assumption: all behaviour is down to biologicalprocesses, and these are
genes
biological structures
evolution
neurochemistry
genes carry information that codes for physical and psychological features
your genotype is your genetic makeup (coding)
phenotypes are observable traits that are due to genes interacting with the environment
e.g genotype - SERT gene to develop depression
phenotype - depression expressed due to a traumaticlifeexperience triggering the gene
monozygotic twins are genetically identical and share 100% of their genes.
dizygotic twins are non identical and share roughly 50% of their genes
concordance rate - percentage of the twins who share a certain behaviour with their twin
MZ concordance is higher than DZ concordance - genes must play a role in this behaviour
MZ concordance is not 100% - the environment must play some part in the behaviour
No difference between MZ and DZ concordance rates - no genetic influence on behaviour
biological structures:
the nervous system influences our fightorflight reaction to danger.
structures within the braininfluence our behaviour.
The brain is in charge of decision making, attention and higher order thinking.
blue - frontal lobe
pink - parietal lobe
green- temporal lobe
purple- occipital lobe
brain structure example:
Brain scanning has shown people with OCD have higheractivity in the orbital frontal cortex (OFC) which suggests that activity in this area is responsible for obsessive thoughts.
evolutionary psychology suggests that all human behaviour had been caused by the evolutionary pressures to:
survive
reproduce
evolution key ideas:
adaptive behaviours
natural selection
sexual selection
neurochemistry - the study of chemicals that influence the brain.
hormones - chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream and are released by glands
fight or flight example:
adrenaline (hormone) is released by the adrenal gland during fight or flight (behaviour).
it leads to bodily changes such as:
increased breathing rate
increased heart rate
slowing down of digestion
neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that travel via the nervoussystem.
they travel from neuron to neuron (synaptictransmission)
neurotransmitter example:
Dopamine (neurotransmitter) has been found higher in people with schizophrenia. this can lead to sensory overload, hallucinations and delusions
evaluations:
🙂 supporting evidence from twinstudies
☹️ ignores the role of the environment
☹️ biological determinism
🙂 practical application - antipsychotics to treat schizophrenia