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Biological psychology, its theorists, and major assumptions:

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A.Define biological psychology and examine its historical development.
b.Identify the important theorists associated with associated with biological psychology.
c.Describe the relationship between biological psychology and other fields in psychology and neuroscience.
d.Describe the major underlying assumptions of a biopsychological approach.

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Solution Summary

The solution provides indepth information about the definition of biological psychology and its historical development.
It identifies the major theorists, describes the relationship between biological psychology and other fields of psychology and neuroscience. It explains the major assumptions of biopsychological approach.

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a)Biological psychology is defined as the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behavior. In other words, it is the study of psychology in terms of bodily mechanisms. Almost all psychological processes have some sort of correlation with biological/physiological processes. The field of Biological psychology is based on this assumption or view.

The historical development of biological psychology:
The study of biological psychology dates back to Avicenna (980-1037 C.E.), a physician by profession. He recognized the importance of physiological psychology and applied it to treat various illnesses related to emotions. Gradually, he developed a system where in changes in the pulse rate could be associated with inner feelings. It later on paved way to the word association test which is used in the field of psychology even to this day. Apart from this, he also provided psychological explanations for various somatic illnesses. Thus, he was able to link the physical and psychological aspects of various illnesses.

Biological psychology gradually emerged to become a scientific discipline later on due to various scientific and philosophical traditions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Philosophy deals with the first and foremost issue as to how the mind-body problem can be approached. It is concerned with Dualism which is a set of views regarding the relationship between mind and physical matter. In Western Philosophy, the earliest discussion of dualist ideas are reflected through the writings of Plato and Aristotle. The best ever known version of dualism is given by René Descartes, which has been expressed in his 1641, Meditations on First Philosophy. It emphasizes on the fact that the mind is a non-extended, non-physical substance. He was a pioneer in identifying the mind with consciousness and self-awareness. He was ...

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