Causality Discussion

The four causes
a. Material
i. What causes the thing is what it is made of
(1) What are you “made” of? Your biology causes your behavior
b. Efficient
i. What causes the thing are events that led up to it through time
(1) What is your history? It is your history that causes your behavior
c. Formal
i. The context of the thing, internally and externally
(1) What is your current context? Your context causes your behavior
d. Final
i. The end to which the thing or behavior exists
(1) What is your goal? Your goal causes your behavior
(a) Also called telos, study of purpose is teleology
2. Thought Exercise #1
a. There is a chair sitting in the middle of the room
i. What is the material cause of the chair?
ii. What is the efficient cause of the chair?
iii. What is the formal cause of the chair?
iv. What is the final cause of the chair?
3. Thought Exercise #2
a. John Smith has just been convicted of murdering 16 people in 5 states
i. What is a material cause for John’s behavior?
ii. What is an efficient cause for John’s behavior?
iii. What is a formal cause for John’s behavior?
iv. What is a final cause for John’s behavior?
4. Thought Exercise #3
a. Paula Purge sits across from you seeking treatment for her eating disorder
i. What is a material cause for her disorder?
ii. What is an efficient cause for her disorder?
iii. What is a formal cause for her disorder?
iv. What is a final cause for her disorder?
5. Thought Exercise #4
a. What forms of causality are assumed in the following vignette?
i. Genetic Causes of Depression
(1) Twin Studies
(a) Much of what we know about the genetic influence of clinical depression is based upon research that has been done with identical twins. Identical twins are very helpful to researchers since they both have the exact same genetic code. It has been found that when one identical twin becomes depressed the other will also develop clinical depression approximately 76% of the time. When identical twins are raised apart from each other, they will both become depressed about 67% of the time. Because both twins become depressed at such a high rate, the implication is that there is a strong genetic influence. If it happened that when one twin becomes clinically depressed the other always develops depression, then clinical depression would likely be entirely genetic. However because the rate of both identical twins developing depression is not closer to 100% this tells us that there are other things that influence a person's vulnerability to depression. These may include environmental factors such as childhood experiences, current stressors, traumatic events, exposure to substances, medical illnesses, etc.
(b) Research has also been done with fraternal twins. Unlike identical twins who have the same genetic code, these siblings share only about 50% of their genetic makeup and do not necessarily look alike. Studies have shown that when one fraternal twin becomes depressed, the other also develops depression about 19% of the time. This is still a higher rate of depression when compared to overall rates for the general public, again pointing towards a genetic influence in the development of clinical depression.
(i) (both vignettes from http://www.allaboutdepression.com/cau_03.html)
6. Your assumptions about causality imply some treatments and not others
a. If I assume that my client’s issues are caused by their biology, what treatments would I use?
i. Which treatments would I NOT use?
(1) Consequences?
b. If I assume that my clients issues are caused by their past, what treatments would I use?
i. Which treatments would I NOT use?
(1) Consequences?
c. If I assume that my clients issues are caused by their context, what treatments would I use?
i. Which treatments would I NOT use?
(1) Consequences?
d. If I assume that my clients issues are caused by their mistaken goals, what treatments would I use?
i. Which treatments would I NOT use?
(1) Consequences?
7. Dealing with the whole person
a. In psychology, we tend to value just two causes, efficient and material
i. Most measurable, and hence most “scientific”
b. Two consequences to that value
i. It removes volition/agency
(1) A therapist that attends to your past, not to you
(2) A therapist that attends to your biology, not to you
ii. It removes moral responsibility
(1) Sometimes a good thing, sometimes not
(a) Good when behavior truly is a-volitional
(b) Bad when behavior is truly volitional