“What are the core assumptions and key features of the biological and psychoanalytic perspectives in psychology? In what ways are they similar and how do they differ?”
Two major areas within psychology include the biological and psychoanalytical perspectives. The biological perspective assumes that all our behaviours must have a basis in our physiology and treats humans as any other organism (Glassman & Hadad, 2009). The biological perspective’s main aims are to discover the psychological basis of behaviour, understand the chemistry of the brain and the genetic explanation of our behaviour (Price, Glickstein, Horton & Bailey, 1982). On the other hand, the psychoanalytic perspective focuses on how our internal processes affect our external …show more content…
Within the biological perspective there are three prominent areas that biological psychologists focus on. The first concentrates on the relationship between the mind and the body, mainly on the role of the nervous system in this. The central nervous system is comprised of the brain and the nerve pathways of the spinal cord. It is responsible for gaining information about and reacting to the surrounding environment (Carlson, 2014). The second is the influence that our genetics or heredity has on our behaviour. This idea stems from the ideas of Darwin who proposed that desired characteristics would be passed on to the next generation which he termed as natural selection. Psychologists today are still studying Darwin’s work to uncover information on instincts and how these evolve (Gordillo-García, 2016). In terms of the biological perspective, psychologists would use this information to infer that our behaviours and characteristics are inherited. The third most prominent area that the perspective attempts to understand is the chemistry of the brain and how this affects behaviour. This involves identifying different neurotransmitters such as dopamine which is important in sensory …show more content…
The biological perspective strongly links to the nature side of the debate due to its focus on heredity. The focus on heredity suggests that through nature our genetics are passed on. This is supported by the study conducted by Gottesman & Shields (1972) which found that there was a genetic explanation of schizophrenia. However, the biological perspective does not rule out the idea that nurture affects behaviour completely it only supports it. For example, it may be that our upbringing affects how aggressive we become but it was partly genetically predetermined by an area of our brain being different to another person’s. Whereas the psychoanalytical perspective is strongly associated with the nurture side of the debate. Experiences in early childhood affect behaviour discarding the idea that we were already predetermined to behave in that way. An excellent example of this is defence mechanisms. If our behaviour was not affected by nurture then defence mechanisms would not exist, for example if we were not affected by troubling events in our past then we would not have to repress these memories (Glassman and Hadad,
Two major areas within psychology include the biological and psychoanalytical perspectives. The biological perspective assumes that all our behaviours must have a basis in our physiology and treats humans as any other organism (Glassman & Hadad, 2009). The biological perspective’s main aims are to discover the psychological basis of behaviour, understand the chemistry of the brain and the genetic explanation of our behaviour (Price, Glickstein, Horton & Bailey, 1982). On the other hand, the psychoanalytic perspective focuses on how our internal processes affect our external …show more content…
Within the biological perspective there are three prominent areas that biological psychologists focus on. The first concentrates on the relationship between the mind and the body, mainly on the role of the nervous system in this. The central nervous system is comprised of the brain and the nerve pathways of the spinal cord. It is responsible for gaining information about and reacting to the surrounding environment (Carlson, 2014). The second is the influence that our genetics or heredity has on our behaviour. This idea stems from the ideas of Darwin who proposed that desired characteristics would be passed on to the next generation which he termed as natural selection. Psychologists today are still studying Darwin’s work to uncover information on instincts and how these evolve (Gordillo-García, 2016). In terms of the biological perspective, psychologists would use this information to infer that our behaviours and characteristics are inherited. The third most prominent area that the perspective attempts to understand is the chemistry of the brain and how this affects behaviour. This involves identifying different neurotransmitters such as dopamine which is important in sensory …show more content…
The biological perspective strongly links to the nature side of the debate due to its focus on heredity. The focus on heredity suggests that through nature our genetics are passed on. This is supported by the study conducted by Gottesman & Shields (1972) which found that there was a genetic explanation of schizophrenia. However, the biological perspective does not rule out the idea that nurture affects behaviour completely it only supports it. For example, it may be that our upbringing affects how aggressive we become but it was partly genetically predetermined by an area of our brain being different to another person’s. Whereas the psychoanalytical perspective is strongly associated with the nurture side of the debate. Experiences in early childhood affect behaviour discarding the idea that we were already predetermined to behave in that way. An excellent example of this is defence mechanisms. If our behaviour was not affected by nurture then defence mechanisms would not exist, for example if we were not affected by troubling events in our past then we would not have to repress these memories (Glassman and Hadad,