Source monitoring biases and auditory hallucinations.
BACKGROUND
Previous source monitoring studies on schizophrenia reported an association between external source misattribution and hallucinations, but this is often not replicated. This inconsistency may be attributable to a failure in accounting for guessing parameters when computing source monitoring biases.


METHODS
Fifty-one patients and 20 healthy controls were required to recall the source of items originating from external (computer and experimenter) or internal (the subject) sources. When statistically determined criteria were met, the appropriate counts of false positives were entered as covariates in the statistical analyses (analysis of covariance; ANCOVA) to exclude guessing from source monitoring bias measures.


RESULTS
When comparing patients to controls, impairments on item recognition and source discrimination were observed. When comparing patient groups split on hallucinations, a bias towards attributing self-generated items to an external source was observed. A group difference on the externalisation bias was absent when the sample was split on delusions.


CONCLUSIONS
A bias towards attributing self-generated items to an external source was associated with hallucinations. This ANCOVA methodology is recommended for source monitoring studies investigating group differences, and suggests that previously reported null results may be attributable to a failure in separating guessing and source monitoring measures.
Woodward
Todd S
TS
Department of Research, Riverview Hospital & Simon Fraser University, 2601 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. toddswoodward@gmail.com
Menon
Mahesh
M
Whitman
Jennifer C
JC
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D003221:Confusion / Q000523:psychology; D003463:Cues; D003469:Culture; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011340:Problem Solving; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013017:Sound Localization; D013067:Speech Perception