1A. Biological Approach to Behavior Flashcards
the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experiences.
biological psychology
TRUE OR FALSE: biological psychology is not only a field of study but also a point of view
true
two kinds of cells
neurons and glia
conveys message to one another and to muscles and glands, vary enormously in size, shape, and functions
neurons
generally smaller than neurons; have many functions but they do not convey; information over great distances; produce enormous wealth of behavior and experience
glia
perception occurs in your ___
brain
mental activity and certain types of brain activity are, so far as we can tell, ___
inseparable
TRUE OR FALSE: people differ from one another in countless ways, and many of the differences can be traced to differences in the brain
true
four categories of biological explanation of behavior
- physiological
- ontogenetic
- evolutionary
- functional
relates to a behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs; it deals with the machinery of the body
physiological explanation
ex: chemical reactions that enable hormones to influence brain activity and the routes by which brain activity controls muscle contractions
physiological explanation
describes how something is develops
ontogenetic explanation
ex: why males and females differ on average; we might examine behavior at various ages and relate it to changes in the nervous system
ontogenetic explanation
reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior;
the characteristic features of an animal are almost always modifications of something found in ancestral species
evolutionary explanation
ex: bat wings are modified arms
evolutionary explanation
describes why a structure of behavior evolved as it did
functional explanation
a gene can spread by accident through a process
genetic drift
ex: a dominant male with many offspring spread all his genes, including some that may have been irrelevant or even disadvantageous
functional explanation
