Causal Factors and Viewpoints

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Chapter 2

• Causal Factors and Viewpoints

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Causes and Risk Factors

• Etiologythe causal pattern of abnormal behavior
• Necessary cause must exist for a disorder to
  occur
• Sufficient causeguarantees the occurrence of a
  disorder
• Contributory causeincreases the probability of
  developing a disorder
• Distal vs. Proximal factors-
• Reinforcing factors

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Causes and Risk Factors

• Diathesis-stress models
• Diathesisrelatively distal necessary or
  contributory cause that is not sufficient to
  cause the disorder (i.e., genetics)
• Stressthe response of an individual to demands
  perceived as taxing
• Protective factorsinfluences that modify a
  persons response to environmental stressors,
  making adverse consequences less likely
• Resiliencethe ability to adapt successfully to
  even very difficult circumstances

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Biological Viewpoints and Biological Causal
Factors

• Neurotransmitter and hormonal imbalances in the
  brain
• Genetic vulnerabilities
• Temperament/other constitutional liabilities
• Brain dysfunction/neural plasticity
• Physical deprivation/disruption

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The Neuron
Nucleus
Axon
Axon endings (buttons)
Synapse
Impulse
Cell body
Presynaptic neuron
Cell body
Axon
Neurotransmitters Chemical messengers released
into synapse
Postsynaptic neuron
Dendrites
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The Synapse
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Neurotransmitters
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The Endocrine Glands
One particularly important set of interactions
occurs in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal
cortical axis - Especially related to stress
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Genetic Vulnerabilities

• Studies suggest that heredity is an
  importantpredisposing causal factor for a number
  ofdisorders
• Abnormalities in the structure or number
  ofchromosomes are associated with
  malfunctionsand some disorders(e.g., Down
  syndrome)
• Genotypea persons total genetic endowment
• Phenotypethe observed structural and functional
  characteristics

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Genotype-Environment

• An individuals genotype may shape the
  environment in the following ways
• A passive effectresulting from the genetic
  similarity ofparents and children
• An evocative effectthe childs phenotype may
  evoke particular kinds of reactions from the
  social and physical environment
• An active effectthe child seeks out or builds
  an environment that is congenial

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Methods for Studying Genetic Influences

• behavior genetics, the heritability of mental
  disorders
• The family history (pedigree) method
• The twin method
• The adoption method
• More recent methods include linkage analysis and
  association studies

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Temperament

• Temperament refers to a child's
• Reactivity
• Characteristic ways of self-regulation
• Our early temperament is thought to be the basis
  from which our personality develops
• i.e., genetic component to personality

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Brain Dysfunction and Neural Plasticity

• Subtle deficiencies of brain function are
  implicated in many mental disorders
• It appears that genetic programs for brain
  development are not as rigid and deterministic as
  was once believed

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Impact of the Biological Viewpoint

• Drugs can dramatically alter the severity and
  course of certain mental disorders (e.g.,
  schizophrenia)
• What constitutes a mental disorder still rests on
  subjective opinion
• Also, psychological causes can be distinguished
  from biological causes only prior to their entry
  into the central nervous system

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Psychosocial Viewpoints

• Psychodynamic
• Behavioral
• Cognitive-behavioral
• Humanistic
• Existential

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Psychodynamic Perspectives

• Freud theorized that a persons behavior results
  from the interaction of
• The idthe source of instinctual drives
• The egowhich mediates between the demands of
  the id and the realities of the external world
• The superegothe outgrowth of internalizing the
  taboos and moral values of society

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Psychodynamic Perspectives

• The concept of anxiety is prominent in the
  psychoanalytic viewpoint
• The ego often deals with neurotic or moral
  anxiety by using protective measures referred to
  as ego-defense mechanisms
• Please note psychological defense mechanisms
  are not always irrational or maladaptive

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Psychosexual Stages of Development

• Freud conceptualized five psychosexual stages of
  development
• Oral stage (02 yrs. old)
• Anal stage (23 yrs. old)
• Phallic stage (35/6 yrs. old)
• Oedipal period
• Latency stage (612 yrs. old)
• Genital stage (after puberty)
• Fixation at any one stage can shape adult
  behaviors

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The Behavioral Perspective

• Learning provides the central theme of the
  behavioral approach
• Classical conditioning learning by association
• Operant (instrumental) conditioning learning by
  consequences i.e., reward and punishment

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Observational Learning The Cognitive-Behavioral
Perspective

• Observational learning learning through
  observation alone, without directly experiencing
  an unconditioned stimulus
• The cognitive-behavioral perspective focuses on
  how thoughts and information processing can
  become distorted and lead to maladaptive emotions
  and behavior

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The Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective

• Attributionsthe process of assigning causes to
  things that happen
• Attributional stylea characteristic way in
  which an individual may tend to assign causes to
  bad or good events

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Psychosocial Causal Factors

• Psychosocial causal factors exemplifying the
  range of factors that have been studied include
• Early deprivation or trauma
• Inadequate parenting styles
• Marital discord and divorce
• Maladaptive peer relationships

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Sociocultural Causal Factors

• Sociocultural factors associated with greater
  risk for various disorders include
• Low socioeconomic status
• Unemployment
• Being subjected to prejudice and discrimination
• Social change and uncertainty

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Unresolved Issues

• None of the theories to date address the whole
  spectrum of abnormality
• Many psychologists have adopted an eclectic
  approach, but this is not successful at a
  theoretical level
• The biopsychosocial perspective is the only
  current attempt at a unified approach
• The intersection of biological, psychological and
  social factors.