biological approach

• what is the biological approach? 


  biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological. the perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
• what are genes?


  genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes for the physical features of an organism (eg eye colour, height) and psychological features (eg mental disorders, intelligence) genes are transmitted from parents to offspring
• what is ’biological structure’ ?


  an arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living things
• what is neurochemistry? 


  relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning
• what is genotype? 


  particular set of genes that a person possesses
• what is phenotype? 


  characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment
• what is evolution?


  the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
• neurochemical basis of behaviour

  • neurochemistry refers to the action of chemicals in the brain.
  • much of our thought & behaviour relies on chemical transmission in the brain. occurs using neurotransmitters .
  • imbalances of neurochemicals has been implicated as possible cause of mental disorders, eg low levels of serotonin in OCD and overproduction of dopamine in schizophrenia
• the genetic basis of behaviour

  • psychological characteristics, such as intelligence, are inherited the same way as height & eye colour.
  • Twin studies are used to investigate whether certain psychological characteristics have a genetic basis.
  • this is achieved by analysing concordance rates - extent which twins share same characteristic
  • if characteristic is genetic we wld expect all identical (monozygotic) twins to be concordant (they share 100% same genes)
  • whereas same wld not be true for non-identical (dizygotic) twins who share abt 50% same genes
• evolution and behaviour

  • in the 19th century, Charles Darwin proposed the theory is natural selection.
  • this is a theory that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances survival (& reproduction) will continue in future generations, i.e be naturally selected
• EVALUATION: real-world application

  • one strength of biological approach is it has real-world application. increased understanding of neurochemical processes in the brain is associated with the use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental disorders, eg anti depressant
  • COUNTERPOINT: recent study by Andrea Cipriani et al(2018) compared 21 antidepressants and found wide variations in their effectiveness.
• EVALUATION: scientific methods

  • a strength is biological approach uses scientific methods of investigation
  • to investigate genetic & biological basis of behaviour, they use highly objective methods. these include scanning techniques such as fMRIs and EEGs. this means it’s based on reliable data
• EVALUATION: biological determinism

  • one limitation of the approach is its determinist.
  • it sees human behaviour controlled by internal genetic causes that we have no control over.