Psychological Explanations for Schizophrenia Flashcards
(30 cards)
what are the two parts to psychological explanations of schizophrenia
- family dysfunction
- cognitive explanations
what are the two parts of family dysfuntion
- double blind theory
- expressed emotion
what is the basis of family dysfunction as an explanation of schizophrenia
sees maladaptive relationships and patterns of communication as sources of stress
what three types of dysfunctional characteristics do parents of schizophrenics display
- high levels of interpersonal conflict
- difficulty communicating with eachother
- excessively critical and over protective of their children
what is the double bind theory
suggests that children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents are more likely to develop schizophrenia
who came up with the double bind theory
bateson
what are double bind situations
a contradictory situation where a verbal message is given but an opposite behaviour is exhibited
what are double bind statement
a contradictory statement such as ‘i must do it but i can’t do it’
what is the consequence of double bind situations
these interactions prevent the development of an internally coherent construction of reality (cause confusion)
what are the long term effects of double bind situations
manifests itself as schizophrenia symptoms - specifically affective flattening and withdrawal)
what is expressed emotion
a family communication style where members of the family talk about the schizophrenia patient in a critical manner/ over emotionally involved
how does expressed emotion impact the schizophrenia patients
people with schizophrenia have a low tolerance for intense environmental stimuli, therefore triggering a schizophrenia episode
what did the study on the relationship between high expressed emotion environments and schizophrenia find
a patient returning to family with high EE is four times more likely to relapse than a patient with a family low in EE
what has been found in people with schizophrenia in relation to information processing
dysfunctional thought processing
what is dysfunctional thought processing
cognitive habits or beliefs that cause patients to evaluate information inappropriately
how do cognitive explanations approach schizophrenia
emphasise the role of dysfunctional thought processing, especially in schizophrenia patients with positive symptoms
what does inadequate information processing lead to
misinterpretation of experiences and the formation of delusions
what is a main characteristic of delusional thinking
the degree to which the individual perceives themselves as the central component in events (egocentric bias)
what is the impact of egocentric bias
schizophrenia patients tend to relate irrelevant events to themselves and arrives at false conclusions
what two positive characteristics can cognitive explanations of schizophrenia explain
delusions and hallucinations
why are delusions relatively impervious to reality testing
patients are unwilling/unable to consider they may be wrong
what are patients considered to have if they don’t consider their delusions to be wrong
considered to have ‘impaired insight’
what is impaired insight
an inability to recognise cognitive distortions and subsitute more realistic explanations for events
what do hallucination prone individuals struggle to do
distinguish between what is imagined and what is actually sensory based
