Abstract
Schizophrenia is characterised by difficulty understanding the thoughts and intentions of other people. Misunderstandings could lead people to attribute hostility to others’ actions. Theories suggest that we use our autobiographical memories to inform our understanding of other people but no study has examined the relation between memory and hostile attributions in schizophrenia. People with (n = 42) and without (n = 34) schizophrenia diagnoses completed The Ambiguous Intentions and Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ) to assess their tendency to attribute hostility to other people’s actions and the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) to assess their ability to recall specific positive and negative autobiographical memories. In linear regressions the interaction between diagnostic group and the proportion of specific negative memories participants retrieved explained significant variance in each AIHQ index. Follow-up correlation analyses showed that participants with schizophrenia who retrieved more negative memories also attributed greater hostility to other people’s actions (r = 0.47) and reported that they would respond with greater aggression (r = 0.59). These correlations were in the opposite direction for controls. People with schizophrenia may use their memories for negative past events to understand the actions and intentions of other people, leading to attributions of hostility for otherwise benign actions.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is characterised by problems with social cognition and, in particular, difficulty identifying and understanding the emotions, mental states and intentions of other people[1,2,3,4,5]
Previous research suggests that social cognition is impaired amongst people with schizophrenia[2,3] and that these impairments may be explained by problematic retrieval of autobiographical memories[9,10]
We provide the first investigation of the relation between autobiographical memory and the tendency to draw hostile attributions for the actions of other people
Summary
Schizophrenia is characterised by problems with social cognition and, in particular, difficulty identifying and understanding the emotions, mental states and intentions of other people[1,2,3,4,5]. As current medications only have modest effects on social cognition and functioning, there is a need for investigations into the factors which contribute towards social cognitive difficulties in schizophrenia so that new targets for psychosocial interventions can be identified[6,7] One such factor involves the ability to retrieve autobiographical memories, as both theories[8] and research[9,10] suggest that our understanding of other people is informed by our memories of past autobiographical events. When we are confronted with situations in which we must infer the mental states and intentions of other people we can draw from experiences from our past where we might have felt or behaved and project these onto the person in the present[9] This is pertinent in schizophrenia where paranoia is common and where one might assume that other people are intentionally hostile towards us[3,12]. These studies offer promising insights into the relations between autobiographical memory and social cognition, several questions remain
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
