biological approach

• According to the biological approach, humans are biological organisms made up of physiological processes.
• All thoughts, ideas and cognitive processes must be biological in origin.
• The mind ‘lives’ within the brain, and is not separate as viewed by the cognitive approach.
• Understanding the actions of genes, hormones, neurotransmitters and neurochemical mechanisms is crucial in explaining behaviour fully.
• Heritability coefficients can be used to quantify the genetic or biological basis of a certain characteristic.
• Behaviour genetics is the study of the influence of an organism’s genetic composition on its behaviour and the interaction of heredity and environment insofar as they affect behaviour.
• An individual’s genotype is their genetic make-up, where a gene is a short section of DNA coding for specific proteins.
• An individual’s phenotype is the physical expression of their genotype.
• The interaction between the phenotype and the environment results in individual behaviour.
• Two people may have the same genotype but different phenotypes, which may be due to personal choices they’ve made to alter their appearance, such as dying their hair or piercing their ears, or due to the influence of epigenetics.
• Epigenetics is a change in gene expression, without altering an individual’s genetic make-up.
• Epigenetic markers, such as DNA methylation and histone tail modification, can be left on DNA through exposure to certain environmental factors, such as specific diets and pollution.
• Natural selection is the mechanism of evolution, suggesting that any genetically-determined behaviour, which gives the individual a selective advantage, will be present in future generations.
• This is due to the genetic transmission of ‘beneficial’ characteristics from one generation to the next, i.e. heredity.
• Examples of genetically-determined behaviours with a selective advantage include: avoiding fire and deep water, certain individuals having longer necks, and specific cows producing more milk.
• Evolution is the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioural traits.