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Psychology A Level
Approaches
Biological Approach
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Cards (29)
Biological
Approach Assumptions
All behaviour has a
biological
basis
Our minds live in our
brains
Brings
psychology
and
physiology
together
Heredity
Passing of characteristics over generations through
genes
Hereditary
The idea that a particular trait (eg illness) has been passed on
Genotype
Genetic code
in DNA of cells
Phenotype
Physical
appearance
resulting from genes
Concordance
Rate
The
likelihood
that a person will develop a characteristic, trait, or
disorder
given that another already has it
Methods of investigating link between genes and behaviour
Family
studies
Twin
studies
Adoption
studies
Dizygotic twins
Share
50
% of their
genes
(
fraternal
)
Monozygotic twins
Share
100
% of their
genes
(
identical
)
Gottesman
&
Shield
Biopsychologists who compares the
concordance
for
schizophrenia
between
monozygotic
and dizygotic twins
Gottesman
and Shield's findings
Concordance for
monozygotic
twins was
42
%
Concordance for
dizygotic
twins was
9
%
Therefore there is higher concordance for monozygotic twins, providing evidence for a genetic basis of
schizophrenia
Issue with family and twin studies
They share
genes
and
environment
, therefore it is difficult to determine which has influenced them
Tienari
(1991)
Assessed the development of schizophrenia in adopted children of schizophrenic parents
Found that
10
% developed schizophreni compared to 1% in the control group
Evolutionary Psychology Assumptions
Behaviours
adapt
due to
evolutionary
pressures
Innate
brain functions
and knowledge help us to adapt to our
environment
Behaviour
is passed on via
genetics
Natural Selection
Process whereby those who are best adapted to their environment
survive
and produce more
offspring
Evolutionary
Scientists
Charles
Darwin
and Alfred Russel
Wallace
What causes evolution? (3)
Environmental pressures
and
competition
eg habitat, food, predation
Variation
Sexual Selection
- those with better adaptions more likely to be selected as mates
Why might the nervous system be important to psychologists?
To understand human behaviour such as
stress
,
fight
or
flight
etc
Parts of nervous system
Brain
Spinal cord
Function of
neurons
They transmit
nerve impulses
as
electrical signals
Influence many aspects of behaviour eg breathing,
eating
,
sex
How our
nervous system
communicates with the body
Draw and label a
neuron
(Don't need to know soma)
Brain diagram
!!
...
The
temporal
lobe influences memory and
auditory processing
The
occipital lobe
affects visual processing
The parental
lobe affects
sensory
processing eg touch, taste
The
brain stem
is responsible for
unconscious
behaviours eg breathing, blinking
The cerebellum controls
balance
Draw and label a
pre-synaptic
and post-synaptic terminal sending
neurotransmitters
!
Name the parts of the endocrine system
Pituitary,
thyroid
, adrenal, and sexual glands, and
pancreas