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Module 1.4a

Module 1.4a The Brain: Neuroplasticity INTRODUCE THE MODULE

and Tools of Discovery Make It Meaningful
(10 minutes) Ask students if
LEARNING TARGETS they have ever had, or someone
1.4-1 Explain why psychologists are concerned with human biology. they know has ever had, an
1.4-2 Explain how biology and experience together enable neuroplasticity. MRI (for example, on their
1.4-3 Compare and contrast several techniques for studying the brain’s knee). Ask students who are
connections to behavior and mind. comfortable doing so to share their
experiences. Use their examples to
start a discussion of tools to study

Why ar

1.4-1
1.4-1 Why are psychologists concerned with human biology? the brain.

ned with human biology?
e psychologists concer
Our understanding of how the brain gives birth to the mind has come a long way. The ancient AP Science Practice
®
Greek physician Hippocrates correctly located the mind in the brain. His contemporary, the
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Not for redistribution.
philosopher Aristotle, believed the mind was sited in the heart, which pumps warmth and Research INTRODUCE THE MODULE
vitality to the body. The heart remains our symbol for love, but science has long since over- Unlike phrenologists, psycholog-
ical scientists take an empirical,
taken philosophy on this issue: It’s your brain, not your heart, that falls in love. or scientifically derived approach Activate Prior Knowledge
In the early 1800s, German physician Franz Gall proposed that phrenology, studying to studying the brain. As Unit 0
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.

bumps on the skull, could reveal a person’s mental abilities and character traits ( Figure 1.4-1 ) . explained, they use an evidence- (10 minutes) Begin class with

based method that draws on
At one point, Britain was home to 29 phrenological societies. Phrenologists also traveled North observation and experimentation.
America to give skull readings ( Dean, 2012 ; Hunt, 1993 ). Using a false name, humorist Mark this activity, which asks students
Twain put one famous phrenologist to the test. “He found a cavity [and] startled me by saying to decide if statements are
that that cavity represented the total absence of the sense of humor!” Three months later, Twain biological psychology the true or false. The statements
sat for a second reading, this time identifying himself. Now “the cavity was gone, and in its scientific study of the links
place was . . . the loftiest bump of humor he had ever encountered in his life-long experience!” between biological (genetic, tap into common beliefs and
neural, hormonal) and
( Lopez, 2002 ). Today, the “science” of phrenology reminds us of our need to engage in critical psychological processes. misconceptions about psychology.
thinking and scientific analysis. Phrenology did at least succeed in focusing attention on the Some biological psychologists This activity will benefit students’
localization of function — the idea that various brain regions have particular functions. call themselves behavioral

Today, we are living in a time Gall could only dream about. Biological psychologists neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, understanding of Module 1.4a as
use advanced technologies to study the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) behavior geneticists, physiological they read.
psychologists, or biopsychologists.
M1.4a: Fact or Falsehood?
Figure 1.4-1
Movement A wrongheaded theory
Planning
Thinking
Spatial (a) Despite scientists’ initial
awareness Touch Judging acceptance of Franz Gall’s
Speech Feeling
Comprehension Sound Taste speculations, bumps on the skull
Visual
processing Emotion Smell tell us nothing about the brain’s
Recognition Memory PRACTICE
Vision underlying functions. Nevertheless,
some of his assumptions have
Coordination
held true. Though they are not the
Arousal functions Gall proposed, different Research Methods & Design
parts of the brain do control (SP 2)
Bettmann/Getty Images suggested in (b) (from The Human (10 minutes) Use Student Activity:
different aspects of behavior, as
Brain Book , and as you will see
)
throughout this unit.
Conducting Self-Phrenology to
(a) (b) stimulate a discussion with your
The Brain: Neuroplasticity and Tools of Discovery Module 1.4a 55 students of why it is important
to test a psychological theory
scientifically, using appropriate
methodology, before using it to
TEACHING TIP TEACH 1.4-1 predict human behavior.
03_myersAPpsychology4e_28116_ch01_002_163.indd 55 15/12/23 9:22 AM
The Essential Knowledge for Topic 1.4—The Teaching Tip M1.4a: Conducting
Brain—includes a discussion of areas of the Familiarize your students with the following
brain that affect language (i.e., Broca’s area study on the science of behavior and mental Self-Phrenology
and Wernicke’s area). You can find detailed processes. Rosenzweig, Bennett, and Diamond
coverage of this concept in Module 3.5. conducted research with rats that showed
enriched environments contributed to more
complex neural connections in the cortex. Use
this study to illustrate that neural complexity
could be influenced by environmental factors,
showing how nature and nurture interact.
Information from Renner, M. J., & Rosenzweig, M. R.
(1987). Enriched and impoverished environments: Effects
on brain and behavior. Springer.
The Brain: Neuroplasticity and Tools of Discovery Module 1.4a 55
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