AO3 - The Biological Approach

• The biological explanation of human behaviour can be criticised for biological determinism. This is because the approach states that an individual is controlled by internal factors such as genes and neurochemicals that inevitably cause behaviour, such as SERT in OCD. Therefore, it neglects the role of free will, and choice that individuals have; this could leave individuals feeling like they have no control over their behaviour. Limiting the biological explanation of human behaviour. 
• Moreover, the biological explanation of human behaviour can be criticised for biological reductionism. This is because the approach reduces complex human behaviour down to simple basic units for example, genes and neurochemicals, e.g. SERT in OCD.  This neglects a holistic approach, which would take in to account how a person’s culture and social context would influence and explain human behaviour. Therefore, the biological explanation of human behaviour may lack validity, as it does not allow us to understand the behaviour in context.
• A strength of the biological explanation of human behaviour is that it has practical applications. The principles of the theory, that behaviour is caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters, has been used to create treatments such as SSRI’s. These have been effective in treating individual’s with disorders such as OCD and Depression by increasing serotonin activity. Therefore, the biological explanation of human behaviour is an important part of applied psychology as it helps to treat people in the real world. 
• The biological explanation of human behaviour uses scientific methods to investigate human behaviour. It is based on objective and empirical techniques such as brain scans and gene mapping. Therefore, it could be argued that this increases the overall internal validity of the behaviourist explanation of human behaviour, therefore raising Psychology’s scientific status.