Chapter 4 Student Resources

Flashcards

Key Terms

Evolutionary psychology

an approach within psychology based on Darwin’s theory of evolution and assuming that evolutionary forces have shaped our minds and behaviour.

Adaptations

inherited mechanisms that evolved to solve problems encountered in our ancestral past.

Environment of evolutionary adaptedness

:  the selective environmental pressures that shape a given adaptation.

Monozygotic twins

twins that are formed from the same fertilised ovum or egg that splits and leads to the development of two individuals sharing 100% of their genes.

Dizygotic twins

twins derived from the fertilisation of two ova or eggs by two spermatozoa at approximately the same time; they share 50% of their genes.

Heritability

the ratio of genetically caused variation in a characteristic (e.g., intelligence).

Neurons

:  cells that are specialised to conduct electrical impulses.

Soma

a cell body containing a nucleus.

Dendrites

parts of the neuron that conduct nerve impulses towards the soma or cell body.

Axon

:  a part of the neuron that conducts nerve impulses away from the cell body or soma.

Central nervous system

the brain and spinal cord; it is protected by bone and cerebrospinal fluid.

Peripheral nervous system

it consists of all the nerve cells in the body not located within the central nervous system; it is divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

Somatic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the voluntary movements of skeletal muscles and hence the limbs.

Autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the involuntary movement of non-skeletal muscles; it is divided into the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

Sympathetic nervous system

the part of the autonomic nervous system that produces arousal and energy (e.g., via increased heart rate).

Parasympathetic nervous system

the part of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in reducing arousal and conserving energy (e.g., by reducing heart rate).

Cerebrum

a part of the forebrain crucially involved in thinking and language.

Limbic system

a brain system consisting of the amygdala, the hippocampus, and septal areas, all of which are involved in emotional processing.

Thalamus

a part of the forebrain involved in wakefulness and sleep.

Hypothalamus

a part of the forebrain that is involved in controlling body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behaviour.

Midbrain

the middle part of the brain; it is involved in vision, hearing, and the control of movement.

Hindbrain

the “reptilian brain”, concerned with breathing, digestion, swallowing, the fine control of balance, and the control of consciousness.

Cerebral cortex

the outer layer of the cerebrum; it is involved in perception, thinking, and language.

Dysexecutive syndrome

a condition caused by brain damage (typically in the frontal lobes) in which there is severe impairment of complex cognitive functions (e.g., planning; decision making).

Somatosensation

several perceptual processes based on information received from the skin and body.

Hemispheric lateralisation

the notion that each hemisphere or half of the brain differs in its functioning to some extent even though both hemispheres coordinate their activities most of the time.

Split-brain patients

individuals in whom nearly all connections between the two halves of the brain have been severed.

Hemispherectomy

a radical surgical procedure in which one of the cerebral hemispheres is destroyed and removed.