BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Question 1

Name three ways in which biology and behaviour interact

Answer 1

1. Bio-chemicals affect moods;
2. Traumas to the brain affect the way we think;
3. Behaviours such as drug taking or being stressed can change our biochemical responses

Question 2

Describe in one sentence the theory of natural selection

Answer 2

Traits in an animal that enables it to survive and hence increase its probability of reproducing (and raising offspring successfully)

Question 3

Describe sexual selection in one sentence

Answer 3

An animal’s characteristics that make it more appealing to the opposite sex, and hence increase the probability of reproducing

Question 4

What are the four lobes of the brain

Answer 4

1. Frontal (front);
2. Parietal (upper side);
3. Temporal (around the temples);
4. Occipital (at the back)

Question 5

What are the frontal lobes of the brain associated with?

Answer 5

Higher functions,

E.g., thinking, speech, motor control, and co-ordinating information from other loads [like a CEO - chief executive officer or director of a company]

Question 6

What do the parietal lobes do?

Answer 6

Receive and interpret sensory information

Question 7

What do the occipital lobes do?

Answer 7

Process visual information

Question 8

What do the auditory lobes do?

Answer 8

Process auditory information and also memory

Question 9

If Broca’s area in the brain is injured, what loss of function may occur?

Answer 9

Speech

Question 10

If Wernicke’s areas of the brain is injured, what loss of function may occur?

Answer 10

Understanding speech

Question 11

What is the tiny gap between neurones called?

Answer 11

Synpases

Question 12

What does excitation of a neurone imply?

Answer 12

That the neurotransmitter is more likely that the neuron will send a message on to other neurons

Question 13

What does inhibition of a neuron imply

Answer 13

That a neuron is less likely to pass a chemical message on to the next nerve

Question 14

What does dopamine do?

Answer 14

• Dopamine plays a key role in driving behaviour related to pleasurable goals, such as food, sex and social interaction.
• Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure and its also part of our unique ability to think and plan, helping us to strive, focus, and find things interesting. (If you’ve switched off now, perhaps you’ve got low dopamine :))
• Dopamine is associated with:
• Learning
• Motivation
• Heart rate
• Blood vessel function
• Kidney function
• Lactation
• Sleep
• Mood
• Attention
• Control of nausea and vomiting
• Pain processing
• Movement

Question 15

What is serotonin associated with?

Answer 15

• Stabilising moods, and is associated with eating, arousal and sleep.
• It is linked with depression, aggression, OCD, and eating disorders

Question 16

What is noradrenaline associated with?

Answer 16

Also called norepinephrine (US English

• It is released predominantly from the ends of sympathetic nerve fibres and that acts to increase the force of skeletal muscle contraction and the rate and force of contraction of the heart
• Noradrenaline increases arousal and attentiveness and sexual behaviour.

Question 17

What is the function of GABA?

Answer 17

It functions to reduce neuronal excitability by inhibiting nerve transmission and can help to regulate anxiety

Question 18

Name three strength of the biological approach

Answer 18

1. It can be studied scientifically,
2. Behaviour can be explained and altered with neurochemistry,
3. Animals can be studied to further psychology and medicine

Question 19

Name three weaknesses of the biological approach

Answer 19

1. Cause and effect may be the wrong way round, and that behaviour may cause biological changes.
2. Reducing behaviour to biology may be too simplistic for humans as we have free will and cognitive abilities
3. And studying animals may not have strong ecological validity for understanding humans

Question 20

How does the biological approach explain relationships?

Answer 20

Males and females seek to reproduce healthy offspring; hence they seek healthy partners, but males and females will look for different things: females seek males with attractive qualities and ability to fund pregnancy and childhood, while males seek as many partners as possible to pass their genes on.

Question 21

What did the research of Buss (1989) find regarding relationships?

Answer 21

Males value physical attractiveness more, while females valued earning potential and status more. (Critical comment: what age groups though?)

Question 22

What did the research of Singh (1993) find?

Answer 22

Men preferred women with low waist to hip ratio indicating higher conception probability. (Critical thought - what ages were ppts?)

Question 23

What did the research of Montoya (2007) find?

Answer 23

Both sexes are interested in body parts predictive of health (e.g., healthy eyes, skin, complexion; hips in women, muscles in men)

Question 24

What is the focus of drug therapy?

Answer 24

Drug therapy either increases or decreases the effects of neurotransmitters in the brain

Question 25

Excessive dopamine is correlated with which broad psychological problem?

Answer 25

Schizophrenia

Question 26

Low levels of serotonin and noradrineline are associated with which broad spectrum problem?

Answer 26

Depression

Question 27

Which kind of drugs are used to treat anxiety?

Answer 27

Anxiolytic antidepressants (SSRIs) and benzodiazepines (e.g. Valium)

Question 28

Evaluate the effectiveness of drug therapy

Answer 28

Drugs are cheap quick and easy for managing symptoms, but they treat symptoms rather than causes and there may be side-effects.

Question 29

What did Greist (1998) find regarding drug therapy versus psychological therapy?

Answer 29

Psychological therapy was just as effective as drugs and did not have side-effects.

Question 30

What did Elkin (1989) find regarding drug therapy versus psychological therapy?

Answer 30

Elkin conducted large-scale study and found that the use of drugs generally provided quicker effects especially for those people with severe cases of depression.
But for mild depression the drugs didn’t work as well as a placebo or psychological therapy

Question 31

Name a problem with the ethics of drug therapy

Answer 31

All drug treatments can have side-effects e.g. drowsiness in voluntary movements and potential fatalities.
On the other hand some drugs have mild side-effects and they can also be used instead of surgery

Question 32

What are possible social implications of Raine et al (1997) research?

Answer 32

The possibility that technology will allow authorities to predict who will commit crime and whether criminals are likely to recommit.
Defence lawyers though may use this as an excuse based on (apparent) diminished responsibility.

Question 33

What is the function of the temporal lobes?

Answer 33

Temporal lobes are believed to play an important role in

1. processing emotions,
2. language,
3. and certain aspects of visual perception