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Biopsychology - The Endocrine System - Coggle Diagram
Biopsychology - The Endocrine System
The endocrine system has a series of glands which release chemicals (hormones) throughout the body via the blood and other bodily fluids . This communicates messages to the organs of the body
Pituitary Glands : Some of the hormones released are important for regulating the endocrine system , has the nickname 'master gland'
Adrenal Glands : An important part of the flight or fight response as it facilitates the release of adrenaline
Testes : They facilitate the release of testosterone
Ovaries : They facilitate the release of oestrogen and progesterone
Research for the endocrine system
The hormone oxytocin , released by the pituitary gland , is thought to be particularly important for reproductive behaviour
It is released following orgasm , which aids conception , and elicits a feeling of relaxation and calm
Research by Kosfield (2005) found that high levels of oxytocin encourages string bonding between couples
Feldman (2007) also found that this is the case for mother/child bonding
The fight of flight response is generated from the autonomic nervous system , specifically the sympathetic branch
It is a reflex response designed to help an individual manage physically when under threat
It is activated in times of stress as the body perceives stress to be a threat
It helps an individual to react quicker than normal and facilitates optimal functioning optimal functioning so that they can fight the threat or run away from it
The steps of the fight or flight response
The hypothalamus recognizes that there is a threat
It sends a message to the adrenal gland ( specifically the adrenal medulla )
This triggers the release of adrenaline to the endocrine system
This prompts a number of physical changes
Physical changes caused by the fight or flight response
Increased heart rate : to speed up the blood flow to vital organs and improve the spread of adrenaline around the body
Faster breathing rate : To increase oxygen intake
Muscle tension : To improve reaction time and speed
Pupil dilation : To improve vision
The production of sweat : to facilitate temperature regulation
Reduced functioning of the digestive and immune systems : To save energy for prioritized functions, such as running
Evaluation
Assessing the extent to which biological structures affect behaviour is very difficult , it can be argued that they are merely tools to make behaviour happen rather than being the cause
Cause and effect cannot be established in most research because much of the research is correlational . This means that only the relationship between the biological influence and the behaviour can be investigated eg research on hormones
We can say that there is a relationship between increased relationship intensity and oxytocin levels but not that oxytocin causes the relationship to be more intense
It is equally plausible that a behaviour such as forming a relationship might mean levels of oxytocin increase , rather than the high levels altering the behaviour
Reductionist , it attempts to reduce human behaviour and cognitive processes down to biological processes
Within the biological processes there is a further reduction down to a specific component , such as the level of a hormone
The physical nature of the bodily systems means that research can be said to be scientific as the measures are totally objective and therefore opinion or judgement do not play a part - increases reliability
