Cognitive- Dysfunctional Thought Processing

• Memory deficits (e.g. poor perceptual processing) leads to poor encoding of material into working memory. As the level of processing is lower than expected, it suggests cognitive impairment
• Simon (2015) proposed reduced thought processing in the ventral striatum causes negative symptoms, and reduced thought processing in temporal and cingulate gyri causes hallucinations
• Frith identified two examples of dysfunctional thought processing: failure of metarepresentation and failure of central control
• Failure of metarepresentation refers to how people with SZ are poor at understanding their own thinking (metacognition) as distinct from environmental stimuli- this explains hallucinations (e.g. hearing voices) and delusions like thought insertion. They cannot distinguish their own thoughts as being carried out by themselves rather than someone else
• Failure of central control refers to the inability to suppress and override automatic actions and speech and make deliberate actions to achieve goals. For example, seeing a foor handle, there may be an automatic rge to open the door. The SZ patient may have difficulty resisting this urge and have difficulty explaining the reason, resulting in delusions
• AO3- Leeson (2010) found evidence to support that SZ is cognitive in nature- found memory impairments in people with SZ (aberrant inhibition of sematic memory, which may underpin formal thought disorder)
• AO3- Shin (2008) found people with SZ struggle with face recognition and processing. This suggests that there are differences in the way people with SZ process thoughts compared to those without SZ
• AO3- The cognitive explanation does not explain the underlying cause (probs biological), and it only explains some aspects of how people with SZ think. Rather than impaired cognition resulting in SZ, its more likely the other way round
• AO3- There is some evidence (O'Carroll, 2000) that has found that dysfunctional thinking occurs before the onset of SZ, suggesting that dysfunctional thinking cannot be an effect
• AO3- Without any underlying causes identified, any theraputic attempts based on the cognitive explanation might just deal withsymptoms, and this explanation could also lead to blame of the individual which could impair recovery
• AO3- Sarin and Wallin (2014) reviewed research and found supporting evidence for the claim that the positive symptom of SZ have their origin in faulty cognition. it isn't so good at explaining negative symptoms and could be considered reductionist as it is explain a complex disorder at the level of individual cognitive symptoms