schizophrenia: key terms

• what are atypical antipsychotics?

  carry a lower risk of extrapyramidal side effects, have a beneficial effect on negative symptoms and cognitive impairment, and are suitable for treatment resistant patients
• what is avolition?

  the reduction, difficulty, or inability to initiate and persist in goal directed behaviour, often mistaken for apparent disinterest
• what are biological explanations?

  emphasise the role of inherited factors and dysfunction of brain activity in the development of a behaviour or mental disorder
• what is cognitive behavioural therapy?

  a combination of cognitive therapy (a way of changing maladaptive thoughts and beliefs) and behavioural therapy (a way of changing behaviour in response to these thoughts and beliefs)
• what are cognitive explanations?

  propose that abnormalities in cognitive function are a key component of schizophrenia
• what is co morbidity?

  refers to the extent that two conditions or diseases occur simultaneously in a patient, for example schizophrenia and depression
• what is culture?

  the rules, customs, morals, childrearing practices, etc. that bind a group of people together and define how they are likely to behave
• what are delusions?

  firmly held erroneous beliefs that are caused by distortions of reasoning or misinterpretations of perceptions of experiences
• what is a diathesis-stress model?

  explains mental disorders as the result of an interaction between biological and environmental influences
• what is the dopamine hypothesis?

  claims that an excess of the neurotransmitter dopamine in certain regions of the brain is associated with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia
• what is drug therapy?

  involves treatment of mental disorders such as schizophrenia through the use of antipsychotics to reduce the symptoms of the disorder
• what is dysfunctional thought processing?

  cognitive habits or beliefs that cause the individual to evaluate information inappropriately
• what is family dysfunction?

  the presence of problems within a family that contribute to relapse rates in recovering schizophrenics, including lack of warmth between parents and child, dysfunctional communication patterns and parental overprotection
• what is family therapy?

  the name given to a range of interventions aimed at the family of someone with a mental disorder
• what is gender bias?

  refers to the tendency to describe the behaviour of men and women in psychological theory and research in such a way that might not be seen to represent accurately the characteristics of either one of these genders
• what are genetics?

  inherited factors make certain individuals more likely to develop a behaviour or mental disorder
• what are hallucinations?

  distortions or exaggerations of perception in any of the senses, most notably auditory hallucinations
• what are negative symptoms?

  appear to reflect a diminution or loss of normal functioning
• what are neural correlates?

  changes in neuronal events and mechanisms that result in the characteristic symptoms of a behaviour or mental disorder
• what are positive symptoms?

  appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functioning
• what is reliability?

  the consistency of measurements. we would expect any measurement to produce the same data if taken on successive occasions
• what is schizophrenia?

  a type of psychosis characterised by a profound disruption of cognition and emotion
• what is speech poverty?

  the lessening of speech fluency and productivity, which reflects slowing or blocked thoughts
• what is symptom overlap?

  Refers to the fact that symptoms of a disorder may not be unique to that disorder but may also be found in other disorders, making accurate diagnosis difficult
• what is token economy?

  a form of therapy where desirable behaviours are encouraged by the use of selective reinforcements. rewards are given as secondary reinforcers when individuals engage in correct/socially desirable behaviours. the tokens can then be exchanged for primary reinforcers - food or privileges
• what are typical antipsychotics?

  dopamine antagonists in that they bind to but do not stimulate dopamine receptors and so reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia
• what is validity?

  refers to whether an observed effect is a genuine one