Biological Approach

Question 1

What is the biological approach?

Answer 1

Emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function

Question 2

Genes

Answer 2

They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical processes of an organism

Question 3

Biological structure

Answer 3

An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living thing

Question 4

Neurochemistry

Answer 4

Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate physiological functioning

Question 5

Genotype

Answer 5

Set of genes a person possesses

Question 6

Phenotype

Answer 6

Characteristics of a person determined by both genes and environment

Question 7

Evolution

Answer 7

Changes in inherited characteristics in a population over generations

Question 8

What are the core assumptions?

Answer 8

1. The CNS is important in behavioural processes 2. Body chemistry is influential 3. Genes influence behaviour 4. Scientists can use animals to research humans by studying them

Question 9

What are twin studies used for?

Answer 9

To investigate wether certain psychological characteristics are genetic

Question 10

How are twin studies investigated to find whether characteristics have a genetic basis?

Answer 10

By analysing the concordance rates (the extent to which twins share the same characteristic)

Question 11

What are monozygotic and dizygotic twins?

Answer 11

Monozygotic = identical Dizygotic = non-identical

Question 12

If a characteristic is genetic, what would we expect to observe from mono and dizygotic twins?

Answer 12

We would expect the monozygotic twins to be concordant but this would not be the case for dizygotic twins. In all cases the environment is kept constant

Question 13

Who was evolution proposed by and what does it mean?

Answer 13

Charles Darwin proposed theory of natural selection Any genetically determined behaviour that enhances a persons survival, that person will be more likely to survive and pass those genes on (this occurs naturally)

Question 14

What is nature vs nurture?

Answer 14

Nature = what genetics give you Nurture = what is learned (environment) e.g. scurvy

Question 15

Animal research: Bock and Goode (1996)

Answer 15

• Mice raised alone and had never seen another mouse before were put in a group and displayed aggressiveness Shows aggression is genetic and they couldn’t have learned aggressiveness from other mice. It is an innate behaviour

Question 16

Animal research: McNamee (2015)

Answer 16

Mice with low levels of neurotransmitter serotonin were more reactive to stress than those with normal levels of serotonin So serotonin inhibits postsynaptic neurons

Question 17

Strengths of this approach:

Answer 17

• Real world application
  
  • Increased understaidng of neurochemical processes in the brain is associated with use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental disorders
  • Promoted the treatment of depression using anti-depressants that increase levels of serotonin at synapses of brain
  • Patients can now manage their condition and live a relatively normal life rather than being in hospital
• Uses scientific methods of investigation like EEG’s and fMRI’s
  
  • Much of the approach is based on objective and reliable data, which has lead to a further understanding of human physiology
• Animals can provide useful data
  
  • Ethical to perform research of this nature on animals as they have a shorter gestation period than in humans so this allows researchers to track the progression over a few years rather than decades

Question 18

Limitations of the approach:

Answer 18

• Antidepressants do not work for everyone
  
  • Study showed wide range of effectiveness in patients although most were more effective than placebos in comparative trials
  • Mostly modest effects
  • It challenges the value of the approach because it suggests brain chemistry alone may not account for all cases
• It is reductionist - it ignores all other possible explanations for behaviour like the environment
  
  • However a persons phenotype is heavily influenced by their environment
  • Problematic when we talk about crime as could we really excuse their actions by claiming their behaviour was controlled by a ‘crime gene’