Source: Abnormal Psychology, University of Florida
Tags: biological approach, psychological approach, sociocultural view, biopsychosocial model, neurotransmitters, serotonin, CBT, psychodynamic, behavioural therapy, third-wave therapy, DBT, ACT, abnormal psychology, mental disorders
Difficulty: Introductory–Intermediate | Prerequisites: Chapter 1 (defining abnormality, history of psychopathology)
This chapter introduces the three broad lenses researchers and clinicians use to explain why mental disorders develop and how to treat them: biological, psychological, and sociocultural. Each lens asks a different question. The biological lens asks what is happening in the brain and body. The psychological lens asks what is happening in a person's thoughts, emotions, and learned behaviours. The sociocultural lens asks what is happening in the person's social environment and cultural context.
Understanding all three matters because modern practice does not pick just one. The field is converging on a biopsychosocial model that weaves them together. If you grasp what each approach contributes on its own, you will be better placed to understand how they combine in later chapters when you study specific disorders.
Mental disorders can be explained through biology (brain structure, genetics, neurochemistry), psychology (cognition, learning, emotion regulation), or sociocultural factors (social stress, cultural norms). Each approach has its own treatments. Contemporary practice integrates all three into a biopsychosocial framework.
Biological approach
Views mental disorders as collections of deficits in fundamental neurobiological processes, including brain dysfunction, biochemical imbalances, and genetic abnormalities. Think of it as: "something in the hardware is off."
Neurotransmitter
A chemical messenger that transmits signals between neurons. Serotonin is the key example here. In simple terms, neurotransmitters are the molecules your brain cells use to talk to each other.
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter that acts as a transdiagnostic risk factor for depression, anxiety, and aggressive impulses. In simple terms, when serotonin signalling goes wrong, it can contribute to several different disorders at once, not just one.
Transdiagnostic risk factor
A single variable that increases the risk of multiple, different disorders rather than just one. In simple terms, it is a shared vulnerability that cuts across diagnostic categories.
Systematic desensitisation
A behavioural therapy technique used to treat phobias by gradually exposing a person to the feared stimulus while they practise relaxation. Think of it as slowly turning up the volume on something frightening while keeping yourself calm, until the fear fades.
Cognitive approach
A psychological approach that focuses on thoughts and beliefs, targeting distorted causal attributions and dysfunctional global assumptions. In simple terms, it treats the way you interpret events as the core problem rather than the events themselves.
Psychodynamic approach
Focuses on uncovering and resolving unconscious processes thought to drive psychological symptoms. Think of it as: the cause is buried, and therapy is the excavation.
Humanistic approach
Emphasises helping clients discover their greatest potential through self-exploration. In simple terms, the therapist creates conditions for growth rather than directing the treatment.
Family systems approach
Views an individual's problems as always rooted in interpersonal systems, particularly the family. In simple terms, the "patient" is the family dynamic, not just the person sitting in the chair.
Third-wave approaches
A newer generation of therapies that view poor emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic risk factor at the core of many forms of psychopathology. Key treatments include dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
A structured therapy that combines cognitive-behavioural techniques with mindfulness, originally developed for borderline personality disorder. In simple terms, it teaches skills for tolerating distress and managing intense emotions.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
A therapy that helps individuals accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them, while committing to value-driven action. Think of it as learning to carry discomfort with you rather than waiting for it to disappear before you act.
Sociocultural view
Does not treat psychological disorders as fundamentally different from normal functioning. Instead, it sees them either as labels society places on people who deviate from social or cultural norms, or as understandable consequences of social stress.
Familism
A cultural value emphasising strong attachment to and identification with family, sometimes incorporated into culturally sensitive therapy. In simple terms, it is the principle that the family unit comes first.
Biopsychosocial model
An integrative framework that combines biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors to explain mental disorders. In simple terms, it says no single lens is enough on its own.
Mental disorders are understood as deficits in neurobiological processes.
Three categories of biological cause:
Brain dysfunction (e.g. alterations in the size or function of the prefrontal cortex are associated with schizophrenia, including hallucinations and delusions)
Biochemical imbalances (e.g. disrupted serotonin signalling linked to depression, anxiety, and aggression)
Genetic abnormalities
Biological treatments:
Pharmacotherapy: antipsychotics, antidepressants
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Newer brain stimulation techniques (e.g. transcranial magnetic stimulation)
Psychosurgery (rare, last-resort)
Psychological processes (cognition, learning, emotional control) exist on a continuum from typical functioning to highly dysfunctional.
The continuum idea is important: "feeling a bit blue" and clinical depression sit on the same spectrum, differing in degree rather than kind.
Behavioural approaches
Focus on observable behaviour and learned responses.
Example: systematic desensitisation for phobias reshapes conditioned fear responses.
Cognitive approaches
Target distorted thinking patterns: faulty causal attributions ("this always happens to me") and dysfunctional global assumptions ("the world is dangerous").
Psychodynamic approaches
Aim to uncover and resolve unconscious conflicts believed to produce symptoms.
Humanistic approaches
Prioritise self-exploration and personal growth over symptom reduction.
Family systems approaches
Locate the source of dysfunction in relational patterns, especially within the family.
Third-wave approaches
Central claim: poor emotion regulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and most personality disorders.
Use mindfulness and meditation to help individuals accept, understand, and regulate emotions.
Key therapies: DBT and ACT.
Disorders are not seen as qualitatively different from normal functioning.
Two framings:
Disorders as social labels applied to people whose behaviour falls outside cultural norms.
Disorders as understandable responses to social stress (e.g. higher rates of depression and anxiety among people living in urban poverty).
Treatment incorporates cultural values.
Example: a therapist working with a Latino/a client may incorporate familism into the treatment plan.
All three approaches (biological, psychological, sociocultural) are being integrated into a single biopsychosocial model.
This is the direction the field is moving. Exam questions are likely to test whether you understand that these perspectives complement rather than compete with one another.
Antidepressant medication (biological) is often combined with cognitive-behavioural therapy (psychological) because research shows the combination tends to outperform either alone. A clinician treating a refugee with PTSD might also consider the role of displacement, poverty, and cultural dislocation (sociocultural), illustrating the biopsychosocial model in practice.
Students often assume the biological approach means mental disorders are "purely genetic." It does not. Brain dysfunction and biochemical imbalances are equally part of the biological picture, and genes typically confer risk rather than certainty.
Students sometimes treat the psychological sub-approaches (behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic, humanistic) as interchangeable. They are not. Each targets a different mechanism: behaviour, thought, unconscious conflict, or self-actualisation.
The sociocultural view is sometimes misread as saying mental disorders "are not real." The claim is subtler: it questions whether the line between normal and disordered is drawn by nature or by society.
Third-wave approaches are often confused with standard CBT. The distinguishing feature is the emphasis on emotion regulation and acceptance rather than directly challenging and changing thoughts.
⚠️ Know the three broad approaches (biological, psychological, sociocultural) and be able to name specific treatments that belong to each.
⚠️ Be able to define "transdiagnostic risk factor" and give two examples: serotonin (biological) and poor emotion regulation (third-wave psychological).
⚠️ Understand the continuum model in the psychological approach: normal and abnormal functioning differ in degree, not in kind.
⚠️ The biopsychosocial model is the integrative takeaway. Expect a question asking you to explain how the three approaches fit together.
⚠️ Know the difference between DBT and ACT, and that both fall under third-wave approaches.
True or False: The biological approach considers only genetic factors when explaining mental disorders.
Fill in the blank: Serotonin is an example of a __________ risk factor because it is implicated in depression, anxiety, and aggression.
True or False: The sociocultural view holds that psychological disorders are qualitatively different from normal functioning.
Fill in the blank: Third-wave approaches identify poor __________ as a core transdiagnostic risk factor.
True or False: The biopsychosocial model replaces the three individual approaches rather than integrating them.
Answers: 1. False (also brain dysfunction and biochemical imbalances). 2. Transdiagnostic. 3. False (it views them as labels or consequences of social stress, not categorically different). 4. Emotion regulation. 5. False (it integrates them).
Q: Name the three broad approaches to understanding mental disorders covered in this chapter and give one treatment example for each.
A: Biological (e.g. antidepressant medication), psychological (e.g. systematic desensitisation for phobias), and sociocultural (e.g. incorporating familism into therapy).
Q: What is a transdiagnostic risk factor? Provide one biological and one psychological example from the lecture.
A: A transdiagnostic risk factor is a single variable that increases risk across multiple disorders. Biological example: serotonin dysfunction (linked to depression, anxiety, aggression). Psychological example: poor emotion regulation (linked to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, personality disorders).
Q: How does the sociocultural view differ from the biological and psychological approaches in its understanding of what a "disorder" is?
A: The sociocultural view does not treat disorders as fundamentally different from normal functioning. It frames them either as labels society applies to behaviour that deviates from cultural norms, or as understandable responses to social stress, rather than as deficits in biology or psychology.
Q: Explain the continuum concept in the psychological approach, using depression as an example.
A: The psychological approach places normal and abnormal functioning on the same continuum. Feeling "a bit blue" and being clinically depressed are not separate categories but different points on a single spectrum of emotional experience, differing in severity and impact rather than in kind.
Q: What distinguishes third-wave approaches from traditional cognitive approaches?
A: Traditional cognitive approaches focus on identifying and changing distorted thoughts and beliefs. Third-wave approaches shift the emphasis to emotion regulation and acceptance, using techniques like mindfulness and meditation. Rather than correcting thought content, they help individuals relate differently to their emotional experience.
This material connects directly to later chapters on specific disorders (e.g. mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia), where you will see each approach applied to a particular diagnosis.
The transdiagnostic concept reappears throughout the course. Once you understand it here, you will recognise the same logic when the textbook discusses comorbidity (why patients often qualify for more than one diagnosis).
The biopsychosocial model is the backbone of modern clinical assessment (Chapter 3), so understanding it now will make the assessment chapter significantly easier.
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