The Biological approach Flashcards
What does biological approach?
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neutral function.
What are genes?
They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism (such as eye colour, height) and psychological features (such as mental disorder, intelligence). Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring, i.e inherited.
What is biological structure?
An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living thing
What is neurochemistry?
Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning.
What is genotype?
The particular set of genes that a person posses
What is phenotype?
The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment.
What is evolution?
The changes in inherited characteristic’s in a biological population over successive generations.
What are the assumptions of the biological approach?
The biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological, so to dully understand human behaviour, we must look to biological structures and processes within the body, such as genes, neurochemistry and the nervous system. An understanding of brain structure and function can explain our thoughts and behaviour. From a biological perspective, the mind lives in the brain- meaning that all thoughts, feeling and behaviour ultimately have a physical brain.
What is the genetic basis of behaviour of the biological approach?
Behaviour geneticists study whether behavioural characteristics, such as intelligence, personality, mental disorder, etc., are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics such as height and eye colour. Twin studies are used to determine the likelihood that certain traits have a genetic basis by comparing the concordance rates between pairs of twins; that is, the extent to which both twins share the same characteristics.
- If identical (monozygotic) twins are found to have higher concordance rates than non-identical (dizygotic) twins- for musical ability, schizophrenia, love of romantic films or whatever- this would suggests a genetic basis. This is because MZ twins share 100% of each other’s genes, whilst DZ twin share about 50% (the same as any siblings).
How are genotype and phenotype part of the biological approach?
A person’s genotype is their actual genetic make up, whereas phenotype is the way that genes are expressed through physical, behavioral and psychological characteristics. The expression of a genotype is inevitably influenced by environmental factors . For instance, identical adult twins usually look slightly different because one has exercised more or has dyed their hair a different color and so on. So despite having the same genes, the way identical genes are expressed (the phenotype) is different- see also the example of PKU( opposite. This illustrates what many biological psychologists would accept that much of a human behavior depends upon an interaction between inherited factors (nature ) and the environment (nurture).
How is evolution and behavior a part of the biological approach?
The evolution of plants and animals is a fact. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin proposed a theory to explain this fact- the theory of natural selection . The main principle of this theory is that any genetically determined behavior that enhances an individuals survival (and reproduction) will continue in future generations, i.e. be naturally selected. This happens in a similar way to a farmer deciding which animals to use for breeding- the farmer selects the ones who posses desirable characteristics. if one of a farmer’s cow has a high milk yield the farmer choses this cow for further breeding so his stocks of cows become progressively better milk producers.
In nature this selection takes place naturally- no one decides, the selection occurs simply because some traits give the possessor certain advantage. The possessor is more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on these traits. If the individual survives but does not reproduce, the traits do not remain in the gene pool.
How is scientific methods of investigation a strength for biological approach?
In order to investigate the genetic and biological basis of behaviour, the biological approach make use if a range of precise and highly scientific methods. These include scanning techniques such as fMRIs and EEGs, family and twin studies and drug trials. With advances in technology, it is possible to accurately measure biological and neural processes in ways that are not open to bias. This means that the biological approach is based on reliable data.
How is real life application an a strength for biological approach?
Increased understanding of biochemical processes in the brain hassled to the development of psychoactive drugs that treat serious mental illnesses, such as depression. . Although these drugs are not effective for all patients, they have revolutionise treatment for many.
This is a strength of the biological approach because it means that suffers are able to manage their condition and live a relatively normal life, rather than remain in hospital .
How is causal conclusion a limitations for the biological approach?
The biological approach offers explanations for mental illness in terms of the action of neurotransmitters in the brain. This evidence for this relationship comes from the studies that show a particular drug reduces symptoms of a mental disorder and this it is assumed that the neurochemical in the drug causes the disorder. This is a bit like assuming that the causes of a headache is lack of paracetamol simply because taking paracetamol is effective in relieving symptoms of a headache. Discovering an association between two factors does not mean that one is a cause.
This is a limitation because the biological approach is claiming to have discovered causes where only an association exists.
How is nature and nurture a limitation of the biological approach?
Identical twins and non identical twins and members of the dame family, all have genetic similarities. Therefore, the biological approach argues, any similarities in the way they look and behave must be gentic. However, there is an important confounding variable. They are also exposed to similar environmental conditions. This means that findings could just as easily be interpreted as supporting nurture rather than nature, This approach also has difficultly accounting for the fact that, in research studies, DZ twins often show higher concordance rates than pairs of ordinary siblings. This is likely to be explained by the influence of nurture as DZs and ordinary siblings both have about 50% genes in common.
