Schizophrenia Short Exam Questions
Outline one negative symptom of schizophrenia (2 marks).
One negative symptom is avolition. This is where the sufferer’s interests and behaviour are reduced.
The sufferer also reduces their involvement in social activities that they can partake in, for example
sitting in a house for hours doing nothing.
This achieved 2 marks.
Outline the clinical characteristics of schizophrenia (5 marks).
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterised by a disruption of cognition and emotion. Under
DSM, diagnosis requires 2 or more symptoms for at least 6 months. One characteristic of
schizophrenia is delusions. Delusions are bizarre beliefs that the sufferer has and these are unreal.
Another characteristic is hallucinations, which are bizarre and unreal perceptions of the
environment, these are mostly auditory but can be olfactory or tactile. Another characteristic is
disorganised speech where the speech of the person is often confusing and unintelligible to
understand, for example word salad. A negative characteristic is poverty of speech which is the
reduction of the number of words spoken and the quality of speech. Another negative characteristic
is avolition where the sufferer experiences a reduction in their interests and beliefs, and a reduction
in self-inhibited activities.
This achieved 5 marks.
Briefly outline family dysfunction as an explanation of schizophrenia (2 marks).
Family dysfunction is when the family has abnormal communication with the sufferer, which can be
shown through the expressed emotion or the double mind theory. Contradicting messages.
This achieved 2 marks.
Briefly explain one advantage of cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia
(2 marks).
Cognitive behavioural therapy is as effective as drug therapies in reducing the symptoms and the
sufferer doesn’t have to reply on drugs for these improvements, which has been found by NICE.
This achieved 2 marks.
Jack has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He describes his family background to his therapist.
‘I could never talk to mum. She fussed over me all the time. I tried to do what she said, but could
never please her. One minute she seemed all affectionate and the next minute she would make
nasty comments. My dad hated all the arguments and stayed out of it.’
Describe the family dysfunction explanation for schizophrenia and explain how Jack’s experiences
can be linked to the family dysfunction explanation (8 marks).
One explanation of family dysfunction is the double bind theory, where the schizophrenia sufferer
receives contradictory messages from the family. For example, Jack’s mum was affectionate and
then she would be nasty towards him. This suggests that Jack received contradictory messages quite
often. Bateson suggested that children who experience the contradictory messages are more likely
to develop schizophrenia. Another explanation of family dysfunction is expressed emotion. Some
schizophrenia sufferer’s family can get too affectionate and show lots of emotion after they have
been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Jack’s mum fussed over him a lot after he was diagnosed with
Outline one negative symptom of schizophrenia (2 marks).
One negative symptom is avolition. This is where the sufferer’s interests and behaviour are reduced.
The sufferer also reduces their involvement in social activities that they can partake in, for example
sitting in a house for hours doing nothing.
This achieved 2 marks.
Outline the clinical characteristics of schizophrenia (5 marks).
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterised by a disruption of cognition and emotion. Under
DSM, diagnosis requires 2 or more symptoms for at least 6 months. One characteristic of
schizophrenia is delusions. Delusions are bizarre beliefs that the sufferer has and these are unreal.
Another characteristic is hallucinations, which are bizarre and unreal perceptions of the
environment, these are mostly auditory but can be olfactory or tactile. Another characteristic is
disorganised speech where the speech of the person is often confusing and unintelligible to
understand, for example word salad. A negative characteristic is poverty of speech which is the
reduction of the number of words spoken and the quality of speech. Another negative characteristic
is avolition where the sufferer experiences a reduction in their interests and beliefs, and a reduction
in self-inhibited activities.
This achieved 5 marks.
Briefly outline family dysfunction as an explanation of schizophrenia (2 marks).
Family dysfunction is when the family has abnormal communication with the sufferer, which can be
shown through the expressed emotion or the double mind theory. Contradicting messages.
This achieved 2 marks.
Briefly explain one advantage of cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia
(2 marks).
Cognitive behavioural therapy is as effective as drug therapies in reducing the symptoms and the
sufferer doesn’t have to reply on drugs for these improvements, which has been found by NICE.
This achieved 2 marks.
Jack has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He describes his family background to his therapist.
‘I could never talk to mum. She fussed over me all the time. I tried to do what she said, but could
never please her. One minute she seemed all affectionate and the next minute she would make
nasty comments. My dad hated all the arguments and stayed out of it.’
Describe the family dysfunction explanation for schizophrenia and explain how Jack’s experiences
can be linked to the family dysfunction explanation (8 marks).
One explanation of family dysfunction is the double bind theory, where the schizophrenia sufferer
receives contradictory messages from the family. For example, Jack’s mum was affectionate and
then she would be nasty towards him. This suggests that Jack received contradictory messages quite
often. Bateson suggested that children who experience the contradictory messages are more likely
to develop schizophrenia. Another explanation of family dysfunction is expressed emotion. Some
schizophrenia sufferer’s family can get too affectionate and show lots of emotion after they have
been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Jack’s mum fussed over him a lot after he was diagnosed with
