Predictors of social identification in group therapy.

Background: Group therapy is a popular and effective format for psychological intervention, and both anecdotal and empirical data consistently point to group dynamics as a primary driver of its benefits. However, to date there has been no systematic investigation of what facilitates an engaged, cohesive group environment. We argue that this is social identification and explore the features of groups that help to build this. Method: We present two longitudinal studies of group therapy and examine the predictors of social identification. Study 1 was a sample of psychiatric outpatients (N = 103) who completed group cognitive behavior therapy. Study 2 was a sample of young women with body shape or weight concerns (N = 112) who completed an eating disorder prevention program. Results: Multilevel analyses indicated that social identification was best predicted by participant fit with the therapy group, specifically the degree to which (1) participants were and perceived themselves to be similar to other group members, and (2) participants met the group therapy eligibility criteria at baseline. Conclusions: These results show that attending to issues of client fit in group therapy can improve social identification, with implications for reducing client attrition and improving client outcomes.

The integrated self-categorization model of autism.

In this article, we formally present the Integrated Self-Categorization model of Autism (ISCA). This model brings together the cognitive-perceptual and social-communication features of autism under a single explanatory framework. Specifically, ISCA proposes that the social-communication features that are related to theory of mind dysfunction emerge from the cognitive-perceptual features related to enhanced perceptual functioning and weak central coherence, and proposes that they are linked by dysfunction in the self-categorization process. We present the assumptions on which the model is based, and from these, we derive a set of precise, testable hypotheses, including a set of novel hypotheses that do not emerge from any existing models of autism. We then provide evidence that supports the model, derived from a number of direct tests of the hypotheses that it generates. We conclude by discussing the implications of the model for understanding autism and for intervention to improve the lives of autistic people, as well as future directions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-categorization and autism: Exploring the relationship between autistic traits and group homogeneity.

The Integrated Self-Categorization model of Autism (ISCA; Bertschy et al., 2019; Skorich & Haslam, 2021) argues that the theory of mind differences seen in autism arises from Enhanced Perceptual Functioning/Weak Central Coherence, via a dysfunctional self-categorization mechanism. The ISCA model also makes the novel prediction that phenomena that arise from self-categorization should also be affected in autistic people. In this article, we report three studies exploring this prediction in the context of one such phenomenon: Group homogeneity. We first measure participants' autistic traits, then ask them to make homogeneity judgments of their ingroup alone or their outgroup alone (in Study 1, and in the Alone conditions of Studies 2a and 2b); or of their ingroup in comparison to their outgroup or their outgroup in comparison to their ingroup (in the Compare conditions of Studies 2a and 2b). As predicted, we find that: the degree of autistic traits negatively predicts ratings of group homogeneity; this relationship is mediated by social identification/self-categorization; and typical comparison-related homogeneity effects are strengthened at higher relative to lower levels of autistic traits. These studies provide convergent evidence for the ISCA model and suggest important avenues for well-being and social skills interventions for autistic people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Visual attentional orienting by eye gaze: A meta-analytic review of the gaze-cueing effect.

Given limitations in the amount of visual information that a person can simultaneously process through to conscious perception, selective visual attention is necessary. Visual signals in the environment aid this selection process by triggering reflexive shifts of covert attention to locations of potential importance. One such signal appears to be others' eye gaze. Indeed, a gaze-cueing effect, whereby healthy adults respond faster to targets that are presented at locations cued rather than miscued by eye gaze has been consistently observed in the empirical literature. Critically though, the influences of task and cue features on this effect are not well understood. To address this gap, we report a meta-analytic integration of 423 gaze-cueing effects using a multilevel approach. A gaze-cueing effect emerged across all levels of the assessed task and cue features, indicating that others' eye gaze reliably directs observers' attention. We found that the magnitude of the gaze-cueing effect was moderated by whether direct gaze cues preceded directional gaze cues or not; the cue-target stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), whether participants had to detect, localize, or categorize targets; and the cue's facial expression. Whether or not the gaze cue remained on screen after the target appeared, and whether schematic faces, computer-generated faces, or images of real faces were used as cues, did not appear to reliably function as moderators. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, particularly in relation to the social attention system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-categorization and Autism: Exploring the Relationship Between Autistic Traits and Ingroup Favouritism in the Minimal Group Paradigm.

The Integrated self-categorization model of autism (ISCA) argues that a self-categorization dysfunction could be the link between some of the disparate features of ASD. To the extent that this is true, any social psychological phenomena arising from self-categorization should be impaired in autistic people. Based on this premise, we investigated whether ingroup favouritism within the minimal group paradigm is reduced to the extent that individuals possess autistic traits. Results indicated that participants with a high proportion of autistic traits showed less ingroup favouritism, and that this was due to a decreased tendency for self-categorization. By providing evidence of the disruption of self-categorization in ASD, these findings lend support to ISCA and raise important issues for existing accounts of the disorder.

Exploring the Cognitive Foundations of the Shared Attention Mechanism: Evidence for a Relationship Between Self-Categorization and Shared Attention Across the Autism Spectrum.

The social difficulties of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are typically explained as a disruption in the Shared Attention Mechanism (SAM) sub-component of the theory of mind (ToM) system. In the current paper, we explore the hypothesis that SAM's capacity to construct the self-other-object relations necessary for shared-attention arises from a self-categorization process, which is weaker among those with more autistic-like traits. We present participants with self-categorization and shared-attention tasks, and measure their autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). Results reveal a negative relationship between AQ and shared-attention, via self-categorization, suggesting a role for self-categorization in the disruption in SAM seen in ASD. Implications for intervention, and for a ToM model in which weak central coherence plays a role are discussed.

Smoke signals: The decline of brand identity predicts reduced smoking behaviour following the introduction of plain packaging.

This study tests a social identity based mechanism for the effectiveness of plain tobacco packaging legislation, introduced in Australia in December 2012, to reduce cigarette smoking. 178 Australian smokers rated their sense of identification with fellow smokers of their brand, positive brand stereotypes, quitting behaviours and intentions, and smoking intensity, both before and seven months after the policy change. Mediation analyses showed that smokers, especially those who initially identified strongly with their brand, experienced a significant decrease in their brand identity following the introduction of plain packaging and this was associated with lower smoking behaviours and increased intentions to quit. The findings provide the first quantitative evidence that brand identities may help maintain smoking behaviour, and suggest the role of social-psychological processes in the effectiveness of public health policy.

Is Social Categorization the Missing Link Between Weak Central Coherence and Mental State Inference Abilities in Autism? Preliminary Evidence from a General Population Sample.

We explore the relationship between the 'theory of mind' (ToM) and 'central coherence' difficulties of autism. We introduce covariation between hierarchically-embedded categories and social information--at the local level, the global level, or at both levels simultaneously--within a category confusion task. We then ask participants to infer the mental state of novel category members, and measure participants' autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). Results reveal a positive relationship between AQ and the degree of local/global social categorization, which in turn predicts the pattern of mental state inferences. These results provide preliminary evidence for a causal relationship between central coherence and ToM abilities. Implications with regard to ToM processes, social categorization, intervention, and the development of a unified account of autism are discussed.

Cognitive load privileges memory-based over data-driven processing, not group-level over person-level processing.

In the current paper, we argue that categorization and individuation, as traditionally discussed and as experimentally operationalized, are defined in terms of two confounded underlying dimensions: a person/group dimension and a memory-based/data-driven dimension. In a series of three experiments, we unconfound these dimensions and impose a cognitive load. Across the three experiments, two with laboratory-created targets and one with participants' friends as the target, we demonstrate that cognitive load privileges memory-based over data-driven processing, not group- over person-level processing. We discuss the results in terms of their implications for conceptualizations of the categorization/individuation distinction, for the equivalence of person and group processes, for the ultimate 'purpose' and meaningfulness of group-based perception and, fundamentally, for the process of categorization, broadly defined.

Stereotype threat and hazard perception among provisional license drivers.

Stereotype threat refers to the negative impact a stereotype about one's group can have on one's performance in domains relevant to the stereotype. In the current paper, we explore whether the negative stereotype of provisional license drivers (PLDs) might produce stereotype threat in a driving-related hazard perception task. We manipulate threat by asking participants to self-identify as PLDs in a categorization condition, or by reminding PLD participants explicitly of the stereotype of PLDs in an explicit stereotype condition. Results reveal increments in hazard perception in the categorization condition, and decrements in hazard perception in the explicit stereotype condition. Mediation analysis reveals that hazard perception performance is fully mediated by increased effort in the categorization condition and by decreased effort in the explicit stereotype condition. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for stereotype threat and its mediators, and for public policy that explicitly discriminates between PLDs and other driver groups.