BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Question 1

● Behaviour can be explained by what influences according to the biological approach?

Answer 1

Genetic and neural influences

Question 2

▲ How does the endocrine system influence behaviour?

Answer 2

Hormones travel through the bloodstream to target organs

Question 3

✪ How does biological determinism affect responsibility for behaviour?

Answer 3

Individuals may feel behaviour is beyond their control

Question 4

▲ How does the fight or flight response prepare the body for action?

Answer 4

Adrenaline is released causing physiological reactions

Question 5

✪ Why is the biological approach criticised for biological determinism?

Answer 5

It suggests behaviour is controlled by internal factors like genes

Question 6

✪ Why might critics argue behaviour is not entirely biologically determined?

Answer 6

Individuals have free will and environmental influences

Question 7

▲ Why might behaviour run in families according to the biological approach?

Answer 7

Because behavioural characteristics can be inherited

Question 8

● What are genes strands of?

Answer 8

Inherited DNA

Question 9

● What neurotransmitter is linked to OCD when levels are low?

Answer 9

Serotonin

Question 10

✪ Why might a holistic explanation be more appropriate than reductionism?

Answer 10

Behaviour may involve multiple interacting factors

Question 11

✪ Why might environmental influences challenge biological determinism?

Answer 11

Experience can alter behaviour

Question 12

✪ How does biological determinism limit explanations of behaviour?

Answer 12

It neglects the role of free will and choice

Question 13

● Where are genes located?

Answer 13

Chromosomes

Question 14

▲ How can biological structures influence behaviour?

Answer 14

Brain and nervous system control body functions

Question 15

✪ Why is considering free will important in psychology?

Answer 15

It recognises individuals can choose behaviour

Question 16

▲ How does serotonin influence behaviour?

Answer 16

Low levels are associated with anxiety and intrusive thoughts

Question 17

● What term describes observable traits and behaviours?

Answer 17

Phenotype

Question 18

✪ Why does reductionism reduce explanatory power?

Answer 18

Complex behaviours are simplified into basic biological factors

Question 19

● Which theory influenced the biological approach?

Answer 19

Darwin’s theory of evolution

Question 20

▲ Why does the hypothalamus activate the sympathetic nervous system?

Answer 20

When a threat is perceived

Question 21

✪ Why might individuals feel they lack control according to biological determinism?

Answer 21

Behaviour is seen as caused by genes or neurochemicals

Question 22

● What chemical messenger is released by glands into the bloodstream?

Answer 22

Hormone

Question 23

✪ Why might the biological approach ignore environmental influences?

Answer 23

It focuses primarily on internal biological causes

Question 24

● What does evolution refer to?

Answer 24

Changes in inherited characteristics over generations

Question 25

● What approach suggests behaviour has a biological basis?

Answer 25

The biological approach

Question 26

✪ Why might focusing only on genes limit treatment approaches?

Answer 26

Other psychological or environmental factors are ignored

Question 27

▲ Why does genotype not always determine phenotype?

Answer 27

Environmental factors influence observable traits

Question 28

▲ Why does the biological approach emphasise neurochemistry?

Answer 28

Chemical activity in the brain influences behaviour

Question 29

▲ How does the environment influence phenotype?

Answer 29

It interacts with genotype to produce observable characteristics

Question 30

● What chemical messenger relays signals across synapses?

Answer 30

Neurotransmitter

Question 31

✪ How might biological explanations affect perceptions of mental illness?

Answer 31

Conditions may be viewed as genetically determined

Question 32

✪ How might reducing behaviour to genes limit understanding?

Answer 32

Other influences such as environment may be ignored

Question 33

✪ Why is biological reductionism considered a limitation?

Answer 33

It reduces complex behaviour to simple biological units

Question 34

▲ How does natural selection explain behaviour?

Answer 34

Inherited characteristics change across generations

Question 35

▲ How can neurotransmitter imbalances affect behaviour?

Answer 35

They are linked to abnormal behaviour

Question 36

▲ How can genotype influence behaviour?

Answer 36

It may create a predisposition to certain disorders

Question 37

▲ Why might monozygotic twins have different phenotypes?

Answer 37

Environmental interactions influence observable traits

Question 38

▲ Why might abnormalities in brain areas affect behaviour?

Answer 38

Specific brain regions are linked to disorders like OCD

Question 39

● Monozygotic twins share how much DNA?

Answer 39

100%

Question 40

● What theory did Darwin propose?

Answer 40

Natural selection

Question 41

● What biological system controls the fight or flight response?

Answer 41

Autonomic nervous system

Question 42

▲ Why can objective techniques like brain scans be used in the biological approach?

Answer 42

They help identify internal mental processes

Question 43

✪ Why might the biological approach oversimplify human behaviour?

Answer 43

It focuses mainly on genes and neurochemistry

Question 44

● What do genes carry instructions for?

Answer 44

Physical and psychological characteristics

Question 45

● What term describes a person’s genetic makeup?

Answer 45

Genotype