L03-L05 Flashcards
(163 cards)
1
Q
How are the brain and mind/consciousness related?
A
→ starting 4-5 years, children divide world into mental and physical things
→ major religions are almost all dualist, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism
→ Cartesian Dualism – Mind: non-physical, non-extended (takes up no space); Body: physical, extended
2
Q
what is the Interaction problem
A
most philosophers and scientists believe that there is only one kind of reality
3
Q
Idealists in the interaction problem
A
mind is fundamental.
Problem: why and how appears a consistent physical world?
4
Q
Neutral monoists in the interaction problem
A
mental and physical are two different ways to represent the same reality, which is neutral (neither physical nor mental)
5
Q
Materialists in the interaction problem
A
- most popular among scientists – matter is fundamental
→ The Hard Problem
→ How to account for consciousness? How can matter give rise to mind?→ Easy problems: perception, learning, memory, attention
6
Q
Massimo Pigliucci view of the hard problem
A
Hard Problem is an illusion
7
Q
Patricia Churchland view of the hard problem
A
Impossible to decide in advance what is a hard and an easy problem. Will there be something left for consciousness once we understand the easy problems?
8
Q
The Hard Problem
THOMAS NAGEL (1974): WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BAT?
A
- If it makes sense to ask the question, What is it like to be X, then X is conscious.
- Bats live a very different life compared to humans
- Their conscious awareness will be based on totally different perceptions from humans
- Nagel argues it will be impossible to know what it’s like to be a bat because consciousness is subjective, a private experience (phenomenality)
→ like it is impossible for a dog to understand calculus, it is impossible for us to understand consciousness - Reductionists argue that the careful study of a bat’s brain and perceptual system would make it possible to discover what the experience of a bat is like
9
Q
What is it like to be tracy? – scenario
A
- People vary considerably in their ability to discriminate colours
- In one experiment on colour discrimination Tracy is discovered she can see a colour that no other human can see
- For example when looking at ripe tomatoes, we only see red, but Tracy can distinguish two colours, one she calls “Red1”, the other she calls “Red2”
- She tried to teach others to see Red1 and Red2, but realized that humans are Red2 colourblind
- Red1 and Red2 are not two different shades of red, to tracy, Red1 and Red2 are as different as yellow and blue are to all of us
- Neuroscience investigations into Tracy’s ability revealed that her optical system can separate two groups of wavelengths in the red spectrum as acutely as we can sort out yellow from blue
- What kind of experience does Tracy have when she sees Red1 and Red2?
→ No amount of physical information about Tracy’s optical system will help us to find an answer to this question - Knowing all that concerns the physicality of Tracy will not be enough: clearly, knowing all this, is not knowing everything about Tracy
- It follows that reductionists will not be able to discover everything – something is left out
10
Q
What is consciousness? – Investigating this, we have two options:
A
- Use consciousness itself to investigate itself
- Take ourselves out of the thing we wish to study
- as neuroscientists, we have to explain how the electrical firing of millions of neurons produces private, subjective, conscious experience
- this leads directly into the familiar territory of the dualistic MIND BODY PROBLEM
11
Q
what is the mind body problem
A
In human experiences there are two different things that cannot be brought together: Our own (private) experience vs. The physical world
- Physical world is assumed to exist and we share it with others
- Our own experience of this world is:
→ inner, private, subjective experience of the physical world
→ its quality cannot be shared with anybody
12
Q
David Chalmers’ view on the Hard Problem
A
- The Hard Problem is to explain how physical processes in the brain cause subjective experience
- It is the modern version of the mind-body problem
- There is an explanatory gap between the material brain and the subjective world experience
- In contrast to the hard problem, there are easy problems –> ex. perception, learning, memory, attention, sleeping vs. waking, etc.
13
Q
what are the disagreements with the Hard Problem?
A
→ some claim that there is no Hard Problem
→ the easy problems are underestimated and the hard problem is an illusion;
→ will there be anything left to explain once we explain the easy problems?
14
Q
what is qualia
A
- Philosophers often use the term “qualia” (singular “quale”) to refer to the introspectively accessible, phenomenal, private aspects of our mental lives
- Subject experiences have an ineffable subjective quality:
→ the redness of red
→ indescribable smell of turpentine - Some philosophers however claim that qualia do not exist at all but are an illusion
- Qualia are at the heart of the mind-body problem
15
Q
quailia and understanding by mimicry:
A
- The natural sciences and the fine arts are portrayed as pari passu (latin: ranking equally) human faculties united in the quest to understand nature. Working together, they allow the human mind to reach the ultimate form of understanding – imitating nature
- Thus if qualia arise from mental activity, one way to understand what others are experiencing is generating similar activity by mimicry/simulation
16
Q
IMPAIRING SIMULATION WITH FACIAL GEL MASK REDUCES ACCURACY
A
- Task is to recognize what facial expression you’ve seen before
- Take a face that can be angry or sad
- It morphs from one expression to another slowly
- Task is to identify the expression you’ve seen before
- In order to understand someone’s emotions, we generate an inner movie program that simulates making that face → simulating allows us to understand one another
- Data supports that understanding the inner reality of someone else “qualia” can be discovered through simulating
17
Q
what are some of the many definitions of consciousness
A
- Consciousness is identical to the physical processes we can observe in the brain. Therefore, studying attention, learning, memory, perception, etc. will let us understand consciousness in the end. Consciousness is not an added something to these processes
- Consciousness is an illusion and does not exist
- Consciousness does exist and is an additional quality added to humans, and we have to understand the purpose of it – what does it allow us to do, this consciousness, that we could not do without it
18
Q
what do Varela & Maturana argue about consciousness?
A
wherever there is life, there is consciousness. The related Gaia theory argues that our planet itself is a life form and thus endowed with consciousness
19
Q
what does the integrated information theory of Tononi suggest?
A
all systems that integrate information have some level of consciousness
→ the level of integration of information can be calculated (Phi score). The more information is integrated, the higher the score, the higher the system’s level of consciousness
→ Humans integrate a lot of information, have a lot of consciousness (Hi-Phi). Ants integrate less information, have less consciousness.
→ Under this perspective AI systems have a form of consciousness, as well as DNA, and the universe itself
20
Q
in psychology textbooks consciousness is discussed in terms of what?
A
attention, awareness, circadian rhythms, sleep, dreams, hypnosis, etc.
21
Q
William James was the first to do what with the idea of consciousness?
A
describe it as a flow – functionalism opposed structuralism in this way
“Consciousness … does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as ‘chain’ and ‘train’ do not describe it fitly as it presents itself in the first instance. It is nothing joined; it flows. A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described.
22
Q
discuss free will
A
- Free will is a “cultural and religious artifact” of christian philosophers to explain the primal fall from grace by Adam and Eve. If God is the cause of all things, the fall from grace would have been caused by God. This did not fit with the omnibenevolent view of God.
- Free will as a concept does not exist in Buddhism, which also assumes that the Self is an illusion
23
Q
What did Freud argue about unconscious processes?
A
unconscious processes affect a person’s experience and behaviour, even though a person cannot report these. Freud argued that one can find evidence for these unconscious processes.
→ slips of the tongue
→ dreams
→ Rohrschach inkblot test
24
Q
what is the “Self”?
A
- Elusive concept – we have an intuitive idea of what “Self” means, but there is no simple and commonly agreed upon definition.
- similar notions
→ Damasio (core and autobiographical self);
→ Gallagher (minimal and narrative self)
25
what did William James say about the "Self"?
Self can be separated into “I” (the self that experiences) and “me” (the self that extends outwards in space and time and can be perceived as an object, ex. A body, abstract object with beliefs and attitudes)
26
what is self-awareness?
- refers to the capacity to become the object of one’s own attention
- Self-awareness occurs when an organism focuses not on the external environment, but on the internal milieu;
- It becomes reflective observer, processing self-information
- The organism becomes aware that it is awake and actually experiencing specific mental events, emitting behaviours and possessing unique characters
- A language-competent creature may verbalize “I feel tired,” “I've been working for three hours,” or “I am a good-looking, intelligent person.”
27
what is the self?
- D. Dennett: defined the self as “the center of narrative gravity”. Self center of experience, but also situated in a broader and ongoing narrative
→ like gravity, self is only an abstraction, a concept, useful possible, but without actual existence. Wherever you look into the brain, there is no part one would identify with the self
→ because it is a concept, self is not stable but constructed, generated and dynamic
→ however, there are some arguing that activity of the “default mode network” correlates with the experience of self
28
The Default Mode Network is comprised mostly of what in the brain?
medical prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex, inferior and temporal regions
29
what are the 8 species that can recognize themselves in the mirror?
1. Humans
2. Chimpanzees
3. Bonobos
4. Gorillas
5. Orangutang
6. Dolphins
7. Magpies
8. Elephants
30
what is the relationship of consciousness and the brain?
- It has been known since ancient times that consciousness depends on the brain. A detailed understanding of their relation is absent, but correlations have been described
- Levels of consciousness: levels of alertness or responsiveness are correlated with patterns of electrical activity in the brain (brain waves) recorded by an electroencephalograph (EEG)
- During wide-awake consciousness, the pattern of brain waves consist of rapid irregular waves of low amplitude voltage (irregular alpha and beta waves)
- During sleep, however, when consciousness seems to be minimal, the brain waves are much slower and of greeted amplitude, often coming in periodic bursts of slow waxing and awning amplitudes
31
what are the measures during waking and sleep?
EEG → measuring activity in the cortex, nothing deep within the brain
Additional measures during sleep EOG, EMG
32
how many sleep stages are there?
5 stages in 90 minute cycles
33
what happens during stage 1 of sleep
(5-10 minutes/cycle)
- Transition from alpha waves to theta waves
- Hypnagogic imagery
- Myoclonic jerks
34
stage 2 of sleep:
(10-30 minutes/cycle)
- Sleep spindles and K-complexes
- As much as 65 percent of total sleep
35
Stage 3 and 4 of sleep:
(15-30 minutes/cycle)
- Delta waves (slow wave sleep [SWS])
- Crucial to feel rested; suppressed by alcohol
- 40 percent of sleep in children; 25 by percent in adults
36
Stage 5 of sleep:
(REM -- Rapid Eye Movement --sleep; 10-20 minutes/cycle)
- Brain activity similar to wakefulness
- Becomes longer as the night goes on
- Many vivid dreams occur
37
what happens during Stages 1-4 of sleep?
(Non-REM):
| No rapid eye movements, fewer dreams
38
how much sleep do we need?
Newborns: 16 hours
College students: 9 hours
Most people: 7-10 hours
- People (<1%) with DEC2 mutation → 6 hours or less
39
unresolved issue of why we sleep in the first place:
```
- Serves a restorative function
→ Sleep deficits often linked to cognitive deficits and prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to death
- Functions of REM sleep are unclear
→ possible memory consolidation
→ possible forgetting
→ possibly both
→ possibly insight
- Animals that cannot fully sleep (ex. Some fish, dolphins) sleep with one hemisphere at a time
```
40
what is the circadian rhythm
- Our circadian rhythms are cyclical changes that concur on roughly a 24-hour basis. Some examples of cyclically changing biological processes are hormone release, body temperature and brain wave activity
- Circadian rhythm is regulated by neurons in the hypothalamus, which triggers our sense of fatigue via increasing melatonin. The nucleus in the hypothalamus most critical for circadian rhythm is the suprachiasmatic nucleus
- Disruptions of circadian rhythms (jet lag, late shifts) can cause numerous health problems
41
Example of perceptual decoupling:
thinking about something someone said at work while driving home
42
Cognitive unconscious
the various mental processes that support everyday functioning without conscious awareness or control
43
Valentino Braitenberg - Excitatory
Excitatory: The stronger the sensor is stimulated the stronger the motor will be stimulated
44
Valentino Braitenberg - Inhibitory
Inhibitory: sensor makes the motor run slower if the sensor is stronger stimulated
- Speed of motor is controlled by light sensor in a positive linear fashion: the more light, the faster the motor
- Vehicle 1 has one sensor that is directly linked to one motor driving one wheel
45
the next 2 vehicles: Valentino Braitenberg
- Two sensors and two motors: positive linear relationship between sensor and motor
- Close to the light, vehicle 2a turns away from the light, getting slower the farther it is away
- Vehicle 2b turns towards light, speeding up the closer it gets until it finally runs into the light
- And interpretative psychological term, these behaviours could be labelled fear and aggression
- But we know the inside of these machines: there is no genuine fear or aggression
46
explain Ockham’s razor
- When trying to understand cognitive or behavioural mechanism, it is useful to consider a simple explanation because very complex behaviour can arise from a small set of simple principles
- William of Ockham (14th century theologian): Proposed the heuristic principle now known as Ockham’s razor (lex parsimoniae, or “law of parsimony”), stating that given several explanations for a phenomenon, the most simple one should be accepted
- The most simple explanations are easier to falsify or to test than more complex ones because in light of contradicting outcomes, more complex theories can generate ad hoc hypothesis to explain away inconsistencies
47
vehicles 3: Valentino Braitenberg
TRUE LOVE AND ONE NIGHT STANDS
- These vehicles have inhibitory connections: the stronger the sensor is stimulated, the slower the engine will run
- Vehicle 3a approaches the source very fast the farther it is away and slows down to a full stop when it is close, remaining there for eternity, close to the source
- Vehicle 3b approaches equally fast, then turns away, remaining there, and possible attracted by another perturbation hitting the sensors
- The behaviours could be interpreted as showing love (3a) and a tendency to explore (3b)
48
reductionist approach to psychology
- Reductionists believe the best explanation is the deeper you can go
- A problem for reductionism is emergent behaviour: complex dynamic systems can be described by simple linear functions, but the arising (emergent) behaviour may be unpredictable
- The reductionist approach might miss something; on the other hand, it does not add what cannot be described (“whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent”) --> is there fear or not?
- Reductionism as a method/tool: best available method, but complete reductions very rare (Popper). Thus, best is to be a desperate reductionist.
49
what is rationalism?
- for the most part, psychological questions were framed and pursued within the framework of rationalism -- using reason and logical arguments was thought best to find the correct answers about the nature of mind. Rationalism argues that observation not only is unnecessary, but potentially misleading
→ for example, using reason, Aristotle argued that the brain was part of the cooling system of the body
50
what is empiricism?
- Hypotheses and theories about the nature of mind need to be confirmed or unconfirmed by observation. There are several empirical methods permitting proper observation, descriptive methods as well as experimental methods.
- As an empirical science, psychology has a short history
51
what is inductivism
Several observations are used to induce theories, which are used to deduce hypotheses, leading to more observations, eventually arriving at laws.
Ex. Observing sufficient white swans might lead to the law that “all swans are white”.
52
what is falsificationism?
A statement (hypothesis) that is capable of being refuted is deduced from a theory. Tests are designed to refute the predictions (Falsification), not to confirm a theory
→ theories allow for an infinite number of predictions. It is impossible to confirm all of them
→ But if one prediction is falsified, then theory is wrong
→ Therefore, falsificationism allows for a strict testing of theories
→ If a prediction of a theory is falsified, theory can be changed and tested again
53
scientific method:
observations
ideally unbiased, but it is questionable if there are unprejudiced observations. We usually heaven idea for what we are looking for, and observe using judgements and concepts (prior knowledge) -- our observations are therefore not objective, but subjective
54
scientific method:
status of data
data do not equal facts. They usually are produced by measurements and quantifications. These need to be interpreted within a theory: Facts do not exist objectively, but emerge from a context. Fact = Data + Theory
55
scientific method:
status of theory
Scientific theories and research reflect biases, prejudices, values, assumptions, history of the individual scientists and of the scientific community, which is embedded in a cultural context. Science is not free of values.
56
what is the problem of objectivity?
- Doing science is a human behaviour. When psychologists do science, they often engage in behaviours that they are studying -- psychologists are often part of what they observe. “Objectivity” is a standard only achievable to a degree.
- All science is a social activity. There are no conventions, traditions, shared assumptions and such things as peer review, which ensures that too controversial positions are moderated and even filter out
- There might not be a “pure” science, and neither a purely “subjective” science. What is scientifically valid and true is a matter of conventions. Striving to adhere to these guarantees integrity of scientific research, but not objectivity.
57
what is the order of the paradigm shift?
| constructivism - the kuhn cycle of revolutions
→ Pre Paradigm period → Normal Science → Anomaly → Crisis → Revolution
58
what happened in the Pre Paradigm period cycle
- Contending schools
- Random fact-gathering
- No science
59
what happened in the Normal Science cycle
- Science begins
- One paradigm, no schools
- Puzzle solving research
60
what happened in the Anomaly cycle
- Important insoluble problem
61
what happened in the Crisis cycle
- Insecurity
- Loosening of paradigm restrictions
- Contending theories
- Emergence of new paradigm
62
what happened in the Revolution cycle
- Younger scientists adhere to new paradigm
| - Some older scientists switch allegiance
63
what are the 2 basic approaches to psychology as a science?
rationalism vs. empiricism
64
what happened in the EXPERIMENTER BIAS: EXAMPLE FROM ANIMAL STUDIES
- Exposure of mice and rats to male but not female experimenters produces pain inhibition
- Driven by testosterone emitted by males
65
what is the hawthorne effect
Workers boosted productivity when they knew they were being observed → inaccurate results
66
how do personal predictions bias behaviour of others
- Rats 1 believed to be less intelligent
- Rats 2 believed to be very intelligent
- Smart rats were invariably faster
67
what happens when there is demand characteristics
it's what participants do to please the experimenter
- The person being studied is not only a passive responder, but might engage in the experiment actively
- This can lead participants to respond in a way to confirm the assumed hypothesis, in order to please the experimenter
- The sum total of cues of the experimental situation that conveys the experimental hypothesis to participants are called the demand characteristics
- Example 1 (Orne, 1962): subjects were asked to add sheets of random numbers, then tear them up into at least 32 pieces. Over 5h later, subjects were still doing it
- Example 2 (Milgram, 1963): video -- humans are willing to do a lot of things to follow authority/please experimenters
68
representativeness in psychology research
- Psychological research is done predominantly on white North-American undergraduate students enrolled in psychology courses at colleges and universities
- The bias is Anglocentric, Eurocentric, Androcentric and used to be Masculinist
- The data obtained does not represent humanity in general
- It is doubtful whether obtained effects can be found in other population
69
what is artificiality in psychology research
- Psychological research usually unfolds inside research laboratories located at research institutes and university departments
- Participants are subjected to often bizarre tasks, which they are asked to perform in the name of science
- Often these tasks are the result of a reductionist approach, aimed at identifying mechanisms of cognition/behaviour
- It is unclear , however, to what extent the observed behaviour reflects the normal operation of the brain in natural situations and under natural conditions. Animal research (in psychology faces the same problem)
- One solution are field studies in which the experimenter tries to observe natural behaviour in the wild without being noticed by the observed population
70
what is correlation research?
the relationship between mad cow disease and Brexit vote in the UK
- these 2 may look like they are effecting each other but they are only correlated not caused by each other
71
describe and predict how variables are related
- Correlational studies explore how variables are naturally related, describing and predicting relationship between the variables
- Correlational studies cannot detect causal relationships between the variables
→ Example: most colleges require SAT scores in their student applications because it has been found that SAT scores and academic performance positively correlate -- the higher the SAT score, the better academic performances
- but: scoring high on the test does not cause better academic performance. High academic performance also does not cause higher test scores. These variable are correlated, but not related in a casual way (A causes B)
Correlational studies allow making predictions, and these predictions can be tested in controlled experiments to search for causal relationships between identified variables and observational outcomes
72
what happens in positive correlation?
both variables move in the same direction (ex. The higher the level of education, the higher the salary)
73
what happens in negative correlation?
variables have an inverse relationship, this moving in different directions -- as one variable increases, the other one decreases (ex. The less amount of days missed in school = higher GPA
74
what happens in zero correlation?
the variables are not predictably related
75
what is the directionality problem?
- the direction of the relationship between variables can appear ambiguous. Causation cannot be determined, therefore it remains unclear whether a positive or negative correlation results from the increase in one of the other measured variables (ex. If you sleep less, your stress levels increase → negative correlation, but it's possible that increased stress levels make you sleep less
76
what is the third variable problem
- this is a basic problem of all correlational studies. The relationship between the two measured correlated variables might be dependent on third, not measured, variable (confounding variable)
→ ex. Texting when driving (A) is correlated with driving dangerously (B):
→ Risk taking (C) causes some people to text while driving: C→A
AND
→ risk taking (C) causes some people to drive dangerously: C→ B
77
method used to control and explain phenomena
- Scientists are interested in explanation phenomena, in establishing cause and effect relationships
- The experimental method is a way to detect such casualties
- In an experiment, in order to test a hypothesis, experimenters manipulate one or several variables, and, while trying to keep everything else constant, they observe the effect of this manipulation on one or several other variables
- The manipulated variables are called independent variables (IV), the variables to measure the effect of the manipulations are called dependent variables (DV).
78
definition of an experiment
a research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables
79
define an independent variable
```
In order to test the hypothesis in the independent variable could be the type of cell phone use
→ independent variables have at least 2 levels:
Treatment level (=EXPERIMENTAL GROUP);
Comparison level (=CONTROL GROUP).
→ in case of the cell phone use study, the independent variable could have four levels: (texting) vs (calling) vs (only holding) vs (no use)
```
80
define a dependent variable
The measured/observed behaviour. For example, in our example the DV could be reaction time to red lights, or the number of accidents, or the degree speeding
81
what is a controlled variable?
All steps taken by the experimenter to minimize the possibility that other variables beside the IVs influence the DV
82
what is a confounding variable?
A variable that influences the IVs and that is not controlled in the experiment
→ ex. In the cell phone study a type of car could be one most participants have little experience operation
→ type of car could affect performance and aggravate or generate effects of cell phone use on driving performance
→ thus, the reaction time to red lights could be confounded with the driver’s competence to operate the car
→ other confounds could be time of day the experiment is conducted, age of driver, experiencing driving, etc.
83
what are descriptive statistics?
- We need a way to organize, summarize and generally describe the raw data
- This is the function of descriptive statistics
84
what are histograms?
- One of the first steps in data analysis is to plot a frequency distribution (histogram) for a quick visual snapshot of all the data for a single variable (ex. Exam score)
- Histograms provide a picture of how the data is distributed across the range of possible values
- Researchers can address useful questions with histograms:
→ what is the shape of the distribution of exam scores? Do most students score really well or poorly?
→ In what range of marks do most students score? Where is the center of the data?
→ what does the spread of scores look like? Does it cover the full range of possible values (ex. 0-100, or all scores crammed into a much smaller range (ex. 62-93)
85
what does frequency distribution look like for normal distribution?
symmetrical and bell-shaped
86
what does frequency distribution look like for Positively (right) skewed
skewed to the right, tail is long to the right
87
what does frequency distribution look like for Negatively (left) skewed
Skewed to the left, tial is long to the left
88
real-world examples for Normal distribution
height, birth weight, shoe size, IQ scores
89
real-world examples for Positively (right) skewed
household income, number of children in a family, mileage on used cars
90
real-world examples for Negatively (left) skewed
age at death in many countries
91
what is the mean?
- the average value of a set of data points. It is computed by summing all data points in the set, and then dividing that sum by the number of data points in the set
For example, let’s say you wish to find the average of a set of five exam scores…
Mean = (88 + 81 + 72 + 93 + 65)/5 = 399/5 = 79.8
92
what is the median?
corresponds to the 50th percentile, or the value at which 50% of observations are above, and 50% are below
93
what is the mode?
- the value that occurs most often, has the highest frequency in the distribution
- Normal distribution: mean, median and mode are the same in a perfectly normal distribution.
Note that perfect normality is often not the case empirically
94
Positively (right) skewed -- mean, median or mode?
Mode < Median < Mean
| In these cases, the median is often a more representative measure of central tendency
95
Negatively (left) skewed -- mean, median or mode?
Mean < Median < Mode
| In these cases the median is often a more representative measure of central tendency
96
what is standard deviation?
- a measure of variability of how the data cluster around the mean. It is essentially the average distance of all data points from the mean
- Large standard deviation means wide spread around the mean
- Small standard deviation means narrow spread around the mean
- A measure of central tendency (ex. mean) is much more meaningful when provided alongside a measure of variability such as standard deviation; helps you to understand how well the means represents your data
- When the standard deviation is large, then the mean does a poor job representing a typical value in the data
97
what symbol represents standard deviation?
Sigma --> looks like the o in 007 just the first 0
98
What are inferential statistics?
- In research, you often want to learn something about a population. To gain insight into the population, however, you are typically stuck having to
- Gather information about a subset (ex. The sample) of the larger population you wish to study
- Infer something about the population based on the sample
- Researchers use inferential statistics to determine whether their data support their hypothesis; this is referred to as hypothesis testing
- The general question is… Do results represent meaningful findings (likely real, true findings) about the population, or might they be due to chance alone?
99
nativism -- nature vs. nurture
knowledge of the world is mostly innate, and determines certain abilities (descartes was a nativist)
→ the view is associated with the idea that NATURE (ex. genes) determines behaviour
100
empiricism -- nature vs. nurture
- at birth mind is tabula rasa (empty state), nothing in terms of behaviour and knowledge is inherited, all is learned (Locke was an empiricist)
→ this view is associated with the idea the NURTURE (environment) determines behaviour
101
define a species
a group of animals that can mate and produce fertile offspring
102
define genus
species that evolved from common ancestors (ex. Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars are genus Panthera)
- We are of genus Homo (man) and species sapiens (wise)
103
how did the human evolve to walking up right
- The hip is adapted to optimally support upright walking in genus homo
- There is a clear and prominent sharp bend in the human spine in the area of the hip
104
great ape body form: Proportions of length of arms, legs, spine
- Walking upright leads to certain proportions of arms, legs, spine
- Arms more adapted to living on land than living in trees
- Walking upright allows to see prey and predators from afar in the savannah
105
development of hands in humans
Notable in human is development of specialized (opposable) thumb and an increase in sensitive areas
106
what is the Hominid family tree
- In recent years, it became apparent that Homo sapiens mates and had successful offspring with homo neanderthalensis and possibly homo erectus
- In europeans, we can find genes from homo neanderthalensis in the mitochondrial DNA
- Mitochondrial DNA is always inherited from the mother
- These genes seem not to occur in the mitochondrial DNA of present day Africans
107
what is the most recent addition to our family tree?
HOMO DENISOVA
108
what were the 3 phases of human evolution
1. Cognitive Revolution
2. Agricultural revolution
3. Scientific revolution
109
anthropocene
- proposed new epoch. Outcomes of scientific revolution led to a new era in Earth history, characterized by human ability to modify entire biosphere, changing climate, geology, ecosystems
110
what is the cognitive revolution
- The cognitive revolution arose on the basis of a drastic increase in brain size. Our brain is about 2.5% of body weight, but consumes 35% of body resting energy (compared to 8% of brain of apes)
- Our increased brain size has been linked to the gene ARHGAP11B, which is specific to humans
- This gene developed after random mutations to the gene ARHGAP11B, which is common in mammals, about 5 million years ago, after our lineage split from chimpanzees
111
what are the consequences of increase in brain development affecting our mind/behaviour?
→ we spend more time looking for food to provide energy for brain
→ muscle atrophy to help feed energy needs of brain
→ human premature birth due to bigger brain of newborn and smaller pelvis of mother (upright walk)
→ Babies are very plastic and not “set” in their way: highly adaptive
→ Human children are helpless for a long time
→ Requires raining child by helo of group; evidence for “kindergartens” as early as homo neanderthalensis
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what can we communicate with our language?
→ ability to communicate knowledge about the world -- planning complex actions (ex. Avoiding predators)
→ ability to communicate about social structure -- larger groups of humans can live together (up to 150, after that, information cannot be shared effectively about everyone)
→ ability to communicate about things that do not exist (such as myths, laws, rules, concepts, etc.)
→ cooperation of strangers (myths, concepts);
→ rapid innovation of social behaviour (laws, traditions);
→ increasing size of functional human societies from kinship tribes to villages, cities, nations.
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what is the baby schema (Kindchenschema)?
→ Certain facial characteristics have a high appeal to humans, inducing perception of “cuteness”, eliciting caretaking behaviour
→ the perception of cuteness emerges early in humans development (3-6 yrs)
- Features inducing baby schema: large head and a round face, a high and protruding forehead, large eyes and a small nose and mouth
- Commonly found both in human and animal infants
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what is Piloerection (“goosebumps”)
→ hairs “Stand up” as a reaction to fright, cold
→ inherited from our ancestors who had fur
→ Makes us look bigger and scarier. Also helps keep air around skin, insulating us from cold
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Unconscious use of environmental features provide cover:
→ children love to build caves, little forts, hideaways
→ most humans prefer to sit with back against wall
→ In an empty room, humans first occupy seats at corners and at the border/edges
→ If available, we prefer higher lookouts for dwellings
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in-born abilities for social behaviour
→ stretching out hand in primates and humans signals initiation of contact
→ body contact signals affection, caring
→ some withologists have argued that human behaviour to pet/caress/gentle touch comes from primate behaviour of social grooming (allogrooming)
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Because of the way our species evolved, many abilities, tendencies, and characteristics are
→ either present at birth in all human beings, or
| → develop rapidly as a child matures
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Examples of inborn characteristics
→ inborn reflexes
→ an attraction to novelty
→ a motive to explore and manipulate objects
→ an impulse to play
→ the capacity for certain basic cognitive skills
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what is our inborn grasping reflex?
→ human newborns are remarkably strong, being able to support their own weight with the grasping reflex
→ this innate behaviour seems to reflect the fact that primates used to have fur, and grasping allowed the newborn to attach itself to the mother
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what is our inborn rooting reflex?
→ touching/stroking a corner of the baby's mouth leads to a head turn, opening mouth, pursuit of and root in the direction of stroking. Reflex disappears after 4 months
→ this helps babies to find the breast and start feeding
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crying with newborns
- Crying: a well-coordinated and highly effective inborn behaviour
- Crying is complex, requiring coordination of many muscles
- Crying is a form of primal communication, but it is highly effective at achieving outcomes
- Crying is one of the best tools a baby has available to promote its survival. It usually elicits a caring response from the parents, for who these sounds are highly irritating
- Research has shown that human brains respond in a specific way to the crying sound of human babies. The sounds readily activates the amygdala and promotes a fear response
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what is interactionism?
- certain basic abilities and knowledge is innate, but can be influenced by experience which in turn can change what innate behaviours are expressed which influences what will be experienced, and so on. This view is supported strongly by the available evidence
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genes -- chromosomes
- Human skin is made of cells
- Each cell contains a nucleus -- genetic code is in it
- Each human nucleus contains 46 chromosomes
- Chromosomes carry instructions for how to build and operate a body
- Cells contain nuclei, which contain chromosomes which contain DNA
- Hereditary transmission of traits requires chromosomes, i.e., DNA
- DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a complex molecule which contains the genes
- DNA contains information allowing cells to function
- Cells in human body generally contain 46 chromosomes )=23 pairs; diploid set)
- Female egg and male sperm contain only 23 chromosomes (one half of each pair, haploid set)
- Combining two haploid sets (one father, one mother) produces a diploid set in the offspring during conception
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what is a genotype?
the complete set of an organism’s genes
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what is a phenotype?
- the overt characteristics of an organism, i.e., the properties we can observe (resulting from what genes are expressed) Phenotype is product of genotype and environmental factors, and experience
→ ex. Skin colour of humans. Our genes determine how much melanin we produce, but expose to UV-B raditatin can increase melanin production, which darkens the skin because melanin is black
→ ex. Flamingoes are white, but the pigments in the shrimp they eat causes their feathers to turn pink
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what are alleles?
We inherit the genes coding for the same features once from our mother and once from our father. These different form are called alleles
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what is homozygous?
the alleles code for the same phenotype
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what is heterozygous?
the alleles code for different phenotypes. The expressed phenotype reflects the coding in the dominant gene. The recessive gene is usually not expressed.
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Behaviour needs to be explained along two dimensions which are what?
PROXIMATE VS ULTIMATE CAUSATION
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what are Proximate (=close) causes?
related to internal changes in an animal, such as hormones, learning, experience, etc. Explains “how” an animal produces a behaviour (a goal of reductionism)
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what are ultimate causes?
- relates to the evolutionary causes of behaviour. Explains “why” an animal behaves the way it does
- For example, in classical conditions, certain neural mechanisms and emotional states allow the association between a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus, these mechanisms are the proximate causes of the behaviour. Why animals are able to form such associations needs to be explained in evolutionary terms (e.g., increases their ability to survive)
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Tomato plant experiment analogy
- Planting different tomato seeds in two pots. In each pot, the same variety of genetically different tomato plants are planted
- Each pot represents a different environment, one promotes growth strongly, the other one lesser so
- Within a pot, the differences between the tomato plants are due to genetic influences mostly
- Between the pots, they are mostly due to different environments
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Monozygotic twins growing up together
provides data for equal “nature”, similar “nurture”
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Monozygotic twins growing up apart
equal “nature”, different “nurture”
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Dizygotic twins growing up together
similar “nature”, similar “nurture”
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Dizygotic twins living apart
similar “nature”, different “nurture”
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Siblings growing up together
different “nature”, similar “nurture”
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Individuals not related to each other living apart
Baseline control group. Provides data for genetically unrelated, separately living individuals should correlated in IQ scores randomly
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Heritability estimates for intelligence (as measured by tests of one’s intelligence quotient, or IQ) average about:
→ -.40 to 50 for children and adolescents
| → -.60 to .80 for adults
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General patterns of twin studies suggest:
→ monozygotic twins are more similar in IQ-test performances than dizygotic twins;
→ the scores of adopted children correlate stronger with the scores of their biological (e.g., biological parents) than non biological relatives
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DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION
| Natural selection:
those organisms best adapted to their environment have a better chance of surviving and reproducing
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theory of evolution involves the following factors:
```
→ rapid multiplication
→ Limited environmental resources
→ Struggle for existence
→ variation/mutation
→ Survival of the fittest
→ Inheritance of the useful variation Formation of new species
```
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What is rapid multiplication
many organisms reproduce more offspring than can survive (e.g.., plants produce thousands of sees; cod fish lay >million eggs. There are random mutations in the genes of offspring compared to parents
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define limited resources
increase of population requires more resources (space and food), but both are limited and often relatively constant. Individuals compete for these limited resources
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define competition (Struggle for existence; but see symbiosis)
The competition for limited resources as well as for mates plays out on three levels: intraspecific (within species), interspecific (between species), environment (eg. flood, drought, etc.)
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define variation & adaptation
because environment changes, the more genetic variation (mutation) within a species, the more likely it can adapt. Some traits in individuals allow them to adapt better to the environment than other organism can
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define survival of the fittest (natural selection)
individuals with most adaptive traits have higher probability to reproduce and pass on their genes. Natural selection acts on phenotype.
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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: PEPPERED MOTH analogy
- At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England, coal burning produces soot that covered the countryside in many areas
- White moths became easier to see, while black moths became harder to see. The black moths were more likely to survive and pass on the gene for dark colour to their offspring
- Over time, the black moths have become more common
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according to fossil record, the first cellular life forms were what?
unicellular prokaryotic cells
- These cells had no membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria, and had no nucleus (their name denotes that” “pro” = before, “karyon” = kernel)
- They have thus none of the basic features of plant or animal cells
- For millions of years, these were the only cellular life forms on Earth, according to the fossil record
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what are eukaryotic cells?
found in plants and animals contain specialised organelles, some of them surrounded by a membrane
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what are the similarities between bacteria and mitochondria?
- Membranes
- DNA
- Bacteria → bacterial reproduction
- Mitochondria → mitochondrial reproduction
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how did life evolve?
Theory of symbiogenesis introduces evolutionary processes to explain the origin of species in addition to random mutation and natural selection. The theory proposes that eukaryotic cells arose from symbiosis of singly living prokaryotic life forms. This theory is associated with the work of Konstantin Mereschkowski (1905) and Lynn Marguli (1967)
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what do evolutionary psychologists do?
- Evolutionary psychologists study our commonalities, such as personality, emotion, sexual behaviour, reasoning and trace these to the processes of evolution, especially the process of natural selection
- They draw inferences about the behavioural tendencies that might have been selected
- These tendencies are then argued to have helped our ancestors to solve survival problems and enhanced their reproductive fitness, which is why the trait is now present
- They then conduct research to see if such tendencies actually exist throughout the world
- Evolutionary psychology relies on a survival of the fittest model, ignoring the role cooperative processes have played in evolution
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what is Modularity?
plasticity in brain both during and after development hard to reconcile with modularity claim. However, primates, probably us included, have certain functions in place, such as a “snake detection module”
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what is confirmatory testing?
evolutionary psychologist produce little research that allows to fairly test the influence of environment factors and genetic factors
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what is the simple genetic model?
if a train exists, it does because it increases fitness. Thus, every behaviour humans as a species express must have produced increased fitness. How does suicide fit in here? Or homosexuality?
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Evolutionary psychologists argue that males and females have evolved different sexual and courtship strategies
MALE VIEW:
males tend to be promiscuous because they do not need to invest into a partner in order to spread their genes
→ attracted to young partners
→ Desire sexual novelty
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Evolutionary psychologists argue that males and females have evolved different sexual and courtship strategies
FEMALE VIEW:
females tend to be monogamous because of the high cost of investment into a pregnancy
→ choosy about partners
→ prefer security to novelty
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what are criticisms of the human sexual strategies?
- Critics argue that evolutionary explanations of infidelity and monogamy are based on simplistic stereotype of gender differences
- The research method used to explore these traits is bases on questionnaires
→ artificial situations as opposed to real-life choices and,
→ convenience samples (ex. PSYC 100 students) that are often unrepresentative of people in general
- The focus on the human prototype behaviour stemming from the Pleistocene Age may not be warranted
→ our ancestors probably did not have a wide range of partners to choose from
→ evidence suggests that what may have evolved is mate selection based on similarity and proximity
→ Infidelity in small groups not adaptive strategy
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nature-nurture in chastity attitudes
- Often men care about a partner’s chastity more than women do, as predicted by evolutionary psychology. However, culture strongly moderates this.
In China, both sexes prefer a partner who has not yet had intercourse, whereas in Sweden, this is not an issue.
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what happened in the agricultural revolution?
- Consequences of agricultural lifestyle
→ concept of ownership
→ instead of kinship tribal bands, villages and cities and nations became default social structures
→ diet change from wholesome and varied to monocultural. Nutritional-related diseases occurred
→ settled humans have reduced knowledge about the wider surroundings, such as animals, plants, geography, etc. compared to nomadic humans
→ Sedentary lifestyle due to spending significantly more time on working for food compared to hunters and gatherers. Work-related diseases emerged.
- Evolutionary Psychologists argue that our minds remain hunter-gatherer minds and our behaviour reflects this. We are not yet adapted to the settled lifestyle.
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what is Cartesian Dualism?
Mind: non-physical, non-extended (takes up no space); Body: physical, extended
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what is the Functionalist view of consciousness?
consciousness is intrinsic and inseparable quality to humans --> thus: are humans without consciousness functional beings?
