Biological approach

• What is the biological approach?


  Combines psychology and biology to provide physiological explaination for human behaviour (how we think, feel and behave in terms of physical factors within the body)
• What are the assumptions with the biological approach?

  Evolutionary influences, neurochemistry, genes, biological structures, everything psychological was at first biological
• What is neurochemistry?


  Study of chemicals and their reactions in the nervous system
• What are Darwin’s assumption of natural selection?


  Only a small proportion of each generation survive and reproduce, there will then be variation, some characteristics give animals advantages
• What is kin altruism?


  Helping relatives at a cost to oneself so that they can pass on genetics to future generations
• What is sexual selection?


  Men have an abundance of sperm and so can reproduce with as many females as they was as they need to pass on their genes whereas women have a limited number of eggs so need to be more particular about who would father their child
• What are the 3 methods of collecting data?

  Twin studies, family studies, adoption studies
• What is a concordance rate?


  Extent which a pair of twins share similar traits or characteristics
• What is the name for identical twins?

  Monozygotic
• What is the name for non-identical twins?

  Dizygotic
• What is the difference in the rate of schizophrenia in monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins?


  MZ- 47% whereas DZ- 17%
• What is evolutionary psychology?


  To properly understand the functions of the brain, we must understand the environment in which the brain has evolved which is referred to as the ‘environment of evolutionary adaptedness’
• How are messages passed between neurons?


  Though small gaps called synapses by chemicals called neurotransmitters
• What do behaviour genetics study?


  Whether behavioural characteristics are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics. This is done. using twin studies and comparing concordance rates
• What is a genotype?


  Complete set of genes
• What is a phenotype?


  Observable characteristics
• How do you calculate phenotype?


  genotype + environment = phenotype
• What are strengths of the biological approach?


  Real-world application, reliable methods
• How does the biological approach have real-world application?


  If we are able to understand neurochemical processes, we can create treatments for psychological disorders
• What are limitations of the biological approach?


  Biological determinist as focuses on internal causes despite seeing how genotype is influenced by the environment and brain chemistry alone doesn’t always account for depression as placebos have been show to help