Outline and compare the biological and behaviourist approach. (16 marks)
The behaviourist approach assumes that human behaviour can be explained through
conditioning and is shaped/learned by the environment. Conditioning includes making a
learned association between stimuli and a response. Behaviourists also believe our minds
are blank when we are born and there is no genetic influence on our behaviour.
Behaviourists are only concerned with behaviour that can be measured and observed. There
are two types of conditioning that explain human behaviour, which are classical and operant
conditioning.
Whereas the biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological,
so to fully understand human behaviour we must look to biological structures and processes
within the body. These processes are genetics, neurochemistry and the nervous system as
well as how evolution may have shaped human behaviour. An understanding of the brain
structure and function can explain our thoughts and behaviour. From a biological
perspective, the mind lives in the brain-meaning that all thoughts, feeling and behaviour
ultimately have a physical basis. This is different from the cognitive approach that sees
mental processes of the mind as being separate from the physical brain. Behaviour
geneticists study whether behavioural characteristics such as intelligence, personality and
mental disorders are inherited in the same way as psychical characteristics such as height
and colour.
A similarity between the two approaches are that they are both considered reductionist.
The biological approach is reductionist as it attempts to breakdown complex human
behaviour and explain it through the smallest part of genetics, neurotransmitters and
hormone imbalances. It ignores other factors that could explain our behaviour, such as
cognitive and emotional factors. The behaviourist approach is also reductionist as it only
focuses on simple environmental factors that influence human behaviour. This approach
assumes human work on a reward system that is robotic like and easily programmable.
Classical and operant conditioning are the main assumptions that influence human
behaviour in the behaviourist approach and both types of conditioning reduce human
behaviour into basic forms.
A difference between the two approaches is that the behaviourist approach focuses on
nurture while the biological approach focuses on nature. Behaviourists believe our minds
are ‘blank slate’ when we are born and that our behaviour is learned by the environment.
We learn behaviour through learned associations and reinforcement. In the case of the
social learning theory we learn behaviour through observation and imitation of others.
Whereas the biological approach argues that an understanding of the brain structures and
function can explain our thoughts and behaviour. Also, that all our behaviour is the result of
a genetic blueprint that we inherit from our parents
Another similarity is that both approaches are considered useful for therapies and
treatments. The biological approach has revolutionised the treatments of mental disorders
through the development of drug therapy which regulates chemical imbalances in the brain.
The behaviourist approach uses behaviour therapies to treat abnormal and maladaptive
The behaviourist approach assumes that human behaviour can be explained through
conditioning and is shaped/learned by the environment. Conditioning includes making a
learned association between stimuli and a response. Behaviourists also believe our minds
are blank when we are born and there is no genetic influence on our behaviour.
Behaviourists are only concerned with behaviour that can be measured and observed. There
are two types of conditioning that explain human behaviour, which are classical and operant
conditioning.
Whereas the biological approach suggests that everything psychological is at first biological,
so to fully understand human behaviour we must look to biological structures and processes
within the body. These processes are genetics, neurochemistry and the nervous system as
well as how evolution may have shaped human behaviour. An understanding of the brain
structure and function can explain our thoughts and behaviour. From a biological
perspective, the mind lives in the brain-meaning that all thoughts, feeling and behaviour
ultimately have a physical basis. This is different from the cognitive approach that sees
mental processes of the mind as being separate from the physical brain. Behaviour
geneticists study whether behavioural characteristics such as intelligence, personality and
mental disorders are inherited in the same way as psychical characteristics such as height
and colour.
A similarity between the two approaches are that they are both considered reductionist.
The biological approach is reductionist as it attempts to breakdown complex human
behaviour and explain it through the smallest part of genetics, neurotransmitters and
hormone imbalances. It ignores other factors that could explain our behaviour, such as
cognitive and emotional factors. The behaviourist approach is also reductionist as it only
focuses on simple environmental factors that influence human behaviour. This approach
assumes human work on a reward system that is robotic like and easily programmable.
Classical and operant conditioning are the main assumptions that influence human
behaviour in the behaviourist approach and both types of conditioning reduce human
behaviour into basic forms.
A difference between the two approaches is that the behaviourist approach focuses on
nurture while the biological approach focuses on nature. Behaviourists believe our minds
are ‘blank slate’ when we are born and that our behaviour is learned by the environment.
We learn behaviour through learned associations and reinforcement. In the case of the
social learning theory we learn behaviour through observation and imitation of others.
Whereas the biological approach argues that an understanding of the brain structures and
function can explain our thoughts and behaviour. Also, that all our behaviour is the result of
a genetic blueprint that we inherit from our parents
Another similarity is that both approaches are considered useful for therapies and
treatments. The biological approach has revolutionised the treatments of mental disorders
through the development of drug therapy which regulates chemical imbalances in the brain.
The behaviourist approach uses behaviour therapies to treat abnormal and maladaptive
