Abstract
Semantic priming tasks are classically used to influence and implicitly promote target behaviors. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that prosocial semantic priming modulated feelings of social affiliation. The main aim of this study was to determine whether inducing feelings of social affiliation using priming tasks could modulate nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. We used the Scrambled Sentence Task to prime schizophrenia patients according to three priming group conditions: pro-social, non-social or anti-social. Forty-five schizophrenia patients, diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR, were randomly assigned to one of the three priming groups of 15 participants. We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale. Results showed that schizophrenia patients with pro-social priming had significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients with anti-social and non-social priming conditions. Schizophrenia patient behaviors are affected by social priming. Our results have several clinical implications for the rehabilitation of social skills impairments frequently encountered among individuals with schizophrenia.
Highlights
Semantic priming is an experimental procedure in which exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a later stimulus
These results suggest that promoting social behaviors by activating social goal representations may have interesting applications in patients with severe interpersonal impairments
We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the MotorAffective-Social-Scale (MASS) [19] in order to compare the effect of three kinds of social priming on schizophrenia patients
Summary
Semantic priming is an experimental procedure in which exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a later stimulus. Young children were found to help a person in need more often, and more spontaneously, when primed with photographs evoking affiliation than when primed with photographs evoking individuality [4] These results suggest that promoting social behaviors by activating social goal representations (e.g. nonverbal behaviors) may have interesting applications in patients with severe interpersonal impairments. Social deficits in schizophrenia have to date been treated by means of cognitive remediation or social skills training therapy The former of these interventions has shown limited benefits [7,8,9] and, while the latter has shown effects on social cognition, relevant studies have been few [10,11] and to our knowledge none of them have targeted nonverbal social behaviors
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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.
