Biological Ppsychology and Social Control

Intro Statement:

Social control is trying to change the behaviour of another individual.

Point 1:

AO1: Understanding how neurotransmitters communicate between brain areas and how specific drugs affect the brain can help develop drug treatments for drug addicts such as methadone which is positive form of social control.

AO3: Biological psychology has contributed to drug treatments to help control addiction. For example, discovering the role of neurotransmitters in drug addiction has led to the development of methadone. This can help addicts recover without relapse which is positive social control or it could mask the environmental triggers leading to addiction by controlling cravings but not treating causes.

Point 2:

AO1: However, negative uses of social control can rise from biological research in aggression. The understanding of brain areas and hormones involved in aggression can lead to the surveillance of individuals are likely to be aggressive and an attempt to correct their behaviour.

AO3: Biological research can be used to justify the social control of minority outgroup such as criminals. Raine found differences in the brains of murderers which can be used to justify the screening of individuals to find out them more likely to become criminals. This can make society safer as behaviour of these individuals can be controlled earlier. However, surveillance of these individuals can be used to coerce them into more violent and aggressive settings like gangs and attempt to correct this behaviour can be a negative use of social control.

Concluded Statement:

Overall biological psychology can be used for positive surgical control by using the knowledge of brain structures and the role of neurotransmitters to reduce aggression making society safer