The biological approach

• Assumptions

  • Psychological processes are, at first, biological processes

  
  

  • These biological processes include genetics, biological structures, and neurochemistry

  
  

  • Genotype- your actual genes

  Phenotype- how your genes are presented in response to environmental factors
• Twin studies


  The concordance rate is the rate at which twins share the same trait.

  If the concordance rate for a psychological disorder e.g. OCD is higher among identical twins then non-identical twins, this suggests a genetic component to the disorder
• Evolution

  If psychological traits are genetically determined, then evolution plays a role e.g. if there was an intelligence that made a human better at hunting food, then the human with that gene would be less likely to starve to death and so more likely to survive to pass on that gene to its offspring. This shows how psychological traits may evolve over time.
• AO3-Scientifc

  the biological approach focuses on observable and measurable

  phenomena such as hormone levels, brain structures, and genes. These biological phenomena can be measured using technology and tested using rigorous scientific methods
• AO3-Practical applications

  biological approaches have proven highly successful in treating mental disorders e.g. SSRI's in the treatment of OCD
• AO3-Reductive

  the biological approach can be said to be overly reductive in that it ignores other factors, such as environment e.g a person with the same genes is likely to behave differently if raised by a different family or in a different culture. This shows that genetics can only go so far in explaining human behaviour
• AO3-Deterministic

  biological factors, such as genetics and biological structures, are outside of our control. This leaves no room for free will, which makes it difficult to hold people responsible for their actions as those actions are just a consequence of biology rather than free choices of the individual. This raises both moral and legal issues.