Studies for Biological Approach SL Psychology

Question 1

Maguire et al. (2000)

Answer 1

• MRI scans to compare the brains of 16 licensed London Taxi drivers
• Control group: non-taxi drivers
• Posterior hippocampus larger in TD
• Anterior HC larger in CG
• Spatial representation of the environment, relation between TD and HC size

Question 2

Antonova et al. (2011)

Answer 2

• Neurotransmitter ACh aid in spatial memory
• Action could be reduced by chemical scopolamine
• 20 men aged 28 yo
• Scopolamine injection or saline injection (CG)
• Individual fMRI -> ACh acts in mainly HC -> spatial memory
• Participants injected with whichever, 3-4 weeks later came back , control cause n effect
• Scopolamine reduced activity in HC area, participants made more errors , thus decreases ACh action, associated with spatial memory

Question 3

Draganski et al. (2004)

Answer 3

• Field experiment, random allocation, standardization of measurement, nat conditions
• Structural & Functional changes in brain - MRI
• Juggle skill , 3 months
• Non-juggling & juggling group
• 3 scans: before, after, 3 months after they ceased
• No diff. in brain structure in 1st, but in 2nd, jugglers had 2 areas different from CG
• Difference became smaller in 3rd scan
• Strenghted neuronal connections, neural pruning, temporary

Question 4

Carre et al. (2016)

Answer 4

• Agression & Testosterone levels
• Aggresive responses to videogame, 121 males
• CG, no T injection, other T injection
• Double-blind technique
• Decision-making game -> assess agression after provocation by computer
• Questionnaire - dominance and impulsivity
• Men with additional T, scored high in dominance and low in impulse control - higher agression

Question 5

Nave et al. (2017)

Answer 5

• Effect of testosterone on cognitive reflection, males
• 243 makes, same procedure as Carre et al, but with gel
• Gave baseline saliva sample
• Few hours wait to enter bloodstream and sample
  -CRT, tested override impulsive decisions, sample taken during & after test
• T participants, lower scores in CRT
• Clear effect of T on cognition & decision-making.

Question 6

Wedekind et al. (1995)

Answer 6

• Pheromones, diff. MHC
• Female reaction to male P
• 44 male students, wear same T-shirt for 2 nights, odour neutral
• Mean age 25 y.o
• 49 female students, rate 6 T-shirts for pleasantness & odour intensity
• 3 similar MHC, 3 diff.
• Diff MHC -> more pleasant
• Contraceptive pill made women atrracted with similar MHC

Question 7

Suderman et al. (2014)

Answer 7

• Childhood abuse -> methylation heritable gene in DNA,blood DNA analyzed, epigenetic study
• 12 adults with CA, 28 without
• All 45 y.o males
• In gene PM20D1, increased methylation
• CA -> negative health outcomes, prevalence to obesity
• Correlation or relationship between gene and methylation
• Environmental trigger!

Question 8

Kendler et al. (2006)

Answer 8

• Twin study
• Sweden, 42,161 twins, 15,493 complete pairs interviews
• Major Depressive Disorder in heritability 35 to 40%, higher in woman than men
• Tends to support biological idea

Question 9

Curtis et al. (2004)

Answer 9

• Survey to BBC Science after instinctive human behaviour
• 40,000 people
• Majority Europe
• 70% aged between 17 and 45 y.o
• 20 photographs, level of disgust 1-5 scale
• Photos with objects representing threat of disease = more disgusting
• Evolutionary mechanism, distincting disease

Question 10

Buss et al. (1992)

Answer 10

• Diff. between men and women in sexual selection
• 202 undergrads
• Vividly imagine scenario involving either sexual or emotional indifelity by partner
• Measured by various indices of emotional or physiological arousal
• Sexual inf. in males higher, emotional infidelity higher in females
• Male: sperm will be replaced by other male genes
• Female: baby is hers but husband emotionally connected with another woman concern

Question 11

Weaver et al. (2004)

Answer 11

• Stress responses of rat pups, higher attention from mother to babies comparison to lower attention from mother to babies
• 20 minutes, confined space, reaction to this
• Stress hormone measured in each rat, corticosterone
• Lower levels from rats with higher attention
• Difference may have emerged from temperament of mother?
  -Carried another study, anxious rats -> calmer mothers, and vice versa
• Reactivity to stress -> adopted mother than bio mother
• Gene expression, glucocorticoid receptor genes turned off!