Evaluation of biological explanations for anorexia nervosa
Strengths
- There are practical applications of neural explanations for anorexia as an imbalance in neurotransmitters could be treated using drug therapy
- The genetic argument is strong, because genes may also exert an indirect influence upon the development of AN, as many sufferers display perfectionist personality characteristics and three genes associated with AN are also associated with perfectionist personality (Bachner-Melman et al, 2007)
Weaknesses
- Although research indicates that genes are a factor in the development of anorexia, the fact that multiple genes are involved makes it difficult to identify and quantify the role of individual genes
- The research is correlational and it may be that the levels of serotonin and dopamine found in people with anorexia are an effect of the malnutrition associated with AN, rather than a cause of the disorder
Link to Issues & Debates:
The biological explanations for AN are biologically reductionist. They state that the eating disorder has its origins in the genetic make-up of the individual or in an imbalance in the neurochemistry. This is ignoring psychological and environmental explanations that would make explanations for this eating disorder more holistic.
The research into AN is gender biased, being conducted mainly on females, as they are many times more likely to suffer from anorexia than males (NIMH, 2017). This means the research has a beta bias, with the results being applied to men, who may have neurotransmission differences when compared to women.