week 4 biological and evolutionary approach to personality Flashcards
biological evolution
changes that take place in the genetic and physical characteristics of a population or group of organism over time
evolutionary psychology
how an organisms evolutionary history contributes to the development of behaviour patterns and cognitive strategies / survival during its life time
ultimate causes
refer to explanations associated with evolution eg Darwin’s theory
events/conditions that over successive generations have slowly shaped behavior of our species
proximate causes
immediate environmental variables that affect behaviour (biological processes)
sexual selection
A selection on mating behaviour, either through competition among members of one sex (usually males) for access to members of the other sex
or through choice by members of one sex (usually females) of certain members ofthe other sex. In sexual selection, individuals are favoured by their fitness relative to other members of the same sex, whereas natural selection works on the fitness of a genotype relative to the whole population.
sociobiology
the systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior
interested in understanding evolutionary roots of modern-day social actions eg reproduction & parenting
list some attributes that makes a male attractive
-height
-relatively broad shoulders and slim waist (inverted triangle: waist-to-shoulder ratio = 0.75 or lower)
-chest muscularity (to some extent)
-normal level of testosterone: broad jaw, strong brow
list some attributes that makes a female attractive
-low waist-hips ratio = 0.70
-clear, smooth skin
-signals of youth eg round breasts
differential parental investment
the consequences of having a child are greater for females than males so females are more selective in their choice of mates
females have fewer opportunities to reproduce and during pregnancy have to sacrifice own metabolic resources
what are the 2 ways women assess potential partner
- quality of genes eg good health
- if they will devote resources to children and not leave to produce children elsewhere
what kind of infedilety leads to a man breaking up with a woman
sexual infidelity
what kind of infedilety leads to a man breaking up with a woman
emotional infidelity
inclusive fitness
natural selection favours organism, which maximise replications of their genes not only directly by reproduction but also indirectly by helping those with whom they share genes.
what were 5 major ideas to Darwins theory
- variation
- inheritance
- competition
- natural selection
- adaption
physiological effects of lobotomies
intellectual impairment and seizures/paralysis
psychological effects of lobotomies
personality changes - rational planning and socially appropriate behavior problems
the prefrontal cortex is an association area - what does this mean?
it integrates many processes from other brain regions
what does damage to the prefrontal cortex disturb
persons ability to synthesize these systems and produce organized social behaviour
role of cerebellum
automatically coordinates all of limb and muscle movements
what’s the role of occipital lobe
processes info from eyes, and turns it into a meaningful pictures
what’s the role of the parietal lobe
controls sense of touch
role of cerebrum
this is the top of the brain, covered by the cerebral cortex, which contains memories and language and correlates info received from senses
role of frontal lobe
controls ability to speak
role of temporal lobe
where signals from our ears are processed, responsible for thinking
role of pons
responsible for breathing, regular beating of heart and other involuntary activities
role of brain stem
collects all body-controlling messages from the brain and passes them onto the rest of the body
role of thalamus
relays incoming messages from the senses to the proper areas of the brain
role of hypothalamus
helps regulate sexual urges, body temp, growth, thirst and hunger, and biological clock
role of corpus callosum
the connection between 2 halves of the brain
EEG
- electroencephalography (1929 ) – measuring the electrical activity of the brain. Electrodes attached to the scalp and positioned in a specific way record electrical activity of neurons. EEG is often used to diagnose seizure disorders, tumours, head injuries, degenerative diseases and brain death.It is also used in research on brain activity
ERP
recording event-related potentials (evoked potentials) - sometimes, the brain waves are recorded for a special stimulus, and the experiment is repeated several times.The graphs are then averaged, and the resulting data are called Event-Related Potentials.
MEG
magnetoencephalography – a method similar to EEG, but measures the magnetic fields created by the electrical activity of the brain, rather than the activity itself.
CAT scan - computerized axial tomography
visualizing the brain. It is essentially a computerized assembly of several x-ray images taken from a series of different angles. The resolution is much better than conventional x-rays, and the detail that can be seen is much greater.
PET
positron emission tomography – measures the emission of positrons from the brain after a small amount of radioactive isotopes, or tracers,have been injected into the blood stream. The result is a three-dimensional map with the brain activity represented by colours
MRI
involves passing a strong magnetic field (30,000 + times that of the earth’s magnetic field) through the head.The MRI scanner can detect radiation from certain molecules, which are present in different concentrations in different tissues.The fluid contrast between structures in the brain can then be visualized.The goal of MRI is to produce cross-sectional imaging in which there is significant contrast between tissues of interest.
fMRI
technique differs from MRI in that it localizes brain activity rather than only structures.Itproduces images of activated brain regions by detecting the indirect effects of neural activity on local blood volume, flow, and oxygen saturation.
NIRS
(near-infrared spectroscopy) - is a spectroscopic method utilising the near infra-red region of the electromagnetic spectrum. NIRS can be used for non-invasive assessment of the brain function through an intact skull by detecting changes in blood haemoglobin concentrations associated with neural activity.
What is the left hemisphere superior in
analytical function and language
what is the right hemisphere superior in
visual and spatial skills
