior of another from the same species. Most commonly, pheromones affect sexual and mating behaviors. Although psychologists have not found actual pheromones in humans, there is research showing that some chemicals under controlled conditions may lead humans to show behaviors similar to what we see in animals. One potential pheromone is androstadienone - found in male semen and sweat and influences humans sexual behaviour
Explain the use of one research method in one study of hormones or pheromones
- McGaugh + Cahill
A lab experiment is done in a well-controlled environment. The participants are randomly allocated to a group unlike in a quasi-experiment where participants are not randomly allocated but instead assigned a group depending on a certain trait (e.g. gender). Lab experiments use a standardised procedure which makes it easy to replicate. These types of experiments make it easy for researchers to manipulate their independent and control variables, helping them to establish a cause and effect relationship. This is essentially what experiments are trying to do - to establish a relationship or lack of a relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. In order to see a cause and effect relationship, extraneous variables must be controlled.
