Psychobio Theme 1-2

Psychobiology

A pluralistic science

A scientific area that studies the biology of behavior and underlying psychological processes

Very broad (observable and unobservable processes)

—> definition def by concept of biology

Three Fundamental concepts of biology

1. Biologies that result from the hierarchy of organizational levels

2. Biologies that result from reductionist vs organicist positions

3. Biologies that result from immediate or proximal causes versus ultimate or distal cause

BiologieS — pluralism

Multiple Levels of Organization — no one explanation is sufficient 

1. Levels of Organization 

2. Reductionism vs Organicism

   • provincial vs autonomous

3. Proximate vs Ultimate causes

   • functional vs evolutionary

Basic Biological Principle (levels of organization)

Organisms and their environment are systems made of components/subsystems 

—> Hierarchical organization

Behavior starts at the ORGANISMIC level —> top of hierarchy

(lower levels explain behavior of higher)

Levels of Organization

Infra-Organisms: levels below the organismic level (atoms —> organ system)

Organismic Level: organism itself (multicellular)

Supra-Organisms: (groups) levels above organismic (populations —> biosphere)

Types of biology that study the levels of organization

Cell + Molecular Bio: studies infra levels (HORIZ causal relationships)

Organismic Bio: studies organisms (Horiz + Vert relationships)

Population Bio: studies Supra levels (Horiz + Vert relationships)

Reductionism (atomistic — parts)

REDUCING the explanation of the functioning of the whole system to the sum of the explanations of its parts

“breaking complex systems into smaller parts”

PRO: analyzing specific parts — precise explanations

CON: overlooks emergent properties

Reductionism vs Organicism 

two Philosophical Approaches to understanding living things 

Reductionism — UPWARD causation ^^

Organicism — Two-Way causation 

Organicism (holistic — whole)

Living systems can only be understood as INTEGRATED WHOLES, not just sum of parts — interactions!

PRO: can see dynamics & interdependence, emergent properties 

CON: hard to test

Provincial vs Autonomous Biology

Reductionism —> Provincial (narrow, specialized)

Provincial Biology ACCEPTS: all 3

MAIN IDEA: bio can & should be reduced to chem & physics

Constitutive: living systems are MADE OF physical & chemical parts

Explanatory: bio can be EXPLAINED in terms of physics & chem

Theory: bio THEORIES can be DERIVED from laws of chem/physics

Organicism —> Autonomous

Autonomous Biology ACCEPTS: Constitutive Reductionism & REJECTS Explanatory & Theory Reductionism

MAIN IDEA: bio cant be fully reduced to lower sciences

Constitutive: same

Explanatory: explanations of life CANT be fully given in chem/phys terms

Theory: theories NOT derivable from chem/phys

Immediate or Proximate Causation VS Distal or Ultimate Causation

time scales on which causal relationships are sought and established

Immediate/Proximate Causation: within lifetime of organism, HOW, the “mechanism”

—> Functional Biology (how things work)

Distal/Ultimate Causation: across generations, WHY, the evolutionary reason why

—> Evolutionary Biology (origins, adaptation, nat selec)

Design and Function

Design: role a trait plays in survival/reproduction

Function: form, structure, pattern of biological traits (arises from evolutionary processes)

Optimality Principle

Natural selection tends to shape traits that maximize fitness under given constraints

—> Living things are OPTIMALLY DESIGNED to maximize survival & reproduction  

What is maximized by the optimality principle? 

BIOLOGICAL FITNESS 

Winnie the Pooh effect

The bear adapted to look more childish for potential buyers

—> it evolved

biological fitness

the ability to survive and reproduce

Social Brain Hypothesis

The complex social environment in which individuals of some social species live must have promoted the evolution of a larger relative size of the cortex (area of brain specialized in management of socially relevant info)

complexity of social life (living in groups, competition) —> primary DRIVER of EVOLUTION of LARGER BRAINS

Purpose & Agency

Purpose:

Teleological thinking says everything is for a purpose — misleading (REJECT!)

Ex: design of organs are for a purpose

Agency:

Capacity of living organisms to act in response to their environ in a way that reflects GOAL-DIRECTED behavior

—> organism has the capacity to self-regulate

—> organism w/this capactiy = “agent”

Ex: cells are agents

Two Theological Systems

“Telos” = “end” “purpose” “goal” toward which something is directed

Teleonomic: living systems evolve in a PREDICTABLE way — GENETIC CODE is INSTRUCTIONS to know what characteristics will appear through time

“Nomic” = living organisms governed by DNA

Teleomatic: NON-living systems; predicting the changes in terms of laws of physics 

Ex: a stone is lead to decompose due to erosion

“Matic” = “automatically” predicted by laws of physics

Antagonistic Options (Trade-offs)

Survival VS Reproduction

Mating VS Parenting 

~ antagonism btwn maximizing both ~

—> so many things in an organism’s life that CANT be MAXIMIZED at the same time bc of ENERGY CONSTRAINT

—> suboptimal solutions (compromises), but its the best of the possible solutions

Ex: brain is 10% of body but takes 30% of energy —> shrinking of gut

—> existence of trade-offs largely EXPLAIN why DESGIN of organism is IMPERFECT

           —> supports optimality principle 

Coevolution

Coevolution: process where two or more species reciprocally influence each other’s evolution over time 

—> a mutual adaptation among more than one species

Arms Race: predator and prey coevolve — rate of evolution set by other individual — no shared interests, success depends on the others’ failure 

—> occurs at EVERY level of hierarchy

Conflicts and Coevolution

if resources were unlimited, there would be no conflict 

Sexuality: traits that benefit one sex can impose costs on the other —> traits coevolve

Competition before mating:

Precopulatory competition

Precopulatory mate choice

Sexual Coercion

Mate Guarding

— Males evolve traits to increase mating opportunity, females evolve counter-traits to maintain choice/resistance, males kill offspring of female they want to mate with 

After Mating: (postcopulatory)

Sperm Competition (if males cant compete physically)

Criptic Mate Choice: after copulation, females use hidden techniques to influence which sperm fertilize the egg

Genomic Imprinting: ONE of the ALLELES of mother or father is SILENCED (via dna methylation or histone modification — epigenetic marks)

Causal Relations

Search for causality: finding variables that are the cause and those that are the effect

(cause and effect arrows point up, down, or both directions)

Ex: #offspring depends on amount of food resources

Mating System: (male size/tools)

Monogamy — 1:1

least competition 

Polygamy — 1 male: multiple females

MOST comp — male competes with incoming males

Polygynandry/Promiscuity: multiple males: multiple females

2nd MOST — fights less direct bc multiple males mate simultaneously (sperm comp more important here)

Mating system: sperm comp

Mono - middle (sometimes females still mate w/extra males)

Poly — almost NO comp

Polygyn — HIGH bc mult males mate with mult females

High Sperm Competition

INCREASE:

sperm length

size of testes

complexity of reproductive morphology

Evolutionary tree

ladder — WRONG “horse is an imperfect version of a human” (humans at top)

tree — species evolved to specific niches, each branch = unique characteristic

           nodes = common ancestor

Correlated Evolution vs Convergent 

Correlated: two traits within a species or btwn interacting species evolve in a correlated way bc of selection pressures

Convergent: UNRELATED SPECIES independently evolve similar traits bc similar environmental pressures

Animal Model (anthropocentric approach)

Using non-human animals to study humans

“antrho” = “human”

Human relevance is primary criterion

the ladder model

Anthropocentric Approach: worldview that places humans at the center of existence and considers them the most important entities

Model Animal (biological approach)

NO human supremacy

diff species are studied for the problem that interests us

—> answers that form general principles for any particular species

evolutionary tree model

Ontogeny VS Phylogeny

Ontogeny: describes how humans/animals develop

(individual history)

Phylogeny: studies the origin & development of various species on our planet

(evolutionary history)

Interpenetration and Nice Construction

Interpenetration: organisms & environ are deeply entangled

—> environments PENETRATE organisms & vice versa

Niche Construction: organisms modify environment —> change selective pressures acting on themselves 

—> organisms ADAPT to & SHAPE environments 

• no organism w/o environ

• no environ w/o organism

• organism is environment 

  • emergent properties

Conventional vs Extended Model

Conventional: environment SHAPES the organism, offspring shaped due to inheritance of genes

—> organisms adapt

Extended: environment SHAPES organism AND organism SHAPES environment, we INHERIT GENES and ENVIRONMENT situations

—> organisms adapt to & modify environ, feedback loops

Models of Inheritance

Genetic and non-genetic inheritance

Genetic Inheritance: info contained in DNA (mainly vertical)

Epigenetic Inheritance: info contained in epigenome of gametes (vertical)

Parental Inheritance: any effect on parents’ genotype or phenotype that affect childs phenotype (gene expression) (vertical)

Ecological Inheritance: activity of organism modified environ —> effects memebers of same generation —> effects members of diff generations (some non-vertical — includes horiz & oblique)

Cultural Inheritance: info transmitted socially (all)

Transmission of inheritance:

Vertical arrow: related individuals (Parents)

Oblique: non-related individuals (ex: someone that influenced ur parents —> you)

Horizontal: related OR non-related in same generation OR not same gen (siblings, peers, etc)

Maternal Licking & Grooming

• Low maternal care & high maternal care are vertical downward relationships

• Oxytocin & oxytocin receptor = horizontal relationship

• Behavior of mothers alters oxytocin

  • High maternal care turns gene ON, Low means gene NOT EXPRESSED

Epigenesis

“Epi” = “upon”

“Genesis” = “origin” or “beginning”

What happens upon the origin? (what develops after the start of fertilization)

Epigenesis: process that tries to explain development of organism

Predetermined Epigenesis: development is programmed and unfolds this preexisting plan

Key Idea: linear (genes —> brain structure —> behavior)

Implications: environ has minimal role, genetics PRESET outcomes

Probabilistic Epigenesis: development is a result of genes, behavior, & environ

Key Idea: genes don’t rigidly determine outcomes, shaped by CONT. INTERACTION

Implications, traits emerge thru feedback loops, bio+environ influence each other

Concept of Coaction

multiple developmental factors work together 

bidirectional influences 

every level affects & is affected by others 

(environ, behavior, neural, genetic)

Ethology (animal behavior science)

the study of behavior and mind

comparative psychology = contemporary ethology

The 4 Whys/Causes of behavior (proposed by ethologists)

If a trait has to do with behavior —> ask 4 Whys

Proximate = HOW (functional bio)

Ultimate = WHY (uwu = ultimately why)(evolutionary bio)

1. Causation/Control (proximate & current)

   • What are the underlying mechanisms? Internal/External stimuli

2. Function/Adaptive Value (ultimate & current)

   • What is the impact on its biological fitness? The adaptations

3. Development/Ontogeny (proximate & historical)

   • How does it arise in the individual? Origin, patterns of development

4. Evolution/Phylogeny (ultimate & historical)

   • How did it arise in their ancestors? When did it originate? Future consequences?

Red Queen Hypothesis

idea from evolutionary biology that suggests species must constantly adapt and evolve not just for advantage, but simply to survive while interacting with other evolving species

Context: 

Red Queen tells Alice “It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place”

Clever Hans Effect

psychological phenomenon where an animal (or person) seems to perform a task (like solving math problems or answering questions) but is actually responding to subtle, unintentional cues from humans rather than truly understanding

Context:

Clever Hans was a horse that appeared to do arithmetic, but actually picked up on tiny changes in his trainer’s posture, facial expression, or breathing that signaled when to stop tapping.

—> importance of blind experiments (eliminating hidden bias) and that behavioral responses don’t necessarily mean true comprehension

Narrow vs Broad sense of Psychobiology

Narrow — organisms adapt to environ, genetic inheritance, evolution overlooked, predetermined epigenesis, evolutionary ladder, anthropocentric & Animal model, focus on lower levels of organization, accepts all 3 reductionsisms, horizontal & bottom up causal relations (focus on one-way), proximate —> functional bio

Broad — interpenetration, includes non-genetic inheritance, evolution emphasized, probabilistic epigenesis, evolutionary tree, Biological & Model animal, focus on multiple levels of organization (organisms & population!), only accepts constitutive reductionism, horizontal and top down causal relations (focus on two-way), proximate and ultimate —> functional and evolutionary

Psychobiology’s main contribution to the other psychologies

1. The integrative perspective w/respect to levels of organization

2. The study of ultimate causes (evolutionary) and its integration w/info on proximate causes (functional)

Empirical-inductive method vs Hypotheticl-inductive method

Empirical-inductive method: Knowledge from observation and experience —>

1. gather data

2. observe patterns

3. formulate general laws/theories from observations

observe then generalize

Hypothetical-inductive method: the scientific method

1. hypothesis (tentative explanation)

2. deduce predictions (deduce = draw)

3. Test

4. Compare

hypothesis then test

Experimental vs Correlational

Experimental —> causal hypothesis —> experimental or quasi experiment

Correlational —> covariation hypothesis —> questionnaire, observational

Validity vs reliability

Validity: to what extent the tool/measurement is capable of answering the question

(external validity = generalizability to pop)

confounding var decr validity

Reliability: (repeatability) if you replicate, will you get the same answer

Correlational: HIGH validity, LOW reliability 

Experimental: LOW validity, HIGH reliability

Imaging genetics

allows for estimation of genetic effects at the level of brain info processing — represents a more proximate biological link to genes and an intermediate of behavior

Methods:

EEG: non-invasive

Single-cell: invasive

TIMS: non-invasive

tDCS: non-invasive

MEG: non-invasive

PET: invasive

fMRI: non-invasive

Anthropomorphism, Anthropodenial, Anthropofabulation

Anthropomorphism: attributing human traits to non-humans

Anthropodenial: denying human-like traits in animals even when evidence exists

Anthropofabulation: inventing elaborate or fictional human-like stories about non-humans

Social Deprivation study 

if babies are deprived by their mother —> when they have a baby they will be physical abusers to the point of killing babies, due to their emotional development

Tactical Deceptions (lions)

Situations where an individual deliberately misleads others to gain some advantage

Lower ranking individuals do this more often as a strategy to avoid conflict

Higher ranking individuals usually assert dominance openly

when female moves far from male or male contacts with some outsider, the male activates the hierarchy behavior

females stay close to male to avoid punishment

Counting Skills

monkey moving the stick, diff btwn learning and knowing the error

—> it took for than 100 trials to learn that if they push from one side of the stick, that the treat would fall, and they don’t get the point, and they failed the tasks

Key Takeaway: monkey can eventually learn through repeated exposure, but lacks a clear cognitive understanding of cause and effect

Theory of Mind (ToM)

ability to understand that other people (or animals) have their own thoughts, beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that may be different from your own

ex: sally puts the ball in the basket, ben moves the ball to a box

ToM: sally will look for the ball in the basket

NO ToM: sally will look for ball in the box (bc they know its there)