Schools of Thought: Biological and Psychosocial

Question 1

Psychology as a field of scientific study

Answer 1

–EMPIRICAL
–THEORETICALLY DIVERSE
–EVOLVES IN SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Question 2

Behaviour and mental processes are

Answer 2

–Determined by MULTIPLE CAUSES
–Shaped by CULTURAL HERITAGE
–Influenced jointly by PHYSIOLOGY (BIOLOGY) & ENVIRONMENT (SOCIAL, CULTURAL, POLITICAL)

Question 3

Demonology

Answer 3

Abnormal behaviour when attributed to possession
–Treatment
•Exorcism
•Casting demons out of the body

Question 4

Hippocrates’ Early Medical

Answer 4

Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)
–Mental disorders due to natural or physical causes:
•Brain
•Head injuries leading to sensory and motor disorders
•Heredity and predisposition

Question 5

Europe (16thCentury) Treatment

Answer 5

–Establishment Of Asylums
•Places to warehouse troublesome people
–Used harsh tactics to control unruly or excited patients
–“Bedlam”: Monastery of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London commissioned by King Henry VIII (1547)

Question 6

Age of Enlightenment, Humanitarian Reform:

20th century

Answer 6

–Asylums viewed by public as eerie, strange, and frightening

Question 7

Age of Enlightenment, Humanitarian Reform:

1946 –1963

Answer 7

–Changing views of mental health services

•First DSM published (diagnostic tool)

Question 8

Age of Enlightenment, Humanitarian Reform:

1970’s

Answer 8

–Deinstitutionalisation and community mental health care

Question 9

Age of Enlightenment, Humanitarian Reform:

Today -Psychopharmacology

Answer 9

–Large focus on medication

–Little economic or social support for mental health programmes

Question 10

Theoretical Perspectives

Answer 10

–Biological

–Evolutionary

Question 11

Biological School of Thought: Biological Perspective (1950s –Present)

Answer 11

•Believe that an organism’s functioning can be explained in terms of bodily structures and the biochemical processes that underlie behaviour
–They study the physiological bases of behaviour in humans and animals
•Biopsychological View
•Studies how behaviour is related to biological processes
–Especially activities in the nervous system
•Key Idea:
–Human and animal behaviour is the result of internal physical, chemical, and biological processes

Question 12

Advocates of the biological perspective

Answer 12

–James Olds,
Roger Sperry,
David Hubel,
Torsten Weisel

Question 13

James Olds (1956)

Answer 13

–Electrical stimulation of the brain evokes emotional responses in animals

Question 14

Roger Sperry (1981)

Answer 14

–Left and right brain specialisation

Question 15

Biological examples:

Happiness

Answer 15

–Thought to be due to the quality of experience offered by our nervous system
•A person’s personality will determine his/her perception of the experience

Question 16

Biological examples:

Depression

Answer 16

–Results from a traumatic situation which alters a person’s nervous system leading to the secretion or inhibition of secretion of specific neurotransmitters

Question 17

Biological examples:

Criminal behaviour

Answer 17

–It was widely held by biopsychologists that criminal behaviour was due largely to heredity
•Many were in favour of eugenics, a means, they thought, to improve the human species through compulsory sterilisation of criminals, the mentally retarded, and others thought to be social misfits due to the inheritance of undesirable traits

Question 18

Biological School of Thought: Evolutionary Perspective(1980’s –Present)

Answer 18

•Evolutionary theorists study the evolutionary bases of behaviour in humans and animals
•Key Idea:
–Human and animal behaviour is the result of process of evolution

• Studied natural selection of mating preferences, jealousy, aggression, sexual behaviour, language, decision making, personality, and development
• They believe that:
• Behavior patterns have evolved to solve adaptive problems
• Natural selection favors behaviors that enhance reproductive success

Question 19

Evolutionary theorists

Answer 19

•David Buss, Martin Daly, Margo Wilson, Leda Cosmides, John Tooby
–80’s and 90’s

Question 20

evolutionary example:

Language acquisition

Answer 20

–All humans are capable of learning a language
–At some point in history, early man developed language skills beyond grunting and pointing
–The ability to communicate complex thoughts was important for survival, and so language acquisition abilities evolved

Question 21

evolutionary example:

Explanation of specific phobias

Answer 21

–Many research studies show that you are more likely to fear snakes and spiders than other predatory animals such as lions and tigers
•From an evolutionary point of view, this may be due to the fact that snakes and spiders are more difficult to spot
–It made sense to our ancestors to look carefully for poisonous creatures before sticking their hands into woodpiles or overgrown brush
–Over time, that caution became an instinctive human reaction

Question 22

Mental Illness

A Biological Viewpoint

Answer 22

•The cause of mental disorders is due (at least in part) to biological processes:
–Imbalances of Neurotransmitters
–Genetic Factors

Question 23

Imbalances of Neurotransmitters

Answer 23

–Can cause depression
•Low serotonin, with neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine varying in range can becoming dysregulated and cause mood irregularities

Question 24

Genetic Factors

Answer 24

•Related to the development of schizophrenia, typically researched through family studies

Question 25

Mental Illness

An Evolutionary Viewpoint

Answer 25

•Mental illnesses caused by the mismatch between our present environment and the one for which we are adapted

Question 26

Mental Illness
An Evolutionary Viewpoint:
example - depression

Answer 26

–Appears to be all cost and no benefit
–May be a psychological adaptation engineered by natural selection to help individuals resolve complex, socially-imposed stresses
•By compelling help from reluctant others
–Drug monotherapy may not be enough

Question 27

Theoretical Perspectives

Answer 27

–Psychodynamic
–Behavioural
–Humanism

Question 28

Psychosocial School of Thought

Answer 28

•The cause of mental disorders is due (at least in part) to a person’s social environment
–Early Deprivation
•Issues of attachment
–Trauma
•Neglect and abuse in the home
–Marital Discord/Divorce
•The cause of mental disorders is due (at least in part) to a person’s social environment
–Parenting Styles
•Warmth or control
–Parental Psychopathology
•Double Barrel of Nature and Nurture
–Protective factors can buffer these effects
»Warm/nurturing relationship with an adult, high intellect, social/academic competence, etc.

Question 29

Example: Mental Retardation

Biological Factors

Answer 29

•Can be a result of:
–Genetics
–Disease 
–Injury 
–Prenatal factors 
•These factors can cause structural abnormalities in the brain

Question 30

Example: Mental Retardation

Psychosocial Factors

Answer 30

• Environmental factors associated with poverty play an important role in the aetiology of mental retardation •Limited access to health-care facilities during a mother’s pregnancy
• Increased risk of physical injury