Perceptual recognition in chronic and acute schizophrenics.

Compared schizophrenic and normal groups on their speed in recognizing the identity of pictorial stimuli which gradually came into sharper focus from an initially blurred appearance. The chronic schizophrenic group (N = 20) showed slower recognition than the acute schizophrenic (N = 20) or normal groups (N = 40), but the groups did not differ in amount of prerecognition hypotheses or time of 1st response. The differences in perceptual recognition speed seem related to certain clinical differences between the acute and chronic schizophrenic, particularly with regard to the impact of external perceptual stimuli vs. internally generated ideation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal affect and conformity behavior in schizophrenics.

A group of 28 schizophrenics Ss was equated with a group of 28 normal Ss on the factors of age and education. Each S was then tested as to the number of affectual relationships he produced on 4 Thematic Apperception Test cards. A measure of his conformity to social influence was obtained by a measure of his behavior in a group situation in which he was asked to compare the length of lines in an optical illusion study. An analysis of the data by means of multiple X2 design showed a significant interaction among all 3 factors: mental health, conformity, and affect. The factors of mental health and conformity interacted to a greater extent than did any other 2 factors taken together. Conformity and affect were more closely related to the factor of mental health than they were to each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of modeling and reinforcement on adult chronic schizophrenics.

Modified the expressed preferences of 32 male schizophrenics for 8 pairs of popular magazines by 1 of 3 treatments lasting 4 days. Adult male models demonstrated the desired responses in 2 of these treatments. 2 hypotheses generated from studies with children only were tested: (a) model contributes to new learning; and (b) neither the model nor the reinforcement of the model add significantly to motivation, beyond the effect that can be attributed to reinforcement of the S himself. Ss were reinforced socially and monetarily in all treatments: (a) no model, (b) model reinforced, and (c) model not reinforced. A no-treatment control condition was included. Results support the hypotheses. Application of these techniques to the more central informational and motivational deficits of schizophrenics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual selectivity in hallucinatory schizophrenics.

Constructed a manual for categorizing themes present in hallucinations using 10 males and 7 females from 49 actively hallucinating Ss. The authors agreed on the major theme for 30 of 32 remaining Ss, indicating significant interjudge reliability (p     

Responsiveness of chronic schizophrenics and normals to social and nonsocial feedback.

This is an investigation of the effect upon learning (of a psychomotor task: depressing a bar in accord with a repetitive double alternation pattern) of feedback on performance from a human being or from a panel of lights in a population of schizophrenics as compared to hospitalized nonpsychiatric patients. It was anticipated that when the feedback was from the human, the schizophrenic would not be able to profit as much from the information as compared to the normals, and that paranoid schizophrenics would profit more than nonparanoid schizophrenics. In general, the hypotheses were supported. The results are discussed as to their theoretical implications. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3JQ06J. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social reinforcement on the level of abstraction in schizophrenics.

This study was designed to investigate (1) the effects of the nature of contingent vs. noncontingent social reinforcement upon the level of abstraction in schizophrenics as measured on a proverbs task, (2) the generalization of this behavior to another verbal conceptual task administered under neutral conditions, and (3) the predictive and construct validity of the Ullmann-Giovannoni Process-Reactive Self-Report Scale. 64 male schizophrenics were assigned to 4 treatment groups: contingent positive, noncontingent positive, contingent negative, and control. The results indicated that only the contingent positive Ss significantly increased their level of performance on the proverbs task and showed generalization. The other 3 groups showed no significant differences. Validity evidence for the Process-Reactive Scale and marital status was obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual grouping due to pitch and amplitude in hallucinating schizophrenics

Acquired deficiencies of fibrinogen, antithrombin III and plasminogen are reported in liver disease, and it is known that their plasma levels fluctuate during the day. The aim of this study was to investigate the circadian rhythms of these three factors in chronic liver disease. Five groups of subjects were considered: (A) 15 healthy controls: (B) 15 patients with hepatic alcoholic steatosis; (C) 15 patients with chronic active hepatitis; (D) 15 patients with compensated cirrhosis of the liver, and (E) 15 patients with decompensated cirrhosis with ascites. The levels of fibrinogen, antithrombin III and plasminogen were determined in blood samples drawn in each subject during the span of a day every 3 h starting from midnight. The time-related values were analyzed using the 'population-mean cosinor' method. Groups A and B presented a significant (p < 0.05) circadian rhythm for each variable, group C a significant (p < 0.05) circadian rhythm for fibrinogen and antithrombin III and groups D and E no significant (p > 0.05) circadian rhythms. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were demonstrated among the groups in the mean daily levels of the three variables by ANOVA, the concentrations decreasing with disease severity. These data confirm the existence of a significant diurnal periodicity in the circulating levels of fibrinogen, antithrombin III and plasminogen in controls and suggest that liver disease is associated with progressive circadian modifications in the temporal structure of fibrinogen, antithrombin III and plasminogen, related to the stage of the liver disease. The rhythm derangements may be considered markers of evolution in liver disease.     

Perceptual categorizations of love and anger cues in schizophrenics.

The 1st study identified 4 filmed scenes indicative of high love, high anger, medium love, and medium anger. The 2nd study compared 30 good premorbid schizophrenics and 30 normals on the high love and high anger scenes. They were not differentiated on the high love scene. On the high anger scene, the normals reported significantly more anger than the good premorbids. The 3rd study evaluated 48 poor premorbid schizophrenics, 48 good premorbid schizophrenics, and 48 normals on 4 scenes of high love, high anger, medium love, and medium anger. The good premorbids and the normals were not different on the high love scene, but significantly different from the poor premorbids. On the high anger scene, good and poor premorbids were significantly different from normals. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The susceptibility of chronic schizophrenics to social influence in the formation of perceptual judgments.

To test the hypothesis that the schizophrenic process may be characterized by a progressive withdrawal from contact with and hence influenced by the social environment, regressed schizophrenics, partially remitted schizophrenics, and a control group of hospitalized TB patients (all VA) were tested in the Asch (1956) conformity-to-group-judgment situation. Schizophrenics were seen to respond to social stimuli, but their responses had little apparent relationship to the physical or social reality of the situation. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2JQ48S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of responsiveness to vicarious reinforcement.

98 children in 2 age-groups between 2 yrs 6 mo and 5 yrs were pretrained and then performed a 2-choice discrimination problem in which a puppet model and the S responded alternately. Ss were exposed to a model who was either rewarded or punished on each trial. There was more imitation on vicarious reward than on vicarious punishment trials. Ss who demonstrated no initial responsiveness to vicarious reinforcement were then assigned to either a natural or reversed S-consequence condition and to 1 of 3 model consequence conditions (reward, punishment, or mixed). The finding of significantly fewer errors in the natural than in the reversed condition supports the mediational interpretation of vicarious reinforcement, not the J. L. Gewirtz (1971) operant interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three situational determinants of conformity to social norms.

"The present study has been concerned with the determinants of conformity to group norms. The variables under investigation were: (a) the extent of initial disagreement between the individual's and the group's opinion (known as 'distance'); (b) the number of occasions the individual was exposed to the group norm (known as 'exposures'); and (c) the size of the group… . In general, greater distance makes for greater conformity… . Conformity occurs within the first few exposures to the group norm." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of social conformity.

A group of 89 female social welfare case workers were administered the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey and a social conformity scale developed by the author. The latter comprised 37 items utilizing the direction of perception technique of attitude measurement. For the selected sample, the relationship between the two scales appeared to be limited to a correlation of -.47 between the social conformity scale and the Objectivity scale of the GZ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responsiveness of chronic schizophrenics to the social behavior of others in a meaningful task situation.

In this experiment 60 schizophrenics were given the task of stamping a number of greetings to accompany gifts. Instructions to hurray or to be cautious induced reliably differing rates of responding. In order to test the hypotheses concerning the social behavior of the schizophrenic, pairs of Ss were brought together to work in the same room—1 responding slowly and the other rapidly. As a consequence of being in the presence of another patient working at the same task both partners increased their rote of responding, indicating the effect of social facilitation. When the patients were given role instructions with relation to one another their rates of responding converged. Although these changes in behavior took place none of the 22 pairs of Ss (11 in co-working, 11 in role-related conditions) discussed the discrepancy or change in behavior. These results confirmed the hypothesis that schizophrenics will exhibit appropriate social motivation and responsiveness when behaving in a meaningful situation which does not depend on the use of language or complex cognitive skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of group problem solving experience upon social withdrawal in chronic schizophrenics.

It was hypothesized that chronic schizophrenics exposed to sustained group problem solving experience would tend to improve their levels of social participation on criterion tasks socially more challenging and complex. It was further hypothesized that such improvement would generalize to task performance with total strangers and to social behavior on the ward. All predictions except the one about ward behavior were confirmed by experimental findings with 32 chronic schizophrenic patients. It is suggested that sustained social experience in situations which elicit social participation permit factors to, become operative which reduce anxiety associated with socially more challenging, complex situations and thus facilitate participation in such situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social deprivation and satiation on the reinforcing properties of social stimulation in chronic male hospitalized schizophrenics.

Hypothesized that (a) pre-experimental social deprivation will lead to an increase in the reinforcing properties of social stimulation, and (b) pre-experimental social satiation will lead to a decrease in the reinforcing properties of social stimulation. Ss were 16 chronic male 38-59 yr old schizophrenics. Ss in the social deprivation groups were isolated for 45 min before they were given a simple marble-dropping task. Ss in the social satiation groups received a 10-min undemanding conversation with E before each experimental session. Social contact with E was significantly more often sought than avoided following 45 min of social deprivation, whereas social contact was avoided significantly more often following 10 min of social satiation. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological reactions to films by chronic schizophrenics.

40 chronic schizophrenic patients had their psychophysiological responses to 1 of 2 tension-arousing movies recorded. Following assignment to drug (thiordizane) or placebo status for 1 wk, they were retested on a similar film. The results were that the drug Ss showed a decrease in skin resistance and heart rate but not finger-pulse volume over their responses to the 1st showing while the placebo group showed opposite trends. Interview data collected after the films indicated no correlation between the autonomic changes and plot comprehension. Pilot work on word-association test responses indicates that the drug group showed a decrease while the placebo group showed an increase in idiosyncratic responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer learning in chronic schizophrenics.

Compared reversal shift, where the assignment of stimuli to categories changed but the relevant dimension did not change, and extradimensional shift, where a different dimension was made relevant after training. 28 chronic schizophrenics were trained to the same consecutive correct response criterion in a 3-choice form or color discrimination and shifted to 1 of 4 possible transfer tasks. It was found that (a) extradimensional shift took more trials and errors to criterion than reversal shift, and (b) more perseveration as compared to other errors were made by the total sample. The need for a uniform methodology and an evaluation of S selection factors when investigating the performance of schizophrenics is discussed. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social exchange theory: An integrative approach to social conformity.

Theoretical and research studies of social conformity are reviewed and integrated through a revised social exchange model. The concept of utility is discarded from the basic economic model in favor of a revealed preference, and this approach is then applied to the existing work on social conformity and approval. The behavior of Ss in conformity and approval studies is assumed to reflect a preference in the manner done in economics. Predictions made from the exchange model are found to be consistent with the existing knowledge about conformity. It is concluded that exchange theory provides a useful vehicle for data integration and generation of new hypotheses about social conformity. The model allows for the process of social conformity to be considered in dynamic terms, treating the influence source and influenced person simultaneously. (7 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)