Exam (elaborations)
Psychological Explanations for schizophrenia
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Discuss psychological explanations of schizophrenia [16 marks]One psychological explanation of schizophrenia was developed by Fromm-Reichmann and
it's called schizophrenogenic mother, who is characterised as being cold, ignorant and
rejecting. This can lead to people feeling paranoid and confused, which can lead to the
development of positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, further increasing
the risk of schizophrenia development.
Double-bind theory was developed by Bateson and it suggests that within a family, the child
receives mixed messages from both parents about what is right or wrong. The tense
atmosphere or controlling parenting style means that the child is unable to clarify these
messages or voice their opinions about the unfairness of conflicting messages. When the
child makes a mistake they are punished through a withdrawal of love. This later on causes
the child to see the world as unfair and confusing due to this confliction, as reflected in the
schizophrenic
Expressed emotion describes the level and type of emotion shown towards the patient by
their carer and it's an important factor which leads to stress and anxiety. This means that
they are less likely to take their medication or comply to cognitive therapies provided by
their hospital or institution, hence being a leading cause for relapse. Examples of high levels
of negative expressed emotions include verbal criticism of the patient, needless ‘sacrifices’
for the patient and violence with hostility.
Cognitive explanations include dysfunctional thinking, metarepresentational dysfunction
and central control dysfunction.
Frith et al (1992) suggested that dysfunctional thought processes (abnormally-functioning
thought processes which lead to unpleasant/ undesirable outcomes),
including metarepresentation and central control, contribute to the development of
schizophrenia. This is the cognitive ability to differentiate between our own actions and the
actions of others, allowing us insight into the intentions and emotions as others, as well as
maintaining a realistic/functional view of our own goals and intentions. Dysfunctions
in metarepresentation have been associated with auditory hallucinations, and specifically
thought insertion, due to the inability to differentiate between our own thoughts and that
of others and this may lead to paranoid delusions due to the contents of inserting others’
thoughts into the mind of the patient.
Furthermore, central control is the cognitive ability to carry out a deliberate action whilst
suppressing an automatic response, and is often measured using the Stroop Test. This test
involves identifying the colour of each word, where there is often a discrepancy e.g. the
word ‘brown’ written in a yellow font. Therefore, the automatic response of reading the
word must be suppressed, to allow for identification of the font colour. People with SZ often
have dysfunctional central control abilities, and so often suffer from derailment because
they cannot suppress the automatic associations that each new word in a sentence brings,
and stat speaking off-topic instead.
Evidence supporting dysfunctional thought processes are shown in the development of
schizophrenia, suggesting that faulty central control skills may be responsible for some SZ
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