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Outline and evaluate the biological approach to psychology? [16 marks
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Recommended: Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and adaption
The biological approach to psychology was developed from the study of biology and Charles Darwin’s research into evolution.
Darwin theorised that a species changes over time (evolves) to better fit its environment. They did this through a process he called natural selection. Occasionally, an animal is born with a variation that sets it apart from other members of its species, called a mutation (Darwin, 1859). If this mutation enables the animal to better survive in its environment than other members of the species, it is more likely to reproduce, passing down their mutation to their offspring. Over a long period of time, as animals that lack the mutation are killed off and those who have it reproduce, the entire species changes until all members
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One key feature of the approach is that brain structure influences a person’s psychological state. The nervous system (composed of approximately 12 billion neurons) is the structure that controls all human behaviour and thought, so damage to this system can result in dramatic changes. This can be seen in the case of Phineas Gage, who was described as no longer being himself after miraculously surviving an accident in 1848 that put a tamping iron through his skull and frontal lobe (Harlow, 1848). A predisposition to particular mental illness can be passed on genetically, through inheriting defects in brain structure. Chemical imbalances can also cause mental illness such as depression resulting from low levels of serotonin.
There are many applications of the biological approach. One of them would be the use of chemotherapy, where the patient is given medication to correct or counter the chemical imbalance in their brain, such as Prozac (Fluoxetine) for sufferers of depression or Benzodiazepine for
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Another is that it has clear proof that brain damage can cause cognitive difficulties in the form of case studies. A weakness of this approach is that it for the most part ignores environmental causes of mental illness (a person could be suffering from depression because of recent events in their life) and that there are some cases that they cannot explain, such as “the man with no brain” (Feuillet, Defour, and Pelletier, 2007) being capable of functioning.
The cognitive approach to psychology was established in the 1950 in response to the behaviourist approach. It criticised the approach for only focussing on the observable behaviour in response to outside stimuli, believing that the role of mental constructs was being ignored. The cognitive approach stresses that psychologists must place focus on both the mind and environmental factors, along with the relationship between the
Through my extensive research on depression I have learned a lot of new things. I have learned about the many forms of depression and treatment for depression. I have also learned a little about what is believed to go on chemically in the brain of a clinically depressed person. I was also able to partially determine what sort of role genetics, chemicals and personal influences in the brain. Though I was unable to determine exactly how environmental and personal stress can cause a chemical imbalance in a person, I was even able to speculate about this issue and determine some theories of my own on why and how this may happen.
...cietal views of mental illness. We seem to still be a society at least partially obsessed with the notion that scientific knowledge yields empirical expertise and validity. Taking the responsibility away from the individual and placing it, to some degree, in their genes and neuroanatomy, would surely affect a broad range of societal issues, including diminishing the stigma attached to a variety of illnesses. This, in turn, could affect issues such as funding for research, health care coverage, and might potentially prompt more people to seek treatment. It can be considered a segment of the path of our ever developing understanding of who we are and why things happen.
Cognitive psychology is the study of the brains internal processes that guide behaviour; to study cognition, psychologists examine case studies of patients with damaged brains that can infer areas, and functions involved in particular processes. Patient studies have provided insights into the processes that take place within our minds, and have enabled psychologists to create models, which can be tested and fractionated. Cognitive neuropsychology has developed from cognitive psychology to become a discipline in its own right; it investigates the function and structures of the brain involved in cognitive processes and should not be confused with cognitive neuroscience, which is primarily concerned with neural structures and their functions.
Whilst evaluating the cognitive approach to psychology there are many strengths such as that the cognitive approach takes an understanding of the influence from mental processes on one’s behaviour, focusing on an individual’s thinking patterns and their perception. This approach also relates to many known functions and operations that the human body performs such as memory and problem solving.
Evolutionary Psychology has been controversial since its rise in the 1990s, with critics and proponents debating its merits as a science. While critics (e.g. David Buller, Elizabeth Lloyd) have extensively criticized the fundamentals of Evolutionary Psychology, few philosophers or scientists have challenged them. Given the growing influence of the evolutionary behavioral sciences within mainstream science like Psychology and Anthropology, it is important analyze the critiques and see if the arguments against Evolutionary Psychology have merit. This paper will focus on two of the most often cited critiques of Evolutionary Psychology: the critique of the concept of the modular model of the mind and the critique of the two “signature achievements” in Evolutionary Psychology, Martin Daly and Margot Wilson’s Cinderella Effect and David Buss’s studies of male-female differences in jealousy. I will describe and respond these critiques of Evolutionary Psychology, making the case that these critiques are not valid and have little merit on scientific basis of Evolutionary Psychology.
My paper is based on an article from the text’s web site (chapter 9) entitled “Lack of sleep ages body’s systems.” The basic claim of the article is that sleep deprivation has various harmful effects on the body. The reported effects include decreased ability to metabolize glucose (similar to what occurs in diabetes) and increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone involved in memory and regulation of blood sugar levels). The article also briefly alludes (in the quote at the bottom of page 1) to unspecified changes in brain and immune functioning with sleep deprivation.
Several acheivements occurred in the development of cognitive psychology. The study of neuroscience brings us to what we know about cognition today. Cognitive psychology came from the criticisms and flaws of behaviorism. The focus of behaviorism is on observable behaviors, although cognitive psychology became a means to studying mental processes. Cognitive psychology can answer the questions behaviorism could not provide. Behavioral observations are key factors in cognitive psychology, and help with interpreting mental processes and behaviors. Through studying mental processes cognitive psychologists’ expanded psychology through and beyond observations. Behavioral observations helps researchers test cognitive theories. Behaviorists study observable behavior and cognitive psychologists study the mental processes. When studying these processes, researchers attempt to explain how unobservable processes interact with the observable behaviors and helping cognitive psychologists test their theories in
Insel, T. (2013), Mental disorders as brain disorders, TEDx talk at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, 23 April.
Bio-Psychologists study the principles of biology as it relates to the comprehension of psychology in the field neuroscience that underlies ones emotions, ideology, and actions (Brittanica). Based upon the conduction of research, the relationship between the brain and ones behavior extends to the physiological process in one’s intellect. Scientists are cognizant that neurotransmitters function as a significant role in mood regulation and other aspects of psychological problems including depression and anxiety. A biological perspective are relevant to psychology in three techniques including: the comparative method, physiology, and the investigation of inheritance (Saul Mc. Leod).
The development of psychology like all other sciences started with great minds debating unknown topics and searching for unknown answers. Early philosophers and psychologists such as Sir Francis Bacon and Charles Darwin took a scientific approach to psychology by introducing the ideas of measurement and biology into the way an indi...
Many scientists in the past, such as Aristotle and Plato, believed that there were no changes in populations; however, other scientists, such as Darwin and Wallace, arose and argued that species inherit heritable traits from common ancestors and environmental forces drives out certain heritable traits that makes the species better suited to survive or be more “fit” for that environment. Therefore, species do change over a period of time and they were able to support their theory by showing that evolution does occur. There were four basic mechanisms of evolution in their theory: mutation, migration, genetic drift, and natural selection. Natural selection is the gradual process by which heritable traits that makes it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce increases, whereas there is a decline in those who do have those beneficial heritable traits (Natural Selection). For example, there is a decrease in rain which causes a drought in the finches’ environment. The seeds in the finches’ environment would not be soft enough for the smaller and weaker beak finches to break; therefore, they cannot compete with the larger and stronger beak finches for food. The larger and stronger beak finches has a heritable trait that helps them survive and reproduce better than others for that particular environment which makes them categorized under natural selection (Freeman, 2002).
"The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all actions, feelings, and thoughts are associated with bodily events." Biological psychologists examine how all of the electrical impulses, hormones, and chemicals flowing through the body can effect behavior and how changes to these bodily functions can change behavior. They are concerned with how the aspects of biology effect peoples' emotions, learning abilities, and their perception of events.
In some cases the causes of mental illness primarily found inside the individual. Some of them have been associated with an abnormal balance of neurotransmitters in the brain. If they are out of balance the communication between nerve cell in the brain disrupted (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of psychiatrist, 2005). Hence, leading to symptoms of mental illness like depression, schizophrenia. On the other hand, genetics also plays a significant role to acquire mental disorder, which is passed...
...ing of the brain itself. The legal system has to follow brain research. While we may not find exactly where the "I" is, we can become much closer to understanding what disorders truly effect the ability to understand one's actions and be held accountable for them.
Typically if an individual ranks high at one end of the continuum, scores on the other end tend to be lower. The psychologist that is most associated with the Biological approach to personality is Hans J. Eysenck (Rafter, 2006).