Assessing deictic relational responding in psychosis using the implicit relational assessment procedure

The current study sought to investigate perspective-taking in a group of individuals diagnosed with psychosis. The Psychosis Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (Psychosis-IRAP) contrasted statements and questions referring to 'psychotic' and 'non-psychotic' experiences. The IRAP and a Faux-pas (Theory of Mind) test were presented to two groups of participants: a clinical group with a diagnosis of psychosis and a control group. IRAP effects for each group were in the predicted direction and a ROC analysis showed that the IRAP correctly classified 80% of the individuals with psychosis with a sensitivity level of 84.2% and a specificity level of 27.8%. The IRAP was thus successfully used to correctly classify the population of clinical individuals. However, the study also demonstrated that the two groups were similar with regard to their level of competency on the perspective-taking IRAP. The article also discusses the relationship between the data and recent developments in RFT, in terms of relational flexibility

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Assessing deictic relational responding in social anxiety using the implicit relational assessment procedure

The current study sought to investigate perspective-taking in a group of individuals diagnosed with psychosis. The Social Anxiety Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (SA-IRAP) contrasted statements and questions referring to 'anxious' and 'non-anxious' experiences. The SA-IRAP and a Faux-pas (Theory of Mind) test were presented to two groups of participants: a clinical group with a diagnosis of social anxiety and a group of controls. IRAP effects for each group were in the predicted direction and a ROC analysis showed that the IRAP correctly classified 77% of the individuals with social anxiety with a sensitivity level of 97% and a specificity level of 36%. The IRAP was thus successfully used to correctly classify the sample of clinical individuals. However, the study also demonstrated that the two groups were similar with regard to their level of competency on the perspective-taking IRAP. The article also discusses the relationship between the data and recent developments in RFT

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Recommendations for using the IRAP with a medicated in-patient population with a diagnosis of psychosis

The current professional interest brief aims to outline the feasibility of using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) in a pilot study of individuals who heard voices and of whom the majority had been given a diagnosis of psychosis, and a comparison sample of non-voice hearing controls against which the clinical data could be compared (clinical voice hearers, N= 9; controls, N= 9). The IRAP assessed acceptance and avoidance of positively versus negatively valenced voices. All clinical participants completed the IRAP in terms of reaching the standard accuracy and latency criteria, thus demonstrating that a clinical (specifically psychosis) sample can complete content-specific IRAPs. Indeed, some procedural modifications were required and these have been outlined in the current manuscript. Preliminary results at both the group and individual levels appear to be in a meaningful direction for the psychosis sample, but not for the controls, which was consistent with our predictions. Our preliminary data support the view that the IRAP may be used effectively with a resident in-patient population (AU)

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Understanding and Remediating Social-Cognitive Dysfunctions in Patients with Serious Mental Illness Using Relational Frame Theory.

Impairments in social cognition and perspective-taking play an important role in the psychopathology and social functioning of individuals with social anxiety, autism, or schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, among other clinical presentations. Perspective-taking has mostly been studied using the concept of Theory of Mind (ToM), which describes the sequential development of these skills in young children, as well as clinical populations experiencing perspective-taking difficulties. Several studies mention positive results of ToM based training programs; however, the precise processes involved in the achievement of these improvements are difficult to determine. Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is a modern behavioral account of complex cognitive functions, and is argued to provide a more precise approach to the assessment and training of perspective-taking, among other relational skills. Results of RFT-based studies of perspective-taking in developmental and clinical settings are discussed. The development of training methods targeting perspective-taking deficits from an RFT point of view appears to provide promising applications for the enhancement of current treatments of people with social-cognitive dysfunctions.