Biological Approach

• Main Assumptions:

  All thoughts, feelings and behaviours ultimately have a physical basis – so to understand behaviour we must look to biological structures and processes in the body
• What is neurochemistry?

  How our behaviour relies on transmission of chemicals in the brain – neurotransmitters
• To determine the involvement of genetic factors, we use twin studies. We compare the concordance rate (the presence of the same trait in both members of a pair of twins) of monozygotic twins (MZ twins-same genetic material) to the concordance rate of dizygotic twins (DZ twins- share 50% of their genetic material).
• What is the genotype and phenotype?

  • Genotype = genetic makeup of an individual
  • Phenotype = genetic characteristics expressed by an individual
• Evolution:

  Charles Darwin argued that genetically determined characteristics or behaviors that enhance our chances of survival and reproduction would be passed on to the next generation and become more common in a population, whereas traits that do not enhance survival will gradually disappear.
• Analysis of biological approach:

  • Has scientific evidence to back up = fMRIS
  • Real-world application to psychoactive drugs
  • Determinist approach
• Psychoactive drugs have been developed which help treat mental disorders such as OCD and depression.
• These drugs can have very serious side effects. Additionally, it could be argued that the unbalance in neurotransmitters, such as low serotonin in depressed individuals, is the consequence rather than the cause of depression because the brain is a plastic organ that changes with the way we use it, so it could be that the depressed thinking causes the low level of serotonin observed.
• • The biological approach is determinist as it sees our behavior as caused entirely by biological factors over which we have no control. This encourages people not to take responsibility for their own actions and blame their genetic makeup.
• • It is also reductionist as it reduces our behavior to the outcome of the actions of genes and other biological processes, neglecting the effects of childhood and our social and cultural environment.
• evaluation summary:

  • real world application for drugs treating depression
  • uses scientific methods e.g fMRI = based on obejctive data
  • determinist = genetic causes we have no control over, but phenotype is influenced by environment = too simplisitc
  • reductionist = ignores social factors