Principles That Define the Biological Level of Analysis

Question 1

Define the three principles:

Answer 1

PRINCIPLE 1: Behaviour is the product of
physiology.

PRINCIPLE 2: Behaviour can be genetically
inherited.

PRINCIPLE 3: Animal research may inform
our understanding of human behaviour.

Question 2

What is meant by Principle 1?

Answer 2

There are biological correlates of behaviour. This means that there are physiological origins of behaviour such as neurotransmitters, hormones, specialised brain areas, and genes. The biological level of analysis is based on reductionism, which is the attempt to explain complex behaviour in terms of simple causes

Question 3

What is meant by principle 2?

Answer 3

Behaviour can be viewed as explained through genetic
inheritance to some extent. However genetic
predispositions can be affected by environmental
factors.

Twin studies never show a 100% accordance rate so it
is important to consider the factors that can influence
the expression of genetic predisposition.

Question 4

What is meant by principle 3?

Answer 4

The study of physiological processes is assumed to be
similar between human and non-human animals.

We can not use human for some research due to ethical
considerations.

Question 5

Principle 1:

What did the findings from Newcomer et al. (1999) study show?

Answer 5

According to the findings from Newcomer et al. (1999) study, verbal declarative memory tasks were undertaken throughout three different conditions to determine if glucocorticoids released from the adrenal cortex during stressful experiences have an adverse effect on cognitive functions such as learning and memory.

Results:

• High levels of the stress hormone cortisol interferes with verbal declarative memory.
• Participants that received the high amount of cortisol performed the worst in the verbal declarative memory task.
• The effects of the cortisol was not permanent, as the performance of the participants returned to normal after they stopped taking the hormone tablet.

Evaluation:

• Because the study was experimental, a clear cause-effect relationship could be established
• The participants were not in the lab for the entire time, so researchers could not control external factors that could affect the results of the experiment

Question 6

Principle 2:

What did the findings from Bouchard et al. (1990) study show?

Answer 6

The Minnesota twin study conducted by Bouchard et al. (1990) entailed the measurement of IQ results between
twins reared together and apart. It was concluded that about 70% of intelligence is heritable, meaning that genes account for 70% of the variation in intelligence from one person to the next.

Strengths:

• This study was the large of its kind and had a large sample size given the strict parameters of the study (monozygotic twins reared apart)
• Had a control group

Limitations:

• Results remain correlational due to the fact that there are so many confounding variables
• Participants were all self-selected volunteers, and therefore may be fundamentally different than non-volunteers (this limits generalizability)

Question 7

Principle 3:

What did the findings of Rosenzweig and Bennet’s (1972) study show?

Answer 7

According to the study conducted by Rosenzweig and Bennet (1972) a range of rats were placed into enriched and impoverished conditions to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex.

Results:
-The rats in the enriched condition showed increased thickness and weight in the cerebral cortex compared to those of the impoverished condition.

• In addition, the neurons in the cerebral cortex of the EC -rats showed significantly more activity than the IC rats, which is associated with the transmission of an important neurotransmitter essential for memory and learning, acetylcholine.
• Hence the aforementioned results provide an insight into how environmental factors influence behaviour and biological make-up.