PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION

• what are the 3 types of family dysfunction

  • schizophrenogenic mother
  • double-bind theory
  • expressed emotion
• how did the schizophrenogenic mother as an explanation come about

  Fromm-Reichmann (1948) proposed a psychodynamic explanation for sz based on childhood accounts from her patients as many spoke of a particular type of parent
• what are the characteristics of the schizophrenogenic mother and what does this lead to

  • cold, rejecting and controlling, creates a climate of secrecy
  • leads to DISTRUST that later develops into symptoms e.g delusions (belief of being persecuted by someone)
• what does the double-bind theory suggest

  constant contradictory messages from parents - child sees world as confusing + dangerous (symptoms like disorganised thinking and delusions)
• what are the 3 examples of expressed emotion that come from family members

  • verbal criticism
  • hostility
  • emotional over-involvement
• what is the cognitive explanation for sz

  sz is characterised by dysfunctional thought processing (information processing that doesn't represent reality accurately)
• what are the 2 dysfunctional thought processes - Frith et al (1992)

  • metarepresentation dysfunction
  • central control dysfunction
• what is metarepresentation dysfunction

  the inability to recognise our actions and thoughts as being carried out by ourselves e.g auditory hallucinations, delusions
• central control dysfunction

  the inability to suppress automatic responses (might cause speech poverty)

  e.g Stirling et al - Stroop Test - mean time taken for sz people was over double compared to control group (say colour of word not word-colour)
• evidence to support family dysfunction explanations - Morkved et al

  • 67% of people with sz reported at least one childhood trauma as opposed to 38% control group
• why is the evidence base in general for the family dysfunction theories poor

  evidence to support childhood family-base stress but none to support theories e.g schizophrenogenic mother only basis is clinical observations + informal assessments of personality of mothers - no link between theories and sz
• what are the ethical implications of the family dysfunction theories

  socially sensitive - parent-blaming when parents already have to watch their child suffer symptoms of sz + take responsibility for their care
• what is the evidence base for the cognitive explanation

  Stirling et al - Stroop Test
• Why doesn't the cognitive explanation provide a complete explanation

  only explains proximal origins of sz (what is happening now to produce symptoms) unlike distal explanations (what initially caused the condition - genetic/family dysfunction)
• evidence to support biological cause for abnormal cognition

  Toulopoulou - as a result of abnormal brain development