5 3 the biological approach

The biological approach assumes that all psychological behaviours have a biological root at their core. E.g., to understand human behaviour, it is necessary to look at biological structures, functions and processes.

b. Language is not an example of a biological structure, function or process.

The genetic basis of behaviour investigates the extent to which behaviours are inherited.

a. Twin studies compare concordance rates between monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins.

Concordance rates measure the rate of agreement, the percent of cases where both members of a pair have a particular attribute.

Genotype refers to a person's particular set of genes that make up their DNA; it is made up of a combination of alleles that comprise a specific gene.

True. **Phenotype refers to the expression of the genotype. It is determined by prevailing external influences and comprises an individual's observable traits, **e.g., hair colour, height, etc.

Environmental factors, such as nutrition or exposure to pollutants, can influence a person's phenotype.

False. Monozygotic twins will present different phenotypes depending on their upbringing, friendship groups, hobbies, careers etc.

a. The use of large samples means that twin studies are high in reliability.

The idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes.

c. A strength of the biological approach is its contribution to the development of drug therapies such as SSRIs for the treatment of psychological disorders such as depression and OCD.

The two branches of the nervous system in humans are the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.

The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord.

b. The endocrine system secretes hormones into the bloodstream from different glands.

The pituitary gland is the major endocrine gland. It is known as the master gland.

The patella is not a brain region/structure.

True. The prefrontal cortex is linked to executive functioning, e.g., impulse control.

The evolutionary approach to explaining behaviour looks at how and why specific human traits have evolved via the process of natural selection.

a. and b. Adaptive behaviours are those that increase the chances of survival and reproductive success. This is why these behaviours are inherited through the generations, i.e., how we behave now is the product of causes rooted in the distant past.

c. Research into biological structures uses objective, clinical methods and measures which means that they are high in reliability. The results derived from using these measures can be checked for consistency across time and samples.

True. Some behaviours that are not advantageous to a 21st-century person persist . E.g., aggression is, on a practical level, unnecessary for most people, as we don't need to fight competitors for food or grapple with dangerous predators daily.