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The Reconstruction of Schizophrenic Speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. R. Rutter*
Affiliation:
Social Psychology Research Unit, University of Kent at Canterbury, Beverley Farm, Kent

Summary

A suggestion that schizophrenic speech may be harder to understand than normal speech was tested by a technique of reconstruction. Ten schizophrenic and ten normal passages were typed onto cards, one sentence per card. Each passage was then presented with the sentences in random order, and students were asked to reconstruct what they believed was the original order. Fewer correct strings of three or more sentences were achieved for the schizophrenic material than the normal material. It is concluded that there is a detectable abnormality in the structure of schizophrenic speech, but that it stems from the relationship between sentences rather than the content of individual sentences.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1979 

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References

Rutter, D. R., Draffan, J. & Davies, J. (1977) Thought disorder and the predictability of schizophrenic speech. British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 67–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, D. R., Wishner, J., Kopytynska, H. & Button, M. (1978) The predictability of speech in schizophrenic patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 228–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winer, B. J. (1970) Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. London: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
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