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Controlled information processing resources and the development of automatic detection responses in schizophrenia.
E Granholm1, R F Asarnow, S R Marder
1University of California, Psychology Department, Los Angeles 90024-1563.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
|February 1, 1991
Summary
Schizophrenic patients may have fewer cognitive resources, but their ability to automate tasks improved with practice. Further research is needed to understand if this is linked to abnormal automatization in schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Schizophrenia is associated with cognitive deficits, including impairments in processing resources.
- Understanding automatic versus controlled processing is crucial for explaining cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between resource limitations and processing types (automatic vs. controlled) in schizophrenia.
- To examine the effects of practice on automatization in schizophrenic patients compared to controls.
Main Methods:
- A multiple-frame search task (MFST) was used to assess processing.
- 15 schizophrenic and 15 normal control subjects participated.
- Dual-task conditions (MFST during auditory shadowing) were employed after practice.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenic patients showed normalized detection accuracy and eliminated processing load effects after practice, suggesting automatization.
- Control subjects did not show changes in load effects with practice, hindering automatization assessment.
- In dual-task conditions, patients' MFST accuracy slightly declined, while their shadowing significantly worsened.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenic individuals appear to have reduced available processing resources.
- The study suggests potential issues with automatization in schizophrenia, requiring further investigation.