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• Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia


  Proposes that schizophrenia is caused by high levels of dopamine
• Dopamine Hypothesis


  1. Dopamine system is overactive

  2. Dopaminergic neurons transmit signals more often than normal

  3. High levels of dopamine binding to receptors

  4. More dopamine receptors than normal in certain people's brains
• Schizophrenia


  • Brain dysfunction in a number of areas of the brain is reason for the development of schizophrenia
• Frontal lobe


  • Responsible for logic, reasoning, problem solving, planning and judgement
  • People with schizophrenia have poor performance in these areas
  • Low levels of activity in the frontal lobe
• Hippocampus


  • Patients with schizophrenia have difficulties using and accessing memories
  • Reduced volume of this part of the brain
  • Abnormal levels of hippocampal activity when experiencing auditory hallucinations
• Temporal lobes


  • Overactive in those with schizophrenia
  • Brain dysfunction adversely affects emotions (negative symptoms) and causes delusions, hallucinations and disordered thinking
• Biological treatments


  • Amphetamines enhance the ability of the pre-frontal cortex during a WCST task
• Biological abnormalities such as high levels of dopamine and brain dysfunctions


  Explain schizophrenia
• Psychological factors such as upbringing and life events

  Support the nurture argument for schizophrenia
• The biological theory of schizophrenia can be criticised for focusing too much on the role of nature
• Social drift theory


  When someone is diagnosed with a mental illness, such as Schizophrenia, the very 'label' in itself could lead to the condition worsening
• Being labelled as someone with a mental illness

  Can automatically lead to a downward shift in social class as a result of rejection by society which may include employers and friends
• Lack of appropriate support

  May in turn result in the loss of their job and even their home
• Person with Schizophrenia may choose to disengage from society


  Due to fear of discrimination and/or poor treatment
• Disengagement from society


  Can then lead to a deterioration of their mental health
• Society's lack of awareness and understanding


  Causes further social drift for the person with the condition and they become more isolated within society
• Social causation theory


  Claims that it is social class which instigates a mental illness and those who are from a low social status are more likely to experience mental illness
• Social drift theory


  Mental illness comes first and it is society which contributes to deterioration of the condition and their lowered social status
• The Social Drift Theory can be criticised as it doesn't actually provide an explanation for the cause of schizophrenia, it only explains the effect of being diagnosed with schizophrenia
• Evolutionary explanations


  Claim that we behave in a certain way for survival reasons, so that we can pass on our genes
• Social rank theory


  Developed by Anthony Stevens and John Price as a way of explaining the evolutionary function of depression
• Social rank theory explanation of depression

  1. When we lose a level of status or rank we can lose confidence in our abilities to regain it

  2. If we were to fight to try and regain our rank we may suffer further losses which would be detrimental for our survival

  3. Therefore depression allows us to accept a subordinate role

  4. Symptoms of depression such as loss of energy or motivation and low mood will prevent the defeated individual loser from competing further and reduce their ambitions

  5. Outward symptoms of depression such as sadness and crying signal to others that the loser is not fit to compete, and they also discourage others from attempting to restore the loser's rank
• Adaptive role of lower rank

  • Reduces future conflict
  • The 'depressed loser' does not attempt to fight back, the depressive symptoms further reassures the winner that the conflict has ended with no further damage to the loser
• Support for Social Rank Theory

  • Tandoc et al. (2015) found Facebook envy can be linked to symptoms of depression, as a response to the perception of being a lower rank/status to others on Facebook
• Tandoc et al. conclude that Social rank theory is a useful framework to understand the complex process of depression among college students
• The theory has been criticised for failing to consider the complex nature of depression and reducing the explanation to an outdated evolutionary view, rather than considering the holistic view that depression can be caused by a wide variety of factors
• ABC model


  Proposed by Ellis (1957), states that depression is the result of an Activating event, which leads to irrational Beliefs, which then cause negative Consequences
• ABC model


  • The 'B' (Beliefs) is the most important part of the model
  • An individual who is not susceptible to mental illness will have a very different cognitive response to someone who is susceptible
• Example of ABC model

  • Two students fail an exam: one may believe they must work harder, while another may respond with negative thoughts and feelings such as despair which could consequently mean the development of depression
• Irrational beliefs


  Include catastrophising (belief that something is far worse than it actually is), "black and white thinking" (something is either a success or a complete failure), and personalising (the person believes that anything that goes is completely their fault)
• Freewill/determinism debate


  The ABC model considers the contributory role of activating events, suggesting that individuals are to blame for their own mental illness, although through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy this thinking can be changed
• The theory can be criticised in relation to the freewill/determinism debate, as the idea of freewill suggests that the individual is in control of their own thoughts, rather than them being determined by other factors such as our physiology