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Overview and MajorIssues Introduction
It is often said that Man is unique among animals. It is worth looking at this term Outline
unique before we discuss our subject proper. The word may in this context have two
The Biological Approach to Behavior
slightly different meanings. It may mean: Man is strikingly different—he is not iden-
Biological Explanations of Behavior
tical with any animal. This is of course true. It is true also of all other animals: Each Career Opportunities
species, even each individual, is unique in this sense. But the term is also often used The Use of Animals in Research
in a more absolute sense: Man is so different, so “essentially different” (whatever that In Closing: Your Brain and Your Experience
means) that the gap between him and animals cannot possibly be bridged—he is Learning Objectives
something altogether new. Used in this absolute sense, the term is scientifically mean-
ingless. Its use also reveals and may reinforce conceit, and it leads to complacency and After studying this introduction, you should
be able to:
defeatism because it assumes that it will be futile even to search for animal roots. It is
1. State the mind–brain problem and con-
prejudging the issue. trast monism with dualism.
Niko Tinbergen (1973, p. 161) 2. List three general points that are important
to remember from this text.
3. Give examples of physiological, ontoge-
netic, evolutionary, and functional explana-
W
tions of behavior.
hat is meant by the term biological psychology? In a sense, all psy- 4. Discuss the ethical issues of research with
laboratory animals.
chology is biological. You are a biological organism, and everything
you do or think is part of your biology. However, it is helpful to distinguish
among levels of explanation. All of biology is chemical, and all of chemistry
is physics, but we do not try to explain every biological observation in terms
of protons and electrons. Similarly, much of psychology is best described in
terms of cultural, social, and cognitive influences. Nevertheless, much of psy-
chology is also best understood in terms of genetics, evolution, hormones,
body physiology, and brain mechanisms. This textbook concentrates mostly
on brain mechanisms, but also discusses the other biological influences. In
this chapter, we consider three major issues: the relationship between mind
and brain, the roles of nature and nurture, and the ethics of research. We also
briefly consider career opportunities in this and related fields.
Opposite:
It is tempting to try to “get inside the mind” of people and other animals, to imagine what they
are thinking or feeling. In contrast, biological psychologists try to explain behavior in terms of its
physiology, development, evolution, and function. (© Renee Lynn/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images)
3
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
,4 INTRODUCTION Overview and Major Issues
The Biological Approach to Behavior + Figure Intro.1 A water molecule
Because of the hydrogen-oxygen-
Of all the questions that people ask, two stand out as the most H H hydrogen angle, one end of a water
profound and the most difficult. One of those questions deals molecule is more positive and the
other negative. The exact difference
with physics. The other pertains to the relationship between
in charge causes water molecules to
physics and psychology. O
attract one another just enough to
Gottfried Leibniz (1714/1989) posed the first of these be a liquid.
questions: “Why is there something rather than nothing?”
It would seem that nothingness would be the default state.
Evidently, the universe—or whoever or whatever created the –
universe—had to be self-created.
So . . . how did that happen? ● The mass of a neutron is 0.14 percent greater than that of a
That question is supremely baffling, but a subordinate ques- proton. If the difference had been a little larger, all the hydro-
tion is more amenable to discussion: Given the existence of a uni- gen would have fused into helium, but the helium would not
verse, why this particular kind of universe? Could the universe have have fused into any of the heavier elements (Wilczek, 2015).
been fundamentally different? Our universe has protons, neutrons, ● Why is water (H2O) a liquid? Similar molecules such as
and electrons with particular dimensions of mass and charge. It has carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, ozone, and methane are
four fundamental forces—gravity, electromagnetism, the strong gases except at extremely low temperatures. In a water
nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. What would happen to molecule, the two hydrogen ions form a 104.58 angle (see
the universe if any of these properties had been different? Figure Intro.1). As a result, one end of the water molecule
Beginning in the 1980s, specialists in a branch of physics has a slight positive charge and the other has a slight
known as string theory set out to prove mathematically that negative charge. The difference is enough for water mol-
this is the only possible way the universe could be. Succeed- ecules to attract one another electrically. If they attracted
ing in that effort would have been theoretically satisfying, but one another a bit less, all water would be a gas (steam).
alas, as string theorists worked through their equations, they But if water molecules attracted one another a bit more
concluded that this is not the only possible universe. The uni- strongly, water would always be a solid (ice).
verse could have taken a vast number of forms with different
laws of physics. How vast a number? Imagine the number 1 In short, the universe could have been different in many
followed by about 500 zeros. And that’s the low estimate. ways, nearly all of which would have made life impossible.
Of all those possible universes, how many could have sup- Why is the universe the way it is? Maybe it’s just a coinci-
ported life? Very few. Consider the following (Davies, 2006): dence. (Lucky for us, huh?) Or maybe intelligence of some sort
guided the formation of the universe. That hypothesis clearly
● If gravity were weaker, matter would not condense into goes beyond the reach of empirical science. A third possibil-
stars and planets. If it were stronger, stars would burn ity that many physicists favor is that a huge number of other
brighter and use up their fuel too quickly for life to evolve. universes (perhaps an infinite number) really do exist, and we
● If the electromagnetic force were stronger, the protons of course know about only the kind of universe in which we
within an atom would repel one another so strongly that could evolve. That hypothesis, too, goes beyond the reach of
atoms would burst apart. empirical science, as we cannot know about other universes.
● In the beginning was hydrogen. The other elements Will we ever know why the universe is the way it is? Maybe or
formed by fusion within stars. The only way to get those maybe not, but the question is fascinating.
elements out of stars and into planets is for a star to At the start I mentioned two profound and difficult ques-
explode as a supernova and send its contents out into the tions. The second one is called the mind–brain problem or
galaxy. If the weak nuclear force were either a bit stronger the mind–body problem, the question of how mind relates to
or a bit weaker, a star could not explode. brain activity. Put another way: Given a universe composed of
● Because of the exact ratio of the electromagnetic force to matter and energy, why is there such a thing as consciousness?
the strong nuclear force, helium (element 2 on the peri- We can imagine how matter came together to form molecules,
odic table) and beryllium (element 4) go into resonance and how certain kinds of carbon compounds came together to
within a star, enabling them to fuse easily into carbon form a primitive type of life, which then evolved into animals
(element 6), which is essential to life as we know it. (It’s with brains and complex behaviors. But why are certain types
hard to talk about life as we don’t know it.) If either of brain activity conscious?
the electromagnetic force or the strong nuclear force So far, no one has offered a convincing explanation of
changed slightly (less than one percent), the universe consciousness. A few scholars have suggested that we abandon
would have almost no carbon. the concept of consciousness altogether (Churchland, 1986;
● The electromagnetic force is 1040 times stronger than Dennett, 1991). That proposal avoids the question, rather
gravity. If gravity were a bit stronger relative to the elec- than answering it. Consciousness is something we experience,
tromagnetic force, planets would not form. If it were a bit and it calls for an explanation, even if we do not yet see how
weaker, planets would consist of only gases. to explain it. Chalmers (2007) and Rensch (1977) proposed,
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
, -
The Biological Approach to Behavior 5
Dorsal view (from above) Ventral view (from below)
Frontal
lobe of Longitudinal
cerebral fissure
Frontal lobe cortex
Olfactory
Precentral gyrus bulbs
Temporal
Courtesy of Dr. Dana Copeland; Dr. Dana Copeland
Central sulcus Anterior lobe of
cerebral Optic
Postcentral gyrus cortex nerves
Parietal lobe
Posterior Medulla
Cerebellum Spinal cord
Occipital lobe
Figure Intro.2 Two views of the human brain
The brain has an enormous number of divisions and subareas; the labels point to a few of the main ones on the surface of the brain.
instead, that we regard consciousness as a fundamental prop- of brain mechanisms, and that we evolved those brain mech-
erty of matter. A fundamental property is one that cannot be anisms because ancient animals built this way survived and
reduced to something else. For example, mass and electrical reproduced.
charge are fundamental properties. Maybe consciousness is Biological psychology deals mostly with brain activity. Fig-
like that. ure Intro.2 offers a view of the human brain from the top (what
However, that is an unsatisfying answer. First, conscious- anatomists call a dorsal view) and from the bottom (a ventral
ness isn’t like other fundamental properties. Matter has mass view). The labels point to a few important areas that will be-
all the time, and protons and electrons have charge all the time. come more familiar as you proceed through this text. An in-
So far as we can tell, consciousness occurs only in certain parts spection of a brain reveals distinct subareas. At the microscopic
of a nervous system, just some of the time—not when you are level, we find two kinds of cells: the neurons (Figure Intro.3)
in a dreamless sleep, and not when you are in a coma. Be-
sides, it’s unsatisfying to call anything a fundamental property,
even mass or charge. To say that mass is a fundamental prop-
erty doesn’t mean that there is no reason. It means that we
have given up on finding a reason. And, in fact, contemporary
physicists have not given up. They are trying to explain mass
and charge in terms of the Higgs boson and other principles
of the universe. To say that consciousness is a fundamental
property would mean that we have given up on explaining it.
Certainly it is too soon to give up. After we learn as much as
possible about the nervous system, perhaps we shall under-
stand what consciousness is all about. Even if not, the research
will teach us much that is important and interesting.
Ron Boardman/Life Science Image/FLPA/Science Source
The Field of Biological Psychology
Biological psychology is the study of the physiological, evo-
lutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behavior and
experience. It is approximately synonymous with the terms
biopsychology, psychobiology, physiological psychology, and be-
havioral neuroscience. The term biological psychology empha-
sizes that the goal is to relate biology to issues of psychology.
Neuroscience includes much that is relevant to behavior but
also includes more detail about anatomy and chemistry.
Biological psychology is not only a field of study, but also Figure Intro.3 Neurons, magnified
The brain is composed of cells called neurons and glia.
a point of view. It holds that we think and act as we do because
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
, 6 INTRODUCTION Overview and Major Issues
and the glia. Neurons, which convey messages to one another evidence tell us why people became depressed? No, it
and to muscles and glands, vary enormously in size, shape, does not. To illustrate, consider that people with depres-
and functions. The glia, generally smaller than neurons, have sion also have less activity than normal in their legs.
many functions but do not convey information over great (They don’t move around as much as other people do.)
distances. The activities of neurons and glia somehow pro- Clearly, the inactive legs did not cause depression. Sup-
duce an enormous wealth of behavior and experience. This pose we also find that certain genes are less common than
book is about researchers’ attempts to elaborate on that word average among people with depression. Does that genetic
somehow. difference explain depression? Again, it does not. It might
be a useful step toward explaining depression, after we
Three Main Points to Remember understand what those genes do, but the genetic differ-
from This Book ence itself does not explain anything. In short, we should
avoid overstating the conclusions from any research study.
This book presents a great deal of factual information. How
much of it will you remember a few years from now? If you
enter a career in psychology, biology, or medicine, you might
continue using a great deal of the information. Otherwise,
Biological Explanations of Behavior
you will inevitably forget many of the facts, although you Commonsense explanations of behavior often refer to inten-
will occasionally read about a new research study that re- tional goals such as, “He did this because he was trying to . . .”
freshes your memory. Regardless of how many details you or “She did that because she wanted to. . . .” But often, we have
remember, at least three general points should stick with you
forever:
1. Perception occurs in your brain. When something
contacts your hand, the hand sends a message to your
brain. You feel it in your brain, not your hand. (Elec-
trical stimulation of your brain could produce a hand
experience even if you had no hand. A hand discon-
nected from your brain has no experience.) Similarly,
you see when light comes into your eyes. The experi-
ence is in your head, not “out there.” You do NOT send
“sight rays” out of your eyes, and even if you did, they
wouldn’t do you any good. The chapter on vision elabo-
rates on this point.
2. Mental activity and certain types of brain activity are, so
far as we can tell, inseparable. This position is known as
monism, the idea that the universe consists of only one
type of being. (The opposite is dualism, the idea that minds
are one type of substance and matter is another.) Nearly all
neuroscientists and philosophers support the position of
monism. You should understand monism and the evidence
behind it. The chapter on consciousness considers this
issue directly, but nearly everything in the book pertains to
the mind–brain relationship in one way or another.
It is not easy to get used to the concept of monism.
According to monism, your thoughts or experiences
are the same thing as your brain activity. People some-
Dorr/Premium Stock/Jupiter Images
times ask whether brain activity causes thoughts, or
whether thoughts direct the brain activity (e.g., Miller,
2010). According to monism, that question is like asking
whether temperature causes the movement of molecules,
or whether the movement of molecules causes tempera-
ture. Neither causes the other; they are just different ways
of describing the same thing.
3. We should be cautious about what is an explanation and Researchers continue to debate the function of yawning. Brain mecha-
nisms produce many behaviors that we engage in without necessarily
what is not. For example, people with depression have
knowing why.
less than usual activity in certain brain areas. Does that
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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