Biological Psychology

1. Biological Psychology The NATURE in the Nature vs. Nurture conundrum

2. Principles That define this level of analysis • Biological psychologists use the “Reductionist Approach” • They attempt to explain behavior very simply …. By finding the physiological (physical) reasons behind the behavior • Principles: • 1. There are biological basis of our behaviors • 2. Animal research can provide insight into human behavior • 3. Our behavior is, at least partially, based on our genes • 4. Different parts of the brain/different neurotransmitters serve different functions

3. Discussion • What do you know about biology and our behavior? • Please go to: • www.todaysmeet.com/tompkins(#) • (add your class period immediately after… only the number…not “B”) • With the people around you, discuss anything you know or have heard about genes and behavior, evolution and behavior, our brains, drugs and brains, etc. And post some of your thoughts on this page. (Each person shares one group thought)

4. Topics of Biological Psychology • Biological Psychologists ask questions like: • If our universe is composed of matter and energy, what the heck is consciousness or our mind? • How does the brain play a role in our everyday experiences… like hunger? Anger? Sexual desire? Sadness? • What genes predispose some people to psychological disorders? • How does pre-natal development affect someone’s life as an adult? • Is there any hope for brain damage victims? • Why do we get goose bumps when we are afraid?

5. Key Terms • Evolutionary Psychology: • Emphasizes the evolutionary mechanisms that might help explain commonalities in language learning, attention, perception, memory, sexual behavior, reasoning, emotion, etc. • Behavioral Genetics: • Interdisciplinary field of study concerned with the genetic bases of behavior and personality • Set Point: • The weight you stay at when you are not consciously trying to gain or lose it…It is a biological mechanism that is genetically influenced…regulates food intake, fat reserves, and metabolism

6. Key Terms • Genes • Basic unit of heredity. Each of our 46 chromosomes contain thousands of genes, each with a fixed location. • Genetic Markers • DNA segments that vary considerably among individuals and whose locations on the chromosomes are already known • Linkage studies • look for patterns of inheritance of genetic markers in large families in which a particular condition is common

7. Nature or Nurture? • For many years, psychologists took a one sided approach to this question. • Now, psychologists realize the importance of both genetics and environment on human thought and behavior. • Biological psychologists focus on how evolution, our genes, the make up of our brains, and chemicals and hormones affect our thoughts and behaviors.

8. Quick Review: • What is Evolution? • A change in gene frequencies within a population over many generations…how populations change. • What is Natural Selection? • In psychology, innate behaviors, capacities that have helped us survive, and have thus been passed down

9. Guiding Assumption of Evolutionary Psychology • The human mind evolved as a collection of specialized and independent “modules” to handle specific survival problems • Therefore…some qualities/behaviors are innate in us • Meaning…they come to us with no particular effort (like language and walking)

10. Innate Human Characteristics • What do you think? What did you learn? • 1. Infant Reflexes • Rooting, sucking, grasping, eyes follow moving light, turn toward familiar sound • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V4x0iQODTk • 2. Attraction to Novelty • Being interested in new things…babies will even stop nursing is someone new enters range of vision • 3. A desire to explore/manipulate objects • 4. Impulse to play and fool around • Play teaches us how to get along with others and practice motor and linguistic skills • 5. Basic Mental Skills • Basic physics…babies look longer at impossible events

11. Our Human Heritage • Special interests to evolutionary psychologists: • Perceptual abilities • Emotional expressions • A need for sociability and attachment • A capacity for language • Gender differences in sexual behavior

12. The Origins of Perception • Review: What is perception? • How we interpret and organize sensory objects in our brain • Shirl Jennings – born blind, learned to adapt to environment without sight, had surgery to correct vision, could see, was more miserable. Why? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvTPHUrc30g&feature=related • Blakemore and Cooper Perception study with kittens • Feature-detector cells: in brain’s visual areas…can deteriorate or change during critical periods • Ethical? • http://gerardkeegan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=62 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzkMo45pcUo

14. More on how perception is evolutionarily influenced trait • Visual Cliff studies • (Gibson and Walk, 1960) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6cqNhHrMJA • Shows our innate ability to perceive depth • Link to emotion? Does this study show that perception of emotion is innate? Why or why not? • Babies are especially primed to react to happy facial expressions…they look to caregiver emotions to determine behavior

15. Throwback to Paul Ekman • How does his research with primary emotions support evolutionary psychologists’ views?

16. Contact Comfort • Margaret and Harry Harlow experiment with Rhesus monkeys • “Discovering Love” • Study Summary Time! • Failure to thrive…orphanages… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrNBEhzjg8I

17. Capacity for Language • Throwback to Chomsky and others…. • No need to “beat a dead horse” • ……enjoy the same meal? • Chomsky

18. Evolution, Courtship, and Mating • The role of evolution and biology in the origins of gender differences in sexual behavior is a heated debate • Sociobiologists have influenced the evolutionary viewpoints on mating practices • Sociobiology – interdisciplinary field that emphasizes evolutionary explanations of social behavior in animals (including humans) • According to Soc.Bio.s, what is the primary motivation for most social actions? • Passing on our personal genetic code • Evolutionary psychologists differ in that: • They don’t think our main motive in behavior is to pass on genes • Instead, they see it as a byproduct of natural selection…those that had more offspring producing behaviors…had their genes carry down • Also, take into account more human differences (sociobiologists often take animal behaviors as metaphors for human….an insect forcing itself on a female is compared to human rape)….psychologists recognize the many other motives of human rape

19. Evolution and Sexual behavior • Males and Females have faced different kinds of survival and mating problems, so we have evolved to have different levels of aggression and sexual strategies • What are some stereotypes for the way men and women: • Flirt, “court”, view relationships, view commitment, engage in sexual activities?

20. Evolutionarily speaking, it makes sense for MEN to: • Compete with other males for access to young fertile women • Try and impregnate as many women as possible to pass on his genes (record is 899 children) • Evolutionarily speaking, it makes sense for WOMEN to: • Be picky…they have a limited number of eggs, so we look for the best genetic deal… • Gestation is 9 months and child rearing is much longer…can’t afford to make mistakes with a genetic whack job • Having intercourse with many different men doesn’t produce more babies than staying with just one…so… • Women tend to try and cling to the good ones to make the best genetic offspring

21. Result? • How do these adaptive behaviors show up today? • Read pages 96-98 (start on the 4th full paragraph) • Think about…. • How evolution might’ve effected how we behave sexually/in relationships • What critics say about evolutionary explanations and if you agree • How long of a leash do you think genes have on culture?