Learning of Abstract Responses by Process and Reactive Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

Sumnzary.-20 male patients rated as process schizophrenics were compared with 20 reactive schizophrenics and 20 non-psychiatric patients on a learning task designed to elicit increasing numbers of abstract responses. Only the process group did not manifest significant learning under the conditions of the study. Reactive schizophrenics and normals learned to respond more abstractly and there was no significant difference in over-all learning between these two groups. Results support the meacingfulness of the process-reactive distinction.Reducing the heterogeneity of schizophrenic behavior by employing the process-reactive dimensions for classifying patient Ss has frequently resulted in increased clarity and meaningfulness of the research findings (Herron, 1962; Higgins, 1964). The following snldy reports some results which further support the usef~ilness of subdividing the over-all schizophrenic group in this manner.The snidy was basically an attempt to train schizophrenic patients to give abstract responses. Despite the frequently-cited deficit in abstract responding which characterizes the behavior of certain sch~zophrenic patients (Goldstein, 1943), there have been no known attempts ro determine whether these schizophrenic patients can learn to respond more abstractly.Consistent with the more favorable prognosis for reactive schizophrenic patients, it was hypothesized that these Ss would learn to respond more abstractly. It was predicted that the learning curve for reactive schizophrenic Ss would approximate that found in non-schizophrenic Ss. It was further hypothesized that process schizophrenics wo-~ld not learn to respond abstractly as efficiently as would either reactive or non-psychiatric groups. METHODThe verbal conditioning studies provided a model for the experimental approach. The standard word-association technique was selected as providing a method which elicited well-defined responses capable of being clearly verbally reinforced. Previous work has established a relationship between the verbal association process and ocher measures of conceptual or absuacc behavior (Goldstein, 1943;Meadows, et al., 1953). A preliminary study using 10 schizophrenic Ss and 10 non-psychiatric Ss was carried out to assess the reliability of E's judg-'This paper is based on a doctoral dissertation completed at Purdue University under the direction of John M. Hadley. More complete information can be obtained from University Microfilms Inc., 313 N . First Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Order No. 62-3492. The auihor wishes to thank Leonard D. Goodstein for his helpful suggestions.52 J . E. TRUEments of the abstract (vs concrete) properties of responses and to develop six blocks of 20 nouns equated for tendency to elicit abstract responses. The 1493 word association responses from these 20 Ss were independently rated by one clinical psychologist and two advanced graduate students in clinical psychology as either abstract or concrete utilizing the criteria outlined below. Tetrachoric cor--relations were computed between each j...

Effects of task complexity and verbal evaluation on the learning of normals and schizophrenics.

“…When schizophrenic 5s are divided into process (or "poor premorbid") and reactive (or "good premorbid") groups, the findings appear to be somewhat more consistent. Both Bleke (1955) and True (1966) reported results that show that normals and reactive schizophrenics are relatively insensitive to social censure, but that both groups differ significantly from the process schizophrenic group that did more poorly with censure, in support of the Rodnick and Garmezy position.…”

Verbal operant conditioning of hospitalized psychiatric patients.

“…acu\e rather than chronic type (Salzinger & Portnoy, 1964). In related research, True (1962) found that reactive schizophrenics conditioned more rapidly than those classified as process. It has further been demonstrated by a number of research studies that schizophrenics respond or learn more under the conditions of verbal censure than verbal reward.…”

Behavioral and physiological effects of examiner sex on process and reactive schizophrenics

“…A number of investigations using behavioral measures of response to external stimulation (e.g. , DeWolfe, 1962;True, 1966;Smith, 1961;Moriarity and Kates, 1962;and Berman, 1963) found the reactives to be more responsive.…”