Comparisons of Body Activity in Depressed, Manic, and normal Persons

• Main Author: Ingoldsby, Bron B.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 1976
• Subjects: comparisons; body; activity; depressed; manic; normal; persons; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/2346; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3349&context=etd

Films of three depress ed persons, one manic, and one normal individual were analyzed frame-by-frame to determine body activity rates. Speech rates were also determined. It was found that the manic had the highest activity rate, followed by the normal comparison, and with the depressed patients having the lowest activity rates. The depressed subjects also had lower speech rates than did the normal or the manic subjects. The term 'psychomotor retardation 1 is called into question, as the frequency distributions of movement durations were similar for all subjects. Implications for treatment and for development are also discussed.