Social Cognitive Capacities Research Articles

Predicting social experience from dyadic interaction dynamics: the BallGame, a novel paradigm to study social engagement

Theories of embodied cognition suggest that a shared environment and ongoing sensorimotor interaction are central for interpersonal learning and engagement. To investigate the embodied, distributed and hence dynamically unfolding nature of social cognitive capacities, we present a novel laboratory-based coordination task: the BallGame. Our paradigm requires continuous sensing and acting between two players who jointly steer a virtual ball around obstacles towards as many targets as possible. By analysing highly resolved measures of movement coordination and gaming behaviour, game-concurrent experience ratings, semi-structured interviews, and personality questionnaires, we reveal contributions from different levels of observation on social experience. In particular, successful coordination (number of targets collected) and intermittent periods of high versus low movement coordination (variability of relation) emerged as prominent predictors of social experience. Importantly, having the same (but incomplete) view on the game environment strengthened interpersonal coordination, whereas complementary views enhanced engagement and tended to generate more complex interactive behaviour. Overall, we find evidence for a critical balance between similarity and synchrony on the one hand, and variability and difference on the other, for successful engagement in social interactions. Finally, following participant reports, we highlight how interpersonal experience emerges from specific histories of coordination that are closely related to the interaction context in both space and time.

Interview Versus Performance Assessment of Cognition as Predictors of Real-World Outcomes in a Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Study in Schizophrenia.

The Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI) is an interview-based scale measuring cognitive impairment and its impact on functioning in subjects with schizophrenia (SCZ). It is approved as a coprimary measure of performance-based instruments, such as the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Recent research highlights negative symptoms, social cognition, and functional capacity as mediators of cognitive impairment's impact on functioning. This study compared mediation analysis outcomes using CAI or MCCB scores, providing insights into the utility of interview-based tools in research and clinical practice. The study included 618 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, recruited from 24 Italian psychiatric clinics. Neurocognitive assessments utilized both CAI and MCCB. Mediation analyses explored negative symptoms, social cognition, and functional capacity as mediators of the impact of neurocognition on real-life functioning domains. The study's results extend the validation of the CAI as a coprimary measure that provides valid information on the impact of cognitive impairment on real-life functioning and its possible mediators, complementing the information obtained using the MCCB. Interview-based cognitive assessment might be essential for understanding schizophrenia complexity and its impact on various cognitive and functional domains for clinicians, patients, and caregivers.

Personalized Cognitive Health in Psychiatry: Current State and the Promise of Computational Methods.

Decades of research have firmly established that cognitive health and cognitive treatment services are a key need for people living with psychosis. However, many current clinical programs do not address this need, despite the essential role that an individual's cognitive and social cognitive capacities play in determining their real-world functioning. Preliminary practice-based research in the Early Psychosis Intervention Network early psychosis intervention network shows that it is possible to develop and implement tools that delineate an individuals' cognitive health profile and that help engage the client and the clinician in shared decision-making and treatment planning that includes cognitive treatments. These findings signify a promising shift toward personalized cognitive health. Extending upon this early progress, we review the concept of interindividual variability in cognitive domains/processes in psychosis as the basis for offering personalized treatment plans. We present evidence from studies that have used traditional neuropsychological measures as well as findings from emerging computational studies that leverage trial-by-trial behavior data to illuminate the different latent strategies that individuals employ. We posit that these computational techniques, when combined with traditional cognitive assessments, can enrich our understanding of individual differences in treatment needs, which in turn can guide evermore personalized interventions. As we find clinically relevant ways to decompose maladaptive behaviors into separate latent cognitive elements captured by model parameters, the ultimate goal is to develop and implement approaches that empower clients and their clinical providers to leverage individual's existing learning capacities to improve their cognitive health and well-being.

The effectiveness of vortioxetine on neurobiochemical metabolites and cognitive of major depressive disorders patients: A 8-week follow-up study

ObjectiveVortioxetine has been shown to improve cognitive performance in people with depression. This study will look at the changes in neurobiochemical metabolites that occur when vortioxetine improves cognitive performance in MDD patients, with the goal of determining the neuroimaging mechanism through which vortioxetine improves cognitive function. Methods30 depressed patients and 30 demographically matched healthy controls (HC) underwent MCCB cognitive assessment and 1H-MRS. After 8 weeks of vortioxetine medication, MCCB and 1H-MRS tests were retested in the MDD group. Before and after therapy, changes in cognitive performance, NAA/Cr, and Cho/Cr were examined in the MDD group. ResultsCompared with the HC group, the MDD group had significant reduced in verbal learning, social cognition, and total cognition (all p < 0.05). And the MDD group had lower NAA/Cr in Right thalamus and Left PFC; the Cho/Cr in Right thalamus was lower than HC; the Cho/Cr in Left ACC had significantly increase (all p < 0.05). The MDD group showed significant improvements in the areas of verbal learning, attention/alertness, and total cognitive function before and after Vortioxetine treatment (all p < 0.05). The NAA/Cr ratio of the right PFC before and after treatment (t = 2.338, p = 0.026) showed significant changes. ConclusionsVortioxetine can enhance not just the depression symptoms of MDD patients in the initial period, but also their verbal learning, social cognition, and general cognitive capacities after 8 weeks of treatment. Furthermore, vortioxetine has been shown to enhance cognitive function in MDD patients by altering NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr levels in the frontal-thalamic-ACC.

What predicts psychosocial functioning in borderline personality disorder? Investigating the association with reflective functioning.

The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with functioning in participants with and without borderline personality disorder (BPD). In particular, we were interested whether mentalizing and related social cognitive capacities, as factors of internal functioning, are important in predicting psychosocial functioning, in addition to other psychopathological and sociodemographic factors. This is a cross-sectional study with N = 53 right-handed females with and without BPD, without significant differences in age, IQ, and socioeconomic status, who completed semi-structured diagnostic and self-report measures of social cognition. Mentalizing was assessed using the Reflective Functioning Scale based on transcribed Adult Attachment Interviews. A regularized regression with the elastic net penalty was deployed to investigate whether mentalizing and social cognition predict psychosocial functioning. Borderline personality disorder symptom severity, sexual abuse trauma, and social and socio-economic factors ranked as the most important variables in predicting psychosocial functioning, while reflective functioning (RF) was somewhat less important in the prediction, social cognitive functioning and sociodemographic variables were least important. Borderline personality disorder symptom severity was most important in determining functional impairment, alongside trauma related to sexual abuse as well as social and socio-economic factors. These findings verify that BPD symptoms themselves most robustly predict functional impairment, followed by history of sexual abuse, then contextual factors (e.g. housing, financial, physical health), and then RF. These results lend marginal support to the conceptualization that mentalizing may enhance psychosocial functioning by facilitating social learning, but emphasize symptom reduction and stabilization of life context as key intervention targets.

47 Social Cognition and Moral Decision Making in Korsakoff's Syndrome

Objective:Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder, caused by vitamin B1 insufficiency. KS is characterized by severe declarative amnesia. Often, also executive disorders are present. Emotion recognition and theory of mind are gold-standard measures of social cognition. Moral decision making is often assessed by means of moral dilemmas. Surprisingly social cognition and moral decision making has received hardly any attention in research on KS, although the severity of behavioural problems in KS suggest possible problems in both domains. The aim of this study was therefore to broadly assess social cognition and moral decision-making capacities in patients with KS.Participants and Methods:20 KS patients and 20 age-, education-, and gender-matched healthy controls were assessed on standardized tests for social cognition, namely the mini-Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment battery (mini-SEA), and a specialized version of the Sally-Anne Test. Moral decision making was assessed by means of the Moral Behaviour Inventory (MBI) for everyday moral dilemmas, and ten cartoons of abstract moral dilemmas. For moral decision making, “yes” and “no” responses were scored, together with a scoring for moral reasoning according to the Kohlberg stages of moral maturity.Results:KS patients have large impairments in both cognitive and affective aspects of social cognition. Their ability to recognize emotions, take the perspective of others, and understand socially awkward situations is vastly compromised. While KS patients were able to replicate the Sally Anne storyline, their task performance was on chance level. Regarding moral decision making, there was a tendency to more frequently carry out the moral dilemma. Moral maturity, as indexed by means of their reasoning behind the decision was of a lower level. Of interest, moral immaturity could find its origin already before the onset of the KS diagnosis, as suggested by elevated premorbid levels of delinquent behavior.Conclusions:Both social cognition and moral decision making are compromised in KS patients. Specifically social cognitive disorders are the direct result of KS, and are likely to strongly relate to social and neuropsychiatric issues in KS. Moral decision making was more likely to be already of a lower level of maturity, based on a strong relationship between premorbid delinquency and moral immaturity in KS patients. This study highlights the importance to properly index social cognition in neuropsychological assessments for individuals with a possible KS diagnosis

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Muscular Strength Do Not Predict Social Cognitive Capacity in Older Age.

Social cognitive function often declines in older age but the mechanisms underlying these declines are not completely clear. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscular strength are positively associated with broader cognitive function in older adults, yet surprisingly, no study has examined whether a similar relationship exists between CRF or muscular strength and social cognition in older age. We assessed whether higher CRF and muscular strength were associated with enhanced social cognitive function in a sample of fifty older adults (Mage = 70.08, standard deviation = 3.93). Participants completed a gold-standard cardiopulmonary exercise test to assess CRF, an isometric handgrip strength test to index muscular strength, and validated measures of social cognition to index emotion perception and theory of mind (ToM). The results showed that CRF and muscular strength did not explain any unique variance in older adults' social cognitive performance. Bayesian analyses confirmed that the evidence for the null hypothesis was moderate for all tested relationships, except for the relationship between CRF and cognitive ToM where the evidence for the null was anecdotal. This study has provided the first evidence to suggest that CRF and muscular strength-two important modifiable lifestyle factors-are not associated with social cognition in healthy older adults. However, replication studies are now needed to cross-validate these findings and to clarify whether any moderating variables may be important for understanding the relationship between fitness and social cognition in older age.

Enhancing ecological validity of gaze-cueing stimuli is associated with increased gaze following for older but not younger adults.

Gaze following is a core social-cognitive capacity. Previous work has shown that older adults have reduced gaze following relative to younger adults. However, all previous studies have exclusively used stimuli with low ecological validity, leaving room for alternative explanations for the observed age effects. Motivational models suggest that, relative to younger adults, older adults expend cognitive resources more selectively, such that they are less motivated to engage in tasks that are not meaningful or personally relevant. This may explain why their gaze following is reduced when stimuli are low in ecological validity. An expertise-based account suggests that older adults will have enhanced gaze following owing to their greater experience with gaze cues but that this enhancement may only emerge when stimuli are naturalistic and match those that they have more experience with. In the present study, younger (N = 63) and older adults (N = 68) completed a standard gaze-cueing task (static images) and a gaze-cueing task with enhanced ecological validity (videos of shifting gaze). In contrast to past research, both groups showed equivalent gaze following. Notably, in line with motivational model theorizing and experience-based accounts, ecological validity was associated with enhanced gaze following for older but not younger adults. These findings highlight the importance of considering stimulus ecological validity in social-cognitive aging research and provide information regarding the specific types of gaze cues that may be most effective in producing the cognitive and perceptual benefits associated with gaze cues for older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Loneliness is associated with mentalizing and emotion recognition abilities in schizophrenia, but only in a cluster of patients with social cognitive deficits.

Loneliness is a concern for patients with schizophrenia. However, the correlates of loneliness in patients with schizophrenia are unclear; thus, the aim of the study is to investigate neuro- and social cognitive mechanisms associated with loneliness in individuals with schizophrenia. Data from clinical, neurocognitive, and social cognitive assessments were pooled from two cross-national samples (Poland/USA) to examine potential predictors of loneliness in 147 patients with schizophrenia and 103 healthy controls overall. Furthermore, the relationship between social cognition and loneliness was explored in clusters of patients with schizophrenia differing in social cognitive capacity. Patients reported higher levels of loneliness than healthy controls. Loneliness was linked to increased negative and affective symptoms in patients. A negative association between loneliness and mentalizing and emotion recognition abilities was found in the patients with social-cognitive impairments, but not in those who performed at normative levels. We have elucidated a novel mechanism which may explain previous inconsistent findings regarding the correlates of loneliness in individuals with schizophrenia.

Using unsupervised machine learning to quantify physical activity from accelerometry in a diverse and rapidly changing population.

Accelerometers are widely used to measure physical activity behaviour, including in children. The traditional method for processing acceleration data uses cut points to define physical activity intensity, relying on calibration studies that relate the magnitude of acceleration to energy expenditure. However, these relationships do not generalise across diverse populations and hence they must be parametrised for each subpopulation (e.g., age groups) which is costly and makes studies across diverse populations and over time difficult. A data-driven approach that allows physical activity intensity states to emerge from the data, without relying on parameters derived from external populations, offers a new perspective on this problem and potentially improved results. We applied an unsupervised machine learning approach, namely a hidden semi-Markov model, to segment and cluster the raw accelerometer data recorded (using a waist-worn ActiGraph GT3X+) from 279 children (9-38 months old) with a diverse range of developmental abilities (measured using the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-Computer Adaptive Testing measure). We benchmarked this analysis with the cut points approach, calculated using thresholds from the literature which had been validated using the same device and for a population which most closely matched ours. Time spent active as measured by this unsupervised approach correlated more strongly with PEDI-CAT measures of the child's mobility (R2: 0.51 vs 0.39), social-cognitive capacity (R2: 0.32 vs 0.20), responsibility (R2: 0.21 vs 0.13), daily activity (R2: 0.35 vs 0.24), and age (R2: 0.15 vs 0.1) than that measured using the cut points approach. Unsupervised machine learning offers the potential to provide a more sensitive, appropriate, and cost-effective approach to quantifying physical activity behaviour in diverse populations, compared to the current cut points approach. This, in turn, supports research that is more inclusive of diverse or rapidly changing populations.

The Brief Negative Symptom Scale: external validation of symptom domains with clinical, cognitive and functioning-related variables in subjects with schizophrenia

IntroductionNegative symptoms (NS) represent a heterogeneous construct of schizophrenia, whose conceptualization is still to be clarified. In the last decade, the conceptualization model that has received the most support from the literature has described 2 NS domains: the expressive deficit (EXP), which includes blunted affect and alogia, and the motivational deficit (MAP), which includes avolition, asociality, and anhedonia. However, different confirmatory factor-analytic studies suggest that the bi-dimensional model may not capture the complexity of this construct, which could be better defined by a 5-factor model (5 individual negative symptoms) or a hierarchical model (5 individual negative symptoms as first-order factors, and the 2 domains, MAP and EXP domains, as second-order factors). However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated associations between negative symptom models with social cognition and functional capacity, which are largely documented to correlate with negative symptoms, nor the associations with external validators over time, looking at the potential stability of negative symptom models validity through the course of the illness.ObjectivesIn the light of this observations, we investigated, the external validity of the five-factor model and the hierarchical model of the BNSS in subjects with schizophrenia, looking at associations with cognition, social cognition, functioning and functional capacity at baseline and at four years follow-up.MethodsNS were assessed in 612 subjects with schizophrenia using the Brief Negative Symptom Scale at the baseline and after 4-year follow-up. State of the art assessment instruments were used to assess cognitive and functioning related variables. Structural equation models (SEM) that included the NS models and 4 external variables were used to our aim.ResultsAccording to recent multicenter studies, our results confirmed the validity of the 5-factor- and the hierarchical-model of negative symptoms. In particular, these 2 models proved to be equivalent in terms of fit to the data at baseline and follow-up. As regard to the relationship of the two BNSS models with external variables, we found that there was a similar pattern of associations at the two time points despite minor variations.ConclusionsThe five factor and the hierarchical models provide an optimal conceptualization of negative symptoms in relation to external variables. The similar pattern of associations with external variables of the two models at the two time points despite minor variations, suggests that the simple and widely used 5-factor solution provides the best balance between parsimony and granularity to summarize BNSS structure. This data is of important relevance with consequent implications in the study of pathophysiological mechanisms and the development of targeted treatments for NS.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Human and macaque pairs employ different coordination strategies in a transparent decision game.

Many real-world decisions in social contexts are made while observing a partner's actions. To study dynamic interactions during such decisions, we developed a setup where two agents seated face-to-face to engage in game-theoretical tasks on a shared transparent touchscreen display ('transparent games'). We compared human and macaque pairs in a transparent version of the coordination game 'Bach-or-Stravinsky', which entails a conflict about which of two individually-preferred opposing options to choose to achieve coordination. Most human pairs developed coordinated behavior and adopted dynamic turn-taking to equalize the payoffs. All macaque pairs converged on simpler, static coordination. Remarkably, two animals learned to coordinate dynamically after training with a human confederate. This pair selected the faster agent's preferred option, exhibiting turn-taking behavior that was captured by modeling the visibility of the partner's action before one's own movement. Such competitive turn-taking was unlike the prosocial turn-taking in humans, who equally often initiated switches to and from their preferred option. Thus, the dynamic coordination is not restricted to humans but can occur on the background of different social attitudes and cognitive capacities in rhesus monkeys. Overall, our results illustrate how action visibility promotes the emergence and maintenance of coordination when agents can observe and time their mutual actions.

The Origins of Theory of Mind in Infant Social Cognition: Investigating Longitudinal Pathways from Intention Understanding and Joint Attention to Preschool Theory of Mind

ABSTRACT A growing body of literature has established longitudinal associations between key social cognitive capacities emerging in infancy and children’s subsequent theory of mind. However, existing work is limited by modest sample sizes, narrow infant measures, and theory of mind assessments with restricted variability and generalizability. The current study aimed to extend this literature by (a) recruiting a large sample of participants (n = 116; 53 boys; 63 girls; all U.S. residents; 88 White, 8 Hispanic or Latino, 2 Black or African American, 14 two or more races/ethnicities, 4 unknown; median family income: $74-122,000), (b) examining multiple measures of infant social cognition (intentional action understanding, responding to joint attention, initiating joint attention) at Time 1 (8–12 months), and (c) using an ecologically valid theory of mind assessment designed to capture individual differences in preschoolers’ mental state understanding (the Children’s Social Understanding Scale) at Time 2 (37–45 months). Measured variable path analysis revealed a significant longitudinal association between infants’ initiating joint attention and later theory of mind: infants who engaged in more attempts to initiate joint attention with experimenters through gaze alternation or gestures went on to show better parent-reported mental state understanding as preschoolers. Notably, the paths from infants’ responding to joint attention and intentional action understanding to later theory of mind did not emerge as significant. These findings bolster and clarify existing claims about how mental state reasoning is rooted in foundational social-cognitive capacities emerging in infancy.

NĂNG LỰC NHẬN THỨC XÃ HỘI CỦA HỌC SINH TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG: THỰC TRẠNG VÀ NHỮNG YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG

This study presents the survey results of 781 students of high schools in Hanoi on social cognitive competence, which is one of the four components of social intelligence. The survey results on the current situation of social cognitive capacity show that the majority of students have correct and appropriate awareness. The majority of students rated their own social cognitive performance (graded by scores) from average to good. However, there is still a significant part of high school students with incorrect and inappropriate perceptions, belonging to the group of low social-cognitive ability (14.6%). The survey results also found a number of factors that significantly affect the level of this ability of students. This result contributes to providing useful information in the development of educational programs and is a reliable database when providing educational solutions to improve the social cognitive capacity of high school students.

Serious Games for Executive Functions Training for Adults with Intellectual Disability: Overview.

(1) Background: Throughout the history of medical and psychology practice, specialists have worked to improve the quality of treatment and rehabilitation, which has led to the emergence of concepts such as serious games. These tools focus on different areas of intervention procedures, one of which is to help people with intellectual disability (ID). Individuals with ID have problems with executive functions (EFs), which are related to adaptive functioning. Recent studies showed that serious games positively impact cognitive, social, and communication skills in people with ID. The purpose of this study is to analyze the solutions that have been found in EF training for adults with ID in recent years, evaluating them with a number of key parameters and identifying the features and possible problems in the further development of our system. (2) Methods: A review was conducted starting with 573 articles in English related to serious games and selected from studies that had been published since 2015. Finally, 10 were examined in detail as they focused on EFs in adults with ID. They were searched in seven major databases (“Association for Computing Machinery” (ACM), IEEE Xplore database, DBLP computer science bibliography, Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS, and PsycInfo). (3) Results: It was determined that the most frequent EFs referred to in the studies analyzed were planning and decision-making, followed by working memory and social cognition, behavioral regulation, flexibility, and inhibition capacity. The basic approach to the creation of support systems was also analyzed in terms of technical and program execution. The trend results’ analysis evidenced improvements in EFs, even though they were not significant. This comprehensive technique enabled the identification of the main features and aspects to be taken into account for further development of our system.

Mother-Child Social Cognition Among Multicultural Families in South Korea.

ObjectiveDespite the rapidly growing number of multicultural families in South Korea, factors influencing parenting and mother-child interactions have not been well-understood. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to have examined how maternal social-cognitive capacity is associated with children's social cognition (e.g., theory of mind and emotion recognition) among multicultural families dwelling in South Korea.MethodsForty-seven multicultural mother-child dyads were recruited. The comprehensive measures on social cognition were administered to both the mothers and children, and social functioning and emotion regulation were administered to the children.ResultsA series of hierarchical regressions indicated that mothers' social cognition significantly explained children's ability to recognize static and dynamic emotional expressions, accounting for 27 and 34% of the variance, respectively. Furthermore, mothers' social cognition was significantly correlated to children's social functioning and emotion regulation. However, mothers' social cognition and children's theory of mind were non-significantly related.DiscussionThe current study examined the effects of social cognition of immigrant mothers on their children's socio-emotional development. As the findings indicated an important role of maternal factors (i.e., social cognition) for children's social cognition and their functions, psycho-social approaches (e.g., social cognition parenting education and training) should be incorporated in services for multicultural families.

Contrasting the Social Cognitive and Metacognitive Capacities Among Patients With Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorders Enrolled in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Unique deficits in synthetic metacognition have been found in schizophrenia when compared with other psychiatric conditions and community controls. Although persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) display similar deficits in social cognition relative to those with schizophrenia, to date no study has compared metacognitive function between these groups. We aimed to compare the metacognitive capacities of persons with schizophrenia and ASD and their associations with other outcomes (neurocognition, social cognition, depression, and quality of life). Fifty-six outpatients with schizophrenia or ASD (mean age, 32.50 [9.05]; 67.9% male) were recruited from two French Centers of Reference for Psychiatric Rehabilitation of the REHABase cohort. Evaluation included the Indiana Psychiatric Illness Interview, Metacognition Assessment Scale-Abbreviated, Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition, and a large cognitive battery. Compared with those with schizophrenia, participants with ASD had higher self-reflectivity ( p = 0.025; odds ratio, 1.38 [1.05-1.86]) in univariable analyses. Metacognitive deficits may be found in ASD with a profile that varies from what is found in schizophrenia. It is possible that methods for enhancing metacognitive abilities during psychiatric rehabilitation may be refined to assist adults with ASD to better manage their own recovery.

Spontaneous perspective taking toward robots: The unique impact of humanlike appearance

As robots rapidly enter society, how does human social cognition respond to their novel presence? Focusing on one foundational social-cognitive capacity—visual perspective taking—seven studies reveal that people spontaneously adopt a robot's unique perspective and do so with patterns of variation that mirror perspective taking toward humans. As they do with humans, people take a robot's visual perspective when it displays goal-directed actions. Moreover, perspective taking is absent when the agent lacks human appearance, increases when the agent looks highly humanlike, and persists even when the humanlike agent is perceived as eerie or as obviously lacking a mind. These results suggest that visual perspective taking toward robots is consistent with a “mere appearance hypothesis”—a form of stimulus generalization based on humanlike appearance—rather than following an “uncanny valley” pattern or arising from mind perception. Robots' superficial human resemblance may trigger and modulate social-cognitive responses in human observers originally developed for human interaction.

Neural correlates of affective empathy in aging: A multimodal imaging and multivariate approach

ABSTRACT Empathy is one such social-cognitive capacity that undergoes age-related change. C urrently, however, not well understood is the structural and functional neurocircuitry underlying age-related differences in empathy. This study aimed to delineate brain structural and functional networks that subserve affective empathic response in younger and older adults using a modified version of the Multifaceted Empathy Task to both positive and negative emotions. Combining multimodal neuroimaging with multivariate partial least square analysis resulted in two novel findings in older but not younger adults: (a) faster empathic responding to negative emotions was related to greater fractional anisotropy of the anterior cingulum and greater functional activity of the anterior cingulate network; (b) however, empathic responding to positive emotions was related to greater fractional anisotropy of the posterior cingulum and greater functional activity of the posterior cingulate network. Such differentiation of structural and functional networks might have critical implications for prosocial behavior and social connections among older adults.

Bifactor modelling of the psychological constructs of learner feedback literacy: conceptions of feedback, feedback trust and self-efficacy

In contemporary feedback research, effective feedback does not depend on merely the characteristics of feedback but also on learners’ ability to understand, manage and use the information. Known as feedback literacy, it refers to learners’ social cognitive capacity, affective capacity and disposition prior to substantial engagement with feedback. In addition, feedback literacy is said to be developed in social learning settings. Despite the importance of the learner feedback literacy construct, little is known about its quantitative conceptualization or the specific psychological variables underpinning it. The purpose of this paper is to propose and validate a bifactor model of learner feedback literacy consisting of (1) conceptions of feedback, (2) feedback trust and (3) self-efficacy. Drawing from data on 923 learners from a polytechnic in Singapore that practices the social constructivist learning approach, results from Rasch and bifactor modelling analyses revealed that the learner feedback literacy model is psychometrically sound and robust with the potential to be developed further. Limitations and future research directions in the use of this model are discussed in the paper.