Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of amnesia

Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of amnesia Lucas Gröger IB1 4-11-09 To examine the interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of amnesia, one must first understand what they are. Cognition is the physiological result of perception, learning and reasoning. In other words cognition is the procedure of processing information using the individual's physiological features. The information being processed can be memory, association, concept formation, language, attention, perception, action, problem solving and mental imagery. Amnesia is the loss of memory. In some cases it's organic or it is functional. Organic causes are the result of damage done to the brain whilst functional causes are psychological, for example MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder). MPD is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by having one "other" personality that controls the behavior in the same body. It is said that the different personalities take place at random and unwanted. The two or more personalities act separate from each other and don't share any memories. So if one personality experiences something, other personalities have no idea what happened. It is then said that this person with MPD is suffering under immense amnesia. It is generally agreed that MPD is caused by repressed memories or childhood abuse. There have been various cases of MPD

  • Word count: 974
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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What is Memory and What Causes Memory Loss?

WHAT IS MEMORY AND WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF MEMORY LOSS? What is memory? As part of a continuous process in which living creatures obtain and store information are three phases: Perception, learning and memory. Human memory has been studied and researched in science and philosophy for thousands of years and has become one of the major topics of interests in cognitive psychology. Simply put, memory is the mental activity which refers to the processes used to obtain, store, retain and retrieve information that one may have learnt or experienced. However, such a simple statement covers a complex process. Scientists still do not fully understand how the human memory works but they have carried out many memory tests on humans and animals and studies of brain damage has provided some insight into the memory processes. In the brain, there is no single place where a person can think, remember and learn. These processes are spread out among many different parts of the brain, especially the 'grey matter' of the cerebral cortex; the outer layer of the cerebrum (See figure 1.0), which receives messages from the senses, does most of the thinking and stores the memories of facts and events. The hippocampus plays the single largest role in processing information gathered as memory while the amygdale helps imprint memories that include emotions. Although a memory begins with perception,

  • Word count: 1421
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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To what extent does genetic inheritance influence behavior

To what extent does genetic inheritance influence behavior? For years and years, there has been endless debating on whether human behavior is predetermined by genetic inheritance. The question that behavior was due to the transmission of genetic material from parents to offspring or construction by the surrounding environment had one of humanity's greatest mysteries (medpdia). However psychologists and scientists have finally concluded that human beings are a product of combination of nature and nurture. No longer does any researcher with any reputation claim one over the other, it has now become a question of how much. Genetics definitely do influence our behavior, but to what extent? Trying to solve this question, psychologists and scientists look towards research on twins for clues. The main feature of these studies is that identical twins share the same genetic inheritance. Therefore, this allows psychologists and scientists to analyze the difference in twins' behavior and conclude which of two: genetic inheritance or environmental factor, have influenced their behavior the most. Supported by the studies of identical twins' similar IQ scores and sexual preferences, genetic inheritance influences behavior to large extent. The study of twins in the psychological world today elucidate the best clues into how genetics influence behavior. Researchers enthusiastically seek

  • Word count: 1125
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Target of Social Influence - my experience of social pressure in the selling of an iPhone.

TARGET OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE ROZITAH SHAABAN BH0401563 DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY MC-502 DR GOH CHEE LEONG MS LYNDA LING Introduction The demand for IPhones has remained strong since its launch. Families, friends, colleagues and other social factors strongly contribute to a person's choice of mobile devices. A person often buys an item because it fulfils their desire to be acknowledged by the family, peers and other people that he/she is affiliated to. I am not a follower of mobile devices and I don't believe in high-end mobile devices. My main reason for buying or using a mobile device is due to its convenience and practicality. A basic Nokia phone is just right for me as my main usage is for making calls, receiving calls, messages and photos. The reason why I chose this situation is to demonstrate how social power changes my perception on digital mobile devices despite my belief or values and the suffering and painful experience that the Maxis Consultant had to face with me being the difficult customer. Social influence involves the exercise of social power by a person or group to change the attitudes or behaviour of others in a particular direction (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004, cited in Franzoi, 2009). It is the extent to which an individual's opinions, attitudes and judgements are influenced by being exposed to the views of others. (Van Avermaet, 2001, cited in

  • Word count: 1050
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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This essay will be investigating the eating disorder Bulimia nervosa.

(a) Describe the prevalence of one disorder from one of the following groups: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, or eating disorders (b) Analyse the etiology of the disorder described in part (a), making reference to relevant studies and theories to support your answer. This essay will be investigating the eating disorder Bulimia nervosa. a) Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised in individuals, as being a disorder where the patient has a strong fear of gaining weight and is obsessed about his/her body image. Generally patients with Bulimia experience recurring episodes of binge eating, where the patient eats incredible amounts of food, which are usually high calorie. The patient then feels the need to compensate the binge eating and engages either in vomiting, laxatives, extreme excerising or dieting. The prevalence of Bulimia nervosa is hard to establish as often patients don't come forth with their disorder, which can be due to embarrassment, not being informed about the disorder or other reasons. Therefore the prevalence of Bulimia is often speculation. However some attempts at finding the prevalence have been made, such as a survey in 1980 by the Cosmopolitan magazine, which encouraged readers to send them letters if they utilised vomiting as a measure of weight control. Analysis showed the 83% of the respondents fulfilled the criteria for Bulimia.

  • Word count: 1299
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Evaluate the multi store model of memory.

Multi – Store Model of memory , Diagram of the multi – store model Information lost through interference or retrieval failure Sensory Information Sensory Memory Forgotten Short – term memory Attention Rehearsal Long Term memory Information lost through decay or displacement 2, Outline the multi store model The Multi – Store model explains how information flows from one storage system to another. This system works that you have three storage systems. See the diagram above. The model works that the sensory memory is the first part of your memory this is where the first information goes which is called sensory information if this information is not passed on to the short – term memory than it is forgotten. Once the information s given the big red light and moved onto the STM it is then rehearsed and is transferred to long-term memory. The greater the amount of STM rehearsal, the greater the likelihood it will transfer to LTM for long-term storage. 3, Give two criticism of the model. Remember to explain why each of these is a criticism. The first criticism of the model is that the model sees memory as passive and limited by the amount of space available. Contemporary researchers like to see memory as an active process, limited by processing – how much time and attention is paid to sensory information. The above statement is not true because you can

  • Word count: 1353
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Psychology biological level of analysis revision

Test Revision Psychology General Learning Outcomes Outline principals that define the biological level of analysis . Many behaviours have physiological origins (e.g. brain processes, neurotransmitters, hormones, and genes), so humans should be studied as biological systems 2. The relationship between physiological factors and environmental stimuli is bi-directional. This means that biology and the environment influence each other. 3. Cognitions, emotions and behaviours are products of the anatomy and physiology of our nervous and endocrine systems. 4. Behaviour can be innate and inherited because it is genetically based. Evolution therefore, plays a key role in behaviour. 5. Animal research provides insight into human behaviour. It provides a base to consider human behaviour and an avenue to investigate when it is unethical to experiment on humans. 6. There are biological correlates of behaviour, that is links between specific biological factors and specific behaviours. E.g. testosterone and aggression. 7. Biological research is often reductionist. Reductionism refers to a micro-level research approach where complex human behaviour is reduced to its smallest parts. For example, reducing the explanation of aggression to testosterone levels. Strength: provides detailed knowledge of physiological components. Limitation: oversimplified as it ignores other

  • Word count: 4137
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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With reference to relevant studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behaviour?

Genetics and behaviour With reference to relevant studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behaviour? Research has shown that to a certain extent genetic inheritance does indeed influence behaviour; however, one must take into account the environmental factors in order to address this issue in its entirety. Adoption and twin studies are commonly used in genetic research as these allow the most direct comparison of genetic and environmental influence of behaviour. Genes determine characteristics in a person and are passed down through generations; however, the environment can influence these characteristics, for example the effect of nutrition and weight. So the question remains as to which have a stronger influence, genetic inheritance or the environment. Monozygotic (MZ) twin studies are widely accepted in genetic research. They enable us to research the effects of genetics on behaviour because the genes of MZ twins are virtually identical. A study to support the relationship between genetic inheritance and behaviour is the Minnesota Twins study (Bouchard, 1990), which aimed to observe the effect of environment and genetic inheritance upon a multitude of factors which included: intelligence quotient, personality and occupational/vocational interests, by investigating the correlation between these factors in twins reared apart using MZT's as a control.

  • Word count: 1399
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Explain the relationship between culture and health

Explain the relationship between culture and health. Culture can be defined as an integrated pattern of knowledge, behavior and beliefs that depend on an individual’s capacity for symbolic thought and social thinking which is passed from generation to generation in the form of attitudes, activities, purposes, goals and values so as to meet the basic goals or survival, happiness, well-being and to derive a meaning for living. Health on the other hand has two definitions. According to the westerners, health is the absence of disease or infirmities while to most other cultures health is not just the absence of negative substances but the presence of positive ones as well. In this sense the west, especially the developed countries has been known to follow a purely biomedical model of health where a pathogen is treated with the respective medicine and cured. Lately, however, the field of Complementary and Alternative medicine which includes things like Homeopathy and herbal medication has started to grow as have concepts such as hardiness which is mainly the result of the development of psychology and sociology. Other cultures such as the Chinese follow Buddhism, Confucianism or Taoism which holds the values of Yin and Yang, perceived by westerners to be good and bad but in actuality standing for a deeper difference as the Taoists thought bad and good to be too superficial.

  • Word count: 1357
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality

Lili Mae Matthews Examine the Concepts of Normality and Abnormality Having a mental illness may show a considerable difference in a person’s behaviour. This may be classed as abnormal behaviour. However, it is very different to distinguish the difference of abnormality due to eccentricity or a different cultural or religious background, a different upbringing, the period of time in which you were born, age and gender are all limiting factor in the diagnosis of a mental disorder. There isn’t an exact point in which a mental health professional can rely on in the diagnosis of a disorder. We cannot put a pinpoint on which you become mentally ill because of the limitations, the fact that is that not every person’s abnormal behaviour will be down to a mental disease. There are different kinds of abnormal conditions. Absolute occur the same way with the same frequency in every culture. Universal occur in all cultures but in different frequencies. Relative, are unique to a particular culture. There are particular disorders that are more common in women than men. Women are more likely to suffer from depression and specific phobias while men are more likely to suffer from alcoholism. Racial discrimination plays a very big part in the misdiagnosis of mental illness. Afro-Caribbean immigrants are 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia in the UK than a

  • Word count: 1164
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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