Localization
Emotions & Hormones
Neurology
Genetics
Social Cognitive Theory
100
This part of your brain is most primarily responsible for helping you control your impulses and think through problems logically
Frontal Lobe
Also accepted: Prefrontal Cortex
100
This region of your brain is the "emotional center" of the brain and functions as our body's biological alarm system
Amygdala
100
This is a chemical messenger that moves between neurons and can kickstart neural/cognitive processes - give an example and state what kinds of things it's connected to
Neurotransmitters!
Serotonin - related to mood regulation & sleep
Dopamine - your brain's "reward" system
100
What is heritability?
Give an example
The extent to which certain behaviors or traits are due purely to genetics
If "aggression" is 30% heritable, then that means 30% is due to genetics, while 70% would be due to environmental influences
100
This approach to psychology believed you could best understand complex phenomena like learning by focusing exclusively on observable behaviors and ignoring internal factors
Behaviorism
200
What's the Dual Process Model of Thinking & Decision-Making? Include examples!
Thinking takes place in 2 systems
S1 is automatic thought based on experience - solving a simple math problem, or laughing at a joke
S2 is slower and based on thinking through consequences - choosing where to go to college, deciding what to make for dinner, solving a difficult problem in class
200
What gland in the endocrine system releases stress hormones during the fight/flight response?
Adrenal Gland
200
The ability of the brain to strengthen and diversify connections between neurons
Neuroplasticity
200
Why are twin studies employed in studying genetic phenomena?
Monozygotic twins share 100% of their genetic material - we can use the results of twin studies to show the influence that nurture/upbringing (environment) can have on development and behavior
200
What is the difference between observational learning and vicarious learning?
Observational learning means we can learn by simply watching others do something.
Vicarious learning means that we watch the consequences for others' behavior
300
Which three groups were studied in Grafman et al.'s Vietnam Head Injury Study?
ALL participants were Vietnam vets
Some participants had no brain injuries
Some participants had "generalized" brain injuries
Some participants had damage specifically in their frontal lobe/PFC
300
What were the four test group's in Albert et al.'s study on testosterone?
A: Fully Castrated Rats
B: Castrated Rats with testosterone re-implanted
C: Castrated Rats with a placebo implanted
D: Rats that underwent a "sham castration"
300
What were the four kinds of neglect studied in Perry & Pollard's study on neglect and neuroplasticity?
-Physical
-Emotional
-Social
-Cognitive
300
The gene associated with serotonin functioning; a mutation of this gene is correlated with increased levels of aggression and anti-social behavior
MAOA
300
What are the three pillars of the triadic reciprocal determinism model?
Include an example for each.
Person (internal characteristics & competencies) - things like emotional reactivity or intelligence
Behavior (externally observable) - posture, fidgeting, facial expression
Environment (things outside the individual) - home life, media exposure, role models
400
How does the Iowa Gambling Task help us to measure whether people are using System 1 or System 2?
Two of the decks have a possibility for a higher reward, but more often cause you to lose money
Two of the decks have lower rewards, but you lose money less often
People using S1 will struggle to notice this pattern, focusing instead on the higher pay-off. People using S2 will more quickly discover that even though the payoffs are small, they are ultimately earning more money.
400
How does SM’s case study demonstrate the role of the amygdala in experiencing fear? Be specific about what we know about SM's brain!
-SM's amygdalae were completely non-functional due to a rare genetic condition, but her brain was otherwise 100% neurotypical ("normal") -SM reported feeling anticipatory fear at the prospect of going to the haunted house/ pet store/ scary movie
-SM showed zero physiological signs of fear when actually engaging with the scary things
400
What was the key result from Desbordes et al.'s study on mindfulness and the brain?
Participants who had undergone mindfulness training showed significantly decreased amygdala activity in response to emotional images
400
What's a longitudinal study? What is an example we talked about in class?
A study that takes place over a long period of time.
Caspi et al. (2002) studied the same children in New Zealand over a 25 year period.
400
Describe the basic set-up and results of Bandura's Bobo Doll studies
-Kids are assessed for natural levels of aggression and paired with another kid with a similar score
-In each pair, one kid watches a violent model and one kid watches a peaceful model
-Kids are then given the opportunity to play with the toys in the room
-Kids with an peaceful model tended to play peacefully with toys in the room
-Kids with a violent model tended to beat up Bobo in increasingly creative and violent ways
500
Two ways you could evaluate Bechara et al.'s experiment on thinking and decision-making. How should we weigh this study in terms of external and internal validity?
Limitation - small sample size - questionable generalizability
Strength - Iowa Gambling Task is a respected tool that effectively measures risk-calculus - strong internal validity
Strength - Conducted in a laboratory - able to control extraneous variables - strong internal validity
(answers will vary)
500
Based on the Radke et al. study of testosterone, what is the mechanism by which testosterone can result in increased aggression? Reference specific results of the study in your answer.
It's all about motivation - there was little change across test conditions, but the amygdala was most active when participants had increased testosterone and also were motivated to engage with the threat.
500
What were the two key results from Passamonti et al.'s experiment on Serotonin?
Participants in the reduced serotonin condition displayed:
-Increased activity in the amaygdala
-Decreased levels of communication between the PFC and the amygdala
500
What was a primary result of Caspi et al.'s research on kids in New Zealand?
MAOA-L gene is associated with an increase in aggression, but this increased aggression only tends to pop up if that individual also experienced some form of abuse as a child
500
How does the Bobo Doll experiment support the principles of social cognitive theory? Be specific about how the experiment supports Triadic Reciprocal Determinism.
Behavior - how the child plays with the toy (what is being measured as the DV)
Environment - the model that the child is watching (how the IV is being manipulated)
Person - the child's "natural" levels of aggression (kids were assigned an aggression index prior to the study, and grouped with another kid with a similar index)