Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:611-616
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Computer content analysis of schizophrenic speech: a preliminary report
GJ Tucker and SD Rosenberg
Computer analysis significantly differtiated the thermatic content of the
free speech of 10 schizophrenic patients from that of 10 nonschizophrenic
patients and from the content of transcripts of dream material from 10
normal subjects. Schizophrenic patients used the thematic categories in
factor 1 (the "schizophrenic factor") 3 times more frequently than the
nonschizophrenics and 10 times more frequently than the normal subjects (p
smaller than 01). In general, the language content of the schizophrenic
patient mirrored an almost agitated attempt to locate oneself in time and
space and to defend against internal discomfort and confusion. The authors
discuss the implications of this study for future research.
