Biological Basis of Behavior- Study Guide Exam 1 - Physiological Psychology | PSY 4130, Study notes of Psychology of Human Development

Download Biological Basis of Behavior- Study Guide Exam 1 - Physiological Psychology | PSY 4130 and more Study notes Psychology of Human Development in PDF only on Docsity! Biological Psychology- Test 1 Study Guide 1. What is the problem of other minds? Take the animal of your choice and speculate on whether it thinks, what it thinks about, and whether we can understand that. a. The problem of other minds is the difficulty of knowing whether other people (or animals) have conscious experiences. b. Dog; Thinks- Yes; Thinks about: food, water, sleep, etc. Ex: the pool at Kris’s house. Some dogs would just lie down and make themselves comfortable, while others would search to find a way out. I think after more technology has advanced we will be able to understand their minds. This question could go either ways. She also walks into a room and leaves; Shotzie with kids. 2. Identify and define the 4 biological explanations of behavior. a. Physiological- activity of the brain and organs (relates a behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs; It deals with the machinery of the body, for example- the chemical reactions that enable hormones to influence brain activity and the routes by which brain activity controls muscle contractions.) b. Ontogenetic- origin of a behavior (describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of genes, nutrition, experiences, and their interactions; For example- the ability to inhibit impulses develops gradually from infancy through the teenage years, reflecting gradual maturation of the frontal parts of the brain.) Beginning of the structure or behavior. c. Evolutionary- How does a certain action or behavior begin in our remote ancestors and why and how did we inherit that mechanism. (reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior; For example- frightened people get “goose bumps”- erections of the hairs, especially on their arms and shoulders. Goose bumps are useless to humans because our shoulder and arm hairs are so short. In most other mammals, however, hair erection makes a frightened animal look larger and more intimidating.) d. Functional- why does a structure or a behavior involve as it is, what advantage does it have? (describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did; Within a small, isolated population, a gene can spread by accident through a process called genetic drift. For example- a dominant male with many offspring spreads all his genes, including neutral and harmful ones.) 3. What are organizing and activating effects of sex hormones? Give examples of each. a. Organizing: Occurs mostly at a sensitive stage of development, shortly before or after birth in rats and before birth in humans. i. They determine whether the brain and body will develop female or male characteristics. ii. Example: Activating: Occur at any time in life, when a hormone temporarily activates a particular response. iii. Activating effects on an organ last longer than the hormone remains in an organ, but they do not last indefinitely. iv. Example: Puberty 4. Identify intersexism. What are three ways that it can manifest? a. Intersexism- people whose sexual development is intermediate or ambiguous. Anatomy intermediate between male & female. b. 3 Ways intersexism manifests: 1. Anatomy intermediate 2. Intermediate appearance of a typical 3. Hermaphrodite- testis on one side ovary on the other 5. Identify 3 mating behavior variations and discuss evolutionary explanations for each. a. Multiple mates by men; pairbond or scatter genetic material b. Mate choices: men- looks; women- stability; men- younger; women- older c. Differences in jealousy; men more jealous because of questioning the baby’s father. 6. What are the four Diamond-Sigmundson protocols for rearing an intersexed child?