Individual Differences: Cognitive Explanations

Question 1

Describe Cognitive explanation

Answer 1

Attempts to explain schizophrenia in terms of cognitive systems such as perception, attention and memory. As yet, the cognitive explanation is unable to offer one explanation that is able to account for all behaviours experienced by an individual suffering with schizophrenia, but it does offer different theories that explain some key positive and negative symptoms.
One of the key symptoms is hallucinations. The most common type is auditory.

Question 2

Morrison

Answer 2

Proposed that maladaptive thinking could offer explanations as to why individuals suffer with auditory hallucinations. Morrison suggests that triggers such as sleep deprivation can lead to some individuals with schizophrenia to not only hear voices but hear them in a maladaptive way. This can result in individuals appraising the voices inappropriately. Negative or harmful commands from these voices may result in self harm and social withdrawal.

Question 3

Frith

Answer 3

Argues that schz was the result of a breakdown in the individuals thought filtering process. Those with schz have issues with attention (a mental process) and have difficult filtering out relevant information from the consciousness. This could result in things in their environment, that would normally be filtered out as irrelevant, being interpreted as more significant as they really are. Frith believed that it is this inability to focus that causes individuals with schizophrenia to give the impression of disorganised thinking and speech and could possible explain hallucinations and delusions.

Question 4

According to frith what areas of the brain differ from an individual with and without schizophrenia.

Answer 4

Schz have reduced blood flow to the frontal cortex in the brain of patients, links to negative symptoms such as disorder thinking and avolition. Increased activity in the temporal lobe which is responsible for retrieval of memory (issues with reality)

Question 5

Beck et al

Answer 5

explained that in terms of negative symptoms of schz, the cognitive explanation relies heavily on the work of beck et al and their ideas of the cognitive triad. initially used to understand depression, beck believed that it could also proved an explanation as to why individuals suffer some the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Proposed that an individual with schizophrenia has dysfunctional beliefs on themselves, their performance and their ability to experience pleasure.
These dysfunctional beliefs along with their mental filters only allowing in negative messages can result in an individual having a pessimistic view on the future.
This can lead to an individual displaying negative symptoms of schz such as anhedonia and avolition.

Question 6

Support of cOgnitive explanation

Answer 6

Barch et al compared individuals with and without schizophrenia based on their performance in a strop test and found that those with schizophrenia were slower and made more mistakes on a strop test. Supports faiths theory that schz is a result of breakdown in the individuals filtering process.

Question 7

Limitation

Answer 7

The stroop test is not an ecologically valid test. there are other factors that can lead to poor performance on a stoop test not solely on how they can’t filter out information.

Question 8

Support

Answer 8

Morrison 19981 proposes that triggers such as sleep deprivation can cause some individuals to hear voices in maladaptive ways, which can be appraised inappropriately. Leads to individual engaging in behaviours such as self harm and social withdrawal.

Question 9

limitation

Answer 9

There’s many people who suffer from sleep deprivation who do not have schizophrenia or suffer from maladaptive thinking. Therefore a link between sleep deprivation and schz cannot. be made.

Question 10

Limitation

Answer 10

A major problem with schz studies is that many pots are taking antipsychotic medication, which have a big impact on the brain. Therefor these tests lack population validity, as it would be difficult to generalise the findings to all schizophrenics who are not taking medication.

Question 11

Benefit

Answer 11

However, we can apply CBT therapy to schizophrenia. A major symptom of schizophrenia is disordered thinking. The purpose of CBT is to help an individual consider and organise their disordered thought in a rational way. A therapist can then make a connection between their disorganises thinking and their illness, The therapist will try to make the maladaptive thoughts conscious and then by challenging them. Helps with hallucinations and delusions.