SCHIZOPHRENIC AND
P S YC H O T I C D I S O R D E R S
C HARACTERISTICS
SCHIZOPHRENIA
• Schizophrenia : mental health disorder that disintegrates of
the process of thinking and of emotional responsiveness
- Varies in duration and severity
- Affects ppl’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours
POSITIVE NEGATIVE COGNITIVE
Diminished emotional
Hallucinations : sensory expression : shows less
experiences that don’t and less emotion in Neurocognitive de cits
exist general use of non verbal
communication
Avolition : lack of
Dif culty understanding Dif
Delusions : beliefs which motivation to complete
nuances / different w
aren’t based on reality normal self motivated
meanings
tasks
Disorganised thoughts : Dif culties in stable
thoughts may be mixed up Alogia : inability to speak interpersonal cues and
and racing relationships
Catatonic behaviour :
person may not react to
Flattened affect : lack of
things in environment,
visible response e.g smile
doesn’t move in awkward
or frown
poses and engages in
repetitive movements
• Diagnosis :
- Symptoms by DSM 5 -> must show 2 of the following for a month :
- Shows decline in social and / or occupational functioning
- No evidence that medical factors cause behaviour
- Positive symptoms : adds to the - Negative symptom
experiences from normal behav
longer
,DELUSIONAL DISORDER
• Delusional disorder : ppl with persistent delusions but have
normal behaviour
- Development of a single delusion or set of related delusions
-> persistent
- Bizarre delusions : logically impossible to have occurred
• Types :
- Persecutory : belief person is being - Erotomatic : belief a
conspired against or pursued by ( usually of higher st
others who intent to harm them with them
- Grandiose : belief they have an - Jealous : belief partn
unrecognised skill, talent or status unfaithful
• Diagnosis :
- Using ICD 10 -> present for 3 months :
- 1 delusion or several - Commonly middl
- Persistent - Delusion content
- 1 of the types to life events
- Sometimes linked to - No evidence of b
depression, olfactory and tactile disease and
hallucinations schizophrenic his
CASE STUDIES
• Conrad • Jean
- Male - Mental Heath Public
- 23 years old Show
- 1st psychotic episode whilst on - Voices started = had
holiday ( 22 years old ) breakdown = moved
- Reluctant to seek treatment -> - Thought TV talking
unsure if he would recover - Auditory, command
- Diagnosed with schizoaffective persecutory hallucin
disorder biggest symptoms
- Spent 8 months after diagnosis - Thought being perse
in psychiatric hospital watching in at abo
- Found right drug treatment - Still had symptoms
,• Virtual Reality ( VR ) : interactive immersive computer environment
- Can be used for phobias e.g heights - Can be used for PTSD
- Emmelkamp et al. - Rothbaum et al.
- 33 patients with acrophobia - Gave a patient
( heights ) had 3 sessions of environments f
exposure to heights either in the Vietnam W
vivo or by VR - Patient experie
- Patients by VR still anxious decrease in PTS
FREEMAN 2008
• Aim :
- Potential use of VR to help challenges of assessing symptoms and de
treatment of schizophrenia
- Before symptom assessment relied on interviewer and patient in clin
talking about behaviour
• Ppts :
- 200 non clinical students
- Assessed on levels of paranoid thinking, emotional distress and othe
social traits
• Methodology :
- Lab
- Paranoid Thoughts Scale questionnaire
• Procedure :
1. Immersed in virtual world using VR
- Library scene used but changed to underground scene
- 5 min train ride on London Underground -> between 2 stati
- Virtual avatars
2. Behaviour was observed
3. Given questionnaire
• Results :
- Scored high on questionnaire experienced high levels of persecutors
- More likely to make comments ( e.g ‘lady sitting next to me laugh
, • Conclusions :
- Identi ed ways which VR helps with schizophrenia
- Used to measure physiological correlations of behaviour
- Can predict patents behaviour to social factors alongside pre-measu
personality factors
- Environmental predictors for anxiety can be detected
- Treatments can be developed -> educated about personal triggers =
• Evaluation :
- Application - Low ecological validity
- Wide range of situations can be - Arti cial environm
tailored to needs of patients - More anxiety in rea
- Can give patient neutral - Low reliability
environment where avatars don’t - Avatars responded
engage -> measure severity depending on how
- Educate patients which factors different experienc
make them better / worse - Some ppts respond
- Reliable since they know th
- Computer generated environment environment
= xed for all ppts - Depends on sch
- Same location, same avatars - Scenario impacts p
- Same questionnaire
- Replicable
ISSUES AND DEBATES
• Application : • Cultural bias
- Freeman’s VR study application - Some cultures mor
strengths others regarding h
- But not been used on clinical - Social norms around
patients interactions and eye
P S YC H O T I C D I S O R D E R S
C HARACTERISTICS
SCHIZOPHRENIA
• Schizophrenia : mental health disorder that disintegrates of
the process of thinking and of emotional responsiveness
- Varies in duration and severity
- Affects ppl’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours
POSITIVE NEGATIVE COGNITIVE
Diminished emotional
Hallucinations : sensory expression : shows less
experiences that don’t and less emotion in Neurocognitive de cits
exist general use of non verbal
communication
Avolition : lack of
Dif culty understanding Dif
Delusions : beliefs which motivation to complete
nuances / different w
aren’t based on reality normal self motivated
meanings
tasks
Disorganised thoughts : Dif culties in stable
thoughts may be mixed up Alogia : inability to speak interpersonal cues and
and racing relationships
Catatonic behaviour :
person may not react to
Flattened affect : lack of
things in environment,
visible response e.g smile
doesn’t move in awkward
or frown
poses and engages in
repetitive movements
• Diagnosis :
- Symptoms by DSM 5 -> must show 2 of the following for a month :
- Shows decline in social and / or occupational functioning
- No evidence that medical factors cause behaviour
- Positive symptoms : adds to the - Negative symptom
experiences from normal behav
longer
,DELUSIONAL DISORDER
• Delusional disorder : ppl with persistent delusions but have
normal behaviour
- Development of a single delusion or set of related delusions
-> persistent
- Bizarre delusions : logically impossible to have occurred
• Types :
- Persecutory : belief person is being - Erotomatic : belief a
conspired against or pursued by ( usually of higher st
others who intent to harm them with them
- Grandiose : belief they have an - Jealous : belief partn
unrecognised skill, talent or status unfaithful
• Diagnosis :
- Using ICD 10 -> present for 3 months :
- 1 delusion or several - Commonly middl
- Persistent - Delusion content
- 1 of the types to life events
- Sometimes linked to - No evidence of b
depression, olfactory and tactile disease and
hallucinations schizophrenic his
CASE STUDIES
• Conrad • Jean
- Male - Mental Heath Public
- 23 years old Show
- 1st psychotic episode whilst on - Voices started = had
holiday ( 22 years old ) breakdown = moved
- Reluctant to seek treatment -> - Thought TV talking
unsure if he would recover - Auditory, command
- Diagnosed with schizoaffective persecutory hallucin
disorder biggest symptoms
- Spent 8 months after diagnosis - Thought being perse
in psychiatric hospital watching in at abo
- Found right drug treatment - Still had symptoms
,• Virtual Reality ( VR ) : interactive immersive computer environment
- Can be used for phobias e.g heights - Can be used for PTSD
- Emmelkamp et al. - Rothbaum et al.
- 33 patients with acrophobia - Gave a patient
( heights ) had 3 sessions of environments f
exposure to heights either in the Vietnam W
vivo or by VR - Patient experie
- Patients by VR still anxious decrease in PTS
FREEMAN 2008
• Aim :
- Potential use of VR to help challenges of assessing symptoms and de
treatment of schizophrenia
- Before symptom assessment relied on interviewer and patient in clin
talking about behaviour
• Ppts :
- 200 non clinical students
- Assessed on levels of paranoid thinking, emotional distress and othe
social traits
• Methodology :
- Lab
- Paranoid Thoughts Scale questionnaire
• Procedure :
1. Immersed in virtual world using VR
- Library scene used but changed to underground scene
- 5 min train ride on London Underground -> between 2 stati
- Virtual avatars
2. Behaviour was observed
3. Given questionnaire
• Results :
- Scored high on questionnaire experienced high levels of persecutors
- More likely to make comments ( e.g ‘lady sitting next to me laugh
, • Conclusions :
- Identi ed ways which VR helps with schizophrenia
- Used to measure physiological correlations of behaviour
- Can predict patents behaviour to social factors alongside pre-measu
personality factors
- Environmental predictors for anxiety can be detected
- Treatments can be developed -> educated about personal triggers =
• Evaluation :
- Application - Low ecological validity
- Wide range of situations can be - Arti cial environm
tailored to needs of patients - More anxiety in rea
- Can give patient neutral - Low reliability
environment where avatars don’t - Avatars responded
engage -> measure severity depending on how
- Educate patients which factors different experienc
make them better / worse - Some ppts respond
- Reliable since they know th
- Computer generated environment environment
= xed for all ppts - Depends on sch
- Same location, same avatars - Scenario impacts p
- Same questionnaire
- Replicable
ISSUES AND DEBATES
• Application : • Cultural bias
- Freeman’s VR study application - Some cultures mor
strengths others regarding h
- But not been used on clinical - Social norms around
patients interactions and eye
