Age and schooling effects in story recall and story production.

The relative influences of age- and schooling-related experiences on story memory and storytelling were examined. 40 kindergarten and 39 Grade 1 children whose birth dates clustered around the cutoff date for school entrance listened to and recalled short, 1-episode stories (story recall task) and completed other stories (story production task) for which they were given beginning information. Children were tested in fall (at 5.6 years) and spring (at 6.3 years) of the school year and in spring of the following school year (at 7.3 years). For the story recall task, significant age-related effects were obtained for overall amount of recall, whereas schooling-related effects in kindergarten were obtained for patterns of recall as a function of causal relations. For the story production task, age-related as well as schooling-related effects of kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 were obtained for structural complexity. Age-related effects are attributed to general development in memory capacity and deployment of cognitive resources, whereas schooling-related effects are attributed to restructuring of the story representation in memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of recall by hypnotically age-regressed subjects.

Investigated the accuracy of the factual recall of highly hypnotically susceptible undergraduates both during and after the hypnotic procedure. Third-party verification (parent report) of the accuracy of recall was obtained for 2 S groups: 14 hypnotized Ss and 10 postsimulation control Ss. Results indicate that, despite the similarity to children in their way of relating to transitional objects, hypnotic Ss were significantly less able than control Ss to correctly identify the specific transitional objects actually used. Furthermore, all recollections obtained during hypnosis were incorporated into posthypnotic recollections, regardless of accuracy. Clinical implications are discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial recall by schizophrenic and affective patients during and after psychotic episodes.

Eight schizophrenics (mean age 27.3 yrs), 8 depressed patients (mean age 33.1 yrs), and 8 normal controls (mean age 27 yrs) completed the MMPI and were asked to recall short word strings in both the presence and absence of distraction. Results show a differential cognitive deficit among schizophrenics both before and after a general improvement in their level of adjustment. That is, despite an overall improvement in their accuracy of recall prior to discharge, their performance continued to be impaired relative to depressed and normal Ss on the words presented in the 1st serial position. A tendency toward greater distractibility among schizophrenics failed to reach statistical significance at both points of assessment. Further substantiation of such stable forms of cognitive impairment may facilitate the identification of individuals who are vulnerable to the development of schizophrenia and may shed light on the adjustment problems that many chronic patients continue to experience after discharge from the hospital. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size estimation in schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic subjects.

Studied size estimation in 120 male acute and chronic schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients. No significant group differences were found in the size estimation levels, or when the groups were subdivided on the basis of both premorbid adjustment and paranoid status. All Ss increased their size estimation levels over the 3 trial blocks. The thematic content of the stimuli produced a significant effect in the chronic schizophrenic group, with the nonthreatening scenes being overestimated relative to the threatening scenes. Some methodological problems common to size estimation studies are noted, and the growing inconsistency in the size estimation literature is hypothesized to be due to these problems. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The indirect representation of sexual stimuli by schizophrenic and normal subjects.

"On the assumption that male schizophrenics are more threatened by various aspects of sexuality than are normal males, and that the prerecognition distortions of tachistoscopically presented sexual stimuli are often indirect representations reflecting the subject's immediate affective response to the stimulus object, it was hypothesized that a group of normal subjects could be differentiated from a group of schizophrenic subjects on the basis of the affective attitudes implied in the imagery of their respective prerecognition distortions. This hypothesis was tested by using an experimental group of 25 schizophrenic male subjects and a control group of 25 normal male subjects, with the groups equated for age, intelligence, ethnic group, and education." The hypothesis was, in general, supported by the data. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2JQ24A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inducing schizophrenic associations in normal subjects.

L. S. Levitz and L. P. Ullmann (see record 1970-03762-001) found that normal Ss can increase their number of uncommon associations in response to instructions and reinforcement. Using 40 college students, the present study replicated this finding with a concurrent measure of response latency, and as predicted, the increase in uncommon associations was accompanied by an increase in response latency. Results are consistent with the theory that instructions induce normals to change their responses by means of an editing process, and it is suggested that such editing of responses is a "symptom" of normal flexibility rather than a model of the development of schizophrenic thought disorder. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulus generalization and overinclusion in normal and schizophrenic subjects.

Compared 38 male and 12 female schizophrenics and a matched group of normals on a test of stimulus generalization, Epstein's Inclusion Test, and the Vocabulary subtest of the WAIS. Schizophrenics generalized significantly more than normal Ss (p     

Eyelid conditioning and arousal in schizophrenic and normal subjects.

Schizophrenic patients were compared with normal Ss on an eyelid-conditioning task. All Ss received 50 trials to either a light or a tone CS; the UCS was an air puff to the eye. The principal findings were: (1) the number of CRs was shown to be related to level of skin potential in both normal and schizophrenic Ss; (2) the schizophrenic group gave more CRs than the normal group, and this was associated with higher skin potentials in the patient group; (3) the level of skin potential was found to be related to withdrawal, and the more withdrawn Ss gave more CRs; and (4) a differential effect was found between normal and schizophrenic Ss and the modality of the CS. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The robustness and temporal course of the story schema's influence on recall.

Three experiments are reported in which subjects were asked to remember simple stories they had read. The goal was to examine the power of the story schema, postulated in a contemporary story grammar, to influence subjects' level and organization of memory, particularly when they are presented with scrambled versions of stories. The results of Experiment 1 are consistent with previous findings, and we demonstrated the schema's influence on the level and organization of free recall. In Experiment 2 we demonstrated the strong influence of the schema on recall of details (measured by a cloze procedure), as well as recall for the story's gist (measured by a summary construction task). Finally, in Experiment 3 we demonstrated that the schema's influence on the organization of memory holds over time and serves to buttress the more abstract and general elements of the narrative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The level of aspiration of schizophrenic and normal subjects.

The performance of normals and schizophrenics on five selected levels of aspiration variables was evaluated for significant differences and examined in the light of Hausmann's earlier findings. The differences between the groups are analyzed. Hausmann's findings, however, could not be reproduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal and visuospatial recall by younger and older subjects: Use of matched tasks.

In this study, 18 older (over age 65, M?=?75.61 years) and 18 younger (below age 40 and over age 17, M?=?26.44 years) healthy volunteers were tested on verbal and visuospatial recall. Tasks were matched on discriminating power. Older Ss performed worse than younger Ss on both tasks. The older Ss also showed a larger deficit in visuospatial than in verbal recall, relative to the younger Ss. These results are consistent with the theory of aging according to which verbal tasks are more resistant to deterioration than are nonverbal tasks. A psychological explanation based on lifetime experience with verbal material is preferred over the physiological explanation advocating faster aging of the right hemisphere. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suggested amnesia and disorganized recall in hypnotic and task-motivated subjects.

Submitted 52 undergraduates to task motivation or hypnotic treatment. Ss were then given an amnesia suggestion for a previously learned list of categorized words. The number of words recalled and the extent to which they were recalled in clusters were compared before, during, and after lifting the amnesia suggestion. Results show that more hypnotic Ss than task-motivated Ss showed amnesia. Furthermore, hypnotic Ss, but not task-motivated Ss, showed less clustering during the suggestion than they did before or after the suggestion. The Ss who showed at least partial failure to recall during the suggestion were classified into 3 groups: (a) those who remembered but did not verbalize the words, (b) those who experienced amnesia as an effortful process involving distraction or forceful suppression, and (c) those who simply relaxed and experienced amnesia as an effortless process. A theoretical model is tentatively advanced to account for these data. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some determinants of persistence in chronic schizophrenic subjects.

This investigation of persistence in schizophrenics on tasks differing in complexity and interest under ego-involved and task-oriented conditions utilized 3 groups of male schizophrenics: 30 well-adjusted and 30 poorly-adjusted out-patients, and 30 regressed hospitalized patients. Each S worked at 1 of 3 tasks representing low, moderate, and high degrees of interest and complexity. ? of each group received ego-involved and ? received task-oriented instructions. Outpatient schizozphrenics were clearly superior to hospitalized patients in persistence. Persistence was greater under ego-involved than under task-oriented conditions, regardless of task or level of psychopathology, but there was no difference in persistence scores across tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conformity behavior of schizophrenic subjects with maternal figures.

4 groups of 10 Ss each were used: (a) a group of Nondrug Poor Premorbid schizophrenic Ss, (b) a group of Drug Poors, (c) a group of hospitalized Alcoholics, and (d) a group of Normal control Ss. S was placed in a 2-choice situation, and asked to indicate his preference, over a number of trials, after having learned the preference of a cold, domineering, maternal figure. Conformity was measured in terms of 3 relatively independent response attributes. The results indicate that, as compared to the Nondrug schizophrenics: (a) the Drug schizophrenics manifested less conformity, (b) the Normals were uninfluenced, and (c) the Alcoholics tended to disagree with the negative mother. All groups were equally accurate in their perception of the 2 mothers. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selection of subjects in studies of schizophrenic cognition.

Considers that an investigator's method of selection of schizophrenics and control Ss for research on schizophrenic cognition determines whether groups differ either on accuracy or on any specific error that is highly correlated with accuracy. Severity of disturbance and chronicity are especially important determinants of results. If matching on correlated demographic variables is part of the design, the matching should be very close; even nonsignificant demographic differences can affect the results. Psychiatric controls are not useful for determining whether schizophrenics have a specific defect because nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients may also show that defect. Testing of nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients is useful for determining whether such patients show a given defect but seldom yields evidence with generality concerning which kind of patient shows it the most. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resolution of inconsistent attitude communications in normal and schizophrenic subjects.

Investigated the resolution of inconsistent attitude communications by 30 schizophrenic patients as compared to a matched group of 30 normal Ss. 12 inconsistent messages served as the experimental stimuli. The verbal channel, represented by sentences, carried 3 degrees of verbal strength—mild, moderate, and strong—used for both the positive and negative conditions. The nonverbal channel was vocal tone, held constant at a moderate strength, independently assessed with a band-pass filter. It was found that schizophrenics resolved more to the verbal channel than did normals. Schizophrenics showed a trend toward increased confusion overall and were found to rate inconsistent messages with a negative vocal component as more confusing than did normal Ss. Based on the findings of this study, some general guidelines for the practicing therapist and implications for double-bind theory are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in repeated learning tasks in schizophrenic subjects.

This experiment was designed to study age differences in the learning of paired associates in serial order and a card-sorting task over 9 different sessions. The Ss consisted of 2 groups, 15 younger-aged (20-29) and 15 middle-aged (40-56), male, hospitalized schizophrenics. The results indicated that the younger-aged-group's performance was superior on both tasks for the 1st session. Over the 9 learning sessions the middle-aged group showed significantly greater improvement on the paired-associate task, while the differences between the age groups in card-sorting speed remained fairly constant over the 9 sessions. It was concluded that the learning deficit in middle-aged and schizophrenic Ss is something that is not a fixed and immutable one for all tasks but may be modified through practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paired-associate learning by schizophrenic and normal subjects under conditions of personal and impersonal reward and punishment.

This is a report of 2 dissertations done to cross-validate the findings that, contrary to normals, the performance of schizophrenics on various tasks improves under conditions of punishment rather than reward. In addition, these studies tested the effect of personal vs. impersonal conditions of reinforcement. Ss were patients with acute as well as more chronic periods of illness. The results indicate that regardless of whether the reinforcement was administered mechanically (impersonally) or by another individual (personally), the performance of the schizophrenic group again showed improvement under conditions of punishment rather than rewards. The results are related to a theory of the etiology of schizophrenia and to the treatment of schizophrenics. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4JQ22A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of delayed auditory feedback on process and reactive schizophrenic subjects.

A group of 20 male process schizophrenic, 20 male reactive schizophrenic, and 20 normal Ss read a passage aloud under delayed auditory feedback. S grouping, length of hospitalization, age, education, reading speed, and audiometric variables were controlled. It was theorized that normal Ss would be most affected by delayed auditory feedback, followed by reactive and then process Ss. Results do not support this hypothesis; after covarying for control reading time, the effect of diagnostic group disappeared. However, post hoc analysis revealed a subgroup of process patients more influenced by delayed auditory feedback than all other Ss. They were older, had shorter hospitalization, more education, lower control reading times, and higher process-reactive scores than the remaining process Ss. These patients are thought to constitute an "intermediate" schizophrenic group in their social organization and psychotic symptomatology. Thus, it is speculated that delayed auditory feedback could tap interactions between sensory and social variables in certain subsets of the schizophrenic population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)