How would Biology help with Psychology research?

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trust me if I COULD I'd do only Psych courses LOL! Someone on here mention taking Biology which would help for doing future psychology research. All I remember about Biology (from homeschool textbook is cells/talked about animals alot) (Sorry don't remember much) I just don't see the connection of cells/animals perhaps other stuff) To doing a study of 100 people with Asperger's. (for example) How would Biology help there? If/When I learn statistics/research methods of Psychology sure (How a study is formed etc. crunch data etc.) But I don't see the psychology Biology connection please enlighten me. Thanks.

When I took Intro to Psych, my instructor always talked about how we needed to understand biological concepts if we were going into psych. She wasn't even in a psych job that strongly involved bio (she was a child psychologist).

There are whole branches of psychology that focus strongly on biology...biological psychology, biopsychology, neuroscience (puts focus on chemistry as well), and evolutionary psychology.

Biology affects the study of psychology in many ways:
1. Genetics-you'll gain most of your understanding of genetics from your bio courses. Genetics can have an influence on psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, among other things. And your DNA effects, well...you in your entirety.
2. Chemistry-you don't really do chemistry in bio, you're just introduced to the concept of it. Biochemistry effects your behavior and such.
3. Nervous system-as you know, this includes your brain, spinal cord, neurons, etc...I don't know about you, but I love reading about behavior of people who have nervous system injuries. And you certainly need understanding of neurons, neurotransmitters, etc (neurotransmitters are a different section I guess, but anyway).
4. Endocrine system-this is a big one. Your hormones control tons of stuff that can affect how you feel and your behavior. I was blown off and told I was depressed or 'its just anxiety' for years and I had endocrine system problems.
5. Ethology-in most bio courses there will be a section on animal behavior. This is another discipline of psychology, comparative animal behavior; comparing their behavior to humans.
6. Evolution-even if you don't believe in it, you should understand it. I was taught it before, but I learned more about it this year. Many psychologists have theories about our behavior that they base on evolution. I learned some as early as Psych 101.

Those are just a few off the top of my head. Basically, you need to understand what's going on inside you to know why you're behaving the way you are. If I were going into psych I would actually prefer to major in bio and do upper-level psych courses, I think.

WOW! Biology seems fascinating!! !! ! I always found Wolf behavior interesting (Alpha,Beta,Omega pack levels) etc. Autism and a genetic component is something I've read links on from looking around here on WP. I have thyroid issue/other hormone issues so this fits me 100% LOL! Neurons/brain (That's WHY I want to study Anatomy is learning about the brain) I know anatomy will be other body parts/organs etc. (Which is fine since me/family have are health conditions and learning more and some of them I/family have will be interesting (give a different perspective on that organ) Thanks for the Bio lesson I didn't realize it was so important to Psychology research! AWESOME!

Nueroscience IS biology.

How can you ever develop a fully comprehensive picture of the workings of the psyche without understanding the electrochemistry of the brain itself?


We with ASDs think and behave they way we do owing to our neurology at least as much, if not more than our environment during childhood. A great many of our quirky behaviors are psychological reactions to biological deficiencies in the brain. That's probably true to a greater or lesser extent with any diagnosable pathology.