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The Prediction and Predictability of Speech in Schizophrenic Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. R. Rutter ,
J. Wishner  and
B. A. Callaghan
D. R. Rutter
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX
J. Wishner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104, U.S.A.
B. A. Callaghan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, G51 4TF
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Summary

Previous research suggests, though by no means consistently, that schizophrenic patients may be less able than normals to predict the speech of other people, and that schizophrenic speech is less predictable than normal speech. The present experiment tests these two suggestions and also a third possibility, that the difference between schizophrenic and normal speech is less marked for schizophrenics asked to make the predictions than for normals. Twelve schizophrenic patients recently admitted to hospital, and twelve comparable, psychiatrically normal, orthopaedic patients, were asked to predict both schizophrenic and normal speech, using Cloze Procedure, under both fourth-word and fifth-word deletion. The first hypothesis was upheld, but the second and third received only very limited support. The findings are discussed in the light of previous work, and suggestions are made for future research.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 126 , Issue 6 , June 1975 , pp. 571 - 576
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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