Associative intrusions in schizophrenic verbal behavior.

Developed 2 multiple-choice vocabulary subtests in which the items of 1 subtest contained associates to the stimulus word as incorrect alternatives, while the items of the other subtest contained no associative distractors. Using a standardization sample of normal Ss (65 firemen with average IQ and 27 prison inmates with below-average IQ), the subtests were matched on coefficient alpha, mean, variance of item difficulty, and shape of the distribution of item difficulty. The subtests were then given to 42 chronic schizophrenics. Results reveal that schizophrenics, unlike normal Ss, showed a significantly greater deficit on the with-associates subtest than on the no-associates subtest. This finding demonstrates heightened susceptibility to associative distraction in schizophrenia, without the possible artifact of generalized deficit coupled with differential discriminating power of tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)