Assessment for Social Problem‐Solving, Social Information Processing, and Criminal Thinking

Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) show deficits in social information processing (SIP) that increased the risk of social maladjustment. As social inclusion is a major preoccupation for professionals and parents, it is important to know how foster SIP among these children, in order to support their understanding of social situations, their emotion regulation and social adjustment. The present study tested the efficacy of a new “SIP program for children”, considering specific strengths and weaknesses of these children. It also explored the potential causal contribution of SIP in elementary school children with ID to their emotion regulation, social adjustment and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. 30 children between 5 and 12 years with mild or moderate IDs, took part in a pre-test session involving measures on cognition and social problem solving. Teachers and/or parents completed questionnaires assessing children’s emotion regulation and social adjustment. Secondly, children were allocated to control or experimental groups. Experimental group participated in the “SIP program for children”. It was implemented by two trainers which used the specific material and technics described by the program during eight sessions to sub-groups of three children. After, all children took part in post-test sessions. Results showed significant improvement of social problem-solving abilities in children of experimental groups. After SIP training, they easily judged social behaviors and produced more complex justifications related to social consciousness and social rules, in comparison to the control group. Parents perceived children who had participated in the training as more socially adjusted and teachers described them as more integrated, autonomous and cooperative. These children were also perceived as displaying fewer internalizing problems.

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The impact of the narrative mindset on effectivity in social problem solving

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0253729 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0253729

Author(s):

Jerzy Trzebiński ◽

Jolanta Zuzanna Czarnecka ◽

Maciej Cabański

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Social Problem ◽

Social Information ◽

Real Life ◽

Experimental Manipulation ◽

Social Problem Solving ◽

Positive Real ◽

Effective Instrument ◽

The Impact

The narrative mindset is a tendency to interpret social information in the frame of stories. Two experiments were conducted to determine if and why the narrative mindset increases social problem-solving effectivity. The experiments consisted of two parts: the experimental manipulation (inducing the narrative mindset or control condition) and the observation of effects. In the second part, presented as a separate study, a participant was asked to advise other people facing interpersonal problems (experiment 1) or emotional problems (experiment 2). Three pairs of coders judged each piece of advice independently on three scales: Effectivity of the advice, empathy, and personalization (using their own experiences in providing the advice). The results indicate that the narrative mindset increases empathy, supported by the co-occurring increase in the problem’s personalization, which leads to higher effectivity. The results reveal the positive real-life implications of structuring social information within a story frame. It may encourage the introduction of the narrative mindset effects into an area of social cognition research. Finally, the experiments show that the narrative mindset may be activated experimentally, providing an effective instrument to test the impact of narrative knowledge on social cognition.

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The clinical utility of social information processing theory in assessing and treating offenders with autism spectrum disorder

Advances in Autism ◽

10.1108/aia-07-2016-0019 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 154-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Verity Chester ◽

Peter E. Langdon

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Information Processing ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Social Information ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Social Problem Solving ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Content Type ◽

Processing Theory ◽

Offending Behaviour

Purpose Social deficits are central within conceptualisations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and separately linked to offending behaviour. Social problem-solving interventions are often used with offenders, but little research has examined the social information processing (SIP) skills of individuals with ASD and a history of criminal offending behaviours. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper will introduce the SIP model, review SIP research as applied to those with ASD and in forensic populations, and further consider the relevance to the assessment and treatment of offenders with ASD. Findings Difficulties in all areas of the SIP model are noted in ASD and research suggests these difficulties may be directly linked to behaviour. Practical implications It is possible that identifying SIP abilities and deficits could improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes for this group. Originality/value This paper reviews the utility of social information models in the offending behaviour of people with ASD.

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Treatment for Social Problem Solving and Criminal Thinking

The Wiley Handbook on What Works for Offenders with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1002/9781119316268.ch17 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 327-340

Author(s):

Susan Hayes

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Social Problem ◽

Social Problem Solving ◽

Criminal Thinking

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Differences between completers and non-completers of offending behaviour programmes: Impulsivity, social problem-solving, and criminal thinking

Legal and Criminological Psychology ◽

10.1111/lcrp.12089 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 407-416 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Emma J. Palmer ◽

Lisa M. Humphries

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Social Problem ◽

Social Problem Solving ◽

Criminal Thinking ◽

Offending Behaviour

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Hostility and Perceptions of Support in Ambiguous Social Interactions

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.27.2.108 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 108-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ana-Maria Vranceanu ◽

Linda C. Gallo ◽

Laura M. Bogart

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Networks ◽

Information Processing ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Social Information ◽

Inverse Association ◽

Processing Bias ◽

Information Processing Bias

The present study investigated whether a social information processing bias contributes to the inverse association between trait hostility and perceived social support. A sample of 104 undergraduates (50 men) completed a measure of hostility and rated videotaped interactions in which a speaker disclosed a problem while a listener reacted ambiguously. Results showed that hostile persons rated listeners as less friendly and socially supportive across six conversations, although the nature of the hostility effect varied by sex, target rated, and manner in which support was assessed. Hostility and target interactively impacted ratings of support and affiliation only for men. At least in part, a social information processing bias could contribute to hostile persons' perceptions of their social networks.

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