L.M.Vekker information model of thinking in studies of schizophrenic thought disorders using factor analysis

Abstract

Background. Modern positive-negative and three-dimensional models of thinking do not explain the variety of schizophrenic thought disorders. L.M.Vekker hierarchic information theory of thinking suggests at least 8 major types of structural thought disorders including disorders of operands, horizontal and vertical links operators and disturbances of inter-reversible word-image information re-encoding mechanisms. The goal of empirical study was to test whether L.M.Vekker model suggestions fit the structure of thought disorder factors obtained with the sample of patients with schizophrenia (N = 140). Methods. The battery of 8 tests of thinking, Rey Complex Figure test, the author scale of thought disorder assessment (32 parameters), expert evaluation (3 experts). The influence of sample size, methods, parameters and experts on factor solutions was estimated. Results. Regardless of the data variations seven factors are constantly identified: 4 factors correspond to structural thought disorder, 3 factors correspond to regulatory, communicative and intellectual disorders. Conclusion. The obtained results confirm the bilingual (verbal and figurative) nature of thought disorders, the presence of structural disorder predicted by the information model of thinking and the relative independence of structural thought disorder factors (Disorders of visual images, Pseudo-abstractive images, Verbal abstractness, Formalism–Clanging, Neologisms, Illogicality, Рaradigmatic logic-chopping, Impossibility of dissuading / ambivalence) from factors of regulatory, communicative and intellectual disorders.