A Comparative Study of the Fatiguability of a Group of Chronic Schizophrenics and a Group of Hospitalized Non-Psychotic Depressives

Abstract

To make a comparative study of the fatiguability of chronic schizophrenics and non-psychotic depressives and to test Kraepelin's hypothesis that schizophrenia is typified by rapid and acute fall-off in work performance (Kraepelin, 1910). Kraepelin's explanation of the cause of this fall-off was in terms of constriction of volition. However, on the basis of operational definitions, there appears to be little justification for regarding the phenomenon as other than a special case of fatiguability.