Schizophrenia Theories Flashcards
Name five symptoms of schizophrenia.
Hallucinations, delusions, disorganised speech, catatonic behaviour, negative symptoms.
What is the prevalence of schizophrenia?
Schizophrenic affects 1% of the population, usually those with Caribbean or African origin.
Which neurotransmitter does schizophrenia correlate to?
Schizophrenia is caused by an excess of dopamine.
What is the purpose of dopamine?
Functions such as attention and movement.
How does the Biological Theory explain how the excess causes schizophrenia?
The theory states that schizophrenics have too many dopamine receptors so more dopamine binds to them. So, more dopamine is fired.
What other biological effects does schizophrenia have?
Schizophrenic’s prefrontal cortex is less active, their hippocampus is smaller than average, their temporal lobes lack grey matter.
What are some criticisms of the Biological Theory?
Ignores the role of nurture, too reductionist, and deterministic as it implies that schizophrenics have no free will of their disorder.
What does Social Drift Theory say about schizophrenia?
It suggests that there is a link between schizophrenia and social class, saying the working class are five times more likely to develop schizophrenia than higher classes.
What does Social Drift Theory say happens after a schizophrenia diagnosis?
Schizophrenics would fall into a downward spiral, losing touch with reality, losing their jobs, motivation, and status, and possibly falling into poverty.
What are some criticisms of Social Drift Theory?
It’s hard to establish cause and effect, and the theory ignores the role of nature.
