Biological approach Flashcards
Genetics
The scientific study of heredity
Genotype
genetic makeup of an organism
Phenotype
physical characteristics of an organism
How do psychologists research genetics?
by studying twins as they allow psychologists to look at concordance rates between twins
What are the advantages of genetics?
+ Gene mapping can help psychologists locate genes on chromosomes which is highly scientific and objective
+ Involves twins and this is useful to examine concordance rates, Gottesman and Shields would support the idea that certain illnesses are transmitted genetically
+ Helps psychologists screen people to see if they have the genes for certain illnesses and this would involve gene mapping and can help them identify individuals who may be at risk, preventative care
What are the disadvantages of genetics?
- Reductionist as it takes a complex human behaviour and reduces it down to small components, can be inaccurate, other factors should be considered
- Role of genes and its effect can be criticised because other models are ignored
What did Gottesman and Shields study?
The role of genes in developing schizophrenia using twin studies, they studied 224 sets of twins.
How many twins were studied in Gottesman and Shields?
224 sets, 106 MZ and 118 DZ there were 120 males and 104 females
What was Gottesman and Shields study like?
In a London hospital and was longitudinal over 25 years, Study relied on the fact one already had schizophrenia and the concordance rate was investigated
What were the results of Gottesman and Shields?
48% of MZ twins were concordant for schizophrenia and 17% of DZ
What are the advantages of the Gottesman and Shields study?
+ It was longitudinal and this monitored the development of schizophrenia
+ Research supports the biological approach
What are the disadvantages of the Gottesman and Shields study?
- Ignores the behavioural approach as identical twins often copy each others behaviour so they must investigate whether it’s from observing and copying behaviour
- Criticised as it relies on interviews and schizophrenic patients often have difficulty with speech and communication so they may find it difficult to communicate symptoms
Evolution by Charles Darwin (1851)
Focused on natural selection and found that the genetic makeup of an individual can undergo a random change due to a factor in the environment leading to a characteristic change in offspring and the change could mean chances of reproduction are greater so the gene is passed on, physical characteristics may vary and this could be due to genetics or environment
Lea (2005)
found that aggression may be genetic due to the warrior gene (MAOA) found within the genotype of 33% of males and this could mean they have more chance of survival and passing on genes
What are the advantages of the evolutionary approach?
+ They can be supported by the nature side of nature-nurture debate and the evolutionary approach states our biology and interactions with the environment directly effect behaviour
+ Supported by Darwin explaining how certain traits become adaptive
+ Advantages as species will compete with each other to seek the best mate to reproduce with maximising the chances of healthy offspring helping adaptation
What is a disadvantage of the evolutionary approach?
- Doesn’t clearly explain some behaviours of why they are adaptive such as OCD
What is an evaluation point for the evolutionary approach?
= Criticised because it fails to take into account behavioural and cognitive explanations for behaviour and the idea of every species wishing to reproduce and aid survival takes away the idea of free will where not all members of a species have this drive
Buss (1989)
Investigate what males and females look for in a long term partner, 10,000 participants across 37 cultures had to rate 18 characteristics using a 4 point rating scale
Buss (1989) findings
Females desired males with good financial prospects, resources and ambition, males desired females who had reproductive value and were fertile and all males universally wanted females who were youthful and younger than them.
What are the disadvantages of Buss (1989) research?
- Buller (2005) criticised Buss’ research findings and the evolutionary explanation as he questioned the idea that females prefer high status males with resources as today many are independent
- Can be criticised as it doesn’t take into account social and cultural perspectives that affect partner choice
What is the advantage of Buss (1989)?
+ Has cross cultural validity as 37 cultures were assessed
what are the advantages of biological structures?
+ Studies of the brain rely on the use of scans such as PET and MRI that can help support the biological approach
+ Can be scientifically and objectively investigated in order to test how they affect behaviour
What are the disadvantages of biological structures?
- More applicable at explaining some behaviours than others
- Cause and effect is a disadvantage
- Psychologists still do not know everything about the brain and its functions
Neural correlates
Patterns of structure or activity in the brain that occur in conjunction with an experience and may be implicated in the origins of that experience
Swayze on Neural correlates
reviewed 50 studies of schizophrenic patients and used MRI, the structure of the brain could be examined and structural abnormalities were found
What were the structural abnormalities found by Swayze in schizophrenic patients?
- decrease in brain weight
- Enlarged ventricles filled with water
- a smaller hypothalamus
- less grey matter
- structural abnormalities in the pre frontal cortex
What are the disadvantages of the study by Swayze?
- Anderson (1982) criticised the neural correlates and found the extent to which ventricles are enlarged is not significant
- cause and effect
- Strong amount of supporting psychological evidence to state schizophrenia is caused by neural correlates changing
- Davison and Neale (2001) found contradictory evidence to suggest that enlarged ventricles can be found in sufferers of mania so could be a vulnerability factor not a cause
What is an advantage of Swayze research?
+ Strong amount of supporting evidence to state schizophrenia is caused by neural correlates changing that occurs in pre-natal development
Neurochemisty/transmitters and it’s effect on behaviour
Looks at the biochemistry of the CNS involving hormones and neurotransmitters, hormones travel in the blood system
Neurotransmitters
Brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body. They relay signals between nerve cells, called neurons
What are the advantages of neurochemistry?
+ Neurotransmitters can be measured objectively and scientifically
+ if we know that a lack of excess of a neurotransmitter has an effect on behaviour then we can look for relevant treatments to help solve the issue
What are the disadvantages of neurochemistry?
- Cause and effect
- Can be viewed as reductionist
- the idea that neurotransmitters have an effect on behaviour and can be criticised by the cognitive approach
Davis and Neale, Dopamine hypothesis
Schizophrenic patients have high levels of dopamine and dopamine inducing drugs like LSD and L-Dopa induces symptoms of schizophrenia
What are the advantages of the dopamine hypothesis?
+ There is a lot of research to support the hypothesis that they have high levels of dopamine
+ Scientific evidence to support it from brain scans
what are the disadvantages of the dopamine hypothesis?
- Cause and effect
- dopamine can be associated with mania and it has a complex role in the brain that can be associated to other illnesses
- Can be viewed as reductionist
