Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Biological Approach to Psychopathology
- Dominant view in mainstream psychology
- Emphasis on scientific investigation and understanding
- However, representation of mental disorders as diseases controversial
- The biological medical model
- Mental disorders are like physical disorders
- Assumes that all mental disorders are related to a change in the body
- Four possible factors for change: genes, biochemistry, neuroanatomy and viral infection
- Genetic inheritance
- Can be studied by using identical twins
- Concordance rate
Anmerkungen:
- The extent that two individuals are similar to each other in terms of a particular trait.
- Viral infection
- Research suggests that some disorders are related to exposure of certain viruses in utero
- Torrey (2001)
- Found that mothers of many who had schizophrenia had contracted a particular strain of influenza during pregnancy
- Cure only possible by removing the
root cause and returning the body
to normal level of functioning
- Limitations
- Cause and effect
- Inconclusive evidence
- There is no evidence that mental disorders are caused by just genetic inheritance
- Concordance rates are never 100%
- It is likely, that for some disorders, what individuals
inherit makes them more susceptible but the
disorder only develops under certain conditions
- Diathesis-stress model
- Humane or inhumane
- Szasz (1972)
- Argued that mental illness did not have a physical basis
therefore should not be thought of in the same way