An Introduction To Psychology
Part 1
(AC1) Two perspectives in psychology are the behaviourist approach and the biological (also known as physiological) approach. These perspectives consist of different theories, research methods and treatments in relation to mental illness.
The behaviourist approach believes that people, as well as animals, are controlled by their surrounding environment which has a direct impact upon their behaviour and whether they would suffer from mental illness (McLeod, S. 2007). Whereas the biological approach views genes, chromosomes and the nervous system as contributing factors to mental health and the way people behave, this theory believes that people have inherited traits of mental illness which may have adapted through evolution. These perspectives argue whether nature (biological) or nurture (behaviourist) have an influence over life and life decisions which has caused numerous ongoing debates (McLeod, S. 2007).
Between the 1920s and the 1950s the behaviourist approach was often primarily used. Behaviourists thought that psychology should be viewed as scientific, therefore theories within the approach consisted of controlled observations and measurements of behaviour which resulted in quantitative data, sometimes through the process of experiments. Within this perspective there is no room for free will, as all behaviour and thoughts are determined by the environment (Don, K. 2015), this is also the case from the biological aspect as they
In terms of human behaviour, psychology provides alternative perspectives, known as approaches, which give explanation to human behaviours. What makes each approach unique is that they all have their own focal points for how to explain behaviour. For example, the biological approach looks to the evolutionary processes and gene mutations/hormone levels, whilst the cognitive approach looks at how behaviour is influenced
The Contribution of a Biological Perspective to our Understanding of Behaviour The importance of Biology within the field of psychology has been and continues to be widely debated. Some scientists such as Francis Crick, believe that explanations for psychological differences can only be found by the means of studying the biology of the brain and genes, this belief is known as reductionism. However most psychologists now believe that biology and psychology go hand in hand and that both need to be considered; the biology and the social context, to be able to come to a more accurate explanation.
Nature and nurture are interchangeable in the way they manifest themselves in the human mind. We are products of our environment, and we all have the same genetic make-up. But what happens when someone is born with an abnormality, or when our environment influences our gene expressions during our life-span? One of the ways abnormalities can be seen is by taking a look at disorders. In this case, a psychotic disorder. Schizophrenia grasps my attention because it is the consequence of our psychosocial environment, brain abnormalities, and it can have genetic or prenatal contributions as well. Therefore, making it endlessly difficult to jump to conclusions about why one person might be diagnosed with it during their lifetime.
The Nature versus Nurture Theory continues to be challenged The Nature versus Nurture Evolutionary perspective approach was developed as a result of the groundbreaking work of Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species argument is based upon natural selection. i.e., traits in species represent an adaptation to their surrounding environment. Additionally, behavioral genetics is a field of study that attempts to unravel how certain genetic factors can account for certain psychological disorders, e.g., schizophrenia. The concept of behavioral genetics coincides with Darwin’s theory of natural selection, i.e., a person develops traits that allow him or her to adapt to their environment. Some would contend that the Nature versus Nurture Theory is empirically
There are 5 renowned approaches to abnormal Psychology, each one is unique and have influenced each other in some way. Freud’s approach infuriated psychologists, Watson felt it was not testable, Carl Rogers (Humanism) rejects Watson’s (Behaviour) scientific method.
However, as Eric Kandel illustrates in his revisited article, many biological and psychiatric investigations need to be conducted concerning topics such as unconscious processes, sexual orientation, and predispositions to mental illnesses (Kandel, 1999). Nevertheless, through “A New Intellectual Framework for Psychiatry”, Eric Kandel has successfully demonstrated the implications of environmental factors on our nervous system and therefore on our mental illnesses, all of which is fundamentally linked to the brain and its functions. As he rightly said in this article: “all of nurture is ultimately expressed as
The first perspective is the biological or evolutionary perspective. Biological psychologists focus on how bodily events and genes someone’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. When a psychologist focuses on how the environment and experiences affect actions and behavior, they are categorized as a learning psychologist. The cognitive perspective emphasizes on what is happening inside one’s mind. They research “how people reason, remember, understand language, solve problems, explain experiences, acquire moral standards, and form beliefs” (Wade and Travis, 2012, p.7). One perspective that is somewhat combined with the other perspectives is the sociocultural theory. This is focused on the social and cultural influences on one’s behavior. Freud’s psychodynamic theory is the fifth perspective that is still being practiced even though there is no scientific
heated in the recent years. Following the mapping of the human genome, scientists are pursuing
Many careers today benefit from the foundational knowledge of biological psychology, some on the form of new understandings of technology and new understandings of brain and body communication. The selected research problem is the effects on stress in the reintegration process and how it can create obstacles when it comes to treating and trying assist reintegrating service members and their families. Using the foundational knowledge compiled from years of research in the field of psychology, neurobiology, and biological psychology. Using research done by other psychologists we will look at a hypothesis created based on the issue and explain how the hypothesis can be verified and the validity of the research.
Now day’s murder becomes very common in all countries due to increased desires and due to increased competition. Unlawfully killing of one human by another especially with a desire to harm others and see others suffering from pain, these are planned or sometimes unplanned. Murder done by convict (Hashmukhial Mistry) because of depressed mind and family conflicts.
The behavioural approach in psychology, how it examine depression and it varies from the biological approach. The behavioural approach in psychology is one of the major theories and it was largely developed to react to the non-scientific and mostly untestable perspectives being put forward by some psychologists. It was also to establish to determine a way to explore and understand human and non- human behaviour through laboratory experiments.
Biological Psychology is defined as a branch of neuroscience that focuses on the biological bases of psychological processes, behavior, and learning. Social Psychology is defined as the scientific study of how a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others. Looking at both aspects of psychology we see many similarities as well as major differences. Some function go hand in hand while others could never be more different. The biological standpoint on psychology will help introduce to you what the mind is all about.
However, it is often argued that children develop their behaviors through genetics that they were born with and their behaviors are not at all influenced by their environment. A few assert that all inherited behaviors can be explained through a biological approach by means of hormones and chemical changes in the brain. Those geneticists attempt to prove that everyone has an “inner ‘biological clock’ which switches on (or off) types of behavior in a pre-programmed way” (McLeod). However, if this theory is true, one’s body cannot know when to ‘switch’ on a certain behavior if it was not first prompted by the environment. By the same token, other geneticists disagree and state that the environment could not possibly influence behavior because there are proven behavioral disorders. As an example, one of the most familiar
The biological approach to psychology is the thought to be related to the physical structure of humans. The biological approach, believes that abnormality has a physical indication, such as illness or disease. Furthermore, it also suggests that behaviour is shaped by physiological internal factors. There are four psychical causes to psychopathology which have been reviewed and investigated. The four include, damage on the brain, infections, biochemistry and genetics. In addition, behaviours driven by abnormality are illnesses caused by the possibility of the combination of the four factors (AS Psychology, 2017). In a study that was carried out, it was shown that someone of a first-degree relative like a son, or a daughter, of someone who suffers from a mental illness such as schizophrenia has an estimated ten per cent change of developing schizophrenia themselves (Cardwell et al, 2008: p.226). Additionally, some physical disorders appear to emerge from defects in single genes. It is very unlikely that this has the same affect for mental disorders, such as schizophrenia. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2016), it is projected that while suffering from schizophrenia, the risk of identical twins developing schizophrenia raises from forty, to sixty-five percent. The medical profession has learned more about the part played by biochemistry in mental health disorders. In schizophrenia, the biochemistry explanation displays the dopamine hypothesis, meaning
The Behavioural perspective was the first to try and move psychology as a subject away from the unscientific by focusing on observable and measurable behaviour to gain empirical evidence. Moreover, since the 1970s, the Biological perspective has grown hugely with neuropsychology now being a dominant approach. This shows that psychology has made a move to become more scientific in its approaches and methods over time. review