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The Effect of Varying the Rate of Presentation on the Information Transmission of Schizophrenic and Control Groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

O. B. A. Wijesinghe*
Affiliation:
Claybury Hospital, Woodford Bridge, Essex

Summary

Groups of subjects were tested on a paced serial reaction-time task in order to study the effect of varying the rate at which information was presented. The groups were: two groups of patients with acute schizophrenia but differentiated on the basis of primary symptoms, a group of institutionalized schizophrenic patients, a group of neurotic patients and a normal group. All groups showed a reduction in efficiency when the presentation rate was increased. The groups most adversely affected were the non-integrated and institutionalized schizophrenic patients. The integrated schizophrenic and the neurotic groups were affected to a lesser degree, the normal groups being least affected. These results favour a dimensional view of personal illness, in which deficits are most marked in patients with non-integrated schizophrenia.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977 

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