Distinctive features in psychological test measurements made upon dementia praecox and chronic alcoholic patients.

Abstract

Studied the general problems of mental measurement of psychotic patients. Cases were examined with the Point Scale and certain supplementary tests. Involved Ss with mental ages from 8 to 12 yrs by Point scale. Of the total, 50 were dementia praecox with average age of 30 yrs and 25 were diagnosed chronic alcoholics. Results of the group of psychotic cases differed from those of feeble-minded cases graded at the same mental age in 4 ways - (1) reaction to certain tests of the scale were different, ability to define abstract words was greater, capacity to grasp, retain, and reproduce somewhat unfamiliar memory was less, (2) on the tests of the scale there was greater consistent total variation from the average normal of the same mental age, (3) there was more individual variation from the average for the group, (4) there was a distinctive reaction to tests of procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)