Cognitive explanation

• Unlike the psychodynamic explanation

  instead of blaming the individual and their family, the cognitive explanation instead proposes explanations of schizophrenia which relate to malfunctions in cognitive systems (attention, perception, memory)
• Explaining hallucinations

  • Clairbornm (2009): estimated 2.5-4% of the population have experienced hallucinations, most not diagnosed with psychiatric problems

  • Morrison 1998: triggers like sleep deprivation can lead to such symptoms

  • e.g. hearing voices in maladaptive ways, leading to appraising voices inappropriately

  • this can lead to behaviours like social withdrawal/self-harm and associated emotions e.g. sadness and shame

  • this can lead to an individual reinforcing critical messages from the voices - a vicious cycle
• Explaining negative symptoms

  • Beck et. al 2008: used cognitive triad of depression to offer a model of negative symptoms

  • cognitive triad of depression: negative view of the world, the future, and oneself

  • people hold dysfunctional beliefs about their performance and ability to experience pleasure

  • they also have a negative view of the future

  • mental filters only allow in negative messages, difficulties in info processing enhance this negative view

  • link to negative symptoms (flatness of effect, anhedonia, avolition)
• Lack of preconscious filters


  • Frith 1979: suggested positive symptoms can be explained by difficulties in inhibiting preconscious content

  • our senses receive triggers from the environment, our preconscious allows us to interpret it

  • info moves to our conscious to be made sense of

  • problems with filters that inhibit most of the sensory information can lead to more awareness of ambiguous information and multiple interpretations of events

  • hence acting in an appropriate way can be difficult
• Compromised theory of mind

  • Frith 1992: people with schizophrenia have a compromised theory of their own minds and others' minds

  • many symptoms of schizophrenia are due to disorders in 1/3 cognitive systems:

  1. disorders of willed actions - explains negative symptoms
  2. disorders of self-monitoring - explains vocal hallucinations and delusions
  3. disorders of monitoring other people's thoughts and intentions - explains delusions of persecution