Psychosomatic Medicine 32:113-140 (1970)
© 1970 American Psychosomatic Society

Drive Theories of Schizophrenia

¹ Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass.

Address for reprints requests: Dr. S. Epstein, Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass 01003

A number of drive or arousal theories of schizophrenia are critically reviewed. All assume that the basic defect in schizophrenia consists of a low threshold for disorganization under increasing stimulus input. The arousal that results is broader than anxiety, in the usual sense of the term, as it is contributed to by all sources of stimulation, including positive and negative affect, as well as external stimulation. The theories differ in the mechanisms they postulate to account for the relationship between stimulation and disorganization, in the range of phenomena they attempt to explain, and in the level of their conceptual units. While lacking in a firm data base, the theories were considered to be promising because of their heuristic value and their ability to integrate physiological and psychological aspects of the disorder within a single framework.

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