Psychological explanations - AO1

Question 1

What is family dysfunction?

Answer 1

Abnormal processes that occur within a family such as a poor communication, cold parenting and high levels of expressed emotions

Question 2

What are the three explanations of family dysfunction?

Answer 2

• The schizophrenogenic mother
• Double bind theory
• Expressed emotions

Question 3

What is the schizophrogenic mother?

Answer 3

• Fromm-Reichman (1948): SZ patients spoke of particular type of parent
• Cold, rejecting, controlling; creates family climate of tension and secrecy
• Leads to distrust, develops into paranoid delusions and ultimately schizophrenia

Question 4

What is double bind theory?

Answer 4

• Bateson et al. (1977): Emphasised role of communication style (as a risk factor)
• Mixed messages on right/wrong; feels unable to comment clarify; punished by withdrawal of love
• Comes to understand world as confusing and dangerous; symptoms like disorganised thinking and paranoid delusions

Question 5

What is expressed emotions?

Answer 5

• High levels of emotion (especially negative) conveyed towards a SZ patient by family carers
• Contains verbal criticsm (occasionally violent), hositility and emotional overinvolvement
• High level of EE source of stress; primarily explains relapse but could trigger onset

Question 6

What is dysfunctional thinking?

Answer 6

• Dysfunctional thought processing: information processing that does not represent reality accurately, leading to distress
• Frith (1992): Identified two kinds of dysfunctional thought processing

Question 7

What are the two explanations of dysfunctional thinking?

Answer 7

• Metarepresentation (theory of mind)
• Central control

Question 8

What is metarepresentation (theory of mind)?

Answer 8

• Cognitive ability to refelct on our own thoughts and behaviour
• Allows insight into intentions and goals of self and others
• SZ may not recognise actions/thoughts as being carried out by themselves
  Hearing voices
  Thought insertion

Question 9

What is central control?

Answer 9

• Cognitive ability to supress automatic responses whilsy we perform deliberate actions
• Patients experience derailment of thoughts each word triggers associations; cannot supress automatic responses
  Speech poverty
  Disorganised thinking