Cognitive expl evaluation (dysfunctional thoughts)

Question 1

Simply evaluate cognative explanations

Answer 1

✓ There is strong evidence that information is processed differently by schizophrenics
x They don’t provide a complete explanation
x Problems with causation
x Reductionist
✓ The success of cognitive therapies supports the role of a cognitive bias in schizophrenia

Question 2

Explain ‘✓ There is strong evidence that information is processed differently by schizophrenics’

Answer 2

Stirling et al (2006) compared patients with schizophrenia with 18 non-schizophrenic controls on a range of cognitive tests including the stroop test (name the colour of the letters, supressing the impulse to read the actual word)
in line with the central control theory, schizophrenic participants took over twice as long to name the colour of the ink than the control group

Question 3

Explain ‘x They don’t provide a complete explanation’

Answer 3

Although the evidence does show a link between faulty cognition and symptoms of schizophrenia, it doesn’t tell us anything about the origins of those cognitions or schizophrenia
This is a weakness as it means cognitive explanations cannot be seen to be explaining the actual cause of schizophrenia

Question 4

Explain ‘x Problems with causation’

Answer 4

It is diffucult to find which could be a cause of schizophrenia and which are a consequence of having schizophrenia - just because there is a link between schizophrenics and less control doesn’t mean that disruptive thought processes cause schizophrenia (it may be another factor eg biology that caused these thought processes

Question 5

Explain ‘x Reductionist’ including study

Answer 5

All psychological explanations for schizophrenia only deal adequately with one aspect of the disorder, but fail to account for the other factors such as biology and social factors
–Its been suggested that a more interactionist view is needed to gain a complete understanding of schizophrenia

Howes and Murray (2014) found that early vulnerability factors (genes and birth complications) combined with social stressors makes the dopamine system in the brain increase the release of dopamine —- This then increases the symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions, these symptoms therefore create more stress which in turn creates more production of dopamine

Question 6

Explain ‘✓ The success of cognitive therapies supports the role of a cognitive bias in schizophrenia’

Answer 6

A review of CBT found that this style of therapy is very effectuve in reducing symptom severity when combined with drug treatment
The success of cognitive therapies supports the claim that dysfunctional thinking may contribute to the symptoms of schizophrenia