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Terms in this set (23)

nature =

nurture=
=inherited, bio/physio, instinctual, evolutionary, genetic

=experience, developmental, learned, socially constructed, blank slate
our genes are heavily influences by ______.

how?

explain the bread pic?
-our evolutionary history

-if we change these genes, we produce different experiences. (e.g., access to resources influenced by skin color). the way we are born the way we are, that provides a certain opportunity for certain environments, including how people treat you and what opportunities you have.

-think of the ingredients as your biology/nature, what makes you up. in order for those ingredients to become a baked good, you have to put it in an environment - oven, temp, how humid it is = thats the nurture part. if you just have an oven, then no bread. if its just the ingredients, then no bread. in order to get any kind of bread you need to have ingredients AND environemnt (aka, interaction)
(stuff about the graph, look over it)
ok
what is the current theory of brain evolution?

there are areas of the brain linked to intelligence, and these have grown larger in humans. what area would this be?
-size of brain does not determine how intelligent you are

-cerrebellum
what is the cerebellum?

do only humans have it? how do humans compare?
-comtrolls bodily functions, unconscious, breathing/heart/etc.

-every species has a cerebellum/cerebrum (iidk).
-humans have the largest ratio of cerebrum to cerebellum. (if you look at a rat, almost equal. if you look at a fish, even worse).
there have been changes in the _______. what changes?

what is that brain area involved in?

so...
-cerebrum. there have been changes that have evolved that increased size/capabilities of cerebrum.

-cerebrum - learning, memory, motivation, perception, bodily movement.

-so all those cognitive abilities that come with it have increased in us.
what are fissures?

is it like a balloon?

what if you compare the fissures of our brain to a rats brain?
-its tissue on the brain folding in on itself. it increases cortex surface area.

-NO (not like getting bigger and bigger... we'd have huge heads). instead, our brain folds in on itself. so we have more neurons, then more abilities.

-we have way more fissures than rats. rats' brains are almost smooth. so we look at the amount of fissures the brain has undergone in order to increase cognitive abilities
how is brain weight measured? (absolute?)

what species have the largest absolute brain size?
volume, measured in cubic centimeters (absolute? balloon?)

-humans
what are the 3 ways of measuring brain size?
-absolute brain size
-relative brain size
-encephalization quotient (EQ)
what is absolute brain size?

what is it tied to? so?
-its ABSOLUTE. so like the balloon thing, volume. (theres 3 great apes, we have a bigger absolute than the other 2 great apes)

-tied to your body size.
-so you cant compare your absolute to like an elephant. doesnt make sense
what is relative brain size? how is it measured?

how is it different?

what is the control?

how do humans compare?

what does it tell us about intelligence?
-here you take the overall brain volume and divide that by body size.

-here we get a little more idea of how big is that animals brain for its body size

-in a sense, controlling for body size (e.g., whale has huge brain, but also has huge body so)

-humans still have larger brain

-still doesnt tell us too much about intelligence
what is a encephalization quotient (EQ) based off of?

explain the graph?

what does it "do"?

how do you get the actual EQ?
-based off a regression

-line going up

-it PREDICTS that we should be like 5.5., but the actual data point is way up there

-the DIFFERENCE = the EQ, so just subtract Y value (data point) from predicted value.
encephalization quotient (*pic)
if there is a species that is consistently above the line?

what does that mean CONCEPTUALLY?
= positive EQ. probably that species has more brain than what they would need for body size.

-somethin in their evolutionary history has caused them to grow bigger brains than what is actually needed for their body. so we'd expect higher levels of intelligence.
what does it not mean if a species is under?

what does it mean?

what does it mean CONCEPTUALLY? (what else could you argue?)
does NOT mean that species is just dumb and waiting to diee

-its a regression line so some have to fall above and some below. all it means is they have less brain mass compared to body size.

-it probably means in evolutionary history they didnt need as big of a brain or didnt need as much of those cognitive abilities
(could also argue maybe pressure that made them need to have smaller brain sizes so that it could run more efficiently)
what would you say if it is negative? NOT what?

below the line means what?

examples of other species with higher EQs?
-"smaller brain than what you would predict for a species of that body size"... NOT ratio

-means they can survive on less brain matter and they redistributed for other purposes

-dolphins, dogs
what are the reasons that humans' brains grown so large?
-diet dependent
-temperature
-cognitive development
-social development
-developmental time
explain the suggestion that humans' brains have grown large due to diet dependent?
-we eat almost every kind of food available. most other species have been restricted to a certain diet.
-our brain is metabolically expensive. so all that food, takes a lot to fuel this brain.
explain the suggestion of humans brain growth because of temperature dependent?

what about the equator?
-they suggested environmental temperature and brain size. encountering lower temperatures

-as we moved away from hot equator zones in our past, it allowed our brain to grow larger because it was easier to cool itself. the brain could maintain a temperature framework better.
cognitive development & brain growth?

what about other?
-once we moved away, there were suddenly seasons. (e.g., food drying out). so now we had lots of cognitive demands, because that means you have to plan for the future much better. you have to think about how to store food, protect food, make sure it doesnt go bad. all that involves lots of different cog skills.

-we also started building shelters to insulate us, fires (not just for cooking, but now also for warmth). group sizes also increased.
-lots of changes in the environemnt after we moved out of Africa, which put a unique challenge on our brains that it hadnt experienced before
what about social development & brain growth?
-more permanent structures, which means group sizes got larger. so you need to be able to understand what other people are thinking, etc.
-manipulating social groups could've been one of the major drivers in our intelligence (e.g., why we are able to lie)
development time & brain growth?

what is K vs. r species? r?
-we are one of the only species born completely incapable of taking care of ourself, and we also have a really long post-naval time.
-our society allows for that. e.g. insurance till you're 21, non-adult criminal punishment not as bad
-all this time is REALLY imp for cog devel!!!!

-can find food on their own, can navigate, have many offspring at the same time(e.g., fish, mom swims away, eggs waiting to hatch, high # of offspring but very little investment to offspring
-r = low investment, high quantity
-K= prekoshal (or koshal?)
-humans are "K selected" offspring, typically only one at a time, we invest ALOT into each one
-K = high investment, low quantity
(more on notes)
poo
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