Amazons East and West: A Real-Life Experiment in Social Cognition

IntroductionPeople with schizophrenia exhibit deficits in neurocognitive and social cognitive (SC) processes which limit their social reintegration. SC was found to mediate in part the impact of neurocognitive dysfunctions on real-life functioning.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to implement a new intervention for patients with schizophrenia, the Social Cognition Individualized Activities Lab (So.C.I.A.L.) which trains both social cognition and neurocognitive functions.AimsTo determine the efficacy of the So.C.I.A.L in improving SC by a comparison with a validated cognitive remediation (CR) intervention: the Social Skills And Neurocognitive Individualized Training (SSANIT).MethodsNine stabilized patients accepted to participate in this pilot study. Five were randomized to So.C.I.A.L. and 4 to SSANIT. The two programs were matched for the overall treatment duration (20 weeks), as well as frequency and duration of the sessions. Both interventions included individual sessions of neurocognitive individualized training; So.C.I.A.L included group sessions on Emotion Recognition and Theory of Mind, while SSANIT group sessions of Social Skills Individualized Training.ResultsNo group difference was found for changes in neurocognition, while a significant group effect was observed for changes in SC, due to improvement only in the So.C.I.A.L. group.ConclusionsThe study results showed a specific effect of the So.C.I.A.L. on SC, beyond the effect on neurocognition. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of So.C.I.A.L. on real-life functioning in a larger group of subjects.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Relationships between neurocognition, social cognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.970 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S67-S67 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Mucci ◽

S. Galderisi ◽

A. Rossi ◽

P. Rocca ◽

A. Bertolino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Functional Outcome ◽

Functional Capacity ◽

Indirect Effects ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Real Life ◽

Equation Model ◽

Direct And Indirect Effects ◽

Neurocognitive Deficits ◽

Life Functioning

IntroductionThe inter-relationships of neurocognition, social cognition, residual psychopathology and real-life functioning are poorly understood. A large multicenter study was carried out by the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses to model relationships between neurocognitive deficits, psychopathology and real-life functioning, taking into account the role of functional capacity and social cognition.MethodsA structural equation model was used to investigate direct and indirect effects of neurocognition and psychopathology on real-life functioning. Social cognition and functional capacity were modeled as mediators.ResultsIn 921 patients with schizophrenia, neurocognition had both direct and indirect effects, through functional capacity and social cognition, on real-life functioning. Neurocognition predicted to a large extent social cognition on which depression and disorganization had a modest effect. Social cognition showed a significant direct impact on real-life functioning.ConclusionOur results support a strong link between neurocognition and functional outcome, independent of psychopathology. Social cognition accounted for unique incremental variance in real-life functioning.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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A cognitive approach to characterization: Katherina in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew

Language and Literature ◽

10.1177/096394700000900401 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 291-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jonathan Culpeper

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Prior Knowledge ◽

Impression Formation ◽

Real Life ◽

Schema Theory ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Textual Evidence ◽

Cognitive Theories

In this article, I argue that literary characterization can be fruitfully approached by drawing upon theories developed within social cognition to explain the perception of real-life people. I demonstrate how this approach can explain the construction of Katherina, the protagonist in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Specifically, I introduce notions from cognitive theories of knowledge (especially schema theory), and impression formation. Using these, I describe (1) the role of prior knowledge in forming an impression of a character, and (2) how various types of impression are formed. Prior to my analysis of Katherina, I outline the kind of shrew schema the Elizabethans might have had knowledge of. Then, in my analysis I argue that the textual evidence in the first part of the play is largely consistent with this schema, and thus Katherina at this stage is largely a schema-based character. However, I show that as the play progresses a number of changes create the conditions for a more complex and personalized character. As a consequence of this analysis, I claim that Katherina is not, as some critics have argued, simply a shrew, or an inconsistent character, or a typical character of a farce.

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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 influence of autistic symptoms on social and non-social cognition and on real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia: Evidence from the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.99 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Antonio Vita ◽

Stefano Barlati ◽

Giacomo Deste ◽

Paola Rocca ◽

Alessandro Rossi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Multicenter Study ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Real Life ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽

Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽

Relevant Role ◽

Spectrum Disorders

Abstract Background Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs), although conceptualized as separate entities, may share some clinical and neurobiological features. ASD symptoms may have a relevant role in determining a more severe clinical presentation of schizophrenic disorder but their relationships with cognitive aspects and functional outcomes of the disease remain to be addressed in large samples of individuals. Aims To investigate the clinical, cognitive, and functional correlates of ASD symptoms in a large sample of people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methods The severity of ASD symptoms was measured with the PANSS Autism Severity Scale (PAUSS) in 921 individuals recruited for the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study. Based on the PAUSS scores, three groups of subjects were compared on a wide array of cognitive and functional measures. Results Subjects with more severe ASD symptoms showed a poorer performance in the processing speed (p = 0.010), attention (p = 0.011), verbal memory (p = 0.035), and social cognition (p = 0.001) domains, and an overall lower global cognitive composite score (p = 0.010). Subjects with more severe ASD symptoms also showed poorer functional capacity (p = 0.004), real-world interpersonal relationships (p < 0.001), and participation in community-living activities (p < 0.001). Conclusions These findings strengthen the notion that ASD symptoms may have a relevant impact on different aspects of the disease, crucial to the life of people with schizophrenia. Prominent ASD symptoms may characterize a specific subpopulation of individuals with SSD.

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The Impact of Social Cognition on the Real-Life of People with Epilepsy

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11070877 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 877

Author(s):

Arminas Jasionis ◽

Kristijonas Puteikis ◽

Rūta Mameniškienė

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Real Life ◽

Life Outcomes ◽

Level Of Education ◽

The Mind ◽

Patients With Epilepsy ◽

The Impact ◽

Strange Stories Test

Background. Previous research has demonstrated the impairment of social cognition (SC) in people with epilepsy. It is associated with worse social functioning and quality of life; however, the influence on real-life outcomes is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate how SC is associated with epilepsy variables and real-life outcomes (education, employment and relationships) among patients with epilepsy (PWE). Methods. Eighty-one PWE completed tasks of theory of mind (ToM) (faux pas recognition (FPRT) and Happé Strange Stories test (HST)) and emotion recognition (ER) (Reading of the Mind in the Eyes (RMET)). Variables reflecting their education, employment and relationship status were treated as endpoints in search of association with SC. Data from a matched group (n = 30) of healthy controls (HCs) were used for comparison of ToM abilities. Results. ToM scores were lower among PWE as compared to HCs (U = 1816.0, p < 0.0001 (HST), U = 1564.5, p = 0.020 (FPRT)). All SC tests were associated with the level of education (OR = 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.09 to 1.36 (RMET), OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.40 (HST), OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.00 (FPRT)). The results of ToM and ER testing were not associated with employment (χ2 = 33.423, p < 0.0001) if adjusted for the level of education (B = 0.804, OR = 2.23 (95% CI = 1.33 to 3.76), p = 0.002). SC abilities did not differ between PWE who were single and those in a relationship (U = 858.5, p = 0.541 (HST)), t= −1.236, p = 0.220 (RMET), U = 909.5, p = 0.271 (FPRT)). Conclusion. Better social cognition skills are linked to a higher level of education among PWE. SC probably has less influence on professional achievements and interpersonal relationships.

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A multicentric study on cognitive functions in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected first-degree relatives

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.617 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. s244-s244

Author(s):

M. Chieffi ◽

A. Mucci ◽

A. Rossi ◽

P. Rocca ◽

A. Bertolino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Functional Outcome ◽

Social Functioning ◽

Functional Capacity ◽

Real Life ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Specific Level ◽

Multicentric Study ◽

First Degree Relatives ◽

The Impact

IntroductionNeurocognition may represent an indicator of genetic risk and poor outcome in schizophrenia patients (SCZ) predicting real life functioning.ObjectivesAs cognitive performance of unaffected first-degree relatives (UR) is intermediate between SCZ and healthy controls (HC), neurocognitive impairment may represent a marker of vulnerability to schizophrenia.AimsTo investigate social and neurocognition in all subjects and their impact on functional capacity of patients as markers of vulnerability.MethodsSample: 922 SCZ, 379 UR and 780 HC. Assessment: MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (neurocognition), Facial Emotion Identification Test and Awareness of Social Inference Test (social cognition) and Specific Level of Functioning Scale (social functioning). Analyses: Structural Equation Model (SEM) analyses to model the impact of all variables on functional outcome.ResultsSCZ scored worse in all domains than UR and HC. UR had significant impairments in all cognitive domains with respect to HC. Cognitive functioning had direct and indirect impacts on functional outcome mainly through social cognition and functional capacity. Social cognition had a direct impact on outcome, independent of neurocognition.ConclusionSCZ and UR display similar patterns of social and neurocognition deficits. Our results confirm a strong impact of neurocogniton on functional outcome. Social cognition has become an interesting object of study and its conceptualization as trait variable and the existence of a continuum between SCZ and UR are hypotheses for further research.AcknowledgementsThe study was carried out within the project “Multicenter study on factors influencing real-life social functioning of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia” of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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The impact of the different dimensions of social cognition on functional outcome in schizophrenia

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.972 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S67-S68

Author(s):

P. Rocca

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Attributional Style ◽

Social Withdrawal ◽

Real Life ◽

Cluster Membership ◽

Social Patterns ◽

Life Functioning ◽

Competing Interest ◽

The Impact

Social cognition (SC) refers broadly to the domains of cognitive functions that are employed in socially relevant situations. These include three primary domains (i.e., emotion perception, Theory of Mind-TOM-, and attributional style), as well as more complex and developing concepts such as social metacognition.Patients with schizophrenia demonstrate significant deficits across multiple dimensions of SC and throughout all phases of the illness.The correlation between SC and real-life functioning ranged from small to large, mainly depending on the examined aspect of SC, with largest effects observed for TOM. Indeed, it has been suggested that TOM difficulties may lead to social misperceptions that influence how an individual reacts to others, which in turn may lead to maladaptive social patterns and/or social withdrawal, which both may influence real-life vocational outcome more than neurocognition (NC) abilities. Moreover, SC appears to act as a mediator between nonsocial basic NC and community functioning.The goals of this study are to analyze the pattern of SC variables in schizophrenia using cluster analysis, to examine the relationship of real-life functioning with cluster membership, and to identify cut-offs that best discriminate among clusters in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia recruited to the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses (NIRP). A full assessment of different aspects of SC was carried out, including emotional intelligence, recognition and theory of mind (TOM).Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

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SOME FEATURES OF SOCIAL COGNITION AND EXPERIENCE OF THE EAST AND WEST

Adam alemi ◽

10.48010/2021.2/1999-5849.08 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 88 (2) ◽

pp. 81-89

Author(s):

Botakoz Nuralina ◽

◽

Arailym Nussipova ◽

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Initial Data ◽

20Th Century ◽

Private Property ◽

Primary Sources ◽

General Interest ◽

Long Time ◽

Active Attention ◽

East And West ◽

European Thought

In modern domestic and foreign literature, quite intensive research is being carried out in the field of features and differences in the development of East and West. Especially the East. This is because for a long time the majority of Europeans have knowledge of the East for a number of reasons limited by rather superficial ideas. If in the days of antiquity, they just started talking about the fact that “despotism and barbarism” is inherent in the East, and then in the 14th century in European thought this idea was already formulated in the form of the concept of “Asian despotism”, which was closely associated with the lack of private property and legal guarantees of the person. This kind of general interest is far from accidental: the end of the 20th century. With its gloomy apocalyptic clouds hanging over the planet, it prompts many to seriously become interested in both existential problems (which arouse active attention to mysticism, and here the indisputable priority is given to ancient cultures and religions of the East), and the search for roots, primary sources. According to these initial data, society naturally developed.

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