Biological approach

• Biological determinism


  Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human behaviour is determined by genes.
• Biological Structures

  This approach dives into biological structures: organs (such as the brain) and systems (such as the nervous system) that influence human behaviour.
• Genotype and Phenotype

  Genotype refers to an induviduals genetic make-up, whereas Phenotype is the way genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristcs. As the genotype is inevitably influenced by enviromental factors -for example identical twins may look different as one has dyed hair or excersises more-, many biological psychologists would accept that much of human behaviour depends upon an interaction between inherited factors (nature) and the enviroment (nurture).
• Neurochemistry


  Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning.
• Real-life application

  Increased understanding of biochemcial processes in the brain has lef to the development of psychoactive drugs that treat serious mental illnesses such as depression. This is a strength of the biological approach as it can help sufferers of various mental illnesses live as normal of a life as they can without having to constantly be in hospital.
• Neurotransmitters


  The biological approach offers explainations for the cause of mental illnesses in terms of the action of neruotransmitters in the brain. The evidence for this relationship comes from studies that show a particular drug reduces symptoms of a mental disorderand thus assumed that a neurochemical in the drug causes the disorder. This is a limitation as the biological approach is claiming to have discovered causes where only an association exists.
• Scientific methods

  A strength of the biological approach is that it makes use of a range of precise and highly scientific methods -scanning techniques-. This means the biological approach is based on highly reliable data.