Unit II: BLOA Flashcards
Nature vs Nurture (BLOA)
A debate about whether human behavior is the result of biological or environmental factors.
Application: BLOA vs SCLOA
Interactionist
BLOA doesn’t rely solely on either nature or nurture
Application: is a more holistic approach- goal of IB
Reductionist
BLOA Micro-level of research which breaks down complex behavior into its smallest parts.
Ex: focus on the role of a gene, neurotransmitter, or a protein
Application: it’s important to have detailed knowledge of the components of human behavior to understand how several factors may interact.
Neurons
Nerve cells
Application: send electrochemical messages to the brain do people can respond to stimuli
Synapse
The gap between two neurons
Application: neurotransmitters cross the synapse and transmit information from one neuron to the next
Axon
Body if the neuron
Application: electrical impulse travels down the axon
Neurotransmission
The method by which messages are sent
Application: allows us to react to our environment
Neurotransmitters
The body’s natural chemical messengers
Application: transmit information from one neuron to the next
Martinez and Kenser (1991)
What is the role of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine on memory? Rats trained to go through a maze, injected with scopolamine, which blocks the acetylcholine receptors. Others injected with physostigmine (prevents the return of the neuron to its resting state). (Control group). Those injected with scopolamine performed the slowest.
Application: acetylcholine producing cells are damaged in the early stages of Alzheimers
Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter which effects muscle contraction and has a role in the development of memory in the hippocampus.
Application: IV Martinez and Kesner (1991)
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter that effects voluntary movement, learning, and feelings of pleasures.
Application: Without, we would not be able to tell our muscles to move
Norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
A neurotransmitter which effects arousal, alertness, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.
Application: Keeps us safe from danger
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter which effects sleep, arousal levels, and emotion.
Application: sleep
Longitudinally
A study carried out over a long period of time.
Application: usually used for case studies of brain damaged patients to observe both short term and long term effects of damage.
Bidirectional (BLOA)
Biology can affect cognition and cognition can affect biology
Application: BLOA and CLOA relationship
Phinenas Gage
A case study of a man who had serious damage to his frontal lobe and had a major personality change.
Application: Localization. Previously it was believed that the frontal lobe didn’t do much.
Paul Broca
People who suffered damage in the left frontal lobe of the brain were unable to understand and make grammatically complex sentences.
Ex: Tan Application: localization
Aphasia
A language disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate.
Ex: Damage to the Broca’s or Wernicke area
Carl Wernicke
Discovered the left posterior superior temporal gyrus, which involves language comprehension. People could talk but couldn’t understand.
Application: localization
Post-Mortem studies
After death studies (BLOA)
Application: allowed Broca and Wernicke to come to the conclusion that language processing is localized.
Localized
Origin of behavior can be traced to a specific part of the brain.
Ex: Broca’s area Application: led to the desire to map out the brain’s functions.
Kim and Hirsch (1997)
Used fMRI to compare those who were bilingual as children and those who learned a second language later in life. Found that both use Wernickes area the same for both languages, but those who became bilingual later used a different area of Broca’s.
Application: use of technology (fMRI), localization
Heath
Found that by electrically stimulating specific parts of the brain of depressed patients, they would experience pleasure.
Ex: B-19 stimulated himself 1500 times Application: localization
Olds
Found out that rats were willing to walk across electrified grids to get to the “pleasure lever” which stimulated the nucleus accumbens.
Application: drugs increase dopamine, decrease serotonin- knowledge of this area could help treat drug addicts
Lesioning
A type of invasive technique in which brain tissue is scarred in order to study behavioral changes. Ex: Hetherington and Ranson (1942) lesions the ventromedial hypothalamus in rats and they gained weight.
Application: ethics (pain, can’t be reversed, ect.)
EEG
Registers patterns of voltage change in the brain
Application: sleep, emotions, epilepsy BUT can’t reveal the deeper brain regions or show function
PET
A scan which monitors glucose metabolism in the brain (colored maps of brian activity).
Application: tumors, changed in Alzheimers, comparing brain differences (normal v. psychological disorders: sexes) THINKING
fMRI
3D picture of the brain structures which she is brain activity and shows which areas of the brain are active while engaging in behavior.
Application: higher resolution than PET, one of the most frequently used technologies in bio psychological research today.
Ablation
An invasive technique in which part of the brain is removed.
Application: localization, animal research, ethical concerns.
Brain plasticity
The brain’s ability to rearrange the connections between its neurons.
Ex: Rosenzweif and Bennett (1972) enriched rat cage study
Application: high levels of stimulation can lead to an increase in the density of neural connections.
Dendritic branching
Dendrites in the neurons grow in numbers and connect with other neurons when we learn something new.
Application: brain plasticity: can only be generalized to humans to some extent b/c can’t do a controlled experiment with humans (and differences in genetic makeup)
Gamma waves
Waves that have been linked to higher reasoning facilities.
Ex: Davidson (2004)- 8/8 Buddhist monks and 2/10 volunteers had increased gamma waves during mediation. The volunteer’s waves decreased afterwards while the monks did not.
Application: Technology ☝🏼️ (PET scan used), and the brain adapts to stimulation (environment and our own thinking)
Mirror neurons
A neuron that fired when an animal (or person) performs an action or when the animal observes someone else perform the same action.
Application: may play a role in the ability to learn from and/or emphasize with another person.
Ex: Gallese (1996) crackle from monkey brain when a human reached for a peanut. Generalized to humans with Iacoboni (2004)- looking at human faces with different emotions.
Adrenal Gland
Part of the endocrine system located near the pancreas
Application: Contains adrenaline and cortisol.
Adrenaline
A hormone- fight or flight response ad arousal
Application: Keeps us safe
Cortisol
A hormone- arousal, stress hormone, and memory
Application: IB
Pineal gland
Part of the endocrine system located in the brain
Application: contains melatonin
Melatonin
A hormone- regulation of sleep
Application: researchers hope to find a solution for insomnia and jet lag
Ex: higher levels contribute to seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Hypothalamus
A part of the endocrine system located in the brain
Application: contains oxytocin.
Oxytocin
A hormone- mother-child attachment, inducing labor contractions and lactation.
Application: will people suffering from social anxiety benefit from doses of oxytocin?
Gonads
Part of the endocrine system (ovaries and testicles)
Application: contains testosterone and oestrogen.
Pituitary gland
Part of the endocrine system located in the brain
Application: stimulates the hypothalamus and therefore aids in the process of producing oxytocin.
Testosterone
Male sex hormone
Application: deals with development and emotion
Oestrogen
Female sex hormone
Application: deals with development and emotion.
Behavioral genetics
How genetics and the environment contribute to individual variations in human behaviour.
Application: Its the BLOA- duh
Diathesis-stress model
Depression may be the result of a “genetic vulnerability” and traumatic environmental stimuli in early childhood.
Application: demonstrates that there is no single cause and effect relationship between genes and behaviour.
Correlational studies
Establishes there is a relationship between variables, but researcher doesn’t manipulate an IV- cause and effect can’t be determined.
Example: Minnesota Twin Study
Monozygotic (MZ) Twins
Genetically identical. One fertilized egg that splits in two.
Ex: Minnesota Twin Study MZ twins reared together- 86% concordance from intelligence test
Dizygotic DZ twins
Two eggs. Won’t be any closer genetically than brothers and sisters.
Ex: Minnesota Twin Study DZ twins reared together- 55% concordance from intelligence test
Concordance rate
Correlation found in twin research
Ex: Minnesota Twin Study (DZ vs MZ reared together vs apart)
Family studies
Different degrees of genetic relatedness (through generations) compared with behaviour.
Application: more rep. of population; used to study behavioral genetics
Selective placement
Adoption agencies- place children in families who are similar in as many ways as possible to the natural parents.
Application: why adoptive studies are often criticized- genetic inheritance effects difficult to spectate from influences in the environment.
Meta-analysis
The statistical synthesis of the data from a set of comparable studies of a problem that yields a quantitative summary of the pooled results.
Example: Bouchard and McGue (1981) reviewed 111 studies from around the world about intelligence.
Minnesota Twin
Bouchard et. al 1990 MZTs vs MZAs 70 per cent of intelligence can be attributed to genetic inheritance. Pros:
- mean age 41
- cross-cultural
- size of sample
Cons:
- media coverage to recruit participants
- ethical
- no adequate control to establish the frequency of contact between the twins prior to the study
- MZTs might not have experienced the same environment.
Less effort hypothesis
Those with higher IQs use less energy to think that those with lower IQs
Application: Intelligence impacts brain function
Theory of Natural Selection
The members of a species who have characteristics which are better suited to the environment will be more likely to breed, and thus to pass on these traits.
Ex: Galapagos islands
Adaptation
When over several generations, the result of natural selection is that the species develops characteristics that make it more competitive in its environment.
Application: Helps us survive and stuff
Frontal Brain Hypothesis
Theory that a malfunctioning relationship between the frontal cortex and the limbic system may cause criminal behaviour.
Ex: Antonio Damasio- looked at the effects of brain trauma in children on their later development.
Cognitive distortions
Errors in thinking (CLOA) Exs: super-optimism, “I think therefore it is”, minimizing
Application: Some argue criminal behaviour is a result of cognitive distortions.
Rational choice theory
Cornish and Clark (1987)- Criminal behaviour is the outcome of a reasoned decision-making process.
Ex: Supported by Bennett and Wright (1984)- interviewed burglars (risk, financial reward, and ease of entry)
Structural Poverty
Messner (1988)
- single parent families
- low levels of education
- high IMR
- Low social mobility
Application: Higher correlation with criminal behaviour than just poverty (SCLOA)
Self-fulfilling prophecy
When we are given a label we often live up to that expectation.
Ex: Jahoda (1954)-Children born on Wednesdays are supposed to be aggressive. High number of arrests for boys born on Wednesday.
Application: Possible reason for criminal behaviour (SCLOA).
Dendrite
Branches that extend from the soma
Application: receive messages
Nucleus
Soma
Application: controls the neuron
Frontal cortex
Region in the front of the brain
Application: Serotonin Monk Study Higher levels of serotonin activated the frontal cortex and hypothalamus, resulting in hallucinations.
