Analyze the case study of Bruce Brenda Reimer and describe how it applies to Principal 1 of the biological level of analysis.

seeking out professional advice of what to do with or to the child. The case of the Reimer’s was a perfect scenario for this psychologist to test his theory of how he thought a child's gender can be controlled by its environment. Now this case study was a very unethical one, if it was not for the desperation of ‘Brenda’s parents to save their child a life of misery this case study would have never happened. This case study not only disproved the theory of the John Hopkins University psychologist, but made the life of the individual miserable to the point of manic depression and soon following suicide. The case study of Bruce ‘Brenda’ Reimer showed how the environment did not control the gender identity of a child. Although there are some speculations about the timing of the operations to the child, some say that if done earlier the operations could have played a bigger factor in the cognition of the child. Since the child was of late age, an age where some comprehension could be made, then this could have affected the rate of the environments influence. The first principle of the biological level of analysis states that all behavior has a physiological basis. There are different physiological factors that play a role in our behavior, like the brain and neurotransmitters, but two of the most important in this case study are hormones and genes. During the childhood of ‘Brenda’ there were signs of how all her actions and behavior had masculine tendencies. At an early age she denied to play with girl toys and acted in a more aggressive manner than that of a normal girl. In her later years she had the urge to urinate standing up even if she lacked the penis to do so. She also had the tendencies to use the boy’s restrooms at her school. She also complained about how she saw herself as more of a man than a woman, she always described herself as ‘masculine’ and ‘muscular’. The hormones and genes that she possessed because she was born a boy played a major part in her behavior. Such a case demonstrates that psychosexual development is not determined by external genitalia and socialization but by chromosomes and hormones. The case study of Bruce ‘Brenda’ Reimer proves, in some ways, the first principle of biological levels of analysis, it being that all behavior has a physiological basis. The attempt to create an environment that was suitable for a girl but was meant for a boy who underwent a sex change failed. The hormones of the boy and his own image gave him the enlightenment that he was truly a man. Work Cited Page http://pd.scisdragons.net/ibpsych/files/2011/09/IB-Revision-notes-Bio-LOA.pdfhttp://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/files/gender_reassignment.pdf