Breadth of deviate concepts used by schizophrenics.

This study investigated interfering overresponsiveness to a conceptual task in schizophrenics and attempted to isolate other situational conditions under which it occurs. The hypothesis was "the schizophrenic tendency to overinclude in a sorting task is positively related to the degree to which incorrect items share common qualities with the correct items in a given conceptual category." One normal and 2 schizophrenic groups, consisting of 24 males each, served as Ss. The results of the sorting tasks confirmed the hypothesis. An attempt was also made to determine whether schizophrenics showed excessive narrowing of the conceptual basis for sorting, but no difference between schizophrenics and normals was found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomic functioning in process and reactive schizophrenia.

Compared the autonomic functioning of male process schizophrenics, reactive schizophrenics, and normal ss (n = 30) under rest and arousal conditions. Ss were exposed to 6 arousal conditions: (a) white noise, (b) electric shock, (c) paired associate learning, (d) word activity test, (e) finger dexterity task, and (f) pursuit rotor task. Rest periods preceded each arousal condition. Heart rate, skin resistance, respiration rate, diastolic and systolic blood pressures were recorded under all 6 conditions. Results show that under stress the levels of physiological functioning for normal ss and reactive schizophrenics were similar on skin resistance and blood pressure, with process schizophrenics showing a higher level of arousal on skin resistance and a lower level on blood pressure. Reactive schizophrenics had the fastest heart rate, with process schizophrenics next, and normals the lowest. Respiration did not reliably differentiate among the groups. Reactive schizophrenics and normals generally showed greater increments to the arousal conditions (compared with prestress base lines) than the process schizophrenics in all measures except heart rate and skin resistance. In those 2 measures, reactive and process schizophrenics were similar in their reactions to the stress conditons, and both groups showed less reactivity in general than normals. (french summary) (31 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The performance of schizophrenics on social concepts.

"A hypothesis was derived from Cameron's view of schizophrenic thinking as a product of the social disarticulation of this group, as contrasted with Goldstein's interpretation of the defect in schizophrenic thought as the result of an impairment of the abstract attitude. The hypothesis was that schizophrenics would exhibit a greater decrement relative to normals on a test of social concepts than on tests of formal concepts." The data support this hypothesis. 22 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commonality of word associations and length of hospitalization in neurotics and schizophrenics.

Administered Kent-Rosanoff word association tests under 2 sets of instructions to 240 newly hospitalized male and female neurotics and schizophrenics. Commonality scores derived from these tests were correlated with Ss' total length of hospitalization between admission and release dates. It was found that neurotics received significantly higher commonality scores than did schizophrenics but that instructional set did not significantly alter mean commonality scores for these groups. Commonality scores were highly correlated with the discharge rate for neurotics under both relaxed- and speed-set instructions but only under relaxed-set instructions with schizophrenics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between formal thought disorder and retardation in schizophrenia.

17 schizophrenics admitted into the hospital less than 6 mo before were compared on Bannister's Grid Test of Schizophrenic Thought Disorder with 19 schizophrenics admitted over 6 mo before and with a group of 17 nonschizophrenic, psychiatric controls under 3 conditions: fast rate of responding, slow rate of responding, and in-between rate of responding. It was predicted that the schizophrenics would show more thought disorder under fast than slow conditions and that the recently admitted schizophrenics would be more thought disordered than the earlier admitted schizophrenics. Contrary to expectations, the patients tended to show less thought disorder on the test when their responses were speeded than when they were encouraged to take their time. Moreover, the earlier admitted schizophrenics showed more thought disorder than the recently admitted schizophrenics under all 3 conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A therapeutic approach to schizophrenics of extreme pathology: An operant-interpersonal method.

Chronic withdrawn schizophrenics were exposed to operant conditioning procedures. Involved were gradually increasingly complex psychomotor tasks involving minimal verbal interpersonal communication. Ultimately, the patient performed a relatively complex assignment with a partner (interpersonal behavior). Improvement in clinical behavior (as assessed by tests, interview, and ward observations) was compared under the operant-interpersonal conditions and under verbal therapy, recreational therapy, and control (no specific therapy) conditions. Significant improvement was noted under the operant-interpersonal conditions as compared to the others, those patients with better premorbid adjustment (reactive schizophrenia) faring best. Some uncommunicative patients became worse with verbal therapy, but in the 15-week period, only 1 patient improved enough under experimental conditions to be transferred to an open ward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal orientations in clinical groups.

Schutz postulates that 3 factors: inclusion, control, and affection, can account for all or practically all of the variance in interpersonal relationships. The area of inclusion concerns being with or withdrawing from other people. The control area entails dominance and submission. The area of affection relates to liking and disliking. 7 clinical groups including paranoid, hebephrenic, and undifferentiated schizophrenics, obsessive-compulsives, anxiety hysterics, depressives, and normals were utilized. There were 20 Ss in each group. All groups were tested with FIRO-B, the measuring instrument for Schutz' FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation) theory. The age and social class of each S was assessed, the latter through the use of the Hollingshead and Redlich Index of Social Position. Reasoning from current clinical concepts and from Schutz' theory, it was assumed that schizophrenics would have more difficulty than other groups in the inclusion area, that obsessive-compulsives would demonstrate most pathology in the area of control, and that anxiety hysterics and depressives would vary to a greater extent than other groups in the affection area. The results partially supported the assumptions regarding the schizophrenics and the anxiety hysterics and depressives. Other differences among the 7 groups on the 6 FIRO-B scales occurred. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual contact with reality in schizophrenia.

"It was hypothesized that under experimental conditions involving minimal distance cues, schizophrenics in poor contact would manifest less size constancy than either schizophrenics in good contact or normals. Three groups of subjects, schizophrenics in good contact with reality, schizophrenics in poor contact, and normals, were tested in a size-constancy experiment under three different distance cue conditions, maximal, minimal, and no cue. The results of the investigation supported the hypothesis. This was interpreted as suggesting that the schizophrenic's break with reality involves not only more complex psychological functions, but basic perceptual processes as well." 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance of paranoid schizophrenics on a dichotic listening task.

Used 15 adult normals and 15 institutionalized paranoid schizophrenics in a dichotic listening task within a 2 (Groups) * 2 (Associated or Unassociated Word List) * 2 (Presentation Rate) design, with repeated measures on the last 2 variables. Presentation rates were either 1 or 3 sec. Dependent variables were word recall, intrusion errors, and strategy use and accuracy. Normals recalled significantly more information than paranoid schizophrenics under all memory conditions and had significantly fewer total intrusion errors. For both groups, information recall was significantly better under the associative conditions (particularly associative structure, 3-sec presentation rate). Under the varying structure conditions, paranoid schizophrenics did not employ optimal strategies with the same frequency or degree of accuracy as normals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constancy of absolute judgments of size by normals and schizophrenics.

A study of size constancy in absolute judgments of chronic schizophrenics and normals under conditions of minimal distance cues showed a significant and consistent underestimation by schizophrenic Ss. The apparently inconsistent results from other studies of size and temporal constancy in schizophrenics were discussed and a hypothesis advanced which related the various findings as a function of loss of reality contact. Schizophrenics in good contact show stable overconstancy. Acutely disturbed schizophrenics show a loss of perceptual stability. Chronic schizophrenics have re-established perceptual stability through autistic frames of reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Failure and the subsequent performance of schizophrenics.

"The present study investigated the questions of whether deficit would obtain for schizophrenics on a timed task of nonsocial content and, if so, whether the deficit would increase or decrease over trials under a condition of nonreinforcement and, finally, differentially affect the subsequent performance of schizophrenics and normals… . The results indicated that both schizophrenics and normals responded with enhanced performance to the negative conditions, but that only the schizophrenics demonstrated enhanced performance under the positive condition." 15 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative interference and premorbid adjustment in schizophrenia.

The effects of associative interference on the verbal learning performance of 60 male process and reactive schizophrenics and 30 normals were studied using a mixed list with high and moderate interlist interference and new learning conditions. Schizophrenics made more errors than normals in the interference conditions but not in the new learning. Reactive schizophrenics made as many errors as the process group with high interference but significantly fewer under moderate interference. Process schizophrenics gave significantly more List 1 intrusions in List 2 learning than reactives or normals. Results support predictions from the qualitative differences theory of cognitive deficit. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual organization in schizophrenia.

A report of numerosity task was used in 2 experiments to examine the effect of inherent stimulus organization on the report accuracy of 2 S groups. Ss in each experiment were 10 schizophrenics and 10 drug abusing inpatients (controls). In both experiments, displays containing from zero to 6 lines were presented tachistoscopically. In Exp I, the lines appeared either alone or with noise elements (circles). When the lines appeared alone, schizophrenics and controls performed comparably. Their report accuracy decreased with increases in the number of lines. In the noise condition, the level of performance dropped only for schizophrenics. In Exp II, the stimulus arrays did not contain noise elements. Ss were given the task of reporting all the lines they saw. The perceptual organization of the arrays was manipulated by varying the similarity and proximity of the line elements. The performance of controls deteriorated as the organization of the arrays became more complex; schizophrenics were not affected by the organization. In fact, their average performance was significantly better than that of controls. Results of the 2 experiments are interpreted as evidence that schizophrenics' perceptual deficit lies in a failure to organize information at an early stage in processing. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal competition, overinclusive thinking, and schizophrenia.

Pretested 4 matched groups of 20 Ss each on 3 measures of overinclusive thinking. 2 of these groups were chronic schizophrenics and 2 were psychiatric aides. 1 wk. later, Ss performed a word-naming task under individual and then under paired-competitive or paired-noncompetitive conditions. They were then retested on the 3 measures. Schizophrenic proverb interpretations were rated as to the quality and level of abstraction. Following competitive experiences, schizophrenics became more overinclusive but not more concrete or bizarre. The position that schizophrenics are unable to engage in conceptualization or lose the ability to abstract under stress was not supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenic discrimination learning as a function of aversive social and physical reinforcement.

60 schizophrenics comparable in important psychopathological variables (e.g., Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Premorbid History-Phillips Prognostic Rating Scale) to Ss in other similar studies were compared on a discrimination learning task with noxious physical reinforcement (intense white noise at 91–94 db) under experimenter (E)-present conditions with motivational instructions and E-absent conditions with neutral instructions. Aversive reinforcement was delivered on a response contingent basis for avoidance and escape training under both social conditions. Long-term effects were evaluated 3 consecutive learning tasks: before, during, and following the 6 reinforcement conditions. Results provide strong confirmation that social factors in the E–S relationship determine the speed of learning throughout. Regardless of physical punishment or the reinforcement paradigm (avoidance or escape), Ss learned significantly faster in the E's presence with motivational instructions both during and after the reinforcement phase. The theoretical implications of what is called biological motivation were found to be insufficient grounds for ordering the data. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of social and nonsocial censure on stimulus generalization in neurotics and schizophrenics.

36 schizophrenic and 36 neurotic depressive Ss were given a visual-spatial generalization task under either social or nonsocial (impersonal) censure conditions. The following hypotheses derived from previous investigations were tested: (1) schizophrenics would show higher gradients of generalization than neurotic depressives, and (2) generalization gradients would be higher under conditions of social as opposed to nonsocial censure, especially in schizophrenics. The data supported Hypothesis 1 but not Hypothesis 2. There was no evidence for differential responding between these 2 groups with respect to either stimulus generalization or response to censure. It was suggested that hypotheses concerning the schizophrenic's performance in these 2 situations have been biased and oversimplified by use of normal, rather than patient, control groups in previous investigations. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Superior speech comprehension in schizophrenics under monaural versus binaural listening conditions.

20 schizophrenics, 10 nurses, and 10 psychiatric controls (all under age 60) listened to stories and answered the corresponding questions in 3 conditions. All task information was provided either binaurally or exclusively to the left or right ear, and scores were derived from the number of questions answered correctly in each condition. It was hypothesized that schizophrenics would display significant deficits in left ear speech comprehension on the assumption that the patients suffered from poor interhemispheric transfer, which had been observed on manual and visual tasks. Significant left ear deficits were observed in the schizophrenics but not in the controls. An unexpected effect, which may also reflect defective interhemispheric transfer, was that the schizophrenics, but not the controls, displayed significant deficits in binaural relative to right ear speech comprehension. It may be possible to increase the speech comprehension of schizophrenics who show this effect by a simple method that takes advantage of the observed right ear superiority. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of speech in the inhibitory control of motoric behavior of schizophrenic patients.

Investigated the conditions under which speech influences the speed of a tapping response in 48 schizophrenics and 48 nonschizophrenics. Ss verbalized 3 words ("goads") under varied pretask instructions (minimal and slow instructions) and 2 sources of delivery (self-delivered "internal" verbalizations and other-delivered "external" verbalizations). Results indicate that all groups inhibited speed of tapping for a slow instruction. The schizophrenics under the internal goad condition inhibited response as well as the control group; under the external goad condition these patients were less able to inhibit response. For the minimal instruction condition the schizophrenics responded to the meaning inherent in the goads faster and slower for the internal but not the external goad condition. The converse was true for the control group. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Absolute and relative performance of schizophrenics under competition.

Tested 40 chronic schizophrenics and 40 psychiatric attendants on a word-naming task under 1 of 2 testing conditions (alone and paired competitive, or alone and paired noncompetitive) and under 1 of 2 testing orders (alone-to-paired or paired-to-alone). Schizophrenics performed better under paired competitive trials than paired noncompetitive trials. When absolute performance level was considered, there were no differences between s groups in their relative response to competition. Paired-to-alone testing order reduced performance level for most groups independent of the competitive conditions. Results are interpreted in terms of motivation arousal. Schizophrenics respond as well as normals to competitive stimuli under the appropriate conditions. Competitive effects seem to be no different than a host of other activators which reduce the "psychological deficit" of schizophrenics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information Processing Deficits in Remitted Schizophrenics.

This study investigated early stages of information processing in schizophrenia as assessed by a backward-masking paradigm. Ten remitted process schizophrenics and 10 matched normal controls were tested. Subjects were matched for both age and intelligence. All schizophrenics met the criteria of an early onset, poor premorbid adjustment, evidence of formal thought disorder (e.g., language disturbance) and had previously exhibited hallucinations or delusions. Stimuli were tachistoscopically exposed under two masking conditions, two stimulus durations, and five masking latencies (stimulus onset asynchronies) over four 200-trial sessions, for a total of 800 trials. A two-alternative forced-choice recognition of a T or A served as the dependent measure. Results indicated that whereas schizophrenics were more impaired than normals under both masking conditions, they were particularly impaired under the pattern mask condition. These results add support to the growing evidence of an early information processing disturbance in schizophrenia that is trait dependent and is not an artifact of nonspecific pathological disturbance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)