4.2.1.4 The biological approach Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. What does genotype refer to in the biological approach?

   • The genetic makeup of an individual, which is inherited from parents
   • The learned responses that a person produces, which are shaped by the rewards and punishments that follow each action
   • The observable characteristics that a person shows, which result from the way the body develops and what it looks like
   • The mental images a person forms of the world, which are built up from the experiences they have during childhood

2. What is phenotype?

   • The structure of the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and the spinal cord and their networks
   • The observable characteristics of an individual that result from genotype and environment
   • The chemical messengers that carry signals in the brain, which pass information between neurons at each synapse
   • The genetic code that is passed from parents to offspring, which carries all the instructions for building the body

3. Which concept explains how traits that help survival become more common over generations?

   • Classical conditioning
   • Imitation
   • Natural selection
   • Schema formation

4. Which biological structure is most closely linked to the regulation of behaviour through the nervous system?

   • The brain and spinal cord, which together make up the central nervous system
   • The bones, which provide support for the body and protect the organs that sit inside the rib cage and skull
   • The blood vessels, which carry oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of the body in a continuous circulation
   • The skin, which contains only sensory receptors that detect touch, pressure, temperature and pain across the body

5. Which feature of the biological approach explains how chemicals in the brain can influence behaviour?

   • Social learning theory, the study of imitation and identification with models who are similar to the observer
   • Schema theory, the study of organised knowledge and the frameworks that guide how new information is interpreted
   • Operant conditioning, the study of rewards and punishment and the schedules that determine when they are given
   • Neurochemistry, the study of neurotransmitters and other chemical messengers

6. Which neurotransmitter is commonly linked to reward and motivation in the biological approach?

   • Oxytocin only
   • Oestrogen only
   • Dopamine
   • Cortisol

7. What does cognitive neuroscience study?

   • The social norms that guide group conformity
   • The effects of rewards on behaviour in laboratory animals
   • The growth of infants during the first year
   • The link between brain structure and activity

8. Which study method is commonly used in cognitive neuroscience?

   • Brain imaging, such as fMRI, to measure brain activity during tasks
   • Questionnaires about childhood experiences, in which adults report their memories of early life and family events
   • Surveys of attitudes towards conformity, in which people rate how much they agree with group opinions in general
   • Strange Situation observations of infant attachment, which record how babies react to separation and reunion

9. Which evolutionary idea is part of the biological approach's account of behaviour?

   • Behaviour is determined by the individual's conscious choices alone
   • Behaviour that increased survival and reproduction is more likely to be inherited
   • Behaviour is learned only by copying other individuals
   • Behaviour is always random and has no adaptive value

10. Which evaluation point applies to the biological approach?

    • It is reductionist, because it may explain complex behaviour in terms of biology and overlook social factors
    • It has no scientific evidence to support its claims, because the research on biology has never been published in journals
    • It explains all behaviour without any need for other approaches, since biology alone accounts for every human action
    • It rejects the use of any research method, relying instead on personal insight and the intuition of the researcher

11. Which evaluation point applies to using twin studies in the biological approach?

    • Twin studies help separate genetic and environmental influences but may not control shared environments fully
    • Twin studies show that identical twins never share any traits, which is why they are useful for testing environmental effects
    • Twin studies have no value in psychology, because they cannot separate the effects of genes from those of upbringing at all
    • Twin studies prove that all behaviour is genetic without any environmental effect, since twins always show the same traits

12. A researcher uses fMRI to show that a brain area becomes more active during memory tasks. Which approach is this research best linked to?

    • Operant conditioning of memory tasks, in which the brain is rewarded each time a memory is recalled correctly
    • Social learning theory of memory, in which people remember events by copying the recall of a model they admire
    • Classical conditioning of the brain, in which neurons learn to respond to a neutral signal through repeated pairing
    • Cognitive neuroscience, which links brain activity with mental processes

13. A person's genetic makeup makes them more likely to develop a trait, but the trait only appears in some environments. Which distinction best describes this?

    • The trait is entirely determined by learning and has no genetic basis, so inherited differences do not affect behaviour
    • Phenotype is the genetic code and genotype is the observable trait, which can be seen directly in each person's body
    • Genotype and phenotype are identical, so the environment has no role in shaping how the traits of a person are shown
    • Genotype makes the trait possible, while phenotype shows the trait as it is expressed in the environment

14. Which feature of the biological approach best explains why some animals instinctively avoid predators?

    • Operant conditioning of avoidance through rewards, which teaches the animal to approach predators for food
    • Imitation of other animals avoiding predators, in which the young watch older animals and copy their escape
    • Classical conditioning of predators with food, which makes the animal pair the predator with a pleasant food reward
    • Evolution, since avoidance of predators improved survival and was passed on

15. A researcher finds that a drug that increases serotonin reduces a particular behaviour. Which feature of the biological approach does this best illustrate?

    • The influence of neurochemistry on behaviour
    • The use of schemas to organise knowledge
    • The role of conditioned stimuli in behaviour
    • The role of imitation in learning

16. Which combination correctly describes features of the biological approach?

    • Rewards, punishments, reinforcers and schedules, which describe how consequences shape the learning of new behaviour
    • Schemas, models, inferences and mental processes, which describe the way the mind organises and processes information
    • Id, ego, superego and psychosexual stages, which describe the structure of personality and its development in childhood
    • Genetic basis, neurochemistry, biological structures and evolution

17. A psychologist claims that behaviour is strongly influenced by the structure of the nervous system. Which evidence would best support this claim?

    • A change in behaviour after a schema is activated, which shows that the person has organised the new information correctly
    • A change in behaviour after a learner imitates a model, which shows that the behaviour has been copied from another person
    • Damage to a specific brain area leads to a consistent change in behaviour or ability
    • A change in behaviour after a reward is given for a response, which strengthens the response over repeated trials

18. Which evaluation point applies to the biological approach's reliance on brain imaging?

    • Brain imaging proves that all behaviour is caused by the brain
    • Brain imaging only measures social behaviour
    • Brain imaging has no value in psychology
    • Brain imaging shows correlation between brain activity and tasks

19. A researcher studies the link between a gene and a behaviour in a population and finds a correlation. Which conclusion is most appropriate?

    • The gene causes the behaviour in every individual with no exceptions, and the environment makes no difference to the result
    • The gene may be associated with the behaviour, but environmental factors may also contribute
    • The behaviour is caused entirely by the environment and not by genes, so the gene has no role in shaping the behaviour
    • The behaviour has no genetic basis at all, and any link between the gene and the behaviour is simply a statistical accident

20. Which combination of concepts explains how a biological approach would view an inherited tendency to be shy?

    • Imitation alone causes the tendency with no link to genes, since the child copies a shy adult and never develops any inherited trait
    • Genotype influences the tendency, and environment shapes how it is expressed as a phenotype
    • Operant rewards alone cause the tendency and genes play no part, since the behaviour is shaped only by what follows it
    • Schemas cause the tendency and biology plays no part, because the person's organised knowledge decides how they behave

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