General Evaluation Of Biological Explanations

Question 1

Is the biological approach to schizophrenia reductionist?

Answer 1

It is essentially a reductionist model because it reduces the explanation of schizophrenia down to its most basic element (biology). The reductionist stance can result in the neglect of some important psychological causes of behaviour and we may fail to see the individual as a whole person.

This is a weakness as explaining schizophrenia just in terms of biological processes tells us little or nothing about the possible life stressors that may have given rise to that biological condition.

Question 2

Give the weakness of biological explanations to do with environmental factors

Answer 2

A weakness is that it ignores the role of environment factors such as family during childhood.

One way of accounting for these findings is the Diathesis Stress model of schizophrenia, where certain individuals may be biologically predisposed to develop the disorder (but it is not certain that they will). Environmental factors are required to trigger off this predisposition such as family stress.

Therefore biological factors probably do not cause schizophrenia, but provide a disposition to developing it. This view can explain why one identical twin may develop the disorder whereas the other may not.