Charlotte A. Chun

Neurocognition in Psychometrically Defined College Schizotypy Samples: We Are NOT Measuring the “Right Stuff”

Although neurocognitive deficits are an integral characteristic of schizophrenia, there is inconclusive evidence as to whether they manifest across the schizophrenia-spectrum. We conducted two studies and a meta-analysis comparing neurocognitive functioning between psychometrically defined schizotypy and control groups recruited from a college population. Study One compared groups on measures of specific and global neurocognition, and subjective and objective quality of life. Study Two examined working memory and subjective cognitive complaints. Across both studies, the schizotypy group showed notably decreased subjective (d51.52) and objective (d51.02) quality of life and greater subjective cognitive complaints (d51.88); however, neurocognition was normal across all measures (d’s,.35). Our meta-analysis of 33 studies examining neurocognition in at-risk college students revealed between-group differences in the negligible effect size range for most domains. The schizotypy group demonstrated deficits of a small effect size for working memory and set-shifting abilities. Although at-risk individuals report relatively profound neurocognitive deficits and impoverished quality of life, neurocognitive functioning assessed behaviorally is largely intact. Our data suggest that traditionally defined neurocognitive deficits do not approximate the magnitude of subjective complaints associated with psychometrically defined schizotypy.

Psychometric schizotypy predicts psychotic-like, paranoid, and negative symptoms in daily life.

Positive and negative schizotypy exhibit differential patterns of impairment in social relations, affect, and functioning in daily life. However, studies have not examined the association of schizotypy with real-world expression of psychotic-like, paranoid, and negative symptoms. The present study employed experience-sampling methodology (ESM) to assess positive and negative schizotypy in daily life in a nonclinical sample of 206 Spanish young adults. Participants were prompted randomly 8 times daily for 1 week to complete assessments of their current symptoms and experiences. Positive schizotypy was associated with psychotic-like and paranoid symptoms in daily life. Negative schizotypy was associated with a subset of these symptoms and with negative symptoms in daily life. Momentary stress was associated with psychotic-like and paranoid symptoms, but only for those high in positive schizotypy. Social stress predicted momentary psychotic-like symptoms in both positive and negative schizotypy. Time-lagged analyses indicated that stress at the preceding signal predicted psychotic-like symptoms at the current assessment, but only for individuals high in positive schizotypy. The results are consistent with models linking stress sensitivity with the experience of psychotic symptoms. The findings provide cross-cultural support for the multidimensional model of schizotypy and schizophrenia. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that ESM is an effective method for predicting the experience of psychotic-like symptoms, as well as their precursors, in daily life.

Mirror-touch and ticker tape experiences in synesthesia

A fundamental question in the field of synesthesia is whether it is associated with other cognitive phenomena. The current study examined synesthesias connections with phenomenal traits of mirror-touch and ticker tape experiences, as well as the representation of the three phenomena in the population, across gender and domain of work/study. Mirror-touch is the automatic, involuntary experience of tactile sensation on ones own body when others are being touched. For example, seeing another persons arm being stroked can evoke physical touch sensation on ones own arm. Ticker tape is the automatic visualization of spoken words or thoughts, such as a teleprompter. For example, when spoken to, a ticker taper might see mentally the spoken words displayed in front of his face or as coming out of the speakers mouth. To explore synesthesias associations with these phenomena, a diverse group (n = 3743) was systematically recruited from eight universities and one public museum in France to complete an online screening. Of the 1017 eligible respondents, synesthetes (across all subtypes) reported higher rates of mirror-touch and ticker tape than non-synesthetes, suggesting that synesthesia is associated with these phenomenal traits. However, effect sizes were small and we could not rule out that response bias influenced these associations. Mirror-touch and ticker tape were independent. No differences were found across gender or domain of work and study in prevalence of synesthesia, mirror-touch or ticker tape. The prevalence of ticker tape, unknown so far, was estimated at about 7%, an intermediate rate between estimates of grapheme-color (2–4%) and sequence-space synesthesia (9–14%). Within synesthesia, grapheme-personification, also called ordinal-linguistic personification (OLP) was the most common subtype and was estimated around 12%. Co-occurences of the different types of synesthesia were higher than chance, though at the level of small effect sizes.

For Whom the Mind Wanders, and When, Varies Across Laboratory and Daily-Life Settings

Undergraduates (N = 274) participated in a weeklong daily-life experience-sampling study of mind wandering after being assessed in the lab for executive-control abilities (working memory capacity; attention-restraint ability; attention-constraint ability; and propensity for task-unrelated thoughts, or TUTs) and personality traits. Eight times a day, electronic devices prompted subjects to report on their current thoughts and context. Working memory capacity and attention abilities predicted subjects’ TUT rates in the lab, but predicted the frequency of daily-life mind wandering only as a function of subjects’ momentary attempts to concentrate. This pattern replicates prior daily-life findings but conflicts with laboratory findings. Results for personality factors also revealed different associations in the lab and daily life: Only neuroticism predicted TUT rate in the lab, but only openness predicted mind-wandering rate in daily life (both predicted the content of daily-life mind wandering). Cognitive and personality factors also predicted dimensions of everyday thought other than mind wandering, such as subjective judgments of controllability of thought. Mind wandering in people’s daily environments and TUTs during controlled and artificial laboratory tasks have different correlates (and perhaps causes). Thus, mind-wandering theories based solely on lab phenomena may be incomplete.

Attachment style predicts affect, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning in daily life

The way in which attachment styles are expressed in the moment as individuals navigate their real-life settings has remained an area largely untapped by attachment research. The present study examined how adult attachment styles are expressed in daily life using experience sampling methodology (ESM) in a sample of 206 Spanish young adults. Participants were administered the Attachment Style Interview (ASI) and received personal digital assistants that signaled them randomly eight times per day for 1 week to complete questionnaires about their current experiences and social context. As hypothesized, participants’ momentary affective states, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning varied in meaningful ways as a function of their attachment style. Individuals with an anxious attachment, as compared with securely attached individuals, endorsed experiences that were congruent with hyperactivating tendencies, such as higher negative affect, stress, and perceived social rejection. By contrast, individuals with an avoidant attachment, relative to individuals with a secure attachment, endorsed experiences that were consistent with deactivating tendencies, such as decreased positive states and a decreased desire to be with others when alone. Furthermore, the expression of attachment styles in social contexts was shown to be dependent upon the subjective appraisal of the closeness of social contacts, and not merely upon the presence of social interactions. The findings support the ecological validity of the ASI and the person-by-situation character of attachment theory. Moreover, they highlight the utility of ESM for investigating how the predictions derived from attachment theory play out in the natural flow of real life.

Predicting creativity: The role of psychometric schizotypy and cannabis use in divergent thinking

Evidence suggests that divergent thinking (DT), a measure of creativity, is associated with positive schizotypy and cannabis use. Given the high rates of cannabis use among those with schizotypy, it is unclear if the relation of DT to schizotypy is due to co-occurring cannabis use. In this study, we examined the relations between DT, schizotypy, and cannabis use among positive schizotypy (n=66), negative schizotypy (n=22), and non-schizotypy (n=60) groups. Results revealed that DT was greater in the positive schizotypy group, on the order of small to medium effects, compared to negative and non-schizotypy groups. Cannabis use and DT were associated in the non-schizotypy group, but not in the positive or negative schizotypy groups. Across all groups, positive schizotypy significantly predicted DT; however, cannabis use was not a significant predictor of DT. In line with previous findings, cannabis use and DT were only related in individuals low in creativity. This suggests that a ceiling effect may be present, with only cannabis users who are low in creativity receiving any increase in DT. Future research should aim to clarify the DT-cannabis relationship.

Expression of schizophrenia-spectrum personality traits in daily life.

The present study examined the expression of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM–5) schizotypal, schizoid, and paranoid personality disorder (PD) traits in daily life using experience sampling methodology in 206 nonclinically ascertained Spanish young adults oversampled for risk for schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology. This study examined the overlap and differentiation of pathological personality traits in daily life settings, according to both diagnostic and multidimensional models. Daily life outcomes differentiated among schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The assignment of Cluster A personality traits to positive, negative, paranoid, and disorganized dimensions provided an alternative to the traditional PD diagnoses. Positive, disorganized, and paranoid schizotypy were associated with elevated stress reactivity, whereas negative schizotypy was associated with diminished reactivity in daily life. The current diagnostic model is limited by the considerable overlap among the PD traits. Nonetheless, experience sampling methodology is sensitive enough to detect differences in day-to-day impairment and can be a powerful research tool for the examination of dynamic constructs such as personality pathology.

Anhedonia and Negative Symptom Schizotypy

Current conceptualizations of schizophrenia indicate that the underlying vulnerability for the disorder is expressed across a broad continuum of impairment referred to as schizotypy. Trait-like anhedonia has long been recognized as a central component of schizophrenia and schizotypy. Our understanding of the etiology, experience, and expression of anhedonia, however, has evolved in large part due to advances in social and emotion psychology regarding the nature of pleasure, advances in the neurosciences regarding the brain mechanisms underlying hedonic capacity and experience, and the integration of measures from clinical, social, and biological psychology. Current studies have differentiated deficits in anticipatory pleasure from deficits in consummatory pleasure. The study of anhedonia has also been enhanced by the use of experience sampling research methods that expand investigations from the laboratory and the clinic to real world environments. Anhedonia appears to be a core component of the negative or deficit symptom dimension of schizotypy and schizophrenia, whereas the positive or psychotic-like dimension appears to be characterized by affective dysregulation. Furthermore, schizotypic anhedonia is differentiated from conditions such as depression, which involve episodic anhedonia combined with elevated negative affect. The present chapter presents an overview of theoretical conceptualizations of anhedonia in schizotypy, reviews cross-sectional, longitudinal, and daily life research findings, and considers issues and directions for future study of the construct.