Download Ch 2, pp

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