Two kinds of abstraction in schizophrenia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

An impairment in abstracting ability has frequently been proposed as a reason for schizophrenic thought disorder. The performance of hospitalized chronic paranoid schizophrenics and non-paranoid schizophrenics were compared to a normal control group on two types of abstraction; a traditional conceptual abstraction task (similarities, Trunnell, 1964) and an inferential abstraction task (relational abstraction, Bransford, Barclay & Franks, 1972). These two measures allowed a differential interpretation of the nature of the abstraction impairment in schizophrenia. The two clinical groups did not significantly differ on the traditional hierarchical measure of abstraction. Performance of both schizophrenic groups, however, differed significantly from that of controls in that schizophrenic subjects employed less abstract concepts to classify items in this task. On the second measure of abstraction no significant differences were found between schizophrenic subjects and the control group. Differences between paranoid and non-paranoid subjects did not reach significance on this task but there was some indication that each of these schizophrenic sub-groups used different cognitive strategies on this measure. Paranoid schizophrenics appeared not to elaborate information beyond its original form. The non-paranoids, on the other hand, appeared to elaborate stimulus material but were confused between inferential and original information. The present results indicate that chronic paranoid schizophrenics have a different type of abstraction impairment to chronic non-paranoid schizophrenics on the inferential conceptual abstraction task. These findings indicate the utility of using two indices of abstraction and the importance of not treating schizophrenics as a homogeneous group

Information processing deficits in psychiatric populations: Implications for normal workload assessment

In one study, schizophrenics, bipolar manics, and mentally normal individuals were administered a digit recall task. The total performance of schizophrenics looked much like that of a normal processor under a higher load level. The manics' performance was intermediate. Primary performance was particularly poor among the mentally ill subjects. In a second study, three groups in the same populations as in the first study were asked to shadow and recall verbatim eight descriptive text passages. Distraction effects were found for schizophrenics only in the areas of percentage of words correctly shadowed and recall variables; the two areas were not correlated, however. It appears that, for schizophrenics, distraction disrupts the ability to effectively shadow information to a greater extent than it disrupts the ability to encode information for recall. The two studies imply that capacity-carrying abnormalities that affect the quantity but not the quality of information processing can be useful in pointing to information processing of normal humans under high load conditions

Verbal Reward & Punishment & Need for Approval in Schizophrenics

The current study was designed to further examine the effects of verbal reward and punishment on task performance of schizophrenics. The relationship of need for approval of schizophrenics (as measured by the M-C SDS) to performance and to reward and punishment was also examined. Verbal reward and punishment along with need for approval served as independent variables. Task performance was the dependent variable. The following major questions were asked: Does verbal reward and punishment significantly influence performance of schizophrenics? How is the personality construct, need for approval, related to performance of tasks by schizophrenics? Is there a significant interaction between verbal reward and punishment and need for approval in schizophrenics

Complications of pregnancy and delivery in relation to psychosis in adult life: data from the British perinatal mortality survey sample

Original article can be found at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/tocrender.fcgi?iid=137629 Copyright BMJ PublishingTo evaluate whether events occurring at or around the time of birth contribute to the onset of psychotic illness in adult life.Peer reviewe

Flupenthixol in relapse prevention in schizophrenics with comorbid alcoholism: Results from an open clinical study

Substance use, especially alcoholism, has been recognized as a significant problem in schizophrenic patients, though only a few studies on the effects of pharmacotherapy in these patients have been conducted so far. The thioxanthene neuroleptic flupenthixol, which can be given intramuscularly (i.m.) for improving compliance, has been studied as a possible anti-craving drug both in animal models of alcoholism and some clinical studies. Pilot studies suggest that comorbid schizophrenics with substance use may benefit from treatment with flupenthixol. Efficacy of flupenthixol (10-60 mg i.m.) in reducing alcohol consumption of dual diagnosis patients was studied in an open 6-month clinical trial in 27 schizophrenics with comorbid alcoholism. Twenty-one patients entered the intention-to-treat analysis. Fourteen subjects were completers, 13 dropped out. Six patients completely abstained from alcohol during treatment. Alcohol consumption was significantly reduced compared to baseline (4 weeks before treatment as measured by timeline follow-back interview). In general, while patients showed a marked improvement concerning alcohol consumption, only a slight improvement in psychopathology was recorded. Overall tolerability was good. These data indicate a probable beneficial effect of flupenthixol in schizophrenic patients with comorbid alcoholism. Although the efficacy of flupenthixol as an anti-craving drug in dual diagnosis patients has to be explored in further studies, the drug may be considered a promising medication for these patients. Copyright (C) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Relationship of activity and morale levels to institutionalization among aging schizophrenics

The primary purpose of the research study was to clarify the role of institutionalization on levels of activity and morale among aging schizophrenics. Social breakdown theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Four subgroups of elderly male veterans were the subjects. The subjects were healthy elderly, schizophrenics living in a community, and schizophrenics and non-mentally ill frail elderly residing in a nursing home. Data were collected using the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Moral Scale, Activity Inventory, and Nurses\u27 Observation Scale for In-patient Evaluation;Social breakdown theory would predict that years in the institution and the chronic nature of mental illness would result in lower morale and activity levels for older schizophrenics. In the study activity levels for the two institutionalized groups were similar. Older schizophrenics appear to have benefited from psychotropic medications and rehabilitation programs. They had significantly higher morale scores than the institutionalized frail elderly. The lower morale in the institutionalized frail elderly is explained by the major life changes experienced by them when entering an institution. The older schizophrenic was found to be less neat, more irritable, and more psychotic than the frail elderly. With longer residence in the institution the frail elderly showed an increase in negative behaviors. A correlation between health status and moral was not found. Deinstitutionalized schizophrenics on measures of morale and activity were significantly higher than the institutionalized schizophrenics, but no different than the healthy elderly on those measures. In both the institutionalized and deinstitutionalized schizophrenics a negative correlation was demonstrated between number of children and morale level;Recommendations are directed toward clinical application of findings. Programming suggestions are made for both institutionalized groups directed toward reducing the effects of social breakdown syndrome. Suggestions are made for future research on the well-being of schizophrenics

Use of the booklet category test to assess abstract concept formation in schizophrenic disorders

The relationship of concept formation abilities to the presence or absence of delusions in schizophrenic disorders was investigated. Twenty-six schizophrenic patients and 14 normal individuals were administered a short form of the Booklet Category Test (BCT). Patients were grouped into those with and without delusions. It was hypothesized that the delusional group would perform significantly better on the BCT (obtain lower error scores) than the nondelusional group. Normal and delusional groups obtained significantly lower BCT error scores than the nondelusional group, even when differences in IQ scores were statistically partialled out. The two schizophrenic groups also differed significantly on BCT error scores with the delusional group performing better than the nondelusional group

A Study of Media Portrayal of Schizophrenics to Understand How Stigma Associated with Schizophrenia may be Reversed

The news media are one of the most influential sources of information regarding mental illness. Media coverage on schizophrenia, one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses, tends to be negative, focusing on high risks of violence, failure, and unpredictability. Such perceptions may cause a detrimental impact on the mentally ill and cause them to internalize a stigmatizing stereotype and hinder the public’s understanding of mental illness. I studied how media portrayal in newspaper coverage of schizophrenics has evolved to discover how nonfiction media representation has affected people’s perceptions and attitudes towards schizophrenics and to propose an implementable solution to reduce stigma by utilizing the media. I explored scholarly sources that analyzed the changes in reporting of schizophrenia in high-circulation newspapers in different countries and how renaming schizophrenia in Japan reduced the associated stigma. I also investigated successful solutions that have been implemented in other countries that have helped decease the stigma associated with schizophrenia. Currently in other countries, destigmatization efforts are mostly directed at providing more accurate information. An appeal for the government to provide opportunities to discuss and reflect on media contents may also be successful in decreasing the association between mental illness and violent crime. It is imperative that the US creates and implement solutions that may decrease mental health stigma and also discover other possible solutions. This will not only help the predicaments of those suffering from mental illness, but may also educate the public on such mental health problems as to prevent further misinformation.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1256/thumbnail.jp

Hidden communication aspects in the exponent of Zipf's law

This article focuses on communication systems following Zipf’s law, in a study of the rel-ationship between the properties of those communication systems and the exponent of the law. The properties of communication systems are described using quantitative measures of semantic vagueness and the cost of word use. The precision and the economy of a communication system is reduced to a function of the exponent of Zipf’s law and the size of the communication system. Taking the exponent of the frequency spectrum, it is demonstrated that semantic precision grows with the exponent, where-as the cost of word use reaches a global minimum between 1.5 and 2, if the size of the communication system remains constant. The exponent of Zipf’s law is shown to be a key aspect for knowing about the number of stimuli handled by a communication system, and determining which of two systems is less vague or less expensive. The ideal exponent of Zipf’s law, it is therefore argued, should be very slightly above 2.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version