scholarly journals Executive Functions do not Underlie Performance on the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) in Healthy Younger and Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 527-538
Author(s):  
R. Asaad Baksh ◽  
Tereża Bugeja ◽  
Sarah E. MacPherson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Interpersonal Understanding ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractObjective:Current measures of social cognition have shown inconsistent findings regarding the effects of executive function (EF) abilities on social cognitive performance in older adults. The psychometric properties of the different social cognition tests may underlie the disproportional overlap with EF abilities. Our aim was to examine the relationship between social cognition and EF abilities using the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT; Baksh, R.A., Abrahams, S., Auyeung, B., & MacPherson, S.E. (2018). The Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT): Examining the effects of age on a new measure of theory of mind and social norm understanding. PloS One, 13(4), e0195818.), a test assessing four different aspects of social cognition: cognitive theory of mind (ToM), affective ToM, interpersonal understanding of social norms, and intrapersonal understanding of social norms.Method:We administered the ESCoT, EF measures of inhibition, set shifting, updating, and a measure of processing speed to 30 younger and 31 older adults. We also administered the Visual Perspective Taking task (VPT) as a ToM test thought to be reliant on EF abilities.Results:Better performance on cognitive ToM was significantly associated with younger age and slower processing speed. Better performance on affective ToM and ESCoT total score was associated with being younger and female. Better performance on interpersonal understanding of social norms was associated with being younger. EF abilities did not predict performance on any subtest of the ESCoT. In contrast, on the VPT, the relationship between age group and performance was fully or partially mediated by processing speed and updating.Conclusions:These findings show that the ESCoT is a valuable measure of different aspects of social cognition and, unlike many established tests of social cognition, performance is not predicted by EF abilities.

Ethical leadership and performance: The effect of follower individualism-collectivism

2021 ◽  
pp. 147059582110133
Author(s):  
Danna Booyens Strydom
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
African Countries ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Leadership Research ◽  
The Relationship

This study seeks to understand how cultural value orientation – specifically individualism/collectivism – influence the relationship between ethical leadership and employee behaviour. Social cognitive theory was used to explain how cultural value orientations change the social learning process associated with ethical leadership. Using matched multi-source sample data from managers and subordinates of a South African multinational operating in several African countries, supplemented with objective performance data, ethical leadership was found to be positively related to both in- and out-of-role performance. However, horizontal collectivism positively moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational citizenship behaviour, while horizontal individualism and vertical collectivism negatively moderated it. Leadership research and theory will benefit from a greater emphasis on follower characteristics, as differences in the cultural value orientations of employees affect the effectiveness of ethical leadership. Awareness of this difference also stands to benefit organizations.

scholarly journals Visual perspective taking in young and older adults

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Martin ◽  
Garon Perceval ◽  
Islay Davies ◽  
Peter Su ◽  
Jasmine Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Congruency Effect ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Visual Perspective ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Social Difficulties

Background: Advanced age is associated with difficulties in understanding the emotional or mental state of others. However, little is known about the underlying cognitive processes that may contribute. We investigate how perspective taking changes in older adults and how this relates to executive and social cognition.Method: Using a novel visual perspective taking (VPT) task, 50 healthy older adults and 122 healthy young adults completed measures of implicit VPT (i.e. egocentric-perspective only) and level one (i.e number of balls seen from egocentric/allocentric) and two (i.e. more balls on left or right from egocentric/allocentric) explicit VPT. Age differences on accuracy and response time (RT) were analysed. Baseline executive and social cognitive functioning were assessed for processing speed, updating, response inhibition, set-switching, affective theory of mind (ToM), and social-emotional cognition. Regression models were used to determine the relationship between VPT, executive, social cognition and ageing. Results: Older adults were slower when required to switch to the allocentric perspective in both level one and two VPT tasks. Congruency effects (impaired performance when scenes were incongruent with the alternate perspective) were identified for accuracy and RT for the egocentric and allocentric conditions of both level one and two explicit VPT. Older adults also displayed a greater congruency effect during the egocentric trials of the level two VPT task. Younger adults displayed a greater congruency effect for errors on the egocentric condition of the level one VPT task. Congruency effect for errors on the allocentric condition of both level one and two VPT tasks correlated with social emotional cognition, such that a greater ability to inhibit the egocentric perspective was associated with better social cognitive performance. Switching to the allocentric perspective was associated with both processing speed and response inhibition and these partially, but not completely, explained the age-related effects on switch cost. A robust implicit VPT effect was identified in both young and older adults. Conclusion: Social difficulties may arise in older adults due to difficulty switching to the allocentric perspective. A greater tendency to rotate into allocentric perspectives during egocentric judgements may reflect a weaker embodied self in older adults. Executive and social cognition are associated with perspective taking ability, but these only partially explain age-related performance differences. Lower level perspective taking difficulty should be considered in studies of social difficulties in advanced age.

Motivation and Social Cognition in Patients with Schizophrenia

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 436-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gagan Fervaha ◽  
Ishraq Siddiqui ◽  
George Foussias ◽  
Ofer Agid ◽  
Gary Remington
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
Life Scale ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Level Of Motivation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractSocial cognition, referring to one’s ability to perceive and process social cues, is an important domain in schizophrenia. Numerous studies have demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia have poorer performance on tests assessing social cognition relative to healthy comparison participants. However, whether variables such as motivation are related to performance on these tests in patients with schizophrenia is unclear. One thousand three-hundred and seventy-eight patients with schizophrenia completed the Facial Emotion Discrimination Task as a measure of emotional processing, a key facet of social cognition. Level of motivation was also evaluated in these patients using a derived measure from the Quality of Life Scale. The relationship between motivation and task performance was examined using bivariate correlations and logistic regression modeling, controlling for the impact of age and overall severity of psychopathology, the latter evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Motivation was positively related to performance on the social cognition test, and this relationship remained significant after controlling for potential confounding variables such as age and illness severity. Social cognition was also related to functioning, and the relationship was mediated by level of motivation. The present study found a significant relationship between motivation and performance on a test of social cognition in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that amotivation undermines task performance, or alternatively that poor social cognitive ability impedes motivation. Future studies evaluating social cognition in patients with schizophrenia should concurrently assess for variables such as effort and motivation. (JINS, 2015, 21, 436–443)

Percezione sociale e paranoia: una rassegna

2009 ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Dennis R. Combs ◽  
Dustin J: Chapman ◽  
Casey Reneau
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Attributional Style ◽  
Social Perception ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Persecutory Delusions ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Current State ◽  
Interest In Research

- There has been an increased interest in research on paranoia and persecutory delusions. This is partly based on the idea that paranoia exists on a continuum ranging from sub-clinical to clinical levels. One area of interest is in social cognition as it may provide methods to understand how persons with paranoia perceive, interpret, and understand their social world. Previous research has showed that social cognition directly influences or mediates social functioning. Paranoia can be ideally approached from a social cognitive perspective, which makes understanding these processes even more important. For this review, we will focus on the current state of knowledge for paranoia as it pertains to the three primary domains of social cognition: 1) emotion/social perception, 2) theory of mind, and 3) attributional style. Deficits in emotion/social perception appear to be found across the paranoia continuum. In contrast, deficits in theory of mind and attributional style are typically found in persons with clinical levels of paranoia. Future studies should focus on understanding the processes that might underlie the deficits.

scholarly journals Auditory word recognition across the lifespan

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrike K. Blumenfeld ◽  
Scott R. Schroeder ◽  
Susan C. Bobb ◽  
Max R. Freeman ◽  
Viorica Marian
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Auditory Word ◽  
Auditory Word Recognition ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Recent research suggests that bilingual experience reconfigures linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive processes. We examined the relationship between linguistic competition resolution and nonlinguistic cognitive control in younger and older adults who were either bilingual or monolingual. Participants heard words in English and identified the referent among four pictures while eye-movements were recorded. Target pictures (e.g., cab) appeared with a phonological competitor picture (e.g., cat) and two filler pictures. After each eye-tracking trial, priming probes assessed residual activation and inhibition of target and competitor words. When accounting for processing speed, results revealed that age-related changes in activation and inhibition are smaller in bilinguals than in monolinguals. Moreover, younger and older bilinguals, but not monolinguals, recruited similar inhibition mechanisms during word identification and during a nonlinguistic Stroop task. Results suggest that, during lexical access, bilinguals show more consistent competition resolution and recruitment of cognitive control across the lifespan than monolinguals.

scholarly journals Social Cognition in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome and Idiopathic Developmental Neuropsychiatric Disorders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhideeta Jalal ◽  
Aarti Nair ◽  
Amy Lin ◽  
Ariel Eckfeld ◽  
Leila Kushan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽  
Intellectual Functioning ◽  
Deletion Syndrome ◽  
Neurocognitive Deficits ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a common recurrent neurogenetic condition associated with elevated risk for developmental neuropsychiatric disorders and intellectual disability. Children and adults with 22q11DS often exhibit marked social impairment as well as neurocognitive deficits, and have elevated rates of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychosis. However, the relationship between the basic processes of social cognition and cognitive ability has not been well studied in 22q11DS. Here, we examined differences in social cognition in 22q11DS, relative to multiple groups of idiopathic neuropsychiatric disorders, and typically developing healthy controls (HC). Additionally, we examined differences in intellectual functioning and its relationship to social cognitive abilities. Finally, we examined the relationship between social cognitive abilities and real-world social behavior. Methods: We examined social cognition and intellectual functioning in 273 participants (mean age = 17.74+/-5.18% female = 44.3%): 50 with 22q11DS, 49 youth with first episode psychosis (FEP), 48 at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, 24 participants with ASD, and 102 HC. Social cognition was assessed using The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), while reciprocal social behavior was assessed via parent/caregiver ratings on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Participants were also administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, 2 nd edition (WASI-II) to assess intellectual functioning. Results: The 22q11DS group exhibited significantly lower social cognitive abilities compared to all other groups, even after controlling for intellectual functioning. Significant positive correlations were found between social cognition, as measured by the TASIT, and IQ across groups. In contrast, no significant relationships were found between TASIT and real-world social behavior (SRS) for any group. Conclusions: Our findings indicate social cognitive deficits are more prominent in 22q11DS than idiopathic neuropsychiatric conditions across the age range, even after adjusting for global intellectual function. These results contribute to our understanding of the intellectual and social vulnerabilities of 22q11DS in comparison to idiopathic neuropsychiatric disorders. Our findings of robust associations between intellectual ability and social cognition emphasizes the importance of accounting for neurocognitive deficits in social skills interventions and tailoring these existing treatment models for 22q11DS and other populations with intellectual impairment.

scholarly journals Social Cognition in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome and Idiopathic Developmental Neuropsychiatric Disorders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhideeta Jalal ◽  
Aarti Nair ◽  
Amy Lin ◽  
Ariel Eckfeld ◽  
Leila Kushan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽  
Intellectual Functioning ◽  
Deletion Syndrome ◽  
Neurocognitive Deficits ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a common recurrent neurogenetic condition associated with elevated risk for developmental neuropsychiatric disorders and intellectual disability. Children and adults with 22q11DS often exhibit marked social impairment as well as neurocognitive deficits, and have elevated rates of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychosis. However, the relationship between the basic processes of social cognition and cognitive ability has not been well studied in 22q11DS. Here, we examined differences in social cognition in 22q11DS, relative to multiple groups of idiopathic neuropsychiatric disorders, and typically developing healthy controls (HC). Additionally, we examined differences in intellectual functioning and its relationship to social cognitive abilities. Finally, we examined the relationship between social cognitive abilities and real-world social behavior. Methods We examined social cognition and intellectual functioning in 306 participants (mean age = 16.63+/-4.59; % female = 44.8%): sixty-eight with 22q11DS, 49 youth with first episode psychosis (FEP), 48 at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, 24 participants with ASD, and 117 HC. Social cognition was assessed using The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), while reciprocal social behavior was assessed via parent/caregiver ratings on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Participants were also administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, 2 nd edition (WASI-II) to assess intellectual functioning. Results The 22q11DS group exhibited significantly lower social cognitive abilities compared to all other groups, even after controlling for intellectual functioning. Significant positive correlations were found between social cognition, as measured by the TASIT, and IQ across groups. In contrast, no significant relationships were found between TASIT and real-world social behavior (SRS) for any group. Conclusions Our findings indicate social cognitive deficits are more prominent in 22q11DS than idiopathic neuropsychiatric conditions across the age range, even after adjusting for global intellectual function. These results contribute to our understanding of the intellectual and social vulnerabilities of 22q11DS in comparison to idiopathic neuropsychiatric disorders. Our findings of robust associations between intellectual ability and social cognition emphasizes the importance of accounting for neurocognitive deficits in social skills interventions and tailoring these existing treatment models for 22q11DS and other populations with intellectual impairment.

An Assessment of Proximity of Fitness Facilities and Equipment and Actual Perceived Usage by Undergraduate University Students: A Pilot Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Allen ◽  
Craig M. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Division I ◽  
Exercise Frequency ◽  
Undergraduate University Students ◽  
Intensity Of Exercise ◽  
The Relationship

This pilot study examined the relationship between proximity of fitness facilities and equipment and actual perceived usage by undergraduate students at a Division I university, while acknowledging the role that Social Cognitive Theory plays in fitness. As a pilot study, the primary purpose was to gauge whether the study design and instruments used were appropriate for the overall purpose. Intensity of exercise, frequency of exercise, length of physical activity sessions, as well as a variety of other constructs were analyzed through correlational analysis to determine significance. The Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire and the Perceived Environments Related to Physical Activity Questionnaire were modified for data collection. Findings of the pilot study revealed no significance in the proximity of fitness facilities and the amount of physical activity participation. However, the frequency of physical activity was significantly related to the availability of fitness equipment in an individual's home. Data collected from this study will be used to conduct further research on wider populations to investigate the proximity of fitness facilities and it's correlation with physical activity.

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