Question

Analyze a behavior on one of the following

1. Biological explanations of behavior

2. Learning explanations of behavior

3. Development explanations of behavior

4. Psychological explanations of behavior

5. Social explanations of behavior

Answer 1

Biological explanations of behaviour will fall into one of four categories: physiological, functional, ontogenetic, and evolutionary. Normal behaviour or commonsense behaviour does not fall into any of these categories. However, those things that are not explained, such as why someone yawns or why a bird flies south for the winter without thinking about it. These things fall into one of the categories mentioned above. In the below mentioned paragraphs we will discuss each category one by one

Physiological Explanation

The Physiological explanation relates the behaviour to an activity of the brain or other organs. It correlates with the mechanics of the body.

Example- Chemical reactions that enable hormones to influence brain activity and the route by which brain activity ultimately controls the muscle contractions.

Functional Explanation

A functional explanation describes why a behaviour or structure evolved as it did.

Example- A species that can change his colour to match his surroundings. The functional explanation to this would be the species can change colours to hide from his predators.

Ontogenetic Explanation:

Ontogenetic explanation describes the development of a behaviour or structure. It maps the influences of nutrition, genes, experiences, and their interactions in moulding.

Example-The ability to inhibit an impulse develops gradually from infancy through the teenage years, reflecting gradual maturation of frontal parts of the brain.

Evolutionary Explanation:

This explanation reconstructs the evolutionary history of behaviour or structure.

Example- Goose bumps work for other animals because the hairs stand straight up making them look bigger and more intimidating.