Psychology Unit 1 - Biological Approach Flashcards
What are the three assumptions of the biological approach?
- evolutionary influences
- localisation of brain function
- neurotransmitters
What is Charles Darwin’s theory of ‘natural selection’?
the theory states that those who are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and produce offspring
What is ‘survival of the fittest’?
the genes that allow individuals to survive in their environment are passed on to their offspring who will, in turn, also be more successful because they have the natural ability to survive and evolve too
What is the evolutionary theory of aggression?
- behaviours like aggression would have made it more likely that our ancestors survived and passed on their genes when competing to survive and reproduce
- aggression facilitates survival and adaptation
What is the ‘fight-or-flight’ response?
- an automatic reaction to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival
- your body prepares you to ‘fight’ or ‘flee’/run away from the danger
What does the assumption of the localisation of brain function suggest?
that certain areas of the brain have different functions that can determine our behaviour
What is the cerebral cortex?
the outer layer of the brain’s surface that lies on top of your cerebrum, consisting of four lobes
What are the four lobes?
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe
What is the frontal lobe for?
concentration, personality, emotion, problem-solving, speech-production
What is the parietal lobe for?
processing sensory information, e.g. touch, taste, smell
What is the temporal lobe for?
processing auditory information, memory, information retrieval
What is the occipital lobe for?
visual perception and interpretation
What was the study conducted by Maguire et al. (2000)?
it examines whether structural changes could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation - taxi drivers were used for MRI scans
How did the study conducted by Maguire et al. (2000) provide support for the localisation of brain function?/What was concluded?
the taxi drivers with extensive practice with spatial navigation had a larger hippocampus - possibly due to increasing cells with experience or born with it
What are neurotransmitters?
chemical messengers passed from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron across the synapse