The Interactionist Approach to Schizophrenia (AQA A Level Psychology): Flashcards
Exam code: 7182
1/340Still learning
Know0
Define the diathesis-stress model.
Was this flashcard helpful?
Cards in this collection (34)
Define the diathesis-stress model.
The diathesis-stress model assumes that schizophrenia does not stem from one main source but from a combination and interaction of biological, psychological and social factors. It also explains other disorders, such as depression.
What did the original model (Meehl, 1962) say the diathesis was?
Entirely genetic. A single 'schizogene' led to a biologically based schizotypic personality, one characteristic of which is sensitivity to stress.
True or False?
Meehl claimed stress alone can cause schizophrenia without the schizogene.
False.
Without the schizogene, no amount of stress leads to schizophrenia. For carriers, chronic stress, particularly in childhood, could trigger the condition.
The more vulnerable a person is (the higher their diathesis), the stress is needed to 'pull the trigger'.
The more vulnerable a person is (the higher their diathesis), the less stress is needed to 'pull the trigger'. Something trivial to a low-diathesis person could be intolerable to a high-diathesis person.
What two forms can diathesis take in the modern diathesis-stress model?
Biological (e.g. specific genes predisposing a person to schizophrenia) and psycho-social (e.g. early experience of abuse or bereavement).
True or False?
In the modern model, stress can only act as a trigger.
False.
Stress may form the basis of the diathesis rather than being the trigger, e.g. living with a parent who has a mental illness.
What does the neural diathesis-stress model propose?
Stress heightens cortisol levels, and this triggers or worsens the symptoms of schizophrenia (Jones & Fernyhough, 2007).
Define protective factors.
Protective factors are aspects of a person's life that guard against the potential harm of risk factors that could trigger schizophrenia. They may explain why one person develops schizophrenia while another with the same diathesis and stress does not.
Give an example of how a protective factor could offset a risk factor.
The risk factor of toxic parenting could be offset by caring grandparents who offer the love and nurture a child needs.
Personal traits such as resilience, optimism and can help to protect a vulnerable individual.
Personal traits such as resilience, optimism and stoicism can help to protect a vulnerable individual.
What did Pruessner et al.'s (2017) review highlight?
The role of the HPA system in the neural diathesis-stress model, including the effect of early stress on brain structure, and the significance of considering both biological and environmental factors.
How does Silverton (1988) support the original diathesis-stress model?
Participants whose parents had schizophrenia were more likely to develop it if they had shown short attention spans as infants, suggesting genetic vulnerability is marked by distinct early behaviours.
What did Walker et al. (1989) find?
Families with parental mental illness and mistreatment of children were more likely to produce children who showed increasing symptoms of schizophrenia.
How does Tienari et al. (2004) support the diathesis-stress model?
It highlights the interplay between biological and psycho-social factors in the development of schizophrenia, giving the model good validity.
What intervention strategies could the diathesis-stress model be applied to?
Resilience-building, mentoring or buddy programmes, and social skills training, giving the model practical value.
Why might the diathesis-stress model offer only a partial explanation?
It does not acknowledge other biological factors such as neurotransmitters (e.g. the dopamine hypothesis).
True or False?
The diathesis-stress model is easy to test scientifically.
False.
There is vagueness over exactly how biological, psychological and social factors interact, so its predictions cannot be precisely specified or falsified.
Why is the diathesis-stress model described as holistic?
It accounts for biological, psychological and social influences, making it useful for designing individualised treatment plans combining medication with therapy or family support.
The diathesis-stress model supports an approach, recognising that both nature and nurture contribute to schizophrenia.
The diathesis-stress model supports an interactionist approach, recognising that both nature and nurture contribute to schizophrenia.
What does the interactionist approach to treating schizophrenia combine?
Drug therapy (antipsychotic medication) with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
What does the 'interaction' element of the interactionist approach refer to?
The idea that schizophrenia may not have one true cause but develops from a range of factors, so both the biological and the psychological effects should be treated.
Drug therapy addresses the possible cause of schizophrenia, while CBT is a talking therapy aimed at helping the client cope.
Drug therapy addresses the possible biological cause of schizophrenia, while CBT is a talking therapy aimed at helping the client cope.
True or False?
In interactionist treatment, CBT usually comes before antipsychotic medication.
False.
Medication comes first to control symptoms, followed by CBT, so the person can participate in CBT more successfully.
Is interactionist treatment more common in the UK or the USA?
The UK. The USA has a history of struggling to combine biological and psychological approaches to treatment.
What did Tarrier et al. (2004) find?
Patients (315 in total) prescribed a combination of drug therapy and CBT showed reduced symptoms compared to patients prescribed drugs only.
What did Guo et al. (2010) find?
Patients following an interactionist regimen in the early stages of schizophrenia showed improvement and were less likely to relapse than those taking drugs alone.
Describe the design of Morrison et al.'s (2018) study.
A single-blind pilot study with 75 people with early psychosis, allocated to drugs-only, CBT-only or CBT plus drugs.
Morrison et al. (2018) found the combination condition was the most promising for treating schizophrenia.
Morrison et al. (2018) found the combination condition was the most promising for treating first-episode schizophrenia.
True or False?
Strong supporting evidence gives the interactionist approach good validity.
True.
Research such as Tarrier et al. (2004) provides strong evidence that combined treatment reduces symptoms.
How might the interactionist approach be cost-effective?
If it is more successful, the patient improves more quickly and is less likely to relapse, saving money on health services and returning them to the workplace sooner.
Why might the interactionist approach not suit everyone?
Severe symptoms such as disorganised thinking or paranoia can prevent meaningful engagement with CBT, and side effects such as sedation may reduce the concentration CBT requires.
Define the treatment-causation fallacy.
The treatment-causation fallacy (Turkington et al., 2006) is the error of assuming that because a treatment works, it proves what caused the disorder. Combined treatment being effective does not prove the interactionist explanation, just as drug success does not prove a biological origin.
How does the interactionist approach reflect both nature and nurture?
It addresses symptoms through antipsychotics (biological, nature) and CBT (psychological, nurture), making treatment more comprehensive.
Unlike purely biological or psychological treatments, the interactionist model is , reflecting the multifactorial nature of schizophrenia.
Unlike purely biological or psychological treatments, the interactionist model is holistic, reflecting the multifactorial nature of schizophrenia.
Sign up to unlock flashcards
or