Seeing HungryWhy does food look more appealing when you are hungry? Scientists are finding that the same chemical in your stomach that causes hunger also changes how your brain perceives food, as this ScienCentral News video explains. Interviewee: Alain Dagher, Montreal Neurological Institute, Canada Copyright © ScienCentral, Inc., with extra footage courtesy Alain Dagher and the Culinary Institute of America. On page 6 of your textbook, the authors list seven themes that have traditionally defined psychology. Let’s use this video to explore some of those themes as they apply to a single research project. |
| 1. Psychology is an empirical science. If “psychology is an empirical science,” then psychologists must be willing to test their theories using the scientific method. How does Dr. Dagher test his idea that ghrelin influences how we think? |
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| 2. Nature and nurture are inextricably entwined. If humans had a gene that governed the amount of ghrelin produced by an individual, how might genes (nature) influence differences in behavior and thinking (nurture)? Incidentally, there is a gene (called GHRL) that codes for production of ghrelin. This gene is located on Chromosome 3 in humans. |
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| 3. The brain and mind are inseparable. Does the feeling of hunger (mind) come first and then the ghrelin (body)? Or does the ghrelin (body) come before the hunger (mind)? In understanding this issue, do you prefer to think of the mind and body as separate and distinct or do, or do you prefer to think that the mind is the brain’s subjective experience? Which is the approach preferred by most modern scientists? (See pages 7-9.) |
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| 4. The new biological revolution is energizing research. Brain imaging technology in this kind of research has only been available for a bit more than a decade. Similarly, ghrelin, like many other important hormones and neurotransmitters, was discovered very recently (1999 for ghrelin). If you take the neuroimaging results and the hormone ghrelin out of this video, what is left that to help us understand hunger? |
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| 5. The mind is adaptive. According to your book, an adaptation is a physical characteristic, skill or ability that increases an organism’s chances to survive and reproduce. According to the video, what mental processes are affected by ghrelin and how might activating those processes improve an individual’s chances to survive? |
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| 6. Psychological science crosses levels of analysis. Which levels of analysis discussed on pages 13 and 14 (see figure 1.11) are found in the video about ghrelin? |
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| 7. We are often unaware of the multiple influences on how we think, feel, and act. How interesting is the picture below? Think about your answer on the following scale. Not very interesting <-------------------> Very interesting 
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Virtual Alcohol ControlScientists are using virtual reality to help alcoholics cope with situations that might get them in trouble. This ScienCentral News video explains. Interviewee: Patrick Bordnick, University of Houston Copyright © ScienCentral, Inc., with additional footage courtesy Patrick Bordnick and Virtually Better. Our behavior is influenced by what is going on around us, but we don’t necessarily need to respond to those influences. Some psychological problems, such as addictions, cannot be “cured” in the medical sense, but people can often learn to control their own behavior and not respond to the urge to use alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
How can a therapist help a person learn to resist cravings? This video shows work with virtual reality created by computer simulations to work with alcohol addiction. The therapist exposes his or her client to common “triggers” in the environment that stimulate the desire to drink and then works with the person to help him or her develop effective strategies to resist those cravings.
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| 8. Looking at the virtual reality demonstration, what are some of the triggers that the therapist has built into the video? |
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| 9. Dr. Bordick explains that including not only visual experiences, but also smells associated with alcohol, increases realism, and, consequently, makes the situation feel more real. This improves the effectiveness of the therapy. Just as Dr. Bordick added the smell of alcohol to improve the virtual reality experience, suggest one visual addition, one sound addition, and one smell addition that might improve the effectiveness of the virtual reality experience. |
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| 10. Dr. Bordick suggests that virtual reality could be used to help people with addictions to alcohol, marijuana, or tobacco. Suggest another problem that is influenced by triggers that might be helped by virtual reality therapy. |
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Snakes on the BrainNew research by psychologists suggests we're born ready to look for snakes. As this ScienCentral News video reports, a series of experiments showed that people–even toddlers–tend to recognize and locate a snake faster than other plants and animals. Interviewee: Judy DeLoache, University of Virginia Copyright © ScienCentral, Inc. Dr. DeLoache knows that many people fear snakes, but she is asking a tough question that can only be satisfactorily addressed through scientific research: Is this fear innate? |
| 11. On pages 10–11 of your textbook, the authors suggest that our genetically based tendencies are adaptations—characteristics, skills, and abilities that enhanced our ancestors’ chances of survival. Most of us only see snakes in zoos or in pictures. What is the adaptive value of quickly detecting snakes? |
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| 12. Why was it necessary for Dr. DeLoache to test children? Wouldn’t it have been sufficient to show that adults detect snakes more quickly than other stimuli? |
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| 13. In the modern world, snakes are not a major threat. Assuming that natural selection is continuing all the time, what modern “threat” might be undergoing natural selection right now, selecting tendencies for future generations to notice and fear? |
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