The Biological Approach

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the biological approach, focusing in particular on: (i) the non-specific origins of the approach, rooted in Willis and Gall’s research associating physical brain structures with behaviour; (ii) the nature-nurture interaction and the resultant root of all behaviour being in biology; (iii) the approach’s strengths, including its keen interaction with modern medicine; (iv) the weaknesses of the approach, including the expansive knowledge gap between our understanding of individual neuron function and the workings of large neural networks, as well as the potential lack of usability of this knowledge in psychology, when compared to models of thinking that are more relevant to therapeutic interventions.

About the lecturer

Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya is a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham. Dr Bouguettaya’s research interests are in social psychology and how knowledge from that field can be applied to others, particularly health, including how we can apply social identity theory to societal problems, as well as investigating the different perspectives one might take on those issues. Some of Dr Bouguettaya’s recent publications include 'The relationship between gambling advertising and gambling attitudes, intentions and behaviours: a critical and meta-analytic review' (2020) and 'The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma' (2020).