Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 January 2018
Payne and Hewlett (1960) found that the schizophrenics having the highest factor scores on their dimension of overinclusion were diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. Payne (1966) has suggested that if overinclusive thinking is construed as an inability to disregard irrelevant stimulation it is conceivable that overinclusive thought-disordered schizophrenics will come to hold delusions of reference and persecution as a consequence of their giving these irrelevances personal significance. In this way the paranoid schizophrenic's thought disorder is seen as the basis of his delusional symptomatology. A number of studies have lent support to this contention (Payne, Caird and Laverty, 1964; Lloyd, 1967). On the other hand several studies have failed to find the predicted relationship between overinclusive test performance and delusional symptomatology (Hawks, 1964; Chapman and McGhie, 1962).
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