Monaural and binaural story recall by schizophrenic subjects.

Abstract

P. Green and other investigators have reported that schizophrenic Ss have poorer recall of stories presented to both ears than to the single best ear (binaural deficit) and poorer recall of stories presented to the left ear than to the right ear (monaural asymmetry) than do normal control Ss. These studies are plagued by potential methodological problems, including differences in overall accuracy, which artifactually affect the difference scores, and scoring methods that are vulnerable to systematic bias. In this study, scores of schizophrenic, bipolar, and normal control Ss on the Auditory Comprehension Test were compared. Scoring bias was avoided by the use of blind scoring and a revised scoring manual, and artifactual effects of accuracy were considered in interpreting the results. Contrary to previous findings, the groups did not differ on either monaural asymmetry or binaural deficit.We thank Michael B. Miller for his assistance with the diagnostic interviewing and his many helpful comments and suggestions on this research, and we thank Wendy LaBine and Glenn Chung for their work in developing the scoring manual. We also thank Kathleen Reilly, director of the Off-the-Square Club, as well as all of the members and employees of the club for their generous cooperation.We are indebted to Paul Green for providing us with the Auditory Comprehension Task manual, forms, switching apparatus, and high-quality recordings.