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This is an exceedingly painstaking and well thought out experimental study of thought disorders in schizophrenia. It does not attempt to discuss this topic exhaustively but rather to see what light can be thrown upon the problem by a single experimental technique.
The procedure is based upon experiments of the Russian psychologist, Vigotsky, whose methods are followed with slight modifications. The subjects are given twenty-two wooden blocks, varying in color, shape, height, and size. On the underside of each is written one of four nonsense words. The subject is told that there are four different kinds of blocks before him, that each kind has a name and that his task is to find and to separate these four kinds. The examiner then shows him the name of one block and asks him to pick out all blocks which he thinks might belong to the same kind. After he has attempted to do so the examiner turns up one of the wrongly selected blocks showing that this is a block of a different kind and then encourages the subject to continue trying. This procedure is repeated until it becomes clear whether he is able to complete the task of separating the four kinds. The subject is encouraged to think aloud and all comments are recorded in detail throughout the experiment.
This test was given to three groups of subjects: schizophrenic patients, healthy adults and patients with an irreversible organic brain disease. Of the schizophrenic patients twelve had attended college for some time; two-thirds of the remaining fifty had only grammar school education. Of the healthy controls fifty were college graduates and forty-five were attendants in a state hospital. The latter were well matched as to age and educational level