Biological Approach Flashcards
What does the biological approach suggest?
Everything psychological is at first biological, so we must examine biological structures in our body e.g. genes
What two gradual change mechanisms did Charles Darwin identify?
Natural Selection and Sexual Selection
What is natural selection?
This occurs when some traits give the possessor certain advantages. Which means they are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on given traits
What study do we use to see if behavioural characteristics are genetic?
Family Studies with MZ twins
What is concordance rate?
The rate of how similar a pair of twins are and how they share a similar attribute
What is a genotype?
the genes a person possesses (nature)
What is a phenotype?
characteristics from the interaction of a genotype and environment (nurture)
What is neurochemistry?
the study of chemical processes which take place in the nervous system
What is a neurotransmitter?
chemical messengers across a synapse e.g. serotonin (linked with sleep, appetite, memory, social/sexual behaviour)
Who was Phineas Gage?
A railroad worker, who had a pole go through his left cheek, passing behind his left eye and out his skull, taking most of his left frontal lobe.
What happened to Gage?
He survived but his personality was changed. He turned into a calm person to a quick tempered and rude person.
What has research shown with different people’s brain?
Violent criminals had reduced activity in the frontal cortex. London taxi drivers showed an enlarged hippocampus (linked with memory)
What are some advantages of the biological approach?
-Uses highly scientific methods. Advances in technology shows less bias and more reliable data
-Real life application, increased understanding and revolutionised treatment. Patients can manage their conditions. Drugs can reduce symptoms of mental disorders (just an assumption)
What are some disadvantages of the biological approach?
-Never can be a 100% concordance rate
-Determinist, no free will, we are controlled by our genes
-Difficult to seperate nature and nurture. Better to adopt an interactionist view
-Reductionist, reduces complex human behaviour to a simple format when there are more important factors
