Schizophrenic patients in the psychiatric interview: An experimental study of their effectiveness at manipulation.

This study attempted to examine whether chronic schizophrenic patients could effectively engage in the manipulative strategy of impression management in an evaluative interview situation. The data supported the expectation that schizophrenic mental patients can effectively present themselves as "sick" or "healthy," whichever is more suited to their needs and goals. Thus, when the patients' open ward status was questioned, they convincingly presented themselves in the interview as "healthy" and eligible for open ward living; when their residency status was questioned, they convincingly presented themselves as "sick" and ineligible for discharge. These findings were interpreted as supporting assumptions of patient effectiveness in implementing goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)