Absolute auditory threshold and threshold of unpleasantness of chronic schizophrenic patients and normal controls.

The method of average error was modified tor research in schizophrenia and was used in establishing both the absolute auditory threshold and the threshold of unpleasantness. The results showed chronic schizophrenic patients had a higher absolute threshold but a lower threshold for when a tone became unpleasantly loud. The results add evidence that chronic schizophrenic patients find external stimulation aversive; they point out the narrow range of auditory stimuli in which schizophrenics function; and suggest that the same auditory stimuli cannot be considered equivalent for schizophrenic patients and normal controls.