Biological Approach

• What does the Biological Approach state?

  -The biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological so to fully understand human behaviour we must look at biological processes and structures.

  -Genes may carry instructions for a particular characteristic, but how that develops may be down to the interaction with other genes or the environment.
• Why is it important that we distinguish between Pheno and Genotype

  -It is therefore important that we distinguish between phenotype and genotype.

  -Genotype is the set of genes that a person possesses. We inherit one set of chromosomes from mother, one from father. We all have 46 chromosomes each in total.

  -Phenotype is the characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and environment.
• What did the supporting study conducted by Hyde show


  -A supporting study was conducted by Hyde who studied the brains of 6-year-olds who had received 14 months of instrumental musical training.

  -This training produced significant changes in the primary auditory and primary motor areas of the brain.

  -Therefore, demonstrating the distinction between genotype and phenotype. In this case the training (the environment) altered the phenotype. 
• Outline how researchers know if a particular trait is inherited


  -To investigate if a particular trait is inherited, researchers look to see if the trait is also found in other relatives, this is known as the concordance rate

  -for example the concordance rate of schizophrenia is 1%, however in identical twins it is 40.4% suggesting that there is a genetic cause for schizophrenia. 
• What is a negative criticism of the bio approach


  -A negative criticism of the biological approach is that it can be argued that this is too simplistic an explanation when looking at causes of mental illness.

  -It ignores the influence of childhood and life for example the role of family disfunction (double bind theory) as a cause of schizophrenia.

  -Therefore, we can argue that it is a reductionist approach. 
• What is neurochemistry


  -Neurochemistry includes neurotransmitters and hormones. There are studies that show a link between a neurochemical imbalance and a certain behaviour or disorder.

  -An excess of D2 dopamine receptors is linked to the development of schizophrenia.

  -Comer states that dopamine neurons play a key role in guiding attention and may well lead to the problems relating to attention, perception and thought found in people with schizophrenia. 
• What did Nestadt conclude about OCD


  -In support Nestadt concluded that OCD has a genetic component, first degree relatives (siblings, children) of OCD sufferers have a 11.7% chance of developing OCD compared with 2.7% risk in the general population.

  -Therefore, demonstrating the impact that neural correlates can have on human behaviour. 
• What is an important focus of the biological approach


  -The relationship between parts of the brain and their functions is an important focus of the biological approach.

  -Early work in this field progressed via case studies.

  -One such case study was Phineas Gage who suffered damage to his brain (the frontal lobes) and as a result underwent a personality change. 
• What did Raine's research show in support


  -In support, Raine examined the PET scans of violent criminals and compared them with a matched control group.

  -The scans of the criminals indicated a reduced activity in the frontal lobes, supporting the idea, from the case of Phineas Gage that this area is important in the control of impulsive behaviours. 
• Why are psychologists interested in the evolution of behaviour


  -Psychologists are interested in the evolution of behaviour and how behaviour that we might have displayed in the EEA is shown in everyday life.

  -For example, there is research being conducted on what is known as the warrior gene (MAOA) which is found in 1/3 of men.

  -This gene seems to be linked to risk taking behaviour and aggression, it is argued that aggression was an evolutionary adaptive behaviour in humans. 
• What is another weakness of the bio approach

  -A criticism of the biological approach is that is deterministic, it assumes humans have no free will and are at the mercy of biological processes and structures.

  -This has implications for the legal system and wider society.

  -One of the rules of law is that offenders are seen as legally and morally responsible for their actions. The discovery of a ‘criminal gene’, if indeed there is such a thing, may complicate this principle.