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Egocentrism and Inefficiency in the Communication of Families Containing Schizophrenic Members
Author(s) -
MOSSIGE SVEIN,
PETTERSEN RITA BAST,
BLAKAR ROLV MIKKEL
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.1979.00405.x
Subject(s) - egocentrism , psychology , situational ethics , perspective (graphical) , social psychology , preconscious , inefficiency , cognition , automaticity , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , computer science , unconscious mind , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , psychoanalysis , economics , microeconomics
Conceptual and methodological shortcomings of research on family and inter‐actional psychopathology are owing mainly to the use of vague and ill‐defined concepts of communication. Based on a theory of language use and communication within general social and cognitive psychology (e.g., Heider, Mead, Piaget, Rommetveit) Blakar has outlined a methodology by which interaction is analyzed in terms of how and to what extent the participants (families) manage or fail to cope with the various prerequisites for successful communication under varying situational conditions. A study illustrating this program is presented: The interaction of twelve families, six with (Group S) and six without (Group N) a schizophrenic member, is analyzed in Blakar's communication conflict situation with respect to the members' ability to decenter and take the perspective of each other. Group S proved significantly more egocentric, their egocentric attitudes resulting, as would be expected, in very inefficient communication. Moreover, Group S were not able to adapt their pattern of communication to the changing situational requirements. Finally, the subtle interplay between the capacities and behavior of the individual members and the family system is illustrated: the egocentrism of the members resulted in “closed systems,” and the closed systems hindered adequate feedback, forcing the members to decenter.