CIE A Level Psychology Biological Approach Exam Questions

About CIE A Level Psychology Biological Approach

The biological approach explains behaviour in terms of the brain, hormones, genes and evolution. On the Cambridge 9990 course it is one of four AS approaches assessed in Paper 1: Approaches, Issues and Debates, and it has three compulsory core studies: Dement and Kleitman (1957) on sleep and dreams, Hassett et al. (2008) on monkey toy preferences and Hölzel et al. (2011) on mindfulness and brain scans. You must know each study's aims, procedure, results and conclusions, and evaluate it using methodology and the issues and debates, such as nature versus nurture and the use of animals in research. The approach links to Clinical and Health psychology at A Level.

What you need to know

• Biological approach assumptions Behaviour and experience are caused by physiological processes such as brain activity, hormones and neurotransmitters. Inherited genes and evolution help explain similarities and differences between individuals and between species.
• Dement and Kleitman (1957) Nine adults were studied in a sleep laboratory using EEG to record brain activity and electrodes near the eyes to record eye movements. Participants were woken by a doorbell in REM or non-REM sleep and asked to report dreams into a recorder. Dreams were reported far more often after REM awakenings than non-REM awakenings.
• Dement and Kleitman: further findings When woken 5 or 15 minutes into REM, participants usually judged the correct dream duration. The pattern of eye movements tended to match dream content, e.g. vertical movements with a dream about climbing ladders. The study supports an objective, physiological measure of dreaming.
• Hassett et al. (2008) Rhesus monkeys living in a large social group at the Yerkes field station were given a wheeled toy and a plush toy at the same time. Male monkeys consistently preferred wheeled toys, while females showed more varied preferences and interacted with both types. This suggests sex-typed toy preferences can arise without human gender socialisation, supporting a role for hormonal (nature) factors.
• Hölzel et al. (2011) Participants completed an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme and were compared with a waiting-list control group. MRI scans taken before and after were analysed with voxel-based morphometry. The MBSR group showed increased grey matter concentration in areas including the left hippocampus, posterior cingulate cortex, temporo-parietal junction and cerebellum.
• Evaluation themes Strengths include objective, quantitative measures (EEG, MRI, behavioural recording) and standardised procedures. Weaknesses include small samples (Dement and Kleitman), lab settings with low ecological validity, and the difficulty of generalising from monkeys to humans (Hassett et al.).

Common mistakes in Biological Approach

• Saying Dement and Kleitman proved that dreaming happens only in REM sleep. Some dreams were reported after non-REM awakenings, but far fewer and usually less vivid.
• Writing that in Hassett et al. female monkeys preferred plush toys. The clear finding is that males strongly preferred wheeled toys, while females' preferences were more variable.
• Describing Hölzel et al. as showing that mindfulness grew the whole brain. The changes were increases in grey matter concentration in specific regions, measured using voxel-based morphometry.
• Evaluating with generic points such as 'the sample was small'. Say why it matters in that study, e.g. Dement and Kleitman studied only nine people, so individual differences in sleep could distort the findings.
• Forgetting the control group in Hölzel et al. The waiting-list control group lets researchers attribute the grey matter changes to MBSR rather than time.

Try three Biological Approach exam-style questions