schizophrenia- psychological explanations Flashcards
explain the schizophrenogenic mother
a particular type of parent that is cold cold, rejecting and controlling -> family climate characterised by tension and secrecy
what is the impact of the schizophrenogenic mother
distrust that later develops into paranoid delusions -> schizophrenia
explain double bind theory
suggests that children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents are more likely to develop schizophrenia
what is an example of double bind theory
parents who say they care whilst appearing critical or who express love whilst appearing angry
a high degree of expressed emotion is what ?
a negative emotional climate
what is expressed emotion ?
a family communication styles that involves verbal criticism
hostility towards the person including anger and rejection
emotional over involvement
what has been concluded about expressed emotion ?
more important in maintaining
schizophrenia than causing it in the first place
-> cause for relapses in schizophrenia
what kind of processing can schizophrenia be characterised by ?
disruption to normal thought processing
what are the two types of dysfunctional thought processing ?
meta representation
central control
explain meta representation?
the cognitive ability on thoughts and behaviour
what does dysfunction in meta representation lead to ?
disrupt ability to recognise our own actions and thoughts carried out by ourselves rather than someone else
-> explains hallucinations of voices and delusions like thought processing
explain central control ?
cognitive ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions instead
dysfunction in central control can lead to what ?
disorganised speech and thought disorder -> inability to suppress automatic thoughts and speech triggered by other thoughts
derailment of thoughts and processes + spoken sentences -> each word triggers association
what is a strength of family dysfunction explanation
supporting evidence
support for family dysfunction as a risk factor
read et al - reviewed 46 studies of child abuse and schizophrenia
69% of adult women in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia -> history of physical or sexual abuse in childhood 59%
difficult family relationships in childhood are associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in adulthood
what is a limitation of the family dysfunction theory (validty problems)
serious problem with validity
info about childhood experiences gathered after development of symptoms.
schizophrenia -> could have distorted patients recall of childhood experiences
this shows that the evidence linking family dysfunction to schizophrenia may not be accurate and valid
what is another limitation of family dysfunction theory
ethical issues
There are serious ethical concerns in blaming the family
Gender bias -> issue as the mother tends to be blamed the most, which means such research is highly socially sensitive.
This suggests that the research therefore does not protect individuals from harm.
what is a strength of dysfunctional thought processing (research to support)
striling et al compared 30 people with diagnosis of schizophrenia with 18 controls n range cognitive tasks including stroop test.
results showed people with schizophrenia took twice as long to name the ink colours as control group
information influenced differently in schizophrenia.
-> does not tell origins of cognition or schizophrenia
