Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology
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January 10, 2020
What is meant by the notion that mental illness is a social construction? How does cross-cultural research suggest that psychopathology is universal rather than a social construction?
The notion that mental illness is a social construction believes that psychological disorders are by-products of the existing cultural and societal milieus relative to where the observation is being made (Ray, 2016). In other words, it looks at mental illnesses merely as a difference in the socially accepted behaviors within a particular society and not in others where such actions are considered as normal.
In contrast, to other views of mental illnesses, the social constructivist view places little importance upon physiological factors such as hormonal imbalances or chromosomal differences, among others (Kincaid, 2012). For example, depression might be seen as normal in an urban metropolis but not in a rural area that exhibits close family ties with one another.
Despite this prevailing belief, cross-cultural research has shown that their mental illnesses are not a by-product of cultural beliefs but something that is universally caused by similar reasons. For example, one study cited by Ray (2016), have shown that symptoms and manifestations of Schizophrenia have been similar throughout different cultures. Accordingly, the researchers have concluded that if mental illnesses are indeed cultural, then cases taken from different cultures should have shown significant differences since the environmental factors are different from one another. This goes the same with rates of incidences and trigger factors between developed and less-developed countries, thereby showing that despite the effects of culture and the environment, universal factors play a larger role in the understanding and study of mental illnesses.

Discuss two ways that an evolutionary perspective expands our understanding of psychopathology.
The evolutionary perspective of mental illnesses is beneficial for both academic and clinical practice as it helps in understanding (1) the functionality of the disorder and (2) its origins.
On the one hand, the evolutionary perspective helps researchers to understand the reasons that mental disorders serve in the daily lives of humans. For example, one study conducted by Scheepers, et al. (2018), shows that mild psychosis can be an adaptive mechanism for changing environments, which can also lead to severe symptoms when it goes out of control. Accordingly, an observation of societal changes would show rapid changes in technological, societal, and even cultural aspects of society, which could be the reason for the existence of psychotic manifestations even to this day.
On the other hand, the evolutionary perspective could also provide clues about the origins of mental disorders. One example cited by Ray (2016), is the fear of humans towards unknown species of animals, but not to ‘vehicles’ that causes higher rates of mortality due to humans’ familiarity towards the latter. Accordingly, this shows that mental disorders could have been caused by a particular event or circumstance throughout the evolutionary phase that has caused it to exist until today. Going back to the example above, psychosis (and other psychotic symptoms) could have been caused by rapid changes in society such as colonization or globalization, among others.

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