Psychological explanations of schizophrenia

Question 1

Who proposed the schizophrenogenic mother explanation for schizophrenia

Answer 1

Freida Fromm-Reichmann

Question 2

What is the schizophrenogenic mother

Answer 2

Causes schizophrenia by being cold/rejecting/controlling= family climate of tension/secrecy=distrust=paranoid delusions=schizophrenia

Question 3

Gregory Batterson: the role of communication style within a family causing schizophrenia (Double-bind theory)

Answer 3

-Child fears doing wrong but mixed messages on what wrong is and can’t seek clarification/show frustration
-Punished with withdrawal of love

=Risk factor

Question 4

Consequences of dysfunctional communication in family (George Batterson)

Answer 4

=Understanding that the world is confusing and dangerous= disorganised thinking/paranoid delusions

Question 5

What is expressed emotion

Answer 5

Negative emotions expressed towards schizophrenic person by their carers

Question 6

Elements of expressed emotion

Answer 6

-Verbal/physical abuse
-Hostility towards person e.g anger/rejection
-Emotional overinvolvement in their lives

Question 7

Consequences of expressed emotion

Answer 7

Source of stress can cause relapse but also schizophrenia itself in those with genetic vulnerability (diathesis-stress model)

Question 8

Family dysfunction explanations for schizophrenia

Answer 8

-The schizophrenogenic mother (Freida Fromm-Reichmann 1948)

-Double-bind theory (Gregory Baterson 1972)

-Expressed emotion

Question 9

Cognitive explanations for schizophrenia

Answer 9

-Dysfunctional thinking

-Metarepresentation of function

-Central control dysfunction

Question 10

Dysfunctional thinking explanation for schizophrenia

Answer 10

Disruption to normal thought procession e.g:
-Reduced TP in ventral striatum associated with negative symptoms
-Reduced TP in temporal/cingulate gyri associated with hallucinations

Question 11

Function of Metarepresentation

Answer 11

-Cognitive ability to reflect on thoughts/behaviour= insight into intentions/goals
-Also helps interpret other’s actions

Question 12

What does dysfunction in metarepresentation cause

Answer 12

Disrupts ability to know our thoughts/actions are ours and not someone else’s= delusions/hearing voices/hallucinations

Question 13

What two kinds of dysfunctional thought processes did Frith et al (1992) identify

Answer 13

Metarepresentation dysfunction

Central control dysfunction

Question 14

What is dysfunctional thought processing

Answer 14

Info processing that doesn’t accurately represent reality/produces undesirable consequences

Question 15

Central control dysfunction

Answer 15

Speech poverty/thought disorder caused by inability to supress automatic thoughts/speech triggered by thoughts

Question 16

Example of central control dysfunction

Answer 16

Derailment of thoughts as each word triggers associations and can’t suppress automatic responses to them

Question 17

What is derailment

Answer 17

Person’s words have a loose association with the original topic in a conversation
-frame of reference changes from one viewpoint to another
=Confusion

Question 18

Strength of family dysfunction causing schizophrenia

Answer 18

Strong evidence
-e.g Read et al found patients disproportionately likely to have insecure attachment (indicates FD)/-69% of women/59% men patients have history of abuse

Morkved found most had trauma

So shows strong connection between FD and schizophrenia vulnerability

Question 19

What percentage of schizophrenic female patients experienced physical/sexual abuse (Read et al)

Answer 19

69%

Question 20

What percentage of schizophrenic male patients experienced physical/sexual abuse (Read et al)

Answer 20

59%

Question 21

Weakness of family dysfunction causing schizophrenia

Answer 21

Poor evidence base for schizophrenogenic mother/double-bind theory
-Both based on clinical observation of patients/informal assessment of mothers

=No systematic evidence

Question 22

Strength of cognitive explanation for schizophrenia

Answer 22

Evidence for dysfunctional thought processing
e.g Stirling et al (2016) compared performance on cognitive stroop task for schizophrenics/control group
-Experimental group took 2X as long- predicted by Frith’s central control theory

Shows cognitive processes are impaired

Question 23

What is the stroop task (used in Stirling et al’s 2006 research)

Answer 23

pps have to name front-colour colour-words so have to suppress the tendency to read the words aloud

Question 24

Weakness of cognitive explanation for schizophrenia

Answer 24

Only proximal explanations (what’s happening NOW to cause symptoms) deosn’t explain original cause (distal explanation)
-Still not clear how family dysfunction/genetics cause these cognitive impairements

So only partial explanations