psychological explanations for schizophrenia Flashcards
what are the psychological explanations for schizophrenia
there are a range of psychological explanations of schizophrenia some of these have focused on psychological environment in particular family and its role in making individuals vulnerable to schizophrenia
others have focused more on the mind of the person and emphasing in the experience if schizophrenia
what are the two sections of psychological explanations
psychological explanations:
- family dysfunction
- double-bind theory
- expressed emotion and schizophrenia
cognitive explanations:
- metarepresentation
- central control
explain family dysfunction
psychologists have attempted to link schizophrenia to childhood and adult experiences of living dysfunctional family
they identified the:
- schizophrenic mother
- double-bind theory
- exposed emotion and schizophrenia
what is the schizophrenic mother
Frieda Fromm- Reichman (1998) proposed a psychodynamic explanation for schizophrenia based on the accounts she heard from clients about their childhood
F-R noted that many clients spoke of a particular type of parent which she dubbed the schizophrenic mother - schizophrenic meaning schizophrenia causing
what are qualities of a schizophrenic mother
the schizophrenic mother is:
-cold
-rejecting and controlling
-tends to create a family climate characterised by tension and secrecy
. This leads to distrust which develops into paranoid delusions and ultimately schizophrenic
who proposed the double - bind theory
Gregory Bateson (1972) agreed that family climate is important in the development of schizophrenia but emphasised the role of communication
what is the double -bind theory
the developing child regularly finds themselves trapped in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing, but receive mixed messages about what this is, and feel unable to comment on the unfairness of this situation or seek clarification
when they get it wrong - which is often, the child is punished by withdrawal of love which leaves them thinking the world is a cruel and dangerous which is reflected in syptoms like:
- disorganised thinking
- paranoid delusions
what does Bateson make clear
Bateson was clear that this was not the main type of communication in the family of a person with schizophrenia not the only factor in developing schizophrenia, just a risk factor
what is exposed emotion (EE)
(ee) is the level of emotion - in particular negative emotion, expressed towards a person with schizophrenia by their carers
what are the several elements that EE contains
- verbal criticism of the person, occasionally accompanied by violence
- hostility towards the person, occasionally accompanied by violence
- emotional over-involvement in the life of the person, including needless self-sacrifice
these high levels of EE in carers directed towards the person are a serious source of strress for the patient
This is a primarily an explanation for relapse in people with schizophrenia -
however, it has also been suggested that it may be source of stress that can trigger the onset of schizophrenia in a person who is already vulnerable, e.g. due to their genetic make - up (diathesis - stress)
what are the cognitive explanations of schizophrenia
cognitive explanations for any phenomenon is one that focuses on the role of mental processes
Schizophrenia is associated with several types of abnormal info processing, and these can provide explanations for schizophrenia
what is some clinical evidence that suggests that cognition is impaired in those suffering from schizophrenia
schizophrenia is characterised by disruption to normal thought processing
e.g reduced processing in the info in the temporal and cinglulate gyri are associated with hallucinations
This lower than usual level of information processing suggests that cognition is likely to be impaired
what did Frith et al sugget
Frith et al (1992) identified two kinds of dysfunctional thought processing that could underlie some symptoms:
- metarepresentation
- central contol
what is metarepresentation
metarepresentation is the cognitive ability to repeat thoughts and behaviour.
It allows us insight into our own intentions and goals. It also allows us to interpret the actions of others
what does a faulty metarepresentation lead to
dysfunction in metarepresentation would distrust our ability to recognise our own actions and thought as being carried out by ourselves rather than someone else
this would explain hallucinations of voices and delusions like thought insertion (the experience of having thoughts projected into the mind of others)
