The Prediction and Predictability of Speech in Schizophrenic Patients
D. R. RUTTER B.A., Ph.D.1,
J. WISHNER Ph.D2, and
B. A. CALLAGHAN B.A.3
1 Research Psychologist, University Department of Psychiatry, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX
2 Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104, U.S.A.
3 Department of Psychological Medicine, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, G51 4TF.
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.
Submitted on June 27, 1974
