R-Introduction.pdf

Introduction 11 January 2024 08:48 Main Ideas Notes Notes Notes What is social psychology? scientific study of how the real or imagined presence of other people influences an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and beha viours Summary PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 1 Notes Notes PSYC0010 Social Psycho...

Introduction 11 January 2024 08:48 Main Ideas Notes Notes Notes What is social psychology? scientific study of how the real or imagined presence of other people influences an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and beha viours Summary PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 1 Notes Notes PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 2 Notes PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 3 Notes Notes PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 4 PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 5 Reading 14 January 2024 00:31 Source Notes Assessment of Salivary Hormones Sample Collection and Timing Saliva samples are collected before and after specific events, such as a contest, to examine the effects of verbal instructio ns and experiential elaboration of these instructions Sampling intervals of 15 minutes or longer are chosen due to the time it takes for steroid hormones to transfer from blood in to saliva and be cleared out again (Schultheiss & Stanton, 2009) Assay Specificity and Validation Evaluating the specificity of hormone assays is challenging, but it's important to compare average hormone levels measured to those reported by others using high-pressure liquid chromatography and other assay methods Quality control measures include determining the interassay CV and using known factors that affect hormone concentrations to create separate male and female saliva pools for calibration Data Processing Measurements from hormone assays are not hormone concentrations but proxy measurements, which need to be transformed and interpreted to make sense as hormone concentrations It's recommended to use statistical software for the mindful processing of hormone assay data, and a guide to the steps invol ved in this process is provided by Nix and Wild Assay Calibration and Quality Control The first step involves putting the raw measurements in relation to the known concentrations of the calibrator samples to cre ate a standard curve The relationship between predictor and dependent variable is turned upside down to infer hormone concentrations from measured signals, and the sensitivity and accuracy of the assay are determined at this point Reporting and Analysis The method description should include the exact type and make of the assay, sample processing and assay protocol, and main qu ality control parameters Hormone data distributions should be examined for skew, and if necessary, transformed to bring them closer to a normal distri bution. If outliers are present in the hormone data, analyses should be run and reported both with and without the outliers - Advantages and Disadvantages of Salivary Hormone Assessment Salivary hormone measures are pain-free and easy to use in behavioral studies, but their use is limited to hormones that make it into saliva Researchers should consider alternative methods if it is conceptually reasonable to assess a hormone that is not present in s aliva but in other body compartmentsConceptual Advantages Acquainting oneself with the basic literature on endocrine systems and their relationships with brain and behavior can turn a pparent disadvantages of hormone assessment into advantages Each hormone comes with a rich, multidisciplinary research literature, which can suggest exciting new hypotheses and research directions that would not have been apparent otherwise Conclusion Incorporating endocrine measures and concepts in research makes the study of human behavior more rigorous, intellectually sti mulating, and likely to yield exciting discoveries Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Affective and Social Neurosciences (Johnstone et al., 2009) What does fMRI measure? fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging, measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. When a specific area of the brain is more active, it requires more oxygen, leading to an increase in blood flow to that area. fMRI detects these changes in blood flow, allowing researchers to infer which parts of the brain are involved in specific men tal processes or tasks Advantages of fMRI: Non-invasive: Provides insights into brain activity without surgery or other invasive procedures. High spatial resolution: Allows for pinpointing activation in specific brain regions. Temporal resolution: Captures brain activity with good temporal sensitivity, albeit not as precise as EEG. Direct measurement of neural activity: Measures changes in blood flow associated with neuronal activity. Versatility: Can be used to study various aspects of social cognition, including perception, emotion, decision -making, and moral reasoning. Limitations of fMRI: Costly and time-consuming: Access to equipment and scan duration can be expensive and lengthy. Indirect measure: Measures blood flow changes, not directly reflecting neuronal activity. Susceptibility to artifacts: Motion, scanner noise, and physiological processes can introduce noise into the data. Limited ecological validity: Artificial environment of the scanner may not capture natural social interactions. Individual differences: Activation patterns can vary considerably across individuals and contexts. Experimental Design Considerations for fMRI: Task selection: Choosing tasks that elicit specific social cognitive processes of interest. Stimulus presentation: Controlling for sensory and cognitive demands across conditions. Instructions and training: Ensuring clear understanding of the task and minimizing practice effects. Randomization and counterbalancing: Controlling for order and fatigue effects. Baseline comparisons: Including control conditions to isolate social-specific activation. Block Designs vs. Event-Related Designs: Block Designs: Present stimuli in blocks of the same type, allowing for easier data analysis but potentially suffering from habituation and anticipation effects. Event-Related Designs: Present stimuli individually with variable timing, providing better temporal resolution but requiring more complex analysis models. Mixed Block and Event-Related Designs: Combine elements of both approaches to capture both overall activation patterns and fine -grained temporal dynamics. Combining fMRI with Other Online Measures: Behavioral measures: Track performance or response times alongside brain activity. Physiological measures: Monitor heart rate, skin conductance, or respiration to assess emotional arousal. Eye-tracking: Record gaze patterns to understand visual attention during social interactions. Individual Differences in Social and Affective Style: fMRI can be used to investigate how personality traits, temperament, and affective styles influence brain activation during s ocial tasks. This opens up avenues for understanding individual variations in social behavior and vulnerability to mental health disorders. Functional and Effective Connectivity: Beyond localized activation, fMRI can examine how different brain regions interact and communicate during social processing. This provides insights into the network dynamics underlying social cognition and affective responses. Considering Model Habituation or Familiarity Effects: Repeated presentation of stimuli can lead to decreased brain activation over time. Controlling for and understanding such effects is crucial for accurate interpretation of fMRI data. Future Directions in Social and Affective Brain Imaging: Develop more dynamic and ecologically valid paradigms. Integrate multi-modal neuroimaging approaches. Focus on individual differences and personalized brain mapping. Investigate the role of neuromodulation in social behavior. Beyond fMRI: perfusion imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy: Perfusion imaging: Tracks blood flow changes with higher temporal resolution than fMRI. PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 6 Perfusion imaging: Tracks blood flow changes with higher temporal resolution than fMRI. Diffusion tensor imaging: Provides information about white matter fibre tracts and brain connectivity. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy: Measures brain metabolites to assess neurochemical changes. How fMRI can contribute to social neuroscience: Provide a window into the neural mechanisms underlying social interaction and emotion. Inform and refine theoretical models of social cognition. Identify potential biomarkers for social and affective disorders. Develop targeted interventions for improving social interaction and emotional well -being. Chapter 2: The Endocrine System Chemical Messengers: Hormones are chemical messengers that are produced by glands and then released into the bloodstream. They travel to target cells, where they bind to receptors and produce a physiological response. Nelson, R. J. (2005). An introduction to behavioral endocrinology (3rd ed.). Sinauer Associates. (Nelson, 2005) The Major Endocrine Glands: ○ The Pituitary Gland: The "master gland" that controls the activity of many other endocrine glands. It produces hormones such as growth hormone, prolactin, and ACTH. ○ The Thyroid Gland: Produces thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism and growth. ○ The Parathyroid Glands: Produce parathyroid hormone, which helps to regulate calcium levels in the blood. ○ The Adrenal Glands: Produce two main types of hormones: corticosteroids, which help to regulate metabolism and stress, and catecholamines (such as adrenaline), which prepare the body for fight -or-flight responses. ○ The Gonads: The testes in males and the ovaries in females produce sex hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen, which are responsible for the development of secondary sex characteristics and reproductive function. ○ The Pancreas: Produces insulin and glucagon, which regulate blood sugar levels. Hormone Action: ○ Target Cells: Hormones only affect cells that have receptors for them. ○ Binding and Signal Transduction: When a hormone binds to a receptor, it triggers a signal transduction pathway that leads to a physiological response. ○ Second Messengers: Many hormones use second messengers, such as cyclic AMP (cAMP), to relay their signals within cells. Regulation of Hormone Secretion: ○ Negative Feedback Loops: Most hormones are regulated by negative feedback loops, in which the level of a hormone in the blood inhibits its own secretion. ○ Positive Feedback Loops: Less common, but some hormones are regulated by positive feedback loops, in which the level of a hormone stimulates its own secretion. Evolution of Hormones ○ Conservation of Hormone Structure and Function: Many hormones are similar in structure and function across different vertebrate species. ○ Exaptation of Hormones: Some hormones may have evolved from molecules that originally had different functions. The Major Vertebrate Hormones ○ Peptide Hormones: Produced by the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract. Examples include ACTH, TSH, insulin, and glucagon. ○ Steroid Hormones: Produced by the adrenal glands, gonads, and placenta. Examples include cortisol, testosterone, and estrogen. ○ Amine Hormones: Produced by the adrenal medulla and some neurons. Examples include adrenaline and norepinephrine. Can you synthesise this study in bullet points in terms of background/introduction (include relevant stats and figures), methods, results (include relevant stats and figures), and critical analysis (make the analysis related to the context of the study and elaborate on the analysis) ? can you synthesise this information into bullet points and put them under subheadings, include lots of detail, include relevant stats and figures, use and rephrase in easy-to-understand language : PSYC0010 Social Psychology Page 7