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The appreciation of imagery by schizophrenics: an interpretation of Goldstein's impairment of the abstract attitude

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

J. Cutting  and
K. Ryan
J. Cutting*
Affiliation:
King's College Hospital, London
K. Ryan
Affiliation:
King's College Hospital, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr J. Cutting, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5.
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Synopsis

Three experiments are reported in which schizophrenics are compared with other psychiatric patients on (i) the imagery value of words in their speech, (ii) their memory for words differing in imagery value, and (iii) their ability to distinguish the imagery value of two words. The study was designed to evaluate a neglected interpretation of Goldstein's ideas that schizophrenics are more concrete, in that their ‘action is determined by momentary sense impressions’. The results gave no support for this interpretation and it is suggested that an abnormal way of categorizing the world is more likely to be a useful way of formulating Goldstein's ideas.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , August 1982 , pp. 585 - 590
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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