Problem Solving by Schizophrenic and Schizoaffective Patients on the Wisconsin and California Card Sorting Tests

The performance of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective illness was compared with that of age-and education-matched normal controls on the Wisconsin and California Card Sorting Tests (WCST and CCST). On the WCST, both groups of patients achieved fewer than the normal number of categories and made more perseverative responses and errors. On the complete and short versions of the CCST, both patient groups generated, identified, and executed fewer than the normal number of concepts; provided less accurate and less complete verbal explanations for the correct concepts they did generate; and made more verbal and nonverbal perseverative responses than did the controls. There were no differences between patient groups on either test.