Practice Questions - Biological Explanations of
OCD
Explain the role of genes in OCD. (4)
There are genes that heighten the vulnerability for OCD, called candidate
genes. Some of these genes are actually involved in regulating the
development of the serotonin system.
OCD is also polygenic, meaning that it is not caused by one single gene,
instead there are actually several involved. Genes that have been studied
in connection to OCD include those that are associated with the action of
dopamine, as well as serotonin.
One group of genes may cause OCD in one person, but a different group
of genes may cause the disorder in another person. There is also evidence
to suggest that different types of OCD may be the result of genetic
variations, such as hoarding disorders and religious obsessions.
Explain two limitations of genetic explanations for OCD. (4)
A limitation of the genetic explanations of OCD is that there are too many
candidate genes. This means that psychologists have been less
successful at pinning down all the genes that are involved in order to
influence OCD. This is because it appears that several genes are involved
and that each genetic variation only increases the risk of being diagnosed
with OCD by a small amount. This means that the genetic explanation is
unlikely to ever be very useful, as it provides very little predictive value.
Another limitation of the genetic explanations of OCD is that it has
environmental risk factors. These factors can also trigger or increase the
risk of being diagnosed with OCD according to the diathesis-stress model.
For example, Cromer et al in 2007 found that over half of the OCD patients
in their sample had a traumatic event in their past, and that their OCD was
more severe than the ones that do not have more than one trauma in the
past. This suggests that OCD cannot be entirely genetic in origin, at least
not in all cases. It may be far more productive to focus on the
environmental factors, because we are more able to do something about
these.
OCD
Explain the role of genes in OCD. (4)
There are genes that heighten the vulnerability for OCD, called candidate
genes. Some of these genes are actually involved in regulating the
development of the serotonin system.
OCD is also polygenic, meaning that it is not caused by one single gene,
instead there are actually several involved. Genes that have been studied
in connection to OCD include those that are associated with the action of
dopamine, as well as serotonin.
One group of genes may cause OCD in one person, but a different group
of genes may cause the disorder in another person. There is also evidence
to suggest that different types of OCD may be the result of genetic
variations, such as hoarding disorders and religious obsessions.
Explain two limitations of genetic explanations for OCD. (4)
A limitation of the genetic explanations of OCD is that there are too many
candidate genes. This means that psychologists have been less
successful at pinning down all the genes that are involved in order to
influence OCD. This is because it appears that several genes are involved
and that each genetic variation only increases the risk of being diagnosed
with OCD by a small amount. This means that the genetic explanation is
unlikely to ever be very useful, as it provides very little predictive value.
Another limitation of the genetic explanations of OCD is that it has
environmental risk factors. These factors can also trigger or increase the
risk of being diagnosed with OCD according to the diathesis-stress model.
For example, Cromer et al in 2007 found that over half of the OCD patients
in their sample had a traumatic event in their past, and that their OCD was
more severe than the ones that do not have more than one trauma in the
past. This suggests that OCD cannot be entirely genetic in origin, at least
not in all cases. It may be far more productive to focus on the
environmental factors, because we are more able to do something about
these.
