Background and objectives

Theory of Mind (ToM) deficits are present in several mental disorders and closely related to problems in social functioning and lower quality of life. While several trainings are aimed at improving ToM performance, it is unknown whether positive expectations on a persons’ ToM performance might cause better ToM achievement.

Methods

Participants (n = 131) first completed a mock ToM test and were then randomly assigned to either receive standardized positive, negative or no feedback on their ToM performance. Secondly, their expectations on their own ToM performance were assessed. Thirdly, ToM was assessed using the Movie Task for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC).

Results

Participants who received positive feedback resulted in positive expectations on their ToM performance and showed enhanced ToM performance, whereas negative feedback did not lead to negative expectations and negative expectations did not affect a change in ToM performance.

Limitations

In the present exploratory study, the effect of positive expectations on ToM performance was assessed in a community sample. Thus, the study should be replicated in a clinical sample for more in-depth results.

Conclusions

ToM performance could be enhanced by inducing positive expectations on one's ToM performance, whereas negative feedback had no effect. The present study suggest that interventions that focus on strengthening positive expectations on one's ToM performance could enhance the efficacy of present ToM training methods.

中文翻译：

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心智理论可以改进吗？在社区样本中，积极的期望会导致更好的心理表现理论。

背景和目标

心理理论 (ToM) 缺陷存在于多种精神障碍中，与社会功能问题和生活质量下降密切相关。虽然一些培训旨在提高 ToM 表现，但对一个人的 ToM 表现的积极期望是否会导致更好的 ToM 成就尚不清楚。

方法

参与者 ( n  = 131) 首先完成了模拟 ToM 测试，然后被随机分配接受标准化的正面、负面或没有关于其 ToM 表现的反馈。其次，评估了他们对自己的 ToM 表现的期望。第三，ToM 使用电影社会认知评估任务 (MASC) 进行评估。

结果

收到正面反馈的参与者对他们的 ToM 表现产生了积极的期望，并表现出增强的 ToM 表现，而负面反馈不会导致负面期望，负面期望不会影响 ToM 表现的变化。

限制

在本探索性研究中，在社区样本中评估了积极预期对 ToM 绩效的影响。因此，应该在临床样本中复制该研究以获得更深入的结果。

结论

ToM 绩效可以通过对一个人的 ToM 表现产生积极的期望来提高，而负面反馈没有影响。本研究表明，专注于加强对 ToM 表现的积极期望的干预措施可以提高当前 ToM 培训方法的有效性。