Biological Aspects

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Biological Aspects

• Kimberley A. Clow
• kclow2_at_uwo.ca
• http//instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/257e-570
• Office Hour Thursdays 2-3pm
• Office S302

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Outline

• Welcome to the Brain
• The Nervous Systems
• Neural Communication
• Extraversion
• Return to Eysencks Arousal Theory
• Grays Interpretation
• Sociobiology
• Prosocial Behaviour Learning
• Mate Selection

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The Cortex
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Hemisphere Lateralization
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Gender Differences?
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Messages from Brain Travel by Nervous System

• The Central Nervous System is the Communications
  Highway of the body

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Somatic Nervous System

• Sensory Neurons
• input from body to Central Nervous System
• Motor Neurons
• output from Central Nervous System to control
  muscle movements
• Interneurons
• sensory-motor relay within Central Nervous System

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Autonomic Nervous System
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Neurons are the Messengers

• Neurons
• Information Processing Cells
• 100 billion neurons in the brain!

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Neural Communication
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Types of Neurotransmitters
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Brain Still in Control!

• Altering of neurotransmitters based on messages
  from brain
• Absence or overabundance can create whole new set
  of consequences

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Biology on Personality

• How do you show that personality has a biological
  basis?
• Relate behaviours to brain structures
• Heritability or genetic contributions
• Twin Studies
• Observations in human nonhuman animals
• Evidence in many different cultures
• Cultural Universals
• Stability over time

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Remember Eysenck?

• 3 Factors of Personality
• Extraversion
• Neuroticism
• Psychoticism

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Eysencks Model
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Extraversion - Introversion
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Optimal Arousal Levels
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Gray
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Model of Responsiveness
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Dopamine Extraversion?
Encephalitis Lethargica
ADHD
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Sociobiology

• Born from Darwins Theory of Evolution
• Survival of the Fittest
• Too many people Too few resources
• Natural Selection
• Favours behaviours that maximize survival and
  reproductive success
• The survival of your genes
• Inclusive Fitness
• Your siblings and relations have your genes too!

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Prosocial Behaviour
Nepotism in Action
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Learning

• Prepared Learning
• Some things are easier to learn than others
• Language
• We learn some associations but not others
• Animal Specific

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Whats Love Got to Do With It?

• Argument that love is just an adaptation to
  insure survival of the species
• It keeps parents together to provide protection
  of offspring who require a lengthy period of
  development before they can fend for themselves
• Evident in gender differences
• Mate selection
• Sexual Relations
• Desirable Qualities in Mate
• Views on Infidelity

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Human Reproductive Strategies

• Male Strategy
• Inseminate as many females as possible
• Promiscuous sexual behaviour
• Devote only minimal resources to child care
• Female Strategy
• Choose mate very carefully
• Monogamous sexual behaviour
• Remain attached to mate for resources

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When to Have Sex
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Number of Partners
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Chastity
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Success
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Physical Attractiveness
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Age
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Fidelity

• What would bother you more?
• Sexual Infidelity
• Emotional Infidelity