Physiological Approach
Assumption that behaviour can be explained by physiological changes - brain, hormones
Focuses on relationship between our biological make-up and our behaviour and experiences

Strength
- Useful as it has practical applications as it may be used to diagnose and develop treatments for illnesses~e.g. D&K importance of sleep in relation to mental health
- Highly scientific methods used~e.g. Maguire used MRI scanner which is an objective and precise manner of measuring brain structure ~ Raine uses PET scan + Also used lab experiment-high control over c variables

Weakness
- Low ecological validity - not realistic environment or task~e.g. Sperry the p's carried out usual tasks not typical of everyday behaviour ~D&K sleeping in a lab, not usual conditions for the p's so may affected their sleeping behaviour
- Can be costly & time consuming due to sophisticated equipment & lengthy procedure- this often leads to small samples~e.g. D&K only studied 5 p's in-depth

Studies
Dement & Kleitman - AS - Physiological - eye movement during sleep
Sperry - AS - Physiological - split brain, left & right hemispheres
Maguire - AS - Physiological - Hippocampus & memory
Raine- A2 - Upbringing, biology - Pet Scan - amygdala
Geer & Maisel - A2 - Health, measuring stress - galvanic skin response

	Created by Taran Sahota about 9 years ago

Psychology OCR G544