Biological Approach

• Main assumptions

  Everything psychological is at first biological​

  All behaviour has a physical cause (brain or body)​

  Biological structure and function are key​ e.g. How the brain and body are structured.​ How the brain and body work.​

  Contrasts the cognitive approach by suggesting that mental processes are not separate from the brain (like the cognitive approach believes)​
• • Each individual is born with 23 chromosomes pairs which they’ve inherited from both of their birth parents.​

  ​
• • ​There is a suggestion that behavioural characteristics, such as intelligence and mental health, are inherited in the same way as our physical characteristics, such as eye colour and height, are. 
• • Twin studies are used to determine the likelihood that certain traits have a genetic basis by comparing concordance rates (the extent to which 2 people share the same characteristic).        ​
• • If monozygotic (identical) twins have a higher concordance rate than dizygotic (non-identical) twins it would suggest a genetic basis because monozygotic twins share 100% of their DNA, and dizygotic only around 50%. 
• Genotype


  • A person’s actual genetic make-up.​
  • Occurs at conception.​
  • Dictates characteristics like eye colour and hair colour.​
  • Unique to the individual (except in cases of MZ twins)​
  • Genetic predisposition for conditions/behaviours/ characteristics​

  ​
• Phenotype


  • The product of what happens when the genotype interacts with the environment.​
  • Genotype + environment = phenotype​
  • Explains why MZ twins often have slight differences in personality, adult appearance (hair dye, sun exposure etc)​
• Evolution


  proposed by Charles Darwin in the 19th Century. 

  The main principle of the theory is natural selection -> The idea that any genetically determined behaviours that enhance an individual’s chances of survival will continue to future generations. 

  Those with the most adaptive genetic behaviours reproduce and their offspring too have the adaptive genetic behaviours, enabling their survival. 

  It happens naturally in nature, no one decides which characteristics are advantageous, but the possessor of such characteristics are the most likely to survive
• Reductionist


  • For example, the biological approach adopts the simplest (parsimonious) perspective to explain all human behaviour – everything has a biological origin
  • TIASB… ​adopting a parsimonious perspective allows for the development of treatments to be created which can have a positive impact on the lives of patients (e.g. anti-psychotics for SZ)
• Reductionist

  • TIALB... Taking a simple perspective can result in losing the context of behaviours, the biological approach believes that depression is due to serotonin levels which might result in a clinician overlooking aspects of an individual’s life which might contribute to their emotional wellbeing.​​
• Deterministic

  • For example, it takes the approach that all human behavior is predictable and inevitable, so someone with a malfunction of the amygdala will always respond aggressively​
  • TIAWB…​this approach ignores the human element of free will and denies the idea that people are self-determining, so someone with a faulty amygdala might engage with strategies to reduce their aggression levels, making their behavior less predictable