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)     

Process-reactive schizophrenia and genetic levels of perception.

"An attempt was made to evaluate the degree of perceptual regression, as defined by Rorschach responses, in reactive and process schizophrenics. The hypothesis that process schizophrenics show a preponderance of gentically lower responses than reactive schizophrenics was confirmed. The data indicate grosser perceptual immaturity within the process schizophrenic group and more adequate and integrated perceptual functioning within the reactive group. Several possible interpretations of these findings are presented." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size constancy in schizophrenia: A reanalysis.

Perceptual differences between normals and schizophrenics revealed by traditional size-constancy experiments are questionable because of S variability, procedural difficulties, and problems inherent in traditional psychophysical methods. A review of the literature reveals few consistent results. The present study compared normals, paranoid schizophrenics, and nonparanoid schizophrenics on a size-constancy task which allowed derivation of additional dependent variables from signal-detection and uncertainty analysis. No group differences were revealed using the size-constancy procedure, but signal-detection analysis indicated nonparanoid schizophrenics were significantly lower in perceptual sensitivity. Uncertainty analysis revealed additional response dispositions characteristic of the schizophrenic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size estimation, perceptual recognition, and cardiac rate response in acute paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics.

Studied perceptual response styles of 8 paranoid and 8 nonparanoid schizophrenics in a VA hospital using size estimation and perceptual recognition tasks. Eight alcoholic patients were used as controls. Only acute, actively psychotic, unmedicated schizophrenics were included. Heart rate responses were monitored during the performance of the tasks. Psychological task performance and concomitant physiological responses were analyzed and integrated. The size estimation results replicate earlier findings. During the perceptual recognition task, the paranoid Ss showed a unique "jump to conclusions" response strategy. Early responding and response rigidity was not found to be specific to paranoid schizophrenics. All schizophrenic Ss showed more large-magnitude heart rate response during both tasks. The relationship between perceptual responses and physiological responses differed among the groups. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size estimation in schizophrenics: A review and reanalysis.

Attempts to sort out the sources of some of the inconsistent findings in terms of a detailed examination of between-studies differences in task and S variables. It is concluded that acute good premorbid schizophrenics show small but consistent size underestimation. Acute poor premorbid schizophrenics show a small but reliable tendency toward size overestimation. Paranoid schizophrenics underestimate, while nonparanoids overestimate, stimulus size. Among all schizophrenic groups the effects of drug status and relative acuteness or chronicity are at present not well specified. More research on task variables such as memory and viewing time is clearly required. A reanalysis of some previous data indicates that schizophrenics did not differ from normals in perceptual accuracy. The question of attributing differences in size estimation to a sensory process is raised. The present theories of flexibility, scanning, and redundancy do not provide complete explanations of the data. With the relevant variables more precisely identified, progress toward a more complete theory may be made. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size constancy of adolescent schizophrenics.

In a size-constancy task 10 schizophrenic and 10 normal adolescent males judged variable triangles as smaller, same size, or larger than a standard. The schizophrenics' judgments were further from constancy, and differed qualitatively. They made more (a) same-size judgments, (b) changes of judgments, (c) overestimation of the size of the standard, and (d) improvement with practice. The relative constancy of the same-size judgments of most Ss suggested the effects of personality variables. A significant correlation was found between constancy performance and the Sc score on the MMPI for the experimental group. The direction of error, underconstancy or overconstancy, was determined by the space arrangement of the variable and the standard. Both groups responded similarly to the experimental conditions of distance, series order, and space arrangement. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shift in judgment of weights as a function of anchoring stimuli and instructions in early schizophrenics and normals.

"A weight judgment task was administered to 16 schizophrenic patients and 16 normals for 2 sessions. The two groups did not differ from each other in ability to discriminate between the weight stimuli, but the schizophrenics shifted significantly more than the normals in the heavy anchor condition, thus providing evidence for the theory that schizophrenics are more prone to react to concrete than to abstract stimuli, as well as for the theory that schizophrenics are less able to maintain constancy in weight judgment than normals." 18 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thought disorder in adolescent-onset schizophrenia

The nature of the thinking disturbances found in adolescent-onset psychotic conditions is not as well-characterized as the thought disorders found in adult psychotic patients. We used the Thought Disorder Index to examine whether schizophrenic patients in whom psychotic symptoms appear in adolescence show the same characteristic features of thought disorder as do adult schizophrenics. Quantitative and qualitative features of thought disorder were assessed in psychiatric inpatients with adolescent-onset schizophrenia, psychotic depression, and nonpsychotic conditions compared with normal control adolescents. Elevated thought disorder occurred in all groups of adolescents hospitalized for an acute episode of psychiatric illness. The magnitude of the elevation and the frequency of occurrence of disordered thinking were greatest in the psychotic adolescents. The qualitative features of the thought disturbances found in the schizophrenic adolescents were distinct from those observed in adolescents with psychotic depression. The thinking of the schizophrenic adolescents resembled that of adult schizophrenics. In both conditions thought disorder is characterized by idiosyncratic word usage, illogical reasoning, perceptual confusion, loss of realistic attunement to the task, and loosely related ideas.     

Shape constancy in schizophrenic patients.

Shape constancy in visual perception of schizophrenic patients was studied. 40 chronic schizophrenic, 40 acute schizophrenic, 40 nonschizophrenic mental patients, and 40 normal controls were used as Ss. Ss matched the shape of a standard object (circle) inclined at an angle. 2 angles of inclination, 30° and 60°, were used. It was found that shape constancy was lower in schizophrenic patients than in controls when the stimulus object was inclined 60° from the horizontal plane. When the angle of inclination was 30° there was no difference between the groups. The chronic schizophrenic patients displayed greater response variability than the other groups. The relation of these findings to the theory of assimilation of percepts to the perceptual schemata in schizophrenic patients was discussed. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Size Constancy in Retarded Versus Normal Children: A Developmental Hypothesis": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Bruce J. Richman, Harold N. Kellner, and Dean A. Allen (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1968, 32, No. 5, pp. 579-582). A statement appearing below Table 1 is erroneous. Reanalysis has indicated that none of the between-groups comparisons of the means presented in that table are significant at p 1969-01266-001). Attempted to provide a further empirical base for understanding the developmental mechanisms underlying visual size constancy. 15 brain-damaged retardates, 25 familial retardates, and 20 normal adolescents were studied. Significant differences in veridicality of size estimation were found between all 3 groups: (1) brain-damaged retardates exhibited the greatest size constancy, (2) familial retardates exhibited less constancy than organics, but more constancy than normals; and (3) all groups showed "overconstancy." Results show that the "primitivity" associated with the perceptual functioning of organic Ss may not be as pervasive as the literature seems to suggest. Results are explained via an "overspecialization" hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of surface modifiers on the electrode reactions and conformation of cytochrome c3 adsorbed on a silver electrode

Higher rates of left-handedness and atypical lateralization in schizophrenics paired with findings of morphological abnormalities in cerebral asymmetry suggest that the normal patterns of hemisphere specialization for processing verbal and spatial information may be anomalous in schizophrenics. The small number of studies that have addressed this question have produced inconsistent findings and varied with subtype diagnosis, gender, type of task employed, task difficulty, and control of handedness. Conflicting research findings also may be due to confounding from the heterogeneity of the schizophrenic construct and variability in clinical symptoms across patients. The present study was designed to control for factors that may have confounded earlier studies. Because the study used perceptual measures, the relationship between symptoms of perceptual aberration and hemisphere advantages was examined using Chapman et al.'s (1978) Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS). Fifteen male schizophrenic patients and 14 male controls were administered tachistoscopic letter and facial recognition go/no-go reaction time tasks. Left hemisphere advantages were found for both controls and schizophrenics on the letter task. Right hemisphere advantages were found for controls on the facial task but not schizophrenics. Instead, a strong negative correlation was found between schizophrenics' PAS scores and hemisphere advantages (r = -0.685, p < 0.007). Further analysis identified a subgroup of schizophrenics with perceptual aberration who exhibited reversed left hemisphere advantages that increased as the PAS scores increased. Additional research is needed to determine whether this subgroup of schizophrenics constitutes a meaningful subtype with a distinct disease process that disrupts the development of normal cerebral lateralization. The findings provide further evidence for the importance of examining relationships between schizophrenics' performance on cognitive measures and their symptom patterns.     

Object constancy in schizophrenia: the enhancement of symbolic objects and conceptual stability.

The hypothesis that symbolic value has a greater influence on size judgments made by schizophrenic patients than on those made by controls was confirmed. The hypothesis that paranoid schizophrenics show greater constriction in their judgments of the range of sizes was confirmed; however, the hypothesis that non-paranoid schizophrenics show greater fluidity in their range of judgments than do the controls was not confirmed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dichotic stimulation as a method of assessing disorder of attention in overinclusive schizophrenic patients.

Gave matched groups of 12 clinically overinclusive schizophrenics, 12 nonoverinclusive schizophrenics, and 12 normals Payne and Friedlander's standard battery of tests of overinclusive thinking. They also took part in 2 experiments in which they repeated verbal material presented through 1 earphone, while distracted through the other. Tests of overinclusive thinking intercorrelated significantly, as did the perceptual overinclusion scores derived from the amount of distracting material repeated. Overinclusive thinking did not correlate significantly with overinclusive perception, contrary to the hypothesis that both are due to some defective central filtering mechanism. Measures of both sorts of overinclusion discriminated significantly between the 2 schizophrenic groups, probably because the clinical definition of overinclusion included both thinking and perceptual distractibility. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delusional thinking and the induction process in schizophrenia.

A perceptual information-processing task was presented to minimally delusional schizophrenics, maximally delusional schizophrenics, and normal Ss. The point of emergence of their 1st response was utilized as an index of the degree to which they tended to structure ambiguous stimuli on the basis of inadequate premises. The hypothesis that the 2 schizophrenic groups would differ on the experimental task was not verified. The majority of schizophrenic Ss, however, responded either too early or too late, if the mean score of the normal group is regarded as the optimal response level. Additional data were gathered in an attempt to uncover historical or behavioral correlates of these test differences. The only difference found was in educational level. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of threatening stimuli in process and reactive schizophrenics.

Used the Phillips Symptom Checklist to separate male schizophrenic inpatients into process and reactive groups (N= 30 each). Ss were conditioned by pairing certain nonsense syllables with shock; other syllables were presented without shock. Using a T scope, groups were compared on recognition accuracy for neutral and threat (shock) syllables. No differences arose between groups in response to neutral stimuli. For threat syllables, process schizophrenics showed impaired recognition, while reactive schizophrenics showed heightened accuracy of recognition. This finding indicates that the quality of the stimulus itself is an important variable in the perceptual efficiency of schizophrenics. It suggests that process types screen stimulus threat from their awareness, while reactive types are acutely attuned to stimulus threat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of interpersonal involvement and affectiveness of content to the verbal communication of schizophrenic patients.

To analyze the effect of close interpersonal contact on the communication process of schizophrenics, 30 hospitalized male schizophrenics were asked to associate to TAT-like cards under 2 conditions of E-involvement. The condition of close personal contact was where E interviewed S directly, made use of personal pronouns, and at-attempted to promote a relatively close relationship; the condition of remote personal contact was where S received nonpersonalized instructions from a tape recorder operated by E. As compared to 30 hospitalized medical patients, content of speech of the schizophrenic patients was indistinguishable from controls except for irrelevancies. Degree of personal contact did not seem to affect S's communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual grouping in schizophrenia: Replication of Place and Gilmore.

E. Place and G. Gilmore (see record 1980-25819-001) found that schizophrenics, unlike control Ss failed to utilize gestalt grouping principles in a task involving line counting. The present investigation was a replication of that study but with several methodological refinements, including the subtyping of schizophrenics, a fixed exposure duration of 15 msec, and analyses of both raw and arcsin transformed data. Ss were 10 paranoid schizophrenic, 10 nonparanoid schizophrenic, and 10 nonschizophrenic patients (mean age 31 yrs) and 10 normal undergraduates. The basic findings of Place and Gilmore held, and the refinements utilized made no difference. Results are discussed in terms of a 2-stage model of perceptual processing that describes normal perception in terms of an intitial global structuring of the stimulus field and a secondary local analysis. Schizophrenics appear to use the 2nd processing stage regardless of the stimulus condition. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impairment in abstract responses of schizophrenics, neurotics, and brain-damaged patients

Attempted to identify a deficit in information input that may be specific to schizophrenia. The Ss were 60 male 19–58 yr old veterans representing 5 groups of 12 each: normals, neurotics, paranoid schizophrenics, nonparanoid schizophrenics, and brain-damaged patients. In the present and previous studies scores on single- and multiple-proverbs tests were analyzed to show effects of stimulus enrichment and practice gain in identifying this deficit. Previous studies differentiate normals and schizophrenics, demonstrate the deficit over a range of schizophrenic severity, and show that the deficit is independent of general loss of competence. Results of the present study indicate that the deficit is present over the paranoid–nonparanoid continuum; that it is absent in normals, neurotics, and brain-damaged patients; and that it is not a function of such intellectual factors as education and vocabulary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body-image aberration in schizophrenia.

A 28-item true–false scale was constructed to measure schizophrenic body-image aberration. The scale was standardized on both 631 male and 718 female college students and 100 male noncollege normal controls (mean age 31.7 yrs). The 74 male schizophrenic Ss reported more body-image aberration than normal nonstudent Ss, but only a portion of the schizophrenics were deviant. 20 male nonpsychotic clinic clients did not have heightened scores. Correlational findings indicate that schizophrenic body-image aberration is an aspect of a broader perceptual aberration. Scores on body-image aberration were negatively correlated with time since first hospitalization. The Body-Image Aberration Scale had essentially no correlation with the Physical Anhedonia Scale (L. J. Chapman, J. P. Chapman, and M. L. Raulin) for schizophrenics. For nonschizophrenics, however, high scores on the 2 scales accompanied one another significantly less often than expected by chance. It is suggested that the 2 scales may identify alternative manifestations of proneness toward the same schizophrenia. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abstract thinking deficit and autism in process and reactive schizophrenics.

Evaluated the influence of inability to abstract and autism on the proverbs interpretations of process and reactive schizophrenics. 48 reactive schizophrenics, 48 process schizophrenics, and 24 normals were scored for abstract level and autism on D. R. Gorham's (see record 1957-01037-001) proverbs test. Compared to normals, both schizophrenic groups were abnormal on each measure, both before and after the groups were matched for vocabulary. However, process schizophrenics were more deficient on abstract level than reactives. There was no significant difference between the mean autism scores of the two schizophrenic groups until the effects of abstract level were removed. Then it was seen that autism was more prominent among reactives than process Ss. Studied independently of one another, loss of abstract ability characterized process schizophrenics, while autism was more typical of reactives. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)