Memorization of "unrelated" word strings by young nonpsychotic schizophrenics.

Recently, several investigators demonstrated that the recall deficit of schizophrenics is attributable to their impaired mnemonic organization. The present study examined nonorganizational processes or "strategies" which might be operating in single-trial free recall using multiple word lists with low contextual constraints. Twenty young nonpsychotic schizophrenics and 20 normal controls participated in the task. The schizophrenics, as compared to the normals, showed limited storage capacities of the primary and secondary memories, vulnerability to intrusion, slow response time, inefficiency in utilizing stimulus contiguity for organization, and consequential recall deficit. These findings, taken together with previous investigations, suggest that both organizational and nonorganizational dysfunctions appear to underlie the schizophrenics' poor performance. The possibility that nonorganizational processes may be integral parts of mnemonic organization was discussed.