Psychological Explanations Flashcards
what is family dysfunction
refers to processes within family, e.g., poor communication, cold parenting, high EE
= can be risk factors in development and maintenance of SZPN
what is the schizophrenogenic mother explanation
Psychodynamic explanation by Fromm-Reichmann (1948)
schizophrenogenic = SZPN-causing
schizophrenogenic mother is cold, rejecting and controlling, create family environment characterised by tension and secrecy
= leads to distrust that later develops into paranoid delusions and ultimately SZPN
what is the double-bind theory explanation
Proposed by Bateson et al (1972)
= emphasised role of communication style within family
- child regularly finds themselves trapped in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing, but receive mixed signals on what ‘wrong’ is
= feel unable to comment on unfairness of situation/seek clarity
how does double-bind theory link SZPN development
when child gets things ‘wrong’ = punished by love withdrawal
- left with understanding world to be confusing and dangerous = reflected in symptoms like paranoid thinking
what is the expressed emotion explanation
level of negative emotion expressed towards SPZNic by carer (usually family), incl;
- verbal criticism (occasionally accompanied by violence)
- hostility, e.g., anger/rejection
- emotional overinvolvement, e.g., needless self sacrifice
= serious source of stress
primarily explanation for relapse
- can be trigger in developing, for those already vunerable, e.g., due to genes
SZPN is associated with several types of dysfunctional thought processing, what is this?
info processing that does not represent reality accurately = produce undesirable consequences
Examples of how SZPN characterised by disruption to normal thought processing
Negative symptoms = associated with reduced thought processing in ventral striatum
Hallucinations = associated with reduced info processing in temporal/cingulate gyri
2 kinds of dysfunctional thought processes identified by Frith Et al (1992)
Metarepresentation dysfunction
Central control dysfunction
What is metarepresentation dysfunction
Disrupted ability to recognise own actions/thoughts as being carried out by ourselves, rather than someone else
Explains hallucinations like thought insertion
Central control dysfunction
Inability to suppress automatic responses when performing deliberate actions
E.g. SZPNics experience derailment of thoughts because each word triggers associations which have automatic responses that cannot be suppressed
- speech poverty/thought disorder
Strength of Family Dysfunction Explanation
Research Support
- family dysfunction indicators include insecure attachment & childhood trauma exposure
• Read et al = SZPNics disproportionately likely to have insecure attachment
= 69% of women/59% of men have history of physical/sexual abuse
• Mørkved et al
= most adults with SZPN reported at least 1 childhood trauma
= strongly suggest family dysfunction makes more vulnerable to SZPN
Weakness of family dysfunction explanation
Lack of support for explanation
- poor evidence base
= plenty evidence SUPPORTING link but almost none for actual explanation, e.g. schizophrenogenic mother, double-bind
- both theories not based on systematic evidence, only information assessment/clinical observations
= explanations not able to account for link between childhood trauma/SZPN
Strength of cognitive explanations
Research Support
- evidence for dysfunctional thought processing
• Stirling et al = compared cognitive task (incl. Stroop test) performance in 30 SZPNics & 30 control
= SZPNics took over twice as long on avg. naming font colours
= support cognitive impairment in SZPNics
Weakness of cognitive explanation
Proximal Explanation
- only explain what is happening now to produce symptoms, unlike genetic or family dysfunction (distal) = look at initial cause
Lack of clarity on how distal leads to proximal
= only provide partial explanation on its own
