Failure to inhibit irrelevant information in non-clinical schizotypal individuals

The present study compared negative priming performance in a non-clinical sample of individuals based on their schizotypal personality scale (STA) scores. There were 13 High STA and 19 Low STA individuals. High, but not Low, STA individuals displayed deficient negative priming, replicating previous findings. Converging evidence for this claim was observed in the correlation between negative priming and STA score, r = -.64, p < .01, supporting the notion that individuals with high STA scores exhibit an inability to adequately inhibit irrelevant information. Both groups did not differ on a simple reaction time control task, ruling out the possibility that observed negative priming differences across groups were the result of a simple motor reaction time difference.