Effects and Implications of the Experimental Double Bind

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Abstract
Patterns of paradoxical communication with certain punitive features have been termed double binds (Bateson, Jackson, Haley, & Weakland, 1956) and viewed as etiological factors in the etiology of schizophrenia. Empirical support to date of the proposed etiological role has been weak. The present study replicated an experimental analogue of the double bind which produced increased anxiety in normals (Smith, 1976). A battery of dependent measures was chosen for their potential in discriminating between normals and schizophrenics. The features of the double bind were arranged in a factorial design. 100 male and female undergraduates participated. Significant effects were found for digit recall which implicate exposure to the full array of double-bind features in producing patterns of recall similar to those observed in schizophrenics. Issues for subsequent research were discussed.

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