P4- Cognitive Explanation For SZ

Question 1

What does the cognitive explanation for SZ suggest. What did Frith et al. (1992) identify?

Answer 1

A cognitive explanation for SZ suggests that they may be disruption to normal though processing. Frith et al identified two kinds of dysfunctional thought processing that could underlie some symptoms.

Question 2

Firstly, what might be a cause? What would this explain?

Answer 2

Firstly, dysfunction in meta representation (the ability to reflect on our own thoughts and behaviours) may be a cause. This distrusts the ability of a person to recognise their own actions and thoughts as being carried out by themselves. This would explain symptoms of voices or delusions like thought insertion.

Question 3

What is a second dysfunction?

Answer 3

Second, dysfunction of central control. Central control is the cognitive ability to suppress automatic responses while performing deliberate actions. People with SZ experience derailment of thoughts and spoken sentences because each word triggers automatic associations they cannot suppress.