Colour form representation test: a developmental method for the study of cognition in schizophrenia

Abstract

The Colour Form Representation Test (CFR) was devised as one of a series of developmentally rooted objective measures of schizophrenic cognitive dysfunction. Based on the observations of Piaget and others in relation to the conceptual use of colour, form and representational cues, it provided a four-level response hierarchy corresponding to the preverbal and early verbal stages of cognitive growth. The CFR was tested with 66 schizophrenics and 42 non-psychotic subjects and found to distinguish between these two groups and among schizophrenic subtypes. It showed significant correlations with measures of cognitive and attentional dysfunction and, longitudinally, was observed to be a reliable instrument that reflected the differential therapeutic outcome of various schizophrenic groups. The research potential of the CFR and its relevance to developmental and psychophysiological theories of schizophrenic cognitive disorder were discussed.