Introduction

Question 1

mind–body or mind–brain problem:

Answer 1

What is the relationship between the mental experience and brain activity?

Question 2

1. A fundamental property

Answer 2

is one that cannot be reduced to something else

• Chalmers & Rensch proposed that we regard consciousness as a fundamental property of matter.
• Although, to say that consciousness is a fundamental property would mean we have given up on explaining it

Question 3

Biopsychology

Answer 3

The study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience.
- emphasizes that the goal of this field is to relate biology to issues of psychology

Question 4

how neurons and glia cells work

Answer 4

The activities of neurons and glia somehow produce an enormous wealth of behavior and experience.

Question 5

Three Main Points to Remember

Answer 5

1. Perception occurs in the brain.
2. Mental activity and certain types of brain activity are inseparable. This position is known as monism, the idea that the universe consists of only one type of being (nearly all neuroscientists and philosophers support this view). The opposite is dualism, the idea that minds are one type of substance and matter is another.
3. We should be cautious about what an explanation is and what it is not. We should avoid overstating the conclusions from any research study.

Question 6

A. Biological explanations of behavior fall into four categories (Tinbergen):

Answer 6

1. Physiological explanations: Relate behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs. Deal with the machinery of the body. E.g. the chemical reactions that enable hormones to influence brain activity and the routes by which brain activity controls muscle contractions
2. Ontogenetic explanations: Describe the development of a structure or a behavior. Look at the influence of genes, nutrition, experience, and the interaction among these influences on behavior. (Ontogenetic comes from the greek roots meaning origin, or genesis, of being)
3. Evolutionary explanations: Examine a structure or a behavior in terms of evolutionary history. Also examine the continuity (unbroken course) of a behavior from past ancestors to the present. They call attention to behavioural similarities among related species.
4. Functional explanations: Describe why a structure or behavior evolved as it did. Look for the benefit or advantage for having certain behaviors. E.g. explains why some animals look like their environment, because the camouflaged appearance makes the animal inconspicuous to predators

Question 7

Q. How does an evolutionary explanation differ from a functional explanation?

Answer 7

An evolutionary explanation states what evolved from what (including useless characteristics), whereas a functional explanations states why something was advantageous and therefore evolutionarily selected

Question 8

Four reasons why biological psychologists study animal behavior:

Answer 8

1. The underlying mechanisms of behaviour are similar across species (especially mammalian) and are often easier to study in nonhuman species.
2. We are interested in animals for their own sake.
3. What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution.
4. Legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans.

Question 9

“Minimalists” and the three R’s:

Answer 9

“Minimalists” believe some animal research is acceptable, but wish it to be minimized and regulated. (Researchers agree on this in principle, but may differ where they draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable research).

• It favours the three R’s
  
  1. Reduction of animal numbers
  2. Replacement (using computer models or other substitutes for animals when possible)
  3. Refinement (modifying procedures to reduce pain and discomfort)

Question 10

2. “Abolitionists”

Answer 10

believe that all animals deserve the same rights as human beings and that the use of animal subjects is the moral equivalent to slavery and murder.