gen psych exam 2

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A common theme runs throughout most of the functions of consciousness: Consciousness plays an enormous role in:

(1) creating new mental representations and (2) making changes in existing representations.

problems with adoption studies

- Children are often adopted by relatives (e.g.,aunts, grandparents), so there is some genetic relatedness. - Adoptive parents might treat their adoptive children differently than their biological children.

function 1: prioritizing

- Consciousness is drawn to novel and unexpected events and to unsolved problems - It makes such events priorities that need to be dealt with - For example, we read with ease when nothing unexpected is encountered - But if we encounter a mispteak, we pause and become conscious of the eerrer

Paul broca

- French physician and researcher - assessed a patient nicknamed "tan" by hospital staff - patient could say nothing other than "tan", even though he could understand what others were saying - when tan died, Broca did an autopsy - discovered a lesion due to syphilis in the area now called Broca's area

divided attention studies

- In divided attention studies, your attention can be divided between different aspects of the same stimulus - For example, you might be asked to name (and therefore pay attention to) either the shapes of objects, or their colors, or their sizes. - Example: The Stroop Test Named after John Ridley Stroop

the triune brain

- Paul Maclean 3 parts of the brain 1. reptilian brain 2. old mammalian brain 3. primate (neomammalian) brain

why is altruism a problem

- Since altruism involves a cost to the self, it would seem that people who are not altruistic would have an advantage - One would expect an advantageous trait (selfishness)to eventually spread over generations, and altruismwould be weeded out. - But we know this hasn't happened: altruism is common.

dual tasks studies

- Subjects are required to perform two tasks at the same time. e.g., solving a puzzle, and pushing a button every fifth time you hear a buzzer - Often, performance is perfect when doing each task separately - But performance degrades when trying to do both at once

modularity

- The human mind is largely composed of highly specialized cognitive systems or modules that evolved to deal with specific problems. - Swiss army knife metaphor: the mind is a collection of specialized tools

blind spot

- There is an area of missing information in our field of vision known as the blindspot. This occurs because the eye has no receptor cells at the place where the optic nerve leaves the eye. - We have a blind spot in each eye, but we do not experience them. - The mind is unconsciously modeling(creating representations) of the surrounding area. - This model of the surrounding context is used to fill in the gap in our visual field

split brain patients

- With the corpus callosum severed, objects presented in the right visual field can be named. ( left hemisphere processes language) - Objects in the left visual field cannot. ( info can't get to language areas, which are in left hemisphere)

function of genes

- a gene is a stretch of DNA that produces a specific protein, which in turn forms the building blocks of our bodies - proteins build our physical structures, including our nervous and endocrine system - these systems form the physical hardware that shapes our behavior, emotions, and motivations

gene-environment interaction example

- a genetic predisposition that makes a child restless and hyperactive can evoke angry responses from his parents - these angry responses can in turn affect a child's personality and self-concept

STRUCTURES OF THE BRAINSTEM thalamus

- a sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem - directs messages from the senses to appropriate areas in the cortex for processing

about evolutionary psychology (EP)

- asks questions about the nature of the human mind and tries to explain that nature using evolutionary theory - tries to explain why human mind and behavior differs from that of other species

shared environment

- aspects of a family that are generally the same for all children in a household, school, etc - same parents, same family income, same house, same entertainment, same values taught

what does the reptilian brain (brainstem) do

- basic automatic life-preserving functions: breathing, heartbeat, hunger, digestion - movement: balance, coordination, fight, flight, run

EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF ALTRUISM costly display theory

- being altruistic shows that we have resources to burn - this could make us attractive and more likely to mate and spread our genes - might explain some types of altruism toward strangers

reptiles (most)

- cold blooded - environment regulates internal temp - level of activity dependent on temp - lay eggs outside body - hatched offspring mature - no parental investment - solitary/ asocial

the split brain

- corpus callosum: a bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres - if surgically severed for treatment for epilepsy, hemispheres cannot communicate directly

is heritability inflated for MZ twins reared together?

- estimates of heritability in identical twins might be inflated if identical twins are treated more similarly than other siblings (dressed alike, similar names) - the best evidence against this idea was obtained by Thomas Bouchard and his colleagues - Their studies of over 100 identical twins raised apart(MZA) reveal that twins raised apart are often as similar,sometimes more similar, than twins raised together(MZT)

family studies

- examine family members on a psychological trait and examine correlations between family members

turkheimer's three laws

- first law: all human behavioral traits are heritable - second law: the effect of being raised in the same family is smaller than the effect of genes - third law: a substantial portion of the variation in complex human behavioral traits is not accounted for by the effects of genes or families

gene-environment interaction

- genes can influence traits, which can in turn can affect environments, including our social environments - impact of genes on behavior depends on the environment where behavior develops

heritability

- h2 - numerical index (either a proportion of percentage) of the degree to which differences in phenotypes are due to differences in genotypes - all other influences are due to various environmental factors

APPROACHES TO SEX DIFFERENCES Standard Social Science Model (SSSM)

- human behavior is mainly the product of learning - if sex differences are found, they are the result of cultural forces (learned gender norms) that shape the "blank slate" of human nature

chromosomes and inheritance

- humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes - we received half a set of chromosomes from each biological parent - the 23rd pair are the sex chromosomes, which determine our biological sex

CONTRASTING CS AND UCS PROCESSES conscious processes

- limited capacity - slow - error-prone/easily disrupted - serial processing (one thing at a time)

PRIMARY LIMBIC STRUCTURES hippocampus

- linked to memory - degeneration of hippocampus in Alzheimer's

wernicke's area

- located in left hemisphere - involved in the comprehension (understanding) of language

according to evolutionary psychology

- natural selection produced the human mind by selecting genes that made us better adapted to our environments - our minds are shaped primarily by the environment humans encountered in what EP calls the environment of evolutionary adaptedness

monozygotic twins

- one egg fertilized - identical - share exactly the same genotype

what does the old mammalian brain (limbic system) do

- regulates complex physiology involved with the autonomic nervous system and endocrine system - emotional recognition (perception and empathy) - emotional experience and expression - greater memory (for others)

PRIMARY LIMBIC STRUCTURES hypothalamus

- regulation of body temp - governs endocrine system via pituitary gland

the cerebellum

- the "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem. It helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance - the pons in the brainstem works with the cerebellum to direct movement

genes

- the building blocks of heredity (transmitted to offspring) - are simply segments of DNA - the particular structure of genes in our DNA influences our biological and psychological development

limbic resonance

- the fact that mammals recognize and respond to each other emotionally is due to our shared limbic system - tom lewis refers to this emotional connection as limbic resonance

qualia

- the raw "feel" of conscious experience - the experienced redness of red, coldness of cold, the smell of apples

adoption studies

- the study of first degree relatives who have been raised in different families and environments (via adoption) - If a person is more similar to biological relatives than to adoptive relatives (e.g., in terms of psychological traits), then a genetic component can be inferred

APPROACHES TO SEX DIFFERENCES EP approach

- there are sex differences in several domains of functioning - these differences are innate - they are based on the fact that males and females faced different adaptive problems in the EEA

problems with family studies

- traits that have a genetic basis tend to run in families - but just because a trait runs in families doesn't mean that trait is heritable - traits might run in families because of shared environment rather than shared genes

dizygotic twins

- two eggs fertilized at the same time - have 50% of their genes (specific alleles) in common

broca's area

- usually in the left hemisphere, - involved in production of language - also directs the muscle movements in speech production

CONTRASTING CS AND UCS PROCESSES unconscious processes

- vast capacity - fast - accurate and efficient - parallel processing (many things happening)

blindsight

- vision without consciousness (Lawrence weizkrantz) - found in some people with damage to their visual cortex (occipital love) - these patients report no sensation of vision (no visual qualia)

mammals (most)

- warm blooded - temp regulated internally (homeostatic system with a set point) - more complexity and energy required to keep internal systems regulated - live births - nursing infants - longish periods of immaturity of young - much parental investment - social and group oriented

how do we form meaningful perceptions from sensory information

- we organize it, usually unconsciously - gestalt psychologists showed that people spontaneously organize stimuli into meaningful wholes (called gestalts)

mismatch theory

Because cultural change has out run our slow biological change, our minds today might not be optimally adapted to our current environment

structure of the cortex

Each brain hemisphere is divided into four lobes that are separated by prominent fissures. These lobes are the frontal lobe (forehead), parietal lobe (top to rear head), occipital lobe (back head) and temporal lobe (side of head).

Auditory cortex (temporal lobe)

Functional MRI show that the auditory cortex is active in when we are listening to speech or music, when we use"inner speech" (talk to ourselves), and when patients have auditory hallucinations (e.g., hear voices)

what is natural selection

Natural selection is an evolutionary process throughwhich adaptive traits are passed on to ongoinggenerations because these traits help animals surviveand reproduce.

perceptual constancy

Our ability to see objects as appearing the same even under different lighting conditions, at different distances and angles

adaptationism

The human mind is largely the product of natural selection, developed over evolutionary history to solve adaptive problems confronting our species. - the major adaptive problems are survival and reproduction

visual cortex (occipital lobe)

The visual cortex (occipital lobe) is active when we look at faces, words, pictures,etc., and also when we use visual imagery

size constancy

We automatically andunconsciouslyinterpret familiarobjects (of knownsize) as farther awaywhen they appearsmaller

natural selection is a

a theory of changes in characteristics of a species, and potentially of the origins of new species (arising from existing species), a process called speciation

alleles

alternative forms of a particular genes, each form encoding for a protein with different structure - located at same position on a given chromosome

Motor cortex (frontal lobe)

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls body movements

altruism

any action that benefits another at some cost to the self - heroic altruism and everyday altruism

what is the nature-nurture debate

are life outcomes largely fixed by our innate psychological dispositions and capacities, or does our environment have radical effects on our psychology

phenotype

are observed physical and psychological characteristics ex: eye color, blood type, height

intentions are often

conscious

explicit goals are

conscious representations

STRUCTURES OF THE BRAINSTEM cerebellum

controls balance and movement

STRUCTURES OF THE BRAINSTEM medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

for EP, the major differences between the sexes are based on the fact that reproduction (spread of genes) has __________ costs for males and females

different

behavior genetics attempts to

estimate the heritability of psychological traits

EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF ALTRUISM kin selection theory (inclusive fitness theory)

helping relatives (genetically related) helps spread our own genes - we tend to help kin who are more likely to reproduce

when traits are more strongly related in identical twins than in fraternal twins, ______ heritability can be inferred

high

right brain functions

insight, 3D forms, art awareness, imagination, music awareness, left hand control

PRIMARY LIMBIC STRUCTURES amygdala

linked to emotions

nativism

many of the capacities of the human mind are innate, hardwired rather than learned or acquired from experience - nature rather than nurture is emphasized

Women have different and stronger preferences about mating partners than do men; Women seek...

men with potential for providing resources and protection: maturity, ambition, dominance, and boldness.

effects of shared environment

much research suggests that such shared family factors predict little about many psychological traits

three tenets of evolutionary psychology

nativism, adaptationism, modularity

EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF ALTRUISM group selection theory

natural selection does not only operate on individuals but also on human groups - groups compete over resources - groups that contain more cooperative altruists are more likely to win in competition - could explain altruism to strangers

STRUCTURES OF THE BRAINSTEM reticular formation

plays an important role in controlling arousal, attention, and consciousness

sensory cortex (parietal cortex)

receives information from skin surface and sense organs

Shape constancy

refers to the ability to perceive objects as having a constant shape despite receiving different sensory images. This helps us see the door as a rectangle as it opens

what are some characteristics that might run in families but are mostly due to learning

religious doctrines and values, political party affiliation, favorite teams, specific skills, specific knowledge,

Women have different and stronger preferences about mating partners than do men; Men focus on the...

reproductive potential of a woman: youth,health, & physical attractiveness

motor control of the left side of the body is processed by the _____ hemisphere of the brain

right

visual information from the left visual field is processed by the ______ hemisphere of the brain

right

evolutionary psychology is concerned with

shared psychological characteristics in a species

genotype

specific genetic makeup of an individual. the "sum" of all alleles present in an individual

consciousness is like a ________. it can focus on only one thing at a time

spotlight

behavior genetics

studies our psychological differences and weighs the relative effects of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture)

dichotomous listening task

subjects are presented a different stream of info in each ear via headphones (e.g., two different news reports). They must listen to only one report. - Participants cannot recall what was said in other ear

selective attention

the ability to focus on single stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli

twin studies

the comparison of twins with unrelated individuals, or comparisons of identical twins to fraternal twins

genome

the complete set of instructions for making a type of organism, containing all the genes in that organism. Thus the human genomes makes us human

Phenomenology

the detailed description of conscious experience (qualia)

Habituation

the fading from CS awareness of a repeated stimulus

primate (neo- mammalian brain): the cerebral cortex across species

the outermost covering of the brain, largely responsible for higher-order mental processes

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment - the brain receives input from the sensory organs

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events - the brain makes sense out of the input from sensory organs

familial aggregation

the tendency of a trait to run in families, especially first-degree relatives

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA)

this was the environment humans encountered around 200,000 years ago

EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF ALTRUISM reciprocal altruism theory

tit-for-tat; we all feel it natural that favors will be returned in the future - could partly explain altruism toward genetically unrelated friends who will be near to us in the future

non shared environment

unique experiences had by individuals in a family, school, etc.

left brain functions

written language, number skills, reasoning, spoken language, scientific skills, right hand control


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