Effect of schizotypy on responding maintained by free-operant schedules of reinforcement

Altered time-perception performance in individuals with high schizotypy levels

“…Participants were split into high and low scoring UE, CD, IA and IN groups, according to a median split of their O-LIFE(B) scores 34,35,37 . A median split was used due to the sample size, and as it is unclear whether any relationship between schizotypy and bisection point location is linear or a step-function.…”

“…Given these considerations, the use of temporal-bisection tasks 41 , previously employed for schizophrenic patients 14,18 , could forward understanding in this area.. Given the previous results noted above for schizophrenic patients 18,20,22,25 , and those reported on schedules of reinforcement for high-schizotypals 34,37 , the expectation was that, if timing differences exist between low and high schizotypy scorers (who are free of the impact of medication), these would manifest in differences in the observed bisection point of these two groups. Specifically, it was predicted that high schizotypal subjects, when making retrospective judgments, should tend to label any given stimulus duration as short than low schizotypal scorers.…”

“…In terms of timing processes in high schizotypal individuals, rates of response are higher on random interval schedules in high-compared to low schizotypal subjects 34,35 , particularly those with high scores on the Unusual Experiences (UE) sub-scale of the O-LIFE(B) scale 36 . Moreover, high UE subjects are unable to describe the temporal nature of the RI schedule 35 .…”

“…Moreover, high UE subjects are unable to describe the temporal nature of the RI schedule 35 . Moreover, high scorers in UE have Timing & Schizotypy -5 different performance profiles to low UE scorers on both fixed interval, and differential reinforcement of low rate, schedules of reinforcement 37 .…”

“…It is also worth noting that, in the schedule tasks used in the previous 34,35,37 , the participants were not necessarily aware of any timing component incorporated in the task. Thus, timing was not an explicitly studied behavior on those tasks, and any potential deficits in this process are only inferred from patterns of responding, rather than being measured directly.…”