Schizotypy and awareness of intention: Variability of W judgments predicts schizotypy scores.

Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia often have unusual experiences of action. For example, patients suffering from delusions of control feel that their voluntary actions are under the control of an external force. It has been argued that deficits in self-monitoring are responsible for these symptoms. However, to-date the self-monitoring of intention has been overlooked in studies on schizophrenia. Here we aim to address this oversight. We carried out a preliminary investigation of possible intention monitoring issues in schizophrenia by examining the relation between the awareness of intention and schizotypy in a healthy population. Using the Libet clock task we found that the variability of intention (or W) judgments was uniquely predictive of schizotypy: the more variable these judgments the higher the schizotypy score. We discuss the relevance of the findings for schizophrenic illness. We also discuss the utility of this intention variability measure for examining volitional disturbances more generally.