Cues to the assessment of affects and moods: speech fluency and pausing

Clinicians' rating of the negative syndrome of schizophrenia are highly correlated with the rate and duration of the patient's pauses. To test the degree to which pausing provides the cue for clinicians' impressions we selected audio recordings of interviews with schizophrenic patients who showed moderate levels of negative signs and, through the use of a computerized digital editor, transformed the recordings by either doubling or halving the duration of all of the patient's pauses. Other aspects of the patients' speech were unchanged. Ratings of flat affect were changed by the editing: reduced pause samples were seen as less flat and increased pause samples as flatter. Ratings of mood were not significantly changed. These results suggest that neuropsychological factors that interfere with fluent speech may play a role in the pathogenesis of the negative syndrome. In addition, the edited tapes provide helpful materials for training clinicians to assess moods and affects.