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Flashcards by Grace Fawcitt, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Grace Fawcitt
over 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| AQA A Level Psychology- Schizophrenia | Key Terms and Definitions |
| Classification and Diagnosis Key Term | Classification and Diagnosis Definition |
| Classification | The process of organising symptoms into categories based on which symptoms cluster together in sufferers. |
| Positive symptoms | Symptoms which are seen as additions to normal experiences, such as hallucinations and delusions. |
| Negative symptoms | Symptoms which are seen as the loss of normal experiences, such as avolition and social withdrawal. |
| Hallucinations | A positive symptom which includes sensory experiences that either have no basis in reality or their perception is distorted. Hallucinations can affect any of the senses, although auditory and visual are most typical. |
| Delusions | Irrational beliefs with no basis in reality. There are many types of delusion, such as grandeur, persecutory, somatic, reference and erotomanic. Persecutory delusions (paranoid about being targeted/followed) are the most common. |
| Speech poverty | A negative symptom characterised by reduced frequency and quality of speech. |
| Avolition | A negative symptom characterised by a lack of motivation, which results in low activity levels. |
| Co-morbidity | In which two disorders occur simultaneously. Schizophrenia has the highest co-morbidity rate with depression, at 50%. This means 50% of schizophrenics also suffer depression. Co-morbidity calls into question the validity of classification. |
| Symptom overlap | In which two disorders share symptoms. For example, bipolar depression includes delusions and avolition, much like schizophrenia. Symptom overlap calls into question the validity of classification. |
| Validity | The extent to which the diagnosis reflects the actual disorder- the accuracy of diagnosis. This includes criterion validity. |
| Reliability | The consistency of diagnosis across repeated measures. This includes inter-rater reliability. |
| Biological Explanations Key Term | Biological Explanations Definition |
| Genetics | Genes are made of DNA and code for different physical features, including neurotransmitters and brain structure. This may impact psychological features. |
| Dopamine | Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with mood, specifically pleasure. |
| Glutamate | Glutamate is a neurotransmitter associated with prenatal and childhood brain development, as well as learning and memory. |
| Neural correlates | Abnormalities in the structure or activity of the brain that may influence one's experiences. |
| Hyperdopaminergia | High levels/activity of dopamine in the sub cortex. It is typically associated with positive symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations. |
| Hypodopaminergia | Low levels/activity of dopamine in the cortex. It is typically associated with negative symptoms, such as avolition. |
| Agonists | A substance which initiates a physiological response when it binds with a receptor e.g. amphetamines. |
| Antagonists | A substance which interferes with the physiological action of another substance e.g. antipsychotics. |
| Ventral striatum | Area in the brain associated with anticipation. Low levels of activity in the ventral striatum are linked to symptoms such as avolition. |
| Superior temporal gyrus | Area in the brain associated with auditory processing. Low levels of activity in the superior temporal gyrus are linked to symptoms such as auditory hallucinations. |
| Hyperdopaminergia in Broca's area | High activity levels of dopamine in Broca's area (linked to speech production) leads to disorganised speech and auditory hallucinations. |
| Hypodopaminergia in the pre-frontal cortex | Low activity levels of dopamine in the pre-frontal cortex (linked to planning and decision making) leads to avolition. |
| Psychological Explanations Key Term | Psychological Explanations Definition |
| Family dysfunction | Abnormal communication within a family, such as a schizophenogenic mother, double bind statements and negative expressed emotion. |
| Cognitive explanations | Explanations which focus on the abnormal mental processes such as thinking, language and attention. |
| Dysfunctional meta-representation | The inability to identify our actions and thoughts as our own. Symptoms include auditory hallucinations and delusions regarding thought-insertion. |
| Lack of central control | The inability to supress automatic thought. Symptoms include disorganised speech. |
| Schizophrenogenic mother | A cold and dominant mother who causes conflict in the family, leading to secrecy, distrust and subsequently schizophrenia. |
| Double bind theory | Faulty communication in families characterised by contradictory statements e.g. a parent telling a child to be more spontaneous, but when they are, they're punished. This leads to avoidance strategies, causing symptoms such as avolition and social withdrawal. |
| Negative expressed emotion | High levels of expressed emotion, including hostility, criticism and emotional over-involvement, can cause stress that triggers schizophrenia. It is also associated with higher relapse rates. |
| Biological Treatments Key Term | Biological Treatments Definition |
| Antipsychotics | Drugs used to reduce the severity of symptoms, especially positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. There are two types: typical and atypical. |
| Typical antipsychotics | This includes chlorpromazine, a dopamine antagonist. These drugs were developed in the 1950s, but have severe side effects. They only bind to dopamine and histamine receptors, although histamine doesn't play a role in schizophrenia. |
| Atypical antipsychotics | This includes clozapine (1970s) and risperidone (1990s). Unlike typical drugs, atypical drugs bind to serotonin and glutamate receptors as well. Risperidone binds more strongly than clozapine, so the side effects aren't as severe. |
| Psychological Treatments Key Term | Psychological Treatments Definition |
| Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) | A psychological therapy which aims to identify and change irrational thoughts to benefit their behavioural and emotional states. |
| Family therapy | In which the whole family of a sufferer attends therapy sessions with the aim of improving communication and reducing stress. |
| Token economies | Token economies are used for long term patients to reduce the effects of institutionalisation. They involve operant conditioning, in which when a patient performs a desired behaviour, they are given a token that can be exchanged for a reward. |
| Primary reinforcer | Primary reinforcers are the rewards used in institutions (e.g. psychiatric wards) which use token economy systems. They are the rewards given to patients, such as sweets or being allowed to walk outside. |
| Secondary reinforcer | Secondary reinforcers are the tokens given to patients in institutions (e.g. psychiatric wards) which use token economy systems. They are given instantly to the patient when they perform a desired behaviour, and can be exchanged for primary reinforcers. |
| Interactionist Approach Key Term | Interactionist Approach Definition |
| Interactionist approach | This approach to schizophrenia acknowledges biological and psychological factors. |
| Diathesis-Stress model | An underlying vulnerability (diathesis) and a trigger (stress) are both essential for the development of schizophrenia. |
| Diathesis | The underlying vulnerability to schizophrenia. It could be genetic, or psychological trauma. |
| Stress | The trigger that makes a person with a vulnerability more likely to develop schizophrenia. They can be either biological or psychological stress. For example, the stress of living with a schizophrenogenic mother. |
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