Schizophrenia Flashcards
Neurosis [definition]:
Mental health issues that fall just outside normal functioning but the individual is in touch with reality and knows they are ill
Psychosis [definition]:
Mental health issues where an individual has lost touch with reality and is not on a continuum with normal mental health
Positive symptoms [definition]:
Symptoms that appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions
Positive symptoms =
Type 1 = Distortion of normal functioning
Negative symptoms [definition]:
Symptoms that appear to reflect a decrease or a loss of normal functioning
Negative symptoms =
Type 2 = Lack of normal functioning
What are the psychological explanations for schizophrenia? [2]:
- Family dysfunction
- Cognitive explanations
Family dysfunction [explanation]:
It claims that schizophrenia is caused by abnormal patterns of communication within the family
Which family dysfunction explanations refer to the onset of schizophrenia? [2]:
- The schizophrenogenic mother
- The double-blind theory
Which family dysfunction explanation refers to the maintenance of schizophrenia?
Expressed emotion
Double-blind theory [4]:
- Bateson et al (1956)
- Kids who frequently get contradictory messages from parents are more likely to get schiz
- e.g mum tells child she loves him but turns head away in disgust
- interactions prevent development of an internally coherent construction of reality which manifests as schiz symptoms
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia [4]:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Disorganised speech
- Grossly disorganised behaviour
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia [4]:
- Speech poverty
- Avolition
- Affective flattening
- Anhedonia
Disorganised speech [explanation]:
its a result of abnormal thought processes cus individual has problems organising their thoughts
Grossly disorganised behaviour [explanation]:
Inability or motivation to start or complete it once it started
Delusions [explanation]:
Bizarre beliefs that the schizophrenic thinks are real
Speech poverty [explanation]:
lessening of speech fluency and productivity- thought to reflect slowing or blocked thought
Avolition [explanation]:
A reduction of interests and desires as well as the desire to persist in goal-directed behaviour
Affective flattening [explanation]:
A reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression including facial expression and voice tone
Anhedonia [explanation]:
Loss of interest in all or most activities, or a lack of reactivity to normally pleasurable stimuli
Expressed emotion [explanation]:
Communication style where family members of patients talk about patient in hostile/critical manner
Expressed emotion relapse rate [3]:
- Linszen et al (1997)
- Patient returning to family with high EE is 4x more likely to relapse than patient who has family with low EE
- suggests ppl with schiz have lower tolerance to intense environmental stimuli specifically intense emotional comments from family
Expressed emotion- Kupiers et al
High EE relatives talk more and listen less
Expressed emotion- Noll 2009 [2]:
- Negative emotional climate leads to stress beyond their impaired coping mechanisms, triggering a schiz episode
- Family environments that are supportive and emotionally undemanding may help reduce risk of relapse and reliance on antipsychotics
Cognitive explanation for delusions [2]:
- Durin the formation of delusions schizo’s interpretations of events are controlled by inadequate info processing
- Perceives themselves as the central part of events (egocentric bias) so jumps to false conclusions about external events
Cognitive explanation for hallucinations [4]:
- Hallucinating ppl focus too much on auditory stimuli
- So have higher expectancy for the occurrence of a voice than others
- Schiz patients are more likely to mistake self-generated auditory experiences as an external source
- Errors are not corrected cus schema faulty
Family dysfunction AO3- Research support [4]:
+ Tienari et al (1994)
+ Adopted kids with schiz bio parents were more likely to have it than kids with non schiz bio parents
+ However, this only applied where adopted family was rated as disturbed
+ shows that circumstance matters bro
Family dysfunction AO3- Double blind research [3]:
+ Berger 1965
+Schizophrenics reported a higher recall of double blind statements from their mums then non schizos
+ suggests that there is a relationship between contradictions and schizo making research more valid
Family dysfunction AO3- Family therapy [4]:
+ Gibney (2006)
+ claims that double blind led to development of family therapy
+ Interactions can be organised constructively so they become health producing
+ reduces schizos more workers
Family dysfunction AO3- Ethical issues [3]:
- serious ethical concerns in blaming the family
- Especially cus there is lil evidence to support it
- Mother tends to be blamed most which has ethical implications on women in society
Cognitive explanations AO3- Practical applications [4]:
+ Yellowless et al
+ developed a machine that produced virtual hallucinations telling the patients to kys
+ Intention is to show schizos that their hallucinations are not real
+ Suggests understanding cognitive helps to create new treatments