TOPIC: THE BIOLOGICAL APPROACH Flashcards
(18 cards)
THE INFLUENCE OF GENES:
What are main assumptions?
there is a direct correlation between brain actvity and cognition
believer thoughts, feelings and behaviour have a biological basis
biochemical imbalances can affect behaviour
brian physiology can affect behaviour
behaviour can be inherited ( as determined by genetic information )
THE INFLUENCE OF GENES:
How can you use genes to study human behaviour?
The twin studies are used to determine the likelihood that certain traits have a genetic basis by comparing concordance rates ( the extent to which 2 people share the same characteristic ). If monozygotic (identical) twins have a higher concordance rate than dizygotic ( non-identical) twins it would suggest a genetic basis because monozygotic twins share 100% of their DNA, and dizygotic only around 50%
THE INFLUENCE OF GENES:
What is the genetic basis of behaviour?
genes make up chromosomes and consits of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism
e.g. eye colour and height and psychological features e.g: mental disorders and intelligence
genes are transmitted from parents to offspring, so they are inherited
THE INFLUENCE OF GENES:
Explain the case study of Christiansen (1997) for using genes to study human behaviour?
looked at 3586 twin pairs in Denmark a 52% concordance rate for criminality was found for monozygotic ( identical ) twins, compared to just 22% for dizygotic ( non-identical ) twins
GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
What is a genotype?
your gentic makeup ( your DNA )
GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
What is a phenotype? And use an example (PKU)
the way that genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics
the expression of a genotype is normally influences by the environment
EXAMPLE:
PKU:
A genetic disorder which can cause learning difficulties unless the baby’s diet is adjusted ( the environment )
The adjustment of the environment leads to the baby’s phenotype
This suggest human behaviour is often an interaction between nature and nurture
GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
What is the recessive genes and the dominant genes?
these genes are expressed only in the absence of a dominant gene - RECESSIVE
These are genes that are always expressed - DOMINANT
genes are organised in chromosomes, these come in pairs - you inherit one half of each pair from each parent
GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
EXAMPLE: OF GENES BEING EXPRESSED
BB - Brown eyes
Bb - Brown eyes
bb - Blue eyes
EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR
What is the basis if charles Darwins theory?
Charles Darwin developed the theory of natural selection
this was a scientific theory that didn’t draw upon religious ideas
it maintained that behaviour that enhances an individual’s survival will be passed on
GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
What is heritablity?
the extent to which the variablity found in a characteristics or trait is hereditary is known as heritability coefficient ( score from 0 to 1 )
e.g eye colour is solely determined by genes so has a heritability coefficient of 1. Height is slightly influenced by environement and has a heritability coefficent of 0.9
EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR
fit oragnisms are more likely to survive into adulthood than unfit ones
consequently they are more likely to mate and have offsprings and pass on their genes to the next generation
gradually the genes for successful characterists spread through the population
fitness is all about how well an organism is adapted to its environment
the environment changes over time - sometime gradually, sometimes rapidly
so a charcteristic/gene that is adaptive at one time may become maladaptive if the environement changes
EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR
What are the characteristcs of an organisms ability to survive
exploit the opportunites available in its environement
avoid or deal with the threats presented by its environement
we call the organisms fitness
EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR
Fit organisms are more likely to survive into adulthood than unfit ones
consequently they are more likely to mate and have offspring and pass on their genes to the next generation
gradually the genes for successful characteristics spread through the population
fitness is all about how well an organism is adpated to its environment
the environement changes over time - sometime gradually, sometimes rapidly
so a characteristics/ gene that is adaptive at one time may become maladaptive if the environement changes
EVOLUTION AND PSYCHOLOGY
Evolutionary psychology regards humans s subject to same evolutionary processes as other animals ( continuity )
- Assumes that behavioural characteristics can be inherited just like physical ones
- Tries to explain human behaviour/psychology in terms of evolutionary processes
EVOLUTION AND PSYCHOLOGY
How does face recognition work?
It is believed that face recognition is an important evolutionary characteristics
it enables us to recognise whether someone is a friend or foe - increasing our chances of survival
the brain has a special area that is used for face recognition called the FFA ( fusiform face area )
this is different to the area used for recognising cars, building etc ( LOC - lateral occipital complex )
the LOC and FFA are close to each other in the brain, but they deal with information very differently
the LOC thinks about objects in terms of their parts ( part-based processing )
the FFA thinks about objects as a whole ( holistic processing )
EVOLUTION AND PSYCHOLOGY
What is the adaptive advantage of Attachment?
Bowlby (1969) argues that attachment to a primary caregiver is adaptive ( evoloved to the beneficial )
to increase the chance of survival through proximity - seeking behaviour
BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES & NEUROCHEMISTRY
What is it and how does it work?
The nervous system is made up of many different parts
within it the brain can be subdivided into different areas and structure
different brain areas are responsible for different tyoes of thinking or behaviour and how they connect with other functions and brain areas
E.G Biopyschologists believe that language in humans is governed by two areas of the cerebral cortex, Broca’s area, which controls the production of speech and Wernicke’s area, which controls the comprehension of speech. These are normally located in the left hemisphere.
these are also chemicals in our brains that regulate our psychological functioning
BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES & NEUROCHEMISTRY
EVALUATION of biological approach
the appraoch is biologically deterministic - sees behaviour as governed by internal biological causes over which we have no control
by ignoring the role of the environmet it can also be argued to be reductionist
the biological approach uses the scientfic method, particularly the use of experiments,as its main method of investigation
highly controlled and so can be replicated, increases the reliability and internal validity of research
also, techniques like brain scans increases objectivity as they are not affected by researcher bias
for example, MAguire ( 2000 ) used MRI scans to investigate the role of the hippocampus in spatial navigation
this results derived from using these measures can be checked for consistency across time and samples, which means they have good reliability
Approach provides clear predictions which have led to significant applications in the real world
