biological approach

• What is the first assumption of the biological approach?

  All that is psychological is first physiological
• What does it mean to say that all that is psychological is first physiological?

  All thoughts, feeling & behaviour ultimately have a biological cause.
• What are biological causes of behaviour?

  Due to biological structures such as genes, neurochemistry and the nervous system
• Provide an example of genes causing behaviour.

  Genes are involved in creating a vulnerability to OCD (COMT gene and SERT gene).
• Provide an example of neurochemistry causing behaviour.

  Neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin control our mood.
• Provide an example of the nervous system causing behaviour.

  The nervous system controls the fight/flight response which controls how we respond to stressors in the environment.
• What is the second assumption of the biological approach?

  The mind resides in the brain and therefore, an understanding of brain structure and function can explain our thoughts and behaviour
• What is the third assumption of the biological approach?

  Different species of animal can be studied and compared. This can help in the search to understand human behaviour
• What is the field of psychology call that compares different species of animal?

  Comparative psychology
• Who outlined evolution, when and in what book?

  Charles Darwin's - On the Origin of Species (1859)
• How does evolution work?

  Characteristics that are not suited to a species' environment will die out, whereas characteristics that aid survival will be passed on through DNA
• What are traits that aid survival called?

  Adaptive traits
• What is the process of evolution called?

  Natural selection
• How long does evolution take?

  Species evolve which takes many years for adaptive characteristics to be part of genetic makeup
• What is an example of how behaviour might be heritable through the process of natural selection?


  Aggressive behaviour, it has survival benefits such as warding off predators and competing for resources
• How can attachment be explained through evolution?

  Infants are biologically programmed with innate behaviours that ensure that attachment occurs.
• What is a genotype?

  Genetic makeup
• What is a phenotype?

  The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment
• What are identical and non-identical twins known as?

  Monozygotic and dizygotic
• What are concordance rates?

  The percentage of which if one twin has a particular trait, so does the other.
• What difference would we expect to when comparing identical and non-identical twins if a trait was genetic? (if we're comparing who shares the trait)


  Identical twins would share that trait more than non-identical twins
• If a trait was the same between monozygotic twins you would know it was the what being expressed?

  Genotype
• If a trait was different between monozygotic twins you would know it was the what being expressed?

  Phenotype
• What are three evaluation points for the biological approach?

  Strong emphasis on scientific methods

  Real life applications

  May be considered overly deterministic
• How does the biological approach have a strong emphasis on scientific methods?

  Some research into genetics and neurochemistry requires precise scientific methodology, such as fMRIs, PET scans, drug trials, and EEGs. These techniques provide psychologists with an accurate measure of internal processes that were previously not accessible
• What are real life applications of the biological approach?

  Drug therapies have been developed for many mental illnesses based on research into neurotransmitters
• Provide an example of drug therapies.

  Antidepressants work to increase serotonin levels in the brain, based on the understanding of how low levels of serotonin contribute to depressive symptoms
• What is an assumption of the biological approach which is overly deterministic and potentially have negative consequences as a result of doing so?

  That some behaviour are the result of evolution: they maximise our chances of survival and reproduction and thus are 'naturally selected' and inherited from our ancestors. Such evolutionary claims are used to explain a variety of gender differences in human behaviour including aggression
• How could the biological approach be considered to be overly deterministic?

  It excludes the possibility of free will, the opportunity to change our behaviour. Many psychologists, theorists and legal experts do not favour a deterministic point of view
• Why do many psychologists, theorists and legal experts not favour a deterministic point of view?

  If behaviour is determined by outside forces, that provides a potential excuse for criminal acts and domestic violence.