Anita

2009

Th

e Biological A

pp

roach

Ref to syllabus

Definition ofthe approach: a) Define the biological approach showing understanding that it isabout the influence and impact of genes and the nervous systemon individual differences.

Sample essay: (1) Describe what is meant by the biological approach, giving at least two features of the approach in your answer. (6 marks)

One feature of the biological approach is that it focuses on the nature side of our personality and characteristicsin that it studies how the features we are born with guide our behaviour. It is not that the effects of nurture aredenied, but that nature is the main focus and indeed even when nurture is considered it is often to look at howupbringing is affected by and affects inherited make-up. The biological approach considers genes to be animportant part of what makes us who we are, for example, identical twins share 100% of their genes and nonidenticaltwins share 50%. The biological approach looks at how far identical twins are more alike than nonidentical twins, and as they do tend to be more alike in certain characteristics, this is used as evidence for the role of genes. _ Genes only take the development of a foetus so far, though, because one of their functions is totrigger the release of certain hormones. Male foetuses are led to develop male genitalia, for example, because of the presence of certain hormones whereas female foetuses lack these hormones so do not develop male genitalia. Another feature of the approach, as well as the focus on nature and the importance of genes, is the focus on the nervous system and the role of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters carry messages in the brainand can affect mood and behaviour. For example, serotonin seems to be implicated in mood and drugs containing serotonin can alter someone’s mood.

Using this and your notes write a summary of the two assumptions: which are the influence of genes and the influence of the nervous system

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Ref to syllabus: Define and use psychological terminology appropriately andaccurately including the terms:i central nervous system (CNS)ii synapseiii receptoriv neuronev neurotransmittervi genesvii hormonesviii brain lateralisation.

Revise these and without looking at your notes define the key terms

Ref to syllabus: Briefly describe the role of the central nervous system andneurotransmitters in human behaviour.

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Revise this section and have a go at describing the role of CNS and neurotransmitters-write a summary

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Label the relevant parts of the neurone

Ref to syllabus: Briefly describe the role of genes in behaviour (including thenature/nurture debate)

Using your notes write a summary of the key points of the role of genes and the nature/nurture debate

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Now have a go at answering the following exam question

Outline what is meant by central nervous system and genes (4)

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Describe what is meant by the nurture-nature debate (2)

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Ref to syllabus : With regard to gender development, describe the role of genes, hormones and brain lateralisation: Briefly fill in the spider diagram

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Now revise this section and have a go at the following exam questions without looking at your notes

1. Describe the role of genes in sex assignment (4)

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2. Explain how hormones work in sex assignment, include one example of abnormal sex assignment that is due to hormones (6)

Gender development

The role of genes

The role of brain lateralisation

The role of hormones

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Ref to syllabus: Evaluate the influence of biological factors on genderDevelopment

Revise this section and write a summary of relevant evaluation points

Have a go at answering this question without looking at your notes

Evaluate the biological explanation of gender development (6)

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Ref to syllabus: Describe and evaluate two studies relating to the BiologicalApproach. One must be Money J (1975) Ablatio penis: normalmale infant sex-reassigned as a girl, and David Reimer’s

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subsequent testimony and one other. This must be selectedfrom the following:Gottesmann I, and Shields J (1966) Schizophrenia in twins

Money 1975: make relevant notes write a summary of the key study

aim

Case background

Case analysis

Conclusion

Evaluation Points

strengths weaknesses

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Revise this section and have a go at answering the following exam questions without looking at your notesDescribe and evaluate Money’s (1975) study (12)

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Gottesman and Shield’s (1966) study: summarise the key points

aim

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procedure

findings

Conclusion

Evaluation Points

strengths weaknesses

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Remember for both studies you can use the GRAVE technique also when evaluating the studies

For instance is the study generalisable, does it have reliability, what applications does it have, is it valid and is it unethical

Not all of GRAVE will apply.

Revise this section and have a go at answering the following exam questions without looking at your notesDescribe and evaluate Gottesman and Shield’s (1966) study (12 marks)

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Identify the similarities and differences between the two studies in bullet format.

Similarities differences

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Ref to syllabus: Describe and evaluate twin and adoption studies as research methods.

Summarise the key points

description Twin studies Adoption studies

strengths

weaknesses

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Revise this section and without looking at your notes have a go at the next section

Evaluate twin studies as a research method (4)

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Ref to syllabus: Describe PET and MRI scanning techniques.

Make relevant notes: write a summary

PET SCANS MRI scanning techniques

Compare the similarities and differences between the two scanning techniques

Similarities Differences

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Revise this section and have a go at the following exam question without looking at your notes

Describe PET and MRI scans (8) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Ref to syllabus: Identify, describe and apply the following terms: alternative, experimental and null hypothesis

Using previous notes identify what is a hypothesis

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Identify what is the different between a one tailed and two tailed hypothesis

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What is the null hypothesis

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Ref to syllabus: levels of significance (eg p≤ 0.01, 0.05), Mann-Whitney U, - critical value and observed value.

Using your notes and refer to pages 53-55 of the revision booklet for unit 2: you should either have your own copy or a photocopy provided by me

Answer the following questions

What are inferential statistics?

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What does it mean by level of significance?

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What are observed and critical values?

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You have covered two inferential statistics so far, which one did you cover for the psychodynamic approach?

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Which one did you cover for the biological approach?

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State what is the criteria for each of the statistical tests mentioned above

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Ref to syllabus: the use of control groups, experimental procedures including allocating groups to conditions (eg randomising) and sampling.

Using your notes answer the following questions

What does it mean by the use of controls

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Using your notes and page 36 of revision book unit 2: have a go at answering the following exam question:Explain what a control group is and how participants can be allocated to groups, include an example in each case (3)

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Ref to syllabus: Levels of measurement

Fill in the table below

Nominal description Example

Ordinal Example

Interval/ration Example

Ref to syllabus: Describe and evaluate, including strengths and weaknesses,the use of animals in laboratory experiments in the biological approach.

Using your notes describe and evaluate the use of animals in lab experiments: devise a spider diagram of the relevant points

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Ref Evaluate the use of animals in experiments in terms of credibility, ethical and practical issues

Using your notes write a summary, fill in the table belowArguments for practical reasons Arguments for ethical reasons

Arguments against practical reasons Arguments against ethical reasons

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Credibility and using animal research

Now revise this section and have a go at the following exam question

Evaluate the use of animals in studies in psychology, in your answer consider issues of ethics, practicality and credibility (12)

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Ref to syllabus: Evaluate the use of laboratory experiments in terms of validity, reliability and generalisability

Using your notes fill in the table:

validity

reliability

generalisibility

Key issue for the biological approach

the debate over whether transgender operations are ethical

refer to the model answer question and using your notes have a go at devising a spider diagram

Homework answer: question 1 (a), ‘Describe one key issue that can be explained usingconcepts and ideas from the biological approach. Remember to describe the issue notthe ideas from the approach’One issue of interest that links to a biological explanation is the issue of transgender operations and whether theyare ethical or not. Sex reassignment is not frequently undertaken but is documented over the years in manydifferent countries so is an issue worth considering. _ Sex reassignment would involve changes in hormones andalso reconstructive surgery, both of which should not be undertaken lightly and there is an ethical discussion overwhen such biological interventions should be allowed and what measures should be taken to ensure suchprocedures are ethical. _ There is, for example, the issue of whether only adults should be treated, since children

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cannot give consent and parents usually consent for them. _ On the other hand, reassignment as a child mightbe more straightforward, and biological interventions might be safer then as well. _ The question is shouldtransgender operations be undertaken at all, and if so, when it is ethical to carry out such interventions and whenis it not ethical?

Comments on the answerThere is enough here for 4 marks, which are not easy to achieve, because the issue itself is often fairly straightforwardand it is hard not to go straight into the explanation using the concepts. One way of improving thisanswer would be to use an example, such as those you have researched for yourself.

Homework answer: question 1 (b), ‘Use evidence from the biological approach toexplain the issue you described in answer to part (a)’Transgender operations involve altering hormones and genitals to represent the desired sex and this can involveextensive interventions. One argument is that such procedures are not ethical because on the face of it there isno need as the person is not ill. _ However, it is accepted by most people now that mentally a person can feelvery uncomfortable in their body and this is accepted to an extent as a mental disorder, so surgery and medicalprocedures might be judged ethical. _ Work with rats and mice, as well as research with humans, has shown thatgenes direct hormones and other processes so that from about 6 weeks old the foetus will start to develop asmale or female according to their genes. _ The XX sex chromosomes lead to a female child and XY to a malechild. In the XY pairing androgens are released and they trigger the genitals to be male, otherwise the foetus willremain and grow as a female. _ At birth an infant will be assigned as male or female often purely from externalgenitalia, and it is not hard to see that this can lead to an error as there is evidence for a few ‘abnormalities’ in thefoetus’s development that can lead to misassignment. _ Something in the releasing of the hormones can go wrong, as can the acceptance of the hormones, as well as the chromosomes in the first place. For example, thereare examples of XXY patterns, and examples of androgenital syndrome. _ It could be argued that tests for thesesorts of abnormalities should be carried out before sex assignment takes place. It could be argued that it is moreethical to reassign someone who has been wrongly assigned for clear biological reasons such as these than toreassign someone who ‘feels’ wrongly assigned, but there is not obvious cause. _ However, feelings areimportant too, so if reassignment is ethical for one reason (a biological one) perhaps it should be for another(a less obvious one). Gender development appears to be affected by brain lateralisation too and perhaps braindifferences lead to the feelings of being wrongly assigned although we don’t as yet have the equipment orknowledge to pinpoint such causes. _ Money documented the case study of an identical twin boy who hadsurgery go wrong and was brought up as a girl. Then the ‘girl’ when an adult explained that ‘she’ had never feltcomfortable as a girl and David became male. _ His story suggests that biological sex is very important to howsomeone feels, so if someone feels they are the wrong gender there is some evidence at least that it would beunethical to prevent them from becoming what they felt they should be. _

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Comments on the answerThere is enough here for all the marks. Information has been briefly given about the biological aspects of sexassignment but the answer focuses throughout on whether reassignment is ethical, which is what the issue is.

Write down the key points

Identify the description of the key issue

Identify the application of the key issue

Remember you need to know your practical inside out.

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