PSYC 4130 Exams 1,2 & 3 Study Guides (merged in 1 pdf),
Complete A+ Guides, Latest Updated 2026/2027.
PSYC 4130 Exam 1 Study Guide
Fall 2025
Dr. Allison Howard
Table of Contents
PSYC 4130 Exam 1 Study Guide
Biological Psychology
Neurons
Nervous System
Comparative Neuroanatomy
Biological Psychology
1. What is this course about?
a. Comparative Psychology
i. Comparative psychology: The study of similarities and differences
in the behavior and mental processes of different species, including
humans and other animals
ii. TWO Objectives:
1. Understanding NON-HUMAN animal’s behavior for its OWN
sake
2. Furthering the understanding of human behavior
b. Physiological Psychology
i. Physiological psychology: A subdivision of biological psychology
that studies the neural mechanisms of perception and behavior
1. Studies the mind as a phenomenon STEMMING from the
nervous system
ii. ** Biological psychology is the study of physical, evolutionary, and
developmental underpinnings of behavior. Physiological psychology
maintains a FOCUS on the NERVOUS system, and how it
generates behavior
2. Tinbergen’s 4 Questions → Tinbergen developed 4 approaches to EXPLAINING
behavior…
a. Proximate → How does a behavior work?
i. Physiological
1. Goal: Relate the behavior directly to PHYSIOLOGY
, a. Relate behavior to the CHEMICAL PROCESSES
occuring in our body… the neural processes/nervous
system… what is happening in our brain. Example,
we do xyz because this hormone is released
(chemical process)...
2. Physiology: the brain of biology dealing with functions and
activities of living organisms and their parts, including all
physical and chemical processes
ii. Developmental (Ontogenetic)
1. Goal: describe how the structure of a behavior develops
a. E.g. looking at when you’re a kid vs. the behavior as
an adult…
2. Largely a DEVELOPMENTAL approach, How has the
behavior changed OVER the LIFESPAN?
a. Genes
b. Experience, learning
c. Interactions between these factors
b. Ultimate → WHY does a behavior exist?
i. Evolutionary (Phylogenetic)
1. How did the behavior evolve?
2. Goal: reconstruct the EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY of a
behavior
3. Look at other species
a. Information about the origin informs us about the
purpose…
4. ** Hint– mention of Phylogenetic tree or generations likely is
referring to evolutionary approach. Where was behavior first
seen…? What is the origin…What species… what is the
history of the behavior
ii. Functional
1. Goal: determine WHY the behavior evolved as it did
a. What value did this behavior provide that allowed it to
get passed on for generations until present day?
WHY did it keep getting passed, what role/function did
it serve for this species to keep this behavior. HOW
did this behavior help a species survive and
reproduce?
b. Consider a behavior and try to figure out what the
adaptive value is, why it was allowed to propagate,
how it contributes to fitness.
, 2. Hint– if “survival” or “reproductive” success is brought up…
probably talking about functional approach
3. Example: Behavior = why do birds sing? → birds sing
because it serves as an advantage to their survival… birds
often use songs to increase their chances of finding a
mate…therefore, singing functions to help them survive and
reproduce..
3. Conventions
a. Presumption of monism of the mind and body
i. Mind-body dualism - why is it relevant, historically and today
1. Mind-Body Dualism: the belief that the mind is somehow
distinct from the body, or that the minds are one type of
substance and the rest of the world is something else
a. The mind is made up of something different from the
body… they’re separated. (matter and mind)
b. Physical and Mental substance are fundamentally
different… Completely two different things…
2. It was the common belief for centuries… It formed the basiss
for the separation of biology from psychology…
3. Monoism: the body and mind are NOT distinct entities, but
are made up of the same substance…
a. For this class, we pressume monism for the body and
mind…
b. Variants for Monoism (prob don’t need to know)
i. Materialism (or physicalism) – everything is
physical, including “mental” events
ii. Mentalism (or idealism) – everything is mental.
There is a mind, and nothing physical exists
unless one thinks it..
iii. Neutral monism – there is a 3rd substance
from which metal and physical are both derived
iv. Identity positionism – mental and physical are
actually the same thing, just spoken of
differently. The mind is just brain activity.
ii. Relevance of the VR study inducing an out-of-body state
1. Out of body experience → a person feels detached from
their physical body…
2. Someone in Vr study → induced an out of body state (felt
like they were looking down on themselves… could see their
, body) → endorsed the idea of mind body dualism.. That the
mind is a separate thing from the body.
3. Biological Psychology can be used to study phenomena that,
at first glance, may seem to indicate a SEPARATION
between body and mind
b. Presumption that other minds exist to study
i. Solipsism
1. Solipsism: the theory that one’s own mind is all that can be
known to exist
a. Solus = alone, isolated
b. The idea that only OUR OWN mind can be known…
we can see other people, ask questions, but we can’t
KNOW for certain they’re real. We can’t PROVE that
other people exist. We can only know for sure that our
own mind exists.
c. For this class… we presume that OTHER minds exist.
2. Our senses are our link to the world… Our senses are
fallible, incomplete representations of reality. We cannot
disprove that it is "all in our heads.” We are deprived of the
inner worlds of others… BUT we assume that other minds
exist.
ii. Relevance of sensory illusions and differences in perception
1. Senses are EXPERIENCES of reality… they may be
different. Everyone’s experience and perception of things is
DIFFERENT.
2. Describing colors as a blind person… Everyone's experience
with physical phenomena is different. We can’t confirm who
is right… what is actually “green”... it’s all based on
perception/experience of that physical phenomena.
c. Presumption that all we will study in this course is relevant to the “hard
problem of consciousness”
i. Chalmer’s (1995) hard problem of consciousness – the problem
of explaining the relationship between PHYSICAL phenomena (e.g.
brain processes) and EXPERIENCE (falling in love, seeing the
color green, feeling ennui)
ii. HARD problem of consciousness = HOW the brain physically
generates subjective experience
iii. The questions studied in the discipline have at their core the
long-standing mysteries regarding HOW our minds CREATE the
phenomena of consciousness.
Complete A+ Guides, Latest Updated 2026/2027.
PSYC 4130 Exam 1 Study Guide
Fall 2025
Dr. Allison Howard
Table of Contents
PSYC 4130 Exam 1 Study Guide
Biological Psychology
Neurons
Nervous System
Comparative Neuroanatomy
Biological Psychology
1. What is this course about?
a. Comparative Psychology
i. Comparative psychology: The study of similarities and differences
in the behavior and mental processes of different species, including
humans and other animals
ii. TWO Objectives:
1. Understanding NON-HUMAN animal’s behavior for its OWN
sake
2. Furthering the understanding of human behavior
b. Physiological Psychology
i. Physiological psychology: A subdivision of biological psychology
that studies the neural mechanisms of perception and behavior
1. Studies the mind as a phenomenon STEMMING from the
nervous system
ii. ** Biological psychology is the study of physical, evolutionary, and
developmental underpinnings of behavior. Physiological psychology
maintains a FOCUS on the NERVOUS system, and how it
generates behavior
2. Tinbergen’s 4 Questions → Tinbergen developed 4 approaches to EXPLAINING
behavior…
a. Proximate → How does a behavior work?
i. Physiological
1. Goal: Relate the behavior directly to PHYSIOLOGY
, a. Relate behavior to the CHEMICAL PROCESSES
occuring in our body… the neural processes/nervous
system… what is happening in our brain. Example,
we do xyz because this hormone is released
(chemical process)...
2. Physiology: the brain of biology dealing with functions and
activities of living organisms and their parts, including all
physical and chemical processes
ii. Developmental (Ontogenetic)
1. Goal: describe how the structure of a behavior develops
a. E.g. looking at when you’re a kid vs. the behavior as
an adult…
2. Largely a DEVELOPMENTAL approach, How has the
behavior changed OVER the LIFESPAN?
a. Genes
b. Experience, learning
c. Interactions between these factors
b. Ultimate → WHY does a behavior exist?
i. Evolutionary (Phylogenetic)
1. How did the behavior evolve?
2. Goal: reconstruct the EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY of a
behavior
3. Look at other species
a. Information about the origin informs us about the
purpose…
4. ** Hint– mention of Phylogenetic tree or generations likely is
referring to evolutionary approach. Where was behavior first
seen…? What is the origin…What species… what is the
history of the behavior
ii. Functional
1. Goal: determine WHY the behavior evolved as it did
a. What value did this behavior provide that allowed it to
get passed on for generations until present day?
WHY did it keep getting passed, what role/function did
it serve for this species to keep this behavior. HOW
did this behavior help a species survive and
reproduce?
b. Consider a behavior and try to figure out what the
adaptive value is, why it was allowed to propagate,
how it contributes to fitness.
, 2. Hint– if “survival” or “reproductive” success is brought up…
probably talking about functional approach
3. Example: Behavior = why do birds sing? → birds sing
because it serves as an advantage to their survival… birds
often use songs to increase their chances of finding a
mate…therefore, singing functions to help them survive and
reproduce..
3. Conventions
a. Presumption of monism of the mind and body
i. Mind-body dualism - why is it relevant, historically and today
1. Mind-Body Dualism: the belief that the mind is somehow
distinct from the body, or that the minds are one type of
substance and the rest of the world is something else
a. The mind is made up of something different from the
body… they’re separated. (matter and mind)
b. Physical and Mental substance are fundamentally
different… Completely two different things…
2. It was the common belief for centuries… It formed the basiss
for the separation of biology from psychology…
3. Monoism: the body and mind are NOT distinct entities, but
are made up of the same substance…
a. For this class, we pressume monism for the body and
mind…
b. Variants for Monoism (prob don’t need to know)
i. Materialism (or physicalism) – everything is
physical, including “mental” events
ii. Mentalism (or idealism) – everything is mental.
There is a mind, and nothing physical exists
unless one thinks it..
iii. Neutral monism – there is a 3rd substance
from which metal and physical are both derived
iv. Identity positionism – mental and physical are
actually the same thing, just spoken of
differently. The mind is just brain activity.
ii. Relevance of the VR study inducing an out-of-body state
1. Out of body experience → a person feels detached from
their physical body…
2. Someone in Vr study → induced an out of body state (felt
like they were looking down on themselves… could see their
, body) → endorsed the idea of mind body dualism.. That the
mind is a separate thing from the body.
3. Biological Psychology can be used to study phenomena that,
at first glance, may seem to indicate a SEPARATION
between body and mind
b. Presumption that other minds exist to study
i. Solipsism
1. Solipsism: the theory that one’s own mind is all that can be
known to exist
a. Solus = alone, isolated
b. The idea that only OUR OWN mind can be known…
we can see other people, ask questions, but we can’t
KNOW for certain they’re real. We can’t PROVE that
other people exist. We can only know for sure that our
own mind exists.
c. For this class… we presume that OTHER minds exist.
2. Our senses are our link to the world… Our senses are
fallible, incomplete representations of reality. We cannot
disprove that it is "all in our heads.” We are deprived of the
inner worlds of others… BUT we assume that other minds
exist.
ii. Relevance of sensory illusions and differences in perception
1. Senses are EXPERIENCES of reality… they may be
different. Everyone’s experience and perception of things is
DIFFERENT.
2. Describing colors as a blind person… Everyone's experience
with physical phenomena is different. We can’t confirm who
is right… what is actually “green”... it’s all based on
perception/experience of that physical phenomena.
c. Presumption that all we will study in this course is relevant to the “hard
problem of consciousness”
i. Chalmer’s (1995) hard problem of consciousness – the problem
of explaining the relationship between PHYSICAL phenomena (e.g.
brain processes) and EXPERIENCE (falling in love, seeing the
color green, feeling ennui)
ii. HARD problem of consciousness = HOW the brain physically
generates subjective experience
iii. The questions studied in the discipline have at their core the
long-standing mysteries regarding HOW our minds CREATE the
phenomena of consciousness.
