The Role of Causal Knowledge in Reasoning About Mental Disorders

Ahn, Woo‐kyoung; Kim, Nancy S.; Lebowitz, Matthew S.

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199399550.013.31

Cited by 17 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…In the era of the brain, one would expect the public to treat diseases of the brain on par with conditions that ravage any other part of the body. But surprisingly, mental illness still carries a significant stigma (e.g., Ahn, Kim, & Lebowitz, 2017; Haslam & Kvaale, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But these efforts have partly backfired. While people have become increasingly more aware of the biogenetic origins of psychiatric conditions (Pescosolido et al., 2010; Schomerus et al., 2012), they associate biogenetic and biochemical corelates with poorer prognoses (for meta‐analyses: Kvaale, Haslam, & Gottdiener, 2013; Loughman & Haslam, 2018; for review: Ahn et al., 2017), and they tend to project such conditions to patients’ relatives (Bennett, Thirlaway, & Murray, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These attitudes have been attributed to two principles of intuitive psychology: Essentialism and Dualism (Ahn et al., 2017; Dar‐Nimrod & Heine, 2011; Haslam & Kvaale, 2015; Loughman & Haslam, 2018). Together, these principles explain why people shun psychiatric patients, and why they further consider genetic conditions to be immutable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The “medicalized” view of mental disorders counters these properties of human agency (courtesy of Dualism) by suggesting that a patient's actions arise not from their mind (as required by Dualism) but from their body (Ahn et al., 2017). And indeed, when psychiatric symptoms are attributed to a biological source, they are considered less controllable by the patient (e.g., Deacon & Baird, 2009; Kemp, Lickel, & Deacon, 2014) and less likely to benefit from psychotherapy (Deacon & Baird, 2009; Kim, Ahn, Johnson, & Knobe, 2016; Lebowitz & Ahn, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By undermining patients’ agency, the interaction between the “medicalized” view and Dualism could promote two sets of conflicting social attitudes. On the one hand, the reduction of agency could lead the Dualist to dehumanize the patient (Haslam, 2006), and in so doing, promote negative reactions (for reviews: Ahn et al., 2017; Dar‐Nimrod & Heine, 2011; Haslam, 2006). But by placing the responsibility of one's actions on one's body (rather than on one's mind), the “medicalized” view could also prompt the Dualist to reduce blame (Ahn et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Essentialist Biases Toward Psychiatric Disorders: Brain Disorders Are Presumed Innate

Berent

Platt

2021

Cognitive Science

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A large campaign has sought to destigmatize psychiatric disorders by disseminating the view that they are in fact brain disorders. But when psychiatric disorders are associated with neurobiological correlates, laypeople's attitudes toward patients are harsher, and the prognoses seem poorer. Here, we ask whether these misconceptions could result from the essentialist presumption that brain disorders are innate. To this end, we invited laypeople to reason about psychiatric disorders that are diagnosed by either a brain or a behavioral test that were strictly matched for their informative value. Participants viewed disorders as more likely to be innate and immutable when the diagnosis was supported by a brain test as compared to a behavioral test. These results show for the first time that people spontaneously essentialize psychiatric conditions that are linked to the brain, even when the brain probe offers no additional diagnostic or genetic information. This bias suggests that people consider the biological essence of living things as materially embodied.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Essentialist Biases Toward Psychiatric Disorders: Brain Disorders Are Presumed Innate

Berent

Platt

2021

Cognitive Science

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Psychotherapists’ views on triggering factors for psychological disorders

2022

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Triggering factors play an important role in the development of psychological disorders. Practicing psychotherapists have valuable knowledge on psychological disorders and since their views on triggering factors have not been reported in the literature, triggers were addressed in this study from psychotherapists’ perspectives. The following three main issues were examined: definitions of triggers, examples of the most recurrent triggers and the idea of a common trigger for psychological disorders. Sixteen psychotherapists agreed to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in person and the data collected were analyzed using frame analysis. Frame analysis aims at representing the data through frames or groups that indicate different interpretations of the same topic. The results showed that the therapists provided three definitions of triggering factors. They most often defined triggers as events, occurrences or situations that explain the onset of psychological symptoms. The psychotherapists also provided examples of triggering factors: these were grouped into three frames, interpersonal, environmental and trauma. The therapists identified no single common trigger, although they discussed common categories and connections between different triggering factors. The findings indicate that triggering factors are complex and closely connected to personal vulnerabilities, as different events and circumstances act as triggers for different individuals. Future research could expand on these findings by examining the constituents of individual vulnerabilities.

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