Perceptual Aberration Research Articles

Auditory Vigilance and Working Memory in Youth at Familial Risk for Schizophrenia or Affective Psychosis in the Harvard Adolescent Family High Risk Study.

The degree of overlap between schizophrenia (SCZ) and affective psychosis (AFF) has been a recurring question since Kraepelin's subdivision of the major psychoses. Studying nonpsychotic relatives allows a comparison of disorder-associated phenotypes, without potential confounds that can obscure distinctive features of the disorder. Because attention and working memory have been proposed as potential endophenotypes for SCZ and AFF, we compared these cognitive features in individuals at familial high-risk (FHR) for the disorders. Young, unmedicated, first-degree relatives (ages, 13-25 years) at FHR-SCZ (n=41) and FHR-AFF (n=24) and community controls (CCs, n=54) were tested using attention and working memory versions of the Auditory Continuous Performance Test. To determine if schizotypal traits or current psychopathology accounted for cognitive deficits, we evaluated psychosis proneness using three Chapman Scales, Revised Physical Anhedonia, Perceptual Aberration, and Magical Ideation, and assessed psychopathology using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist -90 Revised. Compared to controls, the FHR-AFF sample was significantly impaired in auditory vigilance, while the FHR-SCZ sample was significantly worse in working memory. Both FHR groups showed significantly higher levels of physical anhedonia and some psychopathological dimensions than controls. Adjusting for physical anhedonia, phobic anxiety, depression, psychoticism, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms eliminated the FHR-AFF vigilance effects but not the working memory deficits in FHR-SCZ. The working memory deficit in FHR-SZ was the more robust of the cognitive impairments after accounting for psychopathological confounds and is supported as an endophenotype. Examination of larger samples of people at familial risk for different psychoses remains necessary to confirm these findings and to clarify the role of vigilance in FHR-AFF. (JINS, 2016, 22, 1026-1037).

The Conceptualization and Assessment of Schizotypal Traits: A Comparison of the FFSI and PID-5.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the cognitive and perceptual aberration scales from the Five-Factor Schizotypal Inventory (FFSI; Edmundson, Lynam, Miller, Gore, & Widiger, 2011) and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (Krueger, Derringer, Markon, Watson, & Skodol,, 2012), as well as to address more generally the validity of the FFSI as a measure of both schizotypal personality traits and the FFM. Two independent samples were obtained, including 259 college students (55 of whom were preselected with elevated scores on a measure of schizotypal personality disorder [STPD]) and 346 adult MTurk participants (43% of whom had been or were currently in mental health treatment). Administered were the FFSI, the PID-5 Psychoticism scales, and alternative measures of general personality, openness, STPD, and schizotypal cognitive-perceptual aberrations. The results of the study are discussed with respect to the validity of the FFSI and PID-5 schizotypal cognitive and perception scales.

Neuroanatomical correlates of perceptual aberrations in psychosis

BackgroundAberrations in body perception are common in psychotic disorders. The insula and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) are involved in body ownership and spatial perception suggesting that abnormal structure of these regions might be related to the expression of perceptual aberrations in psychosis. Methods58 individuals with a primary psychotic disorder and 40 healthy subjects completed the Chapman Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS) and underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Grey matter volume was extracted from a-priori defined TPJ, whole insula, and insula sub-division regions-of-interest (ROIs) and correlated with PAS scores. Additionally, a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis examining the correlation between voxel-wise grey matter volume and PAS scores was conducted. ResultsPAS scores in psychosis patients correlated with bilateral whole insula (right: r=−0.30, p=0.026; left: r=−0.35, p=0.011) and right TPJ (r=−0.27, p=0.024) volumes. The correlation between grey matter volume and PAS was strongest for the posterior sub-division of the insula (right: r=−0.32, p=0.017; left: r=−0.37, p=0.006). VBM analyses confirmed the ROI results: negative correlations with PAS were identified in clusters within the posterior and dorsal anterior insula, and the right TPJ. An exploratory, whole-brain analysis also revealed two additional regions located in the left middle orbitofrontal gyrus and left inferior temporal gyrus that inversely correlated with PAS scores. ConclusionsPerceptual aberrations in individuals with psychosis are related to lower grey matter volume in the insula and TPJ. This relationship was strongest in the posterior region of the insula and right TPJ; brain areas that have been implicated in interoception and somesthesis.

Loneliness and Schizotypy Are Distinct Constructs, Separate from General Psychopathology.

Loneliness is common in youth and associated with a significantly increased risk of psychological disorders. Although loneliness is strongly associated with psychosis, its relationship with psychosis proneness is unclear. Our aim in this paper was to test the hypothesis that loneliness and schizotypal traits, conveying risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, are similar but separate constructs. Pooling data from two non-clinical student samples (N = 551) we modeled the structure of the relationship between loneliness and trait schizotypy. Loneliness was assessed with the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-3), whilst negative (Social Anhedonia) and positive (Perceptual Aberrations) schizotypal traits were assessed with the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales-Brief (WSS-B). Fit statistics indicated that the best fitting model of UCLA-3 scores comprises three correlated factors (Isolation, Related Connectedness, and Collective Connectedness), consistent with previous reports. Fit statistics for a two factor model of positive and negative schizotypy were excellent. Next, bi-factor analysis was used to model a general psychopatholgy factor (p) across the three loneliness factors and separate negative and positive schizotypy traits. The results showed that all items (except 1) co-loaded on p. However, with the influence of p removed, additional variance remained within separate sub-factors, indicating that loneliness and negative and positive trait schizotypy are distinct and separable constructs. Similarly, once shared variance with p was removed, correlations between sub-factors of loneliness and schizotypal traits were non-significant. These findings have important clinical implications since they suggest that loneliness should not be conflated with the expression of schizotypy. Rather, loneliness needs to be specifically targeted for assessment and treatment in youth at risk for psychosis.

Can Bayesian Theories of Autism Spectrum Disorder Help Improve Clinical Practice?

Diagnosis and individualized treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent major problems for contemporary psychiatry. Tackling these problems requires guidance by a pathophysiological theory. In this paper, we consider recent theories that re-conceptualize ASD from a “Bayesian brain” perspective, which posit that the core abnormality of ASD resides in perceptual aberrations due to a disbalance in the precision of prediction errors (sensory noise) relative to the precision of predictions (prior beliefs). This results in percepts that are dominated by sensory inputs and less guided by top-down regularization and shifts the perceptual focus to detailed aspects of the environment with difficulties in extracting meaning. While these Bayesian theories have inspired ongoing empirical studies, their clinical implications have not yet been carved out. Here, we consider how this Bayesian perspective on disease mechanisms in ASD might contribute to improving clinical care for affected individuals. Specifically, we describe a computational strategy, based on generative (e.g., hierarchical Bayesian) models of behavioral and functional neuroimaging data, for establishing diagnostic tests. These tests could provide estimates of specific cognitive processes underlying ASD and delineate pathophysiological mechanisms with concrete treatment targets. Written with a clinical audience in mind, this article outlines how the development of computational diagnostics applicable to behavioral and functional neuroimaging data in routine clinical practice could not only fundamentally alter our concept of ASD but eventually also transform the clinical management of this disorder.

Handedness and schizotypy: The potential effect of changing the writing-hand

Mixed-handedness, which has been associated with schizotypy in recent studies, might exist for at least two different reasons: it is innate or it has been forced. We examined whether the association between mixed-handedness and schizotypy differs depending on its source. We enrolled 3485 college students in Taiwan. We used both the Perceptual Aberration Scale and Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire to assess schizotypy, and the Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire to assess handedness. Two ways of classifying handedness were examined: the three-way classification based on Annett's categories and mixed- vs. non-mixed-handedness based on Degree of Handedness. Both mixed-handedness groups showed higher positive schizotypy scores. Among mixed handers, those who had been required to change their writing hand from left to right had higher positive schizotypy scores. Being forced to change writing hand seemed to be related to a higher level of schizotypy. The potential effect of the social pressure against using the left hand for writing is discussed.

Evidence of structural invariance across three groups of Meehlian schizotypes.

According to Meehl’s model of schizotypy, there is a latent personality organization associated with the diathesis for schizophrenia that can be identified in several ways. We sought to examine the structural invariance of four Chapman psychosis–proneness scales (CPPS) across three groups of putative schizotypes, namely, clinically-, biologically-, and psychometrically-identified schizotypes. We examined the factor structure of the Perceptual Aberration (PER), Magical Ideation (MIS), Revised Social Anhedonia (RSAS), and Revised Physical Anhedonia (RPAS) scales in 196 schizophrenia patients, 197 non-psychotic first-degree relatives, and 1,724 non-clinical young adults. The confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the best-fitting model was one in which there is a two-factor model with negative schizotypy (RSAS and RPAS) and positive schizotypy (PER and MIS). All three samples fit the model well, with Comparative Fit Indices>0.95 and Tucker Lewis Indices>0.90. The root mean square error of approximations were all small (P values⩽0.01). We also observed that for both anhedonia scales, the groups’ mean scale scores varied in the hypothesized direction, as predicted by Meehl’s model of schizotypy. All three Chinese samples, namely, the patients (clinical schizotypes), relatives (biologically-identified schizotypes), and non-clinical young adults (containing psychometrically-identified schizotypes) showed the same factorial structure. This finding supports the suitability of the CPPS for cross-cultural and/or genetic investigations of schizotypy.

Both harmful and (some) helpful behaviours from others are associated with increased expression of schizotypal traits

Negative treatment from others is related to elevated levels of trait schizotypy, signifying increased risk for psychosis, but associations with helpful behaviour have been much less studied. Using the Stereotype Content Model we tested the hypothesis that passive and active forms of help would be associated with increased and decreased expression of schizotypy, respectively. Schizotypal traits were assessed in students (N=631) using positive (Perceptual Aberration) and negative (Social Anhedonia) subscales of the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales-Brief. Experiences of active (intentional) and passive (less deliberative) harm and help were assessed with the Behaviour from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes Treatment Scale. As predicted, the results showed that experiences of passive help from others were associated with a 2–3 fold increase in scores on schizotypy scales, whilst reports of active help tended to be associated with a decrease in scores on these scales. Results also showed that increased reports of active and passive harm were associated with elevated scores on negative and positive schizotypy subscales, consistent with prior research. These findings, bridging research on social stereotyping and schizotypal personality, challenge the assumption that helpful behaviour from others is always beneficial for individuals with schizotypal traits who are at increased risk for psychosis.

Peculiar/Unusual Perceptions and Beliefs and Covariation Detection

The present research explored the possibility that peculiar/unusual perceptions and/or beliefs might be associated with covariation detection. One-hundred thirty-five college students completed the Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation scales. They also performed a task in which they were presented with unpleasant images and asked to indicate whether the image was upright or rotated; participants were told the task was examining the impact of distraction on visual processing. In fact, loud noises were paired disproportionately with images of automobile accidents. After completing the task, participants were asked to identify the type of image that had been paired disproportionately with the loud noises. Participants who successfully detected the covariation had significantly higher Perceptual Aberration scale scores than did participants who did not detect the covariation.

The eyes are the window to the uncanny valley

Horror movies have discovered an easy recipe for making people creepy: alter their eyes. Instead of normal eyes, zombies’ eyes are vacantly white, vampires’ eyes glow with the color of blood, and those possessed by demons are cavernously black. In the Academy Award winning Pan’s Labyrinth, director Guillermo del Toro created the creepiest of all creatures by entirely removing its eyes from its face, placing them instead in the palms of its hands. The unease induced by altering eyes may help to explain the uncanny valley, which is the eeriness of robots that are almost—but not quite—human (Mori, 1970). Much research has explored the uncanny valley, including the research reported by MacDorman & Entezari (in press), which focuses on individual differences that might predict the eeriness of humanlike robots. In their paper, they suggest that a full understanding of this phenomenon needs to synthesize individual differences with features of the robot. One theory that links these two concepts is mind perception, which past research highlights as essential to the uncanny valley (Gray & Wegner, 2012). Mind perception is linked to both individual differences—autism—and to features of the robot—the eyes—and can provide a deeper understanding of this arresting phenomenon. In this paper, we present original data that links uncanniness to the eyes through aberrant perceptions of mind.

The relation between schizotypy and early attention to rejecting interactions: The influence of neuroticism

Objectives: Schizotypy relates to rejection sensitivity (anxiety reflecting an expectancy of social exclusion) and neuroticism (excessive evaluation of negative emotions). Positive schizotypy (e.g., perceptual aberrations and odd beliefs) and negative schizotypy (e.g., social and physical anhedonia) could relate to altered attention to rejection because of neuroticism. Methods: Forty-one healthy individuals were assessed on positive and negative schizotypy and neuroticism, and event-related potentials during rejecting, accepting and neutral scenes. Participants were categorised into high, moderate and low neuroticism groups. Using temporo-spatial principal components analyses, P200 (peak latency =290 ms) and P300 amplitudes (peak latency = 390 ms) were measured, reflecting mobilisation of attention and early attention, respectively. Results: Scalp-level and cortical source analysis revealed elevated fronto-parietal N300/P300 amplitude and P200-related dorsal anterior cingulate current density during rejection than acceptance/neutral scenes. Positive schizotypy related inversely to parietal P200 amplitude during rejection. Negative schizotypy related positively to P200 middle occipital current density. Negative schizotypy related positively to parietal P300, where the association was stronger in high and moderate, than low, neuroticism groups. Conclusions: Positive and negative schizotypy relate divergently to attention to rejection. Positive schizotypy attenuates, but negative schizotypy increases rejection-related mobilisation of attention. Negative schizotypy increases early attention to rejection partly due to elevated neuroticism.

Pituitary volume and clinical trajectory in young relatives at risk for schizophrenia

Stress and vulnerability likely interact to play a major role in psychosis. While much has been written about the neural diathesis-stress model in psychosis and its clinical risk states, little is known about HPA axis biomarkers in non-help-seeking individuals at familial high risk (FHR). We sought to prospectively measure pituitary volume (PV) in adolescents and young adults at FHR for schizophrenia and to follow their emerging sub-clinical psychotic symptoms and clinical trajectories. Forty healthy controls and 38 relatives of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were identified in Pittsburgh, USA. PV was derived from baseline 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging. Chapman's schizotypy scales were acquired at baseline, and structured clinical interviews for DSM-IV-TR Axis I diagnoses were attempted annually for up to 3 years. Seven individuals converted to psychosis. PV did not differ between FHR and control groups overall. Within the FHR group, PV was positively correlated with Chapman's positive schizotypy (Magical Ideation and Perceptual Aberration) scores, and there was a significant group × PV interaction with schizotypy. PV was significantly higher in FHR subjects carrying any baseline Axis I diagnosis (p = 0.004), and higher still in individuals who went on to convert to psychosis (p = 0.0007). Increased PV is a correlate of early positive schizotypy, and may predict trait vulnerability to subsequent psychosis in FHR relatives. These preliminary findings support a model of stress-vulnerability and HPA axis activation in the early phases of psychosis.

Reliability and normative data of the Perceptual Aberration Scale in an Italian juvenile general population sample

Psychometric tools, such as the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS), have been developed to identify people at risk to develop psychosis. This paper aims at providing an Italian version of the Perceptual Aberration Scale and its normative data for the general juvenile Italian population. The Italian version of the PAS was produced using three independent translators. It was administered to 1089 non-clinical participants, stratified into three age-groups, i.e., 8–13, 14–17 and 18–24. The Italian version of the PAS displayed good internal consistency in each age-group evaluated (i.e. Alpha Coefficients: 0.90 for the 8–13 age-group, 0.84 for the 14–17 age-group, and 0.87 for the 18–24 age-group) and the assumption of unidimensionality was corraborate. Furthermore, normative data for the three groups were collected (i.e. cut-offs: 25 for the 8–13 age-group, 21 for the 14–17 age-group and 20 for the 18–24 age-group) and an age-related difference, as the 18-24 group scored lower than the younger groups, was found. The Italian version of the PAS proved to be a reliable psychometric tool to investigate perceptual aberration during childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.

The Cortical Hyperexcitability Index (CHi): a new measure for quantifying correlates of visually driven cortical hyperexcitability

Introduction. Aberrations of visual experience, including visual hallucinations and visual distortions, are known to be associated with increased cortical hyperexcitability. As a consequence, the presence, intensity and frequency of certain experiences may well be indicative of an underlying increase in cortical hyperexcitability.Methods. The current study presents a new proxy measure of cortical hyperexcitability, the Cortical Hyperexcitability Index (CHi). Two hundred and fifty healthy participants completed the CHi with the results subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA).Results. The EFA revealed a three-factor model as the most parsimonious solution. The three factors were defined as: (1) heightened visual sensitivity and discomfort; (2) negative aura-type visual aberrations; and (3) positive aura-type visual aberrations. The identification of three factors suggests that multiple mechanisms underlie the notion of cortical hyperexcitability, providing researchers with new and greater precision in delineating these underlying features.Conclusions. The factorial structure of the CHi and the increased precision could aid the interpretation of findings from neuroscientific (i.e., brain imaging/stimulation) examinations of cortical processes underlying aberrant perceptions across a host of clinical, neurological and pathological conditions. As a consequence, the CHi is a useful and comprehensive proxy measure of cortical hyperexcitability with considerable scientific and clinical utility.

Schizotypy and clinical symptoms, cognitive function, and quality of life in individuals with a psychotic disorder

BackgroundSchizotypy is a range of perceptual experiences and personality features related to risk and familial predisposition to psychosis. Despite evidence that schizotypy is related to psychosis vulnerability, very little is known about the expression of schizotypal traits in individuals with a psychotic disorder, and their relationship to clinical symptoms, cognition, and psychosocial functioning. Methods59 healthy subjects and 68 patients with a psychotic disorder (47 schizophrenia spectrum disorder; 21 bipolar disorder with psychotic features) completed four schizotypy scales, the Perceptual Aberration Scale, the Revised Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales, and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, a brief neuropsychological assessment, and a self-report measure of quality of life. Clinical symptoms of psychosis were quantified in patients with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). ResultsPsychosis patients scored higher than healthy subjects on all schizotypy scales. Correlations between schizotypy and PANSS scores were modest, ranging from r=.06 to r=.43, indicating that less than 20% of the variance in self-reported schizotypy overlapped with clinical symptoms. After controlling for clinical symptoms, patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders reported higher levels of cognitive–perceptual disturbances and negative traits than patients with bipolar disorder. Elevated schizotypy was associated with lower cognitive functioning and self-reported quality of life. ConclusionsSchizotypal personality traits are markedly elevated in psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia spectrum disorders, relatively weakly correlated with positive and negative psychotic symptoms, and associated with greater cognitive impairment and lower quality of life. Assessing schizotypy in patients with psychosis may be useful for predicting functional outcome and differential diagnosis.

The Chapman psychosis-proneness scales: Consistency across culture and time

The purpose of the present study was to examine the factor structure and the temporal stability of the Chapman psychosis-proneness scales in a representative sample of nonclinical Chinese young adults. The four psychosis-proneness scales evaluated were the Perceptual Aberration (PAS), Magical Ideation (MIS), revised Social Anhedonia (RSAS), and revised Physical Anhedonia (RPAS) scales. The sample consisted of 1724 young adults with a mean age of 18.8 years (S.D.=0.84). The results of the confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the best fitting model was a two-factor model with positive schizotypy (PER and MIS) scales and negative schizotypy (RSAS and RPAS) scales. The data add to the growing literature indicating that the measurement of schizotypal traits is consistent across cultures. In addition, the results support the measurement invariance of the Chapman psychosis-proneness scales across time, i.e., there was ample evidence of test–retest reliability over a test interval of 6 months.

Impaired facial emotion recognition in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis and with first-episode schizophrenia, and their associations with neurocognitive deficits and self-reported schizotypy

ObjectiveThis study aims to quantify facial emotion recognition abnormalities and their relation to neurocognitive dysfunction and schizotypy in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis and patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES). MethodsForty individuals at UHR for psychosis, 24 patients with FES and 46 normal controls performed a facial emotion recognition task that presented facial photographs encompassing all basic emotions. The perceptual aberration scale and revised social anhedonia scale were employed for self-reported assessment of schizotypy. An intellectual functioning (IQ) test and a broad battery of neurocognitive tests were conducted. Emotional task performance indexed by accuracy rate of specific emotion was compared among three groups. The correlation of accuracy rate with neurocognitive tests and schizotypy scales were analyzed within each clinical group. ResultsA recognition deficit of facial emotions was present in both clinical groups, even after adjusting for IQ and gender as covariates. This emotional deficit showed few significant relationships with broad range of individual neurocognitive measures. Meanwhile, this deficit demonstrated significant relationships with schizotypy, especially perceptual aberration in each clinical group. ConclusionsFacial emotion recognition deficit may not only be present in FES patients, but may already have evolved prior to the onset of overt psychotic symptoms. This emotion recognition deficit may be linked to a perceptual aberration and largely independent of broad range of neurocognitive dysfunction.

TTe Predictive Power of the Wisconsin Scales of Schizophrenia Proneness in Patients of an Early Detection Service

Introduction Schizotypy is regarded as a subthreshold expression or precursor of schizophrenia spectrum psychosis. Objectives Schizotypal personality disorder is a risk factor of the ‘genetic risk and functional decline’ criterion of the ultra-high risk (UHR) criteria for psychosis; and its positive features are part of attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) of the UHR criteria. Furthermore, schizotypy as assessed with the Wisconsin Scales of Schizophrenia Proneness (WSSP) 'Perceptual Aberration”, 'Magical Ideation”, and 'Social Anhedonia” but not 'Physical Anhedonia” was predictive of psychosis in the community. Aims/Methods Thus, we examined the psychosis-predictive value of the for WSSP in 128 patients seeking help at an early detection service (23+/-7 yrs; 56% male; 81% at-risk for UHR and/or basic symptom criteria) with a median follow-up of 24 (1-101) months by Cox regression. Results Within 48 months; 36 patients converted to psychosis. Unexpectedly, none of the four WSSP was a significant predictor of conversion. This negative finding was replicated when the positive (Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation) and negative (both Anhedonia scales) dimension were examined. Thus, although schizotypy scales might be able to identify a more extreme range of the psychotic continuum in the community, they lack the ability to further separate ‘true’ from ‘false’ risk cases in a clinical sample already representing this more extreme range of the psychotic continuum. Conclusions This indicates that WSSP might be useful rather as an initial screening for persons potentially at-risk for current criteria in the community than as additional predictors in already identified risk patients.

Differences in the internal structure of hallucinatory experiences between clinical and nonclinical populations

We investigated differential patterns of hallucinatory experiences between nonclinical and clinical samples. A total of 223 nonclinical individuals (108 females) and 111 subjects with schizophrenia (54 females) completed the Launay–Slade Hallucination Scale-Revised (LSHS-R) and Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS). The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) was used for the nonclinical group, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) hallucination item was used for the clinical group. Cronbach׳s alpha values showed good internal consistency for the LSHS-R. In the two groups, significant associations were found between LSHS-R and PAS scores. Two factors were extracted through a principal component analysis (PCA) in the nonclinical group, and three factors were identified in the clinical group. The results of a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) revealed that a perception–cognition dimension was clear cluster discriminating element for the nonclinical group, whereas alterations in perception–cognition dimension were characteristic in cluster structure of the clinical group. Our findings suggest that the nature of hallucinatory experiences may differ qualitatively between a nonclinical population and subjects with schizophrenia. Perceptual or cognitive aberrations may add a psychopathologic dimension to hallucinatory experiences. Exploring the internal structure of hallucinatory experiences may provide explanatory insight into these experiences in the general population.

Correspondence between psychometric and clinical high risk for psychosis in an undergraduate population.

Despite the common use of either psychometric or clinical methods for identifying individuals at risk for psychosis, previous research has not examined the correspondence and extent of convergence of these 2 approaches. Undergraduates (n = 160), selected from a larger pool, completed 3 self-report schizotypy scales: the Magical Ideation Scale, the Perceptual Aberration Scale, and the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale. They were administered the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes. First, high correlations were observed for self-report and interview-rated psychotic-like experiences (rs between .48 and .61, p < .001). Second, 77% of individuals who identified as having a risk for psychosis with the self-report measures reported at least 1 clinically meaningful psychotic-like experience on the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes. Third, receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that the self-report scales can be used to identify which participants report clinically meaningful positive symptoms. These results suggest that mostly White undergraduate participants who identify as at risk with the psychometric schizotypy approach report clinically meaningful psychotic-like experiences in an interview format and that the schizotypy scales are moderately to strongly correlated with interview-rated psychotic-like experiences. The results of the current research provide a baseline for comparing research between these 2 approaches.