Bowlby 

Biological psychology makes the undeniable point that psychological processes rest upon a biological substrate. Psychological phenomena occur within the context of our physical embodiment, so biological structures and processes clearly play a role in behaviour and cognition. (This is clearly illustrated by alterations in behaviour and emotional state produced by ingestion of drugs, exercise, brain damage etc.). Biological psychology therefore explores the potential roles biology can play in attempts at psychological explanation.\nThere are two main types of psychological explanation coming from biological perspectives. Causal explanations focus on the immediate precursors or causes (e.g. physiological processes) of a behaviour or characteristic; essentially, how a particular behaviour has occurred. These will be explored further in the rest of this section. Functional explanations, in contrast, look at why a particular behaviour or characteristic has evolved, i.e. the possible adaptive value of the behaviour seen within the context of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. This is examined in the section on evolutionary psychology. A central debate within psychology is the relative influence of social and biological factors. Relatively few psychologists would take the position that biology alone determines psychology, i.e. can fully explain all psychological phenomena. Psychological phenomena are usually seen by many biological psychologists as the result of a complex interdependence between biological and social processes. This is fully in line with the emphasis in modern genetics on gene-environment interaction, rather than seeing genes alone as a causal influence. For example, the same biological influences can have different effects in different social contexts. Social context can in turn affect biology (such as stress affecting the functioning of the heart). \nThe central focus of biological psychology looks at how the workings of the central nervous system (which includes the brain) affects behaviour and cognition. There may also be an emphasis on lessons that can be learned from the study of non-human nervous systems, looking at commonalities between different animals as well as those aspects in which humans are quite distinct from non-human animals. Although differences between people are examined in biological terms (e.g. in terms of brain damage or reactions to drugs), it is not concerned with what makes each human being unique. It is more concerned with documenting biological universals than with making individuals themselves the unit of analysis, offering a clear distinction here from perspectives like humanistic psychology. A key distinction between biological psychologists and psychologists from other traditions lies in the kinds of questions they ask. For example, a biological psychologist might look at depression in terms of neurotransmitter levels, or a particular genetic inheritance. A social psychologist might examine the depressed person's social networks and relationships. A more sociologically-influenced psychologist from a feminist background might in turn see the problem in terms not of the individual or their immediate social surroundings, but as a consequence of wider societal structures, e.g. oppressive gender relations within marriage as an institution. These different 'diagnoses' would lead to quite different courses of action in these three cases: respectively, recommending a course of anti-depressants; suggesting counselling; engaging in wider socio-political transformation. A psychologist taking a holistic viewpoint might conceivably regard all three as potentially useful actions to take.\nIn terms of methodology, biological psychology draws on a wide range of methods developed in disciplines such as neurophysiology, physics and chemistry, often involving study of the brain. For example, recording the electric activity of single neurons to see how they react for example to light stimulation, or studying the effects of stimulating neurons electrically. Biochemical analyses can also be used to monitor the activity of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. Some relatively recent techniques include brain imaging techniques (e.g. positron emission tomography, or PET) and making use of data from the recent decoding of the human genome. In addition to these specialized techniques, biological psychologists also use the experimental method to compare the performance of different groups of people (e.g. with or without brain damage) on various psychological tasks. All the methods discussed above predominantly use an outsider viewpoint – although some recent brain imaging techniques do make use of insider accounts since researchers ask people questions about their experiences as they record brain activity, looking for correlations between the two. 

Clinical observations: case studies. Case studies in clinical medicine involve a detailed account of careful clinical observations, taking the personal history of the patient in relation to the illness, describing the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment(s), and the outcome of the treatments. Within a psychological context, case studies might be relevant to psychotherapy or counselling. Otherwise, they might be drawn from a medical setting, involving psychiatric or neurological observations. The term case study has now been generalised to include very detailed, tightly focused descriptions of single individuals, which might contain both 'inside' and 'outside' data (i.e. the viewpoints of both the researcher and the person being researched). Unlike experiments, which tend to focus on a single moment in time, case studies usually provide a summary over a period of time (cf. longitudinal studies). The main focus is usually qualitative, though some include quantitative aspects. Case studies have proved invaluable in the study of child language development and chimpanzee language. Comparing case studies from a range of different people can provide information about: treatment outcomes, the classification of different clinical disorders, and the basis for developing new theories about particular clinical or social phenomena. 

Attachment. This refers to an emotional bond between people, especially used that between babies and very young children, and their primary caregiver (often, but not necessarily, the mother). Some psychologists see the quality and reliability of this bond as a key factor in the emotional development of the infant. 

The Tavistock clinic (1920-the present). Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller set up the Tavistock Clinic, London, in 1920, in response to a need for psychological help for people affected by the First World War. From that time to the present, the Clinic has aimed to combine research into the causes of mental ill-health with the development of effective treatments, along with a commitment to the dissemination of skills to trainees and other professionals. During the Second World War, many of the staff joined the Forces to provide psychological and psychiatric treatment, particularly to people suffering from what was then called 'war neurosis' or 'shell-shock' and would now be called PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). The return of these staff, with their experience in military service, influenced the Clinic's work, which continues to have as one of its specialities the treatment of trauma-related conditions. The period immediately following the Second World War was a time of great theoretical developments in psychoanalytic theory, and in Britain this was very much centred on the Tavistock Clinic. Amongst many theorists, it is notable that Melanie Klein, John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth were working at the Clinic and contributing to the development of the unique Tavistock style of work. This combines a deep compassion for the difficulties many people face in psychological adjustment with a concern for the development of theoretical understandings of the processes by which such difficulties arise and how best they can be treated. As well as being one of the key centres in which modern object relations theory continues to develop, the Tavistock Clinic has an international reputation for its work in marital therapy, for its systemic approach to family therapy and for its unique infant observation training.\nThe Tavistock Clinic is also important for another theme in the development of psychology – the systems approach to psychology – which has relevance in family therapy but also in industrial and occupational psychology. To quote from its published aim: \n\nToday, our core aim remains unchanged. It is as relevant for the millennium as it was in 1920: to make a significant contribution to improving the mental health of the nation by leading the development of innovative, multidisciplinary training for professionals working in the mental health field, the probation service, education and social work. Written by: Course Team 

Observation is clearly distinguished from experiments by the absence of any intervention. The method is often used in everyday social settings to observe behaviour 'naturalistically', but it is also sometimes used in laboratory settings (though often the reason for the latter setting is for careful control of experimental variables). Data can be both quantitative and qualitative, though most observation tends to involve the latter (see earlier section on qualitative observation under 'qualitative methods'). The data can be structured, and collected in terms of a pre-existing checklist, or unstructured, leaving observers free to write down their overall impressions in any way they see fit. It should be pointed out that even the 'unstructured' approach will still be affected by choices made by the observer to do with selection and construction (see 'construction of data' under 'qualitative methods'). However, 'unstructured observation' is essentially defined as not pre-structured in any way, leaving the observer free to pick up on whatever they think are salient issues, may be missed by more structured data.\nOne particular type of observational method is called participant observation, where a researcher will join in a particular group or social setting, participating in the activities of the group, usually without revealing they are a researcher. Because of its covert nature, this necessarily informal method of data collection raises significant ethical issues. However, it can be the source of very useful data. This approach has a number of factors in common with ethnographic methods (though with the latter, researchers are more likely to be open about what they are engaged in). A key ethical issue in observation in general in fact is that with naturalistic observation the 'participants' are usually unaware that they are being observed. However, if the participants know they are being observed, their behaviour may well change, so destroying the very natural behaviour the researcher wants to observe. This is analogous to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in quantum physics, where bouncing light rays off an electron to find out its location will itself make the electron fly off somewhere else, which means you no longer know where it is! There are no simple answers to such dilemmas: researchers have to take decisions based on the particular research topic and setting they are looking at. 

Psychoanalytic approaches provide both a psychological theory and a therapeutic method. There is a particular focus on the emotional conditions of early childhood, with many emotional problems in adult life seen as relating to unresolved developmental conflicts from this period. A key assumption is that much of our motivation is driven by unconscious forces, with their origins in this early childhood emotional development. Although there are many different psychoanalytic approaches, such as neoFreudians, Jungians, Kleinians, Object Relations etc., they all hold the above assumptions in common. A number of other therapeutic approaches also draw heavily on psychoanalytic ideas, such as Gestalt therapy, Transactional Analysis, and many others. It is useful in getting an understanding of psychoanalytic approaches to study the key Freudian ideas, as his theories still provide the basis of much psychoanalytic thinking. Freud's developmental model focuses particularly on a series of psychosexual stages in the first five years or so of childhood. These stages relate to shifts in basic sources of pleasure and satisfaction, including the oral, anal and phallic stages. Too much frustration or over-gratification at any of these stages is seen as leading to fixation, and later neuroses. Each of these stages must be successfully completed for the development of a healthy personality. A key stage occurs in the resolution of the phallic stage in the Oedipus complex, where a jealous desire to kill the same sex parent and possess the opposite sex parent leads to fear of being punished for this desire. This fear is dealt with by identification with the same-sex parent, seen as crucial for successful development of the super-ego and gender identity. It is probably fair to say that Freud's descriptions of female gender identity have often been viewed as rather less convincing than the male equivalent. It should also be noted that post-Freudian theorists have often proposed significant revisions to this developmental model (e.g. Melanie Klein's much greater emphasis on the importance of infancy, or the Object Relations school seeing motivational drive more as connecting with people rather than just focused on satisfying instincts). Freud's basic model of the mind sees the instinctual driving forces of the id often battling against the internalised social demands (initially received via the parents) of the super-ego. The ego has the job of finding an acceptable compromise between the conflicting demands of the id and super-ego, and of the external world. The anxiety associated with these conflicts in early childhood can, if the ego is too weak to cope with them at that time, lead to repression, with 'defence mechanisms' shielding the conscious, rational mind from disturbing anxieties and urges towards forbidden impulses. This repressed material will then go into the unconscious (i.e. it will no longer be accessible by the rational conscious mind), potentially leading to neurotic behaviour patterns. Psychoanalytic therapy essentially tries to reverse this process, creating a hopefully safe environment where the skills of the therapist can help identify the defence mechanisms in operation and acknowledge and release the previously repressed material. The libido ('life energy') associated with these defence mechanisms is then redirected, so the ego can deal with the conflict in a way which is more in harmony with the different parts of the psyche, and with current reality. The idea that the conscious mind is unable to be aware of the main emotional driving forces of the psyche mean the psychoanalytic approaches are much more pessimistic than humanistic approaches, for example, about possibilities for human agency (i.e. capacity to make genuine, conscious choices). However, although the theory is essentially deterministic, the therapy is less so, as genuine change is seen as possible with the help of therapeutic alliance with the psychoanalyst. Therapeutic techniques used include (among others): free association: clients are encouraged to say whatever comes into their heads, bypassing conscious editing. Silences or abrupt changes of topic can act as a signal to the analyst of resistances to this process, indicating a defence mechanism linked to the material being talked about at that point. Dream interpretation: where the overt, or manifest content is seen as screening an underlying latent content relating to inner conflicts. Transference: the emotional feelings aroused in our early relationships can be unconsciously 'transferred' into relationships in adult life. In analysis, early childhood emotional conflicts (often with the parents) are relived through the analyst-client relationship, with the analyst helping the client bring them into conscious awareness. Psychoanalytic approaches in general have had very great influence on Western culture as a whole, and are particularly influential in the therapy world. However, their emphasis on qualitative, clinical data, and limited 'testability' have tended to limit their influence within academic psychology departments, which have generally emphasised more experimental approaches. Psychoanalysts in clinical practice are, nevertheless, in a position to collect a great deal of data of different kinds (behavioural, inner experiences and symbolic) over long periods of time with the same patient. Patient's responses to psychoanalytic interpretations, whether immediate or in terms of the long term clinical effectiveness of treatment provide evidence for their ideas. It is problematic, however, that much of this evidence is essentially private and necessarily involves the subjective experience of both patient and analyst.