Biological Psychology Outline
Biological Psychology
Jessica Parks
APA Format
PSY/340
This paper will outline the major point of biological psychology. The paper will give an overview of the actual definition of biological psychology and the history of how it came to be. There will be an illustration of the main theorist that attributed to the ideas of biological psychology. As well as commentary on how biological psychology is used today and it’s function in our current society.
Biological psychology can also be called Physiological Psychology or Behavioral Neuroscience. Biological Psychology is a study and schools of thought on the mind and body phenomenon. It focuses on the function of the brain and the nervous system and how they are connected …show more content…
and cause body activities like thinking, learning, feeling, sensing, and perceiving. Biological psychology can be considered a study of the physical basis for the reception of internal and external stimuli by the nervous system and the body reaction to it( Britannica, 2010).
The history of Biological Psychology can be traced back all the way to 980 C.E.
trough associations made by a physician called Avicenna. He had theory’s and treatments on how the health of the mind attributed to the health of the body and conducted his treatment of patients in accordance with his theory’s. Biological Psychology emerged as a scientific discipline much later in the eighteenth and nineteenth century’s. They began mainly, as much of psychology does, in theory’s that were developed through philosophy. There were attempt to define the association of the mind and body trough theory’s such as Dualism. Dualism is a family of views about the relationship between the mind and physical matter. Rene Descartes expressed his ideas about Dualism in his 1641 publication of Meditations on First Philosophy. Descartes can be attributed with being the first to clearly identify the mind with consciousness and self awareness and to distinguish this from the brain. Descartes proposed that a mid lined unpaired structure on the brain was the point of contact between mind and body. He also proved his theory’s by giving examples that were easy to understand like the human control of bodily fluids, this could explain reflexes and other motor behaviors (New World, …show more content…
2010).
Another attributing psychologist to the field of biological psychology was William James. In 1890 William James wrote a textbook called The Principles of Psychology, it argued that the scientific study of psychology should be grounded in understanding biology. William James like many psychologist of his time had considerable training in physiology. James theorized that bodily experience and brain experiences must take place in conjunction with one another. He thought that the functions of the body were a reaction of the brain (New World, 2010).
The relationship between biological psychology and other fields of psychology is that the main theorist of biological psychology argue that all psychology has a biological basis.
Biological psychology’s study of brain and behavior is a hybrid of neuroscience and psychology. It study’s the actual foundation of behavior. Biological psychology can be applied to all fields of psychology, it goes by several different names but it is all the same idea in the end. The names just give a better description to the overlapping of the fields like Clinical Neuropsychological, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Physiological psychologies. Biological Psychology is the study of human emotional, cognitive and affective process from a biological view ant that encapsulates all of the fields of psychology (hubpages,
2010)
The major underling assumption of biological psychology is that mental events cause biological consequence and biological events cause mental consequences. The idea is that the biological aspects and the mental processes are directly linked to one another. Biopsychologist believe that the biological and mental processes cannot be separated that they work in total conjunction with one another, this is the main idea of Biological Psychology ( Helium, 2010).
Biological Psychology uses several factors to describe human behavior like genetics, biology, and mental processes. The understanding of the human mind and it’s complexities it what keeps us evolving as a society. This is illustrated in the development of the history of Biological Psychology all on it’s own. Biological Psychology has developed like stones building a foundation over the years. The thing is with the understanding of the mind and it’s attributes to the behaviors of the body the house is never complete. We are still learning and developing the ideas of Biological Psychology and will continue to do so for years to come.
Work Cited
Britannica, 2010. biological psychology. retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/458833/biological-psychology
Helium, 2010. What is biological psychology? Retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://www.helium.com/items/1415090-psychology-what-is-biological-psychology?page=2
HubPages, 2010. Biological Psychology 76. retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://hubpages.com/hub/Biological-Psychology
New World Encyclopedia, 2010. Biological Psychology. retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Biological_psychology
Jessica Parks
APA Format
PSY/340
This paper will outline the major point of biological psychology. The paper will give an overview of the actual definition of biological psychology and the history of how it came to be. There will be an illustration of the main theorist that attributed to the ideas of biological psychology. As well as commentary on how biological psychology is used today and it’s function in our current society.
Biological psychology can also be called Physiological Psychology or Behavioral Neuroscience. Biological Psychology is a study and schools of thought on the mind and body phenomenon. It focuses on the function of the brain and the nervous system and how they are connected …show more content…
and cause body activities like thinking, learning, feeling, sensing, and perceiving. Biological psychology can be considered a study of the physical basis for the reception of internal and external stimuli by the nervous system and the body reaction to it( Britannica, 2010).
The history of Biological Psychology can be traced back all the way to 980 C.E.
trough associations made by a physician called Avicenna. He had theory’s and treatments on how the health of the mind attributed to the health of the body and conducted his treatment of patients in accordance with his theory’s. Biological Psychology emerged as a scientific discipline much later in the eighteenth and nineteenth century’s. They began mainly, as much of psychology does, in theory’s that were developed through philosophy. There were attempt to define the association of the mind and body trough theory’s such as Dualism. Dualism is a family of views about the relationship between the mind and physical matter. Rene Descartes expressed his ideas about Dualism in his 1641 publication of Meditations on First Philosophy. Descartes can be attributed with being the first to clearly identify the mind with consciousness and self awareness and to distinguish this from the brain. Descartes proposed that a mid lined unpaired structure on the brain was the point of contact between mind and body. He also proved his theory’s by giving examples that were easy to understand like the human control of bodily fluids, this could explain reflexes and other motor behaviors (New World, …show more content…
2010).
Another attributing psychologist to the field of biological psychology was William James. In 1890 William James wrote a textbook called The Principles of Psychology, it argued that the scientific study of psychology should be grounded in understanding biology. William James like many psychologist of his time had considerable training in physiology. James theorized that bodily experience and brain experiences must take place in conjunction with one another. He thought that the functions of the body were a reaction of the brain (New World, 2010).
The relationship between biological psychology and other fields of psychology is that the main theorist of biological psychology argue that all psychology has a biological basis.
Biological psychology’s study of brain and behavior is a hybrid of neuroscience and psychology. It study’s the actual foundation of behavior. Biological psychology can be applied to all fields of psychology, it goes by several different names but it is all the same idea in the end. The names just give a better description to the overlapping of the fields like Clinical Neuropsychological, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Physiological psychologies. Biological Psychology is the study of human emotional, cognitive and affective process from a biological view ant that encapsulates all of the fields of psychology (hubpages,
2010)
The major underling assumption of biological psychology is that mental events cause biological consequence and biological events cause mental consequences. The idea is that the biological aspects and the mental processes are directly linked to one another. Biopsychologist believe that the biological and mental processes cannot be separated that they work in total conjunction with one another, this is the main idea of Biological Psychology ( Helium, 2010).
Biological Psychology uses several factors to describe human behavior like genetics, biology, and mental processes. The understanding of the human mind and it’s complexities it what keeps us evolving as a society. This is illustrated in the development of the history of Biological Psychology all on it’s own. Biological Psychology has developed like stones building a foundation over the years. The thing is with the understanding of the mind and it’s attributes to the behaviors of the body the house is never complete. We are still learning and developing the ideas of Biological Psychology and will continue to do so for years to come.
Work Cited
Britannica, 2010. biological psychology. retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/458833/biological-psychology
Helium, 2010. What is biological psychology? Retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://www.helium.com/items/1415090-psychology-what-is-biological-psychology?page=2
HubPages, 2010. Biological Psychology 76. retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://hubpages.com/hub/Biological-Psychology
New World Encyclopedia, 2010. Biological Psychology. retrieved October 18, 2010. from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Biological_psychology