Schizophrenia
• Psychological theories
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• Psychodynamic
• Behaviourist
• Cognitive
Psychodynamic
• Psychological disorders assumed to be
manifestations of:
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• Imbalance between id, ego & superego
• Attempts to deal with unacceptable
repressed material
Healthy Psyche
OK Guys – I’m in charge.
Anything you want has to go
through me.
OK.
Ego
Id
Superego
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OK.
Neurotic
Listen up! I’m in charge, and you are not
here to enjoy yourselves. Get ready for a
double-size portion of anxiety with a side
order of guilt!
No fun.
Superego
Id
Ego
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>whimper<
Psychotic
Sex! Food! Drink! Drugs!
NOW!
Id
Ego
Superego
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Who
turned out
the lights?
Psychodynamic
• Regression to primary narcissism
• Assumed to be due to maternal
behaviour (schizogenic mother)
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• Id takes over
• No distinction between reality & fantasy,
self & others
• Inability to function; delay gratification
Behaviourist
• Behaviour acquired through observation of
others
• Behaviour maintained through operant
processes
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• Mental disorders regarded as sets of
learned behaviour
Cognitive
• Bentall (2004) presents an account of how
psychotic symptoms occur, but rejects the
idea that schiz. is a discrete diagnostic
entity
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• Abnormal behaviours assumed to arise
from faulty thinking processes
Cognitive
• Hallucinations
• Misattributed inner speech
• Attempts to make sense of hallucinatory
experiences
• Once delusion arises, attentional bias
tends to maintain it
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• Delusions
Cognitive
• Difficulty distinguishing between thinking
and speech
• Deficits in STM and semantic memory
• Exacerbated by emotional arousal,
resulting in ‘vicious circle’ or
disorganisation
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• Disorganised thinking & speech