PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Defining the Biological Approach

1) What relationship is the biological approach concerned with? It is about the impact and
influence of what?
It is concerned with the relationship between biological processes, in particular the workings of the
brain and psychological functions. It is about the impact and influence of genes and the nervous
system on individual differences.
2) What kind of research is involved in the biological approach? Give examples with your
answer.
Research which is normally lab-based including: Brain scans, surgery (lesion studies), twin and
adoption studies.
3) What are the two assumptions about where our behaviour originates from?

Our behaviour is the result of genes that we pass on from conception.

Our behaviour is controlled by the activity in the central nervous system (by the brain and the
spinal cord).

4) How many parts does the nervous system have, and what are these known as?
The nervous system consists of two main parts- the central nervous system (CNS) and the
peripheral nervous system. The CNS is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. The brain is
within the skull and the spinal cord is within the vertebrae.
5) What does the CNS consist of? Give a brief description of the location of these factors.
Explain what the peripheral nervous system is and what it does.
The CNS is made up of the brain (within the skull) and the spinal cord (within the vertebrae).
The peripheral nervous system is all of the nerve cells outside the brain and the spinal cord: it links
the CNS to the limbs and organs of the body.
6) Describe what the nervous system including the brain is made up of? Then, state what
the unction of these special cells is.
The nervous system including the brain is made up of special cells called neurones which pass
messages inside the brain. it then communicates with the rest of the body through nerve cells in
the nervous system, telling different parts of the body what to do.
7) What kind of message is within the neurone? What is it called?
Within the neurone, the message is electro-chemical called a nerve impulse.
8) What are the gaps between neurones known as and what is passed between them?
What are the chemicals called that cross the gaps between neurones called? Why are they
important in psychology?
The gaps between neurones are called synapses and purely chemical messages are passed
between them.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

The chemicals that cross the gaps between neurones are called neurotransmitters and are an
important way in which psychologists can study the function of the nervous system.
9) How is the brain itself organised? What is brain localisation? Why is this important in
psychology?
The brain itself is organised by function, so regions that are devoted to different roles, this is known
as brain localisation.
This is another way that psychologists study the nervous system is to look at the jobs performed by
different parts of the brain.

10) Define the following terms: 'neurone', 'neurotransmitter' and localisation'.

NEURONE: a nerve cell that sends electrical messages known as nerve impulses along their
length.
NEUROTRANSMITTER: a chemical that is releases at the end of a neurone to pass on a message
on to another neurone, a muscle or a gland.
LOCALISATION: specific functions of the brain are controlled by particular (localised) areas of the
brain.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Methodology Twin Studies

1) Why are twin studies used?
Twin studies are used to study the influences of the environment on those individuals that share
100 % of their genes. They're also used to see if behaviours are shared by those who are
genetically similar/identical.
2) What are concordance rates?
CONCORDANCE RATES: the likelihood that if one twin has a certain trate the other twin will also
have the same trait.
- E.g. if one twin develops schizophrenia, psychologists would look at whether the twin will develop
the disorder as well.
3) Distinguish between the two types of twins.
MZ TWINS: monozygotic twins (identical) share 100% of their genes and develop from the same
egg and therefore are genetically identical.
DZ TWINS: dizygotic twins (fraternal) share 50% of their genetic material, they share the same
womb but develop from separate eggs so are not genetically identical.
4) When comparing MZ and DZ twins, if the concordance rate is high for any traits between
MZ twins what does this mean?

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

If theres a high concordance rate for any traits between MZ twins, there may be a genetic cause
for that trait,
5) How can you find out whether there is a genetic cause for a particular trait?
By comparing the concordance rate of MZ and DZ twins, its possible to if theres a genetic cause
for a trait because MZ twins share more genes in common (100%) than DZ twins (50%).
6) What do higher concordance rates for a particular behaviour for MZ twins than DZ twins
show?
If the concordance rate is higher for MZ twins than for DZ twins, then its likely that genes play a
strong part in the behaviour being studied.
7) Suggest why higher concordance rates for a particular behaviour for MZ twins than DZ
twins do not necessarily mean that there is a genetic cause for that trait.
This is because most twins share the same environment, so the similarities in behaviour may be
due to environmental factors and not genes.
8) How do psychologists overcome the impact of the environment whilst trying to
investigate genetic causes for a certain trait/behaviour.
To overcome this, psychologists try to study twins that are reared apart, in order to separate nature
and nurture effects on behaviour.
9) How is the degree of similarity between twins assessed?
The degree of similarity is assessed by examining the average of a large group of twins using a
correlation. The characteristic being studied such as personality factor is measured and the scores
of each pair of twins are compared.
10) How do you know whether genetic factors are important in determining the
characteristic being studied e.g. personality factor by using degrees of similarity.
If genetic factors are important in determining a characteristic, then the score of one twin will be
close to/similar to that of the other twin. So if one twin has a low score, the other twin will also have
a low score.

11) What does the degree of similarity between twins express?

This expresses the probability that both twins will share a characteristic and is referred to as the
concordance rate.
12) One way of investigating the effects of genes is to compare MZ and DZ twins. What is
the other way to do this?
Another way to investigate the effect of genes is to compare the similarity of identical twins who
have grown up in the same family or different environments.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

13) How Does comparing similarities of identical twins who have grown up in the same
family with those who grow up in different environments allow us to investigate the effect of
genes and the environment.
If those who have grown up together in the same environment are more alike than those who grew
apart in different environments, this would support the role of the environment. However, if the
twins are alike despite being reared apart, this supports the importance of genes.
14) What did Loehlin (1992) investigate and what did the study show?
Loehlin (1992) investigate similarity in personality between MZ twins reared together and apart. He
found that separated twins tend to be much more alike than two unrelated people, demonstrating
the importance of genes. Although, it was found that twins reared apart were less similar than
those reared together, they're still more alike than expected if their genetic similarity wasn't a factor.
15) EVALUATION: Give all the strengths of twin studies.

Twin studies have large volumes of data

Twin studies suggest that genetic components mate be involved with a wide range of psychological
phenomena e.g. studies of intelligence personality, aspects of mental health; schizophrenia
(1966 Gottesman and Shields).

Twins are tested for zygosity using blood tests, visual appearance and fingers prints, this makes
them a reliable method.

Twin studies are useful to society as they can isolate specific genes.
16) Give all the weaknesses of twin studies.

Weaknesses of data depends on the instruments used to gather it and data is only useful if it is
collected in a valid, reliable way and many psychological variables e.g. IQ is difficult to measure.
Separated twins may be difficult to compare age of separation, different circumstances, similar
environment and so may have had different experience etc.

The number of twins reared separately is minimal, it is also difficult to collect a large sample of
twins and for there to be similarities e.g. in age of the participants so samples sizes are not
representative of the target population.
MZ twins reared together may be more similar because adults are more likely to treat them the
same/more similarly than DZ twins as they look alike,
Findings of twins studies are difficult to generalise to others as most people are not twins.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Methodology Adoption Studies

1) Why are adoption studies used?
Adoption studies are used to see whether behavioural traits are the result of nature or nurture
factors.
2) Explain what adopted children share or not with their adoptive and their biological
parents.
Adopted children share no genes in common with their adoptive families but share the same
environment. They also share 50%/ half of their genes with each of their biological parents, but no
longer share the same environment.
3) What does studying children that are adopted at birth or soon after allow psychologists
to do?
By studying children that are adopted at birth or soon after, psychologists can separate genetic and
environmental influences on behaviour by looking for similarities between the children, and their
biological and adoptive parents.
4) What is required for a genetic cause for a particular trait to be accepted in adoption
studies? Give an example with your answer.
If theres a similarity in behaviours between the children, and they biological parents, and not
between the child and their adoptive parents, then this supports that the behaviour being studied
has some genetic cause. For example, if a child has a very high IQ and so does his biological
mother, but both adoptive parents have an average IQ, a psychologist may determine that the
childs IQ is the result of a Genius gene (same with the example of schizophrenia).
5) When is the role of the environment accepted as the cause of a particular trait/behaviour
in adoption studies.
Similarities between the child and their adoptive parents would suggest a role for the environment.
to test this, measures are taken of the behaviour characteristics being studied e.g a mental health
disorder like schizophrenia. The child and the adoptive parents are then compared.
6) What are the 2 ways in which the effect of the environment and genes on behaviour can
be investigated.
The children are often followed up in adulthood to see whether similarities between them and the
adoptive parents persist once their have left the adoptive home. Alternatively, the same measures
from the child can be compared to those for the biological parents.
7) EVALUATION: What are all the strengths of adoption studies?

Adoption studies give most direct comparisons of influences of nature and nurture and allow to
isolate influence of genetics from environment.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Adoption studies allow a range of variables to be investigates and use varied samples and
methods. For example similarities are found in trans-racial adoption and meta-analysis
suggesting validity.

8) EVALUATION: Give all the weaknesses of adoption studies.

Findings from adoption studies are difficult to generalise as people who are adopted are not
representative of the whole population. For instance Hestons study suggested that there may
have been something different about the mothers that led babies to be left for adoption. Such
factors could have contributed to the development of schizophrenia.

Adopted children tend to be selectively placed placed with families similar to their biological
ones. This could make examining the influence of genes and environment more difficult.

Many participants in twin/adoption studies are gathered using volunteer sampling (adverts)
which may cause bias.

Twins separated at birth still shared the same prenatal environment for 9 months so may
account for similarities in behaviour, this also links to development of the child due to mothers
health e.g. whether she was using drugs/alcohol whilst being pregnant and whether that caused
the child to develop certain traits as a result.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Methodology Brain Scanning Techniques

1) What is one way psychologists can study our behaviour?
One way that psychologists can study our behaviour and influences on it is by using brain-scanning
techniques to study the brain and what it does.
2) What was used prior to this?
Prior to brain scans that can penetrator skin and bone to look at the brain, the only way to study the
brain was to operate on people or look at brains of corpses.
3) What are the two main types of brain scanning techniques?
The two main types of brain scanning techniques are structural and functional.
4) Distinguish between functional and structural brain scanning techniques.
STRUCTURAL: shows images of the brain
FUNCTIONAL: shows which parts of the brain are most active at different times
5) State what PET stands for and give a brief overview of the type of brain scanning that it
is.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

PET: Positron Emission Tomography

- Pet is a functional technique, it records the activity of different parts of a working brain.
6) Why are functional methods of brain scanning are more useful than structural methods?
Functional methods are more useful to psychologists than structural scanning because they allow
us to visualise events that are actually happening to the brain.
7) Describe step by step what a PET scan involves.
1. A PET scan involves injecting patients with glucose or water that has been labelled with a
radioactive tracer (reaches the brain around 1 minute after injection) while they lie with their
head inside the scanner.
2. Once substance reaches the brain, brain cells start to take up the oxygen present in the water
or glucose and the radioactive tracer begins to decay (takes 10-15mins to decay).
3. When tracer decays, it emits positrons and the more glucose or oxygen the cells in the brain
use up, the more active the brain is and the more positrons will be emitted in that brain area.
4. When positrons are emitted, they collide with electrons and form gamma rays which are
detected by the scanner to produce an image of activity in areas of the brain.
8) What can PET scans show?
PET scans can show any malfunction in the working brain, thus are able to identify damage or
tumours. The PET scan measures blood flow and oxygen use e.g. if during the scan someone is
talking the areas of blood flow will identify areas of the brain used for this.
9) The PET sac produces an image using colours, what do the different colours mean?
Warmer/darker colours such as red/orange mean there is more activity in that area of the brain and
cooler/lighter colours like blues and greens show less activity within that area of the brain.
10) What colours tend to represent a malfunction in the brain?
If theres a malfunction in the brain then this part of the brain will show cooler/lighter colours such
as greens and blues as there is little or no activity within that area of the brain that is affected by
the malfunction such as a brain tumour.
11) What generally happens when PET scans take place in terms of conditions?
Generally, the patient is scanned several times in two conditions:
- One set of recordings are taken when the participant is inactive which acts as a baseline (control).

- Another set of records is made when the participant is performing particular tasks.

12) The difference between images produced in the 2 conditions of PET scanning allows us
and researchers to do what?
The difference between the scans tells us which parts of the brain are involved in what activity. This
techniques has enabled researchers to investigate active brains involved in tasks such as
recognising different stimuli for example different brains areas are active when viewing famous
faces and famous buildings.
13) Give a few brief examples what type of things PET scans have been used to investigate.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Cognitive tasks e.g. remembering

The effects of long-term drug use (Galynker et al, 2000)
How the brain responds when you lie (Abe et al, 2006).
14) State what MRI stands for and give a brief overview of the type of brain scanning that it
is.
MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
- MRI is a structural technique and it provides an image showing the details of structures inside the
brain (skull) without actually having to cut through any tissue.

- It produces very high quality images - scans look like a photo taken of a alive through the brain.
15) What does an MRI scan involve? Give the step by process.
1. During MRI scanning, the patient is placed in a large scanner which passes a very strong
magnetic field through their head.
2. The nuclei of some atoms in certain molecules spin in a particular way when they're placed in a
magnet which allows a detailed picture of the brain be produced on a computer.
3. In the scanner, electromagnetic waves are passed through the body by the magnet and the
nuclei in hydrogen molecules emit their own radio wave at a frequency that the scanner picks
up.
4. Because hydrogen concentration vary in different areas of the brain, a very detailed image of
the brain at cross-sections can be seen.
5. Blood flow can be monitored through inserting a dye.
16) What can and is MRI scanning used for? Give examples with your answers.

MRI allows psychologists to compare the structures of brain that are functioning normally to those
that are functioning abnormally. Looking at these difference helps to establish whether a physical
abnormality is responsible for a symptom. E.g damage to the brain resulting from a stroke or the
presence of a tumour could be detected using this scan.

Can be used to look at physical differences between the brains of younger and older people or men
and women. Any differences visible on MRI scans could help explain behavioural or cognitive
differences related to age or gender.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Methodology Inferential Statistics

1) Why are inferential statistics useful for psychologists and what is the purpose of it?
Inferential statistics help us to know what we can inner from data, whether we cold infer that the
results are generalisable to the target population, whether general laws can be proposed which
would help us to predict behaviour, whether two variables are actually related (test of relationship)
or whether a difference actually does exist between two conditions or groups (test of difference).
The purpose of a statistical test is that it will tell you the probability that your results arose due to
chance alone.
2) What are the 3 levels of measurement? Give their definitions and an example of each.
NOMINAL DATA: data in form of numbers and categorical data normally 2 categories or the
number of categories is limited e.g. number of yes or no answers or gender.
ORDINAL DATA: ranked data, where someone ranks something on a scale e.g. judging on a scale
of 1 to 5 how anxious someone is (likert scales produce ordinal data).
INTERVAL/RATIO DATA: data where there is a real measurement; scores that have equal intervals
between them and are mathematica scores e.g. height, weight and time.
3) What type of data gives the highest level of measurement?
Interval ratio data.
4) How do you decide whether you're testing for a difference or a relationship?
When choosing a statistical test, you need to look at the alternative hypothesis to see if its
predicting a difference or a relationship. When predicting a difference, you look at the difference
between groups (independent measures) or conditions (repeated measures and matched pairs).
However when predicting a relationship, you look at the association/relationship between two
variables i.e. looking for a correlation.
5) Give 2 examples 1 for each type of test (difference and relationship) of hypotheses and
suggest why each one is this type of test.

People over 50 years old drive more slowly than those under 50 - test of difference as 2 groups are
compared.

The older you get the slower your driving - test of relationship as there is an association between 2
variables (age and driving).

6) What is the checklist when choosing an inferential statistical test?

1. Whether you're testing for a difference between groups/condition or an association between 2
variables.
2. Which level of measurement has been used whilst collecting data either nominal, ordinal or
interval/ratio.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

7) What is the statistical test used for a test of association, how do you know?
A test of association that uses ordinal or interval/ratio data has the statistical test of Spearmans
Rho.
8) Differentiate between the two statistical tests used for the test of difference.

For the test of difference if the data collected used nominal data as the level of measurement then
the statistical test is chi squared.

If the data collected for the test of difference used the ordinal/interval data as the level of
measurement then the statistical test is a Mann Whitney U test.
9) What are the two levels of significance indicate in turn?

0.05 means 5% of the results can be due to chance, it is acceptable for an alternative hypothesis
when there is already a lot of evidence to say that the predictions are likely to be true.

0.01 means 1& of the results can be due to chance and that is acceptable. This is used when
previous research suggesting that the alternative hypothesis is likely to be found to be true.

10) If the probability of research is below 5% or 5% exactly what does this means in terms
of its significance?
If it is below or 5% exactly then it is significant. So, you can accept the alternative hypothesis and
reject the null hypothesis.
11) If the probability of results is above 5% what does this mean in terms of its
significance?
If the probability is above/more than 5% it is non-significant. Therefore meaning that the alternative
hypothesis is rejected and the null hypothesis is accepted.
12) How do you know if the observed value (the result of the test) of a statistical test is
significant?
To see whether the observed value of a statistical test is significant, it needs to be compared to the
critical value (calculated value). So if the observed value is to be significant, you can reject the null
hypothesis and accept the alternative/experimental hypothesis.
13) What do you do when you have he observed value?
When you have the observed value, find the relative critical value which is usually given in a table.
14) What do you need to know for Spearmans and Mann-Whitney?
For Spearmans and Mann-Whitney you need to know N which stands for the total number of
participants in the groups.
15) What do you need to know for Chi Squared?
For Chi Squared you need to know df which stands for degrees of freedom.
16) What are degrees of freedom used for and how are they calculated?
Degrees of freedom are used for looking up the critical value in a given table. Df can be calculated
by using the formula (number of rows -1) x (number of columns - 1).

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

17) What are the degrees of freedom that you need to know?

For a two-by-two table (i.e. 2 columns and 2 rows) df is alway 1.

Fro a three-by-two table df is always 2.

18) On completion of the test youll have an observed value. In order to see whether your
findings are statistically significant you need to consider several factors. Give these factors.

For Chi-squared only = was the hypothesis directional or non-directional. If the hypothesis was

directional then choose a one-tailed test, if its non-directional you need to choose a two-tailed
test.

If conducting a Spearmans or Mann-Whitney U, how many participants were there (look for N)
N1= number of participants in group 1 and N2= number of participants in group 2.

If conducting a Chi squared, what are the degrees of freedom?

What is the chosen level of significance (0.05 or 0.01?)
19) For a Chi Squared or Spearmans Rho test how do you know whether the observed
value is significant?
For a Chi Squared or Spearmans Rho, the alternative hypothesis can only be accepted if the
observed value is equal to or greater than the critical value, which would mean that its significant.
20) For a Mann-Whitney U test how do you know whether the observed value is significant?
For a Mann-Whitney U test the alternative hypothesis can only be accepted if the observed value is
equal to or less than the critical value, which means that it is significant.

Methodology The Use of Animals in Laboratory Experiments

1)The biological approach used animals a lot in research, including lesion studies. What is
meant by the term lesion studies.
LESION STUDIES: where damage to the brain is caused and the resulting change in behaviour is
measured.
2) How can one cause brain damage in animals?

Surgically by cutting or burning away a part of the brain.

Using drugs or other techniques to shut down parts of the brain temporarily.
3) How can psychologists see which parts of the brain control which types of behaviour by
using animals?
By comparing the behaviour of those animals with brain damage with a control group who have
fully-functioning brains, its possible to see which parts of the brain controls which types of
behaviour.
4) Define the term control group.
CONTROL GROUP: a baseline to which an experimental group is compared to, the control group
of a study is purely the absence of the IV.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

5) In studies on the nervous system e.g. the effectiveness of drug treatments, the control
group if often given a placebo. What is the meaning of placebo?
PLACEBO: a sugar/water or an empty pill that appears to be the real thing but which actually
contains no active ingredient.
6) Why is it important that the participants in the control group are given placebos?
To see whether knowing that a drug may help cure you makes you feel better despite it actually not
having a physical effect on you. Believing that you're going to get better may have an effect on
recovery. So if participants were given placebos, this effect would be missing. The control group
should be unaware that the drugs are not real or the experiment wont work.
7) What did Adams et al (2005) find out about the relapse rates for those taking the drug and
those taking the placebo?
Adams et al found that relapse was prevented in 47% of schizophrenic patients taking
chlorpromazine, but 17% of those receiving a placebo were also able to prevent relapse.
Suggesting that the placebo effect may work.
8) EVALUATION: Give all the practical advantages of using animals in psychological
research.

Most animals used in research are small meaning that they can be handled easily.
In studying genetics, its useful to study more than one generation in a short time. Therefore,
animals that have a short gestation period and reproductive cycle are useful because successive
generation can be obtained relatively quickly.

Some animals e.g. mice have similar sorts of brain areas and chromosomal function to humans
which is useful for drawing comparisons between animals and humans.

Using animals in research can have practical benefits for animals as well as for humans. For

instance by knowing more about some animal species, zoos are able to care for them better.

There are practical reason why its useful to use animals when studying the effects of drugs. The

drug may need to be administered daily over days or weeks, which ethical considerations aside
is more practical using animals. Some studies require examination of brain tissue after drug
treatment, or need drugs to be administered to specific sites of the brain, such procedures can
be carried our more practically on animals.

Studying processes of ageing for instance using humans is not practicable because the study

would have to run over 80 years or more. On average, rats live for 2 years and monkeys live from
15-20 years. These shorter lifespans mean that results are found more quickly, which is a
practical reason for using animals in research.

Laboratory experiments that require participants of certain size, age or genetic structure and which

might need for example, to restrict participants to a certain diet or to control their environment in
some way are more practically carried out using animals as the environment of an animal can be
strictly controlled and particular factors can be isolated.

Evidence that findings from animal studies can be applied to humans comes from studies of suing

cats and bulls stimulating the limbic system, which affects their levels of aggression. It has been

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

shown that in humans as well the limbic system relates to aggression. This supports the idea of
using animals for practical reasons rather than humans.
9) EVALUATION: What are all the practical disadvantages of using animals in psychological
research.

A practical disadvantage is the fact that animals are not the same as humans, so the findings from

studies that use animals are difficult to generalise, despite animals such as mice having a similar
brain and genetic structure to humans it is not identical. As a result, findings are unlikely to be
fully generalisable to humans.

In animal studies a variable is often isolated e.g. exercise, humans could follow a programme of

increased exercise but there would be other areas of their lives that might also changed. As a
result conclusions from animal studies often do not take onto account the complexity of real life
situations as factors rarely occur in isolation.

To study some diseases e.g. Parkinsons They have to be artificially reproduced in animals which
isn't the same as actually developing the disease. Therefore what is studied, may not be valid.

A practical disadvantage is that animal studies may lack credibility, for instance what is being

studied is often not the same as the situation for humans. It might not be credible to conclude
that animals e.g. mice function in the same way as humans despite the similar chromosomal
functioning. As when considering the organism as a whole, it does not seem credible to
conclude that mice function the same way as humans.

Using animal studies may be criticised as a reductionist approach to studying human behaviour as
it reduces behaviour to isolated variables. A s a result it may be believed that studies should be
holistic so credibility is questioned.

10) EVALUATION: Give all the ethical advantages of using animals in psychological
research.

The main ethical reason for using animals is that procedures can be carried out on animals that for

ethical reasons cannot be carried out on humans. For example: lesions, which involve damaging
brain structure and ablation, which involves removing a part of the brain which are more ethical
to carry out on animals rather than humans.

American Psychological Association (APA)/BPA states that psychologists should only undertake

research with animals for a clear scientific reason. Research should only be carried out if the
knowledge that cones from the research should increase understanding of behaviour, increase
understanding of species being studied or provide results that benefit the health or welfare of
humans or there animals.

Another ethical reason to use animals rather than humans in studies is that drugs have been

developed that would not have been developed without the use of animals e.g. drugs to treat
mental illness e.g. antipsychotic drugs.

It is argued by some that humans should improve their own quality of life by whatever means, this
is called pro-speciesism.

Using animals in research also enables us to learn about the animal species in question and the
knowledge is used to improve care.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Its said that a Bateson (1988) decision cube should be used to see whether a study should be

carried out or not. The benefit of animal studies should always be higher than cost when
carrying out research. The cube considers 3 dimensions of the decision-making process: what
benefit (to animal or to human) the findings of study are likely to have, the cost of the study in
terms of pain and suffering and scientific quality going from poor to excellent.
11) EVALUATION: List the ethical guidelines for using animals in research.

Researchers must have a Home Office licence and certificates.

Anaesthetics must be used appropriately by someone who knows about them.
Caging and social environment should be appropriate and must suit the species.
If the animal must be deprived this must be monitored and suffering should be kept to a minimum.
Animals must not be subjected to avoidable stress or discomfort.
Anaesthetic must be given if possible when surgical procedures are involved.
If no anaesthetic given, blood pressure and heart rate must be monitored to understand the pain
involved and researchers must take action to alleviate the pain or end the experiment.

No more animals must be used than necessary and alternatives should always be sought.
Research animals must be acquired and cared for according to NIH guidelines.
There should be reasonable time between experiments so animals can recover and rest.
12) EVALUATION: What are all the ethical disadvantages of using animals in psychological
research.

In laboratory experiments, animals are more likely to be confined more than normal; they're either
in an unfamiliar environment or bred for the purpose, neither of which is very ethical and can
cause distressing conditions for the animals.

Surgical procedures are used, which is likely to cause the animals pain or at least discomfort which
isn't ethical. For example, in some studies, animals die due to the procedures. The guidelines
help make the studies ethical to an extent e.g. specifying the use of the minimum number of
animals. However those that are used are still caused pain and discomfort.

Animal species are not sufficiently different from humans fir them to be treated as objects and not
as participants. However, in genera, animals arent treated as conscious beings in the way
humans are.
13) EVALUATION: Animal studies are often used in the Biological Approach. Evaluate the
use of animals in psychological studies in terms of the ethical issues. (June 2011)

It is possible to do things to animals (such as cause brain damage) that would be unethical in
humans.

E.g. Skinner gave electric shocks to the rats in the Skinner box, we wouldnt be able to give electric
shocks to humans in the same way.

Some people argue that we should never do things to animals that we would not do to humans and
all animal studies are unethical.

Minimum numbers of animals should be used in studies making them more ethical because any
practices are not carried out unnecessarily.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Using Batesons cube animal studies are ethical if we are certain there will be a benefit, their
suffering is low and the research is of a high quality. (2 marks)

However, whilst we may expect a benefit to come from the research we cannot know there will be
any benefit until after the research.

Results from animals such as rats may not be true for humans, meaning that they have been used
in vain so making it unethical.

Methodology Evaluating Lab Experiments: Validity,

Reliability and Generalisability
1) Distinguish between the following 3 terms: validity, reliability and generalisability.
VALIDITY: found when a study measures what it claims to measure.
RELIABILITY: found when a study is repeated and the same results are found.
GENERALISABILITY: found when the sample used in a study represents the target population well
enough for the results from the sample to be said to be true of the target population.
2) Give all the positive and negative aspects of the validity of laboratory experiments.
Positive:
- If both the independent and dependant variables are naturally occurring as with Raine et al (1997)

in which the working of the brain were real as well as whether the participants were murderers or
not then the lab experiments a have a level of validity.

Negative:
- Since laboratory experiments involve manipulation of the independent variable and
operationalisation of the dependant variable to make it measure bale, often what is being
investigated and what is brain measured are not valid. Especially lacking in ecological validity as
it is not representative of real-life behaviours.

- If the independent variable is manipulated e.g. participants having to read while being scanned,
then this lacks validity.

- If the dependant variable can be interpreted differently e.g. the murderers in the Raine et al (1997)
study were anxious, which affected the brain functioning then the experiment lacks validity.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

3) Discuss the positive and negative aspects of the reliability of laboratory experiments.
Positive:
- Laboratory experiments involve careful controls of both setting and participant variables, they are
easily replicable and can be tested for reliability.

- There are careful controls of all variables except the independent variable, so replicability and
reliability are why the research method is chosen.
Negative:
- Being replicable does not necessarily mean that a study is reliable, it has to be repeated in order to
find that out.

- Study findings can sometimes contradict one another, so the findings are the questionable with
regard to reliability.

4) Discuss the positive and negative aspects of the generalisability of laboratory

experiments.
Positive:
- The generalisability of the results of laboratory experiments is similar to that of other research
methods because it is the sampling that determines it, rather than the research method.

- If the sampling is random or chosen to be representative e.g. stratified in some way or another, the
sample is then large enough, meaning that the experimental results are generalisable as those
of any research method.
Negative:
- If the sample is opportunity, volunteer or otherwise biased, then the findings are not generalisable
to the target population.

The Central Nervous System

1) What are the meanings of the following key words: 'central nervous system', 'spinal cord',
'reflex' and 'brain lateralisation.
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: the brain and the spinal cord which together organise
communication within the brain.
SPINAL CORD: a collections of neurones that communicate between the brain and the body
transmitting information inwards to the brain and outwards to the body.
REFLEX: a single response to a stimulus. It may only pass through the spinal cord and not the
brain if it is simple.
BRAIN LATERALISATION: the differences between the left and right hemispheres.
2) What neurones connect to the CNS that serve the body?

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

MOTOR NEURONES: carry information about movement out from the brain.
SENSORY NEURONES: carry sensory information inward to the CNS e.g. touching a hot object
and pulling hand off straight away.
3) Explain how a reflex such as touching a hot pan and moving your hand away occurs,
using three stages each with a corresponding type of neurone. State whether this process
involves the brain?
The sensory information about the heat is detected and passed to the CNS by sensory neurones.
They pass the message on to the relay or interneurone in the spinal cord. This sends a message
down a motor neurone to the muscles which contract causing you to withdraw your hand.
This process does not involve the brain.
4) Describe the role of the CNS.
If information is simple what processes it?
What about if information is difficult, which organ is required to process it?
The CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cord which together organise communication with the
brain. The CNS is involved in the transmission of information to and from the brain.
If the information is simple then it can be processed by the spinal cord only, more difficult
information e.g decision making requires the brain to take the processing role.
5) What neurone does the brain receive inputs from and what other information do these
neurones pass on?
The brain receives inputs through the sensory neurones from each of the senses and about other
information such as pain, balance, position and balance of the body.
6) How does information pass out of the brain? Where does it go and what does this do?
Information passes out of the brain via motor neurones to muscles but also to glands to instruct the
release of hormones.
7) The brain is organised into many specialised areas, what is the function of the
hippocampus?
The hippocampus is important in the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory.
8) Why are brain scanning techniques used by psychologists?
There are the two broad categories of brain scanning? Give the name and the definition.
Brain scanning techniques are used to study specific brain functions. The two types of scanning
are:
STRUCTURAL: looking at different parts of the brain/the brain structure.
FUNCTIONAL: offer a more informative way to link brain activity to behaviour.
19) Brain scanning is used to study brain lateralisation. What does this term mean?
BRAIN LATERALISATION: the structural differences between the left and right sides of the brain.

Neurotransmitters

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

1) Give the meanings of the following 2 terms: synapse and receptors.

SYNAPSE: the space/gap between 2 neurones which is crossed by chemicals called
neurotransmitters.
RECEPTORS: special locations on the surface of the neurone to which neurotransmitters attach
and cause action potentials.
2) Define these terms: nucleus, dendrite and axon.
NUCLEUS: the central and most important part of the cell, forming the basis for its activity and
growth.
DENDRITE: a short, branched extension of a nerve cell, along which impulses received from other
cells at synapses are transmitted to the cell body.
AXON: the long threadlike part of a nerve cell along which impulses are conducted from the cell.
3) What is a neurone?
NEURONE: a specialised nerve cell that receives, processes and transmits information to other
cells in the body, there is a fixed number of neurones in the body and they do not regenerate.
4) What is a neurotransmitter?
NEUROTRANSMITTERS: chemical substances that carry messages, they are released and
passed from the terminal button of one neurone to the dendrite of a receiving neurone.
5) Describe how information enters and moves across a neurone.
1. Information comes into the neurone through the dendrites from other neurones.
2. It then continues to the soma (the cell body), which is the main part of the neurone, it contains
the nucleus and mains the life sustain function of the neurone.
3. The soma processes information and then passes it along the axon.
4. At the end of the axon are bulb-like structures called Terminal Buttons that pass the information
on to glands, muscles or other neurones.
6) Explain how information moves from one neurone to the next.
Information is carried by chemical substances called neurotransmitters. The terminal buttons and
the dendrites of other neurones dont touch, but instead pass the information containing
neurotransmitters through a synapse which are small injunctions between neurones where
neurotransmitters are released and passed from the terminal button of one neurone to the dendrite
of that receiving neurone. Once the neurone leaves the axon, and passes through the synapse its
caught on the receiving neurones dendrite by receptors. The receptors are specific to each type of
neurotransmitter and are shaped so that only one particular type of molecule can fit into them. For
example there are different receptors for neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, dopamine,
serotonin and endorphins.
7) What happens once the neurotransmitter is received by the postsynaptic neurone?
The neurotransmitter, once received, will either excite or inhibit the postsynaptic neurone. Some
synapses are excitatory and encourage the neurone to fire which leads to the release of another
neurotransmitter. Other synapses are inhibitory and tell the neurone not to fire. Whether the
neurone fires or not depends on the number of excitatory and inhibitory messages the neurone

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

receives form thousands of synapses. If the number of excitatory messages far outweighs the
number of inhibitory messages it is likely to fire and vice versa.
8) Using an example show the importance/influence of neurotransmitters on human
behaviour.
The neurotransmitter acetylcholine is important in controlling voluntary movements. During REM,
the activity of acetylcholine in specific parts of the body is blocked and were paralysed. This
prevents us from acting out our dreams. The blocking of acetylcholine is usually very precise and
the magnocellular nucleus (area of brain) appears to be responsible for sending signals to the
spinal cord that prevents motor neurones from being activated. However sometimes this system
malfunctions as in the example of REM sleep behaviour disorder, the normal blocking of
acetylcholine neurotransmitter fails. As a consequence, the sleeper acts out their dreams which
can be very dangerous.
9) Describe the role of neurotransmitters in human behaviour and give an example of a
malfunction.

The chemical messengers called neurotransmitters pass information on by crossing the gap
between two neurones called a synapse.

The neurotransmitter then attaches to the receptor site on a dendrite of the receiving neurone.The

receptors are neurotransmitter specific so for instance there will only be one type of receptor for
the acetylcholine neurotransmitter (which controls sleeping).

Once the neurotransmitter is received it will either excite the postsynaptic neurone by encouraging
it to fire resulting in the release of another neurotransmitter to pass the message on further. Or
it may inhibit the postsynaptic neurone and in doing so will tell the neurone not to fire. If the
number of excitatory messages far outweighs the number of inhibitory messages it will fire.

As neurotransmitters pass messages on form one neurone to another they are directly responsible
for our behaviour. They are crucial to the functioning of the brain and the transmission of
instructions from the brain to the body as well as having a direct impact on behaviours such as
sleeping and moving.

The importance of neurotransmitters can be shown when considering a neurotransmitter

malfunction. For example in REM sleep behaviour disorder, the normal blocking of acetylcholine
neurotransmitter fails. As a consequence, the sleeper acts out their dreams which can be very
dangerous. This therefore highlights the importance of the role of neurotransmitters within
human behaviour.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Genes
1) What is the psychological definition of the term genes'.
GENES: units of info that are inherited from our parents. They control or influence characteristics
such as risk of mental health disorders, personality and sexual development. Genes are the
messages that we inherit from our parents that control aspects of our development.
2) What is our genetic make up important in determining?
It is important in determining our individual characteristics, abilities and behaviour.
3) Genes are strands of a chemical called DNA, where is DNA found and what does they
contain?
DNA is found in our cells and it contains the information required to build biological structures such
as neurones and the brain.
4) What are the 4 things that DNA is said to be responsible for?

It is responsible for the protein synthesis, which influences our development.

They are contained on chromosomes which are found within the nuclei of cells; we inherit 23
pairs of chromosomes from each parent, which is thought to account for shared behaviour traits
between family members.

These genes are thought to dictate everything from our eye colour, hair colour and our gender.
Genes control physicals processes in the body e.g. specific behaviours such as the ability to roll
your tongue

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

5) Give two examples of how genes effect humans in a negative way (mutations).

If one parent contributes 2 copies of chromosome 21, then the child will have 3 copies of this
chromosome and the consequence is Down's syndrome.

Some diseases and characteristics are sex-linked (i.e. they're controlled by the sex genes for
instance most colour blind people tend to be male).
6) Do psychologists say that a single gene controls a particular behaviour?
No, genes tend to interact with other genes to produce an effect on behaviour. Genes also tend to
interact with environmental factors to determine behaviour outcomes.
7) Genetics and the environment can have importance on our development, suggest how?
These influences can help explain differences between people. So, the differences in our genetic
make-up may account for differences in our behaviours.

8) State what the nature and nurture debate is over?

The nature-nurture debate is over how much nature or nurture actually controls who or what we
become.
9) Give the definitions of the terms: 'nature' and nurture'.
NATURE: refers to the idea that our behaviour is determined by our biological make up and is
therefore beyond our control.
NURTURE: refers to influence of the environment and experiences after birth on our behaviour
such as food, exercise, social factors, family and relationships.

Gender Development- Genes

1) Define these terms in turn: sex chromosome, genotype and phenotype.
SEX CHROMOSOME: the x and y chromosomes that are responsible for determining biological
sex/gender in humans and other mammals.
GENOTYPE: the genes an individual has for a particular characteristic.
PHENOTYPE: the characteristics an individual displays may be physical, behavioural or
psychological.
2) Explain how an individual inherits sex chromosomes.
An individual inherits sex chromosomes from their parents. Each egg cell from the mother contains
and x chromosomes. Each sperm cell from the father contains either and x or a y chromosome.
3) What are the two possible sex chromosome combinations?

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

XX- female and XY-male

4) What is the role of sex chromosomes in gender development?
When the baby is conceived the presence of a Y chromosome from the father will develop the
foetus into a male with male sex organs. If the Y chromosome is absent then the foetus will
develop into a female and thus develop female sex organs. Until about 6-8 weeks all foetuses are
identical in terms of physical sex. It is the presence of a single gene on the Y chromosome called
SRY which dictates whether organs change into ovaries for females or into testes for males. If this
gene is present, it produces an enzyme called testes-determining factor and a protein hormone
called the H-Y antigen, (which is also dependent on the Y-chromosome) which together are
responsible for differentiating the human embryo into the male phenotype by inducing the
embryonic gonads to develop into testes. If the SRY gene is absent the foetus will remain female
and female sex organs such as the uterus and vagina develop.

Gender Development- Hormones

1) Describe at which stages hormones are released during gender development.
Hormones are released in the womb from 6-8 weeks and then again at puberty about a decade
after the foetus has been exposed to sex hormones.
2) What is the exposure to hormones responsible for?
Exposure to hormones before and after birth is responsible for the physical differences between
males and females.
3) When is a foetus exposed to sex hormones?
A foetus is exposed to sex hormones between 6-8 weeks.
4) What is the H-Y antigen?
H-Y ANTIGEN: a protein hormone present as a result of the Y chromosome and it encourages the
growth of testes and stops the development of ovaries.
5) What is the SRY chromosome? What does it do? (2 effects)
SRY CHROMOSOME: the presence of a single gene on the Y chromosome called SRY which
dictates whether organs change into ovaries for females or into testes for males.

If present then produces the testes determining factor (enzyme) and the undeveloped glands
develop into testes.

If absent the foetus will remain females and female sex organs such as uterus will develop.
6) What are gonads?
GONADS: sex organs (development of ovaries/uterus in females and development of testes in
males.
7) In normal sexual development, the testes and ovaries are also important after birth.
Suggest when the gonads become active again.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

After a decade of being still, the gonads become active again during puberty. At this time, they
control the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
8) Describe the secondary sexual characteristics and suggest which hormones they are
triggered by for both males and females.
Males triggered by testosterone:
- Production of sperm

- Growth of facial hair and pubic hair in arm pits

- Enlargement of the larynx - causing voice to deepen
- Increased muscle growth
Females triggered by oestrogen:
- Growth of breasts

- Development of fatty tissue e.g. on hips

- Development of the lining of the uterus; menstrual cycle begins
9) Describe the role of hormones in gender development (June 2011)

If the H-Y hormone is released when the foetus is 6 weeks then testes will develop/eq;
Testosterone makes males more aggressive/tough and oestrogen makes females more
emotional/eq;

If the testes develop male sex hormones will be released when the foetus is 3 months leading to
male sex organs/eq;

If no male hormones are released then the female sex organs develop/eq;
In puberty the hormone testosterone lead males to develop facial hair and causes sperm to be
produced/eq;

In females oestrogen released at puberty causes breasts to grow and fatty tissue to be deposited
on the hips

Gender Development Brain Lateralisation

1) What does the left hemisphere of the brain control?
The left hemisphere controls language - speech and comprehension functions.
2) What does the right hemisphere of the brain control?
The right hemisphere controls visuospatial tasks.
3) Compare males and females in terms of brain lateralisation for particular tasks.

Females tend to show less brain lateralisation for language abilities than males do.
In males, the left hemisphere of the brain is more active than the right during linguistic tasks, but
in females there is more likely to be bilateral activity in the brain during the same tasks.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

This means that in females, left-hemisphere brain damage is likely to result in fewer problems
with linguistic abilities than the same damage would cause in males.

Similar differences are seen between males and females during spatial tasks.
In males, the right hemisphere is shown to have high levels of activity during tasks requiring
spatial ability, but in females both hemispheres are activated during spatial tasks.
4) Give an example to show how the lateralised pattern is more noticeable in men than in
women.
The separate use of the left and right hemispheres are more visible in men than in women, as
women tend to be bilateral. For example after a stroke on the left of their brain males are likely to
lose considerable powers of speech but women are likely to still have the ability to speak. This is
because for women language is more spread out through both hemispheres, as women are more
bilateral. As a result, strokes tend to generally cause more damage to men than women.
5) Suggest how brain lateralisation can be seen in brain activity, mention the use of
functional scanning techniques.
Shaywitz (1995) used PET which is a functional scanning technique to measure blood flow to
different areas of the brain whilst participants were doing a variety of cognitive tasks such as
deciding whether two words rhyme for example. The findings of this study were that for language
tasks e.g. rhyming men were lateralised on left side but females tended to show bilateral activity for
the same tasks.
6) Describe how genes, hormones and/or brain lateralisation affect gender development.
(June 2009)

Genetic sex is determined by the chromosomes in the egg and those in the sperm.
The egg includes the X chromosome, the sperm contains either the X or the Y chromosome.
If the sperm contains the X chromosome it will be a girl, if its the y chromosome it will be a boy.
The Y chromosome will cause the male foetus to develop testes at around 7 weeks.
In a female other genes cause the foetus to develop ovaries.
Hormones are released that stop the male foetus developing a uterus/fallopian tubes.
Male speech and comprehension is controlled by the left hemisphere, whilst females tend to be
across both hemispheres.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Money (1975) Compulsory Study

1) What was the title of Moneys 1975 study?
Alblatio penis: normal male infant sex-reassignment as a girl.
2) What was the aim of Moneys original study?
To use a surgical accident in order to investigate whether gender could be reassigned or whether it
is biologically determined at birth. Also to see whether children are born gender neutral and explain
that gender is a result of upbringing.
3) Give the step by step procedure of Moneys 1975 study.
1. 45 males were followed up after gender reassignment-one was of particular interest as he had
an identical twin which provides a naturally-occurring control.
2. Bruce and Brian- normal twin boys. At the age of 7 months it was decided that they would
undergo circumcision for health reasons.
3. The operation on Bruce went wrong and rather than severing his foreskin, his penis was
burned- the damage was impossible to repair surgically.
4. Dr Money, a sexologist believed that the best course of action was to surgically change Bruces
external genitalia to appear female and raise the child as a female/girl. This decision was

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

beaded on previous successes with sex-assignment of children born with ambitious genitalia
which suggested that children were gender neutral at birth.
5. Money believed that children are created as male and female through the way they are brought
up.
6. Aged just under 2 years Bruce was castrated, received oestrogen treatment and was renamed
Brenda. Her family treated her like a little girl for example growing her hair long and buying her
dolls.
7. Brenda was seen at regular intervals by Dr Money and she received further reconstructive
surgery and hormone treatment to achieve the transition into a female appearance.
4) What were the findings of Moneys 1975 gender reassignment study?

Money reported that at nine years old, Brenda had a female gender identity and behaved in a
feminine way. He predicted that in adulthood, she would have a female sexual life.

The mother reported that Brenda liked to wear dresses, play with dolls and help around the
house (seen as female traits).

Brenda did have some tomboyish traits, but this was explained as the result of imitating her
brother.
5) Give the conclusions of Moneys original study.
Money concluded that his evidence suggested that it was in fact possible to reassign physical
appearance through surgery, hormone therapy and gender identity can be acquired through how
we are brought up and treated as a child. He stated that our nature could be overcome by our
nurture by implying that gender identity is undifferentiated at birth, so Money concluded that gender
was not biological/genetic but could be learnt and that we are born gender neutral.
6) EVALUATION: state all the strengths and weaknesses of Moneys study in terms of
reliability. (June 2012)
Strengths:
- The case of Daphne Went supports Moneys study as she was happy as a female even though
she was biologically male as his conclusion was that nature can be overcome by nurture which
is displayed by Wents case.
- May be said to be reliable to an extent as Brian was used as a naturally - occurring control to
compare Brenda with.
Weaknesses:
- However several other studies in which they concluded that have found that gender
reassignments dont work so reducing the reliability of Moneys study. For example such as
Diamond and Sigmundson (1997) concluded that the effect of Davids chromosomes had
outweighed the attempts to socialise him as a girl as he felt that throughout his life he should be
male. Therefore opposing Moneys study in that gender is more of a product of nature than
nurture.
- The study was not tightly controlled so it would be hard to replicate and carry out again. It was a
unique case study so it cant be repeated reducing the level of reliability.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

7) EVALUATION: state all the strengths and weaknesses of Moneys study in terms of
validity. (June 2012)
Strengths:
- Moneys study was a case-study so therefore was likely to gather in depth, detailed information

enhancing its validity as the person is studied in close detail overtime.

- The study has a high level of ecological validity as Brenda carried on with her normal life with her
parents and on her own at home whilst the study was being carried out.
- Brenda did not know why she was being studied so she showed natural behaviour and the study
was unaffected by demand characteristics enhancing its validity.
Weaknesses:
- The study lacks ecological validity in the sense that the procedure was not natural a child would
not normally be asked to attend yearly interviews with a psychologist like Dr Money.

- The follow up of David Reimer found that he hadnt been happy as a girl but rather he felt that
throughout his life he should be male which thus questions the validity of Moneys findings.
- Population validity of the study is low as it is a case study therefore Money only studied one
child, so results may not be true for others.
8) EVALUATION: Discuss all the strengths and weaknesses of Moneys study that are not to
do with reliability or validity.
Strengths:
- Moneys study makes it possible to study and compare the behaviours of twins who share the
same genetic makeup but have different experiences being brought up as either a male or a
female opposing their genetic gender. This provides a good matched control that can be used as
a comparison.
- APPLICATION: The findings from Moneys study can be used to apply to real life as it can
encourage parents to bring up children as gender neutral.
- APPLICATION: This study strongly suggests that gender reassignment surgery may not always
be successful so careful consideration should be taken over what gender to raise an intersex
child. If biology is likely to have the biggest effect this should be considered first.
- Its more difficult to build a penis than a vagina so many intersex children have a vagina created
as it is easier, this may have been the case for Brenda.
Weaknesses:
- GENERALISABILITY: The findings and conclusions of Moneys study are difficult to generalise
due to the fact that the case study only followed one child and the results may not be applicable
to all other children. For example David had an identical twin brother which may have also
influenced his gender behaviour. This makes it difficult for it to be generalised to the wider or
target population.
- ETHICS: immense stress was put on the family and a lack of protection from psychological harm
may have been a significant factor in both of the twins suicides.

- ETHICS: Money showed the children sexually-explicit images and other material to strengthen
their gender identities to which informed consent was not gained from the parents.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

- ETHICS: Money abused the right to withdraw of the children as for example when he allegedly
asked the children to remove their clothing and they refused he prodded them to follow his
directions by raising his voice and using aggression. As a result the children were unable to
withdraw from the study.

Gottesman and Shields (1966) Optional Study

Gottesman and Shields (1966) (JUNE 2010 PAPER)
They aimed to see if there was a genetic or environmental influence of the development of
schizophrenia.
They studied MZ and DZ twins, in each pair of twins at least one of them had schizophrenia/eq;
Each pair of twins was tested using blood group, fingerprints and how alike they looked to decide
whether they were identical or not/eq;
They used hospital records to determine whether one of the pair had schizophrenia as well as
interviews/eq;
The twins and their parents were tested for disorganised thinking and the twins also had a
personality test/eq;
They tested to see if both twins had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and whether both twins
had a mental disorder but different diagnoses/eq;
They found that there was a stronger link in schizophrenia with regard to twins in MZ than in DZ
twins/eq;
They found that 42% (+/-5) of the MZ twins both had a diagnosis of schizophrenia compared to
9% (+/-5) of the DZ twins/eq;
77% (+/-5) of the MZ twins of severe schizophrenics also had schizophrenia compared to `15%
(+/-5) of the DZ twins/eq;
They concluded that genes do play a role in the development of schizophrenia
Generalisability:
A large sample was used including different ages and both male and female patients meaning the
findings could be generalised. However as the sample only focused on twins this means the
findings may only be generalised to twins. Also only one hospital was used.
Reliability:
Sampling was carefully controlled using multiple measures to make sure that twins were correctly
allocated either MZ or DZ twin status, and a lot of data was gathered using multiple research
methods to check the diagnoses were correct. However interviews and self report data may be less
reliable.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Application:
If there is a genetic component for Schizophrenia this is useful because it can help lead to
identifying specific genes.
Other evaluation points:
Other studies support findings of MZs sharing traits Bailey (2000) concordance rates for
homosexuality MZs 24% females, 20% males these figures were much lower for DZ twins
If schizophrenia was entirely a product of genes the concordance rates for MZs would be 100% this is not the case so environmental factors must play a role
Twins may be treated the same or may copy each other, therefore higher concordance due to
environmental rather than biological factors
The study did not look at reasons for schizophrenia or forms of schizophrenia therefore it is limited
in its use it simply identifies a concordance between schizophrenia and genes

Raine et al (1997) Optional Study

Raine et al (1997). (JUNE 2010 PAPER)
1) What is the tittle of the 1997 Rain et al study?
Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by PET scans.
2) What was the aim of Raines et al study?
Raine aimed to see if the brain activity of murderers pleading not guilty of murder through
diminished responsibility was different to that of non-murderers using PET. They wanted to
investigate if there was a difference in areas of the prefrontal cortex of murderers pleading not
guilty of murder through diminished responsibility and normal people.
3) What was the participant design used in the 1997 Raine study?
Matched pairs
4) Give the step by step procedure of Raines study.
1. The experimental group consisted of 41 (39 men and 2 women with a mean age of 34.5 years)
participants charged with murder or manslaughter who had pleaded not guilty by reason of
insanity.
2. The experimental group of murderers were compared to a matched for sex, age and
schizophrenia where appropriate control group of people not charged with murder or
manslaughter.
3. 6 of the murderers has a diagnosis of schizophrenia and so were matched to controls who also
had schizophrenia. No participants took any medication for at least 2 weeks prior to testing.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

4.

Following a practice task participants were injected with a radioactive glucose tracer and
carried out a continuos performance task a visual task which increases brain activity in the
frontal lobes for 32 minutes.
5. A PET scan where 10 horizontal images images were taken at 10mm intervals was performed
immediately after the task was finished to see how active the brain had been in the prefrontal
cortex.
5) What were the findings/results of Raines study of murderers?

It was found that the murderers showed lower levels of activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex,

corpus collosum and parts of the limbic system than non-offenders (control group. These are all
areas associated with self-control and inhibition of violent behaviour.

Murderers brains were more active on the right side of the thalamus compared to non-murders
which showed equal activity on both sides of the thalamus.

It was also found that murderers had low levels of activity in the parietal cortex which could link
to poor verbal ability.
6) State the conclusions of Raines study.

Having lower/abnormal levels of activity in the pre-frontal cortex, corpus callosum and parts of
the limbic system is associated with lower self control/increased aggression and suggests that
murderers may find it hard to control their behaviour.

They concluded that brains of murderers were significantly different from the brains of non-

murderers and the areas identified as having abnormal activity are associated with a lack of fear,
increased aggression, impulsive behaviours and problems with controlling and expressing
emotions. All these could lead to an increased risk of committing acts of extreme violence and
criminal activities.

7) EVALUATION: Was Raines study generalisable?

The findings from the study are quite difficult to generalise due to quite a small sample of only 41
participants, most of whom were men and all of them were of an American background. As a result
the findings may only be generalised to American males but not the wider population. However this
is quite a large sample for a PET scan and for such a sensitive topic as a result can be said to have
a level of generalisability.
8) EVALUATION: To what extent are the findings of Raines study reliable?
The study can be said to have a high level of reliability as the study followed a standardised
procedure for example all participants had to do a continuos performance task after which they
all had to do a PET scan. As a result of this alongside tight controls over extraneous variables such
as age and sex for which they were matched the study has a high level of reliability as it is is easily
replicable and if it were to be repeated similar or same results should be obtained.
The study also involved the use of PET scans which is a reliable scientific method that provides the
same images every time, meaning it has a high level of replicability and so would provide the same
results if experiment were to be repeated enhancing the studys level of reliability. (PET scan
interpretations may be subjective however).

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

9) EVALUATION: Is Raines study ecologically valid?

Raines study lacks ecological validity due to the artificial setting and the artificial nature of the
task. For instance normally either the murderers or the non-murderers would not be asked to have
a PET scan after doing a visual task on a day to day basis in real-life. As a result of this the study
lacks ecological validity.
10) Are there any application to real-life points for the findings of Raine et al study?
The findings of this study can be used to explain why people commit particular crimes. When you
know why people commit crimes something can be done in order to help these people and thus try
to decreasing the number of crimes happening all together for example if people have poor
language abilities activities could be organised to improve that so that people dont need to turn to
violence to feel like they are being understood.
11) Were there any ethical issues with Raines study?
The fact that schizophrenic and other disorder diagnosed participants were unable to take any
medication for at least two weeks prior to testing could be seen as an ethical issue as it may have
harmed the person.

Key Issue Autism

1) What is the key issue in the biological approach?

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

The key issue of the biological approach is whether autism is an extreme male brain condition.
2) What is autism?
AUTISM: a lifelong developmental disorder which affects a childs ability to interact and build
relationships with others, including their parents.
3) When does a child normally develop autism?
Autism is usually diagnosed around the age of 3 or 4 but it is thought to be present from birth as
many parents of autistic children report noticing problems with the before an official diagnosis is
made.
4) What are the characteristics / symptoms of autism?

Autistic people tend to avoid eye contact

Autistic people tend to have very poor social skills
Autistic people have a strong resistance to change
Autistic people find it very difficult to understand sarcasm and double meanings
5) What is the proportion of males to females in terms of autism?
About three quarters of all autistic people are male which suggests that autism is more of a male
condition. Around 90% of people with Aspergers which is an aspect of autism are male. This
provides further evidence that autism is an extreme male brain condition.
6) Why is Simon Baron-Cohen of importance in terms of the autism key issue?
Baron-Cohen (2005) suggested that the brain structure of an autistic person is an exaggeration of
a normal brain structure. (He argues that there are many similarities between the brain structure of
an autistic person and the brain structure of a normal male. In an autistic person, the brain
structure is a more extreme version of the male brain.)
6) Explain the key issue of autism using the idea of brain structure from biological approach
to psychology.
Brain structure provides a possible explanation as to why autism may be an extreme male brain
condition:
- The brain structure of males and females is different, normal male brains are heavier than normal
female brain.
- In people with autism the brain is even heavier than a normal male brain (Bailey et al 1994).
- Male brains grow more quickly than females during early development. In people with autism this
growth is even more rapid.
- Normal Males have a smaller corpus callosum (which is involved in the communication between
the 2 hemispheres of the brain) than females. In people with autism the corpus callosum is even
smaller.
- The amygdala (the area of the brain where emotions are centred) is larger in normal males than
normal females.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

- Brain scans of toddlers with autism show their amygdala to be abnormally large in comparison to
toddlers without autism.
7) Explain the key issue of autism using the idea of brain function from biological approach
to psychology.
Brain function provides a possible explanation as to why autism may be an extreme male brain
condition:
- Males are generally better at spatial tasks such as map reading than females. Tests with autistic
people have displayed that they seem to be even better at spatial tasks than normal males.
- Normal males develop language more slowly than females. People with autism develop
language very slowly even slower than normal males.
- A study by Baron-Cohen on babies showed that girls are more empathising and boys are more
orientated to systems. This distinction was more visible in those with autism.

8) Explain the key issue of autism using the role of hormones from biological approach to
psychology.
The role of hormones provides a possible explanation as to why autism may be an extreme male
brain condition:
- There are three times more males than females with autism.

- Males have greater exposure to male hormones than females as they are produced by the
testes.

- Females do have some exposure to male hormones which are produced in the adrenal gland.
This would account for why some females also have autism an abnormally high exposure to
testosterone levels could have led to the possibility of a male brain structure and thus why
autism occur sin girls.
9) Explain the key issue of autism using the idea of genetics from biological approach to
psychology.
The role of genetics provides a possible explanation as to why autism may be an extreme male
brain condition:
- Autism may have a genetic link as research using twins has found a strong concordance rate for
autism 60 90% for MZ twins compared to just 5% for DZ twins.
10) Evaluate the methodology used to see brain differences.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

Biological Approach Practical Gender Differences in

spatial awareness
1) What was the aim of you biological practical? (June 2013)
Our aim was to investigate whether being male or female would have an impact on spatial
awareness.
2) What were your aternative/experimental and your null hypotheses? (June 2013)
Alternative: males will score higher in the spatial awareness test than females.
Null: there will be no difference in the scores achieved by males and females for the spatial
awareness test, if any difference is found it will be solely due to chance.
3) What concepts from the biological approach did you use to base your research question?

According to the theory of brain lateralisation, males should be better than females at spatial

awareness tasks. This is because males tend to use one side of their brain for specific tasks,
while females tend use both sides of the brain (bilateral)

One reason that males score higher than females is that the brain is divided into two hemispheres,
it is claimed that the left hemisphere controls language and the right hemisphere controls
visuospatial ability and perception.
4) What was the IV and the DV of your biological experiment?

IV Our IV will be the gender of the participant.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

DV- The dependant variable will be the score that the participants receive on the test.
5) Give the whole procedure and method of your practical for the biological approach.

20 participants: Males/Females
Controlling extraneous variables?
No electronic devices, sign on the door + no other participants in the room
Variables: Naturally occurring groups of males and females (IV) No. of spatial ability tasks
correctly answered (DV)

Data: Collecting results using nominal data on sheets used by participants to answer questions
Design/Sampling: The practical for the biological approach is a test of difference using a
independent groups design with opportunity sampling

Environment: Classroom same classroom for all participants

Consent Participants would be given a form stating it will be a experiment to measure spatial
ability leave full aim till the end to avoid demand characteristics

Right to withdraw Participants can withdraw at any time

Time All participants will be given 8 mins to complete 10 questions on the spatial awareness
task (http://www.aptitude-test.com/spatial-visualization1.html)

The practical for the biological approach is a test of difference using a independent groups design.
6) What were the findings and the results of you biological practical? (June 2013)
Males completed the spatial awareness task with a mean score of 1.4 higher than the females. We
carried out a Mann Whitney U test and our observed value was smaller than the critical value so
there was a significant difference between the boys and the girls.
7) What were the conclusions of your biological experiment?

The results from our experiment allow us to accept our alternative hypothesis in that males will
have a higher score in the spatial awareness task than females and we were able to reject our
null hypothesis.

This is because males had a much higher score than females on the spatial awareness task which
shows boys are much better at spatial awareness tasks as suggested by the theory of brain
lateralisation on which our research was based.
8) Evaluate your practical investigation from the Biological Approach. (June 2013)

We has quite a high level of inter-rater reliability because we all found similar results.
We all used the same spatial awareness task which increased the level of reliability.
A pilot study was done to check procedures were practical/standardised
Our sample was taken from sixth formers and can be generalised to that target population
Due to using opportunity sampling our sample was limited and biased and thus was not
representative of the wider population and as a result not generalisable

We gathered all the data at one point in time and this might give biased data.
We had a small sample of 20 participants all of similar background and age which may cause
problems in generalising.

PSYCHOLOGY-UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

INDRE MISKUNAITE

The setting was in a classroom which was a natural setting for our participants as they were sixth
form students so the study does have ecological validity.

Students aged 16-18 are not usually asked to take part in a spatial awareness task on a day to day
basis therefore the task is artificial which lowers the level of ecological validity.

Despite asking for silence some participants talked to each other and this may have affected their
results as answers could have been shared and their whole attention was not always on the
task.

Participants didnt know exactly what they were going to do as if they did the experiment may have
been affected by demand characteristics, so they didnt give informed consent, but we did
debrief them afterwards to ensure they were all still happy to take part and that they were leaving
the experiment in the same state as they came in.
9) What problems did you come across whilst carrying out your biological practical and
how would you amend them?

A problem we came across was whilst gathering our sample, as we used opportunity sampling we
were unable to have a wide range of participants and it was quite difficult as we used who was
available at the time which makes our sample biased. To address this, we could have used a
more representative sampling technique such as random sampling. This is bevies it would
provide everyone with the equal chance of being selected to take part. This would prevent bias
and provide a wide range, representative sample.

After carrying out our pilot study, we were told that our instructions and some of the questions in
the spatial awareness task did not make sense or were difficult to understand. In order to
address this we changed the wording of our instructions and the way we explained the task
before carrying the real experiment out to avoid any further confusion.

Our sample was small of only 20 participants which were all 16-18 year old students. This therefore
is another problem that we came across because our sample wads small and not representative
of the wider population it made it difficult for the findings of the study to be generalised to the
whole population. In order to amend this we could have used a wider and more representative
sample by using a stratified or random sampling techniques so that our results could be easily
generalised to the wider population.

If experiment is prone to demand characteristics use a single or a double blind technique to avoid

demand characteristics.
Before carrying out the experiment check whether any participants are affected by learning
disabilities as they might find the spatial awareness task more difficult than the other participants
and thus may require special treatment that is adjusted to them if they want to take part such as
more than 8 minutes to complete the task. This could have been addressed by carrying out a
survey such as a questionnaire prior to the experiment.