The Biological Approach
Key terms
- Biological approach: a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical
processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
- Genes: they make up chromosomes and consist of DNA, which codes for the physical
features of an organism (eye colour, height, etc) and psychological features (mental
disorders, intelligence, etc). Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring, i.e.
inherited
- Biological structure: an arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or
living thing
- Neurochemistry: relating to chemicals in the brain which regulate psychological functions
- Genotype: the particular set of genes that a person possesses
- Phenotype: the characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and
environment
- Evolution: the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over
successive generations
The biological approach
Assumptions
The biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological, so to fully
understand behaviour we must look to biological structures and processes within the body, such
as genes, neurochemistry and the nervous system
- An understanding of brain structure and function can explain our thoughts and behaviour
- From a biological perspective, the mind lives in the brain, meaning that all thoughts,
feelings and behaviours ultimately have a physical basis
- This is in contrast to the cognitive approach, for example, which sees mental
processes of the mind as being separate from the physical brain
The genetic basis of behaviour
Behaviour geneticists study whether behavioural characteristics, such as intelligence,
personality and mental disorders are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics
- Twin studies are used to determine the likelihood that certain traits have a genetic basis
by comparing the concordance rates between pairs of twins, that is, the extent to which
both twins share the same characteristic
If identical (monozygotic) twins are found to have higher concordance rates than non-identical
(dizygotic) twins, this would suggest a genetic basis for behavioural characteristics
- This is because MZ twins share 100% of each other’s genes, whereas DZ twins only
share around 50%
Genotype and phenotype
Key terms
- Biological approach: a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical
processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
- Genes: they make up chromosomes and consist of DNA, which codes for the physical
features of an organism (eye colour, height, etc) and psychological features (mental
disorders, intelligence, etc). Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring, i.e.
inherited
- Biological structure: an arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or
living thing
- Neurochemistry: relating to chemicals in the brain which regulate psychological functions
- Genotype: the particular set of genes that a person possesses
- Phenotype: the characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and
environment
- Evolution: the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over
successive generations
The biological approach
Assumptions
The biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological, so to fully
understand behaviour we must look to biological structures and processes within the body, such
as genes, neurochemistry and the nervous system
- An understanding of brain structure and function can explain our thoughts and behaviour
- From a biological perspective, the mind lives in the brain, meaning that all thoughts,
feelings and behaviours ultimately have a physical basis
- This is in contrast to the cognitive approach, for example, which sees mental
processes of the mind as being separate from the physical brain
The genetic basis of behaviour
Behaviour geneticists study whether behavioural characteristics, such as intelligence,
personality and mental disorders are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics
- Twin studies are used to determine the likelihood that certain traits have a genetic basis
by comparing the concordance rates between pairs of twins, that is, the extent to which
both twins share the same characteristic
If identical (monozygotic) twins are found to have higher concordance rates than non-identical
(dizygotic) twins, this would suggest a genetic basis for behavioural characteristics
- This is because MZ twins share 100% of each other’s genes, whereas DZ twins only
share around 50%
Genotype and phenotype
