Abstract
A multiple discriminant-function analysis (MDFA) of measures of thought disorder among process and reactive schizophrenics indicated that two dimensions of deficit were required to describe their performance. One dimension demonstrated similarities between these two groups. Characteristics of deficit unique to this dimension were inadequate abstraction, semantic concreteness, and idiosyncratic-autistic thinking. The second dimension demonstrated differences in process and reactive deficit. High dimension scores indicated a high degree of conceptual overinclusiveness and a low degree of concreteness toward objects. Reactive schizophrenics had high scores on this dimension, process schizophrenics had low scores, and normals scored midway between the two groups of schizophrenics. Results were discussed in relation to recent formulations and past findings about qualitative differences among reactive and process schizophrenics.
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This research was supported by a Medical Research Council of Canada Studentship to the first author, and Operating Grant MA5028 to the second author. We wish to express our thanks to Dr. Kat Csapo, Chief Psychologist of the London Psychiatric Hospital, for his assistance with the mechanics of running the study. We also thank the staff and patients for their help and cooperation, without which we could not have collected the data.
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Broga, M.I., Neufeld, R.W.J. Dimensions of Thinking Among Process and Reactive Schizophrenics. Psychol Rec 27, 265–277 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394445
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394445