Summary
Summary PSYC 385 Test 1 Study Guide
- Course
- Biopsychology
- Institution
- James Madison University
Test 1 Study Guide for Psyc 385. Enjoy!!
[Show more]
Content preview
TEST 1 STUDY GUIDEPG 1 p.1-9
● Neurons: cells that receive and electrochemical signals
● Neuroscience: scientific study of the nervous system
○ Biopsychology is a related discipline
● Jimmie G-could not remember anything since his early 20s
● Thinking creatively: thinking in new productive, unconventional ways
● Much of what bio psychologists learn about the functioning of the normal brain comes
from studying the diseased or damaged brain
● Evolutionary perspective: trying to understand biological phenomena by comparing
them in different species
● Biopsychology did not develop into a major neuroscience discipline until 20th century
○ Publication of Organization of Behavior in 1949 by D.O. Hebb played a major role
in its emergence
■ Developed the first major theory that perception, emotion, thought,
memories may be related to brain activity
● 6 fields of neuroscience:
○ Neuroanatomy: study of structure of nervous system
○ Neurophysiology: study of functions and activities of nervous system
○ Neuropharmacology: study of the effects of drugs on neural activity
○ Neuropathology: study of nervous system disorder
○ Neurochemistry: study of chemical bases of neural activity
○ Neuroendocrinology: study of interactions between the nervous system and
endocrine system
● Human advantages over nonhuman
○ Can follow instruction
○ Report their subjective experiences
○ Cheaper
○ Intricacies of human brain function
● Nonhuman advantages over human
○ Brains and behavior are simpler (more likely to reveal fundamental brain-
behavior interactions)
○ Insights frequently arise from comparative approach
○ It is possible to conduct research on lab animals that , for ethical reasons, is not
possible in humans
● Experimental method almost single-handedly responsible for the knowledge that is the
basis for our modern way of life
● Coolidge effect: fact that a copulating male who becomes incapable of continuing to
copulate with one sex partner can recommence copulating with a new sex partner
○ Attempts to demonstrate a Coolidge effect in females is almost always
confounded with male fatigue
○ To control for confounding variable, at the same time a female was copulating
with a male, the other male to be used in the test was copulating with another
, female. Afterwards, both males were to have a rest period while female
copulating with third male
○ DV in experiment was how long female displayed lordosis
● Quasi-experimental studies: studies of groups of people who have been exposed to
conditions and interests of real world
PG 2 p.9-19 and fertility research article
● 6 Divisions of biopsychology:
○ Physiological psychology: studies neural mechanisms of behavior through
direct manipulation and recording of the brain in controlled experiments
○ Psychopharmacology: focuses on the manipulation of neural activity and
behavior with drugs
○ Neuropsychology: study of psychological effects of brain damage in human
patients
○ Psychophysiology: studies the relation between physiological activity and
psychological processes in brain
■ Usual measure of brain activity is the scallop EEG
■ Other measures: muscle tension, eye movement, HR, BP, pupil dilation,
electrical conductance of skin
■ Autonomic nervous system (ANS) division of nervous system that
regulates body’s inner environment
○ Cognitive neuroscience: study neural bases of cognition (higher intellectual
processes such as thought, memory, attention, and complex perceptual
processes largely through use of functional brain imaging
○ Comparative psychology: study of the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of
behavior, largely through the use of the comparative method
● Converging operations: strengths of one approach compensate for the weaknesses of
the others
● Korsakoff’s syndrome: severe memory loss
○ Initially believed to be a direct consequence of alcohol
○ Subsequent research showed that it is largely caused by brain damage
associated with thiamine
○ Biopsychology typically comes from converging operations- convergence of
neuropsychological case studies (case studies of those with Korsakoff), quasi
experiments with human participants, and controlled experiments with laboratory
animals
● Scientific inference: empirical method that scientist use to study the unobservable
● Critical thinking: spotting the weaknesses of existing ideas and the evidence on which
they are based
● First step in judging validity of any scientific claim is to determine whether the claim and
the research on which it is based were published in a reputable scientific journal
● Prefrontal lobotomy: a surgical procedure in which the connections between the brain
and the prefrontal lobes are cut as a treatment for mental illness
● Prefrontal lobes: large left and right areas of the very front of the brain
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller anyiamgeorge19. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $11.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67096 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now