Background. Frith & Done (1988) have proposed that
the experience of alien control symptoms in
schizophrenia is related to a failure by such individuals to monitor
effectively their own willed intentions, actions and thoughts.
Method. To examine this hypothesis, a heterogeneous group
of 35 patients, all carrying a DSM-III-R
diagnosis of schizophrenia (or schizophreniform psychosis) and 24 non-patient
controls,
completed a battery of neuropsychological and cognitive tests, which inter alia, included four
putative measures of self-monitoring. Patients took part in a detailed
clinical interview to assess current levels of symptomatology.
Results. Patients generally performed at a lower level on most
components of the test battery,
including the four self-monitoring tests. Moreover, patients currently
experiencing symptoms of
alien control tended to experience greater difficulty with each of the
self-monitoring tests; an effect
that was relatively independent of neuropsychological or general cognitive
function.
Conclusions. The relationship between poor self-monitoring
and
the presence of alien control
symptoms provides support for Frith & Done's account of the
origins of these symptoms in schizophrenia.