Ib Psych - Biological (Theories And Studies Focus)

Front 1

What is Thorndike's (1903) nativist theory?

Back 1

He staked out the nativist position, claiming “in the actual race of life…the chief determining factor is heredity.”

Front 2

What is Lissner, et al's (1991) set point theory?

Back 2

This posits that the genetically influenced weight range for an individual, thought to be maintained by a biological mechanism that regulates food intake, fat reserves, and metabolism.

Front 3

What is the Human Genome Project (2000)?

Back 3

Historical Development: an international collaboration of researchers announced they had completed a rough draft of a map of the entire human genome.

Front 4

What is Charles Darwin's (1859) "On the Origin of the Species" theory?

Back 4

This British naturalist formulated in general terms the principle of natural selection: the fate of genetic variations depends on environment.

Front 5

What are the conclusions from Harlow's (1950) study and his (1958, 1966) experiments?

Back 5

Primates have an innate desire to explore and manipulate objects (take apart, explore pieces, etc.)

This experiment with wire/cloth monkey mommies suggested contact comfort, the pleasure of being touched or held, is important for primates.

Front 6

What is the conclusion from Gibson & Walk's (1960) experiment?

Back 6

When infants were placed on a visual cliff, babies as young as 6 mos. refused to crawl to their mothers across the apparent edge, showing they have depth perception.

Front 7

What is the conclusion from Ekman, et al.'s (1987, 1988, 1990) studies?

Back 7

There is abundant evidence for the universality of seven basic facial expressions of emotion: anger, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness, contempt.

Front 8

What is the conclusion from John Bowlby's (1969, 1973) study?

Back 8

Infants reared in orphanages with adequate food, water and warmth but deprived of touch (creature comfort) showed abnormal emotional and physical development; CLAIM: adaptive purpose, secure base.

Front 9

What is Noam Chomsky's (1957, 1980) theory?

Back 9

He theorized language was too complex to learn in pieces; there must be a language acquisition device.

Front 10

What is Edward Wilson's (1978) theory?

Back 10

Humans have an impulse to act in ways to ensure the survival of our personal genetic code is the primary motivation behind much social behavior, including altruism and xenophobia. This supports the claim that genes hold culture on a leash

Front 11

What is Gardner's (1995) theory?

Back 11

Intelligence comes in many varieties, more than can possibly be captured by a single score: musical aptitude, the ability to empathize with others, insight into oneself, etc.

Front 12

What do studies suggest about the heritability of IQ scores?

Back 12

For children and adolescents, estimates for this trait average around .50

For adults, estimates are higher—in the .60 to .80 range.

Front 13

What are the conclusions from H.H. Goddard's (1917) study?

Back 13

This leading educator gave IQ tests to immigrants on Ellis Island—83% of Jews, 80% of Hungarians, 79% of Italians, 87% of Russians scored as “feeble-minded,” with a mental age lower than 12. This supports the claim that low intelligence and poor character were inherited and “undesirables” should be prevented from having children

Front 14

What is Herrnstein & Murray's (1994) theory outlined in their book The Bell Curve?

Back 14

This psychologist and a political scientist implied in their book that the gap in IQ scores between the average white child and the average black child can never be closed.

Front 15

What are the conclusions from Jerome Kagan's (1994, 1998) studies?

Back 15

His study proposes that “reactive” and “nonreactive” temperaments are heritable; and persist through childhood in psychological and physiological ways. Environmental factors move children towards the center.

Front 16

What conclusions can be drawn from studies related to the "Big Five" personality traits?

Back 16

These factors are remarkably stable of a person’s lifetime: introversion vs. extroversion; neuroticism; agreeableness; conscientiousness; openness to experience. Their heritability is generally between .40 and .60

Front 17

What is Sacks's (1985) case study?

Back 17

He published the case study of Dr. P., the “man who mistook his wife for a hat,” who suffered damage in the portion of his brain that handles visualization.

Front 18

What are the conclusions of Neal Miller's (1978) experiment?

Back 18

The conclusion of his experiment suggested that people can learn to control their visceral responses by taking advantage of a technique called biofeedback.

Front 19

What are the results of Liepert, et al.'s (2000) research?

Back 19

In this research, 13 stroke patients with paralyzed arms who underwent intensive therapy regained nearly full use of their limbs—an area responsible for arm movements on the injured side of patients’ brains had nearly doubled, evidence of the brain’s plasticity.

Front 20

What is Joseph Gall's (1758-1828) theory?

Back 20

Although phrenology was imbecilic, its more rational extension localization of function has proved extremely useful, and is one of the assumptions of the biological perspective: the major brain parts perform different (though overlapping) tasks.

Front 21

What is the Phineas Gage (1858) case study?

Back 21

This young railway worker gave scientists the first clues about the function of the prefrontal cortex (in the frontal lobe) when his behavior changed from mild-mannered, friendly, energetic and dependable to foul-mouthed, ill-tempered, and undependable after a 3.5' bar was driven through his head.

Front 22

What conclusions can be drawn from Sperry's (1953-1980) research?

Back 22

His earlier work (with Myers) on cats suggested that severing the corpus callosum affected perception and memory, but it wasn’t until later experimentation on primates and then studies of epileptic seizure patients that his conclusions were convincing enough to win him a Nobel Prize.

Front 23

What is the H.M. (1953) case study?

Back 23

To cure his epileptic seizures, surgeons removed most of his hippocampus. As a result, although he remembered most events before the surgery, he could no longer remember new experiences (declarative memories) for more than 15 minutes.

Front 24

What is Allan Hobson's (1988, 1990) theory?

Back 24

His activation-synthesis theory of sleep proposes that dreams are the result of neurons firing spontaneously in the pons during REM sleep; the cortex’s attempts to synthesize these firings produces dream sensations.

Front 25

For what quote is Gilbert Ryle (1959) most remembered?

Back 25

This British philosopher summed up Biologically-reductive, deterministic attitudes towards the immortal self or soul: there is no “ghost in the machine.”

Front 26

Which Herbert Spenser (1840's) quote is most often used to reductively summarize Charles Darwin's theory of evolution?

Back 26

This English political philosopher actually coined the phrase: “survival of the fittest,” which reductively summarizes an important evolutionary psychology theory.

Front 27

What conclusions may be drawn from mind-body studies?

Back 27

Aerobic exercise tends to decrease a person’s physiological arousal to stress; reduces anxiety, depression, irritability; when people are sleepy, traffic and work accidents increase; certain nutrients are the precursors of neurotransmitters: tyrosine (amino acid in dairy/meat), is a precursor of norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine; environmental toxins: lead in early childhood is associated with long-lasting problems.