biological approach

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  • Created by: boogluvr
  • Created on: 15-06-21 09:11
name 2 assumptions made by the biological approach
- thoughts, emotions and behaviours have a physical basis.
- behaviour can be explained in terms of activity in the nervous system and other parts of the body.
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how do genetics relate to the biological approach?
we can inherit things like stress responses, IQ, sleep needs and even humour from our parents and are responsible for some behaviours
2 of 18
how can neurotransmitters impact a person's behaviour?
- some people have higher levels of some chemicals that affect their mood
- this can even influence how likely you are to get addicted to things that change chemicals in your brain (like nicotine and gambling
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outline evolution
characteristics helpful to survival (e.g., results in better access to food/opportunity to mate) then this characteristic becomes ‘naturally selected’, and is passed down to the animal’s offspring
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what are identical twins also called and what % of genes do they share?
monozygotic MZ
100%
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what are non identical twins called and what % of genes do they share?
dyzygotic DZ
50%
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what is a concordance rate?
the extent to which twins share the same characteristic
e.g. a genetic disease between DZ is approx 50%
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define genotype
actual genetic makeup of an organism
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define phenotype
an individual's observable traits
(the way genes are physically expressed)
such as height, eye color, and blood type
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how can you interpret an MZ concordance rate being similar to DZ?
behaviour is entirely due to upbringing
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how can you interpret an MZ concordance rate being significantly below 100%?
behaviour is partly due to upbringing
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why are twins study arguably ungeneralisable?
twins are rare (1.5% of UK births) and MZ twins are rarer still (0.5%) and so this is a group that may not be very representative of other children
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how are twin studies arguably unreliable?
the identification of zygocity is not perfect
- Gottesman & Shields (1966) used blood tests and fingerprint comparisons meaning DZ twins could be wrongly assigned to the MZ condition.
-Brendgen et al. (2005) only used DNA testing on half of the twins st
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how does evolution effect behaviour?
the preference in males for youthfulness and physical attractiveness in a female partner means that they are more likely to have healthy offspring, to that preference becomes naturally selected.
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strength of the biological approach
The biological approach uses highly scientific methods, such as brain scans and twin studies, which are much less prone to bias than methods such as interviews. Therefore, the assumptions of the biological approach are supported by strong evidence.
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how is real world application a strength of the biological approach?
The approach has resulted in the development of effective drug therapies for many psychological disorders, helping sufferers live a more normal life. Therefore, the approach has very useful practical benefits.
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what is a weakness of the biological approach?
This approach is highly determinist, suggesting that there is little or no free will over behaviour. This could have serious consequences, for example for criminal responsibility, as it could be claimed that a person is not responsible for their actions i
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what is determinism?
Determinism is the belief that all human behaviors flow from genetic or environmental factors rather than a person's free will
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Card 2

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how do genetics relate to the biological approach?

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we can inherit things like stress responses, IQ, sleep needs and even humour from our parents and are responsible for some behaviours

Card 3

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how can neurotransmitters impact a person's behaviour?

Back

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Card 4

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outline evolution

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Card 5

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what are identical twins also called and what % of genes do they share?

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