Related Experiment Videos
Schizophrenic deficit in span of apprehension.
M B Miller1, L J Chapman, J P Chapman
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
|August 1, 1990
Summary
Schizophrenia patients showed deficits in recalling letters in the full-report (FR) task, but not in the forced-choice (FC) task. Visual angle did not significantly impact performance deficits in the FC task for schizophrenia patients.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The span of apprehension task is used to assess visual attention.
- Previous research suggests schizophrenia patients may have deficits in this task, particularly in the forced-choice (FC) version.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate two hypotheses regarding the span of apprehension task in schizophrenia.
- Hypothesis (a): Schizophrenics exhibit performance deficits on the FC version but not the full-report (FR) version.
- Hypothesis (b): Schizophrenic impairment on the FC version is exacerbated by a wider visual angle.
Main Methods:
- Tested 21 schizophrenia patients and 22 healthy controls on three versions of the span of apprehension task.
- Utilized narrow-angle and wide-angle FC versions, with the narrow version psychometrically matched using more noise letters.
- Included an FR version of the task.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients reported fewer correct letters than controls on the FR version.
- No significant differences were found between schizophrenia patients and controls on either the wide or narrow FC versions.
- Schizophrenic deficit was not specific to the FC version.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenic deficit in the span of apprehension task is not limited to the FC version.
- Visual angle is not a more critical factor than the number of noise letters for revealing schizophrenic deficits in the FC task.