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Biological Psychology
Introductory Chapter
Biological psychology is the study of the physiological, evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of
behaviour and experience. The goal is to relate biology to issues of psychology. It is not a field of study
but a point of view.
There are three general points that should stick with you forever after reading this book.
1. Perception occurs in the brain.
2. Mental activity and other types of brain activity are, as far as we can tell, inseparable. This
position is known as monism, the idea that the universe consists of only one type of being. The
opposite of this would be dualism, the idea that minds are one type of substance and matter is
another. Nearly all neuroscientists and philosophers support monism.
3. We should be cautious about what is an explanation and what is not. We should avoid overstating
the conclusions from any research study.
Biological explanations of behaviour fall into four categories: physiological, ontogenetic, evolutionary
and functional.
A physiological explanation relates a behaviour to the activity of the brain and other organs. It deals with
the machinery of the body.
An ontogenetic explanation describes how a structure or behaviour develops and it includes the
influences of genes, nutrition, experiences and their interactions.
An evolutionary explanation reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behaviour.
Evolutionary explanations call attention to behavioural similarities among related species.
A functional explanation describes why a structure or behaviour evolved as it did.
Why does biological psychology research include animals if they’re interested in humans?
1. The underlying mechanisms of behaviour are similar across species and are sometimes easier to
study in nonhumans.
2. We are interested in animals because they’re simply interesting creatures, since humans are
naturally curious.
3. What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution. Researchers approach questions
such as ‘’Why and how did primates evolve larger brains than other species’’ by comparing
species.
4. Legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans. But this raises the
ethical issue that if the research is unacceptable with humans, why is it acceptable with other
species and under what circumstances?
Biological Psychology
Introductory Chapter
Biological psychology is the study of the physiological, evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of
behaviour and experience. The goal is to relate biology to issues of psychology. It is not a field of study
but a point of view.
There are three general points that should stick with you forever after reading this book.
1. Perception occurs in the brain.
2. Mental activity and other types of brain activity are, as far as we can tell, inseparable. This
position is known as monism, the idea that the universe consists of only one type of being. The
opposite of this would be dualism, the idea that minds are one type of substance and matter is
another. Nearly all neuroscientists and philosophers support monism.
3. We should be cautious about what is an explanation and what is not. We should avoid overstating
the conclusions from any research study.
Biological explanations of behaviour fall into four categories: physiological, ontogenetic, evolutionary
and functional.
A physiological explanation relates a behaviour to the activity of the brain and other organs. It deals with
the machinery of the body.
An ontogenetic explanation describes how a structure or behaviour develops and it includes the
influences of genes, nutrition, experiences and their interactions.
An evolutionary explanation reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behaviour.
Evolutionary explanations call attention to behavioural similarities among related species.
A functional explanation describes why a structure or behaviour evolved as it did.
Why does biological psychology research include animals if they’re interested in humans?
1. The underlying mechanisms of behaviour are similar across species and are sometimes easier to
study in nonhumans.
2. We are interested in animals because they’re simply interesting creatures, since humans are
naturally curious.
3. What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution. Researchers approach questions
such as ‘’Why and how did primates evolve larger brains than other species’’ by comparing
species.
4. Legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans. But this raises the
ethical issue that if the research is unacceptable with humans, why is it acceptable with other
species and under what circumstances?
