Effects of Drama Therapy on Social Functioning and Social Deficits in Individuals with Schizophrenia
Xuelai PeiAbstract
Objective
The transformation of modern-era drama has been interpreted within political and literary frameworks, while its psychological motivations remain underexamined. This paper introduces a psychological perspective—cognition, emotion, motivation, and self-identity—to re-examine this historical process. Beyond historical analysis, it explores therapeutic implications for schizophrenia, where patients experience social deficits including impaired emotion recognition, flattened affect, and social withdrawal, aiming to derive drama therapy principles targeting social functioning.
Subjects and Methods
The subject is modern-era Chinese drama across three historical stages: drama-reform, topical new plays, and civilized drama. Methods draw on reception aesthetics, emotion psychology, and performance psychology. For schizophrenia care, historical strategies are adapted into therapy protocols: emotion-activation exercises for affective recognition, collective performance targeting social withdrawal, and role-construction techniques addressing identity fragmentation.
Results
Analysis reveals three psychological dimensions: at reception level, Liang Qichao's "four forces" framed drama as emotional arousal; at collective level, national crisis-induced anxiety transformed theatre into collective catharsis; at self-identity level, the shift to realistic performance represented a cognitive revolution. For schizophrenia, emotion-activation exercises reduce emotional blunting; collective performance reduces anhedonia and fosters connectedness; role-construction improves social functioning, consistent with narrative identity findings in psychosis.
Conclusions
The psychological logic of modern-era drama—emotional activation, collective catharsis, and identity reconstruction—offers both a new interpretive path and a model for schizophrenia therapy. Drama therapy provides a culturally grounded, non-pharmacological intervention targeting social deficits, potentially reducing negative symptoms and improving quality of life. Future controlled trials should evaluate efficacy and explore neural mechanisms through neuroimaging.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by The General Project of the National Social Science Fund of China, "Collation and Research on Theoretical Literature of Kunqu Opera Singing" (Grant No. 25BZW082); The Zhejiang Young Scholars Special Project of the Zhejiang Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning, "Collation and Research on the Works of Xu Qin, a Literati Playwright of the Qing Dynasty" (Project No. 24ZJQN016Y).
Corresponding Author
Xuelai Pei, Communication University of Zhejiang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.