Abstract
Thirty-two hospitalized patients diagnosed as schizophrenic were assigned in equal numbers to four groups on the basis of their scores on the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) and the paranoid (Pa) scale of the MMPI. Subjects attempted to solve two conceptformation problems in which they were to identify relevant stimulus attributes, under two levels of demand on their memories for previous stimuli. Only in conjunction with a low score on the Pa scale did the schizophrenic index predict a conceptual deficit. Only the high-WIST, low-Pa group differed significantly from a control group of normal subjects. This result qualifies earlier research concerning the power of the WIST to predict logical performance. No difference was found between the two levels of memory demand.
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This research was supported in part by HEWResearch Service Award HD 07066 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the Kansas Center for Mental Retardation and Human Development. It was also supported in part by research Grant MH-14314 and by Research Scientist Award l-KS-MH37497 from the National Institute of Mental Health to the second author, and by research Grant BNS76-81416 from the National Science Foundation to the second author. We are grateful to E. L. Wike for his technical advice and for reading an earlier version, and to the staff and residents of Osawatomie State Hospital for their cooperation and assistance.
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Simpson, G.B., Bourne, L.E., Justesen, D.R. et al. Schizophrenic and paranoid thinking in conceptual performance. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 13, 97–100 (1979). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335024
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335024