Negative Schizotypy Reflect A Continuously Deficit Psychology Essay

Negative Schizotypy Reflect A Continuously Deficit psychological science EssayThe DSM-IV APA, diagnosiss schizophrenia base on reoccurring symptoms, including hallucinations delusions, disorganised speech, disorganised or catatonic behaviour and detrigenial. One reason for cognitive impairments observed in schizophrenia is the processing of context. Cohen (1999) states context processing is employ in full general to mean the function of mental effort or cognitive control. It is referred to actively holding in conditionation to be use to mediate task allow behaviour. Buchanan et al (1994) states negative symptoms of schizophrenia argon connected with deficits involving decision maker functioning memory. Further separate from Dibben, et al (2009) explains executive dysfunction shows difficulty in maintaining contextual information, in that respectfore may be an endophe nonype of the schizophrenia spectrum of disorders.Research has pitch there are certain negative schizotyp y traits, associated with schizophrenia. Lenzenweger (2010) defines schizoptypy as an underlying character construct rather than a set of explicit behaviours, which may usher a concealed risk of future(a) schizophrenia. Schizotypy traits which parallel symptoms of schizophrenia start out from low to pathological, suggesting schizophrenia as a spectrum disorder. Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD) presents as similar symptoms to schizophrenia but are explained as a frame up line state in DSM-III (APA, 1980) SPD non severe enough to match the criteria to be diagnosed as schizophrenic. Therefore signifying schizophrenia corresponds to the severe end of the spectrum. special support from OFlynn et al (2007) shows individuals with proud schizotypy slews are cognitively conjugated to schizophrenia as part of a schizophrenia spectrum. Further more(prenominal) Diforio (2000) ensnare SPD patients exhibit cognitive impairment in numerous areas, such as executive functioning, du al task information processing and working memory. These are similar to those seen in schizophrenia, although less severe. Studies by Barch (2004) likewise found individuals put forwarding schizotypal characteristics express deficits in attention and working memory. Studying individuals with schizotypy traits or SPD can serve up towards projecting systems and psychological processes contributing to schizophrenia, without confounding factors such as medicine effects intervening, which is problematic when researching schizophrenia.The O-LIFE was developed to focus on traits rather than symptoms. It measures intravenous feeding sub- crustal plates associated with schizotypal traits, all experience been recognized to assume high internal consistency. These are unusual experiences = 0.89, cognitive disorganisation = 0.87, introvertive anhedonia = 0.82 and impulse nonconformity = 0.77. (Mason et al 1995) Evidence from Burch et al (1998) found O-LIFEs try on-retest reliability to be very high. just this investigating just measures introvertive anhedonia commonly referred to as a negative schizotypy trait.Meehl (1962) states Anhedonia is the reduced ability to experience tender and physical sources of pleasure, as comfortably as avoidance of intimacy, it is an important characteristic of negative symptoms describing it as unity of the most invariable and dramatic behavioural signs of the disease. Additionally high friendly anhedonia as suggested by Blanchard et al (2000) may indicate schizotypy, relating it to a taxon amongst an undergraduate population. A study by Kwapil (1998) suggests higher scores of social anhedonia defend been correlated to a greater probability of being diagnosed with future schizophrenia.This investigates uses the O-LIFE questionnaire to measure scores on the introvertive anhedonia subscale and to observe if higher scorers have difficulty with contextual processing. Haddon et al (2011) claim biconditional favoritism in the form of a contextual processing task may be used to measure the way in which task-setting cues control performance. Participants are required to gain births by trial-and-error amongst random pairs of stimuli and feedback responses. Cohen Servan-Schreiber (1992) propose task-setting cues are substantial in resolving conflict which opposing stimulus-response pathways create. A study by Mason et al (1995) examined performance of participants with high and low schizotypy scores, using biconditional inconsistency and a control difference which did not use task-setting cues. Findings showed those who scored highly on the introvertive anhedonia subscale performed weakly on the biconditional. Therefore Liddle (1987) suggests deficits in biconditional variation are directly related to the introvertive anhedonia schizotypy subscale. Furthermore Burch et al (1998) states high schizotypy scores are related to impairments on cognitive tasks, similar to those with schizophrenia.Looking at previous research this investigation aims to replicate (using a related discrimination procedure) and generalise findings of Haddon et al (2011), also to contribute to developing projects on schizotypy which looks to understand effects of core cognitive deficits on severe mental illness. The investigation hypothesises the high schizotypy group will find completion of biconditional discrimination more difficult than lower groups.MethodDesignAn experimental design was used in this study. The independent variables were the schizotypy groups 1, 2, 3 and 4. The dependent variable was the biconditional discrimination score.Participants92 undergraduates (75 womanlys and 17 males) participated in return for course credit and were undiagnosed as schizophrenic or taking psychotropic medication.MaterialsMaterials included the O-life (The Oxford and Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences) questionnaire and a contextual processing task. (O-LIFE Mason 1995) This was chosen as it is a true and valid measure that was specifically designed for use with sub-clinical populations.A background computer running windows and visual basic was used for displaying the stimuli and recording the participants responses. The contextual processing task programme was designed specifically for the investigation.ProcedureParticipants were well-tried individually in a quiet environment. The 160-item O-LIFE questionnaire used for measuring schizotypal characteristics inside the normal population was shown on a projector screen and participants had to circle yes or no to the corresponding question on an answer sheet. Participants were allocated to schizotypy groups of 20 based on their introvertive anhedonia score relative to the distribution of this trait in participants of similar age and gender. They carried out a contextual processes task which tested biconditional discrimination.Participants assumed the role of a stockbroker and advised clients on stock profitability. In total o f 80 training trials presented the participant with pairs of hypothetical stocks including chemicals and paper or metal and wood. Participants then discriminated on a 9 point scale which pairs of stocks would result in profit (positive outcome) and which would result in losses (negative outcome). Participants were instructed to pull up stakes a confidence rating of 1 if certain there would be a loss a rating of 5 if uncertain and a rating of 9 if certain of a profit, feedback was provided on the outcome. All iv types of trial (AX, BX, AY, BY) (see fig 2) were presented randomly once within each cycle, 20 trials of each compound in total.Biconditional trainingAX+AY-BY+BX- material body 2 Table of contingences.Completing the task involves attending to both cues consecutively to predict important events. When processing one cue (X) participants have to deem the context in which it is displayed (A or B).Data AnalysisAs there were multiple levels of the independent variable a one way mingled with ANOVA was used to test for a difference. This analysis decreases chance of a type 1 error. The dependent variable biconditional discrimination was measured by taking the average difference between profit (AX BY) and loss (AY BX) trials in the final 40 trials of acquire. Analysis was carried out this way because as Haddon et al (2011) show the effects between the groups emerge as learning progresses. A single score ranging from -8 and +8 was therefore produced reflecting each participants contextual learning ability. The higher the participants score the more context learning ability they have. As ANOVA only states whether there is an boilersuit meaningful effect Bonferroni sway hoc tests were carried out to find which means were significantly contrasting from each other.ResultsLevenes test of homogeneity of variance is used to report whether variance is significantly different between groups. We cannot use the ANOVA model if there is a significant difference, a lthough for this study Levenes test of homogeneity of variance was non-significant, (p0.05) therefore ANOVA data can be interpreted.One way between ANOVA shows an overall significant difference between introvertive anhedonia score and contextual processing. (F (3, 88) = 6.019, pPairwise comparisons using post hoc test bonferroni showed scores for group 1 were significantly higher than those in group 4 (p0.05). As figure 1 shows a linear association was found. (See figure 1).Figure 1. Mean discrimination score by group (s.e shown as error bars)DiscussionThe aim of this investigation was to further examine and replicate the findings of Haddon (2011). Findings have provided evidence consistent with this aim and hypothesis that high schizotypy groups have difficulty completing biconditional discrimination compared to lower groups. Specifically participants with higher introvertive anhedonia scores (group 4) displayed more impaired biconditional performance compared with those with low scores (group 1).The connection found between high Introvertive Anhedonia scores and impaired biconditional performance is consistent with Liddles (1987) research linking cognitive dysfunction to negative symptoms of schizophrenia and schizotypy characteristics. However it is essential to note anhedonia is not an exclusive feature of schizophrenia, having also been found in bipolar disorder.These results not only give further support to Haddon et als (2011) findings but also maintains the theory from Cohen and Servan-Schreiber (1992) that high schizotypy individuals, should be impaired on biconditional discrimination tasks since contextual information is essential for resolving conflict between opposing stimulus-response.Futhermore the statistical test ANOVA only shows there is a difference between groups scores, not stating exact cause and effect. Variation within groups could be payable to individual differences or other factors that were not controlled (tiredness or mood) could affect concentration. Participants could have found the task uninteresting therefore not engaging full also participants different approaches to answering biconditional discrimination task can have an impact upon results.The O-LIFE questionnaire has good test-retest reliability and is useful in studying a nonclinical population. Although O-LIFE is not a diagnostic test for risk of mental illness, interrogatory only personality traits. However there are limitations in the investigation, the exemplar had a clear gender submit with a larger female to male ratio. Another drawback being a young age bias as it used undergraduate students, although sampling from younger age groups produces groups with corresponding distributions of introvertive anhedonia scores.Further research is needed to determine the significance of these results and their implications for the relationship between negative schizotypy traits and context processing. Researchers looking for objective indicators for ca uses of decline into schizophrenia could use further research using these results.Additionally larger concord of negative symptoms could motivate research into producing therapies effective for negative symptoms.ReferencesAssociation, A. P. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (thrided.). Washington Author.Association, A. P. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (fourth ed.). Washington Author.Barch, D. M., Mitropoulou, V., Harvey, P. D., New, A. S., Silverman, J. M., Siever, L. J. (2004). Context-processing deficits in schizotypal personality disorder. Journal of deviate Psychology, 113, 556-568.Blanchard, J. J., Gangestad, S. W., Brown, S. A., Horan, W. P. (2000). Hedonic cleverness and schizotypy revisited A taxometric analysis of social anhedonia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109(1), 87-95.Buchanan, R. W., Strauss, M. 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