Emergence of Schizophrenia from Social Biases of Perception

Abstract

To understand schizophrenic behavior, three views of schizophrenia are examined: the static view, the expectancy view, and the view of interaction. Contrary to the first and second views of schizophrenia, which assume symptoms emanate from a specific biological entity, the view of interaction maintains that schizophrenia is a consequence of an interaction between an observer's clinical biases of perception and the sense impressions he receives upon observing a behaving organism. According to the view of interaction, schizophrenia is a cultural phenomenon which emerges from a social and evolutionary process. Without the presence of social sophistication, a clinical profession could not exist, standard biases of perception could not be sustained, and the phenomenon of schizophrenia could not become manifest.