Capacities for theory of mind, metacognition, and neurocognitive function are independently related to emotional recognition in schizophrenia

BACKGROUND Emotional Recognition (ER) is one of the areas most affected in people with schizophrenia. However, there are no software tools available for the assessment of ER. The interactive software program ‘Feeling Master’ (a cartoon facial recognition tool) was developed to investigate the deficit in facial emotion recognition (FER) with a sample of patients with schizophrenia in a pilot project framework. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to test the usability of ‘Feeling Master’ as a psychotherapeutic interactive gaming tool for the assessment of emotional recognition in people with schizophrenia compared with healthy people, and the relationship between FER, attributional style and theory of mind. METHODS Nineteen individuals with schizophrenia and 17 healthy control (HC) subjects completed the ‘Feeling Master’ including five emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and surprise). Regarding the group with schizophrenia they were evaluated with the Personal and Situational Attribution Questionnaire (IPSAQ) and the Hinting Task (Theory of Mind) to evaluate social cognition. RESULTS Patients with schizophrenia showed impairments in emotion recognition and they remained slower than the HC in the recognition of each emotion (P<.001). Regarding the impairment in the recognition of each emotion we only found a trend toward significance in error rates on fear discrimination (P=.07). And the correlations between correct response on the ‘Feeling Master’ and the hinting task showed significant values in the correlation of surprise and theory of mind (P=.046). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the study puts forward the usability of the ‘Feeling Master’ in FER for people with schizophrenia. These findings lend support to the notion that difficulties in emotion recognition are more prevalent in people with schizophrenia, and that these are associated with impairment in ToM, suggesting the potential utility of the FER in the rehabilitation of people with schizophrenia.

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Using a Virtual Serious Game (Deusto-e-motion1.0) to Assess the Theory of Mind in Primary School Children: Observational Descriptive Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12971 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Esther Lázaro ◽

Imanol Amayra ◽

Juan Francisco López-Paz ◽

Oscar Martínez ◽

Manuel Pérez Alvarez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Basque Country ◽

Interactive Media ◽

Serious Game ◽

Primary School Children ◽

Expression Recognition ◽

Emotional Recognition ◽

Assessment And Treatment ◽

And Gender ◽

Observational Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND Given the interactive media characteristics and intrinsically motivating appeal, virtual serious games are often praised for their potential for assessment and treatment. OBJECTIVE This study aims to validate and develop normative data for a virtual serious game (Deusto-e-motion1.0) for the evaluation of emotional facial expression recognition and social skills, both of which are components of the theory of mind. METHODS A total of 1236 children took part in the study. The children were classified by age (8-12 years old), gender (males=639, females=597), and educational level (between the third and sixth years of Primary Education). A total of 10 schools from the Basque Country and 20 trained evaluators participated in this study. RESULTS Differences were found in Deusto-e-motion1.0 scores between groups of children depending on age and gender. Moreover, there was a moderately significant correlation between the emotional recognition scores of Deusto-e-motion1.0 and those of the Feel facial recognition test. CONCLUSIONS Deusto-e-motion1.0 shows concurrent validity with instruments that assess emotional recognition. Results support the adequacy of Deusto-e-motion1.0 in assessing components of the theory of mind in children.

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P01-248-Theory of mind, moral judgments and neuropsychological functioning in patients with bipolar disorders

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)71959-9 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 249-249

Author(s):

M. Signorelli ◽

A. Geraci ◽

E. Aguglia

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Neuropsychological Functioning ◽

Moral Dilemma ◽

Bipolar Disorders ◽

Moral Dilemmas ◽

Moral Judgments ◽

Multiple Correlation ◽

Emotional Recognition ◽

First Time

IntroductionSeveral studies revealed that cognitive functioning in BPD are impaired not only in the acute phase but over time (Mur et al., 2008). On Theory of Mind (ToM) recent studies found a impairment of this ability in remitted patients, supporting the theory that ToM deficits are trait-dependent (Bora et al., 2009) in contrast with another study that suggest a partially dependence(Wolf et al. 2010).ObjectivesWe explored: a) ToM in BPD investigating two cognitive processes: emotional recognition, second order beliefs attribution; b) Moral judgments in BPD; c) possible effects of neuropsychological functioning on ToM task and moral dilemmas.AimsThe principal aim is to investigate the domain specificity of ToM and Moral sense, studying selective impairments.MethodA total of 20 patients with bipolar I disorder were tested and 20 healthy controls. We use a complete neuropsychological assessment, two ToM tasks (Eyes test, Sullivan's stories) and we added two moral dilemmas to asses moral judgment Results: We found ToM deficits in BDP, with a multiple correlation between ToM and neuropsychological functioning. Also we found for the first time a impairment on personal moral dilemma, with a correlation between emotional recognition and moral judgments.ConclusionPatients with BPD are impaired in ToM partially independent of other cognitive dysfunctions and in moral reasoning.

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Theory of mind in schizophrenia: Correlation with clinical symptomatology, emotional recognition and ward behavior

Asia-Pacific Psychiatry ◽

10.1111/j.1758-5872.2012.00233.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 157-163

Author(s):

Woo Kyeong Lee ◽

Yong Kyu Kim

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Emotional Recognition ◽

Clinical Symptomatology

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Using a Virtual Serious Game (Deusto-e-motion1.0) to Assess the Theory of Mind in Primary School Children: Observational Descriptive Study

JMIR Serious Games ◽

10.2196/12971 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e12971

Author(s):

Esther Lázaro ◽

Imanol Amayra ◽

Juan Francisco López-Paz ◽

Oscar Martínez ◽

Manuel Pérez Alvarez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Basque Country ◽

Interactive Media ◽

Serious Game ◽

Primary School Children ◽

Expression Recognition ◽

Emotional Recognition ◽

Assessment And Treatment ◽

And Gender ◽

Observational Descriptive Study

Background Given the interactive media characteristics and intrinsically motivating appeal, virtual serious games are often praised for their potential for assessment and treatment. Objective This study aims to validate and develop normative data for a virtual serious game (Deusto-e-motion1.0) for the evaluation of emotional facial expression recognition and social skills, both of which are components of the theory of mind. Methods A total of 1236 children took part in the study. The children were classified by age (8-12 years old), gender (males=639, females=597), and educational level (between the third and sixth years of Primary Education). A total of 10 schools from the Basque Country and 20 trained evaluators participated in this study. Results Differences were found in Deusto-e-motion1.0 scores between groups of children depending on age and gender. Moreover, there was a moderately significant correlation between the emotional recognition scores of Deusto-e-motion1.0 and those of the Feel facial recognition test. Conclusions Deusto-e-motion1.0 shows concurrent validity with instruments that assess emotional recognition. Results support the adequacy of Deusto-e-motion1.0 in assessing components of the theory of mind in children.

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Cognitive gadgets: A provocative but flawed manifesto

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19001134 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Del Giudice

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

Twin Studies ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Evolutionary Approach ◽

Genetic Inheritance ◽

Double Standards ◽

Cross Cultural Differences ◽

Cherry Picking ◽

Dichotomous Thinking

Abstract The argument against innatism at the heart of Cognitive Gadgets is provocative but premature, and is vitiated by dichotomous thinking, interpretive double standards, and evidence cherry-picking. I illustrate my criticism by addressing the heritability of imitation and mindreading, the relevance of twin studies, and the meaning of cross-cultural differences in theory of mind development. Reaching an integrative understanding of genetic inheritance, plasticity, and learning is a formidable task that demands a more nuanced evolutionary approach.

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Are Deficits in Social Cognition Linked to Autobiographical Memory in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease?

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024/1016-264x/a000187 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 257-264 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Johannes H. Scheidemann ◽

Franz Petermann ◽

Marc Schipper

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Social Cognition ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Neuropsychological Test ◽

Clinical Group ◽

Neuropsychological Test Battery ◽

Fluency Task

Abstract. We investigated theory of mind (ToM) deficits in Alzheimer‘s disease (AD) and its possible connection to autobiographical memory (ABM). Patients and matched controls were evaluated and compared using a video-based ToM test, an autobiographical fluency task, and a neuropsychological test battery. We found that ToM deficits were positively associated with semantic ABM in the clinical group, whereas a positive relationship appeared between ToM and episodic ABM in controls. We hypothesize that this reflects the course of the disease as well as that semantic ABM is used for ToM processing, being still accessible in AD. Furthermore, we assume that it is also less efficient, which in turn leads to a specific deficit profile of social cognition.

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Skalierung von “Theory of Mind“-Aufgaben

Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie ◽

10.1026/0049-8637.38.4.186 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 186-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Susanne Kristen ◽

Claudia Thoermer ◽

Tanja Hofer ◽

Gisa Aschersleben ◽

Beate Sodian

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Fand Sich

Zusammenfassung. Die von Wellman und Liu (2004) für den englischsprachigen Raum entwickelte “Theory of Mind“-Skala wurde in einer Übersetzung ( Hofer & Aschersleben, 2004 ) an einer Stichprobe von 107 3- bis 5-jährigen Kindern validiert. Sowohl die Annahme einer einheitlichen konzeptuellen Progression als auch die Skalenpassung konnten repliziert werden. Abweichend von Wellman und Liu (2004) fand sich ein Effekt der Aufgabenfolge mit einer besseren Skalenpassung und insgesamt besserer Performanz bei nach Schwierigkeit ansteigender Präsentation. Insgesamt sprechen die Befunde dafür, dass die deutsche Version der “Theory of Mind“-Skala die Entwicklung der begrifflichen Erschließung des mentalen Bereichs im Vorschulalter adäquat abbildet und eine zuverlässige Methode darstellt, den individuellen Stand der “Theory of Mind“-Entwicklung zu messen.

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Bleibt die Spezifität der Beziehung zwischen Theory of mind und inhibitorischer Kontrolle über die Lebensspanne bestehen?

Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie ◽

10.1026/0049-8637.36.2.105 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 105-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Athanasios Chasiotis ◽

Florian Kießling

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Sozioökonomischer Status

Zusammenfassung. Eine Reihe neuerer Untersuchungen zur Beziehung zwischen der Entwicklung der kindlichen “theory of mind“ (TOM) und inhibitorischer Fähigkeiten weisen auf einen engen Zusammenhang beider Konstrukte hin, der selbst nach Kontrolle signifikanter Einflussvariablen wie verbale Intelligenz, Geburtsrang und sozioökonomischer Status bestehen bleibt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird an zwei Stichproben explorativ untersucht, ob sich dieser für das Kindesalter bekannte Zusammenhang auch im Erwachsenenalter zeigt. Zur Erfassung der TOM im Erwachsenenalter wurden Geschichten verwendet, die das mentalistische Verständnis komplexer sozialer Situationen erfordern. Als Maß für die inhibitorischen Fähigkeiten im Erwachsenenalter wurde die Leistung im für Erwachsene modifizierten Selbstregulations- und Konzentrationstest (SRKT-K, Kuhl und Kraska, 1992 ) erhoben. Während die aus der Kindheit bekannten Kontextvariablen im Erwachsenenalter über beide Stichproben hinweg keine konsistente Rolle spielten, ließ sich der bereits im Kindesalter spezifische Zusammenhang zwischen mentalistischer Kompetenz und inhibitorischen Fähigkeiten auch im Erwachsenenalter nachweisen.

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