The biological approach is a way of looking at abnormality that assumes that psychological disorders are physical illnesses with physical causes. According to the biological approach, the cause of a psychopathology is to with genetics, neurotransmitters, infection or brain injury. Faulty genes are known to cause some diseases that have psychological effects, such as Huntington’s disease (leads to a deterioration of mental abilities), and Schizophrenia (leading to symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and disorganised behaviour.) A key study into the genetic basis of schizophrenia was done by Gottesman et al, who did a meta-analysis of 40 twin studies. It was found that having an identical twin with schizophrenia gave you a 48% chance of developing the condition.
Essay Plan Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia 1. Describe in some detail the genetic factors- family studies- Gottesman found that schizophrenia is more common among biological relatives of a person with schizophrenia and also that the closer the degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk. For instance, children with 2 schizophrenic parents have a concordance rate of 46%, children of one schizophrenic parent 13% and siblings 9%. Although this could be due to common rearing patterns or other factors not relating to heredity. Twin studies- Joseph calculated concordance rates of 40.4% for MZ twins and 7.4% for DZ twins.
Also in this study there wasn’t a direct way of measuring immune function and is only an indirect study. Another criticism is that this study doesn’t tell us which stress index element is the most important it merely concludes that both life stress as well as negative emotions can effect the immune system. This however is valid in that it measured health outcomes showing a relationship between life stress and illness. Kiecolt-Glaser et al. investigated the effects of naturalistic stressors on measure of immunity.
The biological explanations for depression centre on the mood disorder being biologically caused. Genetic factors suggest that you are born with a biological weakness which makes you unable to resist stressors, which consequently leads to depression. This is known as the diathesis stress model. The main piece of research that supports this comes from the Maudsley Hospital twin register, where concordance rates of 46% were found in MZ twins and 20% in DZ twins. This suggest that depression must be passed on through genes if there is a high concordance rate between twins which share the same genetic makeup both having depression.
A family study conducted by Gottesman reported that the rate of schizophrenia in the general population is 1% whereas the rate in people where both parents suffer in 46%. He also found that if one parent suffered the rate was 13%. Gottesman concluded that the closer the bloodline the higher the risk. He and Shields then conducted a study on the concordance rates of schizophrenia in 40 sets of twins. They found that in dizygotic twins the rate
of depression or schizophrenia. According to the biological model, the presence of certain genes can predispose people to psychological disorders. In other words, certain genes can make people more vulnerable to disorders. Twin and family studies have confirmed that some mental illnesses run in families. In terms of biochemistry, chemical imbalances in the brain may be involved in certain mental illnesses.
This suggests that a genetic factor is involved. MZ twins share 100% of their genes; DZ twins share 50% of their genes. If genes are a factor we would expect more identical twins to share the disorder than non-identical. Rosenthal took a case study which had a set of female quadruplets. They all developed schizophrenia although the onset and symptoms were very different.
Abnormal Psychology Lisa Mac Donald-Clark PSY/410 December 19, 2011 Mark Hurd Abnormal Psychology Abnormal psychology, also known as psychopathology, is the branch of psychology that deals with abnormal behaviors and mental illness (Hansell & Damour, (2008). Although psychopathology is a fascinating field of study it can be equally challenging, covering a broad range of disorders, illnesses, and symptoms. Defining abnormal psychology also poses a challenge. The fundamental concept of abnormal would seem simple in that it would include anything that falls outside of what societies considers normal. Narrowing the group association is essential in defining the behavior as normal or abnormal.
Unfortunately, the medical community is still in doubt over the exact cause of schizophrenia and worse still has no definite cure. The use of cannabis is commonly linked as a trigger to this frightening mental illness. In Anne Deveson’s novel, “Tell Me I’m Here” – based on the true story of a mother struggling to cope with her son’s slow deterioration from schizophrenia – marijuana use is mentioned as a possible cause of the illness. Affecting 1.1% of the world’s population, including 285,000 Australians, schizophrenia is the most severe mental illness in the world today. 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with schizophrenia this year alone and, consequently, 10% of those will commit suicide.
The behavioral perspective indicates that the reasoning for abnormal behavior is because there is inadequate learning and conditioning. The cognitive perspective believes abnormal behavior is because of false assumptions of particular thoughts and behaviors. The social-cultural perspective defines abnormal behavior as behavior learned from the environment. Abnormal psychology has evolved into a scientific discipline over centuries of research. Abnormal psychology has been studied and examined for answers over these centuries.