The effect of presenting novel and familiar word pairs on the stimulus-seeking behavior of schizophrenics and normals.
In a test of McReynolds' theories relating anxiety and stimulus novelty to stimulus seeking, schizophrenics and normals were exposed to either novel or familiar word pairs and tested for stimulus seeking on the Howard Maze Test before and after the experimental treatment. Schizophrenics showed less stimulus seeking than normals did, a result supporting McReynolds' theory of anxiety. Imposed stimulus novelty increased stimulus seeking in normals and decreased stimulus seeking in schizophrenics, a result requiring explanation beyond the homeostatic relationship between imposed stimulus novelty and stimulus seeking postulated by McReynolds.
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology