Describe and discuss two possible causes of schizophrenia (one biological, one psychological) suggested by psychologists, making reference to empirical evidence in your answer.
Schizophrenia is probably the most serious mental illness recognized in the ICD (International Standard Classification of Diseases, Injures and Causes of Death). It is a disorder that causes the personality to lose its unity and occurs when thoughts and feelings become split from one another, causing bizarre and often unsociable behaviour. The cause of schizophrenia has long been argued although there is evidence to suggest that there is a genetic/biological link and also a social/psychological link to the causes of schizophrenia. However, it is difficult to separate the two and would appear that a combination of both could contribute to the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia causes the sufferer to experience a variety of experiences and thoughts, these can include passivity experiences and thought disturbances where an individual believes that thoughts are being inserted into their minds from external sources, such as the Government or aliens.
English: Image showing brain areas more active in ...
English: A schizophrenic patient at the Glore Psyc...
House decorated with bizarre writings. The inhabit...Hallucinations, which are usually auditory perceptions, whereby a sufferer hears voices, often insulting themselves or giving commands and primary delusions which are false beliefs held by the sufferer, such as delusions of persecution where a schizophrenic will believe that they are being plotted or conspired against. These are just a few of the things that schizophrenia can cause a sufferer to experience.
There are five main types of schizophrenia, hebephrenic, simple, catatonic, paranoid and undifferentiated (or Atypical). Hebephrenic schizophrenia is the most severe type and is usually diagnosed in adolescence and young adulthood. This type is progressive and irreversible and its characteristics can include incoherence of language, disorganised delusions and extreme social withdrawal. Simple schizophrenia usually appears in late adolescence and its onset is slow but gradual. An individual will withdraw from...