The Biological Approach
Explain behaviour through genes, neural and endocrine systems, evolution and interactions between biological predisposition and environment.
How to study A-level Psychology
For every claim, identify the mechanism, supporting evidence, method, alternative explanation, practical implication and justified conclusion.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Genotype, gene expression and environmental experience contribute to phenotype; heritability describes variation in a population rather than destiny for an individual.
Exam cue: Trace a biological mechanism rather than merely naming a brain area, gene or hormone.
Concept 2
Neural structures, neurotransmission and hormones offer mechanisms linking physiology and behaviour.
Exam cue: Interpret concordance and heritability without converting association into inevitability.
Concept 3
Evolutionary explanations use selection and adaptive function but require testable evidence and care over retrospective reasoning.
Exam cue: Compare biological evidence with environmental and cognitive levels of explanation.
Targeted study blocks
Multi-board knowledge
Secure the shared psychological core
Secure genetic, neural, endocrine and evolutionary assumptions as an approach, then deepen their mechanisms in the biological domain.
Scientific reasoning
Use evidence before reaching a judgement
Evaluate the design behind biological evidence and avoid moving from a group association to a deterministic claim about an individual.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Treating a genetic influence as fixed and wholly inherited.
Guardrail: Do not memorise a study as an isolated story or assume that one board's named research and option choices apply nationally.
Assuming correlation between activity and behaviour proves localisation or cause.
Guardrail: Do not memorise a study as an isolated story or assume that one board's named research and option choices apply nationally.
Explaining every present behaviour as necessarily adaptive.
Guardrail: Do not memorise a study as an isolated story or assume that one board's named research and option choices apply nationally.
Memory anchors
Genotype
Genotype is an organism's genetic constitution.
Phenotype
Phenotype is the observable outcome of genetic and environmental influences.
Heritability
Heritability estimates how much population variation is associated with genetic variation in a given environment.
Neurotransmitter
A neurotransmitter carries a chemical signal across a synapse.
Evolutionary explanation
An evolutionary explanation considers how inherited variation and selection may shape behavioural tendencies.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
In a behavioural-genetics explanation, what does genotype denote?
Which description identifies a phenotype rather than a genotype?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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