Biological approach

• Biological approach

  = emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
• Assumptions

  -everything psychological is first biological so to fully understand human behaviour, we must look to biological structures and processes within the body.

  • the mind lives in the brain meaning all thoughts, feelings and behaviour ultimately have a physical basis
• Neurochemical basis of behaviour

  Neurochemistry= refers to the action of chemicals in the brain

  • much of our thought and behaviour relies on chemical transmission in the brain using neurotransmitters.
  • an imbalance of neurochemicals in the brain has been implicated as a possible cause of mental illness
• Genetic basis of behaviour

  Psychological characteristics like intelligence are inherited the same way as height or eye colour.

  • twin studies used to investigate whether certain psychological characteristics have a genetic basis.
  • achieved by analysing concordance rate- extent at which twins share the same characteristics.
  • if a characteristic is genetic we would expect all identical twins to be concordant. Whereas the same wouldn’t be true for non identical twins who share about 50% of the same genes
• Genotype and phenotype

  Genotype= actual genetic make up of a person

  phenotype= the way that genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics

  • despite having the same genes, the way identical twins genes are expressed is different
  • illustrates what many biological psychologists would accept, that much of human behaviour depends upon an interaction between inherited factors and the environment
• Evolution and behaviour

  Any genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individuals survival will continue in future generations.

  natural selection- selection occurs because some traits give the possessor certain advantages, so is more likely to survive and reproduce and pass on these traits
• Evaluation- real world application

  Increased understanding of neurochemical processes in the brain is associated with the use of psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental disorders eg: promoted treatment of clinical depression using antidepressants that increase levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin at synapses in the brain- associated with reduction of depressive symptoms

  • means that people with depression may be better able to manage their condition and live a relatively normal life
• Evaluation- counterpoint

  Antidepressant drugs don’t work for everyone

  • study by Cipriani compared 21 antidepressant drugs and found wide variations in their effectiveness
  • most drugs were more effective than placebos in comparative trials the researchers concluded that the effects of antidepressants were mainly modest
  • challenges value of biological approach because it suggests that brain chemistry alone may not account for all cases of depression
• Scientific methods

  biological approach makes use of a range of precise and highly objective methods:

  • scanning techniques like fMRI and EEGs
  • with advances in technology it’s possible to accurately measure physiological and neural processes in ways that are not open to bias
  • much of biological approach is based on objective and reliable data.
• Evaluation- biological determinism

  It sees human behaviour as governed by internal, genetic causes over which we have no control.

  • the way an individuals genotype is expressed is heavily influenced by the environment. Not even identical twins who share the same genes looks the same and think the same.
  • a purely genetic argument becomes problematic when we consider things such as crime- could a violent crime really excuse their actions by claiming their behaviour was controlled by a crime gene
  • suggests biological view is too simplistic and ignores the mediating effects of the environment