Biological Approach in Psychology

Biological Approach

• Draginski et al. (2004): Neural pruning and neuroplasticity. Investigated if brain structure changes in response to learning.

  • Participants were divided into jugglers and non-jugglers.
  • MRI scans were taken before and after juggling, and after stopping.
  • Jugglers practiced for a minimum of 60 seconds daily.
  • Findings showed increased grey matter in the mid-temporal area in the jugglers' group (related to visual memory). This increase reduced significantly after they stopped practicing.
  • Conclusion: Neuroplasticity allows the brain to adapt, but changes might not be permanent without continued practice. This highlights the relationship between environment and brain structure.

• Newcomer et al. (1999): Cortisol and memory. Investigated how stress hormone cortisol affects verbal declarative memory.

  • Participants were divided into high cortisol (160 mg/day), low cortisol (40 mg/day), and placebo groups.
  • Over four days, participants listened and recalled prose paragraphs.
  • Findings: High cortisol levels significantly impaired memory performance compared to placebo and low-dose groups. Low doses had minimal impact.
  • Conclusion: Cortisol (stress hormone) negatively impacts memory, especially at high levels.

• Caspi et al. (2003): Gene-environment interaction (5-HTT gene). Investigated whether the 5-HTT gene influences the impact of stressful life events on depression.

  • 847 participants were tested for their 5-HTT alleles (long or short).
  • Participants documented life stressors and depression symptoms.
  • Findings: Participants with short alleles of the 5-HTT gene, coupled with stress, were more likely to develop depression. Long alleles were shown to provide greater resilience.
  • Conclusion: The 5-HTT gene influences susceptibility to depression in response to stress; there is an interaction between genes and environment.

Cognitive Approach

• Bransford & Johnson (1972): Schema theory and prior knowledge's effect on memory comprehension

  • Participants heard complex passages about laundry with or without prior contextual information (before, after, or none at all).
  • Context provided before the passage improved recall significantly. Context afterwards did not help compared to no context .
  • Conclusion: Schemas help encode and retrieve information easily; prior knowledge is important in memory comprehension.

• Brown & Kulik (1977): Flashbulb memories. Explored how emotions affect vivid memories of significant events.

  • Participants recalled memories of public and personal significant events (e.g., JFK's assassination).
  • They described the circumstances (location, emotions, etc.)
  • Conclusion: Emotional significance makes memories very vivid and detailed, especially compared to non-emotional events.

Sociocultural Approach

• Tajfel (1970): Social identity theory. Investigated factors needed for group bias and discrimination.

  • Boys were randomly placed into groups based on trivial criteria.
  • They were asked to allocate points to members of their own and other groups based on matrixes.
  • Findings: The boys consistently favored their in-group; even if it meant potentially lower overall group rewards.
  • Conclusion: Social identity alone can drive discrimination, highlighting group membership's influence on self-esteem.

• Bandura (1961): Social cognitive theory. Examined if children learn aggression through observation.

  • Children watched adults act aggressively or non-aggressively towards a Bobo doll.
  • Some models were rewarded/punished.
  • Findings: Children who observed aggressive behavior imitated the model's actions, especially when the model was rewarded. Boys were more prone to mimicking physical aggression.
  • Conclusion: Behavior is learned through observation and reinforcement, emphasizing the role of modeling in social learning.

• Berry (1967): Cultural conformity. Investigated how cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism) influence conformity.

  • Participants from individualist and collectivist cultures completed an Asch-style conformity task, with incorrect information given about others' answers.
  • Findings: Participants from collectivist cultures showed significantly higher rates of conformity than those from individualist cultures.
  • Conclusion: Cultural dimensions like individualism/collectivism impact behavior, specifically conformity.

Explore the fascinating findings from studies on neuroplasticity and cortisol's effects on memory. This quiz covers the research by Draginski et al. on brain structure changes due to juggling, and Newcomer et al. on how stress influences memory performance. Test your understanding of these key concepts in the biological approach to psychology.