Abnormality
To understand how the biological
approach views and treats mental
disorders
Psychology as
Lesson objective
To understand how the biological
approach views and treats mental
disorders
• To express an overview of what the biological module and
evaluate the different factors of the approach.
4 Principles B.I.N.G
• Infection (Virul) infections such as Syphilis can cause mental disorder
type symptoms.
• Neurotransmitters - too much or too little of a neurotransmitter
might produce disorders –> high levels of dopamine ( control
movement, emotional response, and ability to experience pleasure
and pain) are linked to schizophrenia.
• Genetics Faulty genes might cause some diseases that have
psychological effects e.g. Huntington’s disease leads to a wearing
away of mental abilities (Twin studies)
To understand how the biological
approach views and treats mental
disorders
The cause of them may be:
• Brain injury (hitting the head might cause psychological disorders –
people who knock their heads might become ‘different people’
afterwards) eg Phinius gage!
How does the biological
perspective research?
 Adoption studies.
 Heston (1966) did an adoption study – 47 adopted children
whose mothers had schizophrenia, and 50 adopted children
whose mothers didn’t have schizophrenia – 5 of the
experimental group got schizophrenia (another 4 borderline)
and 0 of the control group
To understand how the biological
approach views and treats mental
disorders
 Twin studies and Schizophrenia
 Gottesman (1991) – meta-analysis of about 40 twin studies –
found concordance rate for schizophrenia of 48% in
monozygotic twins and 17% in dizygotic twins
Virus Infection
• Some disorders may be explained by exposure to viruses in
the womb. Research has found that mothers of some
schizophrenics have contracted a strain of the flu virus during
pregnancy.
• The virus is thought to enter the unborn child's brain
remaining dormant until puberty.
To understand how the
biological approach views and
treats mental disordersTo
understand how the biological
approach views and treats
Psychological disorders are
physical illnesses...
Neuroantatomy and neurochemistry
- Abnormalities in the structure of the brain may determine
abnormality. Eg; enlarged spaces in the brain, including
shrinkage if the brain tissue around the ventricles.
- Altered brain chemistry can lead to abnormal behaviour. Eg;
low serotonin have been found in the brains of individuals
suffering depression
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0v2LgZOlhw
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNaFnRKwpFk&feature=re
lated
Strengths of biological approach
• Techniques have shown that there are biological components
• When it explains things, it is scientific and theres lots of facts
to support it!
To understand how the biological
approach views and treats mental
disorders
• Research shows that there can be a genetic link, therefore
Drugs can work as treatment options.
Weaknesses of
biological approach
• Humane/ inhumane
• The emergence of a biological approach to abnormality meant
that mental illness could be treated however, Szasz suggested
that the concept of ‘mental illness’ was invented merely to
control (through drugs of hospitalisation) those individuals
who society could not accept as they are.
• Szasz argued that unlike physical illness, most mental
disorders did not always have a psychical basis and therefore
could not be treated in the same way.
• Eg; Syphilis/Anorexia – virus -> disease of the mind
• Epilepsy – brain disease
• In twin studies of Schizophenia the concordance is only about
50%, suggesting that environmental influences are equally
important. Nature and nurture debate!!!
• Its is possible that what is inherited is a vulnerability to the
disorder. Which only develops under certain stressful
conditions. (diathesis-stress model)
To understand how the
biological approach views and
treats mental disordersTo
understand how the biological
approach views and treats
Inconclusive evidence
• If mental disorders are caused by genetic factors alone, the
concordance rates would be 100% for that mental disorder.
• Cause and Effect
• There isn’t a simple cause and effect relationship between
biological influences and mental disorders. Research has
shown that some schizophrenics have enlarged ventricles.
• Buts its not clear whether these are the cause of
schizophrenic symptoms or a consequence of them. (e.g
taking medication to treat schizophrenia)