Individual differences - thought disorder - cogntive explanation

Question 1

What does this theory offer?

Answer 1

• removal of blame from the patients and their families
• it is a logical explanation based on cognitive dysfunction
• attempts to explain the reason for some symptom

claims symptoms are the result of faulty information processing e.g attentional problems, deficits in memory, faulty self monitoring

Question 2

Explanation for Sz

Answer 2

Faulty attention span
- associated with Sz as individuals with this condition may struggle to focus on tasks or filter out irrelevant stimuli

Disordered thinking
- core symptom of Sz as it manifests as difficulties in organising thoughts, maintaining a logical flaw
- can lead to fragmented speech
- significantly impacts communication and the ability to engage in rational discourse

Faulty filtering system
- difficulty individuals have in processing and prioritising sensory information
- may struggle to filter out irrelevant stimuli

Failure to activate schemas
- memories and schemas are working independently
- schemas are not activated mentally
- even superficial and unimportant stimuli is paid attention to
- inner thoughts are interpreted as voices — do not come through as memories

Question 3

What do the explanations for Sz mean?

Answer 3

• people with Sz are unable to predict what will happen next
• concentration is poor and they attend unimportant aspects of the environment
• poor integration of memory and perception leads to disorganised thinking

Question 4

Frith (1979)

Answer 4

• claims that Sz are unable to distinguish between what is occurring externally or being generated internally
  
  • positive symptoms (hallucinations/delusions) are not experienced as being self generated but as being implanted or controlled by others externally

Question 5

Evidence for the cognitive explanation of Sz - can also be used as A03 to back up points

Answer 5

The stroop test
- Barch et al (1999)
- compared performance on a stroop test of schizophrenics and controls
- those with Sz were slower and made more mistakes on the stroop test
- this evidence demonstrates that those with Sz cannot filter information as effectively — supports their idea that attentional filters are defective

Frith 1992
- cognitive deficits may be due to reduced cerebral blood flow in areas of a Sz brain that use DNA when engaged in some cognitive tasks

Hemsley (1993)
- tentative research in rats, found a neurological relationship between problems in the hippocampus and schema activation failure
- rats with amygdala lesions have found to have deficits in memory

Question 6

Describe one individual differences/ cognitive explanation for Schizophrenia

Answer 6

• Brief description of theory
  e.g Sz internal thoughts are not actually recognised as their own
• The explanation of the theory
  e.g Sz as a result of the breakdown of thought filter and attentional processes
• Supporting evidence
  e.g barch, hemsley, frith

Question 7

Evaluation

Answer 7

Less Reductionist
this explanation states that symptoms of Sz are caused by not having the ability to filter out stimuli — but does not explain what causes this deficiency in the first place, the biochemical explanation may be able to help
- frith recognise that faulty cognitions are due to a disconnection of the functions within the frontal lobe and posterior areas of the brain - blood flow is reduced in the DA pathways during cognitive tasks which views cognition as a by product of brain function
- considers the roles played by biology as well as cognition

Causal relationship
- hard to establish
- cannot be sure that cognitive errors cause the Sz or Sz causes these errors
- cause and effect cannot be established which limits the extent to which this explanation can be used to understand Sz