P2 Approaches: Biological Approach

Question 1

What does the biological approach assume?

Answer 1

• What is psychological is first biological.
• To understand human behaviour, we must understand how different aspects of biology influences us.

Question 2

How is cognitive psychology different?

Answer 2

• This sees mental processes as separate from the brain.
• Biological psychologists believe that they are one and the same, meaning that all thoughts, emotions and behaviour have a physical basis.

Question 3

What methods are used for the biological psychologist approach?

Answer 3

• Twin & family studies (to study genes)
• Brain scanning techniques (to study brain structure)
• Blood tests (to study hormones)
• Animal studies
• Case studies

Question 4

Why are animal studies used as a method for biological psychologists?

Answer 4

• Some animals are seen to have similar biological structures as ourselves
• For example, cats show similar brain structures & rats have similar neurochemistry.

Question 5

When would case studies be used as a method for biological psychologists?

Answer 5

In examples of rare behaviour that would be unethical to manipulate (e.g. brain damage).

Question 6

What are psychologists interested in about the influence of genes?

Answer 6

• Genes influence physical characteristics.
• Psychologists are interested in whether they also influence behavioural ones, such as intelligence, personality & mental disorders.

Question 7

What do psychologists know about OCD?

Answer 7

• Genes such as the SERT gene.
• When mutated they can cause OCD.

Question 8

What do psychologists know about Schizophrenia?

Answer 8

If one of your parents has schizophrenia, you have a 6x greater likelihood of developing it than the rest of the population.

Question 9

What do psycologists know about Forensics & Offending?

Answer 9

• It was found that adopted children with a biological mother with a criminal record had a 50% chance of having a criminal record by the age of 18.
• This was compared to 5% of adoptees without a criminal biological mother.

Question 10

What are monozygotic twins?

Answer 10

Identical - sharing 100% of their DNA.

Question 11

What are dizygotic twins?

Answer 11

Non identical - sharing 50% of their DNA. (Same as normal siblings).

Question 12

What is the concordance rate?

Answer 12

• Term used in statistcs & by geneticists.
• Describes the rate of probability that 2 people with shared genes will develop the same organic disease.

Question 13

What is a person´s genotype?

Answer 13

Their actual genetic make-up.

Question 14

What is a person´s phenotype?

Answer 14

The way that genes are expressed through physical, behavioural & psychological characteristics.

Question 15

Why is it possible to have the same genotype as someone, but have different phenotypes?

Answer 15

Due to environmental factors.

Question 16

What is an equation resulting in the phenotype?

Answer 16

Genotype + environment = phenotype

Question 17

What is the main difference between hormones & neurotransmitters?

Answer 17

• Hormones are released by organs, into the bloodstream.
• Neurotransmitters are chemicals released in the synapses in the brain.

Question 18

How does the hormone adrenaline affect behaviour?

Answer 18

It triggers the fight or flight response when we are in danger.

Question 19

What other hormones do we learn about in psychology?

Answer 19

The effect of oestrogen & testosterone on gender-based behaviour.

Question 20

When will neurostransmitters such as serotonin & dopamine affect our behaviour?

Answer 20

Usually when there are incorrect levels of each nuerotransmitter.

Question 21

What can high levels of dopamine & serotonin lead to?

Answer 21

• High levels of dopamine can lead to hallucinations & delusions.
• High levels of serotonin can lead to disorders such as depression & OCD.

Question 22

Where do psychologists often look to when trying to explain abnormal behaviour?

Answer 22

Damaged or dysfunctional brain areas.

Question 23

What areas has psychologists found that they think are responsible for criminality?

Answer 23

Adrian Raine (2011) found that criminals with APD (anti-social personality disorder) have, on average, an 11% reduction in neurons in their frontal lobes.

Question 24

What areas has psychologists found that they think are responsible for OCD?

Answer 24

Damage to the left parahippocampal gyrus causes issues with processing unpleasent emotions, leading to anxiety & OCD.

Question 25

What areas has psychologists found that they think are responsible for gender identity?

Answer 25

Zhou (1995) found that transgender men to women had a BST (bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) about 40% smaller than ´typical´men - the same size as biological women.

Question 26

What is the process of natural selection, proposed by Darwin?

Answer 26

• Animals who are best adapted to their environment would survive better than those who were less adapted.
• This results in them being able to get a better mate, produce offspring & pass on succesful genes to following generations.

Question 27

What does Bowlby believe? How is this an evolutionary advantage?

Answer 27

• Infants have an innate drive to form attachments.
• Babies won´t be left behind & so won´t die.

Question 28

What appears to be inherited? How is this an evolutionary advantage?

Answer 28

• Some mental disorders, such as phobias.
• e.g. one won´t be bitten by a snake because they have a phobia of it and will learn to avoid it and so won´t die.