Hearing voices, but whose? Constructions of schizophrenia in introductory psychology textbooks

Abstract

Introductory psychology courses have a broad reach; their textbooks are instrumental in disseminating information about mental distress. In this study, we present the theoretical implications of a Foucauldian discourse analysis of constructions of schizophrenia in six introductory psychology textbooks assigned in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia. We identify three interconnected discursive constructions within the textbooks: object-for-study, social problem, and unrecoverable illness. These constructions converge to position people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (PWDS) as sites for biomedical intervention and generate biomedical treatment as necessary but non-curative. Notably, the voices of PWDS are absent from the texts. We contend that amplifying counter discourses and the voices of PWDS is essential to provide the context, meaning, and hope that is missing from these textbooks, and broader society. We work with Mad Studies to present potential ways of theorising otherwise around these experiences—and leveraging this theory in textbook writing.