AP Psych Unit 3 - biology 64-118

Question 1

Cerebral cortex

Answer 1

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells, covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body ultimate control and information
-processing center
-dived into 4 lobes

Question 2

Frontal lobe

Answer 2

involved in speaking, judgment, personality, and decision making
-If damaged the ability to make plans will be impaired

Question 3

Parietal lobes

Answer 3

Receives and processes sensory input for touch and body position
-if damaged the ability to feel connection to certain parts of the body may occur

Question 4

Temporal Lobes

Answer 4

each lobe receives auditory information primarily from opp. ear

Question 5

Occipital Lobe

Answer 5

Each lobe receives visual information, primarily from opp visual fields

Question 6

Motor cortex

Answer 6

Controls voluntary movements

Question 7

Somatosensory cortex

Answer 7

registers information from the skin senses and body movement

Question 8

Auditory cortex

Answer 8

in the temporal lobe, it receives information from the ears

Question 9

Visual Cortex

Answer 9

in the occipital lobe, it receives info from the eyes

Question 10

Association Areas

Answer 10

Most of the brains cortex which integrates info
-involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and other higher-level functions
-attention is shifted, planning occurs
-not specifically devoted to motor or sensory cortex functions

Question 11

Phineas Gage

Answer 11

a once even tempered person who had a tamping iron accident that damaged his neural tracks in his frontal lobe resulting in his inability to filter emotional reactions from the limbic system
-this changed his personality to become more violent and uncontrollable

Question 12

Brocas Area

Answer 12

a view of where the language is centered in the brain
Broca views that the language area is located in the left frontal lobe and this is involved in expressive language
-production of speech

Question 13

Wernickes area

Answer 13

language center located in the left temporal lobe
-involved in receptive language
-understanding of speech

Question 14

Plasticity

Answer 14

The Brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood by re-organizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
- parts of the brain compensate and put other areas to work
-reorganizes existing tissue

Question 15

Neurogenesis

Answer 15

• The brain produces new neurons to attempt to repair itself

Question 16

Corpus callosum

Answer 16

• A wide band of axon fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain
• eyesight is wired to the brain in this way the left visual field goes to the right hemispheres and vice versa

Question 17

Split brain

Answer 17

occurs when the fibers of the corpus callosum are severed isolating each hemisphere from the other
- associated with epileptic seizures

Question 18

Visual Field

Answer 18

Along the retina of the eye, sense receptors pick up stimuli that are about two inches apart - the right sides of both retinas gather information from the left side of what you are looking at and vice versa

Question 19

Intact brain vs. split brain

Answer 19

-In an intact brain, information is readily transferred across the corpus callosum from both hemispheres of the brain

-In an individual with a “split brain” this cross-transference does not occur.
Researchers are able to send information to one hemisphere and test patients.

Question 20

Left Hemispheres

Answer 20

in most people: speaking and language, math calculation, making literal interpretations, and controlling the right side of the body
-also contain Broca and Wernicke area

Question 21

Right Hemisphere

Answer 21

In most people: perceptual tasks, making inferences, modulating speech, visual perception, recognition of emotion, and
controlling the left side of the body

Question 22

Consciousness

Answer 22

our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
-helps us cope with novelty and act in our best interests

Question 23

Cognitive neuroscientist

Answer 23

-Combines the study of brain activity with how we learn, think, remember and perceive.

-Researchers are exploring and mapping the conscious functions of the cortex.
-how our brain connects to behavior

Question 24

Dual processing

Answer 24

• The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks. The two-track mind.
• Perception, memory, thinking, language, and attitudes all operate on two levels—a conscious, deliberate
  “high road” and an unconscious, automatic “low road.”
  The high road is reflective, the low road intuitive.
• two systems one is calculated and intentional and one is quick and unconscious

Question 25

Blindsight

Answer 25

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

Question 26

Parallel processing

Answer 26

-unconscious processing of
Many aspects of a problem
simultaneously;

generally used to
process well-learned information
or to solve easy problems

Question 27

Sequential Processing

Answer 27

conscious processing or one aspect of a
problem at a time;

generally used
to process new information or to
solve difficult problems

Question 28

Heredity

Answer 28

The genetic transfer of characteristics from parent to offspring
(nature)

Question 29

Environment

Answer 29

Every non-genetic
influence, from prenatal nutrition
to the people and things around us.
(nurture)

Question 30

Behavior geneticist

Answer 30

Behavior geneticists study
the relative power and limits of heredity and environmental
influences on behavior.

-The nurture of nature.
What comes built-in, and what is nurtured—and how?

Question 31

Chromosomes

Answer 31

Threadlike
structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.

Each person has 46 chromosomes

Question 32

Genes

Answer 32

The biochemical units
of heredity that make up the chromosomes;

segments of DNA
capable of synthesizing proteins.

Question 33

DNA

Answer 33

DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid)
is a complex molecule containing the
genetic information that makes up
the chromosomes.

Question 34

Human genome

Answer 34

The complete instructions for making a human organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that human’s chromosomes.

Researchers have discovered a common sequence within human DNA.

This shared genetic profile is what makes us humans, rather than tulips, bananas, or chimpanzees.

Question 35

Identical monozygotic twins

Answer 35

a single
fertilized egg that splits in two,
creating two genetically identical
organisms

Question 36

Fraternal Dizygotic twins

Answer 36

separate fertilized eggs that share a maternal prenatal environment… no more alike than siblings

Question 37

Nature - Nurture twin studies

Answer 37

Twin studies are used to understand the influence of gene’s environment

Question 38

Thomas Brouchard

Answer 38

Thomas Bouchard and his colleagues located and
studied 74 pairs of identical twins raised apart. They found similarities of tastes and physical attributes, personality, abilities, attitudes, interests, and even fears.
- found that genetic plays a role in twins not environment

Question 39

Adoption studies and nature vs. nurture

Answer 39

Two adopted children raised in the same home are no more likely to share personality traits with each other than with the child down the block.

The environment shared by a family’s children has virtually no discernible impact on their personalities

Question 40

Heritability

Answer 40

The proportion of
variation among individuals in
a group that we can attribute to
genes.

The heritability of a trait
may vary, depending on the range
of populations and environments
studied.
- Genetic influence explains
about 66% of the observed variation among people. not that ur intelligence is 66% genetics
-a measure of how well differences in people’s genes account for differences in their traits

Question 41

environment and heritability

Answer 41

• In similar environments
• heritability would increase because of differences due to the environment decreases
• so any difference noticed would be due to genes

Question 42

Molecular genetics

Answer 42

the study of the
molecular structure and function of genes

Question 43

Molecular Behavior Genetics

Answer 43

the further study of how
the structure and
function of genes
interact with our
environment to influence behavior

Question 44

Epigenetics

Answer 44

-The study of environmental influences
on gene expression that occurs
without a DNA change.
- (epi) genetics studies how an individual’s lifestyle, environment, choices, etc. can directly interact with the genome.
-Life experiences lay down
epigenetic marks—that can affect the expression of any gene in the DNA segment
they affect.
ex: effects of stress on the body mentally

Question 45

Natural selection

Answer 45

the principle that inherited traits that better
enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition
with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Question 46

Mutation

Answer 46

a random error in the gene
replication that leads to a change

Question 47

Belyaev

Answer 47

Researchers Belyaev and Trut selectively bred the tamest foxes and after 30 generations (40 years) were able to produce “docile, eager to please, domesticated” animals.
So psychological traits can be selected as well as physical traits.

Question 48

Evoultionary psychologist beliefs abt male/females sexuality differences

Answer 48

Males- May be more likely to initiate sexual activity.
May perceive women’s friendliness for sexual interest.
Females- Tendency toward tall men with slim waists and broad shoulders.
May prefer men who are mature, dominant and bold.

Question 49

Social Scripts

Answer 49

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in
various situations

For instance, we have social scripts that tell us how to go out to eat in a restaurant (enter, take a seat, read a menu, order, eat, pay the bill, leave)
and social scripts that give indications of how men and women, elderly and young, etc., might act in a society.

Question 50

Criticism of evolutionary perspective on sexuality

Answer 50

-Start with the effect and work backward to explain what happened.
-Try to explain today’s behavior with decisions made thousands of years ago.
-There are social consequences to accepting evolutionary explanations
- it is difficult to collect evidence about evolutionary explanations of human sexuality, that aspects of human sexuality are socially constructed or cultural instead of genetic

Question 51

response to criticism (men and woman psychology)

Answer 51

• Much of who we are is NOT hardwired…genes are NOT destiny
• Men and women are far more alike than different
• Some traits and behaviors are hard to explain in terms of natural selection

Question 52

Biopsychosocial

Answer 52

Genes, environment and our culture all combine to influence our development