Physiognomic form perception: a comparison of normal and schizophrenic subjects.

The following reports the findings of a study that tested the hypothesis that schizophrenics--contrary to what has been suggested in the literature--are deficient, rather than superior, in perception of physiognomic properties. The Physiognomic Form Perception Test (RFPT), developed for the purpose and found reliable, was administered to 19 normal and 19 schizophrenic Sc. Results were in support of the hypothesis: normal Ss scored significantly higher than schizophrenics (t = 3.01, p less than .01). In addition, a qualitative analysis of verbalizations showed, as predicted, that schizophrenics gave significantly fewer "physiognomic-expressive" responses and significantly more of those rated "associations-rationalizations," as well as more "personalized and self-referent" responses.