Biological approach

• What is the biological approach?

  An approach which combines psychology and biology to provide physiological explanations for human behaviour
• Biological approaches are based on scientific methods, such as experiments and observations
• What are the basic assumptions of the biological approach?

  1. Everything psychological is at first biological (biological basis)
  2. It investigated how biological structures and processes within the body impacts behaviour
  3. Most human behaviour had a physiological cause which can be genetically or environmentally altered
  4. Genes affect behaviour and influence individual psychological differences between people
  5. The mind lives in the brain(contrasts cognitive approach)
• What do biological psychologists study?

  The brain, nervous system, other biological systems such as hormones, chemicals acting on the brain
• What is sexual selection?

  Any trait or characteristic which has been passed on to increase reproductive success
• What is a concordance rate?

  The percentage of an agreement of 2 factors. Having the same traits
• What should the concordance rate between monozygotic twins?

  100%. However environmental factors and phenotype will make this lower
• What is a phenotype?

  The observable traits/characteristics which are the result of an interaction of Genes with the environment
• What is an example of a phenotype?

  Eye color, Hair colour
• What is a genotype?

  The set of genes of an individual
• What is natural selection?

  Natural selection is the process by which certain traits become more or less common in a population over time based on their ability to survive and reproduce.
• What is physiology ?

  The study of the body and how each component functions
• How can you study the genetic basis of behaviour?

  1. Twin studies
  2. Adoption studies
  3. Family studies
  4. Selective breeding
• What research methods are used in the biological approach?

  Highly scientific methods such as laboratory experiments and controlled observation
• What are the advantages of the research methods used in the biological approach?

  Objectivity, replicability, and ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships. The results give less bias due to it being less subjective.

  Empirical evidence is provided
• How are adoption studies used to study the genetic basis of behaviour?

  Investigates nature vs nurture. Monozygotic twins are particularly used when they are brought up in different environments to study effect of environment (nurture). Concordance rate is used to measure
• What is selective breeding?

  A process involving artificially selecting male and female with specific desirable traits to breed and produce offspring together
• How is selective breeding used to study genetic basis of behaviour?

  Phenotypic variation. It also demonstrates how a number of behavioural traits may have a genetic basis
• How are family studies used to explain genetic basis for behaviour ?

  Suggests that any resemblance between family relatives could be a results of genes and/ or shared environments. For example alcoholism may have a biological predisposition through genetic link or continuity