Download AP* Learning Objectives for Week of 9-16-13

AP* Learning Objectives for Week of 9-30-13
Chapter 2
Biological Bases of Behavior
1. Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including parts of
the neuron and the process of transmission of a signal between neurons.
2. Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake mechanisms).
3. Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
4. Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
 central and peripheral nervous systems;
 major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
 brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization.
5. Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support
research (e.g., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques).
6. Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work
together to shape behavior.
7. Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
8. Identify key contributors (e.g., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger
Sperry, Carl Wernicke).
Study Guide Questions:
2.1
What are the nervous system, neurons, and nerves, and how do they relate to one
another?
2.2
How do neurons use neurotransmitters to communicate with each other and with the
body?
2.3
How do the brain and spinal cord interact?
2.4
How do the somatic and autonomic nervous systems allow people and animals to
interact with their surroundings and control the body’s automatic functions?
2.5
How do psychologists study the brain and how it works?
2.6
What are the different structures of the bottom part of the brain and what do they do?
2.7
What are the structures of the brain that control emotion, learning, memory, and
motivation?
2.8
What parts of the cortex control the different senses and the movement of the body?
2.9
What parts of the cortex are responsible for higher forms of thought, such as language?
2.10 How does the left side of the brain differ from the right side?
2.11
How do the hormones released by glands interact with the nervous system and affect
behavior?