schizophrenia explanations

Question 1

what is the named biological explanation of schizophrenia

Answer 1

Neurotransmitters

Question 2

what is the unnamed biological explanation of schizophrenia

Answer 2

genetics

Question 3

what is the unnamed non biological explanation of schizophrenia

Answer 3

cognitive

Question 4

AO1 of the cognitive explanation of schizophrenia

Answer 4

 Abnormalities in cognitive function is a key component of sz.
 People usually have a dysfunctional thought processing such as. Faulty attention system in sz
 Preconscious thoughts contain a huge amount of info from our five senses in people with sz as info doesn’t get filtered out leading to sensory overload.
 A sensory overload can lead to positive symptoms.
 Hallucinations are part of a faulty thought process as people with sz don’t check is acc source they think its external and they may feel paranoia if others can’t confirm it.
 People with sz have a poor link between mem and perception which can lead to disorganised thinking, and they don’t know what to expect from a situation they disconnect from their schemas and what they acc hear and see which leads to sensory overload, so they don’t know what situation to attend to causing disorganised thinking and behaviour.
 Delusions (which are caused by excess dopamine) may be caused by an inability to process social situations appropriately leading to false conclusions, but they are unable to consider that they may be wrong.
 When they try to make sense of delusions, they then get other symptoms of sz such as disorganised thinking

Question 5

3 strengths of the cognitive explanation of schizophrenia

Answer 5

+ it focuses on both nature in the form of nt and nurture so it is a more holistic explanation than the biological.
+ O Carol found cognitive impairment in 75% of sz patents in areas like memory and attention
+ Dickson et al found that adolescents at risk of developing sz had deficits in a variety of cognitive functions suggesting this is a cause of sz

Question 6

3 weaknesses of the cognitive explanation of schizophrenia

Answer 6

• Cognitive explanation ignores the impact of social class on the development of sz so it may not fully explain the disorder
• It’s difficult to find a cause or effect so the sensory overload may be an effect of the sz, or it may be a cause
• A study found that relatives of schizophrenics had similar cognitive deficits but they didn’t develop sz meaning other factors may be involved