Cognitive disorders in schizophrenics viewed from the attribution theory

Summary

During the last decade, attributional theory has developed into one of the most important areas of research in social psychology. Its subject matter is lay-theoretical causal interpretations of observed behaviour. However, it has almost never been used to explain the cognitive deficits of schizophrenics.

The present study is based on the attributional theory of Kelley (1967). It demonstrates that schizophrenic subjects with very few or no psychopathological symptoms make more incorrect or unusual causal attributions in experimental social situations than controls. Incorrect causal attributions are particularly likely to occur when causes are to be seen in the specific characteristics of a situation and when the schizophrenic feels perceptually handicapped. They then tend to prefer stable (e.g. traits) to situation-specific causal categories. This suggests a general coping strategy designed to make the world more predictable and controllable.