Biological Approach to Psychology

• Perception occurs in your brain
• Mental activity and brain activity are: inseparable
• Biological Psychology - study of physiological, evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of the behavior and experience
• Neuroscience - structure and function of the nervous system.
• There are 4 categories of Biological Explanations of Behavior: Physiological, Ontogenetic, Evolutionary and Functional.
• Physiological - explanation that relates a behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs
• Ontogenetic - explanation that describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of genes, nutrition, experiences, and their interactions.
• Evolutionary - explanation that reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior
• Functional - explanation that describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.
• There are two degrees of position: Minimalist and Abolitionist
• Minimalist - Tolerate certain types of animal research but with to prohibit others depending on the probable values of the research, the amount of distress to the animal, and the type of animal.
• Abolitionist - maintain that all animals have the same rights as humans
• There are 3 Rs in Legal Standard when it comes to Animal Testing: Reduction, Replacement and Refinement
• Reduction - reduction of animal numbers (using fewer animals)
• Replacement - using computer models or other substitutes for animal, when possible
• Refinement - modifying the procedures to reduce pain and discomfort