Understanding Our Own Biology: The Relevance of Auto-Biological Attributions for Mental Health

Abstract

As knowledge of the neurobiological basis of psychopathology has advanced, public perceptions have shifted toward conceptualizing mental disorders as disorders of biology. However, little is known about how patients respond to biological information about their own disorders. We refer to such information as autobiological-describing our own biological systems as a component of our identity. Drawing on research from attribution theory, we explore the potential for autobiological information to shape how patients view themselves in relation to their disorders. We propose an attributional framework for presenting auto-biological information in a way that encourages agency, rather than destiny. We argue that this framework has the potential to change expectations and improve outcomes in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.Additional Supporting Information may be found online in the supporting information tab for this article:

Intact value-based decision-making during intertemporal choice in women with remitted anorexia nervosa? An fMRI study

“…Nonetheless, we believe the takehome message of the current work -suggesting that the neural substrate of value-based decision-making may not be significantly impaired following recovery from anorexia nervosa -is an encouraging one that can be integrated into therapeutic interventions, including psychoeducation that builds on neuroscientific research. [58][59][60]…”

Future Directions in Single-Session Youth Mental Health Interventions

“…Indeed, virtually all biological functions are characterized by both stability and malleability; biological systems are responsive to the environment and, in the case of the brain, are highly plastic over time (Turrigiano & Nelson, 2004). Thus, we use brain science to promote a prospective, internally controllable, and unstable view of one's own neurobiologya specific frame shown to promote positive rather than adverse social-emotional responses (MacDuffie & Strauman, 2017). SSI participants are oriented not to whether they could have prevented the onset of their difficulties, but rather to their capacity to personally alter the future course of those difficulties.…”

Self-rated amygdala activity: an auto-biological index of affective distress

“…However, these preliminary findings contribute to the growing evidence that reductive biological explanations for mental disorders can be harmful, increasing stigma and prognostic pessimism in patients, clinicians, and the general public alike (Haslam & Kvaale, 2015;Lebowitz, 2014;Lebowitz & Ahn, 2014). Autobiological beliefs are poised to gain increasing relevance as mental health research and treatment become more biologically informed (MacDuffie & Strauman, 2017). Understanding an individual's beliefs about his or her own biological vulnerabilities is an important first step towards correcting maladaptive beliefs that could hinder treatment seeking and recovery.…”

“…Whether such biological essentialism extends to attitudes about one's own biology-or auto-biology-is less clear (Lebowitz, 2014). The term auto-biology, as we use it here, refers to one's knowledge, attitudes, or beliefs about one's own biological systems (MacDuffie & Strauman, 2017). Prior studies have employed false feedback to individuals about their own biology to test the impact of auto-biological beliefs on mental health.…”