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WJEC AS Psychology > Biological Approach > Flashcards

Biological Approach Flashcards

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1
Q

What are some side effects of SSRIs?

A

Nausea, headache and insomnia.

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2
Q

What do antipsychotic drugs treat?

A

Schizophrenia.

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3
Q

How do antipsychotic drugs work?

A

They block/occupy the dopamine receptors to allow the excessive dopamine production to reduce.

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4
Q

What are the three main assumptions of the biological approach?

A

Evolutionary influences, Localisation of brain function and Neurotransmitters.

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5
Q

What does evolutionary influences mean?

A

The theory that evolution can be used to explain how the human mind and behaviour has adapted over millions of years to our individual environments.

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6
Q

Name the two ideas involved in evolutionary influences and briefly describe them.

A

Theory of natural selection- the idea that genetically determined behaviour which enhances survival and reproduction is naturally selected.
EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptiveness)- the environment to which any species is adapted to and the selective pressures at that time.

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7
Q

What does EEA stand for?

A

Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness.

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8
Q

What does localisation of brain function mean?

A

Refers to the idea that certain parts of the brain are responsible for different functions.

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9
Q

Name the four lobes in the brain.

A

Frontal lobes, Parietal lobes, Temporal lobes and Occipital lobes.

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10
Q

What are the frontal lobes responsible for?

A

Thinking and creativity.

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11
Q

What are the parietal lobes involved in?

A

Receiving sensory information. (temperature, touch, pain)

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12
Q

What are the temporal lobes for?

A

Memory and auditory information processing.

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13
Q

What are the occipital lobes responsible for?

A

Visual processing.

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14
Q

Where is the Broca’s area and what does it affect if damaged?

A

In the frontal lobe, if damaged speech production is impaired.

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15
Q

Where is Wernicke’s area located and what would be affected if it was damaged?

A

In the temporal lobe, ability to understand language.

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16
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A

Chemical messengers that receive messages from neurons in the nervous system.

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17
Q

What are neurons?

A

Electrically excitable cells that form the basis of the nervous system.

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18
Q

How does the evolutionary theory explain relationship formation?

A

It proposes that relationships form with individuals possessing certain traits that enhance successful reproduction.

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19
Q

How does the idea of neurotransmitters explain relationship formation?

A

The chemicals released by these have a powerful effect on emotions and can influence perception of others, including those who we may seek for relationships. (oxytocin- human bonding/trust/loyalty.) (dopamine- pleasure/reward driven.)

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20
Q

How does evolutionary influence idea apply to drug therapy?

A

Biological approach assumes psychological disorders have a physiological (physical) cause. Therefore, the disorder can be treated physically by manipulating physical bodily processes.

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21
Q

How do neurotransmitters apply to drug therapy?

A

Changes in neurotransmitter systems change mood, perceptions and behaviour. Drugs are used to alter the action of neurotransmitters back to ‘normal’.

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22
Q

What do antidepressant drugs treat?

A

Depression.

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23
Q

How do antidepressants work?

A

They reduce the rate of absorption or can block the enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters.

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24
Q

Give an example of an antipsychotic drug.

A

Clozaril.

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25
Q

Give an example of an antidepressant.

A

Prozac.

26
Q

What do antianxiety drugs treat?

A

Anxiety and stress.

27
Q

Give an example of antianxiety drugs.

A

Librium/Valium.

28
Q

How do benzodiazepines (BZs) work?

A

Slow down the activity of the central nervous system by enhancing the activity of GABA.

29
Q

How do beta-blockers (BBs) work?

A

They reduce the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline by binding to the cells.

30
Q

How do you compare effectiveness of drug vs placebo?

A

Using a substance that has no pharmacological value but controls the belief that the pill you are taking will affect you.

31
Q

What is the most common criticism of drug therapy?

A

They may be effective in treating symptoms, but not at addressing the underlying causes.

32
Q

Drug therapy is cheap for the patient and less time consuming for the practitioner. True or false?

A

True! The patient will be prescribed drugs on the NHS and the practitioner will only meet with the patient every few months, instead of every week. (like for psychotherapy)

33
Q

What is an ethical issue with the use of placebos?

A

A kind of deception as a patient is being given a treatment that is known to be inferior. Substituting a placebo instead of an effective drug does not satisfy the duty.

34
Q

Valid consent is an ethical issue of drug therapy. True or false?

A

True. Many patients may not be in the right frame of mind for giving consent as they have mental health problems that may affect their decision making.

35
Q

What was the methodology used in ‘Brain Abnormalities in murders’ research by Raine (1997)?

A

Quasi-experiment and matched-pairs design.

36
Q

What was the IV and DV in Raine’s classic research?

A

IV- NGRI or not (Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity)

DV- Brain differences

37
Q

How many participants were there in Raine’s study? How many men/women?

A

41 murderers. 39 men, 2 women.

38
Q

What was the mean age of participants in Raine’s research?

A

34.3 years

39
Q

List the mental disorders and the number of participants that had each one in Raine’s research.

A
  • Schizophrenia- 6
  • Past head injury/organic brain damage- 23
  • Past psychoactive drug abuse- 3
  • Affective disorder- 2
  • Epilepsy- 2
  • Past hyperactivity/learning disability- 3
  • Personality disorder- 2
40
Q

How long were participants instructed to be medication free prior to brain scanning and how was this checked? (Raine)

A

Two weeks, urine sample.

41
Q

How was the control group formed? (Raine)

A

Matching each murderer to normal individual of same sex and age. (Only exception was the schizophrenics who were matched with other schizophrenics from a mental hospital)

42
Q

How was the sample obtained? (Raine)

A

Opportunity sampling.

43
Q

What type of brain scan was used in Raine’s research?

A

PET scan.

44
Q

Describe the procedure in steps of Raine’s classic research.

A

1• Participants given chance to practise CPT (continuous performance task)
2• 30 seconds before tracer injection (used to compare brain activity) the participants started CPT.
3• 32 minutes after tracer a PET scan was done. 10 pictures of each brain were recorded.

45
Q

How did Raine ensure the research could be replicated?

A

Provided precise details of scanning techniques.

46
Q

Where was REDUCED activity in brain of NGRI PREVIOUSLY LINKED TO VIOLENCE found? (Raine)

A
  • prefrontal cortex
  • left angular gyrus
  • corpus callosum
  • left hemisphere of amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus
47
Q

Where was INCREASED activity in brain of NGRI NOT PREVIOUSLY LINKED to violence found in Raine’s research?

A
  • cerebellum

* right hemisphere of amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus

48
Q

Where was there NO DIFFERENCE between NGRI and control group NOT PREVIOUSLY LINKED to violence? (Raine)

A
  • caudate
  • putamen
  • globes pallidus
  • midbrain
49
Q

Give a summary of findings during Raine’s research.

A
  • REDUCED ACTIVITY (reduced glucose metabolism) notably in areas previously linked to violence.
  • ABNORMAL ASYMMETRIES- REDUCED ACTIVITY on left side but GREATER ACTIVITY on right side.
  • NO DIFFERENCES notably in areas associated with mental illness but NOT violence.
50
Q

How did the participants perform on CPT? (Raine)

A

Both groups performed similarly so any observed brain differences were not related to the task.

51
Q

Name other differences between the NGRI and control group.

A
  • 6 murderers were left handed but had less amygdala asymmetry.
  • Ethnicity- 14 non-white but showed no difference in brain activity.
52
Q

What is the conclusion from Raine’s study?

A

Violent behaviour can be best explained by disruption of a network of interacting brain mechanisms BUT this disruption DOES NOT cause violent behaviour, just predisposes an individual to violent behaviour.

53
Q

Name one limitation of this quasi-experiment. (Raine)

A

No causal conclusions can be drawn.

54
Q

Why was valid consent an issue in Raine’s research?

A

The main group of participants pleaded guilty by reason of insanity so may not have been mentally competent to fully understand the requirements of the study.

55
Q

Why was psychological harm an ethical issue involved in Raine’s research?

A

Participants may have found the CPT difficult, therefore lowering their self esteem.

56
Q

Was the right to withdraw an ethical issue? (Raine)

A

Yes. They were prisoners so may have felt they had no choice but to continue.

57
Q

Is the biological approach scientific? Why/why not?

A

Yes. Behaviour was explained with the use of scientific research such as the evolutionary theory, neurotransmitters, localisation of brain function, Raine’s PET scans.

58
Q

The biological approach is determinist. Why?

A

We know what can predetermine behaviour so we can stop doing things that may have a negative impact and we are more likely to be able to treat people.

59
Q

The biological approach has successful applications. What does this mean?

A

It has research that has benefited society as it is useful and relevant. e.g treatment of certain mental health issues due to research of neurotransmitters.

60
Q

The biological approach is reductionist. Why is this a limitation?

A

Because biological explanations reduce complex behaviours into simple ones. Real understanding is lost when these behaviours are simplified.

61
Q

Is the biological approach focused on nature or nurture? Explain.

A

Nature. It ignores nurture. There should be some sort of balance so this is a limitation.

62
Q

Is the biological approach idiographic or nomothetic?

A

Nomothetic. It looks to make generalisations and find similarities between people but tends to ignore individual differences. It assumes everyone biological systems behave in the same way.

WJEC AS Psychology (6 decks)

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