Biological
Learning
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Step 1.
Read the following case history. Then decide how a psychologist using a perspective listed above would
explain the CAUSE of Andrea’s problem.
Do not rely on common sense and intuition in discussing this case. Imagine that you are a dyed-in-the-
wool advocate for each of the particular viewpoinst and make your arguments from that point of view.
Andrea is a 19-year-old college student. She has requested counseling from her college counseling
center at the urging of her friends. Andrea’s 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