3 3

D

uring the last year of Big Edie’s life, the Beale women

had a guest, Lois Wright, stay with them. Lois slept in

a spare bedroom, on a canvas cot that she had brought

with her. However, the fl oor of her room was so thoroughly

layered with years of cat droppings and fl eas that she put

newspaper down on the fl oor every night before she went

to bed.

Sometimes, when Lois wanted to leave the house and go into

town for her own food or supplies, the Beales wouldn’t let her out.

They were afraid that if they unlocked the door for Lois, a “spy

might try to gain entrance” (Wright, 2007, p. 35) or Lois might be

kidnapped while in town, by people wanting information about

Grey Gardens.

As we saw in Chapter 1, clearly the Beale women had odd

thoughts and feelings and engaged in unusual behaviors. As we asked

in Chapter 1, were they merely eccentric? Did Big Edie or Little Edie

(or both of them) have a psychological disorder? Could either of

them have had more than one psychological disorder? If one or both

had a disorder, how could we understand why? The neuropsychoso-

cial approach allows us to consider the factors that lead someone to

develop a psychological disorder, which is known as its etiology.

Let’s consider the Beale women in terms of the neuro psychosocial

approach. First, we can ask about neurological factors: Was some-

thing abnormal about their genes or brains? Perhaps their neurons or

neurotransmitters functioned abnormally, and that led to their odd

behavior. Second, we can ask about psychologicalfactors: How might

their thoughts and feelings have motivated them, and what role

might their mental processes have played? For instance, might Pav-

lovian conditioning have been involved in Big Edie’s apparent fear of

being alone? And third, we can ask about social factors, such as their

fi nancial circumstances, their family relationships, the straight-laced

society they were members of, and other cultural forces affecting them.

To what extent might the disdain shown to Big Edie and Little Edie by

their extended family have infl uenced their unusual behavior?

At any moment in a day of the Beales’ lives (or anyone’s life, for

that matter), all three types of factors are operating: neurological,

psychological, and social. Depending on the state of a person’s brain

(which is affected, for example, by various chemicals produced by

the body), social factors (such as an angry friend or a stressful job

interview) have a greater or lesser impact. This impact in turn affects

psychological factors (the person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors)

in different ways. And then the psychological factors can affect both

CHAPTER

2

Understanding

Psychological Disorders:

The Neuropsychosocial Approach

Chapter Outline

Neurological Factors in Psychological

Disorders

Brain Structure and Brain Function

The Genetics of Psychopathology

Feedback Loops in Action: The Genes and

the Environment

Psychological Factors in Psychological

Disorders

Behavior and Learning

Feedback Loops in Action: Learning, the

Brain, and Social Factors

Mental Processes and Mental Contents

Emotion

Feedback Loops in Action: Brain, Emotion,

and Temperament

Social Factors in Psychological

Disorders

Family Matters

Community Support

Social Stressors

Culture

Feedback Loops in Action: Learned

Helplessness

Etiology

The factors that lead a person to develop a

psychological disorder.

P S

N

Leigh Wells