| Abstract: | Hypothesized that schizophrenics display a deficit in recall relative to recognition (as well as other memory deficits) because they encode the conceptual attributes of to-be-remembered items less frequently than normals. An experimental procedure consisting of 2 phases, incidental learning and long-term retention, was used to test 30 schizophrenics and 26 normal adults. During incidental learning, Ss were presented with 36 short word lists. After each, they recalled a single word that was detectable (i.e., encoded) on the basis of its conceptual category. Two variables were manipulated orthogonally: the probability that items were encoded conceptually and the number of times items were presented. Long-term retention of all items presented during incidental learning was tested in free-recall, category cued recall, and recognition tests, administered in that order. Results show an overriding similarity of schizophrenics to normals in patterns of response to the major variables, providing no support for the hypothesis. Data are consistent, however, with the hypothesis that schizophrenics encode items less elaborately than normals do. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
