Reference no: EM132350716

Question

On June 20, 2001, after her husband had left for work, Andrea Yates, a Houston mother, drowned her five children in the family bathtub. She told police that she drowned the children to save them from burning in hell. A jury rejected her insanity defense, and she was sentenced to serve life at a psychiatric prison. In January 2005, a Texas Appeals Court overturned her conviction because a psychiatrist for the prosecution had falsely testified that he had consulted for a Law and Order episode. The Appeals Court stated that the false testimony may have contributed to the jury's rejection of Yates insanity defense. Prosecutors declined to discuss whether Yates would be retried. Her defense attorney said that he would not seek her immediate release because she is receiving excellent mental health care.

Andrea experienced low self-esteem. At the time she killed her children, she believed she was possessed and that the sign of Satan (666) was marked on her scalp. She told the police that her children "weren't developing correctly" and that drowning them was the only way to save them.

Mood disorders run in families and Andrea's was no exception. A sister and two brothers are also on antidepressants. Research indicates that brain chemistry plays a role in psychological disorder. The neurotransmitter serotonin appears scarce in depression. Diagnosed as suffering from postpartum depression with psychosis, she had been taken off her antipsychotic medication about a month before the children's deaths. Andrea's husband Russell claimed he had been pleading with doctors to again prescribe Haldol, used in treating people who hear voices or have delusional thoughts.

Andrea's in-laws report that her husband Russell was not socially supportive. He claimed he had never changed a diaper. How could he leave her alone with the five children when she could barely care for herself? Why, after doctors had strongly recommended no more children, did he impregnate her a fifth time? And where was her extended family when she needed help so desperately? Martin Seligman has effectively argued that the individualism of American society plays a critical role in its accelerating rate of depression.

1. What ARE causes of Andrea Yates murdering of her children? How does it fit into a subset of human development? What are the implications?

2. A. EXPLAIN Andrea Yates' behavior from a biological perspective? (neuroscience and behavior genetics perspectives)

B. explain Andrea Yates, behavior from a behavioral perspective? (behaviors that were reinforced, punished etc. )

C explain Andrea Yates' behavior from a social-cultural perspective? (social environment)

3. What do the findings suggest? What is the overall point of the case study?