Matched tasks for measuring single-word, referent communication: The performance of patients with schizophrenic and affective disorders.

Developed an objective index of cognitive slippage, an important sign of vulnerability to schizophrenia. In an investigation by E. E. Smith (1970), 2 sets of multiple-choice test items that presumably tap this problem were developed. In the present study, new items were developed, and subsets of each type were matched for mean and distribution of item difficulty and for reliability. The tests were then administered to 37 schizophrenics, 22 patients with affective disorders, and 38 normal Ss (mean ages 22–38 yrs). The difference scores (for the 2 types of items) of the schizophrenics were greater than those of normal Ss, but the schizophrenics did not differ from the affectively disordered Ss. Thus, the previously developed procedure does seem to reflect a genuine cognitive problem rather than a mere statistical artifact. However, the problem is also observed in some patients with affective disorders that are presumably not part of the schizophrenic spectrum. The value of the tasks will depend on their relationship to other measures of schizotypic traits such as anhedonia. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)