Modification of chronic schizophrenics' abstractions through enriched stimuli and social censure.

Examined the abstracting abilities of good and poor premorbid chronic schizophrenics on single and multiple proverbs, as well as the effects of censure on each group. Two groups of 16 Ss each, comparable in terms of education, IQ and age, were presented with single and multiple sets of proverbs in two sessions and were asked to give the meanings of the proverbs. Half of each group received immediate negative verbal feedback when their performance fell below criteria. Both groups showed significant improvement in the multiple proverb condition. There was also a significant Group X Censure interaction. It is suggested that good premorbids may suffer more from interference in processing stimuli, while poor premorbids suffer more from interference in response selection or from a motivational deficit.