A group of schizophrenic patients were compared with a control group of non-psychiatric subjects and a control group of non-schizophrenic psychiatric subjects. A measure of abstract planning ability was used and results showed that there was a significant difference between planning ability for psychiatric and non-psychiatric subjects. The results did not discriminate between schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic patients. The influence of variables such as hospitalization and medication could not be excluded as possible causes for this result.
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