Comparing Two Biological Perspectives On Behaviour

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The core assumption of the biological perspective is that behaviour is driven by biological instincts and all behaviour has a physical cause. The main assumptions include the actions of nerves, malfunctioning of chemicals in the brain and the role of genes in influencing behaviour. The psychoanalytic perspective however argues that behaviour is influenced by early childhood experiences and unconscious psychological processes. The two perspectives have similarities and differences which can be drawn upon. Both perspectives support the nature and nurture aspect and consider internal and external factors that influence behaviour and both are deterministic. As well as similarities the perspectives also have differences such as the methods and treatments used. The biological perspective offers two strands of explanations of human behaviour, which include the structuralist approach and the functionalist approach. According to the structuralist approach, all behaviour has a physical cause and is the result of activity in the nervous system. This is presented by the Neurone Doctrine, which states that the…show more content…
For example, they both support the nature and nurture aspect in the nature-nurture debate. According to the biological perspective, genes determine the biology of the body to a high extent and this genetic recipe is only manifested in an environment. So the way in which genes generate an individual as a person is due to a strong interaction between the two factors. Similarly, the psychoanalytic perspective supports both sides of the nature-nurture debate. The psychoanalytic perspective suggests that everyone is born with the id, which has fundamental instinctual drives and therefore supporting the nature debate. The perspective also considers environmental influences on children, such as toilet training, how they were disciplined in early life and how important this is in developing the adult. (as cited in Hunt,

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