Psychological Explanations for Schizophrenia

• Family Dysfunction - Schizophrenogenic Mother:

  :) RTS Mednick

  > researched 207 children who were raised in dysfunctional families where the mothers were cold, rejecting and emotionally unresponsive to their child's needs

  > 10 years later - 17 of this high-risk group were diagnosed with schizophrenia - 8% compared to 1% of general population

  > can also be praised for being based on prospective data - supporting that family dysfunction can lead to schizophrenia
• Family Dysfunction - Double Bind Communication:

  :) RTS Berger

  > when asked about the interactions with their parents in childhood, found that schizophrenics could remember more instances of double bind communication from their mother

  > supports family dysfunction

  discussion - based on retrospective data
• Family Dysfunction:

  :) practical applications

  > the principles of the explanation, that schizophrenia is caused by faulty family communication, has led to the treatment of family therapy - therapist meets with patient and their family to alter relationship and communication patterns

  > reduces stress levels and can help prevent relapse - important part of applied psychology
• Cognitive Explanation - Central Control:

  :) RTS Stirling

  > compared 30 patients with schizophrenia with 18 non-patient controls on a range of cognitive tasks e.g. Stroop Test (participants had to accurately name the ink colour of the colour word printed)

  > schizophrenia patients took over twice as long to complete the task as the control group, as they could not supress their automatic response of saying the word rather than the colour

  > supports theory of central control
• Cognitive Explanation:

  :) practical applications

  > the principles of the theory, that schizophrenia is caused by delusional thoughts, has led to cognitive behavioural therapy

  > helps patients identify and challenge their delusional thoughts, which can reduce positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions

  > important part of applied psychology
• Cognitive Explanation:

  :( alternative explanation - biological

  > schizophrenia is due to hyperdopaminergia (high levels of dopamine) in central areas of the brain which is associated with auditory hallucinations, rather than a dysfunction in thought processing, such as a lack of misrepresentation

  > weakens the cognitive explanation