Based on Hemsley's idea that schizophrenics cannot distinguish between incoming stimuli and already stored stimuli. This causes positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions
Frith argues that a break-down in meta-representational abillity is to blame for poisitve symptoms
Schizophrenics cannot distinguish/filter our irrelevant stimuli and so attempt to store things that people without Sz would subconsciously discard - attention deficit theory
Frith also suggests a biological basis: a breakdown in the pathways connecting the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and the hippocampus that causes this breakdown in meta-representational ability
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AO2 - Cognitive
Fail to explain negative symptoms such as alogia or flattened effect, so only explain type 1 symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, so may not be adequate to explain all types of schizophrenia
Reductionist as they attempt to explain a complicated disorder entirely with cognition, without consideration of external factors
Could be seen as unethical as puts all the blame on the Sz sufferer which can cause distress and worsen symptoms
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AO1 - Family Models
Browns expressed emotion theory - suggests Sz occurs when a member of the family begins to display mild symptoms such as paranoia/flattened effect and their family members respond with high levels of expressed emotion
This can include hostility, over concern etc which could lead to worsening symptoms for Sz sufferer and episodes.
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AO2 - Family Models
Support comes from schizophrenics released from hospital after an episode
Sz sufferers who experiences high levels of face-to-face contact upon release, relapse rates were higher.
Relapse rates were even higher for those whose families had high levels of expressed emotion (EE), supporting the idea that this can trigger Sz episodes
Difficult to establish cause and effect are research was mostly correlational
Could be deterministic because suggests that high EE families will induce Sz, and doesnt take into account why many people with families with high EE do not develop Sz
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AO1 - Double bind theory
Developed by Bateman
Suggests that conflicting messages given to Sz children i.e. 'i love you' whilst shaking your head, can cause sz symptoms on later life
Suggests that it is the battle of emotions trying to escape the conflict that leads to symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations
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AO2 - Double bind theory
Relies on retrospective data so may not recall information correctly or non-sz sufferers may not remember them due to mroe rounded lives
Sz's are unlikely to recall information correctly due to delustions and incoherant due to mental illness so lacks internal validity
Deterministic as suggests that anyone who experiences high levels of conflicting messages as children will be likely to develop Sz
Study blames the mother which can be damagin to sz mothers
Assumes gender bias as it assumes females are much more likely to give double bind messages than males.
Also assumes alpha bias as it overstates the differences between genders
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