PSYC 3140 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Mental Disorder, Trait Theory, Limbic System
Document Summary
Theory: set of ideas that provides a framework for asking questions about a phenomenon and for gathering and interpreting information about that phenomenon. Biological approach: you would suspect ellis"s symptoms were caused by a biological factor: e. g. genetic vulnerability to anxiety, inherited from his parents. Psychological approach: ellis"s own rational-emotive theory suggests symptoms are rooted in psychological factors: e. g. belief systems or early childhood experiences. Social approach: look to interpersonal relationships and the social environment in which he lived. Traditionally, the three approaches mentioned have been seen as incompatible with one another. Is the cause of this disorder biological or psychological or social? nature vs. nurture. This implies a disorder has to have one cause, rather than multiple causes most theories of psychological disorders have searched one factor: one gene, one traumatic experience, one personality trait. Takes an accumulation of several factors before an individual develops the disorder. Multiple factors present, threshold reached and disorder develops.
