Schizophrenia - psychological and cognitive explanations

Question 1

What does the family dysfunction explanation suggest?

Answer 1

Schizophrenia is due to family experiences of interpersonal conflicts, communication problems, criticism and control.

Question 2

Name three explanations for family dysfunction and their researcher.

Answer 2

Double-blind theory - Bateson et al. (1972)
Expressed emotion - Kavanagh (1992)
Schizophregenic mother - Fromm-Reichmann (1948)

Question 3

Who is the researcher for Schizophregenic mother explanation?

Answer 3

Fromm-Reichmann (1948)

Question 4

Who is the researcher for Expressed emotion explanation?

Answer 4

Kavanagh (1992)

Question 5

Who is the researcher for the Double-blind explanation?

Answer 5

Bateson (1972)

Question 6

What is the psychological explanation of schizophrenia?

Answer 6

family dysfunction

Question 7

What is the cognitive explanation for schizophrenia?

Answer 7

Dysfunctional thought processing

Question 8

Give the characteristics of the family for Double-blind theory.

Answer 8

Child receives mixed messages and can’t do the right thing. When they get it wrong, they are punished with withdrawal of love.

Question 9

What impact does the Double-blind theory have on the patient?

Answer 9

It leads to understanding the world as confusing and dangerous.

Question 10

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia associated with the Double-blind theory?

Answer 10

Can trigger disorganised thinking and paranoid delusions, and ultimately schizophrenia.

Question 11

Give the characteristics of the family for Expressed emotion explanation.

Answer 11

It is a measure of the family environment that is based on how the relatives of psychiatric patients spontaneously talk about the patient.
If a family is showing high expressed emotions, they show exaggerated involvement in the patients life, control, verbal criticism of the patient and hostility.

Question 12

What impact does the Expressed emotion explanation have on the patient?

Answer 12

Can leed to excessive stress beyond impaired coping mechanisms.

Question 13

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia associated with the Expressed emotion explanation?

Answer 13

This can trigger relapse in patients with schizophrenia and may trigger the onset in a person who is already vulnerable due to their genetic makeup.

Question 14

Give the characteristics of the family for Schizophregenic mother explanation

Answer 14

The mother iscoldm controlling and rejecting while the father is passive.

Question 15

What impact does the Schizophregenic mother explanation have on the patient?

Answer 15

Can lead to excessive stress and distrust as the family climate is characterised by tension and secrecy.

Question 16

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia associated with the Schizophregenic mother explanation?

Answer 16

This can trigger psychiatric thinking sonf paranoid delusions and ultimately schizophrenia.

Question 17

Bullet point three evaluation points for the psychological explanation of schizophrenia.

Answer 17

• mixed research for double-blind and schizophregenic mother conducted by Berger (supports it) and Liem (undermines it).
• ethical issues of using family dysfunction as blames the parents who are already suffering with watching their child descend into schizophrenia, causing greater stress and anxiety.
• some evidence support for expressed emotion conducted by Garety et al. who found relapse rate for those in family therapy for EE was 25% compared to those who did standard therapy where is was 50%.

Question 18

Give a full evaluation paragraph on mixed research for family dysfunction.

Answer 18

P: The research for both double-blind and schizophrenic mother is mixed.
E: Berger (1995) found that schizophrenics reported a higher recall of double-blind statements by their mothers than non-schizophrenics.
Whereas, Liem (1974) found no difference in parental communication in families with a schizophrenic child and ‘normal’ families.
E: Overall there is not a lot of support for family dysfunction explanations as there is lots of contradicting research as well.
L: Therefore, it is difficult to determine the explanation as being valid.

Question 19

Give a full evaluation paragraph on ethical issues with the family dysfunction theory.

Answer 19

P: There are also ethical issues of using family dysfunction theories as they have led to parent-blaming.
E: Parents who have already suffered as seeing their child descend into schizophrenia and who are likely to bear life long responsibilities for their care, feel responsible for their child illness.
E: This leads to greater stress and anxiety in the parent on top of how they already feel, suggesting the theories are unethical.
L: Therefore, these theories are no longer used as the dominant throes for schizophrenia because outdated views that were once accepted are no longer tolerated but families.

Question 20

Give a full evaluation paragraph on research for family dysfunction.

Answer 20

P: However, there is still some research evidence to support the theory of expressed emotion.
E: Garety et al. (2008) estimated the relapse rate for individuals who receive family therapy based on reducing EE was 25% compared to 50% relapsed rate for those receiving standard therapy.
E: The effectiveness of family therapy based on reducing EE, supports family dysfunction theories because by changing the EE, rate of relapse reduced (halves).
L: Thus, implying that the EE plays a role in the return of symptoms of schizophrenia.

Question 21

What is the cognitive explanation for schizophrenia?

Answer 21

Dysfunctional though processes including;

• central control
• matarepresentations

Question 22

Explain the cognitive explanation for schizophrenia.

Answer 22

Suggests, that schizophrenia is due to abnormal information processing. Frith et al. (1992) identified two kinds of dysfunctional thought processes that could underlie some symptoms of schizophrenia;

• central control
• metarepresentation

Question 23

Define dysfunctional thought processing.

Answer 23

Cognitive habits or beliefs that cause the individual to evaluate information inappropriately and proceeds undesirable consequences.

Question 24

What is central control?

Answer 24

The cognitive ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions instead.

Question 25

What would dysfunction in central control lead to?

Answer 25

Disorganised speech and thought disorder as we are unable to suppress automatic thoughts and speech triggered by other thoughts.

For example, schizophrenics tend to experience derailment of thoughts and spoken sentences because each world triggers associated and the patient can’t suppress automatic responses to them.

Question 26

What is metarepresentation?

Answer 26

The cognitive ability to reflect on thoughts sand behaviours which allows us insight into our own intentions and goals.

Question 27

What would dysfunction in metarepresentation lead to?

Answer 27

It would disrupt our ability to recognise our own actions and thoughts as being ourselves rather than someone else’s.

This explains auditory hallucinations like thought insertion.

Question 28

Bullet point evaluation points for cognitive explanations of schizophrenia.

Answer 28

• Research to support dysfunctional thought processes being responsible for the development of schizophrenia conducted by Stirling et al. (2006) using the Stroop test and found naming colours took twice as long.
• Support from the effectiveness of CBTp as is more effective than antipsychotics for reducing symptom severity and improving levels of social functioning.
• However, can;t explain all cases of schizophrenia as both family dysfunction and cognitive theories ignore biological factors so aren’t full explanations.

Question 29

Give a full evaluation paragraph on evidence support for the cognitive explanation of schizophrenia.

Answer 29

P: There is supporting evidence for dysfunctional thought processing being responsible for the development of schizophrenia.
E: Stirling et al. (2006) compared 30 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia with 18 non-patient controls on a range fo cog tasks including the stroop test. Patients took over twice as long to name the ink colour as the control group.
E: This supports Frith et al.’s suggestion of a relationship between central control dysfunction and symptoms of schizophrenia. However, whilst the link between symptoms and faulty cognitions is clear, this does not tell us about the origins of those cognitions.
L: Therefore the origins of schizophrenia and so relapse could potentially occur.

Question 30

Give a full evaluation paragraph for a limitation of the psychological explanation schizophrenia.

Answer 30

P: However, psychological explanations alone can’t explain all cases of schizophrenia.
E: Both family dysfunction and cognitive theories are ignoring biological factors such as genetics or neural correlates which may predispose a person to developing schizophrenia.
E: It may be better to take an interactionist approach such as the diathesis-stress model which would suggest that it’s caused by an interaction between a genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
L: Therefore, psychological explanations alone are not a complete explanation for schizophrenia.