College of Social and Behavioral Science
114 Correlations Between Memory Deficits and Level of Schizotypy in Generally Healthy Populations
Moth Zhang; Jared Branch; and Umair Subhani
Faculty Mentor: Jared Branch (Psychology, University of Utah)
Background: Schizotypy is a spectrum of psychosis-like experiences that range in severity from mild, subclinical traits to clinical symptoms. Although related to schizophrenia, individuals may show subclinical schizotypy features without meeting diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia, and neurotypical people may still report psychotic-like experiences. In schizophrenia, early treatment is vital to patient prognosis, and schizotypy reflects potential risk for developing schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Schizophrenia is also tied to cognitive symptoms such as memory impairments. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether there is a correlation between how memories are experienced and schizotypy within the general population. Methodology: Participants were undergraduate psychology students at the University of Utah who received course credit for completing the Memory Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE).
Results: MEQ Valence, the measure of how positively or negatively the memory is experienced, was inversely associated with O-LIFE Introvertive Anhedonia, a type of social withdrawal. With r = −.36, 99.9% BCa CI [−.62, −.03], p < .001, N = 97, the effect remained significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Implications: Higher introvertive anhedonia is associated with a more negative autobiographical memory. This points to memory valence as a potential cognitive marker within the schizotypy spectrum.
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