An Exploration of Theory of Mind in Schizophrenic Subjects

The study of social cognition in schizophrenia has received growing attention in recent years. Since theory of mind is currently conceived of as a specialised skill, it is expected that such a specific ability could be selectively impaired in this population. This study attempts to examine the ToM ability of schizophrenic persons considering its various aspects (first vs. second order, deception etc.), and its association with clinical variables. Each 50 schizophrenic subjects and matched control were administered three different ToM tasks and the schizophrenic subjects were administered the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale. The schizophrenic persons performed worse than control at all the ToM measurements; however, these deficits appeared to be differently distributed among different components of ToM. Neither chronicity of illness nor significant impact of severity of psychopathology was found on all the theory of mind tasks. Also, to some extent, both positive and negative symptoms were predictors of performance on most ToM tasks.