Comparison of Non-Brain-Damaged Schizophrenic and Brain-Damaged Non-Schizophrenic Males on the Wist

The present investigation is addressed to the issue of differential diagnosis of schizophrenia and brain damage in the area of thought disorder. The Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST), Form A, was used to ascertain the extent and type of thought disorder of the two groups of Ss (male VA patients). Results showed that the WIST Summary score did not differentiate the two groups of Ss. Subtest scores and error types, however, discriminated the two groups. Results were discussed in light of Mednick's theory of psychological deficit and in terms of contributions to variance stemming from the test's psychometric properties (i.e., stimulus complexity).