Psychology Commons^™

The present study investigated the specificity of planning impairments in schizophrenia compared to unipolar major depression. Multiple measures of planning ability were employed to assess the task independence of a planning deficit. Furthermore, the predictive power of planning ability with regard to functional outcome was analyzed. A total of 80 participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment with an emphasis on executive functions and planning ability. The sample consisted of 28 patients with schizophrenia, 28 patients with depression and 24 healthy controls. Both patient groups were impaired on measures of attention, working memory and planning, but only planning ability differentiated between …

Deficits in executive functioning are closely related to the level of everyday functioning in patients with schizophrenia. However, many existing neuropsychological measures are limited in their ability to predict functional outcome. To contribute to closing this gap, we developed a computer-based test of planning ability (“Plan-a-Day”), that requires participants to create daily activity schedules in a simulated work setting. Eighty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were tested with Plan-a-Day and a battery of cognitive ability tests. Plan-a-Day showed satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of consistency, reliability and construct validity. Compared to other neuropsychological tests used in this study, it also demonstrated …