biological approach

• what is largest area of the brain?

  the cerebrum
• where is the frontal lobe?


  largest at front of head
• what’s the function of the frontal lobe?


  personality characteristics, decision making, movement, recognition of smell
• what’s the function of the broca’s area and where is it?

  speech ability in the frontal lobe
• where’s the parietal lobe?

  middle part of brain
• what’s the function of the parietal lobe?


  helps person identify objects, understand spatial relationships/awareness and interpret pain/touch
• whats the function of wenicke’s area and where is?

  understand language in the parietal lobe
• where is the temporal lobe?


  sides of the brain
• whats the function of the temporal lobe?


  short term memory, speech, musical rhyth, smell recognition
• where is the occipital lobe?

  back part of the brain
• what’s the function of the occipital lobe?

  vision
• what do genes carry?

  code that determines particular characteristics like physical and psychological traits
• what’s heredity mean?


  particular characteristics passed down from biological parents
• what’s a genotype?


  the inherited unique genetic makeup of an individual, fixed at contraception
• what’s a phenotype?


  the physical expression of a genotype which results from an interaction between genes and environmental factors
• what are fraternal twins called?

  dizygotic - separate placentas
• what are identical twins called?

  monozygotic - shared placentas
• what is the warrior gene called?


  abnormal MAOA
• what is ‘warrior’ gene?


  puts an individual at greater risk of becoming a violent killer (phenotype)
• how does a nurturing and loving childhood affect the ‘warrior’ gene?


  outcome can be prevented
• what do behaviour geneticists study?


  whether behavioural/psychological characteristics like intelligence and mental disorders are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics like eye colour/height
• what affects the heritability of characteristics?

  •how the gene interacts with other genes the child has inherited

  •influence of environmental factors
• what are the symptoms of schizophrenia?


  delusions, hallucinations, disorganised speech/behaviour
• how much of the population suffer from schizophrenia?


  1%
• the more genes you share with a schizophrenia patient…


  the greater the likelihood you will suffer with the same disorder
• what are neurotransmitters?


  chemicals that are produced by the brain that transmit electrical messages from one nerve cell to another
• what creates a chemical imbalance?


  over or under activity of a chemical
• what does a chemical imbalance cause?


  an effect on behaviour and can be responsible for some symptoms of mental disorders
• what do anti-psychotics do and how?


  suppress dopamine by blocking receptors so no signals can be sent
• what causes schizophrenia?


  over activity of dopamine
• what do anti-depressants do and how?


  increases serotonin levels by blocking the recycling of serotonin so it builds up in the synapse
• what causes depression?

  under activity of serotonin
• what are the symptoms of depression?


  low mood, appetite disruption, lack of pleasure in daily activities
• what is evolution?


  the process where over time organisms change to adapt to their environment
• how do individuals within a species differ from each-other?


  physical characteristics, traits and behaviour
• who created the theory of evolution?

  charles darwin
• what is natural selection?


  species must compete with eachother for access to resources, so individuals with traits that are more helpful for survival will go on to reproduce
• how do undesirable traits fade over time?


  traits/behaviours that increase the chance of survival are more likely to be genetically passed on to future generations so these carry on strongly
• what did david buss study?


  37 different cultures
• what did david buss discover?


  across all cultures, there’s a universal sex difference of qualities people desire most in a potential romantic partner