Biological approach : Approaches

What are the Main Assumptions

• everything psychological has a biological basis.

• our biology is determined by evolution & genetics.

• behaviour and processes can be explained by using the human nervous system

• psychology should be seen as a science

What does the biological approach state

Everything is at first biological, to study human behaviour we must first observe biological structures,

what does the biological approach suggest about evolution

Natural selection occurs, the stronger survive and pass on the beneficial genes on to their offspring

When is the evolutionary approach used in other areas of psychology

Attachment, bowlby suggests attachment is an innate drive that ensures our survival

What is a Genotype

refers to the genes an organism has inherited. (eye colour)

What is a Phenotype

refers to the way genes are expressed through physical behaviour and psychological characteristics (shyness)

What is heritability

how likely it is that a charecteristic can be explained genetically

tWhat are twin studies and why are they used

Used to determine the extent to which some behaviours have a genetic basis or if something else is influencing them

twin studies- concordance rate

Higher concordance rates between identical (monozygotic) twins than non (dizygotic) twins tend to be taken as evidence of a genetic basis

what are monozygotic twins

• are identical & share 100% similarity of their genetic material

what are dizygotic twins

• non-identical & share about 50% similarity of genetic material

1st Example of biological structures

The nervous system, releasing neurotransmitters to carry out functions, changes our behaviours

2nd Example of biological structures

The Endocrine system, hormones releasing that changes our behaviours, eg testosterone is linked to higher levels of aggression

Example of other topics that have the biological approach

Attachment, bowlby believed that we have innate programming within us from birth to attach

Strength of biological approach

- supporting evidence of genetic explanation:

twin studies, McGuffin conducted a twin study on depression & found a concordance rate for 46% MZ & 20% DZ

An issue of the biological approach

Considered biologically reductionist because it doesn't account for more difficult factors which may effect behaviour that arent biological

What debate does the biological approach use

nature/nurture difficulty in investigating the true influence of nature on our behaviour, as the twin studies share both genes aswell as enviroment meaning itis difficult to see where the behaviour may come from

Another strength of the biological approach

Has real life applications increased understanding of the brain has led to the development of drugs that treat mental disorders

Limitation of the biological approach

Causation issues, twin studies are correlational meaning they ignore the casualties, this means it is ignoring any other factors that may be causing the correlation

why does the biological approach have high internal valdiity

highly controlled enviroments, meaning external extraneous variables are reduced.