Biological Approach

• key assumptions

  humans are viewed as biological organisms

  explains human behaviour in terms of genes, CNS, neurotransmitters
• biological structures in the brain

  broca‘s area: localised function of speech production

  Leborgne ‘Tan’
• gottesman - twin studies

  influence of genes on development can be demonstrated by twin + family studies

  Gottesman; risk of developing schizophrenia 48% MZ, 17% DZ
• genotype

  genetic makeup of an individual

  predisposition to developing a certain characteristic
• links to concordance

  if trait is entirely down to genotype, concordance in MZ should be 100%
• phenotype

  observable characteristics, consequence of the genotype interacting with the environment
• natural selection

  individuals with a better suited trait to their environment will survive and reproduce - passing this down through generations
• sexual selection

  those with traits more desired by any potential mate, more able to breed and reproduce - characteristic will be passed down
• ao3 - development of effective treatments

  drug therapy - effect of SSRIs on treating conditions like depression
• ao3 - scientific methods

  experiments are highly controlled, the impact of the IV on the DV can be directly investigated
• ao3 - ignores the impact of the environment

  eg: Maguire et al.

  taxi drivers hippocampi larger than non-taxi drivers

  hippocampal volume correlated with time spent being a taxi driver
• ao3 - biological determinism

  suggest human thought processes and behaviour are out of our conscious control

  ignores the concept of free will

  this can lead to damaging arguments such as a ‘criminal gene’ being used in court as an excuse for illegal behaviour