However, the behavioural approach cannot explain individual differences. Everyone in the western culture are exposed to the thin celebrities, although a minority develop anorexia. Also many people diet, but only a few develop anorexia. Therefore the behavioural model alone is not sufficient as does not explain the differences between the individuals who develop it and those that don’t.
There is also research that shows that anorexia is found in non-western cultures. In Curaco; a non-western island, it was found that there were 6 cases in 44,192. This is within the range of rates reported in western countries. This study shows that there are non-western cultures that suffer from anorexia, and therefore the behavioural approach cannot explain all cases of the disorder.
Becker’s study supports the behavioural approach. He found that when TV was introduced to Fiji in 1995, the % of girls who vomited to control their weight increased to 15% from 3%. The % of girls with a high score on an eating disorder questionnaire also rose from 13% to 29%. This study shows a relationship between the media and eating disorders. It suggests that the Fijians are striving to conform to Western cultural standards due to classical and operant conditioning. There are criticisms of this study. Although the findings show an increased rate of abnormal attitudes towards food, it does not indicate the amount of eating disorders that formed as this attitude does not always lead to anorexia. Also, this study does not show that the changed attitudes are due to western culture. The change of attitudes could be due to another factor such as the stress of the introduction of technology in a traditional culture. Also this study uses a bias sample, as all the participants are female Fijians. These individuals do not represent a majority of people, and therefore the findings can not be generalised to other populations.
The cognitive approach states that anorexia is due to disordered thinking, anorexic individuals are preoccupied with their looks. They see themselves as unattractive or ugly and see food as a way of exerting self-control. This approach leads to useful therapies, as it allows clients to tackle self-defeating statements. It is also explains individual differences, as not all persons in the same environment develop anorexia. Although this approach is criticised as it is thought that distorted cognitions are an effect rather than a cause of anorexia.
The psychodynamic approach was proposed by Freud, it suggests that eating is a substitute for sexual activity and therefore limited eating is a way of repressing sexual development. Starvation in adolescence is a way to prevent the body developing and to discontinue menstruation. By avoiding adulthood, the anxieties related are also avoided. A more recent psychodynamic approach proposed by Bruch explains that the origins of anorexia are formed in early childhood when the mother does not respond adequately to the child’s needs. In adolescence, the conflict between maternal dependence and the wish for independence results in the need for self control and therefore anorexia. A limitation of this approach is it is difficult to falsify as it is based on interpretations of cases and factors of anorexia. Although it is also a positive approach as it explains the patterns found in the families of anorexic individuals (such as the majority of anorexic individual’s parents are strict and perfectionist). Also it can result in effective treatment, as the anorexic individual is not given all the responsibility but the family is targeted too.
These psychological models all propose valid and logical causes of anorexia, although individually they cannot explain all factors of the eating disorder, therefore it is likely that it is caused by a combination of the approaches. Also the biological approach may be a factor. The biological approach states that anorexia is due to a biochemical imbalance or the disorder is genetic, strong evidence for this suggests that anorexia is not due to psychological factors but medical.