Can average people detect differences in transcribed speech samples spoken by people either diagnosed with schizophrenia or not diagnosed with schizophrenia?

• Main Author: Hopson, Tina Marie
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 2002
• Subjects: Psychotherapy; Behaviorial sciences; Communication; Communication and the arts; Psychology
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2724; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3723&context=uop_etds

Previous research has compared speech samples from people both diagnosed and not diagnosed with schizophrenia and found that differences exist between the speech patterns. However, the previous research has focused on specific aspects of speech. For example, sentence structure, adjective use, syntax, etc. The current study investigated if speech differences between people diagnosed with and not diagnosed with schizophrenia could be detected by people with no experience with schizophrenia using a global rating system. A comparison was made between the ratings of coherence and “weird/crazy” speech of people who described pictures seen on a computer screen. The participants were 61 adults from the Stockton, CA area who had no experience working with people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Participants were asked to rate the level of coherence of 42 speech samples and rate the statement as “weird/crazy.” The results indicated that the sentences of people diagnosed with schizophrenia were rated as significantly less coherent ( t [df 60] = −16.34, p < .001) and significantly more weird/crazy ( t [df 60] = 13.68, p < .001) than those of people not diagnosed with schizophrenia.