A Functional Analysis of Schizophrenia

There has been a renaissance in research examining psychosocial risk factors for the development of schizophrenia, yet little work has been done to integrate these factors into a comprehensive psychological analysis of this disorder. This article highlights, from a Skinnerian functional analytic perspective, how the specific symptoms of schizophrenia may develop and be maintained. It is hypothesized that the early environment of an individual who later develops schizophrenia is socially isolating and defeating, which leads to excessive self-focused attention and deficient corrective social feedback for anomalous sensory experiences. Isolation and defeat also make it less likely that verbal behavior will come under the control of subtle interpersonal cues and more likely that such behavior will come under the control of internal stimuli. A history of social failure may also lead individuals to avoid goal pursuits and intense emotional expressiveness. The article also highlights the continuity between the effects of contingencies of survival in one’s ancestors, and contingencies of reinforcement in the individual in the development of schizophrenia, and how a functional analysis may aid in the psychosocial treatment of this disorder.