Highly schizotypal students have a weaker sense of self-agency

Abstract

Schizotypy can be seen as an indicator of a predisposition to schizophrenia. It is possible that schizotypal people have an abnormal self-consciousness, especially with regard to the sense of self-agency. Students were rated using the Schizotypy Traits Questionnaire (STA). They were asked to press a button, which generated a tone after some delay. They were then required to judge whether they felt they or someone else had generated the tone. The results showed that the high schizotypy group had a weaker sense of self-agency than the low schizotypy group. The present study used an experimental method to show that schizotypal traits are correlated with an abnormal sense of self-agency. © 2008 The Authors.