biological learning definition

In a study conducted at the National Institute of Mental Health (Bethasda MD), a positive correlation was found between low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin and the levels of aggression in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Mitsis.E et al, 2000). Hillsdale, IL: Dryden Press. Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from BBC NEWS, Health Section: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/720707.stm. A criticism of this research is that it is not ecological – the children may have not acted aggressively towards any human in real life. The learning perspective also incorporates strengths and weaknesses. In other words, habituation is when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change. Experiments conducted in the laboratory will most certainly produce different results then in real-life situations as participants will not demonstrate the exact same behaviour in real-life situations as they will under examination. J. M and Newcorn. Twin studies suggest that aggression in children is an inherited trait passed on from parents to their offspring. The U.S and Japanese children named their favourite video games and how often they played. All work is written to order. For example, when an individual is frustrated, in a certain situation, they will immediately display aggressive behaviour. Violent video games linked to child aggression. The biological perspective suggests that aggression in children is inherited through the traits of parents. Certain parts of the brain have been found to be responsible for the development of aggression in children. This hypothesis suggests that frustration accounts for all aggressive acts. Presumably, constant and excessive exposure to violent video games causes children to become desensitized to violence. According to Berkowitz (1975) aggression can be defined as any behaviour which is intended to cause harm to another person whether physically or verbally. A biological is a drug, such as a vaccine, that is derived from a living organism. Another weakness of explaining the development of aggression in children from the biological perspective is the reductionist nature of the biological approach. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. Children were varied therefore some children may have been brought up in a violent home and exposed to many aggressive situations. Bard,P. Company Registration No: 4964706. It simplifies the occurrence of certain behaviours, especially aggression, into a few steps. Learn more. You'll recognize the root "bio-," meaning "life," as in biography — the story of someone's life — and biology … However, positive correlations between real life situations can be drawn, highlighting that laboratory studies are considerably useful. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Potentiation, habituation, and sensitization are three ways in which stimuli in the environment produce changes in the nervous system. Biological definition, pertaining to the science and application of biology: the biological substrata; conducting biological tests. Recall that sensory adaptation involves the gradual decrease in neurological sensory response caused by the repeated application of a particular stimulus over time. Learning Objectives. *You can also browse our support articles here >. It is my curiosity and eagerness to discover more about the development of aggression from two opposing views, these being the biological and learning, which have motivated me to undertake this research topic for my extended essay. Biology includes the study of genes and cells that give living things their special characteristics. Also, according to Glassman (2000) the level of aggression demonstrated is purely dependant on how frustrated one may be. Much like observation of other’s behaviours, violent video games and television shows have also been proven to trigger aggression in children. This essay may contain factual inaccuracies or out of date material. Biological and Learning Psychology. The significant outcome of this experiment was that the mice that had been bred for aggressive tendencies demonstrated immense levels of aggression; where they instantly attacked other mice sharing the same cage. ‘Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models’. The learning perspective is established on the basis that although everyone is born with a genetic endowment which is the root of instinctual behaviours, the majority of behaviour is learnt from the environment. From the results it was found that the children from each group who were exposed to more violent video games were much more aggressive than those who were less exposed. Understanding the underlying factors which contribute to aggressive behaviour will form the basis of combating the levels of violence all around the world where children, youth and adolescents often resort to violence. ‘Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Examination and reformulation’. Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemical processes, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development and evolution. Habituation, Sensitization, and Potentiation. Caspi, A. Plomin, R., Corley, A, Fulker, D.W, & DeFries, J.C. (1998). It is a form of non-associative learning that does not require conscious motivation or awareness. This twin study is clearly indicative of the inheritance of aggressive behaviour, yet it cannot be claimed that inheritance is the only key factor which causes aggressive behaviour or the tendency to be aggressive in children. These mice had a practical advantage over humans because these species have a short gestation period, which is essential as aggressive behaviour can be monitored over successive generations in a short period of time. Studies such as the breeding of generations as conducted by Lagzerspetz and lesions on certain parts of the brain, conducted by Bard, are contributing factors in the development of aggression which cannot be conducted on humans because it will cause psychological and physical harm to the participants and most likely result in death. Bandura’s (1961) most well known experiment was the Bobo doll experiment; the Bobo doll being a plastic clown doll. In their study, children were shown a roomful of attractive toys which were kept out of their reach. Registered office: Venture House, Cross Street, Arnold, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 7PJ. Alarming news articles and reports focus on aggressive acts. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! This is also a practical advantage as the mice were all kept in the same environmental conditions; hence their behaviour would not differ from one mouse to another because they shared the same environment. One way that the nervous system changes is through potentiation, or the strengthening of the nerve synapses (the gaps between neurons). How to use biological in a sentence. 1st Jan 1970 Violent video games have a supplementary impact on young children and trigger aggressive behaviour more than violent television shows because they are more interactive, engaging the child in aggressive acts and ultimately rewarding them for acting aggressively within the game. This perspective does not take into account how certain brain structures may trigger aggressive behaviour, in other words it does not take into account neurological processes, and rather it simply accounts for the influences of daily life and the environmental context which a person is brought up in. Differentiate among habituation, sensitization, and long-term potentiation. (23rd April 2000). Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity: it occurs when a neuron shows an increased excitability over time due to a repeated pattern, behavior, or response. According to this hypothesis, aggression will only occur due to frustration and no other particular factor. It is regarded as highly reliable since it is based on science. Children at different ages may respond to laboratory experiments in different ways. A criticism of this study is that the cultural context of the children was not taken into account. Dr. Anderson of Iowa State University in Ames and his colleagues found that in the U.S and Japan, Japanese and American children who played violent video games demonstrated more aggressive behaviour months later compared to their peers who didn’t. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from CNN, Health Section: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/index.html, Video games ‘Increase Aggression’. Psychological Review 41:309-329 and 424-449. Arising from this experiment is the criticism of extrapolating results from animals to humans. In Anderson’s study, 181 Japanese students aged between 12 and 15 years old and 364 U.S. children aged between 9 and12 years old were tested. Biology is the study of life and living organisms, from one-celled creatures to the most complex living organism of all — the human being. Philadelphia: Open University Press. Top Tag’s. ‘Adoption results for self-reported personality’. This examination investigates the origins of childhood aggression and evaluates two differing perspectives, these being the biological and learning perspective, and collectively concludes that there are various factors which contribute to a child acting aggressively. Current Psychiatry Reports Journal, Volume 2, Number 2, (1535-1645). Plenum Publishing. It has many practical applications which have been effective in explaining the development of aggressive behaviour. Definition of the Biological Perspective Charles Darwin first proposed the idea that genetics and evolution both contribute to many human qualities including personality. For example, if a loud sound is suddenly heard, an individual may startle at that sound. biological learning Essay Examples. Definition of biological adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. For this reason it is not completely justified, because there are more determinants of aggressive behaviour. Many of the theories and case studies that have been put forward to support the hypothesis that aggression in children is biologically determined will be discussed in further detail. R.A & Richardson. Firstly, a theory proposed to support the theory of aggression from the learning perspective is the ‘frustration-aggression hypothesis’ which was proposed by John Dollard (1939). The learning perspective’s social learning theory is a useful explanation for the aggressive behaviour of children. Berkowitz identified that those who had their hands placed in the cold water caused greater harm to their partner than those who had their hands immersed in warm water. A biological is a drug, such as a vaccine, that is derived from a living organism. In terms of the biological perspective, aggression is viewed as purely being based on biological basis. In Biological Learning and Control, Reza Shadmehr and Sandro Mussa-Ivaldi present a theoretical framework for understanding the regularity of the brain's perceptions, its reactions to sensory stimuli, and its control of movements. L. (2005). It explains aggressive behaviour in terms of a characteristic which is being learnt although it does not deny the genetic endowment of aggressive behaviour. Behaviour can be inherited (as it is determined by genetic information) Environmental factors are also not placed into perspective. biological definition: 1. connected with the natural processes of living things: 2. related by birth: 3. used to…. Under biological needs he included oxygen, water, food, and the need for eliminating waste. Biologicals are drugs derived from living cells and cultivated in a laboratory. Thomson Wadsworth. Reference this. Bard (1934) investigated the effect of lesions on the levels of aggression in cats. It is essentially an exaggerated startle response and is often seen in trauma survivors. For instance, the role of the parent is paramount in using the biological factors of the child to mould the child and guide them through their development. Free resources to assist you with your university studies! According to Bandura (1961) aggression can be learnt from the observation of other people and their aggressive behaviour. domestic violence textual analysis high school vs college the heart of darkness university of central florida concept environmental problems gender inequality american dream nhs college proposal identity is college worth it terrorism. There may be a few details yet to be discovered, but we pretty much know now what’s going on neurologically, physiologically and psychologically when a person learns knowledge and skills. ; 40:751-756. In another study conducted by Russian researchers, silver foxes were studied. Parallels between humans and animals may be oversimplified, and therefore social, as well as learning processes, must also be taken into consideration. Biologicals, medicines made from living organisms and their products, must be pure and effective. Children and youth growing up all around the world are resorting to violence on a daily basis. See more. A Biological Predisposition is an increased chance of developing a disease or pattern of behavior based on the genes we inherited from our parents (and our parents’ parents). He induced pain by placing the participant’s hands in cold or warm water while they distributed rewards and punishments to a partner. Similarly, there is always some sort of connection that can be drawn between animals and humans, therefore using animals can be a starting point to understanding the biological bases of aggression in children. A more realistic and accurate definition of Biology is the reductionist definition: Biology is the natural science that studies the no-spontaneous transfer of energy and the quasi-stable systems that experience it. This is not an example of the work produced by our Essay Writing Service. Aggression remains a substantial problem today. Learning is defined as a process that leads to a relatively permanent change in behavior. During the experiment he had children watching models acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll. The results indicated that aggressive behaviour was only partly inherited, and that environmental factors played an equally contributing role. One social determinant of aggressive behaviour is Albert Bandura’s social learning theory (1961) which highlights the role of observation and its consequences on the aggressive behaviour in children from the learning perspective. It not only applies to direct experiences such as being disciplined by parents, but rather at all times such as when watching television. Hence, it is difficult to compare the behaviour of these children whilst ignoring cultural factors. The biological perspective can be criticised on the basis that aggression in children cannot be related to studies that have been conducted on animals. Biological and Learning Psychology Order Instructions: This assignment mainly is based on the Adelaide Zoo in South Australia.. University of Iowa Studies in Child Welfare, 18, 1-314. Because memories are thought to be encoded by modification of synaptic strength, LTP is widely considered one of the major cellular mechanisms that underlies learning and memory. When you use the word biological, you're talking about life and living things. Similar to the biological perspective of explaining aggressive behaviour in children, it is reductionist. Biological constraints on learning refers to he limitations on a species ability to learn new tasks that are imposed by physical restraints or cognitive (mental) abilities of the species. Once the children were exposed to such models, they were taken into another room where there were many toys amongst them the Bobo doll. It is essentially an exaggerated startle response, and is often seen in trauma survivors. Albert Bandura views most human behaviour as learned by observing a model or simply another person, which affects a child’s view of how this new behaviour can be developed and how this new attained behaviour is a guide for their actions. As defined by the Psychology Dictionary, a biological factor is that which affects the behavior and function of an organism and includes any condition that has a psychological effect on a living being. Grivas.J, Carter. Violent video games can impact on children’s aggression levels, as children begin to believe that the world is a hostile place, and aggressive acts are an acceptable part of normal daily life. As the stimulus occurs over and over (and as long as it is not associated with any reward or punishment), we learn not to focus our attention on it. In one study, conducted by Caspi (1998), data was collected from identical and non-identical twins following a questionnaire asking various personal and non-personal questions. If a child’s genes are inclined to be aggressive, the parent within the environment will attempt to nurture and accommodate for their child’s genes by attempting to provide a calm lifestyle. Biology & genetics teaching & learning resources by D G Mackean. The above experiments are of considerable value as the foxes could be trained and kept over an extended period of time where their behaviour is closely observed, unlike humans who cannot be kept in such environments. Once they have been engaged in aggressive acts it impacts on the children emotionally, and as a consequence these children find it much easier and acceptable to engage in violence and aggressive acts. Parents may also choose to put their child in a hobby that is sports oriented to cater for the aggressive levels in order to use their energy in a positive way, where they stimulate thinking and reasoning skills preventing the child from resorting to aggressive acts. “Potentiation” refers to a strengthening of a nerve synapse. Thus, this weakness does not implicate that such laboratory experiments are invaluable; rather they are limited to generalisabilty. Biology is defined as the study of life while psychology examines the human mind and its processes, especially those affecting behavior. However, according to Baron and Richardson (1994), the tendency to be aggressive is not passed on from the parents to the offspring; rather the temperament which is capable of making someone more or less aggressive can be inherited. It has always appealed to me to understand the basis of aggressive behaviour as I have seen this behaviour amongst most children and teenagers, as well as adults. No plagiarism, guaranteed! ‘Frustration and aggression: An experiment with young children’. Dr. Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D. (2000) states, ‘This medium is potentially more dangerous than exposure to violent television and movies’. OpenStax College, Behavioral Biology: Proximate and Ultimate Causes of Behavior. He also found that when parts of the hypothalamus were removed the sham rage disappeared, clearly demonstrating that the manipulation of the hypothalamus and cortex plays a role in the development of aggression. This is sufficient to draw the conclusion that pain is a contributing factor to aggression. This essay was specifically an evaluation of the biological and learning perspectives of psychology accounting for the development of aggression in children. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. Baron. One of the major debates in psychology has long centered over the relative contributions of nature versus nurture. OpenStax College, Psychology. The learning perspective argues that aggressive behaviour is learnt through observation, and triggered by the surrounding environment and conditions. In this experiment Bandura examined the consequential actions of children observing an adult behaving aggressively with a Bobo doll. For example, the sound of a car backfiring might sound like a gunshot to a war veteran, and the veteran may drop to the ground in response, even if there is no threat present. The structure of a neuron: Communication between neurons occurs when the neurotransmitter is released from the axon on one neuron, travels across the synapse, and is taken in by the dendrite on an adjacent neuron. The learning perspective does not incorporate any biological or cognitive processes which are also responsible for the development of aggression. Bard found that when parts of the cortex were removed from the cats, they displayed ‘sham rage’ where the cats acted aggressively. D.C (1994). Biological factors which trigger aggressive behaviour in children are inheritance, where aggression may be passed from the parents to their offspring, as well as low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, and the activity of certain structures in the brain, that when manipulated may trigger aggressive behaviour. Biological predisposition is commonly known as someone's 'nature', as opposed to their 'nurture', or upbringing. The children were kept away from the toys for a while before they were allowed to play with them. The biological perspective tends to stress the importance of nature. Mice species have differing logic and reasoning capacities as compared to humans, hence mice do not facilitate the opportunity to choose to be aggressive or not, whereas children have the capability of logically choosing to act aggressively. ‘Serotonin and aggression in children’. It was also assumed that all biological influences such as levels of serotonin are identical for each participant. Biological Learning The brain is perhaps the most complex organ, consisting of myriads of elementary units (neurons and synapses), and it is still the greatest challenge of science to understand how their collective functioning gives rise to meaningful, adaptive behaviour. Lagerspetz’s procedure was repeated over 26 generations of mice giving birth to their offspring (cited in Grivas.J, Carter.L 2005). This essay is an evaluation of the biological perspective and learning perspective of psychology accounting for the development of aggression in children. October 26, 2013. New Haven CN: Yale University Press. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Having considered the interpretations of the development of aggression in children from both the biological and learning perspective, and the criticisms which arise from the research conducted, it can be concluded that both the biological and learning perspectives contribute to the development of aggression in children. However, this experiment raises the possibility that children may have thought that this experiment was a game as a consequence of the Bobo doll having a spring which causes it to spring back immediately after being knocked down. So please use only one of these titles. Those who take up the nurture side of the debate suggest that it is the environment that plays the greatest role in shaping behavior. Habituation is the “behavioral version” of sensory adaptation, with decreased behavioral responses over time to a repeated stimulus. Biological development, the progressive changes in size, shape, and function during the life of an organism by which its genetic potentials (genotype) are translated into functioning mature systems (phenotype).Most modern philosophical outlooks would consider that development of some kind or other characterizes all things, in both the physical and biological worlds. These findings are applicable to a small sample and findings cannot be predicted to be the same for a different sample of children as all children are different. These studies clearly highlight the role which serotonin plays in causing aggressive behaviour amongst children; the lower the levels of serotonin the higher the level of aggression. (2000). During habituation, fewer neurotransmitters are released at the synapse. July 24, 2015. LTP is based on the Hebbian principle: “cells that fire together, wire together.” This principle attempts to explain associative learning, in which simultaneous activation of cells leads to pronounced increases in synaptic strength between those cells, and provides a biological basis for the pairing of stimulus and response in classical conditioning. The classical definition of Biology is: Biology is the science of life. An argument stemming from this point is that it is not possible to apply animal findings to humans regardless of the similarities because they are different beings. The children from both groups were later on asked to rate their level of aggression and reports from their teachers and peers were also taken into consideration. Another potential weakness is the fact that the children may have not been exposed to the Bobo doll previously, hence they did not know how to play with it. Habituation helps us to distinguish meaningful information from the background. Dollard, J. D. (1939). Twin studies provide geneticists with a kind of natural experiment in which the behavioral likeness of identical twins (whose genetic relatedness is 1.0) can be compared with the resemblance of dizygotic twins (whose genetic relatedness is 0.5). Anne, H. (2009). The analysis of biological networks … Lagerspetz’s experiment can be criticised on the grounds that it cannot be conducted with humans because it is clearly unethical. Evaluation of the biological perspective ix, Evaluation of the learning perspective xv. Bandura had other children watch a non aggressive model playing calmly with the Bobo doll. Yet, this can be a starting point to understanding the basis of aggressive behaviour. On the other hand, the children who were allowed to play immediately with the toys handled them carefully and played happily. Studies conducted on children (ranging in age from approximately 3 to 15 years old) suggest that aggression develops in children based on their biological background or their environmental context. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. Upon this, the e-learning could be classified by this thesis to blended and online learning. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. This provides the basis of explaining aggressive behaviour in children from the learning perspective. In neural communication, a neurotransmitter is released from the axon of one neuron, crosses a synapse, and is then picked up by the dendrites of an adjacent neuron. A novel theoretical framework that describes a possible rationale for the regularity in how we move, how we learn, and how our brain predicts events. It is clear that innate biological factors may be present in a child; however the environment sets the limits on how to behave and deal with social influences that influence a child to act aggressively. They watched the video of the model constantly acting aggressively by sitting on the doll, punching it and kicking it repeatedly. Popova N, Voitenko N, Kulikov A, Avgustinovich D (1991). Genes influence our personality traits, our IQ, our likelihood of getting cancer, and even our chances of becoming an alcoholic. Habituation and sensitization work in different ways neurologically. This is one of the main weaknesses which the biological perspective incorporates. Selective breeding has been one of the longest existing methods to find the existence of a phenotypic characteristic. Fuller (1962) presented a biological perspective on motivation that enumerated biological needs and their psychological consequences, integrative needs, and innate and acquired drives. ‘Evidence for the involvement of central serotonin in mechanism of domestication of silver foxes’. The hypothalamus and amygdala can be manipulated using electrical currents, and they may be switched on or off disabling their normal operation using an electrode. To be specific, Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment can be criticised on the grounds that the children’s aggression was measured away from their natural environment. The role of LTP in learning is still being researched, but studies on the hippocampus have found LTP to occur during associative learning (such as classical conditioning ). The biological approach of explaining aggressive behaviour in children is very scientific and is consequently regarded as reliable. A biological is a drug, such as a vaccine, that is derived from a living organism. A biological network is any network that applies to biological systems.A network is any system with sub-units that are linked into a whole, such as species units linked into a whole food web.Biological networks provide a mathematical representation of connections found in ecological, evolutionary, and physiological studies, such as neural networks. However, the location of the experiments is not only a strength but also a potential weakness. However, the learning perspective views aggression in children as having some sort of biological basis, yet through experience and reinforcement aggression becomes learned and evident amongst children.

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