Prepared by Jeffrey W. Grimm Western Washington University PowerPoint Presentation for Biopsychology, 9th Edition by John P.J. Pinel Prepared by Jeffrey W. Grimm Western Washington University This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. COPYRIGHT © 2014 PEARSON EDUCATION, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Thinking about the Biology of Behavior Chapter 2 Evolution, Genetics, and Experience Thinking about the Biology of Behavior Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. From Dichotomies to Interactions There is a tendency to think in simple dichotomies when explaining behavior. Is it physiological or psychological? Is it inherited or is it learned? Both questions are common, yet misguided. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Is It Physiological or Psychological? Cartesian dualism: Descartes argued that the universe consists of two elements. Physical matter Human mind (soul, self, or spirit) Cartesian dualism viewed the mind and brain as separate entities. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Problems of Traditional Dichotomies: Mind–Brain Dualism Problem 1: Brain damage has an impact on psychological functioning. Example: Oliver Sacks’s Case Study of a Man with Asomatognosia Deficiency in awareness of parts of one’s own body Result of damage to the right parietal lobe Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. FIGURE 2.1 Asomatognosia typically involves damage to the right parietal lobe. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is It Inherited or Is It Learned? The “Nature–Nurture” Issue Watson, a behaviorist, believed that all behavior is the product of learning (nurture). Ethology, the study of animal behavior in the wild, focuses on instinctive (nature) behaviors. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Problems of Traditional Dichotomies: Mind–Brain Dualism Problem 2: Chimps show psychological (i.e., “human”) abilities—for an example, see Gallup’s research on chimp self-awareness Chimps spontaneously groom themselves in mirror. Chimps examine and touch the red marks on their own faces after seeing their reflections in a mirror. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems of Traditional Dichotomies: Nature or Nurture Many factors other than genetics (nature) or learning (nurture) have an impact on behavior. “Nurture” now encompasses learning and environment. While it is generally accepted that behavior is a product of nature and nurture, many still ask how much is determined by each—but genetic and experiential factors do not merely combine in an additive fashion. Interactionism Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Human Evolution While Darwin was not the first to propose that species evolve, he was the first to compile supporting evidence (and to suggest ways in which evolution works). Darwin presented 3 kinds of evidence. Darwin argued that evolution occurs through natural selection. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolution and Behavior Just as physical features contribute to “fitness,” so do behaviors. Some are obvious—the ability to find food, avoid predation, etc. Some are less obvious—social dominance and courtship displays. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolution of the Human Brain There is no relationship between brain size and intelligence. Brain size is generally correlated with body size. It is more informative to look at the relative sizes of different brain regions. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. FIGURE 2.13 The brains of animals of different evolutionary ages—cerebrums are shown in yellow; brain stems are shown in purple. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolution of the Human Brain (Con’t) The human brain has increased in size during evolution. Most of the increase in size has occurred in the cerebrum. Increased convolutions in the cerebrum have served to increase the volume of the cerebral cortex. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Evolutionary Psychology: Mate Bonding Most species mate promiscuously. Most mammals form polygynous mating bonds. Humans generally form monogamous bonds. May be adaptive in allowing more attention to survival of children Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Thinking about Evolutionary Psychology Current aspects of mate bonding in humans appear to be predicted by evolutionary theory. Examples: Men tend to value indications of fertility. Women tend to value power and earning capacity. Physical attractiveness predicts which women bond with men of high status. Mate attraction strategies: for women, physical attraction; for men, displaying power and resources Men are more likely than women to commit adultery. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Fundamental Genetics Dichotomous traits: occur in one form or the other, never in combination True-breeding lines: interbred members always produce offspring with the same trait. Mendel studied dichotomous traits in true-breeding lines of pea plants. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Chromosomes: Reproduction and Recombination Genes are located on chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, with an allele on each chromosome. Meiosis: a process of cell division that yields cells with just 23 chromosomes Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Modern Genetics Modern Genetics The Human Genome Project mapped the 3 billion base sequences of human DNA, as well as those of some other species. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Modern Genetics (Con’t) Humans were found to have only about 25,000 genes, leading to new discoveries. Only a small proportion of chromosome segments contain protein-coding genes. Vast regions of DNA were once thought to be inactive evolutionary remnants. However, they are now thought to influence the structural genes. “Active nongene DNA” Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Behavioral Development: The Interaction of Genetic Factors and Experience Three Influential Studies Selective breeding of “maze-bright” and “maze-dull” rats Phenylketonuria: a single-gene metabolic disorder Development of birdsong Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. The Genetics of Human Psychological Differences The Minnesota study of twins reared apart showed that identical twins are more similar to each other than fraternal twins on all psychological dimensions. Example: Correlations of the IQ s of identical twins whether raised together or apart is larger than that of fraternal twins raised together. Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.