biological approach

• when did the biological approach emerge

  1980’s
• what are the key assumptions of the biological approach

  behaviours can be inherited and are determined by genes

  brain physiology and biochemical imbalances can affect behaviour

  evolution and naturally selected characteristics impact behaviour
• what dk biological psychologists focus on

  the role of structures in the brain, their characteristics and functions to see how they shape behaviour
• what is the role of structures in the brain called

  brain physiology
• what is the largest area of the brain called

  the cerebrum
• what is the cerebral cortex

  the outer surface of the cerebrum
• how many hemispheres does the cerebral cortex have

  2
• how many lobes does each hemisphere have

  4
• what are the names of these 4 lobes

  frontal

  parietal

  occipital

  temporal
• what is the role of the frontal lobe

  movement

  speech and language expression

  higher order cognition

  decision making

  planning

  behaviour and personality
• what is the role of the parietal lobe

  attention

  spatial awareness

  sensory info
• what is the role of the occipital lobe

  visual processing
• what is the role of the temporal lobe

  memory

  learning

  sound processing
• what is the name of the person in the case study

  Phineas Gage
• what happened to Phineas Gage 


  had an accident where a large metal rod went through this left frontal lobe
• what did friends and family notice about gage

  his personality change
• what were the doctors words about Gage

  ‘ no longer Gage ‘
• what did gage become

  short tempered and irritable
• what do all psychopaths have in common

  damage to their orbital cortex

  damage in the temporal lobe
• where is the orbital cortex

  behind eyes
• what do genes do

  carry the code / instructions that determine a particular characteristic
• what percentage of genes do children inherit from each parent

  50%
• what is heredity

  the code of a particular characteristic being passed into the child
• what factors does it depend on if a parents characteristic manifests in a child

  how that gene interacts with other inherited genes

  environmental factors
• what is a genotype

  a gene code for a particular characteristic
• what is a phenotype

  the physical expression of the individuals genotype
• do identical twins have the same genotype 


  yes
• will twins always have the same phenotype 


  no
• what is another word for identical in identical twins

  monozygotic
• what does it mean if you are monozygotic

  share 100% of DNA
• what is another 2 words for non identical twins

  dizygotic

  fraternal
• what does it mean if you are dizygotic

  share 50% DNA
• what is schizophrenia

  a mental disorder
• what are the symptoms of schizophrenia (sz)

  hallucinations and delusions
• what percentage of the general population suffer from sz

  1%
• what percentage of children suffer from sz if the parent has the disorder

  13%
• what percentage of identical twins suffer from sz if the twin has the disorder

  48%
• what does this show

  the more genes u share with someone the more likely it is to inherit the same thing
• what is a neurotransmitter

  chemicals that transmits electrical messages from one nerve cell to the other
• what does over or under activity of these chemicals create

  an imbalance