WJEC Psychology Unit 1 – AS/8 Q’s and A’s

WJEC Psychology Unit 1 – AS/8 Q’s and
A’s
-theory of evolution
-adapted to individual environments
-natural selection - adaptive traits to help us survive
-EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptiveness)
-2 million years ago - humans lived on African Savannah
-phobias - evolved to fear snakes, spiders etc - -Explain the 'evolutionary
influences' assumption of the biological approach

--different areas of brain responsible for different functions
-four lobes
-frontal - thinking, creativity + personality
-parietal - sensory info e.g. temp, touch, pain etc
-temporal - memory processing + processing auditory info
-occipital - visual processing
-localisation of language - 8 patients with language problems
-after death, all had damage to specific area of left lobe - Broca's area
-associated with speech production - -Expain the 'localisation of brain
function' assumption of the biological approach

--neurons in brain - gaps between called synapses
-chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) cross synapses to relay message
to brain
-significant in mental health
-e.g. lack of neurotransmitter dopamine causes depression - -Explain the
'neurotransmitters' assumption of the biological approach

-- evolutionary theory
-men naturally attracted to youthful-looking women
-more likely to produce healthy offspring and be able to care for them
-women naturally attracted to strong men - able to get dinner and keep
family alive
-individuals with these traits more likely to survive and produce offspring - -
Explain relationship formation using assumptions of the biological approach

--mental disorders treated with drug therapy
-antianxiety, antipsychotics, and antidepressants
-antidepressants - treats depression
-depression caused by lack of uptake of dopamine + serotonin
-antidepressants reduce rate of reabsorption of neurotransmitters OR
blocking enzyme which breaks down leftover neurotransmitters
-increases uptake of neurotransmitters