Key Idea: Health and well-being applies the three approaches to explaining, preventing and treating disorders — no single cause is the whole story.
Topic 3.1 at a glance
- Explaining disorders — Biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors interact (diathesis-stress).
- Prevention & treatment — Biological (drugs), cognitive (therapy) and social (support) approaches.
- Evaluating — Interactionist explanations beat single-cause ones; culture affects diagnosis.
Explain · Prevent · Treat
IB-style questionDiscuss[15 marks]
In the context of health and well-being, discuss how two approaches explain one mental-health disorder.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Best kind of explanation? Interactionist — biology, cognition and environment together.
A cognitive treatment? Therapy that changes unhelpful thinking patterns.
Why be cautious about diagnosis? Cultural bias and validity of measures affect it.
For a [15] essay, frame the disorder through 2+ perspectives and a named concept (causality, measurement, responsibility), then evaluate.