6: Biological approach

• Biological Approach


  A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
• Genes


  Make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which code both psychological IQ and physical features and inherited from parents
• Biological structure


  Am arrangement of parts to form an organ system or living thing
• Neurochemistry


  This relates to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning
• Genotype


  genetic makeup of an organism
• Phenotype


  An organism's physical appearance, or visible traits.
• Evolution


  The change inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
• Monozygotic twins


  Share 100% of their genes
• dizygotic twins


  Share about 50% of their genes
• Phenylketonuria (PKU)


  You cannot eat certain foods if you carry this gene such as meat ,eggs,milk.nuts,dairy products ,peanut butter etc

  
  

  But you can only eat phenyl free foods such as fruit,pasta,juices,rice
• Phenotype =


  genotype + environment
• Evaluation 1 - Strength- scientific methods

  This approach uses precise and scientific methods of investigation such as fMRI and EEG to allow accurate measurements to made of biological and neural processes
• Evaluation 2 - Strength- applications

  This approach has resulted in applications that have improved people's lives such as psychoactive drugs for sufferers who's life can return back to normal
• Evaluation 3 - Weakness-deterministic

  This approach is deterministic because it assumes that if a drug reduces symptoms of a disorder then the lack of that drug is a cause of the disorder only an indirect association exists
• Evaluation 4 - Weakness- nature vs nurture

  This approach has problems separating nature form nurture because twins may share the same environment so their behaviours could have been learnt from eachother.