Schizophrenia: Psychological Explanations

Question 1

What are the two psychological explanations for SZ?

Answer 1

Family dysfunction

Cognitive explanation

Question 2

What does the family dysfunction explanation state SZ is linked with/ due to?

(for 2nd point , think the 4Cs)

2 points

Answer 2

-SZ is linked to the experience of living in a dysfunctional family

-SZ is due to family experiences of conflict , communication problems , criticism and control

Question 3

Within the family dysfunction explanation , what are the 2 key dysfunctional family characteristics that are associated with SZ?

Answer 3

High expressed emotion
double bind situations

Question 4

What are the 3 key features involved in highly expressed emotions?
How do these features trigger SZ?

Answer 4

Verbal criticism
Hostility
Emotional over-involvement/control

these put a person under stress which can trigger SZ

Question 5

What two symptoms are linked with experiencing high expressed emotions?
Why does high EE cause this ?

Answer 5

social withdrawal-this is done to avoid hostility and verbal criticism

thought insertion-due to the over involvement or verbal criticism received from a family member , the sufferer may think they are being controlled

Question 6

Name the researcher that investigated family communication styles

What did they find was a risk factor for developing SZ?

Answer 6

Bateson 1956

found that being caught in a double bind situation is a risk factor for developing SZ

Question 7

What happens when a child is caught in a double bind situation?

make 2 points

Answer 7

-they receive conflicting messages about their relationship

-they feel that however they respond will be wrong

Question 8

What 2 characteristics of SZ can be explained by exposure to double binds?

Describe these characteristics

Answer 8

paranoid delusions-these stem from the belief that the world is dangerous and people are trying to hurt them

disorganised thinking-results from seeing the world as confusing and hard to make sense of

Question 9

Who provides supporting evidence for the influence of double binds?
Describe these findings

Give 2 however points that could be used to contradict this evidence

Answer 9

Berger 1965

found that schizophrenics reported a higher recall of double bind statements by their mothers than a control group

this suggests that double binds do have an influence

HOWEVER …
-recall is retrospective so may lack validity
-recall may be less accurate due to the condition of the SZ patients so cant be as confident in the validity of their recall

Question 10

Who provides contradictory evidence for the influence of double binds?
Describe the findings

What are two however points for this evidence?

Answer 10

Hall and Levin 1980

analysed data from previous case studies and found no difference between families with and without a SZ family member in the number of double binds observed

this suggests double binds are not a contributing factor for the development of SZ

HOWEVER…
-case studies are unique/often involve small samples so cant be generalised to wider population
-families may change their behaviour if they are being observed as they don’t want to appear dysfunctional(social desirability bias)

Question 11

Who provides supporting evidence for the influence of high expressed emotions ?
Describe these findings

What is a however point for this evidence?

Answer 11

Marcus 1987

did longitudinal study of high risk children who had a parent with SZ and found that the children who went on to develop SZ were more likely to come from families characterised by negative relationships(high EE) , this suggests that high EE does have an influence

HOWEVER…
among the high risk children none of those who received good parenting developed SZ , suggesting high EE may trigger SZ but not necessarily a cause factor

Question 12

The cognitive explanation focuses on …

Answer 12

dysfunctional information processing

Question 13

Who identified 2 types of dysfunctional thought processes that underline some of the SZ symptoms?

What were these dysfunctional thought processes?

Answer 13

Firth et al 1992

1)deficits in meta-representation
2)deficits in central control

Question 14

What is meant by meta-representation?

Therefore … what effect would deficits in meta-representation disrupt?

Answer 14

the ability to reflect on our thoughts and behaviour

would disrupt a persons ability to distinguish whether their thoughts originate from them or the external environment

Question 15

What 3 SZ symptoms link with deficits in meta-representation?

Describe how these link

Answer 15

hallucinations-they believe sounds/visions from their internal thoughts are external to themself

delusions of control-belief that external forces are in control of their thoughts

thought insertion-believing external thoughts are internal

Question 16

Describe what is meant by central control

Answer 16

the ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions instead

Question 17

What SZ symptom is linked with deficits in central control?

Describe how they are linked

Answer 17

speech disorganisation-could be a result of being unable to suppress their automatic thoughts

Question 18

What supporting evidence is there for the cognitive explanations?

Answer 18

+(Shen et al 2013)
compared 86 people with SZ with 86 controls by giving them 13 different computerised tasks

he found that people with SZ performed significantly worse on tasks that required sustained focus and attention

this supports the idea of the role of meta representation and central control as processes involved in SZ

Question 19

What contradictory evidence is there for the cognitive explanations?

Answer 19

• McKenna 1994 found people with SZ didn’t seem to be any easier to distract than others when engaged in cognitive tasks

this challenges the idea that cognitive deficits are involved in SZ

Question 20

What is a further weakness for the cognitive explanations?

Answer 20

-they don’t tell us anything about the origins of these dysfunctional thought processes , they can account for the symptoms but not the causes which prevents the development of effective treatments