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Distinct conflict resolution deficits related to different facets of Schizophrenia

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Abstract

An important issue in understanding the nature of conflict processing is whether it is a unitary or multidimensional construct. One way to examine this is to study whether people with impaired conflict processing exhibit a general pattern of deficits or whether they exhibit impairments in distinct aspects of conflict processing. One group who might exhibit conflict deficits are people with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder, with one way to break down the heterogeneity of schizophrenia is to examine specific symptoms. Previous research has found that specific symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with specific deficits in conflict processing. In particular, disorganization is associated with increased response conflict, alogia is associated with increased retrieval conflict, and anhedonia is associated with increased emotional conflict. Moreover, there is evidence that different types of conflict processing are unassociated with each other. This evidence suggests that conflict processing is a multidimensional construct and that different aspects of schizophrenia are associated with impairments in processing different types of conflict.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH072706, National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant DA022405, and a MU Research Board Grant.

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  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 214 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    John G. Kerns

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Kerns, J.G. Distinct conflict resolution deficits related to different facets of Schizophrenia. Psychological Research 73, 786–793 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-008-0195-x

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