Behavioral

Pick one of the psychological perspectives learned about in Chapter 1:

Psychodynamic
Behavioral
Humanistic
Cognitive
Sociocultural
Biopsychological
Evolutionary
You will write an essay summarizing the important points about the theory you select. Be sure to include the names of people who were most important in developing the theory and key terms and concepts associated with the theory.

Next, read the following case history and add the following information to your essay. Decide how a psychologist using the one perspective you chose would explain the CAUSE (not the treatment) of Andreas problem. Do not rely on common sense and intuition in discussing this case. Imagine that you are a die-hard advocate of this particular viewpoint and make your arguments from that point of view.

Note: Please use APA style in your writing. If you need help, you can refer to this link, the Purdue Owl (Links to an external site.). You may have to look for additional resources about your perspective. For this assignment, it is okay if you do not use a scholarly article, but DO NOT use Wikipedia, please. You MUST cite your resources.

Case History

Andrea is a 19-year-old college student. She has requested counseling from her college counseling center at the urging of her friends. Andreas friends believe that she may have an eating disorder. Andrea sees herself as fat, but to her friends, she is startlingly thin. In fact, she is so thin that they are afraid that she will become seriously ill. Andrea maintains this low weight mainly by eating practically nothing and drinking two quarts of water a day. She says that she thinks about food all the time when she is restricting her food intake, but that she does not want to eat because she is afraid of getting fat. At other times, however, her hunger is so intense that she feels like she has to give in to the cravings. At those times she binges and eats huge amounts of food. For example, she once ate a half gallon of ice cream in a little over one hour. After her binges she works to get rid of the excess calories she has consumed by vomiting. She says she is starting to agree that she may have an eating problem. After interviewing Andrea, you are convinced that she meets criteria for diagnoses of both anorexia and bulimia. You are also interested in obtaining some background information about Andrea, to aid in understanding her. You find out that Andrea is 19 years old and a freshman at your college. She says that she started really worrying about her weight two years ago, when she was a junior in high school. At that time her parents were quarreling a lot and had even talked about divorce. She says that managing her eating made her feel more in control. She also noticed that, even though she still felt fat, people seemed to pay more attention to her and to respond to her better as she got thinner. She indicates that she likes having a more boyish, more athletic figure.

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