Biological Approach

Question 1

What does the biological approach (BA) assume about psychological behaviors/functions?

Answer 1

All psychological behaviours/functions have a biological root at their core

Question 2

What are the key areas to examine to understand human behavior according to the BA?

Answer 2

Biological structures, functions, processes

Question 3

Give an example of a biological structure relevant to behavior.

Answer 3

Hippocampus

Question 4

What role does serotonin play in behavior?

Answer 4

It is a neurotransmitter involved in regulating behavior

Question 5

Fill in the blank: The BA assumes that depression is the result of _______.

Answer 5

irregular neurotransmission

Question 6

What does the genetic basis of behavior investigate?

Answer 6

The extent to which behaviors are inherited

Question 7

True or False: People inherit psychological traits such as competitiveness from their parents.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

How many pairs of chromosomes does an individual typically have?

Answer 8

23 pairs

Question 9

What do twin studies compare to investigate genetic influence on traits?

Answer 9

Monozygotic (MZ) twins and dizygotic (DZ) twins

Question 10

What is the significance of concordance rates in twin studies?

Answer 10

They measure the rates of agreement for a specific trait/behavior

Question 11

What did McGuffin et al. (1996) find regarding concordance rates for major depression?

Answer 11

46% for MZ twins; 20% for DZ twins

Question 12

Define genotype.

Answer 12

A person’s particular set of genes that make up their DNA

Question 13

What does phenotype refer to?

Answer 13

The expression of the genotype determined by external influences

Question 14

List some examples of observable traits that comprise phenotype.

Answer 14

• Height
• Eye color
• Hair texture
• Blood type

Question 15

How can environmental factors influence a person’s phenotype?

Answer 15

They can affect the expression of genetic potential

Question 16

Fill in the blank: An individual’s genotype will determine how tall they could potentially grow, however, their _______ will determine whether or not they reach their maximum height.

Answer 16

diet in childhood

Question 17

How can a secure home environment affect someone with a genotype predisposed to criminality?

Answer 17

It is less likely that they will turn to crime

Question 18

Even MZ twins can present different phenotypes due to what factors?

Answer 18

Upbringing, friendship groups, hobbies, careers

Question 19

What is a real-world application of the biological approach?

Answer 19

The success of drug therapies such as SSRIs for the treatment of psychological disorders such as depression and OCD

Question 20

What does family history predict in the context of the biological approach?

Answer 20

An individual’s disease risk due to an understanding of genotype combined with environmental factors

Question 21

What is a significant finding from Bouchard et al. (1990) regarding MZ twins?

Answer 21

MZ twins reared together showed a correlation of +0.9

Question 22

What sample size did Bouchard et al. (1990) study?

Answer 22

Over 1,500 pairs of twins, as well as over 350 adopted and biological siblings

Question 23

What aspect of the Bouchard et al. (1990) study contributes to its reliability?

Answer 23

The large sample size and quantitative data

Question 24

What is biological determinism?

Answer 24

The argument that complex human behavior is a product of genetics alone

Question 25

What limitation does biological determinism have?

Answer 25

It ignores the effect of environmental factors on behavior

Question 26

What cognitive aspect is overlooked by the biological approach?

Answer 26

Sophisticated cognitive processing

Question 27

How does the biological approach’s limitation affect its validity?

Answer 27

It limits the external validity of the approach

Question 28

What issue arises from twin studies conducted before DNA testing?

Answer 28

Pairs of twins may have been incorrectly labeled MZ when they were actually DZ

Question 29

What could damage the validity of twin study findings?

Answer 29

Any question regarding the veracity of a twin’s MZ/DZ status