biological area

Question 1

principles

Answer 1

• Our behaviour is affected by our physiology such as
  genetics, hormones and brain structure and function
• Brain structure and functioning impacts on
  behaviour but can also be influenced by
  experiences

Question 2

concepts

Answer 2

• brain plasticity
• lateralisation of function
• delay of gratification
• genetic predisposition
• regions of the brain (and their specialist functions)

Question 3

strengths of the biological area

Answer 3

• leads to a greater understanding of the physiognomy of the brain so we are learning how the brain works and how it impacts our behaviour
  e.g. Maguires work on the hippocampi of taxi drivers confirms the role of this structure in the brain in spatial memory and navigation and also illustrates the plasticity of the brain. the discipline of cognitive neuroscience is at cutting edge of scientific enquiry and is making major contributions to our understanding of both normal and abnormal brain functions.
• it favours scientific methods, using the Labrador experiment to investigate mental processes. this enables researchers to establish cause and effect between variables meaning that the biological area brings academic credibility to psychology such as discipline.
• the emphasis on controlled scientific study in the biological area makes it easier to test such studies for reliability. this means that the scientific value of studies in the biological area can be increased since replications of the findings is an important feature of scientific enquiry

Question 4

weaknesses of the biological area

Answer 4

• limitations to the way data is gathered in the biological area. even though the physiological approach tries to be scientific, our limited ability to study brain processes directly and objectively means that we often have to rely on self report data which causes demand characteristics.
  e.g. sperrys study on split brain patients. Sperry had to ask participants to perform tasks or answer questions about what they had experienced and they may have answered or acted in a way that they had thought they were expected to behave. this means that some studies in the biological area have to rely on self report and therefore may not be entirely valid
• methods used to measure the brain objectively have limitations.
  e.g. MRI scans can show us changes in the brains in Maguires study or illustrate brain functios as in Caseys study. however, while the scans show us that something is happening, at the present we are limited in our interpretation of what precisely is happening
• explanations of human behaviour based on biology alone are too simplistic. human behaviour is influenced by a range of factors incuding social, cognitive and biological influences. it is therefore important to avoid being reductionist by overplaying the importance of biology as an explanation of complex human behaviour

Question 5

studies that link to the area

Answer 5

• Sperry
• Blakemore and cooper
• Casey
• Maguire