The Biological approach

Question 1

what are the assumptions of the biological appraoch?

Answer 1

• All behaviour is driven by physical (or physiological) factors
• Genetic factors, biological structures and neurochemistry drives behaviour
• Emphasises our NATURE (internal forces) in shaping behaviour
• Most scientific of the approaches (e.g., uses precise measurements such as fMRIs to record responses and experimental methods to increase validity and reliability)

Question 2

What are the 4 different explanations in the biological approach??

Answer 2

• evolution and behaviour
• genes and behaviour
• biological structures
• neurochemistry and behaviour

Question 3

evolution and behaviour:
who suggested this explanation?

Answer 3

Charles Darwin (1864) suggested that all our behaviour - in our minds and bodies - has been acquired through a process known as:

Natural selection

Survival of the fittest
Herbert Spencer (1879)

Question 4

evolution and behaviour:
what is natural selection?

Answer 4

Natural Selection

The process where inherited characteristics that enhance survival (or fitness) are passed onto the next generation.

This occurs over thousands of generations (i.e. it’s hardly at all noticeable in a couple of generations).

E.g., monotropic attachments keep us safe and boost survival - so likely to have been part of natural selection.

Question 5

evolution and behaviour: what is adaptation?

Answer 5

Adaptation refers to a behaviour or trait that will increase the chance of survival and boost reproductive success.
E.g., perhaps the fight-flight response is a good ‘adaptation’ to threats.

Question 6

evolution and behavior: what is natural selection? extra

Answer 6

According to Darwin… Natural selection ensures that only those whose behaviours are adaptive will be naturally selected and passed down through generations.

E.g., Seligman’s (1971) - biological preparedness to phobias of certain things (e.g., heights and snakes).

Certain behaviours can be seen as adaptive: arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias.

Question 7

Genes and behaviour:
what are genes?

Answer 7

Behavioural genetics tries to identify whether behaviours like…

Intelligence
Aggression
Personality
Mental illnesses

… are inherited in the same way as our physical characteristics like eye colour.

All humans are genetically 99.9% the same, but we all have a unique genotype.

Question 8

genes and behaviour:
what is a genotype?

Answer 8

The genetic constitution of an individual (each and every cell contains this copy).

The variation in human genotype (0.1%) can account for enormous variation across the species.

For perspective… We’re 98% genetically similar to chimpanzees and 60% similar to bananas!

Question 9

genes and behaviour:
what is a phenotype?

Answer 9

This is the result of your genetic material interacting with your environment to establish a behaviour.
Put literally, it is a set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

Question 10

genes and behaviour:
example?

Answer 10

Phenylketonuria

PKU is a rare genetic disorder that can be detected in babies using the heel prick test.

If left unchecked, PKU causes severe learning difficulties in those who carry the genotype.

If detected early enough however, the child can be placed on a restricted diet- avoiding high protein (environmental stuff) and will develop normally without any complications.

Question 11

genes and behavior =
studying genetics? twins

look at page 17 for extra info PLS

Answer 11

Often studied through twin and family studies.

MZ twins are 100% genetically similar.
DZ twins are 50% genetically similar.

So, if we find MZ twins have a higher concordance rate than DZ twins, we can suggest this is because of genetics.

Question 12

biological structures =
what is neuroanatomy?

Answer 12

Mapping the relationships between various areas of the brain and their functions.

Despite the challenges caused by plasticity, there has been success in researching this using:

Case studies of brain damaged patients

Psychosurgery (parts of the brain are cut / removed / burnt away)

Brain scanning devices (fMRI/EEG/PET scans)

Question 13

biological structures =
what was Raine et al 1997 study?

Answer 13

Raine used PET scans to identify several areas of murderers brains (who pleaded NGRI) as significantly different to matched controls.

Reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus

Abnormal asymmetries - reduced activity on the left and greater activity of the right hemisphere

Question 14

Neurochemistry and behaviour: what is neurochemistry?

Answer 14

As with biological structures, if some behaviours or mental disorders are genetically inherited, then what is inherited is likely to be something within the brain.

If it’s not the structures themselves, then the next suspect is neurochemistry - the chemical processes that take place in the brain.

Question 15

look in book for what are neurotransmitters and role of neurotransmitters

Answer 15

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Question 16

what are the postive evalutions?

Answer 16

• practical applications =

The biological approach has made significant contributions to help society including accessible ways to treat mental health problems.
For example, antipsychotics given to patients suffering from schizophrenia can quickly stabilise behaviour in up to 85% of patients. (and/or Davis).
Insights from biological approach has given us knowledge into the causes of mental disorders. As such effective drug treatments have been developed that are quick acting for many disorders.
This means that the biological approach h

• praised for being scientific =

The approach uses both objective and falsifiable methods to help identify biological roots of behaviours.
For instance, NT levels can be objectively measured through cerebral-spinal fluid (CSF) as well as carefully examining urine.
This means the biochemical actions suggested are likely to be trustworthy and reliable deserving of respect and government funding.

• evidence to support =
  For example, Maguire - using MRI scans - discovered that London ‘cabbies’ had developed more grey matter in their hippocampus than matched controls.
  Also, that a positive correlation existed - the longer they had been a taxi driver (with the ‘knowledge’) the greater the structural differences in the hippocampus.
  This means the approach has evidence to validate its claims, and can be seen as falsifiable.

Question 17

what are the negative evaluations?

Answer 17

• low generalisablity =

A lot of research and knowledge gained from the biological approach has taken place on non- human animals.
Animal research is often criticised by ‘evolutionary discontinuity’. This means that humans have qualitative differences (non-numerical) to all other species which means animal research cannot generalise to humans effectively. For example, humans have a language acquisition device (LAD) in their brains that no other animal possesses. This makes human behaviour unique.
This means that the biological approach may lack validity and questions the moral and ethical implications involved in its research.

• methodological issues in studies =

For example, in the Teubar (1975) study younger soldiers with brain damage recovered more than older soldiers (60% under 20 showed big improvements compared to only 20% if over 26) and a negative correlation was found between age and recovery.
However, this DOES NOT show cause and effect – we cannot assume that the key factor was AGE that reduced plasticity - it could be other factors such as the amount of conflict soldiers had witnessed that damaged recovery.
This means we cannot establish cause and effect, reducing the validity of the biological approaches.