Ch 2, pp - Reed College



Psy 121 Fall 2007 Study Guide for Chapter 2 of Gleitman et al.

In order to guide your reading for lectures and conferences, and also to help you prepare for the exams, we frequently will provide study guides. In using the study guides, you should learn the meanings/definitions of the listed terms. But you should also work to understand the conceptual importance of these terms. Note, for example, that the terms are placed in clusters. How are the terms in each cluster related to each other? What theories or themes unite the terms in a cluster?

Sometimes a specific theory or hypothesis will appear in the study guide – you should be able briefly to describe the theory/hypothesis and predictions that can be made on the basis of it. In addition, sometimes the names of important theorists or investigators will appear in the study guide – you should be able to identify the positions taken by these individuals and/or their contributions to the development of theories and our understanding of them.

Sections of Chapter 2 will be assigned in association with Dell’s lectures on faces (facial expressions, attractiveness) and emotions (fear and anger) and in association with Paul’s lectures on homeostasis, the autonomic nervous system, and eating. This study guide identifies terms and concepts from the entire chapter, only some of which will be considered explicitly in lectures and/or labs. Any of these items could be the subject of exam questions.

Broad themes:

Interplay between biological, environmental, and sociocultural factors in the production and control of motivated behaviors

The contributions and limitations of the comparative approach

The contributions and limitations of an evolutionary approach

Falsity of the nature/nurture dichotomy

The evolutionary roots of motivated behavior

Chromosomes

DNA

Genes: what does a gene control, directly (p. 44)?

What does it mean to say that something is “genetically determined”?

Human genome

Genotype, phenotype

Natural selection

Evolutionary psychology (p. 67)

The achievement of homeostasis

Homeostasis, internal equilibrium and negative feedback

Example: Body temperature regulation in mammals

Autonomic Nervous System: Sympathetic and parasympathetic branches

Sample responses: heart rate, vaso-dilation/constriction, palmar skin sweating (skin conductance), pupillary dilation/constriction, control of respiration, digestion, urination

Sympathetic arousal/activation

Eating

Set Points

Examples of control signals

Glucoreceptors; glucose-glycogen balance

Leptin and adipose cells

Neuropeptide Y (NPY)

Hypothalamus: Dual Center Theory (and limitations)

Obesity: Genetic and environmental factors

Thrifty gene hypothesis

Threat & Aggression

The “emergency” (defense) reaction

Function: preparation for actions that minimize effects of acute threats

Sympathetic nervous system activation/arousal

adrenal gland: epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine

Behavioral responses vary: fight (aggression), flight, freezing

Difference between aggression and predation

Effects of chronic threat/stress

Moderators of aggression

Gender

Testosterone

Territoriality

Personality

Learning

Social displays

Dominance hierarchies

Sex

Female hormonal cycles; estrogen and estrus

Influence of testosterone and estrogen on sexuality

Mate selection

Role of physical attractiveness

Contributors to facial attractiveness: symmetry, “averageness”

Gender differences

Waist-to-hip ratio

Evolutionary theories

Halo effect

Matching hypothesis

Sexual displays

Commitment: mating costs and evolutionary theories of commitment and jealousy

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download