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Biological Approach
Introduction
 Main assumptions of the biological approach:

o Behaviour, cognition and emotions can be explained in terms of the working of the

brain and the effect of hormones, genetics and evolution.

o Similarities and differences between people can be understood regarding biological

factors and their interaction with other factors.

Dement and Kleitman (Sleep and Dreams)

 Title: The Relation of Eye Movements During Sleep to Dream Activity: An Objective

Method for the Study of Dreaming

 Year: 1957

 Psychology being investigated:

o Our body follows two types of sleep: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and nREM

(non-rapid eye movement) sleep.

o nREM can be divided into 4 sleep stages.

o In REM sleep, our eyes move rapidly under the lids.

o REM sleep is known as paradoxical sleep. It resembles wakefulness as our eyes

move; we often experience vivid (bizarre) thoughts in dreams, and our brains are

active. However, it is different from wakefulness as it is difficult to wake up; we are

relatively insensitive to stimuli and paralyzed.

o Ultradian rhythms- Basic Rest-Activity cycles that occur almost every 90 minutes and

are responsible for the different stages of sleep we experience.

o Dreams- Vivid and generally visual sequences of imagery that occur during sleep in

the REM stage.

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 Background

o Aserinsky and Kleitman’s (1955) study observed periods of rapid, conjugate eye

movements during sleep and found a high incidence of dream recall in awakening

participants and a low incidence when awakened at other times.

o Sleep and dreaming are hard to investigate because the participant is necessarily

asleep, and so cannot communicate with the researcher. Even when awake, only

self-report data can be obtained about dream content, which alone may be invalid as

it is subjective.

o The electroencephalograph (EEG) monitors the electrical activity of the brain.

o The electrooculogram (EOG) allowed the electrical recording of eye movement

patterns, their presence or absence, and their size and direction (vertical or

horizontal).

o The EEG detects and records tiny electrical charges associated with nerve and

muscle activity.

o In REM sleep, EEG is relatively low voltage/amplitude and high frequency.

o In nREM sleep, EEG has either high voltage/amplitude and slow (low frequency)

waves or frequent ‘sleep spindles’, short-lived high voltage, high-frequency waves.

 Aims

o Overall aim: To investigate dreaming objectively by looking for the relationship

between eye movements in sleep and the dreamer’s recall.

o Specific aims:

 To test whether dream recall differs between REM and nREM sleep.

 To investigate whether there is a positive correlation between subjective estimates of

dream duration and the length of REM period.

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 To test whether eye movement patterns are related to dream content. (Whether

these patterns represent the visual experience of dream content or whether they are

simply random movements arising from the activation of the CNS)

 Procedure

o Research Method: Laboratory Experiment, Observations, Self-reports and

correlation

o Experimental design: Repeated Measures Design

o Three approaches were used to test the three specific aims. (scroll above to find the

three aims)

o Sample: seven adult males and two adult females. Five of them were studied

intensively, while the data gathered from the other four were minimal to confirm the

results.

o Sampling technique: Opportunity sampling

o Participants studied in detail spent between 6-17 nights with 50-77 awakenings. The

four others spent only one or two nights with 4-10 awakenings.

o Participants were identified by their initials to maintain confidentiality.

o Participants reported to the lab a little before their usual bedtime.

o They were instructed to eat normally but to abstain from alcoholic or caffeine-

containing beverages on the day of the experiment.

o Participants were fitted with electrodes on their scalps and around their eyes.

o Once they were in bed in a quiet, dark room, the wires were gathered into a

“ponytail” to allow freedom of movement.

o The EEG ran continuously to monitor the participant's sleep stages and to inform the

researchers when they should be woken up.

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o Participants were woken by a doorbell that was loud enough to rouse them from any

sleep stage.

o The doorbell rang at various times during the night, and the participants indicated

whether they had been dreaming and described their dreams in a voice recorder.

o Analysis of dream narrative: This was only considered a dream if a coherent, fairly

detailed description of the content existed. Vague, fragmentary impressions were not

scored as dreams.

o
METHOD DESIGN

Participants were woken either

from REM or nREM sleep, but Natural experiment in a laboratory
were not told which stage they setting
were in.
Aim They confirmed whether they
1 had a dream and if so,
IV: REM or nREM sleep stage
reported the content into a
recorder.
DV: whether the participants reported
a dream, and if so, the details
Participants were woken The data was used in both
following 5 or 15 minutes of experimental and correlational
REM sleep. designs.
They were asked if they Experimental analysis: IV - waking
Aim thought they had been after 5 or 15 minutes of REM sleep.
2 dreaming for 5 or 15 minutes. DV - participant’s choice
Correlational analysis: two variables
Their dream narrative was
were the participant’s time estimate
recorded, and the number of
and number of words in the dream
words was counted.
narrative
Aim Participants were woken after
3 exhibiting a single eye- Natural experiment in a laboratory
movement pattern for longer setting.
than a minute.
This was measured using IV: eye-movement pattern type
electrodes and an EOG. (mainly horizontal, mainly vertical,
vertical & horizontal, little or none)
This could not be manipulated.
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o
METHOD DESIGN

The dream content was

DV: report of dream content
recorded.
 Results

General Results

 Uninterrupted dream stages lasted for a range of 3 to 50 minutes with an estimate

average of 20 minutes.

 Dream Stages are usually longer later in the night.

 Dream stages had irregular bursts of 2-100 rapid eye movements.

Results for Question 1: Does dream recall differ in REM and nREM stages of

sleep?

 Yes, dream recall significantly differs. In 79.6% of the REM awakenings (152/191)

participants could recall a dream, whereas in only 6.9% of nREM awakenings

(11/160), participants could recall their dreams.

 Therefore, participants are likelier to describe dreams when woken from REM than

nREM frequently.

Results for Question 2: Is there a positive correlation between subjective

dream duration estimate and the length of the REM period before waking?

 Participants had 88% accuracy in estimating they were woken up after 5 minutes of

dreaming.

 Participants had 78% accuracy in estimating they were woken up after 15 minutes of

dreaming.

 The correlation between the two variables was positive, within the range of 0.4 to

0.71, as the r values showed a significant correlation.

Results for Question 3: Are eye movement patterns related to dream content?

 Eye movements, as recorded on EEG, were related to dreams' visual content.

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 With only vertical (climbing up a ladder and looking down) or only horizontal

(watching two people throwing tomatoes at each other) eye movements were rare,

with only 3 dreams and 1 dream, respectively.

 10 dreams were reported to have little to no eye movement (watching something in

the distance)

 21 dreams had mixed movements (talking to a group of people)

Conclusions

 Dreams are experienced in REM but not NREM sleep.

 Dreaming is more likely at night's end, as the REM stages are longer.

Strengths

 High internal validity - definition of dream clearly operationalized, demand

characteristics minimized by not telling participants about their EEG patterns,

laboratory experiment with limited effect of uncontrolled variables.

 High reliability - EEG shows quantitative data and is not affected by the

experimenter’s subjective view; quantitative and qualitative data are collected.

Weakness’s

 Low generalisability: only 9 participants may not represent the dream frequency of

the general population.

 Low ecological validity: People used to caffeinated drinks could experience

changes in sleep and dream patterns due to lack of those drinks; sleeping in a

laboratory connected to electrodes could be uncomfortable.

Ethics

 Deception: Participant WD was misled about whether he was woken in the NREM

or REM stage.

Issues and Debates

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 Application: EEG, which is used to detect dreaming, has useful applications for

assessing people with sleep and dream issues (for example- insomnia and

nightmares)

The EEG can be used to monitor the different stages of sleep individuals with

insomnia (trouble falling asleep or not sleeping enough) face and see patterns in

their dream stages (example- shorted REM sleep stages)- this helps get a better

understanding of the problem they are facing and according come up with a solution.

Parasomnias is a sleeping disorder involving unusual behavior and dreams. EEG

monitoring can be used to observe REM sleep stages for this disorder as well to

understand how the unusaul dreams are related to sleep stages and dream sleep.

 Nature versus Nurture: Mainly focuses on nature, making obtaining evidence

through EEG possible.

Hassett et al. (Monkey Toy Preferences)

 Title: Sex differences in rhesus monkey toy preferences parallel those of children

 Year: 2008

 Psychology being investigated:

o There is a difference in male and female brain structure and hormones,, resulting in

sex differences.

o Socialization is the method of learning behaviours that are socially accepted. These

behaviours differ for the two genders.

o It has been difficult to determine if differences in behaviour between females and

males are more due to biological factors or social differences due to socialization.

o Gender stereotype- bias of assigning particular traits to a particular gender, for

example- assigning aggression as a male-typed trait.

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o Play- Childhood behaviours are usually done for fun, which may or may not involve

social interaction and objects called ‘toys’.

Background

 Infants are exposed to hormones during the prenatal stages of gestation, which

impacts top preferences in children.

 A few females have experienced a genetic condition which increases male

hormones during foetal development- these girls are seen to prefer more ‘male’ '-

type toys in comparison to other girls.

 Primates are similar to humans genetically and, therefore, can be used as a model to

show if gender differences in behaviour are due to biological or social factors.

 Female and male primates have differences in hormones, just like humans.

Aims

 To investigate whether toy preference in monkeys is similar to those in children to

test for a biological explanation for sex differences in toy choice.

 Procedure

o Research method: A field experiment

o Experimental design: Independent Measures Design

o Independent Variable (IV): Gender, Monkey’s rank on social hierarchy

o Dependent Variable (DV): Frequency and duration of play with each toy type

o Sample: 21 males and 61 female rhesus monkeys living in natal groups at the

Yerkes primate research station in the USA.

o Sampling technique: Opportunity sampling

o The natal group was housed in a 25*25-meter outdoor area with admission into a

temperature-controlled indoor area.

Procedure
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 toys were divided into two categories based on their properties: 'wheeled toys', which

matched with toys typically for boys, and 'plush toys' to match girl toys.

 Six-wheeled toys- wagon, truck, car, shopping cart

 Seven Plush toys- teddy bear, Koala hand puppet

 For every group formed from the natal group, 7 trials occurred, all lasting for 25

minutes.

 The rhesus monkeys were observed using two video cameras.

 For each of the 7 trials, all monkeys were initially indoors while one plush toy and

one wheeled toy were placed 10 metres apart in the outdoor area.

 Each video camera was focused on one of the toys, with the positions of wheeled

and plush toys being counterbalanced between right and left locations.

 After the 25-minute trial, the toys were removed, and two observers analyzed the

videotape to achieve a consensus that resulted in high inter-observer reliability.

 Specific behavioural categories were formed after watching the animal interact with

toys.

 The exact time of each activity was also recorded, along with the frequency of each

behaviour.

 A few behavioural categories include extended touch, sitting on the toy, dragging,

carrying in hand, turning the entire toy, and sniffing.

 For data analysis, each monkey's behaviour was converted into an average

frequency and duration.

Results

 Females did not have a preference for plush toys over wheeled toys.

 Females interacted with plush toys more than males did.

 Male monkeys prefer 'masculine' wheeled toys for 'feminine' plush toys.
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 Rank on social hierarchy was positively correlated to the total frequency of

interactions.

 When compared to data from Berenbaum and Hines (1992), it was seen that rhesus

monkeys and children both showed higher preference marks in males than females.

 Strengths

o High internal validity: use of animals to eliminate the effect of socialization and

another confounding variable, behavioural categories were accurately defined,

counterbalancing of wheeled toy and plush toy position.

o High standardisation: The observation process was the same for all monkeys, with

a standard length of 25-minute sessions.

 Weaknesses

o Methodological differences: Differences in the children and rhesus monkeys were

compared; the toys offered were chosen for object properties rather than female or

male-typed toys, and children were assessed using different toys and only

measuring the duration of play, not frequency.

 Issues and Debates

o Application: Help cause awareness regarding gender-neutral socialization. This

would minimize the divide between males and females early in childhood.

o Individual versus Situational: illustrates a role of biology that supports the

individual side of the debate; however, exposure to gender stereotyping in society

counts for a situational explanation.

o Nature versus Nurture: sex differences due to biological aspects of brain structure

and hormones count for nature, but socialization in society is mainly due to nurture.

Hölzel et al. (Mindfulness and Brain Scans)

 Title: Mindfulness practice to increase regional brain grey matter density
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 Year: 2011

 Psychology being investigated:

Mindfulness- State achieved through meditation that aims to increase awareness of

the present-moment experience.

Localization of function- Particular brain areas are responsible for different activities.

 Background:

o Mindfulness involves cognitive processes and sensory experiences that impact brain

function.

o Early studies used EEG, but now MRI provides more detailed information by

measuring brain structures and changes in grey and white matter.

o Comparative studies suggest differences in brain grey matter between individuals

practising mindfulness meditation and those who don’t. However, caution is needed

due to potential pre-existing individual differences that could affect results.

 Aims:

o Use the MBSR course to compare grey matter concentration in specific brain areas

and the whole brain before and after the course (pre and post-stages)

*MBSR- Meditation-Based Stress Reduction

 Procedure:

o Research Method: Laboratory Experient with longitudinal design

o Experimental Design: Independent Measures Design

o Independent Variable: Exposure to an eight-week mindfulness-based intervention,

the MBSR course

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o Dependent Variable: Change in the grey matter assessed using MRI scans and

Response on questionnaires to measure five mindfulness scales (before and after

intervention)

o Sample:

o Experimental Group

16 participants- 6 Males and 10 Females

Mean age- 38 years

There were 18 participants in the experimental group, but 2 males withdrew due to

discomfort.

o Control Group

17 participants- 7 Males and 10 Females

Mean age- 39 years

The control group participants had the same eligibility criteria as the experimental

group for admission into the mindfulness course.

 Common points for both groups:

o Participants for this study were recruited from individuals already enrolled in 4 MBSR

courses at the University of Massachusetts

o Overall Age Range- 25 to 55 years

o All participants were physically and psychologically healthy

o All participants were not on any medication

o All participants had limited experience with meditation classes

o They all had the same educational level

o Incentive of discounted MBRS course fee was given to all

 Sampling technique: Opportunity Sampling

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o Both groups completed the FFMQ (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire) with 39

questions and five subscales.

o The 5 subscales had statements that measured observing, describing, acting with

awareness, non-judging of inner experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience.

o Each statement had to be answered on a five-point Likert-type scale, and the scores

were added.

o Some questions were reverse scored, and from each group, 14 participants gave

usable data at both time points.

o MRI brain scans of both group participants were taken at two-time points.

 For the experimental group: two weeks before MBSR and two weeks after MBRS

course (average gap of 56 days)

 For the control group: The two scans were taken with an average gap of 66 days

between them.

 The data from MRI scans was utilized in two ways:

1. To analyze the regions of interest- Hippocampus and Bilateral insulae

2. To analyze the whole brain to explore other areas affected by the

mindfulness course.

 Lastly, participants reported the time they spent over 8 weeks’ time on formal

homework and the three assigned exercises (Body scans, yoga and sitting

meditation)

 Results

o No significant correlation between time spent on body scans, yoga and sitting

meditation
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o Participants in the MBSR group significantly increased mindfulness scores on the 3

subscales (acting with awareness, observing and non-judging) between pre and

post-testing

Specific areas of interest:

o In the specific area of interest- Left Hippocampus there were positive changes in

grey area concentration for the MBSR group between the pre and post-stages

o In the specific area of interest- the Left Hippocampus, there were no changes in a

grey area concentration for the control group between pre and post-stages.

o No correlation between grey matter in specific areas and the amount of homework or

changes in FFMQ scores

Whole-brain analysis:

o Four clusters of the brain showed a significant increase in grey matter concentration

for the MBSR group between the pre and post-stages

o These four clusters showed a significant increase in grey matter concentration for

the control group relative to other brain area

(The four clusters were Posterior cingulate cortex, left temporoparietal junction and

two parts of the cerebellum)

o No correlation between other parts of the brain and the amount of homework or

changes in FFMQ scores

 Conclusions:

o The concentration of grey matter increases in regions in the hippocampus, posterior

cingulate cortex (PPC), left temporoparietal junction (TJP) and cerebellum in those

who practice an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course (MBSR)

 Ethical Issues:
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Risk of not protecting participants from harm by not assisting control group

participants until at least eight weeks

 Strengths:

o The increased external validity of findings derived from longitudinal studies stems

from the extended duration, which helps stabilize fluctuating participant variables

such as mood, attentiveness, and health, among others, that could influence

mindfulness.

o High amounts of standardisation: for instance, a fixed number of exercises to be

performed and fixed total duration- make the study highly replicable, raising

reliability.

 Weaknesses:

o Lack of generalisability of the sample as they were all similar due to already being

enrolled in MBSR courses and having the same level of education.

o The unknowns regarding the accuracy of the MRI and the lack of objectivity in the

interpretations of the data produced decrease the internal validity.

o The lack of correlation between grey matter and time spent on mindfulness exercise

homework shows that the exercises did not directly cause brain changes, which also

decreases internal validity.

 Issues and Debates:

o Application to everyday life: Provides a method to help people with

temporoparietal junction (TPJ) impairment, and the two areas of the cerebellum

where grey matter changes were observed can be used for emotion regulation and

healthy psychological functioning.

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o Nature versus Nurture: The biological aspects are highly determined by the

processes of nature. However, the study showed that nurture through MBRS can

affect those structures and processes.