biological approach Flashcards
what do biological pyschologists think is the best explanation for behaviour
biological factors
name some biological factors
evolution, genetics, hormones
what part of evolution do pyschologists focus on
the evolution of behaviour
what does maladaptive mean
agaisnt survival
give an example of a behaviour which may have evolved
memory
what is a genotype
a persons genetic make-up
what is a phenotype
how their genes are expressed
what experiment did gottesman conduct
he measured the concordance rate of different family relations and schizophrenia
what did gottesman find out from his research
identical twins who share the most dna had the highest concordance rate
what is the concordance rate of mz twins
48
what is the concordance rate of dz twins
17
how much dna do mz twins share
100%
how much dna do dz twins share
50%
what do gottesmans findings suggest
there is a link between schizophrenia and genetics
what other research supports gottesmans conclusion that genetics and schizophrenia are linked
tienari et al
what were tienari et al’s findings
8% of children adopted away from schizophrenia developed schizophrenia later in life compared to just 2% of the control group who had no relation to anyone with schizophrenia
what do excitary neurotransmitters do
make an impulse in the next neuron more likely
what do inhibitary neurotransmitters do
make an impulse in the next neuron less likely
what are neurotransmitters
chemical messengers releaaed when a nerve impulse reaches the end of one neuron
what are hormones
chemicals produced by the endocrine glands
what are the strengths of the biological approach
-one of the most scientific approaches
-has useful applications
what are the useful applications of the biological approach
biological treatment (e.g surgery or drug treatment)
what are the limitations of the biological approach
-deterministic (ignores free will)
-socially sensitive
why is research into biology socially sensitive
people may blame others for behaviour or feel helpless/excuse their behaviour as they feel it is purely determined by their genes
