A2: Psychological approaches to health, wellbeing and illness Flashcards
what does the biological approach say about our behaviour ?
says that it’s a direct result of our biology
what is genetic predisposition?
an increased likelihood of developing a disease based on our genetic makeup
what are neurotransmitters?
chemicals used to transmit messages from one brain cell to another
what does excitatory do?
increases brain activity
what does inhibitory do?
decreases brain activity
give examples of excitatory?
dopamine, adrenaline, glutamate
give examples of inhibitory?
serotonin, GABA, glycine
give a strength of the biological approach
it has real life applications. for example if someone has low levels of serotonin sending them to therapy without correcting their levels may not help
give a weakness of the biological approach
only focuses on nature and not nurture and is unhelpful because everyone is affected by both
what are cues?
external events that prompt behaviour
what is positive reinforcement?
rewards that increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated
what is negative reinforcement?
the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated
give an strength on the behaviourist approach
it’s supported by research. Skinner taught pigeons to produce behaviours by using operant conditioning
give a weakness on the behaviourist approach
it can’t explain why only some people become addicted to alcohol when most people experience a reward from drinking it
what does the social learning approach say about behaviour?
that we learn it from our environment by observing others around us
what are role models?
someone we imitate
give a strength of the social approach
there’s a lot of research and real life examples like Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment
give a weakness of the social approach
it doesn’t explain why some people don’t copy their parents because not everyone that grows up in a smoking household becomes a smoker
what does the cognitive approach say about behaviour ?
that our thought processes are the main influence on behaviour
what is cognitive dissonance?
used to describe the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs
what is professional biases?
a professional being unfair and not giving equal treatment
give a strength of the cognitive approach
it has real life applications because understanding cognitive processes means that they can be tackled within therapy to prevent unhealthy behaviour
give a weakness of the cognitive approach
it’s not a complete explanation on its own because there might be other factors such as biology which affects people
