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The Biological Model
Main assumptions:
Psychological illnesses have a PHYSICAL cause.
Abnormal behaviour, thinking and emotion are caused by biological dysfunctions
Understanding mental illness involves understanding what went wrong with the brain
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The Biological ModelPossible cause of abnormal behaviour
Genetics – inherited developmental abnormality
Toxicity – chemical poisoning from e.g. drugs or environmental toxins
Infection/disease – causing chemical or structural damage to the brain
Stress – causing abnormal hormonal effects in the long term
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Genetics and schizophrenia
The Biological Model
Possible causes of abnormal behaviour:– Biochemistry – an imbalance of certain
neurotransmitters or hormones might cause parts of the brain to malfunction
– Structural damage or abnormality – if the structure of the brain is damaged or improperly formed then thinking, emotion and behaviour may change
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Example – Clive Wearing
Brain Abnormality (Structure)
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Brain Abnormality (Structure)
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Brain Abnormality (Functioning)
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The Biomedical Model
Issues for evaluation:– The evidence– The patient role– Blame and stigma
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The Biomedical Model
Evidence– Plenty of studies have found that
psychological disturbance is associated with biological changes (e.g. in neurotransmitters & hormones)
However…– It is often impossible to tell whether such
changes are a cause or an effect of the psychological symptoms
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The Biomedical Model
The patient role– The biomedical model offers people a role
and treatments they are familiar with, and are often happy to go along with
However…– It encourages them to become passive and
dependent and to hand over control of their lives to the expert – this might not actually be good for them.
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The Biomedical Model
Blame & stigma– Biomedical processes are assumed to be
beyond patient’s control; they are not blamed for their predicament or behaviour
However…– Critics (e.g. Szasz, Laing) argue that society
isolates and stigmatises the mentally ‘ill’, which is just as bad
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