BIOLOGICAL APPROACH Flashcards
Name three ways in which biology and behaviour interact
- Bio-chemicals affect moods;
- Traumas to the brain affect the way we think;
- Behaviours such as drug taking or being stressed can change our biochemical responses
Describe in one sentence the theory of natural selection
Traits in an animal that enables it to survive and hence increase its probability of reproducing (and raising offspring successfully)
Describe sexual selection in one sentence
An animal’s characteristics that make it more appealing to the opposite sex, and hence increase the probability of reproducing
What are the four lobes of the brain
- Frontal (front);
- Parietal (upper side);
- Temporal (around the temples);
- Occipital (at the back)
What are the frontal lobes of the brain associated with?
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]
What do the parietal lobes do?
Receive and interpret sensory information
What do the occipital lobes do?
Process visual information
What do the auditory lobes do?
Process auditory information and also memory
If Broca’s area in the brain is injured, what loss of function may occur?
Speech
If Wernicke’s areas of the brain is injured, what loss of function may occur?
Understanding speech
What is the tiny gap between neurones called?
Synpases
What does excitation of a neurone imply?
That the neurotransmitter is more likely that the neuron will send a message on to other neurons
What does inhibition of a neuron imply
That a neuron is less likely to pass a chemical message on to the next nerve
What does dopamine do?
- 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
What is serotonin associated with?
- Stabilising moods, and is associated with eating, arousal and sleep.
- It is linked with depression, aggression, OCD, and eating disorders
What is noradrenaline associated with?
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.
What is the function of GABA?
It functions to reduce neuronal excitability by inhibiting nerve transmission and can help to regulate anxiety
Name three strength of the biological approach
- It can be studied scientifically,
- Behaviour can be explained and altered with neurochemistry,
- Animals can be studied to further psychology and medicine
Name three weaknesses of the biological approach
- Cause and effect may be the wrong way round, and that behaviour may cause biological changes.
- Reducing behaviour to biology may be too simplistic for humans as we have free will and cognitive abilities
- And studying animals may not have strong ecological validity for understanding humans
How does the biological approach explain relationships?
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.
What did the research of Buss (1989) find regarding relationships?
Males value physical attractiveness more, while females valued earning potential and status more. (Critical comment: what age groups though?)
What did the research of Singh (1993) find?
Men preferred women with low waist to hip ratio indicating higher conception probability. (Critical thought - what ages were ppts?)
What did the research of Montoya (2007) find?
Both sexes are interested in body parts predictive of health (e.g., healthy eyes, skin, complexion; hips in women, muscles in men)
What is the focus of drug therapy?
Drug therapy either increases or decreases the effects of neurotransmitters in the brain
Excessive dopamine is correlated with which broad psychological problem?
Schizophrenia
Low levels of serotonin and noradrineline are associated with which broad spectrum problem?
Depression
Which kind of drugs are used to treat anxiety?
Anxiolytic antidepressants (SSRIs) and benzodiazepines (e.g. Valium)
Evaluate the effectiveness of drug therapy
Drugs are cheap quick and easy for managing symptoms, but they treat symptoms rather than causes and there may be side-effects.
What did Greist (1998) find regarding drug therapy versus psychological therapy?
Psychological therapy was just as effective as drugs and did not have side-effects.
What did Elkin (1989) find regarding drug therapy versus psychological therapy?
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
Name a problem with the ethics of drug therapy
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
What are possible social implications of Raine et al (1997) research?
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.
What is the function of the temporal lobes?
Temporal lobes are believed to play an important role in
- processing emotions,
- language,
- and certain aspects of visual perception
