Nervous System and Brain Stem

Biopsychology: A specialty that studies the interaction of biology, behavior, and mental processes. Evolution: The gradual process of biological change that occurs in a species as it adapts to its environment new generations change as they adapt to changing environments Evolution has fundamentally shaped psychological processes because it favors genetic variations that produce adaptive behavior Charles Darwin:Wondered if animals were related and if all creations, even humans, could share a common ancestry made the controversial case for the evolution of life Natural selection:The driving force behind evolution, the fittest organisms are selected by the environment, the best adapted will flourish and the least adapted will die out. Darwin never said humans came from monkeys, but that they both had a common ancestor Genetics and inheritance: Genotype: Genetic Makeup Phenotype: Physical and behavioral characteristics (observable characteristics) not all biological, also can be changed by nutrition, disease, stress, and poor medical care causing birth defects Genome: Set of genetic information contained within a cell DNA:A complex molecule that stores biological information Genes: The words that make up the instruction manual (genome) Chromosomes:Tightly coiled structures in which genes are organized, consist of DNA Nucleotides: letters that form genes, there are 4 Sex chromosomes: The X and Y chromosomes that determine physical sex characteristics XX-female XY-male , fathers determine sex Genes influence our psychological characteristics Never attribute psychological characteristics to genetics alone, even identical twins Race and human variations: Certain features of skin color and other physical characteristics are common among people who trace their ancestry to the same part of the world tropical ancestry have darker skin to