Using one or more Examples, Explain Effects of Neurotransmission on Human Behaviour

Using one or more Examples, Explain Effects of Neurotransmission on Human Behaviour (8-Marks) Neurotransmission is when an electrical impulse from a neurotransmitter causes a chemical messenger to be released across a synapse and bind to the dendrites at the other side of the synapse, and once absorbed, a new electrical impulse (carrying the same message) is sent out and this process repeats until the message has reached its target. Humans depend on neurotransmission to produce thoughts, feelings and actions, with the neurotransmitters governing the brain’s chemical functions. And when all is working as it should be, humans exhibit ‘normal’ behaviour, e.g: If the body has sufficient levels of the serotonin neurotransmitter, a sense of content and happiness is promoted. However, there are ways that neurotransmission can go wrong, e.g: If too much or too little of the neurotransmitter is present or if the receptors are overly or insufficiently sensitive, and this could result in abnormal behaviours. To investigate how neurotransmitters can affect human behaviour, scientists have been researching one of the most common mental issues, depression. It is suspected that the neurotransmitter, serotonin is responsible for managing the mood of a human, whether the human is content or depressed. It has been learned that when a person becomes overly stressed, that person’s

  • Word count: 414
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Explain the effects of stereotypes on behavior

SAQ: Explain the effects of stereotypes on behavior. The process of sterotyping is a cognitive process humans undergo by categorizing others around them either for something very superficial such as looks and image or based on their social group. Once a set of characteristics is assigned as a description for a specific group, then these characteristis are most often attributed to all members belonging to that group. Stereotypes used on people can have large effects on their behavior, making them think differently because of these attributions made towards them. The effects of stereotypes on behavior are many and consist of different aspects. The first effect on behavior is prejudice, followed by discrimination, an attitude and a behavior respectively which encourage this cognitive process called stereotyping. Next is the Self-Fulfilling prophecy, associated to the «Pygmalion Effect». This explains the change in one’s behavior influenced by beliefs from important others. Furthermore, an important effect of stereotyping on the behavior of individuals is the «Confirmation Bias». It is defined as the process of noting all the examples that match our assumptions and disregarding examples refuting our beliefs. The confirmation bias is extremely impervious to modifications, since this process comes automatically to us. It makes stereotypical thinking resistant to change.

  • Word count: 691
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCES PSYCHOLOGY HL EXTENDED ESSAY

David hager Out of Body Experiences Exploring the controversy of how they are induced, and to what extent are they real Out of Body Experiences: Exploring the Controversy of how they are Induced, and to what extent do they exist IB Extended Essay 2 October 2012 Word Count: ????? ABSTRACT Out of Body Experiences have been a controversial topic, over the years to the extent of two questions. Do they exist? And how are they caused? Commonly out of body experiences are practices practiced by those one would call “hippies”. However statistics show 1out of 10 people have had an out of body experience (obe) in there life time, in a response experiences where human brain function is compromised ie: hallucination’s from drug abuse, and brain disorders such as epilepsy. OBE have also been reported in cases of physical abuse, as well as near death, and traumatic experiences. Though there are many experienced accounts of people experiencing out of body experiences there has not been a solid scientific proven experiment that allots results that confirm the existence of out of body experience, and whether or whether not they can be self induced. This information formulates questions concerning , to what extent do out of body experiences exist, and how OBE’s be induced? The scope of my investigation through finding the answers to my provided questions , will explore, what

  • Word count: 2022
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis of abnormal psychology.

Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis. Abnormal psychology is the area of psychology which concentrates on unusual behaviours. These could involve affective disorders such as depression or anxiety. It is not an exact science since in different parts of the world different things are considered abnormal. This often leads to the need of having cultural considerations. These types of considerations come up when disorders which “exist” in certain parts of the world only are taken into consideration. Rack in 1982 considered for example the fact that in China diagnosis are made only in severe cases since the mentally ill are not easily accepted there. Also Kleinman in 1984 evaluated how often symptoms are bound to certain cultures and not to others. Ethical considerations instead are made so to have the least amount of counter effects as possible in the patient who is given a diagnosis of a mental disease. Szasz for example stated that often labels are given to people (such as mentally ill) so to isolate them. Another study considered how isolating patients in institutes can be ethically unjust since it causes several problems both for the doctor and for the patient. This was the study conducted by Rosenhan in 1973. Culture affects diagnosis. This is caused by the fact that the standards for abnormality differ from culture to culture and from society to

  • Word count: 943
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Social Identity Theory in Gender

Social Identity Theory in Gender An interview conducted by Advert Enticement on children demonstrated that by the age of four, children have not only developed their social identity but have also associated characteristic to a specific gender that is considered norm. When asked what their gender identity was, there were confident with their responses, socially categorizing themselves into out-groups and in-groups to whichever they belong to, by drawing a distinctive line to accentuate the difference among the females and males, thereby assuring their social identity. A Barbie and Ken doll were used as exemplars of typical gender representatives and was asked what roles were suited for which gender. Men were perceived "stronger" and "went to work" compared with women's penchant for "cleaning the house" and "taking care of the baby." There wasn't a defying line of rivalry but rather as a distinctive gender role and identity, where males and females have very individual perceptions of what each gender should possess as an intergroup quality. Children, despite their young age, are familiar with traits that tell differences between men or women and are familiar with what they believe, are appropriate behaviors for female and males to act in society whether from adult-model influences or the media. Men "need" to have muscular appeals and masculine qualities, whatever that may

  • Word count: 653
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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An experiment to investigate whether word connotation truly does have an effect on memory

Internal Assessment Psychology HL An experiment to investigate whether word connotation truly does have an effect on memory Bobae Choi May 2012 897 words Abstract This replication of Loftus and Palmer’s (1974) experiment has the aim to investigate if word connotation truly does have an effect on memory and was experimented on twenty (ten males, ten females) grade twelve history students in a high school in Langley, B.C. The research hypothesis is that speed estimates will be statistically significant depending on the aggressiveness or passiveness of the word. As a result of being an experiment, the independent variable is the connotation of the word (smashed or contacted) and the dependent variable is the speed estimate from the train when crashing into the school bus. The numerical descriptive statistics used range and median because ordinal data was present. Two results were produced from the median, with the range produced 71 for smashed and 51 for contacted and the verb smashed being 40 and 50 for the word contacted. Using the Mann Whitney U test for inferential statistics, the critical value of U was found to be less than both the smallest values of U1 and U2; as a result the null hypothesis shall be accepted therefore concluding that there is no significant statistical difference on memory through positive and negative connotations in this experiment. For this

  • Word count: 5047
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Adrenaline, Oxytocin or Melatonin, which is the most powerful?

Adrenaline, Oxytocin or Melatonin- which is the most powerful? The most powerful hormone in my opinion is adrenaline. Epinephrine, better known as adrenaline, is a hormone secreted from the adrenal glands, which is located on the kidneys. The adrenal glands are one of the body's endocrine glands or one of the glands producing substances that are distributed throughout the body by the bloodstream. Adrenaline is produced in small amounts by the adrenal glands continuously, but when the body is but through excitement, danger or emotional stress, the brain sends a message to the glands which in turn increase the level of adrenaline. Adrenaline increases the fabrication of energy in the body and switches all the sensory processes up to full alert, shuts down less important processes like digestion, constricts small blood vessels, and releases sugar stored in the liver. It also leads to increase in blood sugar levels, higher heart rate and increase in blood pressure. Why is adrenaline stronger than oxytocin and melatonin? Well, while melatonin regulates the body’s circadian rhythm (the body’s internal 24 hour clock) and oxytocin triggers contractions and nipple stimulation, adrenaline essentially turns your body into a “war machine.” Basically, it drives the body to the highest levels of energy and concentration in order to prepare it to fight for the single most

  • Word count: 555
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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To what extent does genetic inheritance influence behaviour? Use relevant research studies in your response.

To what extent does genetic inheritance influence behaviour? Use relevant research studies in your response. This question asks to analyze, using evidence brought up by relevant studies, how much does genetic inheritance affect one's behaviour. One of the principles of the biological level of analysis states that behaviour is unique because it is biologically based. By proving that genetic inheritance influences behaviour this principle is also proven since genetics are one of the basics for a person's biological factors. Several studies in the history of psychology have found proof of the fact that both genes and environment affect one's behaviour. Still, it is still unknown precisely how much genetics affects behaviour instead of environment, but many researchers are still looking into this and the Human Genome Project – which is a project which was started about a decade ago to analyze human DNA and its genes – is very useful since it actually lets researchers understand what they can analyze more in depth than how it once was. One of the most important studies in this part of the psychology is the Minnesota Twin Study. In this study the participants were normal couples of brothers and sisters, dizygotic twins brought up together, dizygotic twins brought up apart, monozygotic twins brought up together and monozygotic twins brought up apart. First of all it is

  • Word count: 846
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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PET and MRI Scans of the brain

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) . Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans detect special radioactively labelled tracers which are injected into a patient's body before the imaging procedure starts. 2. PET scans can be used to accurately monitor brain activity while a patient's memory and cognition are being tested. 3. PET scans can determine brain activity and function by measuring differences in blood flow and the usage of glucose (sugar), both of which increase when an area of the brain is active. 4. PET scans provide information about brain function and activity as opposed to brain structure, and are more typically used in research. 5. The scans are made by injecting the patient with a form of sugar that has been altered to carry a weak, short-lived radioactive element. The sugar hits the bloodstream and flows to the brain, which needs huge amounts of energy to keep all its nerve cells running. 6. The most active areas of the brain need the most sugar -- while damaged and less active areas need much less. By detecting the weak radiation signal from the sugar molecules as they travel throughout the brain, PET scanners can make a picture of brain cell activity. The resulting scans show the level of activity using a scale of colours; red and orange for high activity, and blue and purple for low. 7. Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine have

  • Word count: 575
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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Discuss Environmental and Physiological Effects on Cognition

In the past, people primarily related physiological processes to be influenced by genetics only and therefore it was largely believed that the brain was fixed. Now, it is said that certain effects of the environment can affect physiological processes. It can be induced that the there is a bidirectional relationship between both the environment and physiology as cognition can affect biology and vice versa. The two effects of the environment on physiological processes that will be discussed include the enrichment of certain environments on brain plasticity and that higher levels of melatonin contribute to seasonal affective disorder. In Rosenthal’s experiment, he hypothesized that seasonal depression is due to high melatonin in the body was due to a lack of light. He therefore conducted light therapy to help patients suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). There was a selected 29 patients of 2000 who reported suffering from depressions in fall and winter who contacted Rosenthal’s team to be a part of this treatment. During the winter of 1981, 11 patients were treated with bright white lights and all experienced some antidepressant effect. The results may be dramatic for such a small sample size as it shows that a brighter environment can counteract depression. Yet, there are lots of discrepancies relating to this experiment. First of all, the SAD article was

  • Word count: 1044
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Psychology
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