Imagery and hallucination in schizophrenic patients

Volitional auditory imagery and spontaneous imagery/fantasy are examined in schizophrenic vs. nonschizophrenic psychiatric inpatients. Imaginal aspects of schizophrenia are also studied with regard to concurrent presence or absence of hallucination. Comparisons of imaginal function between diagnostic groups and among hallucinatory subgroups turned up few significant differences. Findings do not support the Mintz and Alpert (Mintz, S., and Alpert, M. Imagery vividness, reality testing, and schizophrenic hallucinations. J. Abnorm. Psychol., 79: 310-316, 1972) enhanced vividness model of schizophrenic hallucination but do provide some support for an imagery deficit model.