Biological Approach

The biological approach means that our behaviour is the cause of biological factors - this can mean chemical reactions in the brain. For instance, in studies on stress it has been found that, in exams, boys get more stressed than girls - it was discovered that boys produced more of the stress hormone cortisol than girls. This is an example of a biological explanation.

Another example is in eating disorders - twin studies were carried out and it was shown that if one identical twin suffered from an eating disorder then the other twin would also be more likely to suffer from a disorder as well. This did not happen with non-identical twins, suggesting that the cause is biological as there was a clear difference between non-identical and identical twins, yet all twins share the same upbringing etc.

These are only examples, however. You will need to be specific about the exact subject you are discussing. Get hold of your exam syllabus and it will clearly explain what studies you need to refer to and how you should approach each individual question.

Here is a basic description of some of the explanations psychologists give for our behaviour -

The brain and nervous system are the biological approach and so are chemical changes in the body - it is all biology.

Cognitive explanations involve the way we think and how our thinking develops and has led to cognitive behaviour therapies.

Social psychological explanations involve the way we learn from others around us - our peers and family and how we learn to model and imitate that behaviour.

You will need to be able to evaluate the biological explanations against the other explanations - the real reason we behave and think as we do is usually a mixture of all these approaches!