INTRODUCTION: OVERVIEW AND MAJOR ISSUES
Thursday, 19 January 2023
12:23 pm
The biological approach to behavior:
Two questions that stand out:
1. Existence of the universe
2. Mind-brain problem or the mind-body problem
Mind-brain problem or mind-body problem
• Question of how mind relates to brain activity
• Given a universe composed of matter and energy, why is there such a thing as consciousness?
• Why are certain types of brain activity conscious?
Different opinions on consciousness
• Others want to avoid the question
• Regard consciousness as a fundamental property of matter (cannot be reduced to something
else) [unsatisfying answer]
o Consciousness only occurs in certain parts of the nervous system
The Field of Biological Psychology
Biological Psychology - study of the physiological evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of
behavior and experience
o The term emphasizes the goal to relate biology to issues of psychology
o Also as POV: We think and act as we do because of brain mechanisms, and that we evolved
those brain mechanisms because ancient animals built this way survived and reproduced
Three General Points to remember forever....
1. Perception occurs in your brain. When something contacts your hand, the hand sends a
message to your brain. You feel it in your brain, not your hand
2. Mental activity and certain types of brain activity are so far as we can tell inseparable. This
position is known as monism, the idea that the universe consists of only one type of being. (The
opposite is dualism, the idea that minds are one type of substance and matter is another.)
3. We should be cautious about what is an explanation and what is not.
(example: depression and brain activity)
Four categories of biological explanation:
1. Physiological Explanation
a. Relates a behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs.
2. Ontogenetic Explanation
a. The term ontogenetic comes from Greek roots meaning the origin (or genesis) of being.
b. Describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of genes,
nutrition, experiences, and their interactions
3. Evolutionary Explanation
a. Reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior
4. Functional Explanation
a. Why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.
b. Within a small, isolated population, a gene can spread by accident through a process
called genetic drift
The use of animals in research
Four reasons why scientists study non-human species:
1. The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and sometimes easier to
study in a nonhuman species.
2. We are interested in animals for their own sake.
3. What we learn about animals shed light on human evolution.
4. Legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans:
i.
Electrodes
ii.
Brain damage
iii.
Chemical injections
iv.
Ethical issues: If the research is unacceptable with humans, is it acceptable with other
species? If so, under what circumstances?
Degrees of opposition
Minimalists vs Abolitionists
• Minimalists: favor firm regulations on research
• Abolitionists: all animals have the same rights as humans
• Ethical position dispute: never knowingly harm an innocent vs sometimes a little harm
leads to a greater good
o Three Rs
• Reduction of animals numbers
• Using fewer animals
• Replacement
• Using computer models or other substitutes for animals
• Refinement
• Modifying the procedures to reduce pain and discomfort
o