A multivariate study of attention dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Administered 5 tests purported to measure attention dysfunction to 60 schizophrenic and 60 nonschizophrenic male psychiatric patients. There was 30 chronic and 30 acute Ss in each group. The measures used were: size estimation, reaction time, and vigilance tasks, the Goldstein-Scheerer Object Sorting Test, and a proverb-interpretation task. Contrary to previous assumptions, these tests did not intercorrelate highly. In addition, individual-difference variables, as measured by staff ratings on the Psychotic Reaction Profile, failed to correlate significantly with task performance. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)