ABSTRACT
The inhibitory deficit hypothesis has often been cited as a possible explanation for cognitive changes related to age. The aim of this study was to develop a new procedure for evaluating effortful inhibition on the basis of the comprehension of metaphors. Our experiment was carried out on younger and older adults, in whom we also measured inhibitory capacity, working memory, and processing speed. The results show that older participants required a longer time and made more frequent errors in rejecting metaphors versus literally false statements. The interference effect was predicted by the psychometric tests designed to evaluate inhibition.
Subject(s)
Aging/psychology , Comprehension , Inhibition, Psychological , Metaphor , Adult , Aged , Aging/physiology , Analysis of Variance , Humans , Language Tests , Male , Memory, Short-Term , Psychometrics , Reaction Time , Regression Analysis , Young AdultABSTRACT
"Theory of mind" skills have repeatedly been shown to be impaired in schizophrenic patients. The purpose of this paper is to develop a therapeutic intervention targeting schizophrenic patients' abilities to attribute mental states to others. This preliminary study tried to test the hypothesis that this kind of intervention should improve patients' communication abilities; we also wondered if this would have a positive impact on their more general psychopathology. Eight chronic schizophrenic patients were asked to analyse video scenes (showing interactions between two or more persons), with particular attention being paid to the characters' mental states. Their clinical assessments (general clinical symptoms, communication, and the ability to attribute intentions to others, rated before and after two training sessions, over a one-week period) were compared with those of a control group of six chronic schizophrenic patients. The results support our hypothesis of a possible improvement of patients' communication disorders and an improvement of their abilities to attribute intentions to others. The more general psychopathology ratings, however, remained unchanged. Although these results need further development and confirmation, they suggest a possible promising approach for psychosocial rehabilitation therapies based on "theory of mind" skills.
