Psychological explanations SZ Flashcards
A)what did Reichmann-Fromm say caused schizophrenia and b) what characteristics defined it?
a) schizophrenogenic mother - schizophrenia causing mother
b) cold,rejecting and controlling which creates secrecy and tension in the family
What is the fathers role in the schizophrenogenic mother explanation
-very passive and stays out of it.
a) What is the double-bind theory and b) who created it ?
b) Bateson
a) -emphasised the importance of communication in the family as the schizophrenic child often does the wrong thing but receives mixed messages about what this is
-When a child gets something wrong they are punished by withdrawals of love
-This leads to the child being confused which leads to symptoms such as disorganised speech and delusions
-Bateson emphasised that this is only a risk factor and not a cause
What are the elements of Expressed emotions?
1.Verbal criticism of the person, accompanied by violence
2. Hostility towards the person including anger and repression
3.emotional overinvolvement in the life of the person
How can expressed emotions cause schizophrenia?
-Intense negative emotions towards schizophrenic children can cause stress which can trigger schizophrenia
-However, it is mainly used to explain relapse rates in schizophrenia
What is the AO3 of family dysfunction for psychological explanations?
S-Research Support: indicators of dysfunctional attachment in insecure attachment. John reed (2015) found adults with schizophrenia are disproportionately likely to have insecure attachment -Type C or D. Also reported that 69% of women and 59% of men have a history of physical / sexual abuse. Therefore family dysfunction causes schizophrenia
L-Explanations lack support: There is no support for the double-bind theory or the schizophrenogenic mother.
What is dysfunctional thought processing?
-information processing that does not accurately represent reality and produces undesirable consequences
How does dysfunctional thought processing in parts of the brain cause schizophrenia?
-Reduced thought processing in ventral striatum is associated with negative symptoms
-Reduced thought processing in the temporal and cingulate gyri is associated with hallucinations
What are the two types of dysfunctional thought processes identified by Frith (1992)
-Metarepresentation dysfunction
-Central control dysfunction
a) What is metarepresentation dysfunction and b) what symptoms does it cause?
a)the cognitive ability to reflect on our own thoughts and behaviours, allowing us insight into our own intentions and goals
-Need this as it allows interpretation of the actions of others and dysfunction in metarepresentation would lead to not understanding actions of ourselves and others
b)This explains hallucinations or delusions (insertion)
a) What is central control dysfunction b) what symptoms does it cause ?
a)issues with the cognitive ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions
B)This can lead to speech poverty and
What is AO3 for cognitive explanations
-Research support: evidence for dysfunctional thought processing. Stirling (2006) compared performance on cognitive tasks (stroop test) in 30 people with SZ and a control group of 30 w/o sz. People with sz took twice as long to name the font colours. This means cognitive processes of people with sz is impaired
-Proximal explanation; only explains proximal origins. Cognitive explanations are proximal explanations as they explain what is happening now to produce symptoms, not what causes the condition. possible distal explanations are genetic or family dysfunction. However, unclear if genetics might lead to dysfunctional metarepresentation.
