The Biological Approach

Question 1

Biological Approach: Key Assumptions

Answer 1

Views humans as biological organisms.
Explains human behaviour in terms of physical factors, including…

Genetics – assumes that behaviour is inherited and recognises the process of evolution.

The Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord) – explains behaviour in terms of the physical structure and functioning of the brain.

Biochemistry – Chemicals found in the brain (neurotransmitters) and body (hormones) are believed to influence reactions to the environment.

Question 2

what does heredity mean

Answer 2

Heredity: the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.
Specific genes code for certain physical/mental characteristics.

Question 3

what does genotype mean

Answer 3

Genotype: The genetic make-up of an individual, which provides the genetic code for how the individual will develop. Each individual is born with 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Question 4

what does phenotype mean

Answer 4

Phenotype: The observable characteristics of an individual; a consequence of the genotype interacting with the environment e.g. height can be affected by nutrition as well as genes.

Question 5

Researchers have conducted the following types of studies to examine genetic influences:

Answer 5

Family studies
Adoption studies
Twin studies – comparing monozygotic (MZ – identical, from one zygote) against dizygotic (DZ – non-identical, from two zygotes) twins

Question 6

Why is it useful to compare MZ and DZ twins?

Answer 6

If a behaviour has a strong genetic basis, then it should be more prevalent amongst MZ twins as they share 100% of their genes, whereas DZ twins only share 50% of their genes.

Question 7

what is concordance rate

Answer 7

Concordance rate = the probability that a pair of individuals will both have a certain characteristic.
If a behaviour has a purely genetic basis, then the concordance rate should be 100% amongst MZ twins.

Question 8

KEY STUDY: Gottesman (1991)
What can you conclude from this graph about the role of genes in schizophrenia?

Answer 8

The more closely related you are to someone with schizophrenia, the greater your risk of developing the condition.

Question 9

KEY STUDY: Gottesman (1991)
Why do you think the risk of developing schizophrenia is higher amongst DZ twins as opposed to ordinary siblings?

Answer 9

Role of the ‘shared environment’ – DZ twins share more environments than ordinary siblings e.g. same friends, class at school

Question 10

KEY STUDY: Gottesman (1991)
What does the concordance rate found in MZ twins suggest about the role of genes in the development of schizophrenia?

Answer 10

The high concordance rate amongst MZ twins suggests a strong genetic component, but the environment clearly has a part to play. If schizophrenia had a purely genetic basis, then the concordance rate would be 100%.
However, MZ twins are arguably treated more similarly than DZ twins, so nurture could explain the higher concordance rate.
Ultimately, it is difficult to disentangle the role of genes from the environment

Question 11

What is the evolutionary process?

Answer 11

Over time, organisms ‘adapt’ to their environment.

A genetic mutation may occur randomly, causing a particular physical or psychological characteristic (e.g. intelligence, aggression) to be displayed.

Individuals compete with others for resources e.g. food, mates, and those who are successful are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing their genes (and those behaviours that enabled survival) down to the next generation.

Question 12

what is natural selection

Answer 12

Natural selection (‘survival of the fittest’) - this characteristic may increase that individual’s chances of survival in their environment i.e. it has adaptive value

Question 13

what is sexual selection

Answer 13

Sexual selection (‘survival of the sexiest’) - the characteristic has reproductive value i.e. it helps them to gain access to a mate and reproduce

This process takes many generations to occur and so the process of one behaviour becoming part of the genetic make-up of humans is lengthy.

Question 14

Explain why aggression may have been an adaptive behaviour for our ancestors and why it is still present in the human population today

Answer 14

A genetic mutation may have occurred randomly, causing aggression to be displayed.

The adaptive value of aggressive behaviour to our ancestors:
More successful at hunting (acquisition of resources)
Better able to protect one’s family
Able to protect territory and fend off predators
Successful when competing against other males for access to a female

Consequently, an aggressive male may have been more likely to have survived (natural selection) and been more attractive to a potential partner (sexual selection).

Aggressive individuals were therefore more likely to be successful in passing their genes (along with their aggressive trait) on to the next generation.

Over time, aggression would have become more widespread amongst the population.

Question 15

what is the The Endocrine System

Answer 15

The Endocrine System: Maintains levels of hormones in the blood and other bodily fluids, using glands throughout the body. Hormones regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things.

Question 16

what are hormones

Answer 16

Hormones: Chemicals produced by endocrine glands.
Hormones are secreted directly into the bloodstream by the endocrine glands, where they travel to their ‘target cells’, stimulating receptors on or inside the cells.

Question 17

Research demonstrating the effects of hormones on behaviour

Answer 17

Dabbs et al. (1995) studied 692 male prisoners (by taking saliva samples) and found that violent offenders had higher testosterone levels than non-violent offenders. Inmates with higher testosterone levels also violated more rules in prison, especially rules involving overt confrontation.

Question 18

what is the cerebrum

Answer 18

Cerebrum
This is the largest part of the brain and makes up about 85% of the total mass of the brain.
The outer surface of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for the ‘higher-order’ functions, such as thought and language.
The cerebrum is split into two halves = hemispheres.
Each hemisphere is further divided into four different parts, known as lobes.

Question 19

what is in the left hemisphere

Answer 19

Left hemisphere:
Language centres…
Broca’s area
Wernicke’s area
Focuses on detail

Question 20

what is in the right hemisphere

Answer 20

Right hemisphere:
Facial recognition
Recognising emotion
Spatial relationships
Holistic processing
Recognises patterns

Question 21

The two hemispheres are connected and able to communicate with one another via the….

Answer 21

…corpus callosum

Question 22

what are the frontal lobes

Answer 22

speech (Broca’s area), thought, learning, conscious movement (motor cortex).

Question 23

what are the parietal lobes

Answer 23

spatial awareness, sensory information – touch/temperature/pain (somatosensory cortex).

Question 24

what are the occipital lobes

Answer 24

process visual information (visual cortex).

Question 25

what are the temporal lobes

Answer 25

memory, recognising faces, language (Wernicke’s area), hearing (auditory cortex)

Question 26

what is a neuron

Answer 26

Neuron: A nerve cell which transmits information – in the form of electrical signals - between the nervous systems.

Question 27

what is Neurochemistry

Answer 27

Neurochemistry is the study of chemical and neural processes within the nervous system.

Question 28

what are Neurotransmitters

Answer 28

Neurotransmitters: chemical messengers within the cerebral (brain) fluid

Question 29

what is synaptic transmission

Answer 29

is the process for transmitting messages from neuron to neuron.
The synapse is a gap between neurons through which an electrical impulse is transmitted chemically (via neurotransmitters).

Question 30

Is drug therapy a cure for mental illness?

Answer 30

It could be argued that drug treatments are not actually curing disorders - essentially they are just reducing the symptoms to enable the individual to lead a more normal life.
…which is indicated by the fact that patients often relapse (their symptoms return) within a few weeks if medication is stopped.

Question 31

A long-term treatment?

Answer 31

Drugs don’t deal with the root cause of disorders – ‘papering over the cracks’ - and so are not necessarily a good long-term treatment option.
Research has shown that the most effective treatment is to combine a drug treatment with a psychological treatment e.g. CBT.

Question 32

What are some of the side effects associated with drug treatments?

Answer 32

SSRIs (anti-depressant): Nausea, headaches, insomnia, low libido, loss of appetite.
Therefore, it may be the case that the side effects are severe enough to outweigh the benefits of the drug i.e. removing the symptoms.

Question 33

(P) Due to an increased understanding of the role of neurotransmitters, effective treatments have been developed to help treat mental illness, meaning it has practical applications.

Answer 33

(E) Drugs have been developed to address chemical imbalances in the brain, treating the symptoms of psychological disorders e.g. anti-depressants (SSRI’s e.g. Prozac) to treat depression.
(C) Therefore, it is now possible to make predictions about the effects of certain neurotransmitters on behaviour.

Question 34

(P) The approach uses scientific methods of investigation,

Answer 34

(E) ….using measures which are largely objective and precise e.g. brain scanning (PET, MRI, CAT) and measuring biochemical levels (saliva/blood/urine samples).
(C) This is a strength because experimental methods take place in highly controlled environments, enabling other researchers to replicate research studies under the same conditions, to check the reliability of the findings.

Question 35

(P) Arguably the biological approach is too reductionist…

Answer 35

(E) ….because they reduce human behaviour down into its smallest component parts e.g. genes, neurotransmitters, hormones.
(C) In doing so, it fails to recognise the complexities of human behaviour and the role of other factors in influencing behaviour e.g. upbringing, cognitive, cultural and emotional factors.

Question 36

(P) Furthermore, the approach is limited in that it relies on evolutionary explanations…

Answer 36

(E) This is problematic because some researchers claim that many established patterns of human behaviour have purely cultural origins with no survival or reproductive value e.g. traits we look for in a potential partner/mate.
(C) Ultimately, it is difficult to determine the extent to which a behaviour has an evolutionary or cultural basis, because evolutionary explanations are assumption-led.