Psychopathology - Explaining OCD

Question 1

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Answer 1

• OCD – obsessive compulsive disorder, a condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour. Obsessions are cognitive whereas compulsions are behavioural
• Behavioural – ways in which people act
• Emotional – related to a persons feeling or mood
• Cognitive – refers to the process of ‘knowing’ including thinking, reasoning, remembering, believing
• Biological approach – a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
• Genetic explanations – genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism (such as eye colour, height) and psychological features (such as mental disorder, intelligence). Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring, i.e. inherited
• Neural explanations – the view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system, in particular the brain as well as individual neurons

Question 2

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Answer 2

• A strength of the genetic explanation for OCD is the strong evidence base.
• For example, in a study, Nestadt et al reviewed twin studies and found that 68% of identical twins (monozygotic) shared OCD as opposed to 31% of non-identical (dizygotic) twins. Additionally, research has found that a person with a family member diagnosed with OCD is around four times as likely to develop it as someone without
• This is a strength as it suggests that some people are vulnerable to OCD as a result of their genetic make-up, showing that biological genes play a role when it comes to a person forming OCD
• However, it can be argued that OCD does not appear to be entirely genetic in origin and it can be triggered by environmental factors showing that the genetic model for OCD is limited as genetic vulnerability is only a partial explanation for OCD
• Despite this, research studies suggest that there must be some genetic influence on the development of OCD
• Thus increasing the validity of genetic explanations for OCD
• A strength of the neural explanation of OCD is the existence of some supporting evidence
• For example, Antidepressants that work purely on serotonin are effective in reducing OCD symptoms
• This is a strength because it suggests that serotonin may be involved in OCD, thus making it easier to treat/reduce
• However, it can be argued that serotonin may not be relevant to OCD symptoms as many people with OCD tend to also experience clinical depression meaning it could be the depression causing disruption to serotonin activity for many people with OCD
• Despite this, the supporting evidence suggests that biological factors like serotonin and the processes underlying certain disorders may also be responsible for OCD
• Thus increasing the validity of neural explanations for OCD
• A weakness of the biological approach for explaining OCD is that it is reductionist
• For example, the behaviourist approach argues that OCD in relatives is actually a learned behaviour and not genetics, as a child may observe and imitate behaviours displayed by a parent with OCD but the biological approach does not take this into account
• This is a weakness as it shows that the biological approach is limited as it ignores other influences on OCD like social influences and cultural influences, therefore reducing its usefulness for explanations of OCD
• However, it can be argued that the biological approach is reliable as it uses objective and observable techniques such as neuroimaging to study OCD and has led to the development of successful treatments for OCD such as SSRI, showing its findings have scientific validity
• Despite this, the biological approach focuses on only genetic and biological influences showing its reductionism
• Thus reducing the validity of the biological approach for explaining OCD