Week 1: Biological Approach to Behavior

Question 1

What is Biological Psychology?

Answer 1

It is the study of the physiological, evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience, with a strong emphasis on brain functioning

Question 2

What is meant by the physiological and evolutionary aspect of biological psychology?

Answer 2

Physiological: relates the behavior to the acitivity of the brain and other organs
Evolutionary: reconstructs evolutionary history of a behavior/structure

Question 3

What is the ontogenetic and functional aspect of biopsychology?

Answer 3

Ontogenetic: tries to describe the development of a behavior/structure
Functional: the reason why a behavior/structure evolved as it did

Question 4

What is a Dorsal View?

Answer 4

View from Above

Question 5

Posterior view

Answer 5

View from the back

Question 6

Ventral view?

Answer 6

View from below

Question 7

Anterior view

Answer 7

From the front

Question 8

Other than our environment, what can play an important role in shaping our behavior?

Answer 8

Our genetics

Question 9

What do we mean by Heritability?

Answer 9

How much our characteristics depend on our genetic differences

Question 10

Is it true that strong environmental influences cause genetic influences to have less of an affect on our behavior?

Answer 10

Yes!

Question 11

Do Genes directly affect our behavior? Explain your answer.

Answer 11

They do not. Genes actually produces proteins that increases the chances of a behavior that MAY COME UP under certain circumstances

Question 12

How can genes indirectly alter our environment?

Answer 12

By producing behavior/ traits that influence how others react to us, which might change our environment.

Question 13

How can we define evolution of behavior?

Answer 13

It is the change in the frequency of various genes in a population over generations, regardless if its helpful or harmful

Question 14

What are the two questions evolution attempts to answer?

Answer 14

How did some species evolve, and how do species evolve?

Question 15

Explain artificial selection and give an example

Answer 15

Choosing individuals with desired traits and making them parents to the next generation. Example: Spicy chilli which looks wrinkled and non-spicy chilli that looks very red and yummy to make a chilli that is spicy and appealing.

Question 16

What is evolutionary psychology?

Answer 16

The study of the relationship between social behavior and evolutionary theory. They assume that the behaviors or characteristics of species rise through natural selection and to provide survival advantage.

Question 17

What do we mean by Altruistic behavior? How can we explain this behavior using evolutionary psychology?

Answer 17

Altruistic behavior is a behavior that benefits someone other than the actor. We may be helping others expecting them to return the favor.

Question 18

Why do we use animals for research?

Answer 18

Some animals have the same brain structure as humans which makes it easy for us to understand/hypothesize the same outcome/behavior in human species

Question 19

What are some reasons animals are used for research, other than human benefit?

Answer 19

To understand evolution, simple interest in the animal species, and because some experiments cannot be conducted on humans for ethical/legal reasons.

Question 20

What do minimalists suggest in the ethical debate opposing animal research?

Answer 20

Try to minimize the amount of stress on the animal and manage the hierarchy of which animals to use

Question 21

Abolitionists?

Answer 21

They are totally against the experiments, they argue that the animals have the same rights as we do, seeing all of us as animals.