Assignment of Psycology

ASSIGNMENT
NAME :SHUBHO DEBNATH

ID :201932027
TOPIC OF ASSIGNMENT :Biological Psychology

DEPARTMENT :ARCHITECTURE
LEVEL :2
TERM :1
Biological Psychology
 Biological psychology, of biopsychology, is the
application of the principles of biology to
the study of mental processes and behavior,
that is the study of psychology in terms
of bodily mechanisms. The view that
psychological processes have biological (or
physiological) correlates, is the basic
assumption of the whole field of biological
psychology. Through a variety of
research methods, psychologists in this field
hope to uncover information that
enriches human understanding of their own
mental processes, as well as providing
valuable data that enable those in
medical fields to better treat patients with a
variety of disorders, both physical and
mental. Biopsychology has been a prominent
field of psychology from the start in
Europe and North America and remains a
major area of research and instruction
in many countries. In the last two centuries,
biopsychology has found new ways to
answer old questions, has tackled important
new questions, and has abandoned
some problems as poorly defined.
Carefully designed behavioral experiments
and innovative biomedical techniques have
been essential to its progress. The current
scope of biological psychology includes
the following themes: Evolution of brain
and behavior; development of the nervous
system and behavior over the life span;
psychopharmacology; sensory and perceptual
processes; control and coordination of
movement and actions; control of behavioral
states (motivation), including sex and
reproductive behavior, and regulation of
internal states; biological rhythms and sleep;
emotions and mental disorders; neural
mechanisms of learning and memory,
language and cognition; and recovery of
function after damage to the nervous
system. Developing from biological
psychology and overlapping with parts of
it are such fields as behavior genetics as well
as hormones and behavior. Through all
these methods, biological psychology is a
hopeful domain, one that has much to
offer in terms of improving the quality of
life of the healthy as well as those suffering
from disorders.
 Biological psychologists are interested in
measuring biological, physiological, or
genetic variables in an attempt to relate
them to psychological or behavioural
variables. Because all behaviour is controlled
by the central nervous system, biological
psychologists seek to understand how the
brain functions in order to understand
behaviour. Key areas of focus include
sensation and perception; motivated
behaviour (such as hunger, thirst, and sex);
control of movement; learning and memory;
sleep and biological rhythms; and emotion. As
technical sophistication leads to
advancements in research methods, more
advanced topics such as language, reasoning,
decision making, and consciousness are now
being studied.
 Biological psychology has its roots in early
structuralist and functionalist psychological
studies, and as with all of the major
perspectives, it has relevance today. In section
1.2, we discuss the history and development of
functionalism and structuralism. In this
chapter, we extend this discussion to include
the theoretical and methodological aspects of
these two approaches within the biological
perspective and provide examples of relevant
studies.
 The early structural and functional
psychologists believed that the study of
conscious thoughts would be the key to
understanding the mind. Their approaches to
the study of the mind were based on
systematic and rigorous observation, laying
the foundation for modern psychological
experimentation. In terms of research focus,
Wundt and Titchener explored topics such as
attention span, reaction time, vision, emotion,
and time perception, all of which are still
studied today.
 Wundt’s primary method of research
was introspection, which involves training
people to concentrate and report on their
conscious experiences as they react
to stimuli. This approach is still used today in
modern neuroscience research; however,
many scientists criticize the use of
introspection for its lack of empirical
approach and objectivity. Structuralism was
also criticized because its subject of interest –
the conscious experience – was not easily
studied with controlled experimentation.
Structuralism’s reliance on introspection,
despite Titchener’s rigid guidelines, was
criticized for its lack of reliability. Critics
argued that self-analysis is not feasible, and
that introspection can yield different results
depending on the subject. Critics were also
concerned about the possibility of
retrospection, or the memory of sensation
rather than the sensation itself.
 Today, researchers argue for introspective
methods as crucial for understanding certain
experiences and contexts.Two Minnesota
researchers (Jones & Schmid, 2000)
used autoethnography, a narrative
approach to introspective analysis (Ellis,
1999), to study the phenomenological
experience of the prison world and the
consequent adaptations and transformations
that it evokes. Jones, serving a year-and-a-day
sentence in a maximum security prison, relied
on his personal documentation of his
experience to later study the psychological
impacts of his experience.
 From Structuralism to
Functionalism
 As structuralism struggled to survive the
scrutiny of the scientific method, new
approaches to studying the mind were
soughtBuilt on structuralism’s concern for the
anatomy of the mind, functionalism led to
greater concern about the functions of the
mind, and later on to behaviourism.
 One of James’s students, James Angell,
captured the functionalist perspective in
relation to a discussion of free will in his 1906
text Psychology: An Introductory Study of
the Structure and Function of Human
Consciousness:
Inasmuch as consciousness is a systematising,
unifying activity, we find that with increasing
maturity our impulses are commonly
coordinated with one another more and more
perfectly. We thus come to acquire definite
and reliable habits of action. Our wills become
formed. Such fixation of modes of willing
constitutes character. The really good man is
not obliged to hesitate about stealing. His
moral habits all impel him immediately and
irrepressibly away from such actions. If he
does hesitate, it is in order to be sure that the
suggested act is stealing, not because his
character is unstable. From one point of view
the development of character is never
complete, because experience is constantly
presenting new aspects of life to us, and in
consequence of this fact we are always engaged
in slight reconstructions of our modes of
conduct and our attitude toward life. But in a
practical common-sense way most of our
important habits of reaction become fixed at a
fairly early and definite time in life.
Functionalism considers mental life and
behaviour in terms of active adaptation to the
person’s environment. As such, it provides the
general basis for developing psychological
theories not readily testable by controlled
experiments such as applied psychology.
William James’s functionalist approach to
psychology was less concerned with the
composition of the mind than with examining
the ways in which the mind adapts to changing
situations and environments. In functionalism,
the brain is believed to have evolved for the
purpose of bettering the survival of its carrier by
acting as an information processor.
IMPORTANCE
In order to understand the importance of

biological psychology one must understand
first, The Biological Perspective in Psychology
This field of psychology is often referred to as

biopsychology or physiological
psychology. This branch of psychology has
grown tremendously in recent years and is
linked to other areas of science including
biology, neurology, and genetics. The study of
physiology and biological processes has played
a significant role in psychology since its
earliest beginnings. It was Charles Darwin
who first introduced the idea that evolution and
genetics play a role in human behavior.
Natural selection influences whether certain
behavior patterns are passed down to future
generations. Behaviors that aid in survival
are more likely to be passed down while those
that prove dangerous are less likely to be
inherited. The biological perspective is
essentially a way of looking at human
problems and actions. Consider an issue like
aggression, for example. Someone using
the psychoanalytic perspective might view
aggression as the result of childhood
experiences and unconscious urges. Another
person might take a behavioral perspective and
consider how the behavior was shaped by
association, reinforcement, and punishment. A
psychologist with a social perspective might
look at the group dynamics and pressures
that contribute to such behavior. The biological
viewpoint, on the other hand, would involve
looking at the biological roots that lie
behind aggressive behaviors. Someone who
takes the biological perspective might consider
how certain types of
brain injury might lead to aggressive actions. Or
they might consider genetic factors that
can contribute to such displays of behavior.
Biopsychologists study many of the same things

that other psychologists do, but they are
interested in looking at how biological forces
shape human behaviors. Some topics that
a psychologist might explore using this
perspective include:
* Analyzing how trauma to the brain influences
behaviors * Investigating how degenerative
brain diseases impact how people act *
Exploring how genetic factors influence such
things as aggression * Studying how genetics
and brain damage are linked to mental
disorders * Assessing the differences and
similarities in twins to determine which
characteristics are tied to genetics and which
are linked to environmental influences
This perspective has grown considerably in

recent years as the technology used to
study the brain and nervous system has grown
increasingly advanced.Today, scientists use
tools such as PET and MRI scans to look at
how brain development, drugs, disease, and
brain damage impact behavior and
cognitive functioning.There are also reasons
to take a biological perspective.One of the
strengths of using the biological
perspective to analyze psychological problems is
that the approach is usually very scientific.
Researchers utilize rigorous empirical
methods, and their results are often reliable and
practical. Biological research has helped
yield useful treatments for a variety of
psychological disorders.The weakness of
this approach is that it often fails to account
for other influences on behavior. Things such as
emotions, social
pressures, environmental factors, childhood
experiences, and cultural variables can also
play a role in the formation of psychological
problems.
For that reason, it is important to remember

that the biological approach is just one of
the many different perspectives in psychology.
By utilizing a variety of ways of looking at
a problem, researchers can come up with
different solutions that can have helpful real-
world applications. There are many
different perspectives from which to view the
human mind and behavior and the
biological perspective represents just one of
these approaches. By looking at the
biological bases of human behavior,
psychologists are better able to understand how
the brain and physiological processes
might influence the way people think, act, and
feel. This perspective also allows researchers to
come up with new treatments that target
the biological influences on psychological
well-being.
THE END

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ASSIGNMENT

NAME :SHUBHO DEBNATH

TOPIC OF ASSIGNMENT :Biological Psychology

In order to understand the importance of

This field of psychology is often referred to as

Biopsychologists study many of the same things

This perspective has grown considerably in

For that reason, it is important to remember

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