Toward an Operational Definition of Anhedonia

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Abstract
Systematic study of Rado's idea that anhedonia plays a central role in the development of schizophrenia has lagged for want of a suitable operational definition. Therefore, seven measures appearing to reflect anhedonia were intercorrelated and factor analyzed. The resulting varimax factors were named: Apathy vs Cheerfulness, defined by Psychotic Inpatient Profile and Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation items, Gurel's Goalless Apathy Scale and a Fun-seeking rating; and Apathy vs Energy, defined by Goalless Apathy, the Elgin Interests Scale, Fun-seeking, and a specially constructed MMPI scale. It is suggested that anhedonia might best be considered as a multivariate dimension but that, where a single definition is desired, the scales defining the second factor may be the most appropriate.