biological approach

• What is the first assumption of the biological approach?

  Behaviour is caused by biological structures in the brain. so the brain structure, chemicals and hormones determine the way we behave
• According to the first assumption, what determines how we behave?

  Brain structure, chemicals, and hormones.
• How are hormone levels related to behavior?

  Hormone levels can be directly linked to certain behaviors.
• What effect does testosterone have on behavior?

  Testosterone has the effect of making both animals and humans behave aggressively.
• what does damage to the brain area demonstrate?


  certain parts of the brain are responsible for particular behaviour
• what is an example of brain damage? 


  damage to a part of the brain known as the brocas area can lead to problems with speech production
• what can hormone levels be linked to?


  Certain behaviours
• What is an example of hormones affecting behaviour?


  The hormone testosterone has an effect on making both animals and humans more aggressive
• What do neurotransmitters associated with?


  Particular behaviour
• What is an example of neurotransmitters being associated with particular behaviour?


  serotonin has been linked and low levels of this in the brain can be the cause of anxiety disorders
• What was the observed effect of increased serotonin on phobia symptoms?

  It leads to a reduction in phobia symptoms
• What is a limitation of a reductionist approach when explaining phobias?

  It ignores other explanations for phobia development
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the serotonin theory of phobias?

  Strengths:

  • Has led to effective treatment methods using SSRIs

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Reductionist, ignoring other factors that contribute to phobias
  • May incorrectly assume causation instead of correlation
• According to the Zohar study, what effect do SSRIs have on serotonin levels in the brain?

  SSRI's increase serotonin levels in the brain
• who conducted a study involving SSRIs 


  zohar
• What type of drug therapy is used to increase serotonin activity in the treatment of phobias?

  Drug therapy with SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)
• What are the two possible directions of causation between serotonin levels and anxiety in phobias?

  1. Low serotonin levels cause increased anxiety
• Why is the theory that low serotonin causes phobias considered reductionist?

  It provides a single simple explanation by attributing phobias solely to low serotonin levels while ignoring other factors
• what did zohar find 


  SSRI increases the amount of serotonin in the brain
• what did patients report in zohars study


  a reduce in the symptoms of their phobia
• What does concordance rate (CR) represent in twin studies?

  The percentage likelihood that if one twin has a disorder, then the other twin will also have the disorder.
• What is the second assumption?

  Behaviour is caused by the influence of genes.
• How do biological psychologists explain inherited behaviours?

  • They claim we inherit certain behaviours
  • Similar to how we inherit physical traits like eye colour
• According to the second assumption, how are substance abuse issues developed?

  Humans inherit genes that make them more likely to abuse alcohol.
• What are the three types of FAT studies?

  • Family studies: Examine genetic relatedness in families to see if behaviours/disorders run in families.
  • Adoption studies: Compare adopted children's traits to biological and adoptive parents to identify genetic influences.
  • Twin studies: Use MZ and DZ twins to determine heritability of traits through concordance rates.
• How are adoption studies used to determine genetic influences?

  If an adopted child shows a trait:

  • Not displayed by adoptive parents
  • But displayed by biological parents
  • Conclude the trait has a biological basis
• What are the types of twins and their genetic relatedness in twin studies?

  • MZ (Monozygotic) twins: Identical, share 100% of genes
  • DZ (Dizygotic) twins: Non-identical, share 50% of genes
  • Both groups are assumed to have similar environments
  • CR expected to be higher for MZ twins than DZ twins
• Describe Melo's selective breeding experiment and its findings.

  • Selected mice that preferred alcohol
  • Mated them together and observed offspring
  • Offspring also preferred alcohol
  • Suggests alcohol preference is genetic
• What is a main limitation of using Melo's mouse study to understand human behaviour?

  Human behaviour is more complex than animal behaviour, making it inappropriate to generalise findings from mice to humans directly.
• What does FAT stand for in psychology?

  Family, Adoption and Twin studies.
• What do adoption studies examine in relation to behaviours or disorders?

  Adoption studies examine whether behaviours/disorders are linked to the biological parents of adopted children.
• What did Nestadi review in his 2010 study?

  Twin studies
• Which genetic disorder was the Nestadi study focusing on?

  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• What was the concordance rate for monozygotic (MZ) twins in the Nestadi study?

  68%
• What was the concordance rate for dizygotic (DZ) twins in the Nestadi study?

  31%
• What conclusion can be drawn from the difference in concordance rates between MZ and DZ twins for OCD?

  OCD has a genetic basis
• What is the definition of genotype?

  • The particular type of genes that a person possesses
• What is the definition of phenotype?

  • The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and environment.
• How do environmental differences contribute to the phenotypes of identical twins?

  They lead to subtle physical and behavioural differences even if the genotype is identical.
• What is Phenylketonuria (PKU)?

  • A genetic disorder
  • Detectable early with a heel prick test
  • If undetected, causes severe learning difficulties