The biological approach to psychopathology
- Created by: olm1997
- Created on: 03-04-15 15:54
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- The Biological Approach
- Biochemistry
- Balance of the levels of Hormones and neurotransmi-tters in the brain
- Causes of mental illness may be different
- E.g. some schizophrenics have reduced dopamine levels, some have excesses
- Genetic
- DNA
- Tells body how to function
- Passed on from parent to child
- Low concordance rates for people with phobias
- However, high concordance rates for people with schizophrenia
- Neuro-anatomy
- Brain structure
- Some cases show that schizophrenics show shrinking brain tissue in the brain
- Research methods
- Experiment method (Kirsch) - Compared drug treatments to placebos
- Correlational studies - Looking for link between what is passed on from parent to child
- Limitations
- Thomas Szaz (1972)
- Argued that mental illness does not have a physical basis
- Explained how it is merely a form of social control
- Genetic evidence is not 100% able to prove that mental disorders are genetic
- In identical twins a 50% concordance rate was seen
- Thomas Szaz (1972)
- Biochemistry
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