PSYB4 AQA Biological Approach
- Created by: victoria robinette
- Created on: 03-05-15 08:31
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- Methods Used
- Strengths & Limitations
- Hard to generalise results from animals to humans
- Animals Nervous System's are different to humans
- Objective, Scientific & reliable Methods
- More ethical to used animals than humans
- Useful practicle applications
- Crime is inherited
- Neglect the role of the environment
- Hard to untangle environmental influences and genetic influences between MZ twins as they share a similar environment
- Christiansen (1977) found a concordance rate of 35% for MZ twins and 13% for DZ twins
- Not 100% concordance for MZ twins, suggesting other influences
- Neglect the role of the environment
- Crime is inherited
- Brain Scans
- EEG's, PET scans, GSR's
- Animal Studies
- Twin & Family Studies
- Biological Approach
- Assumptions
- All behaviour and though processes have an innate biological cause
- Behaviour is determined by genetic, physiological & neurobiological factors
- There is an evoltionary and genetic basis of behaviour
- Key Concepts
- The Environment influences gene expression
- Genotype + environment = phenotype
- Autonomic nervous system
- Sympathetic involved in fight or flight preparation
- Para-sympathetic: restores body after fight or fight response
- Cenytral nervous system
- Co-ordinates behaviour
- Brain Chemicals affect behaviour
- The Environment influences gene expression
- Strengths
- Appreciates the role of physiology and genes in behaviour
- Scientific
- Findings from physiological studies can be used to help people i.e. SSRI's for OCD
- Provides a lot of good supporting evidence for the biological basis of behaviour and the nuturesside of N-N debate
- Limitations
- Deterministic
- Biological determinism can mean that individuals could claim they aren't responsible for their actions
- If it is applied to criminal behaviour, should offenders be punished if they cannot stop themselves as the behaviour is biologically determined
- Biological determinism can mean that individuals could claim they aren't responsible for their actions
- Reductionist
- Reduces all human behaviour to biological processes
- Nomothetic
- However idiographic methods can complement this approach
- Nomothetic
- Reduces all human behaviour to biological processes
- Dehumanising
- Everything is due to biology, therefore humanity is robbed of its uniqueness
- See's humans no different from other animals
- Deterministic
- Assumptions
- Strengths & Limitations
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