Sept 30 2012

Sept 30th 2012

Emotions and behavior are a product of anatomy & physiology  Behavior

& mental activity can be traced back to physiological events

 Research

proves that there are biological correlates of behavior

 Link

between psychology & physiology

Biopsychology  Is

the study of biological bases or physiological correlates of behavior

 Branch  Studies

of neuroscience

the nervous system and how it impacts behavior

3 areas of correlation  Neurotransmitters

Effect of the nervous system.  Hormones

Effect of the endocrine system  Brain

Localization

The Brain.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE2b

5go7V_0&feature=related

Neurons

Communication between neurons

What is a neurotransmitter ? A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger that carries and modulates signals between neurons and other cells in the body.

Fact: Scientists do not yet know exactly how many neurotransmitters exist, but more than 100 chemical messengers have been identified. We have 10 and 100 billion neurons in the nervous system. The neurons send electrochemical messages to the brain so that we can respond to stimuli – either from the environment or from internal changes in the body. The method by which these messages are sent is called neurotransmission. They can affect behavior as varied as mood, aggression, appetite, memory and mental illness.

Understanding Neurotransmitters  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjgB

nx1jVIU&feature=related

Neurotransmission effects:  Arousal,

alertness: Norepinephrine  Moods and emotions: Serotonin  Memory : Acetylcholine  Sexual arousal: Oxytocin  Mental illness: Dopamine  Feelings of pleasure/ Learning: Dopamine

Research Studies (Crane & Hannibal)  Serotonin

study Kasamatsu & Hirai, 1999  Neurotransmitters

in Learning & Memory Martinez & Kesner, 1991  Examples-

schizophrenia Parkinsons dopamine

What is acetylcholine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyoySswpvso

Homework Read Article for Tuesday 2nd.

Oct 2nd 2012

Neurotransmission effects:  Arousal,

alertness: Norepinephrine  Moods and emotions: Serotonin  Memory : Acetylcholine  Sexual arousal: Oxytocin  Mental illness: Dopamine  Feelings of pleasure/ Learning: Dopamine

What is acetylcholine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyoySswpvso

Write a summary. 200 words. Use psychological words.

Due: Thursday 4th

DRUGS

Drugs? Do they affect me?

YES No Doubt

Drugs & Neurotransmission Drugs can impact: 1. Release of neurotransmitter into the synaptic gap: by preventing/ encouraging production thus increasing/decreasing synapse. 

2. Binding of neurotransmitter to receptor site: by occupying receptor site - Effects receiving neuron + prevents communication

3. Reuptake- allowing more time to bind with receiving neurons

Mouse Party  http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/a

ddiction/drugs/mouse.html

More examples  http://www.thirteen.org/closetohome/sci

ence/html/animations.html

Long term use of drugs causes structural change in the brain as it adapts to the altered activity to neurotransmitters . The most important effect of this adaptation is increased tolerance for the drug. This means that a person needs more of the drug to feel the same effect.

NEUROTRANSMITTER SUBSTANCES  Acetylcholine  Norepinephrine  Gamma-aminobutyric  Dopamine  Serotonin  Endorphin

acid

Different Neurotransmitter Substances and their Effects on Behavior Neurotransmitter 1. Acetylcholine

Effects on Behavior Facilitates learning and memory Deficiency of ACH disrupts learning and memory

2. Norepinephrine

Too

little may lead to depression Too much causes hyperactivity

Neurotransmitter

Effects on Behavior

3. Dopamine

Over

4. Serotonin

Lack

supply may lead to schizophrenic reaction Under supply causes Parkinson’s Diseases (a neurological disorder disrupting coordinated movement) of serotonin produces anemia Prevents dreaming in the waking state Considered as the “worry” chemical in the brain

Neurotransmitter

Effects on Behavior

5. GABA (gamma acid aminobutyric acid)

Decreases

6. Endorphins

the activity of

the neuron May decrease levels of anxiety  Pain relieving effect; a neuropeptide

Class Work Read Serotonin article. Brief debate

Is there any way we can regulate serotonin and endorphins? Increase?

Oct 3rd 2012

Neurotransmitter

Effects on Behavior

3. Dopamine

Over

4. Serotonin

Lack

supply may lead to schizophrenic reaction Under supply causes Parkinson’s Diseases (a neurological disorder disrupting coordinated movement) of serotonin produces anemia Prevents dreaming in the waking state Considered as the “worry” chemical in the brain

Mental illness related to Neurotransmitter?

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter imbalances and mental illness Neurotransmitter imbalance is one theory about the cause of mental illnesses. The basic idea is that neurotransmitter imbalances within the brain are the main causes of mental illnesses and that these conditions can be improved with medication which corrects these imbalances. Research into other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia also found that too little activity of certain neurotransmitters was correlated to this disorder.

Schizophrenia is an extremely complex mental disorder The first signs of schizophrenia tend to surface in adolescence or young adulthood. People with schizophrenia suffer from problems with their thought processes. These lead to hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and unusual speech or behavior.

Symptoms affect the ability to interact with others, and often people with schizophrenia withdraw from the outside world. Famous people with schizophrenia:

http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=ZHpKvmTJOhA

Dopamine hypothesis: • Schizophrenia is associated with increased activity at dopamine receptor sites. Antipsychotic (treatment) drugs exert their clinical effect by reducing increased dopamine activity. The hypothesis is based on experimental and accidental drug combinations and types that either increase dopamine activity and therefore schizophrenic symptoms or decrease dopamine activity and therefore reduce symptoms. So for example it is supported by the fact that amphetamines and cocaine, which trigger the release of dopamine have been found to exacerbate the psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. This is called dual diagnosis: example of the shelter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwRdNz8HA0Q

Class work Read pages 40,41,42 Brief summary.

Oct 9th 2012

The use of technology in brain research

Modern Technology What you need to know -

Explain the technology Uses Strengths vs Limitations Examples of research using this technology

EEG: Electroencephalogram  Hans

Berger, 1929  Electrodes placed outside the person’s head in specific locations  Using a cap/helmet with electrodes on standardized places on the skull  Detect changes in electrical activity  EEG- produces the graphical representation of the activity from each electrode

Strengths vs Weakness  Strength:

Used for sleep studies - Brain activity changes in specific ways during sleep  Not sufficiently accurate because electrodes are outside the skull  Detect uncountable neurons hence give vague picture  Not sufficient to understand localization of brain

CT: Computed tomography  Earlier

called CAT  Combines computer & x-ray technology  Xray shows human bones very well  Computer lets us see the brain  Images look like slices of the brain  Eg: The case of Janet

Strength- Weakness Strength:  Can see the brain from several angles & depth  Extremely useful to see structure of the brain - Can show changes caused by brain damage Weaknesses  Can show only structure not brain activity  Danger of exposure to x-ray radiation

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) 



  

When body exposed to strong magnetic field, protons in the water in the body change alignment Magnetic field + radio frequency fields usedhydrogen atoms alignment change to be detectable by a scanner This signal transformed into visual representation Image represents slice of the brain taken from any angle Can be used to create 3D image of the brain

Advantages  More

precise  No danger of x-ray radiation

fMRI- Functional MRI    



When neurons in particular region are activeblood in the region increases It maps metabolic changes that indicate brain activity Provides precise picture of parts of the brain active during a cognitive/affective process Correlated human activity with brain activity More precise than PET

PET: Positron emission tomography  Inject

radioactive substance into patient  Produces gamma rays as it is metabolized by brain  Scans monitors glucose metabolism in the brain.  Parts of the brain metabolize at different rates depending on level of activity  Gamma rays detected by machine  Signal turned into computer image  Shows colorful map of activity in the brain

Strengths vs Weaknesses  Shows

dynamic activity of brain but not precise like fMRI  Good as an early diagnostic tool Eg: Alzheimer's progression of disease only then structural changes  Shows abnormality in activity levels  Like Ct Scans needs to be used with discretion depending on patients health

Class Work. Write ventajas e inconvenientes de cada uno

TOK: Ethics Work in groups of 3 The use of PET and MRI scans has helped psychologist to identify brain patterns for dysfunctional behaviors. Therefore, there is certain pattern for people with schizophrenia, alcoholism, and depression , among other disorders. 1.

Do you think that doctors should scan patients to let them know if they have a predisposition for a mental illness? What effect do you think this would have on individual?

2.

Could this technology be misused? Does the potential abuse of technology and knowledge mean that it should not be pursued?

Write a brief summary. Be a critical thinker Due: Tuesday 16th

Teens Brain  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontlin

e/shows/teenbrain/view/

Debate a teen’s brain

Prepare for Test  Sunday

14th

Oct 10th 2012

Read Page 46

What is neuroplasticity? Refers to the concept the specific location of a function is NOT necessarily fixed for all individuals. The more a person performs particular activity, the more neuronal connections are formed in the area of the brain responsible.

Plasticity refers to the process of making long-term changes in the brain. Often these changes occur as a result of learning. During development (the period of intense growth and change from conception through early childhood), neurons can change shape, location, function, and patterns interconnection”

Dendritic branching: every time we learn something new, the neurons connect to create a new trace in the brain.

Study. Maguire 2000.

Changes in the brains of experienced London taxi drivers.

It is known that animals which employ spatial memory seem to show morphological changes in the hippocampus. Maguire predicted that fully licensed London taxi driver will have structural differences in their hippocampus as a result of this learning experience. They found that left and right hippocampi were significantly higher in volume in taxi’s driver brain. This is likely to be a strengthening of connections between neurons in well- used part of the brain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgd-uyNBA08

Read Bilingual Article. Class work: Write first and then talk in pairs. Be a critical thinker! 1.Highlight the studies. 2.Findings. 3.Work in pairs and explain.

Environment function

and

brain

Taxi driver study and Bilingualism article. Conclusion: “It shows how important the environment is in shaping the structure of the brain and the brain helps account for individual differences in brain structure and function”.

Study Rosenzweig and Benett (1972) conducted an experiment to measure the effect of either enrichment or deprivation on the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex

Conclusion: The cerebral cortex (responds to experience and is responsible for movement, memory, learning, and all sensory input) of the enriched rats was significantly heavier and thicker.

Cortical thickness increases even further if the rats are placed with other rats. The combination of having company and many interesting toys created the best conditions for developing cerebral thickness.

Remember Meditation experiment?  Using

a PET scan, Davidson observed an increase in the number of gamma waves in their brain during meditation.

 As

soon as they stopped meditating, the volunteers gamma wave production went to normal.

 This

led to think that meditation could have a significant long term effects in the brain and the way it process emotions.

Oct 16th 2012

The effect of cognition on physiology

Mirror Neurons Another way in which brains interact with environment hast to do with how people learn. A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires when and animal observes somebody else perform the same action. Examples  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0pw

KzTRG5E

Effects of social behaviors on mirror neurons

Another way in which the brain and environment interact is through the activity of the recently discovered mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are neurons that fire when an animal performs an action or when the animal observes somebody else perform the same action.

Study 1 Rizzolatti, Gallese, and Fogassi ( 1996 ), at the University of Parma, Italy discovered them by chance . The discovery came when one of the researcher walked into the room where the monkey was and reached out and picked up a peanut. As the monkey watched, its premotor neurons fired just as they had when the monkey had picked up the peanut.

Some scientists such as Ramachandran consider mirror neurons one of the most important recent discoveries in neuroscience, possibly giving insight into the neurobiological foundations of a number of behaviors including empathy, and lack of empathy in disorders such as autism.

Despite the excitement generated by these findings, research is still in its infancy. To date no widely accepted neural or computational models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity supports cognitive functions such as imitation.

Personal examples of Mirror Neurons

Functions of hormones in in human behavior

Hormones  1.

Adrenaline  2. Cortisol  3. Melatonin  4. Oxytocin  5. Testosterone / estrogen

Hormones  1.

Adrenaline: flight or fight response  2. Cortisol: Arousal, stress hormone, memory  3. Melatonin: Regulation of sleep  4. Oxytocin: Mother and child attachment  5. Testosterone / estrogen: development and emotions

Oxytocin: "love hormone”.

It plays a role in inducing contraction and lactations, and is released with touches and hugs. It is associated with bonding between and a mother and her child. Recent studies has been found to be beneficial for reducing anxiety and stress, producing feelings of well-being, empathy, bonding, and sexual arousal.

Oxytocin and sex

Oxytocin is released by both men and women at sexual orgasm. Massage

For example by touch and warmth. Bloodstream levels of oxytocin have been shown to rise during massage.

Smiles Oxytocin may increase one's ability to remember happy smiling faces but I have not seen studies yet that smiling itself increases one's oxytocin levels. Availability of oxytocin drug Oxytocin is sold as nasal spray (Syntocinon). A nasal spray containing the hormone oxytocin, which is essential to the production and flow of breast milk, does not improve milk output in mothers expressing milk for preterm infants. Intranasal administration of oxytocin causes a substantial increase in trusting behavior. Oxytocin and bonding The levels of oxytocin hormone in a pregnant woman's body play a role in how closely she will bond with her newborn.

Studies DItzen ( 2009 )

Where: Zurich What: Adult couples were randomly assigned into two groups: one group of participants were administered oxytocin intra-nasally and the other group received placebo, also in a nasal spray. They were asked them to discuss a subject they often disagreed Outcome: Reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increased positive communication behavior, compared to the placebo. Study: Oxytocin may also play a role in autism and may be an effective treatment for autism’s repetitive behaviors. Two related studies in adults, in 2003 and 2007, found that oxytocin decreased repetitive behaviors and improved interpretation of emotions ( Jacob et al, 2007 ). More recently, intranasal administration of oxytocin was found to increase emotion recognition in children as young as 12 who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (Wermter, 2009).

Video about love http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/e n/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_i n_love.html

Oct 17th 2012

Experiment Pay attention to your own body. http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=pMB_VpvhBKw

Adrenaline: (also known as epinephrine) is a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. Adrenaline helps the body to adjust to sudden stress. Situation: When a person becomes angry or frightened, the adrenal gland releases adrenaline into the blood

Symptoms: Adrenaline increases

a. the strength and rate of the heartbeat and raises the blood pressure. b. It also speeds up the conversion of glycogen into glucose, which provide energy to the muscles. c. these physiological changes are responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ response.

Class work . Read page 54- 55. Discuss empirical research

Oct 18th 2012

What is adrenaline?

Study Case Study The role of adrenaline in the emotion of anger was demonstrated in the classic study by Schacter & Singer (1962). They gave 3 groups of participants an adrenaline injection (epinephrine) and 1 group a placebo, and then put them into situations designed to create an emotional response of anger or happiness. Schacter & Singer concluded that a stimulus triggers a physiological response ( adrenaline release) and at the same time the stimulus is interpreted in the brain taking into account previous experiences of similar situations. So, emotion is an interaction of both cognitive and hormonal factors

Homework Exercise:

• Make a table summarizing the effect on behavior of the three hormones examined using the column title: Hormone name, behavior affected and example. Due: Sunday 21st .

Oct 21th 2012

Hormones  1.

Adrenaline  2. Cortisol  3. Melatonin  4. Oxytocin  5. Testosterone / estrogen

What is melatonin?  Hormone

that is naturally produced by the pineal gland.  Conveys information to various parts of the body  Chemical structure identified in 1958  Expressed rhythmically throughout the day



How Melatonin Works  Melatonin

levels cycle  Low levels during daylight, rise during nighttime  Peak levels between 11PM and 3AM  Levels continue to cycle in constant darkness  Can slowly adjust to environmental changes

Seasonal effective disorder 

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer, spring or autumn year after year. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), SAD is not a unique mood disorder, but is "a specifier of major depression

Seasonal effective disorder  Seems

to be more common on northern climates with long, dark winters. However, the worst time of year for many ( with an increased number of suicides) seems to be the spring.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bo_l

qFG_20

Debate  Egypt

VS Sweden  What would you think in terms of mood? Does it affect you?  Fact:

Oct 23th 2012

Genetics and Behavior

Thomas Bouchard’s concordance study of identical twins (1979)    

 

Twins were separated at birth and reunited at age of 39 Both drove Chevrolets and enjoyed stock car racing Both had a background in police work and had worked part-time as deputy sherifs Both chain-smoked and took holidays in Florida Both had a workshop in the basement of their house where they built furniture Both had been married twice. The first wives were called Linda

 Both

had sons that were called James

Alan  Both had dogs named Toy  Both had similar medical histories (identical blood and pulse pressure and haemorrhoids)  Both had put on 10 pounds at the same time earlier in their lives

Chromosomes  Threadlike

structures

in the cell  Composed of double strands of DNA and proteins, containing the genes.  In humans, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes  You inherit one half of each pair from each parent

DNA 





The molecule that encodes genetic information. DNA is a double-stranded molecule held together by weak bonds between base pairs of nucleotides. The four nucleotides in DNA contain the bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Duplicates itself during meiosis (division of cells)

Genes 





 

The basic unit of heredity Made up of sequences of “building blocks” called amino acids. Humans possess about 30,000 genes, each regulating production of various proteins. Genes functions in pairs Variants of genes are called alleles

Which genes are expressed?  Consider

eye colour:

B = brown eyes (dominant) b = blue eyes (recessive)  So

what colour eyes would a person have with the following gene pairs?  BB  Bb  bb

Genotype, Phenotype, Mutation 





Genotype: The genetic code which an individual carries in the DNA of their cells Phenotype: The observed characteristics of the individual, based on the combination of genotype and environmental influences Mutation: A change in the genetic material of a cell. While rare, mutations can result in new characteristics which may be transmitted to descendants of the original cell.

Dominant vs Recessive Brown eyes

Blue eyes

Dark hair

Blond/red hair

Curly hair

Straight hair

Colour vision

Colour blindness

Normal sight

Night blindness

Normal blood

Haemophilia

Hearing

Congenital Deafness

Types of correlation studies in behavioral genetics research  Concordance

studies (twin studies): Measure the degree of similarity in characteristics, such as intelligence, between genetically related and unrelated individuals  Molecular genetics studies: Compare genetic material from individuals with a certain characteristic with individuals without the certain characteristic.

Study Lykken & Tellegen (1996)  Aim:

To investigate how closely twins’ moods correlate  Participants: 3,000 identical & fraternal twins  Results: Identical twins, unlike fraternal twins, have similar moods regardless of whether they have been raised together or separated at birth.

Concordance or molecular study?

Bouchard (1990)  Aim:

To investigate relationship between heredity and weight gain  Participants: 12 pairs of male identical twins  Procedure: Participants stayed in a dormitory for 100 days to gain weight (ate 4 large meals per day)  Results: Twins gained the same amount of weight in same places in the body.

Concordance or molecular study?

Oct 24th 2012

How does this example illustrate the concepts of phenotype and genotype? 

John and Alan are identical twins who were separated at birth. Alan was raised in a very impoverished environment. John is substantially taller than Alan.

Caspi 2003  Aim:

To investigate the relationship between the 5-HTT gene (The serotonine transporter gene) and depression  Participants: 847 Caucasian New Zealanders  Controls: Checked that participants were honest in self report by cross checking with friend, same levels of stressful life events  Findings: Having a short allele of the 5-HTT gene correlated with increased vulnerability for depression between ages of 21 to 26

Concordance rate  The

probability that a pair of individuals, e.g. a twin pair, will both have a certain characteristic, given that one of the pair has the characteristic.

 Concordance

heritability!!!

does not mean

Heritability The extent to which the variability found in a characteristic or trait is hereditary is known as the heritability coefficient (score from 0 to 1) O

100 % down to environment

1

100 % down to genes

For example, eye colour is solely determined by genes so has a heritability coefficient of 1. Height is slightly influenced by environment and has a heritability coefficient of 0.9

Guess the heritability coefficient for the following behaviors   

    

  

Depression Phobias Memory Personality Intelligence Happiness Homosexuality Schizophrenia Religious values, political beliefs and vocational interests Aggression Alcoholism

Heritability coefficents for some behaviors         

 

Depression: .3 Phobias: .3 to .5 Memory: 0 to .8 Personality: .2 to .45 Intelligence: .5 to .8 Happiness: .6 to .8 Homosexuality: .4 to 1 Schizophrenia: .5 to .85 Religious values, political beliefs and vocational interests: .14 to .5 Aggression: .40 Alcoholism: .65

How genes influence behavior Genes

influence behavior indirectly. Genes influence the production of proteins that affect the anatomy (e.g. brain structure) and physiology (chemical processes) of the body There is usually more than one gene involved in a behavior

Some

behaviors are more genetically influenced than others There is an interaction between environmental, biological, cognitive and genetic factors in the development of behavior (e.g. diathesis-stress model)

Classwork. Explain  Think

about your genes and your family. What behavior can be genetic from your parents?  What type of your behavior can be influenced by enviromment?

Evaluation, criticism  Problems

with research: Problems of self report, researcher expectancies, samples might not be representative, generalisability problems, correlational studies cannot infer cause-effect of behaviour, validity problems, other factors may affect concordance rates.  Some behaviors have stronger heritability than others  Ethical issues if there are racial or individual differences due to genes

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behaviour?

http://neuro.bcm.edu/eagleman/neurolaw/papers/%5BCa spiEtAl2003%5DInfluenceStressOnDepression5HTTGen e.pdf http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/jones.html http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/genomics/2003/choi /1.html

Research on intelligence

Behavior may be influenced by evolutionary processes Evolutionary processes is based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection – natural selection is the process by which species adapt to their environment. For example adaptations which would have promoted survival and reproduction such as aggression might be understood as an adaptive necessity in the competition for limited resources. This is widely demonstrated in research.

Study 1: Chartrand & Bargh (1999) The chameleon effect is the natural tendency to imitate each other’s each other’s body postures, hand gestures, speaking accents, and other behaviors. people who engaged in more imitative behavior rated the person they imitated higher in terms of likeability, suggesting that mimicry (imitation) facilitated social interaction and bonding. Example of Accent and Australia. New in the school

Examine one evolutionary explanation of behaviour. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/14/my-bright-idearobin-dunbar

Activity Calculate concordance rates between you and a randomly chosen classmate on:  Tv series you like to watch  Food that you like to eat  Friends that you have in common  Any other similarities

1.6 Evolutionary Psychology

Examine one evolutionary explanation of behavior: What? Evolutionary psychology is a combination of evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology. It sees the mind as a set of evolved mechanisms, or adaptations, that have promoted survival and reproduction. All behavior is a result of these evolved mechanisms. To understand evolutionary psychology it is necessary to have a basic understanding of genes, inheritance, and the principles of natural selection. Darwin and Natural selection Evolutionary psychology is inspired by the work of Charles Darwin and applies his ideas of natural selection to the mind. Darwin ( 1859 ) observed the relationship of plants and animals all over the world, including organisms (finches ) on islands off the coast of South America and those on the mainland. These observations showed that they were related but not identical. This led Darwin into believing that over time things must adapt to suit their environment Darwin's theory argues that all living species, including humans, arrived at their current biological form through a historical process involving random inheritable changes ( genetic mutations)

What extent does genetic inheritance influence behavior? Anti-social behavior/aggression Aggression seems to have a strong genetic component. Study 1. Grove et al ( 1990) studied 32 sets of twins who were separated and raised apart shortly after birth. A continuous score for anti-social behavior in both childhood and adulthood was derived by interviewing each subject with a standardised interview schedule; as such this assessment of antisocial behavior was a selfreport measure. Statistically significant heritabilities were obtained for anti-social behavior in both childhood (0.41) and adulthood (0.28).

What about their environment? Is the environment affecting their behavior? What about culture? Different countries like Africa and Spain?

Environmental Influences Fact: Thus far it has been established through research and various studies that genetics do influence criminal or antisocial behavior. However, researchers also agree that there is an environmental component that needs to be examined.

Social Learning theory (1965) Albert Bandura argued that individuals, especially children, are not born with aggressive tendencies but learn aggressive behaviors from observing others, either personally or through the media and environment. In a lab experiment, children observed an adult model beating an inflatable doll. Children who watched the aggressive models showed both physical and verbal aggression when later put in a room by themselves with the toy. In fact 88% of the children imitated the aggressive behavior. Bandura also argued that aggressive behavior is strengthened and maintained if it has a desirable outcome (reinforcement).

Demonstrates the influence of the environment, although there are challenging studies such at the St.Helena TV study. Children, in the remote Pacific Island of St. Helena, who were newly exposed to TV did not demonstrate increased levels of violence. This suggests other factors must account for aggression, than mere observation.

Conclusion: Gene-environment interactions

Psychologists now believe that an individual may have a genetic predisposition towards a certain behavior, but without the appropriate environmental stimuli this behavior may not be manifested (eg a genetic predisposition towards depression, but a happy childhood environment).

Some changes are adaptive, that is, they increase an individual's chances of surviving and reproducing. Changes of this kind are more likely to be passed on to the next generation (natural selection), while changes that hinder survival are lost. Examples of adaptations which would have promoted survival and reproduction are behaviors such as aggression which might be understood as an adaptive necessity in the competition for limited resources.

“Chameleon effect” Chartrand & Bargh (1999) who investigated the human tendency to mimic the behavior of another in a social situation. They called this the ‘chameleon effect’ and argued that the unconscious habit of imitating behaviors such as foot-tapping enables rapport-building and social bonding between individuals. Social bonding would have been essential for survival of the group in terms of securing and sharing food and shelter. Example of accent into new countries. Moving to America. Chartrand & Bargh found that participants who were most likely to mimic behaviors of a confederate were more likely to rate them higher in terms of likeability in a later part of the experiment. This supports their hypothesis that unintentional mimicry and imitation facilitates social bonding. Example of new in the school. Example of not adapting /imitating. Side effects.

1.7 Ethical Considerations into genetic influences on behavior

Discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behavior Ethical consideration

Explanation

Confidentiality, privacy

Given the familial nature of genetic research, confidentiality, privacy and

and security

security are important considerations in ethical review of a genetic study. Genetics research can sometimes, either directly or by implication, reveal private information to one individual about other members of their family. It might reveal information about health status, or even about mis-attributed parentage, either through discussion of the result of a genetic test or in the process of collecting information for the construction of a family pedigree. A research subject may read or deduce information provided by other family members. Such information may be disclosed by accident through questions asked by a researcher about the family history. Accidental disclosure of such information can have consequences for the broader family and for one person’s relationships with other family members. It may be revealed later by one family member to another during a family conflict, or may itself become the subject of a dispute.

Development of a perception that a person is ‘ill’ • Low self-esteem on the part of the person tested Potential psychological harm from genetic testing • Serious psychological maladjustment, even perhaps depression and suicide • Parental guilt • Social discrimination, including future employment and insurance discrimination • May remove child’s autonomy to make decisions as an adult • Changes in family perceptions and expectations for child • Identification of other family members at risk who wish not to know Accuracy of results Ethical concerns may arise over the accuracy of tests. Preliminary findings may later turn out to be false.

Debate 1 Who has the right to know if an unborn child has a genetic predisposition to a disorder that may develop in adulthood? Does it matter if there is no treatment yet available for the disorder?

Debate 2 Should government invest to help increase IQ if it is genetic?

Practice Questions Short answer questions Identify 2 hormones and using examples, explain their function in human behavior. Describe one evolutionary psychology explanation of behavior Explain one interaction between cognition and physiology

Explain one study related to localization of function in the brain

Essay Questions 1.Discuss the use of the brain imaging technologies in investing the relationship between biological factor and behavior. 2. Discuss ethical consideration related to research studies at the biological level of analysis.

Discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes (for example, effects of jet lag on bodily rhythms, effects of deprivation on neuroplasticity, effects of environmental stressors on reproductive mechanisms)

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/plast.html

Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of behaviour (for example, agnosia, anosognosia, amnesia)

http://www.holah.co.uk/summary/maguire/