What does an understanding of biological processes offer to psychological explanations? Support your argument with examples and research.
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What does an understanding of biological processes offer to psychological explanations? Support your argument with examples and research. To understand psychological disorders, such as depression or those caused by brain injury, we need to consider their cause. The reductionist approach to this, exemplified by biologist Francis Crick, argues that all psychological events can be reduced to scientific explanation alone, focusing on a purely biological basis of psychological events and ignoring influences such as, social or environmental (Crick, 1994). In contrast, it is argued that psychological phenomena are the product of an interdependent and complementary mix of nature and nurture, integrating aspects of biology, genetics and psychology. This multidisciplinary approach, it is claimed, gains fuller understanding, providing mutually informative insight into emergent properties, such as behaviour, emotion and cognition (Bolton and Hill, 1996; Stevens, 1996; Toates, 2001). So, what is the role of biology when considering psychological issues? Furthermore, does the reductionist dichotomy...

