An experimental investigation of the impact of biological versus psychological explanations of the cause of “mental illness”

Lam, Danny; Šalkovskis, Paul M.; Warwick, Hilary M. C.

doi:10.1080/09638230500270842

Cited by 55 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Consistent with attribution theory, information about biological causes decreases the tendency to blame people with mental illness for their condition (Boysen, 2011;Boysen & Vogel, 2006;Crisafulli, Von Holle, & Bulik, 2008;Deacon & Baird, 2008;Lincoln et al, 2008). However, biological information also leads people to doubt the ability of individuals to recover from mental illness (Deacon & Baird, 2008;Lam & Salkovskis, 2007;Lam, Salkovskis, & Warwick, 2005;Lincoln et al, 2008;Phelan, 2005). Although the findings are less consistent, biological information has also led to increased perceptions of people with mental illness as dangerous (Lam & Salkovskis, 2007;Lam et al, 2005;Read & Law, 1999), unpredictable (Read & Law, 1999), and requiring coercive actions (Phelan, 2005).…”

Section: Etiological Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigmamentioning

confidence: 71%

“…However, biological information also leads people to doubt the ability of individuals to recover from mental illness (Deacon & Baird, 2008;Lam & Salkovskis, 2007;Lam, Salkovskis, & Warwick, 2005;Lincoln et al, 2008;Phelan, 2005). Although the findings are less consistent, biological information has also led to increased perceptions of people with mental illness as dangerous (Lam & Salkovskis, 2007;Lam et al, 2005;Read & Law, 1999), unpredictable (Read & Law, 1999), and requiring coercive actions (Phelan, 2005). These results suggest that past antistigma efforts by groups such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness could have actually increased some forms of stigma by portraying mental illnesses as brain diseases.…”

Section: Etiological Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigmamentioning

confidence: 98%

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The Effect of Combined Etiological Information on Attitudes About Mental Disorders Associated with Violent and Nonviolent Behaviors

Boysen

Gabreski²

2012

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

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a large body of research exists examining the associations between etiological beliefs and attitudes about mental illness. however, relatively little research has investigated the effects of portraying mental illness as a product of combined biological and psychosocial factors. two experimental studies exposed participants to either biological, environmental, or combined etiological information about mental disorders associated with violent and nonviolent behavior. Combined etiological information increased belief in both biological and environmental causes. it also increased essentialist beliefs in one study. however, combined etiological information was not more effective at reducing stigma than other etiological information and did not interact with level of violence. overall, causal beliefs emerged as less important to stigma than disorders' perceived associations with violence.

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Section: Etiological Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigmamentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Etiological Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigmamentioning

confidence: 98%

The Effect of Combined Etiological Information on Attitudes About Mental Disorders Associated with Violent and Nonviolent Behaviors

Boysen

Gabreski²

2012

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

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“…In their analysis of ADHD discourses, Bröer and Heerings [24] classified public and personal discourses in terms of the categories 'sociology', 'spirituality', 'psychology', 'neurobiology' and 'advantages'. Previous analyses of public understandings of addiction have classified discourses into 'biogenetic', 'brain disease', 'biological' or 'psychological' [22,29]. While we expected some overlap between academic and lay terminologies and classifications, we did not assume that members of the public would necessarily use technical vocabularies or classifications in the same way as experts.…”

Section: Coding and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Understandings of Addiction: Where do Neurobiological Explanations Fit?

2013

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Developments in the field of neuroscience, according to its proponents, offer the prospect of an enhanced understanding and treatment of addicted persons. Consequently, its advocates consider that improving public understanding of addiction neuroscience is a desirable aim. Those critical of neuroscientific approaches, however, charge that it is a totalising, reductive perspective-one that ignores other known causes in favour of neurobiological explanations. Sociologist Nikolas Rose has argued that neuroscience, and its associated technologies, are coming to dominate cultural models to the extent that 'we' increasingly understand ourselves as 'neurochemical selves'. Drawing on 55 qualitative interviews conducted with members of the Australian public residing in the Greater Brisbane area, we challenge both the 'expectational discourses' of neuroscientists and the criticisms of its detractors. Members of the public accepted multiple perspectives on the causes of addiction, including some elements of neurobiological explanations. Their discussions of addiction drew upon a broad range of philosophical, sociological, anthropological, psychological and neurobiological vocabularies, suggesting that they synthesised newer technical understandings, such as that offered by neuroscience, with older ones. Holding conceptual models that acknowledge the complexity of addiction aetiology into which new information is incorporated suggests that the impact of neuroscientific discourse in directing the public's beliefs about addiction is likely to be more limited than proponents or opponents of neuroscience expect.

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“…Some leading researchers have argued that increased public acceptance of a neurobiological conception of addiction will have important ethical implications for reducing stigma and thereby improving treatment outcomes for addicted individuals (Lebowitz and Ahn, 2012), beliefs that are used to justify neuroscience education campaigns (Vrecko, 2010a). Some empirical studies support the possibility of realising the destigmatising aspirations of addiction neuroscience proponents (Furnham and Rees, 1988;Mehta and Farina, 1997), whereas more recent studies do not (Lam et al, 2005;Angermeyer et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What does ‘acceptance’ mean? Public reflections on the idea that addiction is a brain disease

et al. 2013

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Public responses to the dissemination of neuroscientific explanations of addiction and other mental disorders are an interesting sociocultural phenomenon. We investigated how 55 members of the Australian public deliberated on the idea that 'addiction is a brain disease'. Our findings point to the diverse ways in which the public understands and utilises this proposition. Interviewees readily accepted that drugs affect brain functioning but were ambivalent about whether to label addiction as a 'disease'. Contrary to the prediction of neuroscientific advocates and social science critics, acceptance of a neurobiological conception of addiction did not necessarily affect beliefs about addicted persons' responsibility for their addiction. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of these findings. Theoretically, we examine the complexity surrounding how people adopt new knowledge and its role in reshaping ethical beliefs. We also discuss the implications of these findings for the ethics of communication of neuroscientific information to reduce stigma and enhance social support for the treatment of addicted individuals.

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An experimental investigation of the impact of biological versus psychological explanations of the cause of “mental illness”

Cited by 55 publications

References 9 publications

The Effect of Combined Etiological Information on Attitudes About Mental Disorders Associated with Violent and Nonviolent Behaviors

The Effect of Combined Etiological Information on Attitudes About Mental Disorders Associated with Violent and Nonviolent Behaviors

Public Understandings of Addiction: Where do Neurobiological Explanations Fit?

What does ‘acceptance’ mean? Public reflections on the idea that addiction is a brain disease

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