The Importance of Biology in the Study of Psychology Essay

The Importance of Biology in the Study of Psychology Ashley B. McVey Cecil College Abstract Whether it is the study of biopsychology and other fields of psychology or neuroscience, all psychologists and scientists are trying to understand the functions of the brain. The body and mind connection and how it reacts to certain behaviors or illnesses. Most all psychological functioning can be reduced to underlying brain processes. This should serve as reason alone as to why biology plays an important part in the study of psychology. Psychological factors play a role in whether a person develops a mental illness and in how well they recover from a mental illness, yet biological and genetic risk factors, or predispositions, are†¦show more content†¦It investigates at the level of nerves, neurotransmitters, brain circuitry and the basic biological processes that underlie normal and abnormal behavior. Behavioral neuroscientists and academic psychologists study very similar topics such as sensation and perception, motivated behavior, control of movement, learning and memory , sleep, biological rhythms and emotion. With increasing technological advancement of less invasive research procedures, behavioral neuroscientists are beginning to contribute to other areas of psychology, such as language, reasoning, decision-making and consciousness. Behavioral neuroscience has made major contributions to the study and understanding of medical disorders. Neuropsychology is another field in which both psychology and biology play a major role. Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain as it relates to specific psychological processes and behaviors. It is a clinical and experimental field of psychology that aims to study, assess, understand and treat behaviors directly related to brain functioning. Neuropsychology studies and applies research to the functions and the dysfunctions of the brain and how they affect the body as well as the personality. This has helped us to not only define mental disorders and cognitive impairments, but to develop different treatmentShow MoreRelatedIs Biology A Role For Caring For The Elderly?1630 Words   |  7 PagesLiterature Review: Biology: Biology is one of the disciplines that will discuss elderly patient care. Biology means the study of life, but it also has much more to the definition. â€Å"Biology stresses the value of classification and experimental control. The latter is the means of identifying true causes, and therefore privileges experimental methods over all other methods of obtaining information† (Repko, 2008). There are many ways that show how biology plays a role in caring for the elderly. 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