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... it happens that most modules have a propersdomain, that is, the set of stimuli for which the module has been designed,sas well as an actual domain, that is, the set of stimuli triggering the modules(=-=Sperber, 1996-=-). In Gil-White’s example, ethnic groups may not be part ofsthe proper domain of the folk biology module, but because of their salientssimilarities with living kinds, they do belong to its actual doma...

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...k biology has shown that people the world over havesa tendency to attribute a unique and natural essence to each and every animal and plant species—a phenomenon known as “psychological essentialism” (=-=Medin and Ortony, 1989-=-). The main role of this essence is to causesthe development of species-typical traits. However, biological taxa are notsthe only entities that are being essentialized by laypeople. Social categories,...

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...t species to be prototypical examples of natural kinds. Definitions of “natural kind” vary widely, but basicallysthe term refers to bounded natural entities with fixed internal propertiess(see, e.g., =-=Quine, 1969-=-). These properties enable us, with perfect reliability,sto identify the relevant entity and to distinguish it from other, related entities. Other prototypes of natural kinds include the elements in M...

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...logical psychiatry, which is a story of many ups and downs. Shortersdistinguishes between a “first” and a “second” (wave of) biological psychiatry, with a short psychoanalytical interlude in between (=-=Shorter, 1997-=-).sIllustrative of the first wave of biological psychiatry is the establishmentsWhy We Essentialize Mental Disorders 121sat N ewsY ork U niversity on M arch 31, 2013 http://jmp.oxfordjournals.org/ D o...

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...ries ofssuccessive studies, Haslam has attempted to chart the nature and organizationsof laypeople’s intuitive ontological beliefs about mental disorders (Haslam,s2000, 2003; Haslam and Giosan, 2000; =-=Haslam, Rothschild, and Ernst, 2000-=-;sHaslam and Ernst, 2002). Alluding to so-called folk biology, that is, the cognitive study of how laypeople organize and conceptualize the living worlds(Atran, 1999), Haslam has christened his resear...

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...by confining all kinds ofsbeggars, idlers, and madmen. According to Michel Foucault, le Roi-Soleil setssthe trend in Europe, where asylums shoot up like mushrooms, especiallysduring the 19th century (=-=Foucault, 1972-=-). Halfway through the 20th century,sAmerican institutions accommodated as much as 500,000 patients, whilestheir British counterparts put up at least one-third of that number (Porter,s2002, 14). How t...

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...hiatry. Genotypes, Phenotypes, and Filters The question regarding why we essentialize mental disorders plays ansimportant supporting part in recent studies about psychiatry and evolutionary genetics (=-=Keller and Miller, 2006-=-; Keller, 2008). The main aim of thesesstudies is to solve the riddle surrounding the evolution of mental disorder susceptibility genes. Why have the genes affecting our susceptibility forsmental diso...

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... someskind of natural essence. Such essence would then explain why living kinds aresable to retain their identity throughout numerous transformations, which is notsnecessarily the case for artifacts (=-=Gelman, Coley, and Gottfried, 1994-=-). But why do we essentialize living kinds? Scott Atran found that Mayassfrom Guatemala and students at the University of Michigan make remarkably similar inductive inferences across various levels of...

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...than whatspsychiatrists, whether biological or not, tend to think. Thus it is that manyspatients fulfill the relevant diagnostic criteria of two or more disorders—asphenomenon known as “comorbidity” (=-=Jacobi et al., 2004-=-). Second, mentalsdisorders are probably characterized by a vast genotypic variation too. Thesmajor advantage of this assumption is that it enables us to understand whys112 Pieter R. Adriaens and Andr...

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...terested, for example, inshow the media influence (and, in their turn, are influenced by) the information and attitudes held by the general public regarding mental illness (see,se.g., Nunnally, 1961; =-=Rogers and Pilgrim, 2005-=-). Although such studies aresinteresting in their own right, they are rarely concerned with laypeople’ssontological beliefs about mental disorders. The work of Haslam, a social psychologist, is a uniq...

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...ctions. The culmination of this biological trend in psychiatry was thesinfamous degeneration theory, whose champions proudly presented madness not just as an organic but also as a hereditary problem (=-=Pick, 1989-=-). Insaddition to these blood-based theories about mental disorders, superintendents of the first psychiatric institutions also made use of primitive psychoactive drugs, such as opium, chloral hydrate...

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...iologists are interested, for example, inshow the media influence (and, in their turn, are influenced by) the information and attitudes held by the general public regarding mental illness (see,se.g., =-=Nunnally, 1961-=-; Rogers and Pilgrim, 2005). Although such studies aresinteresting in their own right, they are rarely concerned with laypeople’ssontological beliefs about mental disorders. The work of Haslam, a soci...

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...th schizophrenia, even though recent research has shown that the linksbetween schizophrenia and violence is mainly due to a small subgroup ofspatients with an additional diagnosis of substance abuse (=-=Fazel et al., 2009-=-). Yet, how plausible is the hypothesis that there exists a module specificallysdesigned to regulate our interactions with psychiatric patients? To answer thatsquestion, we must return to the field wh...

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...s attempted to chart the nature and organizationsof laypeople’s intuitive ontological beliefs about mental disorders (Haslam,s2000, 2003; Haslam and Giosan, 2000; Haslam, Rothschild, and Ernst, 2000;s=-=Haslam and Ernst, 2002-=-). Alluding to so-called folk biology, that is, the cognitive study of how laypeople organize and conceptualize the living worlds(Atran, 1999), Haslam has christened his research topic folk psychiatry...

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... After World War II, biological psychiatry quickly lost its aura and legitimacy, only because its main competitor, psychoanalysis, achieved muchsmore success in treating the so-called “war neuroses” (=-=Grob, 1991-=-). Thesthen dominance of psychoanalytic thinking in psychiatry is reflected, forsexample, in the first two editions of psychiatry’s most famous handbook tosdate, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ...

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...gs, such as blood types (Stein, 1998).sIn a Sydenhamian vein, some psychiatrists have argued that the set of natural kinds should be expanded to contain mental disorders too (see, e.g.,sMaxmen, 1985; =-=Guze, 1992-=-; Andreasen, 2001). In this view, which we refersto as the natural kind view of mental disorders, people suffering from a particular mental disorder would share some kind of natural essence, much like...

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...belief in a staunchly categorical approach of mental disorders—an approachsbased on two basic claims: (1) there are discrete mental illnesses; (2) there issa boundary between the normal and the sick (=-=Klerman, 1978-=-). Another characteristic of biological psychiatry is its interest in diagnosticscriteria, that is, criteria that stipulate what symptoms (and how many ofsWhy We Essentialize Mental Disorders 111sat N...

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...f psychological medicine was more the consequencesthan the cause of the rise of the insane asylum. Psychiatry could flourishsonce, but not before, large numbers of inmates were crowded into asylums” (=-=Porter, 1989-=-, 17). As such, the institutionalization motivated psychiatrists to devise a number of stories and techniques to find “method” in theirspatients’s madness and to bring unity to the overwhelming muddle...

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...san, 2000; Haslam, Rothschild, and Ernst, 2000;sHaslam and Ernst, 2002). Alluding to so-called folk biology, that is, the cognitive study of how laypeople organize and conceptualize the living worlds(=-=Atran, 1999-=-), Haslam has christened his research topic folk psychiatry. Research about folk biology has shown that people the world over havesa tendency to attribute a unique and natural essence to each and ever...

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...ausal essences, perhapssassuming that there must be etiologic bases behind the current taxonomies, therebystrusting experts’ judgments. Ironically, mental health experts did not endorse thissbelief. (=-=Ahn et al., 2006-=-, 764) Finally, there seem to be different degrees of psychiatric essentialism: notsall mental disorders are being essentialized to the same extent. For example, laypeople often consider depression as...

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...itical attention. In a series ofssuccessive studies, Haslam has attempted to chart the nature and organizationsof laypeople’s intuitive ontological beliefs about mental disorders (Haslam,s2000, 2003; =-=Haslam and Giosan, 2000-=-; Haslam, Rothschild, and Ernst, 2000;sHaslam and Ernst, 2002). Alluding to so-called folk biology, that is, the cognitive study of how laypeople organize and conceptualize the living worlds(Atran, 19...

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...fact that any division of humanitysin a number of clear-cut “races” is completely senseless, at least accordingsto geneticists. Indeed, there seems to be no biological ground for such classification (=-=Jorde and Wooding, 2004-=-). Yet, then the following question arises:show has essentializing races and ethnic groups ever been favored by naturalsselection if such mode of thought is, in all likelihood, incorrect? Gil-White (2...

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...relevant entity and to distinguish it from other, related entities. Other prototypes of natural kinds include the elements in Mendeleev’ssPeriodic Table and also human groupings, such as blood types (=-=Stein, 1998-=-).sIn a Sydenhamian vein, some psychiatrists have argued that the set of natural kinds should be expanded to contain mental disorders too (see, e.g.,sMaxmen, 1985; Guze, 1992; Andreasen, 2001). In thi...

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...d ifsresearchers use them to search for etiology and better treatments, then it is difficultsfor the clinician to resist the unjustified belief that each is a distinct disease with asspecific cause. (=-=Nesse, 1991-=-, 35) In our view, DSM-III not only encouraged psychiatrists to take a natural kindsview of mental disorders; it also boosted the already existing lay essentialism in psychiatry. By ascribing historic...

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...ncluded in (and Homosexuality excluded from)sthe new handbook, not because of conspicuous new research findings butsrather by the relentless work of relevant pressure groups (Kirk and Kutchins,s1992; =-=Kutchins and Kirk, 1997-=-). By taking its power from all kinds of financial, legal, and existential concerns, such lobbying provided laypeople withsan important vote in the creation of DSM-III. A second actor playing a part i...