Psychological Explanations for SZ: Cognitive Explanations
- Created by: 0045253
- Created on: 11-06-22 12:43
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- Cognitive Explanations
- This focuses on impaired information processing.
- Frith et al. (1992) identified two types of dysfunctional thought processes that underlie some of the symptoms of SZ.
- Deficits
in metarepresentational
- Metarepresentational= ability to reflect on thoughts and behaviour.
- disrupt a person’s ability to distinguish whether their thoughts originate from within themselves or from their external environment.
- This would explain hallucinations and delusions of thought.
- Deficits in central control
- ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions instead
- Disorganised speech could result from the inability to suppress these automatic thoughts.
- STRENGTH
- P - There is supporting evidence for dysfunctional thought processes.
- E - Shen
et al (2013): compared 86 people with SZ and 86 controls. Carried out 13
computerized tests e.g. Stroop test.
- E - People with SZ performed worse on
tasks requiring sustained attention.
- L - This shows that there is a relationship between impaired information processing and SZ.
- E - People with SZ performed worse on
tasks requiring sustained attention.
- E - Shen
et al (2013): compared 86 people with SZ and 86 controls. Carried out 13
computerized tests e.g. Stroop test.
- P - Having knowledge of psychological
explanations for SZ allows researchers to develop
therapies to reduce symptoms
- E - cognitive behaviour therapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy aims to identify
and challenge faulty internal mental processes e.g. delusional thoughts.
- L - This shows that the research into psychological explanations of SZ could have a positive impact in the real world.
- E - cognitive behaviour therapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy aims to identify
and challenge faulty internal mental processes e.g. delusional thoughts.
- P - There is supporting evidence for dysfunctional thought processes.
- WEAKNESS
- P - There is contradictory evidence
- E - McKenna
(1994) found that people with SZ do
not
seem to be any easier to distract than people without SZ
when
engaged on cognitive tasks. This challenges the idea that SZ
is
the result of cognitive deficits.
- E - In
addition, although cognitive explanations have evidence to support the
existence of dysfunctional thought processes, they do not reveal anything about
origins of those dysfunctional cognitions.
- L - Therefore, cognitive explanations can account for the symptoms but not the origins of the disorder.
- E - In
addition, although cognitive explanations have evidence to support the
existence of dysfunctional thought processes, they do not reveal anything about
origins of those dysfunctional cognitions.
- E - McKenna
(1994) found that people with SZ do
not
seem to be any easier to distract than people without SZ
when
engaged on cognitive tasks. This challenges the idea that SZ
is
the result of cognitive deficits.
- P - The biological explanation states
that schizophrenia has a genetic cause rather than a cognitive cause.
- E - For example, the DRD3 gene codes
for dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter, that is associated with the
development of schizophrenia.
- L - This means that psychological explanations for schizophrenia are not fully comprehensive alone.
- E - For example, the DRD3 gene codes
for dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter, that is associated with the
development of schizophrenia.
- P - There is contradictory evidence
- This focuses on impaired information processing.
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