KLD PHYSIO-PSY.pdf

KLD PHYSIO-PSY Week 1: Introduction to Physiological/Biological Psychology ⮚ WHAT IS PHYSIOLOGY Study of the physical and chemical processes that take place in living organisms during the performance of life functions. Note: The area of physiology studies activities such as r...

KLD PHYSIO-PSY Week 1: Introduction to Physiological/Biological Psychology ⮚ WHAT IS PHYSIOLOGY Study of the physical and chemical processes that take place in living organisms during the performance of life functions. Note: The area of physiology studies activities such as reproduction, growth, metabolism, respiration, excitation, and contraction to carefully examine the cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems of the body. ⮚ WHAT IS PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 1. It studies the relationship between bodily processes and behavior; 2. Explaining behavior from a biological point of view; 3. It investigates human behavior, emotion, thought, perception, learning, memory and all other elements of psychology in terms of ‘biological structures’ and ‘physiological processes’; 4. All experiences and behaviors are caused by the nervous system, the endocrine system, genetic programming, and biology in general. Note: The behavior of an individual is governed by the changes in the body.The changes in the body are profoundly affected by the main provider of information – the brain. ⮚ What is the difference between physiological and biological psychology? Biological psychology is the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience. The term biological psychology emphasizes that the goal is to relate biology to issues of psychology. Biological psychology is more than a field of study. It is also a point of view. It holds that we think and act as we do because of certain brain mechanisms, which we evolved because ancient animals with these mechanisms survived and reproduced better than animals with other mechanisms. ⮚ APPROACHES IN STUDYING PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 1. COMPARATIVE - Is being used when you want to evaluate, for example, the effects of certain brain lesions. 2. DEVELOPMENTAL - Approaching problems from a developmental point of view. 3. CLINICAL - Use of clinical information and methods to help address effects of physiology to behavior. ⮚ Biological Explanations of Behavior Common-sense explanations of behavior often refer to intentional goals such as, “He did this because he was trying to...” or “She did that because she wanted to....”. But often, we have no reason to assume intentions. A physiological explanation relates a behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs. It deals with the machinery of the body. An ontogenetic explanation describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of genes, nutrition, experiences, and their interactions. An evolutionary explanation reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior. The characteristic features of an animal are almost always modifications of something found in ancestral species (Shubin, Tabin, & Carroll, 2009). A functional explanation describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did. ⮚ Career Opportunities Research Fields Research positions ordinarily require a PhD. Researchers are employed by universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical firms, and research institutes. 1. Neuroscientist Studies the anatomy, biochemistry, or physiology of the nervous system. 2. Behavioral neuroscientist (almost synonyms: psychobiologist, biopsychologist, or physiological psychologist) Investigates how functioning of the brain and other organs influences behavior. 3. Cognitive neuroscientist Uses brain research, such as scans of brain anatomy or activity, to analyze and explore people’s knowledge, thinking, and problem solving. 4. Neuropsychologist Conducts behavioral tests to determine the abilities and disabilities of people with various kinds of brain damage and changes in their condition over time. Most neuropsychologists have a mixture of psychological and medical  training; they work in hospitals and clinics. 5. Psychophysiologist Measures heart rate, breathing rate, brain waves, and other body processes and how they vary from one person to another or one situation to another. 6. Neurochemist Investigates the chemical reactions in the brain. 7. Comparative psychologist (almost synonyms: ethologist, animal behaviorist) Compares the behaviors of different species and tries to relate them to their habitats and ways of life. 8. Evolutionary psychologist (almost synonym: sociobiologist) Relates behaviors, especially social behaviors, including those of humans, to the functions they have served and, therefore, the presumed selective pressures that caused them to evolve. ⮚ Practitioner Fields of Psychology In most cases, their work is not directly related to neuroscience. However, practitioners often need to understand it enough to communicate with a client’s physician. 1. Clinical psychologist Employed by hospital, clinic, private practice, or college. Helps people with emotional problems. 2. Counseling psychologist Employed by hospital, clinic, private practice, or college. Helps people make educational, vocational, and other decisions 3. School psychologist Requires master’s degree or PhD. Most are employed by a school system. Identifies educational needs of schoolchildren, devises a plan to meet the needs, and then helps teachers implement it. Allied Medical Field These fields ordinarily require a master’s degree or more. Practitioners are employed by hospitals, clinics, private practice, and medical schools. 1. Social workers help people deal with personal and family problems. The activities of a social worker overlap those of a clinical psychologist. ⮚ HISTORY OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL MOVEMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY HIPPOCRATES (400-370 B.C.) Highly regarded as the Father of Medicine; Proposed that the core area of thoughts and emotions is the brain; During the era where there was an outstanding idea of the existence of several portions of mind and body he started the proposal that thoughts and emotions are generally done in the brain. ⮚ ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.) Highly regarded as the Father of Proto-psychology; He believed that 'the brain is but the coolant to the passion of the heart'; He believed in the construct of the mind and that everything is constructed by it. The essential entity of life. ⮚ GALEN (A.D. 130-200) He was well known through his contribution with studies of anatomy but also made contributions in understanding personality; He believed that the brain is a separate construct from the heart and nature place it to be; He understood the workings of the mind and the body into fluids that define a person's personality. ⮚ RENE DESCARTES (17TH CENTURY) Known as the Father of Modern Philosophy; He constructed the idea the human body is like a mechanical object; the environment is the stimuli that dictates action; He conceptualized that human beings require an outside stimulus to elicit actions. Week 3: Genetics and the Basis of Behavior ⮚ Genetics and behavior - concerned with inheritance of human traits, particularly, the influence of chromosomes and genes on our behavior and development. ⮚ Heredity - it is the process and the result of the process by which the characteristics, or traits of a living organism are produced and transmitted from parent to offspring. ⮚ 2 Genetics Mechanisms ( These mechanisms are involved in human behavior and development. Chromosomes and genes Genotype and Phenotype ⮚ The role of Heredity - genetics studies of behavior are more often conducted on animals rather on human beings because of several reasons: behavior is not complex as humans; the environment of animals can be kept nearly the same as that humans; and present with ease wow any audience with Canva presentations. ⮚ The nature of Heredity Gregor Mendel an Australian botanist that worked on genetic experiments about the inheritance of various traits in different kinds of plants and animals. He formulated laws of Heredity: 1. The law of segregation - states that genes occur in pairs, and one of each pair is contributed by each parent. 2. The law of dominance - states if the two (2) contrasting traits in two (2) purebred organisms are crossed( i.e. tallness or shortness) , only one (1) character will appear in the hybrid, the dominant one. ⮚ Nature Vs nurture duality Nature - some arguing that nature is the prime determinant of behavior and growth. Nurture - Nurture variants provide reason for behavioral differences and influence such to a much higher degree than one's nature. Any estimate of heritability of a particular trait is specific to a given population. They are never absolute. They apply to a particular population at a particular time. ⮚ Genotype - the complete heritable genetic identity, genetic information of all organisms on earth. ⮚ Phenotype - the physical expression for genes, the observable physical traits of the organism. ex. blue eyes or green eyes. ⮚ Dominant and Recessive describe the inheritance patterns of certain traits. ⮚ dominant - certain traits that have greater biochemical activity than others. ⮚ recessive - the trait that will not be produced when paired with the dominant gene.