Answer the following questions with 50-to 100-word responses.
1.) What are the core assumptions of the biopsychological approach?
Bio-psychology is the study of the brain and its impact on human behavior. The neuropsychologist studies the structure, functioning, and development of the brain to explain how the chemical and physiological aspects of the brain control bodily functions, behavior, memory, language, and learning. The neuropsychologist focuses on these biological factors in order to “change the course of human life by preventing, deterring, and treating its myriad dysfunctions and diseases by a single fundamental understanding that psychological and physiological health has roots in the biological disposition of the brain and nervous system” (Wickens, 2005).
According to MacLeod (2007) there are three main assumptions in biopsychology. First of all, psychology is a science and should employ scientific methods in its study. Secondly, biology (e.g., genes, hormones, etc,) can explain human behavior. Finally, humans and their genes have adapted and evolved “therefore, most behavior will have an adaptive/evolutionary purpose.”
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2.) What historical disciplines converge to create biological psychology?
Biological psychology brings together neuroscience, the study of the brain, and psychology, the study of behavior in order to discover the biological basis for human behavior (Hub Pages).
3.) What are some of the earliest examples of a biological approach to studying behavior?
The mechanistic view of behavior was one of the first scholarly theories on the link between brain and behavior is attributed to Rene Descartes (1596-1650). Descartes explained that muscles were stimulated by a fluid that he called “animal spirits” which flowed though the nerves. Thomas Willis published the “Anatomy of the Brain” in 1664 and built on Decartes mechanistic view. He distinguished two types of tissue in the brain, gray matter and a ‘fibrous connective tissue’ that he called white matter. Willis believed the brain (the gray matter) actually controlled behavior by delivering ‘fluid’ to the muscles via the white matter. Franz Josef Gall developed a technique of examining the topography of a patient’s skull in order to determine a psychological diagnosis. While this method was largely discredited, Gall had conducted a detailed analysis of both animal and human brains and determined that the brain was the ‘center of higher mental activity.’ Paul Broca (1824-1880) was influenced by Gall’s work and developed the theory of localization. Broca performed autopsies on patients who has suffered brain injuries and was able to identify a portion of the frontal cortex that had the control over language verbalization. These early studies lead to further experimentation, particularly with patients suffering from mental illnesses, including lobotomies and electo-shock therapy in the 1930’s and drug treatments with thorazine in the 1950’s and 60’s. Advances in technology to conduct brain scans in the 1970’s and 80’s led to the discovery of endorphins and other brain chemicals in 1975(Millis).
4.) What are some examples of modern careers that have resulted from studying biological psychology? Include an overview of the careers.
Biopsychologists are employed in a number of occupations including:
• Cognitive neuroscientists are engaged in interdisciplinary mind and brain research to investigate the “psychological, computational, and neuroscientific bases of cognition” in order to understand the nature of thought (Cognitive Neuroscience Society).
• Psychopharmacologist explore drug treatments for behavioral disorders and mental illnesses (American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology).
• Neuropsychologsts conduct “empirical research on the relation between brain and human cognitive, emotional, and behavioral function” (American Psychological Association).
• Behavioral geneticists conduct scientific studies on “the interrelationship of genetic mechanisms and behavior, both human and animal…and its implications for health and human development and education” (Behavior Genetics Association).
• Comparative psychologists “study…the evolution and development of behavior” (International Society for Comparative Psychology).
5.) How is biological psychology viewed by other professionals in psychology today?
Biological psychology has significant scientific credibility, due in large part to relying solely on “objectively observable phenomena.” While this approach enjoys a high degree of validity, social psychologists believe the subjective aspects of the human experience such as social, cultural, and language experiences also have “a critical impact on thinking and behaviour” (Sammons).
Sammons also notes that understanding biological factors to behavior and disorders have resulted in drug therapies that “have allowed many people to live normal lives that previously would not have been able to.”
- American Psychological Association. Found: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/neu/index.aspx
- American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Website. Found: http://www.ascpp.org/
- Behavior Genetics Association website. Found: http://www.bga.org/
- Biomedicine, (2008). Biological Psychology. Biomedicine.org. Found: http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-definition/Biological_psychology/
- Cognitive Neuroscience Society Website. Found: http://www.cogneurosociety.org/about/
- Hub Pages. Biological psychology definition. Found: http://aunaturale.hubpages.com/hub/Biological-Psychology
- International Society for Comparative Psychology website. Found: http://www.comparativepsychology.org/index.html
- McLeod, S. A. (2007). Biological psychology – Simply Psychology. Found: http://www.simplypsychology.org/biological-psychology.html
- Millis, K. (n.d.). A short history of neuropsychology. Found: http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2002/neuro.htm
- Sammons, A. (n.d.). The biological approach: The basics. Found: http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/
- Wickens, A. (2005). Foundations of biopsychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hall.
