Biological approach revision guide

The brain and behaviour

For each of the following questions, be able to do the following:

1. Think about which terms and/or theories would be necessary to define or explain.
2. Provide 2 - 3 studies that could be used to answer the question.
3. How would you demonstrate critical thinking relevant to the question?
4. How would different command terms lead to different responses? (SAQ: Outline, describe,
explain); ERQ (Discuss, evaluate, contrast, to what extent)

Question 1.  Discuss one or more techniques used to study the brain in relation to behaviour.

Terms/theories: MRI, fMRI, artifacts, PET.  For whichever technique you choose, you should be able to
provide a basic explanation of how the technique works.
Research: Baumgartner et al (2008), HM: Milner (1966), Harris & Fiske (2006), LeVay (1991), Maguire
(2000), Sharot et al (2007),  Raine on murderers, Cohen et al on resilience, Fisher on the "love cocktail" -
any study can be used that uses brain technology.  Just be sure that you know which study uses which
technology.
Critical thinking: Bennett et al's Dead Salmon study on the imprecise nature of fMRIs, the over-
interpretation of colour coding, the issue of artifacts, the lack of ecological validity in studies, the problem
that cost of running fMRIs often leads to small sample sizes, this technology allows for global researcher
triangulation, use of databases is making it easier to obtain samples (eg. Maguire), lack of cause and effect.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs:  Evaluate

Question 2.  Discuss localization of behaviour.

Terms/theories: Localization, lateralization.

Research: HM: Milner (1966), Harris & Fiske (2006), LeVay (1991), Maguire (2000), Sharot et al
(2007), Draganski (2004), Warrington and Shallice's study of KF (1970), The Case of Eugene Pauly 
Critical thinking: Localization research is often limited to very specific behaviours, for example, spatial
memory, habits, etc. Memory as a whole is distributed throughout the brain.  Most of the research is of two
types - animal research, in which direct manipulation of an IV can be carried out through lesioning - or
correlational research, such as many of the quasi-experiments that are done.  Some of the studies above
also are drawing indirect conclusions - e.g. Draganski and Maguire - about the specific role of certain areas
of the brain.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: Evaluate research

Question 3.  Discuss research on neuroplasticity.

Terms/theories: Plasticity, neural network, long-term potentiation, neural pruning, dendritic branching
Research: Maguire (2000), Draganski (2004), Rosenzweig, Bennet & Diamond (1972) 
Critical thinking: Neuroplasticity can be observed at multiple scales, from microscopic changes in
individual neurons to larger-scale changes such as cortical remapping in response to injury. However,

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when it comes to studying the role of behaviour in the brain, it cannot be observed "live."  Research is
generally correlational in nature; some research is also prospective in nature which allows the researcher to
observe change over time; however, these studies are often low in internal validity as it is not possible to
control for extraneous variables. Animal research tends to be more highly controlled, but this is difficult to
generalize to humans. Although the physiological processes are the same, there are differences in the level
of cognitive complexity between people and animals.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: Evaluate

Question 4.  Discuss neurotransmitters and their effect on behaviour.

Terms/theories: Memory consolidation, acetylcholine, antagonist (scopolamine)

Research: Acetylcholine: Antonova (2011), Rogers & Kesner (2003), Troster and Beatty (1989); research
on serotonin and depression may be used as well - for example, Rausch et al (1985), Moreno and Delgado
(2000), Ansorge et al (2004)
Critical thinking: Attributing complex human behaviours to neurotransmitters is reductionist, this
approach has, however, led to drug treatments. Research on animals may not be generalized to humans, but
there are clear similarities in the physiological processes.  There are ethical concerns with some of the
research. Studies may lack ecological validity, not showing how the neurotransmitter functions in normal
human behaviour.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: Evaluate research

Question 5.  Discuss ethical considerations in the study of the brain and behaviour

Terms/theories: You should be able to "unpack" each of the ethical considerations that you discuss - e.g.
what does "informed consent" mean?
Research:  Any of the studies above could be used to answer this question.
Critical thinking: The complexities of informed consent in the study of HM, the use of animals in research
( Rogers and Kesner); Undue stress or harm ( Rosenzweig et al), the importance of anonymity in HM or
KF's case study.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: No other command terms may be
used.

Question 6.  Discuss the use of one research method in the study of the brain and behaviour
Terms/theories: You should be able to define any research methods that you choose: experiments,
observations, interviews, questionnaires or case studies.
Research: Case studies ( HM, KF), experiments ( Rogers and Kesner, Draganski, Maguire, Troster and
Beatty)
Critical thinking: Causality; the problems of artificiality and ecological validity; the importance of
replication, internal validity and construct validity (aka face validity).
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: Evaluate, contrast

The following questions will only be asked on the 2020 exam and later - and will only be asked as SAQs.

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Question 7.  Explain the role of antagonists with reference to one study.

Terms/theories: Antagonist.  You should be able to explain how antagonist works.

Research: Troster and Beatty (1989), Rasmusson and Dadar (1979) or Antonova (2011).  An animal study
would be Rogers & Kesner (2003), although it would most likely be better to use a human study. oR
Ketamine: An antagonist used in the treatment of depression | IB Psychology (themantic-education.com)-
IB THEMATIC AS TAUGHT IN CLASS
Different command terms: Outline, describe, explain. This question may not be asked as an essay question

Question 8.  Explain the formation of neural networks with the use of one study

Terms/theories: Neuroplasticity, long-term potentiation, neural network, synapse.

Research: Maguire (2000), Dragansky.  Be careful not to just describe the study.  You should use the study
as context to explain how the researchers explain, for example, that the posterior hippocampi are larger in
Maguire's taxi drivers.
Different command terms: Outline, describe, explain. This question may not be asked as an essay question

Question 9.  Explain neural pruning with reference to one study.

Terms/theories: Neuroplasticity, neural pruning

Research: Draganski
Different command terms: Outline, describe, explain. This question may not be asked as an essay question

Question 10.  Explain the role of one agonist with reference to one study.

Terms/theories: There are two types of agonists - endogenous and exogenous.  An endogenous agonist is
any biological chemical that binds to a receptor site.  This may be a hormone (such as oxytocin, which acts
as a neurotransmitter in some cases) or a neurotransmitter (such as serotonin, dopamine or acetylcholine). 
Exogenous agonists are drugs that attach to a receptor site for a neurotransmitter and excite the neuron.
Agonists may also prevent the inhibition of a neuron - as is the case of physostigmine which prevents the
breakdown of acetylcholine.
Research:  Any study of a neurotransmitter would work here.  But you should be able to explain how an
agonist actually works. OR Example SAQ - How agonists affect behaviour | IB Psychology (themantic-
education.com)
Different command terms: Outline, describe, explain. This question may not be asked as an essay question

Explain the role of inhibitory or excitatory synapses in one behaviour.

Terms/theories: Excitatory and inhibitory synapses.

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Research:  Studies of inhibitory synapses include studies of serotonin or GABA: Prevot et al
(2019), Serotonin hypothesis (1967). Studies of excitatory synapses include studies of dopamine,
acetylcholine or norepinephrine: Rogers & Kesner (2003), Antonova (2011), Troster and Beatty (1989).
Different command terms: Outline, describe, explain. This question may not be asked as an essay question.
Question 1: Discuss one or more hormones and their effect on human behaviour.
Terms/theories: Hormone - and an explanation of the normal role of the hormone.  For example, if you are
writing about the effect of cortisol on memory, then the normal role of cortisol should be explained - and
the gland where it is secreted would ideally be mentioned.
Research: Adrenaline and flashbulb memory ( McGaugh & Cahill, Pitman et al); Cortisol and memory
(Meaney et al, Sapolsky, Brenner, Carion, Newcomer); Testosterone and risk-taking ( Ronay and von
Hippel, Zak (2009)); oxytocin and trust (Baumgartner); vasopressin and attachment (Walum, Winslow)
Critical thinking: The reductionist nature of attributing complex human behaviours to a single hormone;
the indirect way in which hormones are often measured, the difficulty of measuring hormones in a
naturalistic setting; when not experimental, then correlations are drawn which may be based on
assumptions.
Different command terms: SAQs: outline, describe, explain; ERQs: Evaluate research...
Question 2: Discuss the potential role of pheromones in human behaviour.
Terms/theories: Pheromone.  If you are writing about MHC or AND, then you should explain what it is. 
Research: Androstadienone (Zhou et al, Hare et al);  MHC (Wedekind); Pheromone potentially for babies'
suck response (Doucet)
Critical thinking: There are several problems with the pheromone arguments.  First, the human sense of
smell is very complex, which makes it very difficult to see how pheromones would work in humans. 
Many body odours are actually not caused by secretions, but by bacteria that mix with our secretions - for
example, in the armpits.  However, about 20% of the population does not have this bacteria and thus does
not create the same scent.  This makes a universal finding of pheromones a bit less likely.  In addition,
culture plays a key role in our sense of smell - we learn what smells bad and what smells good.  This could
potentially be a confounding variable when trying to determine the role of pheromones on behaviour. 
Finally, much of the research is highly artificial and has not been sufficiently replicated.
Different command terms: SAQs: outline, describe, explain; ERQs: Evaluate research...
Question 3: Discuss the use of one or more research methods in the study of hormones and/or pheromones.
Terms/theories: You should be able to define any research methods that you choose: experiments,
observations, interviews, questionnaires, or case studies.
Research: Any of the research above may be used to answer this question.  For example - experiments
(Wedekind, Zhou et al, McGaugh & Cahill, Newcomer), Case studies (Sapolsky, Marmot).
Critical thinking: Causality; the problems of artificiality and ecological validity; the importance of
replication, internal validity and construct validity (aka face validity).
Different command terms:  SAQs: outline, describe, explain; ERQs: Evaluate, contrast
Question 4: Discuss ethical considerations in the study of hormones and/or pheromones.
Terms/theories: You should be able to "unpack" each of the ethical considerations that you discuss - e.g.
what does "informed consent" mean?
Research: Any research can be used from this unit which focuses on hormones and/or pheromones.
Critical thinking: Ethical considerations in biological research are always the same  - it is important that
informed consent be obtained - however, it is questionable whether participants will understand biological
implications of an experiment; anonymity of data must be maintained to prevent stigma or embarrassment;
right to withdraw must be maintained - although this may be problematic if someone is taking an active
treatment (e.g. cortisol).  However, the effects of hormones are short-lived. Deception should be avoided
but often a placebo is used to make sure that it is not the treatment alone that is causing the effect;

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debriefing must be done to reveal any deception to the participants and allow them to ask questions about
the implications of the study.  It is also a chance for them to withdraw their data; there should be no undue
stress or harm. The researchers must always get their studies approved, demonstrating that the participants
will be protected.  For example, in McGaugh and Cahill's study that the administration of adrenaline would
have no ill effects on the participants.
Different command terms: SAQs: outline, describe, explain; ERQs: No other command term may be used.

Question 1: Discuss the role of one or more genes in one behaviour.

Terms/theories: inheritance, twin studies, linkage studies, GWAS, epigenetics, Diathesis Stress Model
Research: You can choose any behaviour you have studied.  Depression:   Kendler, Caspi, Cai et
al, Weissman.Obesity: Stunkard et al, Sorenson et al, Herbert et al.  Sexuality: Bailey & Pillard
Critical thinking: No behaviour is the result of a single gene - we are still learning about the role of genes
and how the interact both with the environment and with each other. Genetics is a reductionist approach to
behaviour. Many of the studies have problems with construct validity - for example, how depression was
operationalized for a study; twin, adoption and family studies only study genetics indirectly - only since
the HGP have we been able to study specific genes.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: To what extent, evaluate
research.
Question 2: Discuss how genetic similarities help psychologists in the study of genes and behaviour.
Terms/theories: Concordance, family studies, twin studies, adoption studies, monozygotic, dyzygotic
Research: family study - Weissman et al (2005), twin studies Kendler et al (2006),  Bailey & Pillard (1990) 
adoption studies - e.g. Sorenson et al on obesity.
Critical thinking: These three types of studies all give us some idea of whether a behaviour may be
inherited or not.  Twin studies compare MZ and DZ twins with other siblings.  Adoption studies allow us
to address the question of environmental factors. The studies are either retrospective or prospective in
nature.  Retrospective studies rely on the memory of childhood experiences that may or may not be
reliable. These studies do not tell us which genes may be responsible.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe, and explain; ERQs:  To what extent.

Question 5: Discuss the use of one or more research methods in the study of genes and behaviour.
Terms/theories: You should be able to define any research methods that you choose: experiments,
observations, interviews, questionnaires or case studies.
Research: Any research can be used from this unit which focuses on genetics or evolution. Questionnaires
were used by Buss; Experiments by Wedekind, Raison, and any prospective twin or adoption study; a case
study was done by Weissman et al.
Critical thinking: As with any question on research methods, it is important that when you have an
example, you explain how it uses the method.  Your evaluation should show strengths and limitations of
the method, and why that method might be chosen.
Different command terms: SAQs:  Outline, describe and explain; ERQs: Evaluate, contrast
Question 6. Explain the use of kinship studies (family studies) or twin studies in the study of the
inheritance of one behaviour, making use of one study.
Terms/theories: kinship studies (aka family or pedigree studies).  It is important for this question that you
clearly explain the technique and why it is used. 

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Research: Family studies: Weissman et al (2005) Twin studies: Bailey & Pillard (1990), Holland et al
(1988), Kendler et al (2006), Sorensen et al (1992).
Different command terms: This question may only be asked as an SAQ - and may use the command terms
outline, describe

For Phremones use ib inthinking notes and text book