Scanning-control mechanism and "cognitive filtering" in paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenia.

Abstract

Recent studies of individual consistencies in cognitive behavior, termed studies of "cognitive controls," have emphasized the importance of differing characterological response dispositions which also serve ego defensive functions. This report concerned 2 such response dispositions--extensiveness of scanning and breadth of categorization. Highly significant differences in scanning behavior, inferred from performances on a certain form of size-estimation procedure, were found between paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics. Significant differences were also found between the groups on a measure of breadth of categorization. These findings were discussed in terms of some developmental aspects of the 2 cognitive controls and also in terms of the relevance of these findings to a theory of delusional thinking. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)