non-biological explanation of schizophrenia: cognitive theory

Question 1

how does the cognitive explanation relate to Type 1 (positive) symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 1

• Type 1 (positive) symptoms like hallucinations and delusions are linked to biological factors (e.g. increased dopamine levels)
• when patients try to make sense of these experiences, cognitive symptoms may develop
• for example, when a patient experiences a hallucination, they may seek confirmation from others
• if others don’t confirm the experience, the patient may become wary and feel people are hiding information from them

Question 2

how can cognitive processes lead to delusions and paranoia in schizophrenia?

Answer 2

• patients may feel that others are denying their hallucinations or experiences
• this can lead to delusions of persecution or paranoia, as they believe others are deliberately hiding the truth
• many symptoms of schizophrenia are seen as mistaken attempts to understand experiences caused by abnormal brain functioning

Question 3

what did Frith (1979) suggest about self-awareness in schizophrenia?

Answer 3

• schizophrenia may result from increased self-awareness
• patients cannot filter out unnecessary cognitive “noise” created by internal processing
• normally, we ignore minor thoughts or processes, but schizophrenic patients experience these at a conscious level
• for example, checking a watch might feel like an external voice telling them to do so
• when patients can’t make sense of these experiences, it leads to delusions and worsening symptoms

Question 4

what research supports cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and Frith’s explanation?

Answer 4

• Gold & Harvey (1993) found that people with schizophrenia score lower on tests of attention, memory, and problem-solving
• McGuigan (1966) identified vocal centre activation before auditory hallucinations, suggesting patients misinterpret their ‘inner voice’ as external
• McGuire et al. (1996) found reduced activity in the temporal lobe during hallucinations, showing patients may confuse inner speech with external voices
• these findings support Frith’s explanation, indicating schizophrenic patients struggle to distinguish their own thoughts due to perceptual problems

Question 4

alternative cognitive theory: social drift theory

Answer 4

• schizophrenia is more common in lower social classes
• social drift hypothesis suggests symptoms make it difficult for patients to maintain jobs, education, and relationships
• as a result, they drift into lower social and economic classes
• people with schizophrenia often move to urban areas for better access to support services like cheap housing, food kitchens, and social services
• this results in higher concentrations of people with schizophrenia in deprived urban areas

Question 5

what did Corcoran et al. (1995) find about schizophrenia and theory of mind?

Answer 5

• Corcoran et al. (1995) found that patients with schizophrenia have deficits in theory of mind
• theory of mind is the ability to read and interpret the intentions of others’ behaviour
• this supports the idea that schizophrenia has a cognitive cause

Question 6

what is a criticism of the cognitive explanation for schizophrenia?

Answer 6

• the cognitive explanation focuses on how cognitive processing deficits lead to psychosis
• however, these cognitive deficits are often linked to biological factors
• Beck et al. (2009) suggest dopamine reduction causes cognitive loading, making the brain struggle to process information
• this leads to cognitive insufficiency, increasing the risk of psychosis
• this implies that biological risk factors affect cognitive abilities, making it difficult to separate cognitive and biological explanations
• ultimately, the explanation may be rooted in biology

Question 7

what did Sitskoom et al. (2004) find about cognitive deficits in schizophrenia?

Answer 7

• Sitskoom et al. (2004) found that cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia were also present in their relatives who didn’t have the disorder
• this suggests a possible genetic component underlying the cognitive deficit
• the cognitive deficit may be triggered in some people but not others

Question 8

what is a criticism of the cognitive explanation for schizophrenia?

Answer 8

• it’s difficult to measure whether cognitive impairments are the cause or the effect of schizophrenia
• there may be a combination of factors that contribute to the development of schizophrenia
• this aligns with the diathesis-stress model, which suggests that genetic vulnerability and environmental stressors together cause the illness