week 4 biological and evolutionary approach to personality

Question 1

biological evolution

Answer 1

changes that take place in the genetic and physical characteristics of a population or group of organism over time

Question 2

evolutionary psychology

Answer 2

how an organisms evolutionary history contributes to the development of behaviour patterns and cognitive strategies / survival during its life time

Question 3

ultimate causes

Answer 3

refer to explanations associated with evolution eg Darwin’s theory

events/conditions that over successive generations have slowly shaped behavior of our species

Question 4

proximate causes

Answer 4

immediate environmental variables that affect behaviour (biological processes)

Question 5

sexual selection

Answer 5

A selection on mating behaviour, either through competition among members of one sex (usually males) for access to members of the other sex
or through choice by members of one sex (usually females) of certain members ofthe other sex. In sexual selection, individuals are favoured by their fitness relative to other members of the same sex, whereas natural selection works on the fitness of a genotype relative to the whole population.

Question 6

sociobiology

Answer 6

the systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior

interested in understanding evolutionary roots of modern-day social actions eg reproduction & parenting

Question 7

list some attributes that makes a male attractive

Answer 7

-height
-relatively broad shoulders and slim waist (inverted triangle: waist-to-shoulder ratio = 0.75 or lower)
-chest muscularity (to some extent)
-normal level of testosterone: broad jaw, strong brow

Question 8

list some attributes that makes a female attractive

Answer 8

-low waist-hips ratio = 0.70
-clear, smooth skin
-signals of youth eg round breasts

Question 9

differential parental investment

Answer 9

the consequences of having a child are greater for females than males so females are more selective in their choice of mates

females have fewer opportunities to reproduce and during pregnancy have to sacrifice own metabolic resources

Question 10

what are the 2 ways women assess potential partner

Answer 10

1. quality of genes eg good health
2. if they will devote resources to children and not leave to produce children elsewhere

Question 11

what kind of infedilety leads to a man breaking up with a woman

Answer 11

sexual infidelity

Question 12

what kind of infedilety leads to a man breaking up with a woman

Answer 12

emotional infidelity

Question 13

inclusive fitness

Answer 13

natural selection favours organism, which maximise replications of their genes not only directly by reproduction but also indirectly by helping those with whom they share genes.

Question 14

what were 5 major ideas to Darwins theory

Answer 14

1. variation
2. inheritance
3. competition
4. natural selection
5. adaption

Question 15

physiological effects of lobotomies

Answer 15

intellectual impairment and seizures/paralysis

Question 16

psychological effects of lobotomies

Answer 16

personality changes - rational planning and socially appropriate behavior problems

Question 17

the prefrontal cortex is an association area - what does this mean?

Answer 17

it integrates many processes from other brain regions

Question 18

what does damage to the prefrontal cortex disturb

Answer 18

persons ability to synthesize these systems and produce organized social behaviour

Question 19

role of cerebellum

Answer 19

automatically coordinates all of limb and muscle movements

Question 20

what’s the role of occipital lobe

Answer 20

processes info from eyes, and turns it into a meaningful pictures

Question 21

what’s the role of the parietal lobe

Answer 21

controls sense of touch

Question 22

role of cerebrum

Answer 22

this is the top of the brain, covered by the cerebral cortex, which contains memories and language and correlates info received from senses

Question 23

role of frontal lobe

Answer 23

controls ability to speak

Question 24

role of temporal lobe

Answer 24

where signals from our ears are processed, responsible for thinking

Question 25

role of pons

Answer 25

responsible for breathing, regular beating of heart and other involuntary activities

Question 26

role of brain stem

Answer 26

collects all body-controlling messages from the brain and passes them onto the rest of the body

Question 27

role of thalamus

Answer 27

relays incoming messages from the senses to the proper areas of the brain

Question 28

role of hypothalamus

Answer 28

helps regulate sexual urges, body temp, growth, thirst and hunger, and biological clock

Question 29

role of corpus callosum

Answer 29

the connection between 2 halves of the brain

Question 30

EEG

Answer 30

- electroencephalography (1929 ) – measuring the electrical activity of the brain. Electrodes attached to the scalp and positioned in a specific way record electrical activity of neurons. EEG is often used to diagnose seizure disorders, tumours, head injuries, degenerative diseases and brain death. It is also used in research on brain activity

Question 31

ERP

Answer 31

recording event-related potentials (evoked potentials) - sometimes, the brain waves are recorded for a special stimulus, and the experiment is repeated several times. The graphs are then averaged, and the resulting data are called Event-Related Potentials.

Question 32

MEG

Answer 32

magnetoencephalography – a method similar to EEG, but measures the magnetic fields created by the electrical activity of the brain, rather than the activity itself.

Question 33

CAT scan - computerized axial tomography

Answer 33

visualizing the brain. It is essentially a computerized assembly of several x-ray images taken from a series of different angles. The resolution is much better than conventional x-rays, and the detail that can be seen is much greater. 

Question 34

PET

Answer 34

positron emission tomography – measures the emission of positrons from the brain after a small amount of radioactive isotopes, or tracers, have been injected into the blood stream. The result is a three-dimensional map with the brain activity represented by colours

Question 35

MRI

Answer 35

involves passing a strong magnetic field (30,000 + times that of the earth's magnetic field) through the head. The MRI scanner can detect radiation from certain molecules, which are present in different concentrations in different tissues. The fluid contrast between structures in the brain can then be visualized. The goal of MRI is to produce cross-sectional imaging in which there is significant contrast between tissues of interest.

Question 36

fMRI

Answer 36

technique differs from MRI in that it localizes brain activity rather than only structures. It produces images of activated brain regions by detecting the indirect effects of neural activity on local blood volume, flow, and oxygen saturation.

Question 37

NIRS

Answer 37

(near-infrared spectroscopy) - is a spectroscopic method utilising the near infra-red region of the electromagnetic spectrum. NIRS can be used for non-invasive assessment of the brain function through an intact skull by detecting changes in blood haemoglobin concentrations associated with neural activity.

Question 38

What is the left hemisphere superior in

Answer 38

analytical function and language

Question 39

what is the right hemisphere superior in

Answer 39

visual and spatial skills