Biological Psychology

Biological Psychology

PSY 340

March 7, 2011

Biological Psychology

The biological psychology explores the relationship between the mind and behavior. By the end of this paper people should understand what biological psychology is, what the historical development of biological psychology is, and name at least one to three important theorists associated with biological psychology. They should also be able to describe the relationship between biological psychology and other fields in psychology and neuroscience and describe the major underlying assumptions of a biopsychological approach.

Biological psychology is commonly known as behavioral neuroscience or behavioral biology or even biopsychological. This “is the study of behavior and experience in terms of genetics, evolution, and physiology, especially the physiology of the nervous system” (All- About- Psychology.com, 2011). This mean biological psychology is exploring the relationship between the brain activity and behavior to understand human and animal behavior. One of the first physician in 980-1037 C.E. to study biology psychology is Avicenna (New World Encyclopedia, 2008). He used it to treat illnesses dealing with emotions. D.O. Hebb published a book called The Organization of Behavior in 1949 (Pinel, 2009). Hebb developed the comprehensive theory that explains how complex the psychological phenomenon is (Pinel, 2009). He developed his theory by experimenting on human and laboratory animals, along with observation of daily life. He wasn’t the only one who helps form the history of biological psychology. Plato and Aristotle also contribute to the history of biology psychology.

One of the major theorists was Rene Descartes who is known for writing Meditation on First Philosophy in 1641. He was “the first to clearly identify the mind with consciousness and self-awareness, and distinguish this from the brain, which was the seat of intelligence” (New World Encyclopedia, 2008). This means he believed...