biological approach Flashcards
what is the core belief?
all behaviour is a result of genetics
what is the basic assumption?
all thoughts, feelings and behaviours have a physical basis. in order to understand behaviour we look to biological structures and processes in the body.
what is a concordance rate?
the concordance rate is the percentage of pairs of twins or other blood relatives who exhibit a particular trait or disorder.
what can be said from a biological perspective?
the mind lives in the brain meaning all our thoughts, feelings and behaviour have a physical basis. the believe the mind and brain are the same.
what is the neurochemical basis for behaviour?
our thoughts and behaviour rely on the chemical transmissions in the brain through neurotransmitters. if there is an imbalance of the chemicals it could lead to a mental disorder.
what is an example for the neurochemical basis?
low levels of serotonin can occur in OCD and an over-production of dopamine in schizophrenia.
what is the genetic basis for behaviour?
behaviour geneticists study if behavioural characteristics are inherited as physical characteristics through twin studies to determine the likelihood by comparing concordance rates.
what is an example for the genetic basis?
if identical twins are found to have higher concordance rates than non-identical twins, it would suggest a genetic basis. this is because identical twins share 100% of each others DNA but non-identical share 50%.
what are the scientific names for identical and non-identical twins?
monozygotic and dizygotic.
what is a genotype?
a person’s genotype is the actual make-up of their genes. the expression of a genotype is inevitably expressed through environmental factors.
what is a phenotype?
a phenotype is the way their genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics. twins can be expressed differently through their phenotype despite having the same genes.
what is the link between evolution and behaviour?
Charles Darwin proposed his theory of natural selection. any behaviour that benefits a species and helps it to survive and reproduce in future generations. the selection occurs because the traits are desirable and give advantages.
one strength of the biological approach
P- the biological approach is scientific.
E- the approach conducts lab studies which are highly controlled, use standardised procedures, objective findings and some use brain scans e.g. Raine & Darwin.
T- using scientific research allows us to see cause and effect and have confidence that the findings are accurate. the studies can be repeated which means our understanding of human behaviour is detailed and high in validity.
one weakness of the biological approach
P- it ignores the influence of your environment and experiences
E- for example, the biological psychologists don’t acknowledge how a person’s upbringing and socialisation can affect their behaviour e.g. Raine links criminality to biological factors and doesn’t acknowledge other social factors
T- By ignoring key influences on behaviour you can not fully explain or understand human behaviour.
what is Raine’s study?
his evidence suggests a correlation between brain abnormalities and criminal behaviour. these findings provide a valuable contribution to the biological approach highlighting role of neurobiological factors in behaviour