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Biological approaches - Coggle Diagram
Biological approaches
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Biological structure
Phineas Gage: a rod caused a spark and a dynamite blew, blasting the rod through Phineas' chin and out the top of his forehead. He recovered very well with no apparent effect on his functioning- however he changed psychologically
Modern brain scans provided insight into the localisation of brain areas, for example violent criminals have been found to have reduced activity in the frontal lobes- supports that this area of the brain is responsible for impulse control
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HM had a significant part of his hippocampus removed- as a result he lost his ability to form new memories- implies the hippocampus plays a part in registration of new memories in long term from short term memory
Woolett (2011): London taxi drivers were able to memorise routes covering 25,000 London streets- task known as 'The Knowledge'- they had an enlarged hippocampus compared with controls who couldn't do this
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Evolution
Evolution occurs through random mutation, if the characteristic is beneficial for survival and reproduction it will be passed on
Earliest, very simple, life-forms which changed over millions of years by means of evolution
Best suited will survive longer than those who are less well suited, this process is called natural selection
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Example of sexual selection: peacock males have conspicuous colours- more vulnerable to predator attacks but females favour them for reproduction as such traits prove strength and power in the male
Human behaviour
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The raw material of evolution is genetic variation, therefore any explanation which relies on genetic determination can be related to the principles and pressures of evolution
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Sexual behaviour: males and females have evolved instincts and physical attraction which equips them for hunting and childcare e.g. women have breasts and hips for bearing and rearing whereas men have strength and height for domination and protecting females and offspring
Sleep: important evolutionary survival function to conserve energy when food gathering has been completed and to avoid being eaten by nocturnal predators in the dark
Language: psychologists have argued that language is far too complex to be learned; rather there must be some innate 'programme' that enables development of speech
Aggression: humans show similar territorial behaviour to animals. Males are usually more aggressive because they have to compete for females
Neurochemistry
For example: serotonin has a role in sleep, memory, emotion, appetite, aggression and sexual behaviour
Dopamine acts as a gatekeeper for which impulses and thoughts become conscious and can be acted upon
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High levels of dopamine leads to hallucinations and delusions that are a hallmark of schizophrenia- many drugs are used to treat this and work by either lowering dopamine levels or blocking dopamine' effects
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Phineas Gage
Before the accident, he was reported to be a calm and well-mannered man but following the accident he exhibited unreliable, hostile and rude behaviour
The physician who treated Gag suggested that the area of the brain that had been damaged (frontal lobes) was responsible for the planning, reasoning and control of an individual
Supports the idea that personality is controlled by the frontal lobes, since damage to this area changes personality
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