Mental States Of Others Research Articles

Mental State Attribution Mediates Exogenous Orienting of Attention Triggered by Gaze Cues, but not Other Social Cues

AbstractWe examined the properties in orienting visual attention that are triggered by social cues (eye gaze or pointing finger) and nonsocial cues (an arrow). Particularly, we investigated whether the mental state of others would be modulated by any social cue. We presented an occluder between the cue and target to manipulate the mental state of an agent in cues (i.e., whether the agent is aware of the target). For Experiment 1, the reaction time (RT) to detect the target was prolonged when the target side was occluded only in the gaze‐cue condition, but not for the arrow or the pointing finger. For Experiment 2, the RT of a discrimination task, which demanded greater cognitive demand, was not prolonged for any cue type. These results suggest that the mental state attribution for the agency of the cue, which is affected by an occluder, is specific to the gaze cue, and suggest that it is under top‐down control that requires cognitive resources.

Oxytocin and Vasopressin in Emotional Memory and “Face Reading”: a Neurobiological Approach and Clinical Aspects

The ability to adequately perceive and recognize emotions is a key and universal tool in interpersonal communication, which allows people to understand feelings, intentions, and emotional reactions of themselves and others. Throughout their life, people have to make inferences about mental state of others by interpreting subtle social signals, such as facial expressions, to understand or predict others’ behavior, which is crucial in constructive social interactions. Therefore, emotional memory associated with the ability to identify emotions based on one’s life experience is the cornerstone of social cognition and interpersonal relationships. Oxytocin and vasopressin are neurohypophysial peptides that have attracted scientific attention due to their role in the emotional and social aspects of behavior. Variable and contrasting effects of oxytocin and vasopressin may be related to the sites of the brain where they exert their activity. Aim. This review aimed to evaluate neural mechanisms underlying oxytocin-mediated and vasopressin-mediated modulation of emotional memory; to assess how cerebral oxytocin-signal and vasopressin-signal transduction mediates emotional and social behavior; to discuss the role of the two neuropeptides in non-verbal interpersonal communication; and to present their cerebral effects in relation to an ability for “face reading” in patients with mental disorders.

Intervention Programs Focusing on Social Cognition in Schizophrenia

Social cognitive functions make it possible to correctly recognize and interpret the emotions and mental states of others in the social environment, to understand their intentions correctly and to react accordingly. Therefore, these functions arecritical for healthy social interactions and professional success in human life. Social cognitive functions are impaired in many psychiatric and neurological diseases and this impairment negatively affects almost all areas of patients' lives, albeit in different dimensions. According to research findings revealing the relationship between social cognition and social functioning, social cognition should be one of the treatment targets for many diseases. Recently, there has been increasing interest in interventions that target the improvement of these functions. In this article, these training programs, research findings and assessment tools used in these studies are discussed in the specific case of schizophrenia.

Resting-state EEG microstates predict mentalizing ability as assessed by the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test

Microstates analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) has gained increasing attention among researchers and clinicians as a valid tool for investigating temporal dynamics of large-scale brain networks with a millisecond time resolution. Although microstates analysis has been widely applied to elucidate the neurophysiological basis of various cognitive functions in both clinical and non-clinical samples, its application in relation to socio-affective processing has been relatively under-researched. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between EEG microstates and mentalizing (i.e., the ability to understand the mental states of others). Eighty-two participants (thirty-six men; mean age: 24.28 ± 7.35 years; mean years of education: 15.82 ± 1.77) underwent a resting-state EEG recording and performed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). The parameters of the microstates were then calculated using Cartool v. 4.09 software. Our results showed that the occurrence of microstate map C was independently and positively associated with the RMET total score and contributed to the prediction of mentalizing performance, even when controlling for potential confounding variables (i.e., age, sex, education level, tobacco and alcohol use). Since microstate C is involved in self-related processes, our findings may reflect the link between self-awareness of one's own thoughts/feelings and the enhanced ability to recognize the mental states of others at the neurophysiological level. This finding extends the functions traditionally attributed to microstate C, i.e. mind-wandering, self-related thoughts, prosociality, and emotional and interoceptive processing, to include mentalizing ability.

An fMRI study on alexithymia and affective state recognition in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.

Recognizing others' affective states is essential for successful social interactions. Alexithymia, characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing one's own emotions, has been linked to deficits in recognizing emotions and mental states in others. To investigate how neural correlates of affective state recognition are affected by different facets of alexithymia, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with 53 healthy participants (aged 19-36 years, 51% female) using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and three different measures of alexithymia [Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire]. In addition, we examined brain activity during the RMET and replicated previous findings with task-related brain activation in the inferior frontal and temporal gyri, as well as the insula. No association was found between alexithymia and behavioral performance in the RMET, possibly due to the low number of participants with high alexithymia levels. Region of interest based analyses revealed no associations between alexithymia and amygdala or insula activity during the RMET. At the whole-brain level, both a composite alexithymia score and the unique variance of the alexithymia interview (TSIA) were associated with greater activity in visual processing areas during the RMET. This may indicate that affective state recognition performance in alexithymia relies on a higher compensatory activation in visual areas.

Mindreading measures misread? A multimethod investigation into the validity of self-report and task-based approaches.

Mindreading ability-also referred to as cognitive empathy or mentalizing-is typically conceptualized as a relatively stable dimension of individual differences in the ability to make accurate inferences about the mental states of others. This construct is primarily assessed using self-report questionnaires and task-based performance measures. However, the validity of these measures has been questioned: According to rival interpretations, mindreading tasks may capture general cognitive ability, whereas mindreading self-reports may capture perceived rather than actual mindreading ability. In this preregistered multimethod study involving 700 participants from the U.S. general population, we tested the validity of mindreading measures by examining the nomological network of self-reports and task-based methods using structural equation modeling. Specifically, we contrasted the empirical associations with theoretical predictions that assume mindreading measures are valid versus invalid. More consistent with rival interpretations, mindreading tasks showed a negligible latent correlation with mindreading self-reports (.05) and a large one with general cognitive ability (.85), whereas mindreading self-reports were specifically associated with perceived performance in mindreading tasks (.29). Also more consistent with rival interpretations, neither mindreading self-reports nor task-based measures showed positive unique associations with psychosocial functioning when controlling for general cognitive ability and general positive self-evaluation. Instead, negative unique associations emerged for both methods, although this effect was not robust for tasks. Overall, the results cast doubt on the validity of commonly used mindreading measures and support their rival interpretations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Learning to observe art to better understand the patients: A pilot study

ObjectivesWe describe an artwork observation training program proposed to the first-year psychiatry residents in the school of medicine of Montpellier-Nîmes (Université de Montpellier). This course aimed at improving the ability to observe, tolerate ambiguity in healthcare, work as a team, communicate, and develop empathy. We also evaluated the impact of this program on the enhancement of emotional and communication skills in a pilot study. Materials and methodsThe artwork observation program based on Visual Thinking Strategies consisted of three sessions of ninety minutes involving two groups of eight medical students. First-year volunteer psychiatry residents were recruited. Before the sessions participants completed the Groningen Reflection ability Scale to evaluate reflection skills. Then, all the participants examined paintings and drawings of the Atger collection, were encouraged to observe carefully, and to engage in active group discussion by means of a structured questioning. Following the session, participants responded to a short survey to assess potential improvement of socio-emotional and communication skills. ResultsFifteen psychiatry residents participated in the pilot study, eight were males. The median age was twenty-five years. The artwork observation program was well accepted by the participants. All the respondents reported improvement of emotional and communication skills, except regarding three empathy items, including the ability to feel the suffering of others which was increased only for 62% of respondents. DiscussionOur program relying on Visual Thinking Strategies may improve the ability to observe carefully, to perceive the mental states of others, and to tolerate uncertainty. Training of such skills may encourage the adoption of self-reflective attitudes. ConclusionsSuch an artistic innovative program should be extended to undergraduate students in medical curriculum.

A Social Self-Awareness Agent with Embodied Reasoning

In the realm of multi-agent systems, establishing social self-awareness in agents stands as a critical challenge within the broader scope of artificial general intelligence research. Addressing this challenge, in this paper, we draw upon Tomasello’s social self-awareness theory as a foundational framework, and employ Non-Axiomatic Reasoning System (NARS), an artificial general intelligence model, to simulate analogical and recursive reasoning methods used by socially embodied agents. In this paper, we assume that an agent can possess sensorimotor capabilities and physical common sense, it explores the process of constructing a “core self” through embodied reasoning. On this basis, we explore deeper into the construction process of social self-awareness. As a result, we clarify how agents generate common knowledge about themselves through recursive reasoning regarding the mental states of others and communication dynamics. Following this initial step, metaphors are generated utilizing analogical reasoning, intertwining public knowledge with these metaphors to facilitate mutual comprehension between humans and machines. This paper delves into the simulation of perspective representation and recursive reasoning within social embodied agents, employing NARS– an overarching artificial intelligence platform. The experimental results substantiate the viability of constructing a social self-agent within a machine framework grounded in embodied reasoning.

The longitudinal relations between mental state talk and theory of mind

BackgroundPrevious investigations of associations between children’s Theory of Mind (ToM) and parents’ use of words relating to mental states (or mental state talk; MST) have predominantly been performed using cross-sectional designs and false belief tasks as indicators of ToM.MethodsWe here report a longitudinal study of 3–5 year-olds (n = 80) investigating ToM development using the ToM scale and three different parental MST types: the absolute frequency of words, the proportions of words, and the vocabulary size.ResultsOur results revealed significant relations between all parental MST types and later child ToM. Proportions of parental MST were most often related to the children’s ToM at 4 years of age. However, the rate at which the children developed ToM from 3 to 5 years of age was associated with the other two parental MST type measures, namely, absolute frequency and vocabulary size. Additionally, our analyses revealed that parents’ use of cognitive MST words (e.g., think, or know) were most frequently associated with children’s ToM at 4 years of age compared to emotion and desire-related MST words.ConclusionsWe conclude that the parental ability to capture the thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge present in different scenarios is associated with children’s ability to understand other minds. Moreover, parents’ way of talking about the mental states of others is associated with their children’s ability to understand and further develop ToM.

How language affects social cognition and emotional competence in typical and atypical development: A systematic review.

The ability to understand the mental state of others (social cognition), as well as language, is crucial for children to have good social adaptation. Social cognition (SC) has been shown to be a hierarchical model of three factors (Cognitive, intermediate and affective SC) interrelated with linguistic processes. Children on the autism spectrum and children with developmental language disorder (DLD) or social communication disorder (SCD) manifest language and SC difficulties, albeit in different ways. This systematic review aims to find how language and SC interact with each other and identify linguistic and socio-affective profiles in the target population. About 1593 articles were systematically reviewed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guide in November 2022, obtaining, through inclusion/exclusion criteria, a total of 38 articles for qualitative assessment. The majority of them were on autism (26) or DLD (14) and to a lesser extent SCD (3). Although SC is related to all components of language, SC is strongly related to narrative and morphosyntax and partially related to lexicon. Pragmatics shows a complex relation with SC due to greater sensitivity to other factors such as age or task, and prosody appears to be more related to emotional processes. Besides, autistic, SCD and DLD children showed differences in their language and socio-affective performance. Mainstream DLD children have lower performance in general language, where autistic and SCD children have more linguistic variation and are lower in pragmatic and SC tasks, SCD children being more associated with language production difficulties and autistic children with both receptive and productive language. Each language component has a different interaction with SC. Likewise, different linguistic profiles are partially found for each disorder. These results are important for future lines of research focusing on specific components of interaction and socio-emotional processes, as well as for clinical and educational treatment. What is already known on the subject The hierarchical model of Schurz etal. (2021), divide social cognition into three brain constructs: cognitive social cognition (CSC), affective social cognition (ASC) and intermediate social cognition (ISC). They observe a large relationship between language and ISC, a fact that has been corroborated with some other studies. Studies have also found lower linguistic and socio-affective abilities in children with autism and language and communication disorders compared with children with neurotypical development, and large behavioural and neurocognitive overlaps between these disorders (Durrleman etal., 2019; Löytömäki etal., 2019). What this paper adds to existing knowledge This is the first review that relates all linguistic components (narrative, lexicon, morphosyntax, pragmatic and prosody) with the three constructs of social cognition (Cognitive, intermediate and affective). Moreover, it is the first review that studies the socio-linguistic factors comparing autism, developmental language disorder and social communication disorder with each other and with neurotypical development in children aged from 4 to 9 years. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Understanding how language and social cognition interact with each other in autism spectrum disorder, developmental language disorder and social communication disorder allows us to trace socio-linguistic profiles for each of the studied disorders, understand better children with these difficulties, and, with this, find specific potential intervention points to improve and prevent these difficulties.

Reframing Implications of Social Presence in Asynchronous Online Learning

The impact of social presence on virtual learning experiences is of increased interest in educational research as teaching and learning transitions from traditional classrooms to online learning environments. Educators need to know more about how to design asynchronous learning experiences that will results in students’ abilities to infer the mental states of others and participate in social conflict monitoring through perceptions of various social cues, as occurs in non-virtual instruction. Findings in the study showed that students’ age and satisfaction with online learning were the two main variables shaping participants’ mental states in online learning environments. Participants who expressed that online learning was sometimes a satisfying experience were more likely to believe that instructors could not resolve social conflicts. Otherwise, participants with some asynchronous learning experience tended to believe that social conflicts could be resolved by instructors teaching ethical decision-making skills and presenting and discussing multiple points of view. The outcomes of this study emphasize how instructors can work toward building social, cognitive, and teaching presence in online learning environments and can inform future social presence research.

Role of the Cerebellum in Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review.

The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate the role of the cerebellum in the affective symptoms observed in patients with bipolar disorder. The present systematic literature review included clinical studies conducted from 2013-2023 among adult populations with bipolar I and II disorders, along with their specifiers. With regard to cerebellar pathology, it was found that those with bipolar disorder performed worse than their healthy counterparts in their ability to comprehend the mental states of others and in identifying negative mental states. Additionally, individuals with bipolar disorder had reduced gray matter loss in regions such as lobules I-IX, crus I, and crus II, different functional activation patterns of the thalamus, striatum, and hippocampus on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and increased cortical thickness. Cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivities were altered in patients with bipolar disorder. The effects of lamotrigine and lithium on cerebellar volume and abnormalities are also discussed in this paper. The present systematic literature review illustrates the emerging involvement of the cerebellum in bipolar disorder and its affective symptoms and paves the way for future research and a better understanding of bipolar disorder.

Topical Review: Getting into the head of youth with chronic pain: how theory of mind deficits may relate to the development and maintenance of pediatric pain.

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to understand the thoughts, feelings, and mental states of others and is critical for effective social and psychological functioning. ToM deficits have been associated with various psychological disorders and identified in adult pain populations. For youth with chronic pain, ToM deficits may underlie the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to their experience of pain, but this remains poorly understood. This topical review explored the extant literature in the areas of ToM and chronic pain, particularly for pediatric populations, with respect to biological, psychological, and social elements of the biopsychosocial model of pain. ToM deficits may be present alongside previously identified biological, psychological, and social correlates of pediatric pain, as a vulnerability, mechanism, and/or consequence. Biologically, ToM deficits may relate to cortisol abnormalities and neurobiological substrates of pain processing. Psychologically, ToM deficits may stem from pain-focused cognitions, thus impacting relationships and fueling impairment. Socially, chronic pain may preclude normative development of ToM abilities through social withdrawal, thereby exacerbating the experience of pain. Taken together, ToM deficits may be associated with increased risk for the development and/or maintenance of pediatric chronic pain, and pediatric chronic pain may similarly confer risk for ToM deficits. Future research should investigate the nature of ToM abilities in youth with chronic pain to test these hypotheses and ultimately inform ToM-focused and pain-based interventions, as this ability has been demonstrated to be modifiable.

Neural Network Excitation/Inhibition: A Key to Empathy and Empathy Impairment.

Empathy is an ability to fully understand and feel the mental states of others. We emphasize that empathy is elicited by the transmission of pain, fear, and sensory information. In clinical studies, impaired empathy has been observed in most psychiatric conditions. However, the precise impairment mechanism of the network systems on the pathogenesis of empathy impairment in psychiatric disorders is still unclear. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that disturbances in the excitatory/inhibitory balance in neurologic disorders are key to empathetic impairment in psychiatric disorders. Therefore, we here describe the roles played by the anterior cingulate cortex- and medial prefrontal cortex-dependent neural circuits and their impairments in psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and autism. In addition, we review recent studies on the role of microglia in neural network excitation/inhibition imbalance, which contributes to a better understanding of the neural network excitation/inhibition imbalance and may open up innovative psychiatric therapies.

Profiles of theory of mind impairments and personality in clinical and community samples: integrating the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders.

Deficits in theory of mind (ToM)-the ability to infer the mental states of others-have been linked to antagonistic traits in community samples. ToM deficits have also been identified in people with personality disorders (PD), although with conflicting evidence, partly due to the use of categorical diagnoses. The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) provides an opportunity for a more precise understanding of the interplay between ToM abilities and personality pathology. Therefore, the study aims to determine whether and how individuals with diverse ToM profiles differ regarding personality impairment (AMPD Criterion A) and pathological facets (AMPD Criterion B). Adults with PD (n = 39) and from the community (n = 42) completed tests assessing ToM skills and self-reported questionnaires assessing AMPD Criteria A and B. Hierarchical agglomerative and TwoStep cluster analyses were consecutively computed using scores and subscores from ToM tests as clustering variables. Multivariate analyses of variance were subsequently performed to compare the clusters on both AMPD Criteria. Five clinically and conceptually meaningful clusters were found. The most notable differences across clusters were observed for Intimacy and Empathy dysfunctions (Criterion A), as well as for the Deceitfulness, Callousness, and Hostility facets from the Antagonism domain and the Restricted affectivity facet from the Detachment domain (Criterion B). The results support the association between antagonistic personality facets and ToM deficits. However, clusters showing impairments in ToM abilities did not necessarily exhibit high levels of personality dysfunction or pathological facets, emphasizing that both constructs are not isomorphic. Nevertheless, specific profiles can help refine existing interventions to make them more sensitive and specific to the nature of ToM dysfunctions while considering personality functioning and facets.

Assessing theory of mind abilities in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: A psychometric study of the Faux Pas Recognition test in Serbian

Theory of Mind (ToM) is a social-cognitive ability to understand the mental states of others. ToM functions are compromised in the case of mental disorders characterized by cognitive impairments. The Faux Pas Recognition test (FPRT) is considered a good measure of verbal aspects of ToM as it measures social adaptation through the adequate interpretation of potentially sensitive and awkward social situations. However, data on FPRT psychometric properties is somewhat limited. The aim of the present study is the psychometric evaluation of the FPRT in Serbian population. The adapted version in Serbian has been administered to 268 healthy participants, 30 patients with schizophrenia and 31 with bipolar affective disorder. The results show a high internal consistencies of Faux Pas stories (? = .954), Control stories (? = .929) and overall test (? = .936). Both Horn?s parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a single-factor solution is optimal, supporting the premise of a general ToM ability underlying performance across test. The Faux Pas test showed good discriminative power in differentiation between individuals from healthy and clinical populations making it a useful clinical instrument.

Comparison of Theory of Mind between Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Stimulant-Induced Depressive Disorder.

Objective: Theory of mind (ToM) denotes the ability to understand the mental state of others and perceive their unique beliefs and emotions. In this study, we compared ToM between individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and stimulant-induced depressive disorder (SIDD). Method : This cross-sectional, causal-comparative study included patients with MDD or SIDD admitted to Ostad Moharary Neuropsychiatric Hospital between January and June 2022. Each diagnosis was confirmed through a semi-structured interview conducted by a single attending psychiatrist according to the DSM-5 criteria. After consecutive sampling of 110 individuals, 51 patients completed the study in each group. Demographic characteristics were recorded, and the Persian version of the revised Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) was used to evaluate ToM. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.25, employing the t-test, chi-squared test, linear regression, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: Our analysis included 102 subjects (65.7% male) with a mean age of 35.17 ± 7.54 years. The two groups were similar in age, gender, marital status, working status, occupation, economic class, and ethnicity (P > 0.05). The RMET scores were 12.94 ± 4.03 and 11.86 ± 3.15 in the MDD and SIDD groups, respectively (P = 0.135). Almost all patients had low RMET scores (< 22); only two individuals in the MDD group achieved normal scores (22-30). ANCOVA revealed no significant confounding effects between the independent variables. Furthermore, regression analysis revealed that the level of education had a significant linear relationship (β = 0.249) with the RMET score (P = 0.021). Conclusion: Hospitalized patients with MDD and SIDD have similar ToM deficits, as measured by the RMET.

Towards a comprehensive approach to mentalization-based treatment for children with autism: integrating attachment, neurosciences, and mentalizing

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed based on socio-communicative difficulties, which are believed to result from deficits in mentalizing, mainly evidenced by alterations in recognizing and responding to the mental states of others. In recent years, efforts have been made to develop mentalization-based treatment (MBT) models for this population. These models focus on enhancing individuals’ ability to understand and reflect on their own mental states, as well as those of others. However, MBT approaches for people with ASD are limited by their existing theoretical background, which lacks a strong foundation grounded in neuroscience-based evidence properly integrated with attachment, and mentalizing. These are crucial aspects for understanding psychological processes in autism, and as such, they play a pivotal role in shaping the development of tailored and effective therapeutic strategies for this specific population. In this paper we review evidence related to the neurobiological, interpersonal, and psychological dimensions of autism and their implications for mentalizing processes. We also review previous mentalization-based frameworks on the psychosis continuum to provide a comprehensive understanding of attachment, neurobiology, and mentalization domains in therapeutic approaches for autism. After presenting a synthesis of the literature, we offer a set of clinical strategies for the work with children with autism. Finally, we provide recommendations to advance the field towards more robust models that can serve as a basis for evidence-based therapeutic strategies.

The role of cognitive estimation in understanding the mental states of others

ABSTRACT Previous studies have emphasized the critical role of the prefrontal cortex in cognitive estimation and theory of mind, however, none of them has questioned the possible role of cognitive estimation processes in understanding the mental states of others. In this study, we compared 30 patients with focal prefrontal cortex damage and 30 control subjects matched by gender, age, and education level on their performances on a cognitive estimation task and two tasks assessing theory of mind: the “Faux-Pas” task and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. The results showed that patients were significantly impaired compared with control subjects on both abilities of cognitive estimation and theory of mind. Moreover, regression analyses showed that performance on theory of mind was predicted by the scores on cognitive estimation. Finally, using voxel-based lesion analysis, we identified a partially common bilaterally distributed prefrontal network involved in both these domains centred within the ventral and dorsomedial areas with extension to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Understanding the Components of Theory of Mind in Depression: An Exploratory Study

Abstract Background: Theory of mind (ToM) is the capacity to infer the mental states of others to understand and predict their behavior. As depression is characterized by prominent social and interpersonal difficulties, exploration of ToM functioning is particularly relevant in depression. ToM is a fundamental ability that consists of two distinct but connected components: socioperceptual (decoding) and sociocognitive (reasoning). However, ToM is still an underexplored and controversial area of research in depression. In this light, the present study explores the different components of ToM in individuals with depression. Materials and Methods: In this study, participants of both genders (n = 60) were pooled as per the inclusion and exclusion criterion and screened for depression through Beck Depression Inventory. The socioperceptual component of ToM was assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test and the sociocognitive component of ToM was assessed using ToM Assessment Scale. Results: There were significant differences between individuals with depression and healthy controls in both the components of ToM. Healthy controls had higher means on both the measures with respect to the individuals with depression. Conclusion: The findings of the study clearly indicate that individuals with depression appear to be significantly impaired in their ability to “read” social interactions. To better understand depression and improve psychotherapeutic treatment, a more suitable method for evaluating fundamental mentalizing categories should be taken into consideration.