Time Estimation and the Nosology of Schizophrenia

Time judgments of various kinds are often disturbed in schizophrenia, but a review of the literature (Orme, 1962) suggests the disturbance is not characteristic in type. The present writer has studied (Orme, 1964) the verbal estimation of an elapsed “filled” interval with various clinical groups. Subjects were asked, after 30 minutes of interviewing, “How long have we been together, how long does it seem to you?” A summary of the distribution of time estimates is given in Table I. The most statistically significant feature (see Orme, 1964 for details) is the contrast between the hysteric, psychopathic and manic groups on the one hand, and the melancholic, anxious and depressed neurotic on the other. Individual variations in estimates appear unrelated to age, sex and intelligence.