Biological Evaluation

Question 1

What does DRAINS stand for in evaluation?

Answer 1

Determinism vs Free Will
Reductionism vs Holism
Applications
Idiographic vs Nomothetic
Nature vs Nurture
Scientific vs Unscientific

Question 2

Is the biological approach deterministic or free will?

Answer 2

Deterministic - suggests humans have no free will over their own behaviour as it is all due to their brain function.

Question 3

Is the biological approach being deterministic a strength or weakness?

Answer 3

Weakness - humans cannot take responsibility for their actions as they are due to naturally occurring factors.

Question 4

Is the biological approach reductionist or holistic?

Answer 4

Reductionist - does not take into account a range of other factors in looking at behaviour and reduces it down to just physical factors.

Question 5

Is the biological approach being reductionist a strength or weakness?

Answer 5

Weakness - might be other factors involved such as lifestyle, family or trauma.

Question 6

How has the biological approach been applied to society?

Answer 6

Applied to therapies such as drug therapy and psychosurgery to treat mental health illnesses with no known cure e.g. schizophrenia.

Question 7

What evidence is there for how the biological approach has been applied to society?

Answer 7

Cherek et al (2002) found males displaying criminal behaviour had reduced aggression a 21-day course SSRI’s.

Question 8

Is applications in relation to the biological approach a strength or weakness?

Answer 8

Strength - allows individuals to lead a relatively ‘normal life’ or have access to talking therapies that would not have been possible without biological therapies.

Question 9

Is the biological approach nomothetic or idiographic?

Answer 9

Nomothetic - aims to develops therapies that can be applied as laws of human behaviour.

Question 10

Is the biological approach being nomothetic a strength or weakness?

Answer 10

Strength - determines brain abnormalities / differences are responsible for criminality.

Question 11

Is the biological approach nature vs nurture?

Answer 11

Nature - all physical behaviour has a physical cause.

Question 12

Is the biological approach being nature a strength or weakness?

Answer 12

Weakness - ignores any environmental factors.

Question 13

Is the biological approach scientific and unscientific?

Answer 13

Scientific - uses objective research methods and collects quantitive data.

Question 14

Is the biological approach being scientific a strength or weakness?

Answer 14

Strength - controlled methods allows for objectivity and replicability to ensure reliable results.