Biological - Assumptions Flashcards
the biological approach combines
psycholoy and biology to provide physiological explanations for human behaviour
biological psychology tries to explain how we
think, feel and behave in terms of physical factors within the body
the three main assumptions of the biological approach are that behaviour can be explained by:
1) evolutionary influences
2) localisation of brain function
3) neurotransmitters
evolution is the
gradual change of a species over time and over many generations. the theory was first proposed by charles darwin in his groundbreaking book.
darwin argues that evolution happens through
natural selection
what behaviours and traits would have been adaptive for early humans
bipedalism (walking on 2 feet)
opposable thumbs (can touch the fingers of the same hand)
complex brain (controls all that we do)
darwin’s theory of natural selection is based on three main assumptions:
1) only a small proportion of each generation survives to reproduce
2) offspring are not identical to their parents, and so each generation has a degree of variation, and that at least some of this variation is heritable (can be passed on through genes
3) some characteristics give the animal an advantage over others in the ability to survive and reproduce
the characteristics which give the animal a greater chance of survival and reproduction are … this means that the animal is better adapted to the environment, and is therefore more likely to survive, … and pass these adaptive … on to their offspring. this is natural selection. if a characteristic has survived and been passed down through the …, it must have been adaptive and have given the animal a survival ….
adaptive, reproduce, genes, generations, advantage
evolutionary psychology argues that
to properly understand the functions of the brain, we must understand the environment in which the brain evolved. “environment of evolutionary adaptedness” (eea). therefore, evolutionary psychologists argue that humans are adapted to the environment that our ancestors would have faced
phobia
biological preparedness
past situation lead to current phobias e.g. heights, fire, etc.
stress
fight or flight
stress allowed us to survive dangerous events in the past
now it’s smaller things
understanding aggression
men can fight and assert dominance
use fists to ward off other men from women
localisation of function
the idea that certain functions (e.g. language, memory, etc.) have certain locations or areas within the brain
lateralisation of function
2 hemispheres controlling different parts of the body
four loves of the cerebral cortex
frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe
frontal lobe
condition - planning organising, problem solving, personality and higher order thinking
temporal lobe
auditory - hearing, selective listening, speech, language, memory