The use of virtual reality as a perspective-taking manipulation to improve self-awareness in Alzheimer's disease.

Lack of awareness of symptoms or having a condition referred to as anosognosia is a common feature of individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Previous literature on AD reported difficulties in evaluating self-abilities, often showing underestimation of limitations. There is increasing evidence that the perspective through which information is presented may moderate the performance appraisal and that anosognosia in AD might be a consequence of a deficit in assuming a third-person perspective. In this context, some studies showed that subjects may better recognize self-and other-difficulties when exposed to a third-person perspective. Considering the variety of approaches aiming to investigate the lack of awareness, there is still a scarcity of methods that provide great ecological validity and consider more than one facet of awareness, thus failing to offer more accurate evaluations of daily experiences. The present paper primarily addresses the theme of the multidimensional character of awareness of abilities in AD and the effect of perspective-taking on its trajectories. The focus turns to virtual reality as a promising tool for a greater evaluation of perspective-taking and self-awareness. Particularly, these systems offer the possibility to involve users in cognitive and sensorimotor tasks that simulate daily life conditions within immersive and realistic environments, and a great sense of embodiment. We propose that virtual reality might allow a great level of complexity, veracity, and safety that is needed for individuals with AD to behave according to their actual abilities and enable to explore the liaison between the subject's viewpoint, performance, and self-evaluation. In addition, we suggest promising clinical implications of virtual reality-based methods for individualized assessments, investigating specific impacts on subjects' life and possible improvements in their awareness.

Self- and Other-Evaluation in Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Impaired awareness of ability is common in dementia and has important clinical implications. Evidence from different clinical groups has shown that awareness can vary according to whether evaluation refers to self or other performance. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate awareness for self- and other-performance in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, exploring if results vary according to cognitive domain of the tasks. It was hypothesized that, particularly for memory tasks, AD patients would be inaccurate in relation to self-but not other-performance. METHODS: Twenty-two mild to moderate AD patients and twenty-two healthy older adults participated. Two tasks, with reaction time and working memory tasks, were carried out, and each had a success and a failure condition. Participants were asked to estimate their own performance, as well as the performance of another person they observed. Awareness of performance was measured comparing participant estimations of performance with actual performance. RESULTS: For both the reaction time and working memory tasks, results indicate that participants from both groups overestimated the performance in the failure condition and underestimated the performance in the success condition. They tended to overestimate more the performance of the other person compared to themselves. Additionally, for the working memory task, AD patients tended to overestimate more performances compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that the AD and control groups present the same pattern, with attribution of better performance to another person. For the AD group, the pattern of response was different for memory tasks, which may suggest domain-specific limited awareness.

Perspective taking deficits and their relationship with theory of mind abilities in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Introduction and objectives: In recent years, research has reported that between 45% and 70% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have cognitive deficits, the most prominent being those associated with the frontal lobe. Among these deficits, we can find Theory of Mind (ToM), which is the ability to infer feelings and thoughts of others. Although it has been suggested that ToM relies on more basic skills, such as perspective taking (PT), no studies have investigated this association in patients with MS. The aim of this study was to investigate PT abilities in patients with MS and to establish their relationship with ToM deficits. Material and methods: 36 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and 42 healthy controls matched by age, sex and educational level were evaluated. Both groups were tested to estimate premorbid and current intellectual capacity, PT, ToM (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test -RMET- and Faux Pas) and complementary scales (fatigue, depression and disability). Results: Patients with RRMS presented significant differences from controls in both PT and ToM tests. The PT test showed positive correlation with RMET, one of our ToM tests. Conclusion: The results show that there is a relationship between ToM and PT abilities. Our findings are of clinical and academic relevance to both the assessment and interpretation as well as the rehabilitation of social deficits in MS.

Efectos del entrenamiento en marcos relacionales de condicionalidad sobre el responder relacional deíctico / Effects of Training in Conditional Relational Framing on the Deictic Relational Responding

Resumen Desde la Teoría de los Marcos Relacionales, la toma de perspectiva se concibe como un patrón de responder relacional arbitrariamente aplicable bajo control de claves contextuales deícticas personales, espaciales y temporales. Además, se asume necesaria la capacidad para responder relacionalmente bajo el control de claves contextuales condicionales. Sin embargo, no se ha reportado evidencia empírica que permita identificar la relación existente entre los marcos de condicionalidad y la precisión en el responder relacional deíctico. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar si el entrenamiento en marco de condicionalidad podría facilitar el desempeño sobre el responder deíctico. Participaron cuatro niños con desarrollo normalizado que fueron divididos en dos condiciones experimentales (C1 y C2). Los participantes de ambas condiciones se expusieron a un protocolo de evaluación y entrenamiento en marcos deícticos. A su vez, solo los participantes de la C2 se expusieron a una fase de evaluación y entrenamiento en marcos de condicionalidad previo al entrenamiento en marcos deícticos. Los resultados mostraron que todos los participantes exhibieron mejoras en sus ejecuciones post-test en las relaciones deícticas y que los participantes de C2 obtuvieron mejores resultados con respecto a su pre-test en los niveles de mayor complejidad deíctica tras el entrenamiento en marcos condicionales. Se discute la necesidad de protocolos de toma de perspectiva más naturalistas que posibiliten indagar en cómo se desarrollan los términos relacionales y se abstrae la función de las claves contextuales que permiten interpretar, atribuir y predecir el comportamiento de otro.

Abstract According to Relational Frame Theory, perspective taking is conceived as an arbitrarily applicable relational pattern of relational responding under the control of personal, spatial, and temporal deictic contextual cues. Furthermore, the ability to respond relationally under the control of conditional contextual cues is assumed to be necessary. However, no empirical evidence has been reported to identify the relationship between conditionality frames and accuracy in deictic relational responding. The study aimed to analyze whether training in conditionality frames could facilitate performance on deictic responding. Four children with normalized development participated and were divided into two experimental conditions (C1 and C2). Participants in both conditions were exposed to an evaluation protocol and training on deictic frames. In turn, only C2 participants were exposed to an evaluation and training phase in conditionality frames before the training in deictic frames. Results showed that all the participants exhibited improvements in their post-test performances on deictic relations and that the C2 participants performed better with respect to their pre-test on the levels of greater deictic complexity after training in conditional frames. We discuss the need for more naturalistic perspective-taking protocols that allow us to investigate how relational terms are developed and abstract the role of contextual cues that allow us to interpret, attribute, and predict another's behavior.

Greater Empathic Abilities and Resting State Brain Connectivity Differences in Psychotherapists Compared to Non-psychotherapists.

In a therapeutic environment a proper regulation of the empathic response strengthens the patient-therapist relationship. Thus, it is important that psychotherapists constantly regulate their own perspective and emotions to better understand the other's affective state. We compared the empathic abilities of a group of 52 psychotherapists with a group of 92 non-psychotherapists and found psychometric differences. Psychotherapists showed greater scores in Fantasy and Perspective Taking, both cognitive empathy constructs, and lower scores in the use of expressive suppression, an emotional regulation strategy that hampers the empathic response, suggesting that psychotherapists exert top-down processes that influence their empathic response. In addition, the expected sex differences in empathic concern and expressive suppression were only present in the non-psychotherapist group. To see if such psychometric differences were related to a distinctive functional organization of brain networks, we contrasted the resting state functional connectivity of empathy-related brain regions between a group of 18 experienced psychotherapists and a group of 18 non-psychotherapists. Psychotherapists showed greater functional connectivity between the left anterior insula and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and less connectivity between rostral anterior cingulate cortex and the orbito prefrontal cortex. Both associations correlated with Perspective Taking scores. Considering that the psychometric differences between groups were in the cognitive domain and that the functional connectivity associations involve areas related to cognitive regulation processes, these results suggest a relationship between the functional brain organization of psychotherapists and the cognitive regulation of their empathic response.

The role of perspective-taking and low social class prejudice on cross-ethnic friendship formation.

Cross-ethnic friendships offer a unique opportunity for improving intergroup relations and reduce prejudice, yet ethnic segregation of friendship networks is often seen as a major obstacle to the integration of immigrant students in educational contexts. This article examines the role of perspective-taking abilities and prejudice towards low social class peers on the probability of cross-ethnic friendships in a sample of 242 students from five multicultural classrooms in Chile (Mage = 12.3; SD = 0.69, 45% girls). It was expected that students who reported high levels of perspective-taking abilities and low levels of prejudice towards low social class peers were more likely to form and maintain cross-ethnic friendships. Longitudinal network analysis (RSiena) was used to examine these hypotheses, confirming the role of both variables in fostering (and reducing) friendships among Chilean and immigrant adolescents. Results are discussed in light of an intersectional framework between social class and ethnicity. Implications for social-emotional interventions in multicultural educational contexts are also discussed.

Processing Speaker-Specific Information in Two Stages During the Interpretation of Referential Precedents.

To reduce ambiguity across a conversation, interlocutors reach temporary conventions or referential precedents on how to refer to an entity. Despite their central role in communication, the cognitive underpinnings of the interpretation of precedents remain unclear, specifically the role and mechanisms by which information related to the speaker is integrated. We contrast predictions of one-stage, original two-stage, and extended two-stage models for the processing of speaker information and provide evidence favoring the latter: we show that both stages are sensitive to speaker-specific information. Using an experimental paradigm based on visual-world eye tracking in the context of a referential communication task, we look at the moment-by-moment interpretation of precedents and focus on the temporal profile of the influence of the speaker and linguistic information when facing ambiguity. We find two clearly identifiable moments where speaker-specific information has its effects on reference resolution. We conclude that these two stages reflect two distinct cognitive mechanisms, with different timings, and rely on different representational formats for encoding and accessing information about the speaker: a cue-driven memory retrieval process that mediates language processing and an inferential mechanism based on perspective-taking abilities.

I Am Not in Your Shoes: Low Perspective Taking Mediating the Relation Among Attachment Insecurities and Physical Intimate Partner Violence in Chilean University Students.

Guided by the attachment theory, this study tested the degree to which perspective taking mediates the effects of romantic attachment on the use of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) toward the partner. Participants consisted of 608 Chilean university students involved in a romantic relationship, among whom 44.2% of women and 34.7% of men reported inflicting at least one act of violence toward their partner during the previous year. Results from a structural equation model showed that the association between avoidance of intimacy and physical IPV is mediated by perspective taking for both men and women. However, perspective taking mediated the link between attachment anxiety and physical IPV in women only. Our findings underline the importance of the individual's sense of attachment security in relation to their ability to empathize with their partners, as well as prevent the perpetration of physical IPV against them.

Nivel de orientación empática en los estudiantes de terapia física y rehabilitación de una universidad estatal / Level of empathic orientation in students of physical therapy and rehabilitation of a state university

Objetivo: Determinar el nivel de orientación empática en los estudiantes de Terapia Física y Rehabilitación de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2016. Materiales y métodos: Estudio de enfoque cuantitativo de tipo descriptivo-observacional, prospectivo, con diseño no experimental de corte transversal. Realizado en 134 estudiantes de Terapia Física y Rehabilitación del 2do al 5to año de carrera de la Escuela Académico Profesional de Tecnología Médica de la UNMSM; se empleó la Escala de Empatía Médica de Jefferson (EEMJ). Resultados: En general se obtuvo una puntuación media de 114.60±14.424, que corresponde a un nivel alto de orientación empática. Cualitativamente esta categoría está representada por el 85.1%. Respecto a las dimensiones, se obtuvieron puntuaciones medias de "Toma de perspectiva" (61.33, nivel alto [91.0%]), "Atención por compasión" (41.16, nivel alto [82.8%]) y "Capacidad de Ponerse en el Lugar del Paciente" (12.38, nivel medio [61.2%]). No hay diferencias significativas en general ni en las dimensiones según sexo y según edad (p>0.05), pero sí se encuentran diferencias significativas según año de carrera. Conclusión: Los estudiantes de Terapia Física y Rehabilitación de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, presentan del 3er, 4to y 5to año respecto al 2do año de carrera (p≤0.05) una orientación empática favorable; específicamente se muestran prestos a la comprensión de los sentimientos de los pacientes y en poner atención a las experiencias personales de los pacientes como medio terapéutico

Objective: To determine the level of empathic orientation in students of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), 2016. Materials and methods: A quantitative descriptive-observational prospective non-experimental cross-sectional study performed in 134 second- to fifth-year students of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation at Escuela Académico Profesional de Tecnología Médica of UNMSM. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was used. Results: In general, a mean score of 114.60 ± 14.424 was obtained, corresponding to a high level of empathic orientation. This category is qualitatively represented by 85.1%. Regarding the dimensions, mean scores were obtained in "Perspective Taking" (61.33, high level [91.0%]), "Compassionate Care" (41.16, high level [82.8%]) and "Standing in the Patient's Shoes" (12.38, mean level [61.2%]). There were no significant differences neither in general terms nor in gender and age (p>0.05), but there were significant differences in the year of the career. Conclusion: Third, fourth and fifth-year students of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos have a favorable empathic orientation compared to second-year students (p≤0.05). They specifically show willingness to understand patients' feelings and pay attention to patients' personal experiences as therapeutic means

Metacognition and Perspective-Taking in Alzheimer's Disease: A Mini-Review.

Metacognition refers to the monitoring and regulation of cognitive processes and its impairment can lead to a lack of self-awareness of deficits, or anosognosia. In the context of different neurological and psychiatric disorders (e.g., traumatic brain injury, dementia, and schizophrenia), studies have shown that patients who present impairments in metacognitive abilities may be able to recognize such difficulties in others and in themselves when exposed to material in a third-person perspective. Considering that metacognitive impairments are an important characteristic of dementia, especially in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), studies of the relationship between metacognition and perspective-taking may be relevant to improve the quality of life of people with dementia. The current paper first briefly addresses the theme of metacognition and the impact of metacognitive deficits in people with AD. The focus then turns to the relationship between metacognition and perspective-taking in different neurological and psychiatric disorders, particularly AD. This relationship is also discussed based on theoretical models, particularly the Cognitive Awareness Model (CAM). Specifically, the CAM suggests the existence of distinct memory systems for self- and other-information, an idea which is supported by neuroimaging findings. We suggest that the Default Mode Network, as it has been shown to be implicated in self vs. other processing and is affected early in AD, could explain the impact of perspective-taking on awareness of deficits in AD. Finally, we present possible clinical implications of the relationship between metacognition and perspective-taking in AD. Indeed, we considered the possibility of improving patient's awareness through the use of a third-person perspective, which, consequently, may decrease the negative impacts of anosognosia in AD.

O papel preditivo da habilidade empática sobre o perdão interpessoal / The predictive role of empathic skill on interpersonal forgiveness / El papel predictivo de la capacidad empática sobre el perdón interpersonal

Pesquisas associam benefícios pessoais e interpessoais à empatia, uma habilidade de interação social que abrange aspectos cognitivos, afetivos e comportamentais. A empatia envolve a capacidade para adotar a perspectiva afetiva e cognitiva do outro (tomada de perspectiva), para importar-se genuinamente com o bem-estar alheio (sensibilidade afetiva) e para comportar-se de forma congruente, expressando ao interlocutor que o compreende e se preocupa com o mesmo. Estudos recentes têm relacionado esta habilidade ao perdão interpessoal, o qual caracteriza-se pela mudança cognitiva, afetiva e comportamental em relação a um ofensor específico, de uma polaridade negativa a outra positiva. Neste estudo, objetivou-se avaliar o valor preditivo da empatia sobre o perdão, a partir de medidas de autorrelato multidimensionais. O Inventário de Empatia e o Enright Forgiveness Inventory foram aplicados a uma amostra brasileira, composta por 172 participantes. Análises de regressão indicaram que três fatores empáticos - Tomada de Perspectiva, Sensibilidade Afetiva e Altruísmo - foram preditores do perdão, nas dimensões afetiva e comportamental. Os resultados encontrados apoiam a importância da empatia para a ocorrência do perdão e sugerem que investir nesta habilidade seja um meio promissor de promoção do perdão em intervenções para superação da mágoa.

Current research point to personal and interpersonal benefits associated to empathy, a social interaction ability that includes cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects. Empathy involves the ability to adopt the other's affective and cognitive perspective (perspective taking), to care genuinely with the welfare of others (affective sensitivity) and to behave in a consistent manner, expressing understanding and concern to the one whom you are talking to. Recent studies have linked this ability to interpersonal forgiveness, which is characterized by cognitive, affective and behavioral change in relation to a specific offender, from a negative polarity to a positive one. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive power of empathy on forgiveness, using self-report multidimensional instruments. The Empathy Inventory and the Enright Forgiveness Inventory were applied to a Brazilian sample composed of 172 participants. Regression analysis indicated three dimensions of empathy - Perspective Taking, Affective Sensitivity and Altruism - as predictors of affective and behavioral aspects of forgiveness. Results support the important role of empathy for the occurrence of forgiveness and they suggest investing in this ability is a promising means of promoting forgiveness in interventions to overcome grief.

Investigaciones han asociado beneficios personales e interpersonales a empatía, una habilidad de interacción social que incluye aspectos cognitivos, afectivos y conductuales. Empatía implica capacidad de adoptar el punto de vista afectivo y cognitivo de los otros (toma de perspectiva), de preocuparse con el bienestar de los demás (sensibilidad afectiva) y de comportarse de manera consistente, expresando al otro comprensión y que el mismo le importa. Estudios recientes han relacionado esta capacidad al perdón interpersonal, que se caracteriza por el cambio cognitivo, afectivo y de comportamiento en relación con un agresor específico, de una polaridad negativa a otra positiva. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el valor predictivo de la empatía sobre el perdón, usando medidas multidimensionales de autorreporte. Se aplicaron el Inventario de Empatía y el Enright Forgiveness Inventory a una muestra brasileña de 172 participantes. Los análisis de regresión indicaron que tres factores de la empatía - Toma de Perspectiva, Sensibilidad Afectiva y Altruismo - fueron predictores del perdón en sus dimensiones afectivas y conductuales. Los resultados apoyan la importancia de la empatía para la ocurrencia del perdón y sugieren que la inversión en esta habilidad es un medio prometedor para promover perdón en intervenciones para superar el dolor.

A tomada de perspectiva social: uma análise qualitativa com estudantes paraibanos / Social perspective taking: a qualitative analysis with students from João Pessoa, capital city of Paraiba State, Brazil

Este estudo teve o objetivo avaliar a capacidade de tomada de perspectiva de estudantes (crianças, adolescentes e adultos) matriculados nas redes pública e privada de ensino da cidade de João Pessoa e verificar a influência das variáveis idade, tipo de escola e gênero sobre esta capacidade. O enfoque teórico adotado foi a teoria de Robert Selman sobre a tomada de perspectiva social. Participaram 149 estudantes com idades variando entre 5 e 26 anos, homens e mulheres; estes responderam um questionário com o dilema de Olga e o dilema dos Sem-terra e dados sócio-demográficos. As respostas sobre os dilemas foram categorizadas conforme os níveis de tomada de perspectiva social propostos por Selman. A análise das freqüências de respostas dadas ao dilema de Olga revelou diferenças significativas em relação à variável idade; não foram encontradas diferenças quanto às variáveis tipo de escola e sexo. Já a análise das freqüências de respostas dadas ao dilema dos sem terra revelou diferenças significativas quanto à idade e o tipo de escola. Os resultados foram discutidos com base na literatura e em estudos empíricos pertinentes.(AU)

This study aims to evaluate the perspective taking ability of students (children, teenagers and adults) enrolled in public and private schools in the city of João Pessoa to verify the influence of the age, school type and gender variables on this skill. The theoretical approach adopted is Robert Selman’s theory on social perspective taking. 149 students participated, from ages 5 to 26 years old, both male and female. The Olga dilemma, Landless dilemma questionnaire and also a socio-demographic data survey were conducted. The answers on the dilemmas were categorized according to the levels of decision- on social perspective taking proposed by Selman. The analysis of the response frequency to Olga’s dilemma revealed significant differences in the age variable; no differences were found in the school type and gender variables. However, the analysis of the frequency responses to the plight of the Landless dilemma revealed significant differences in age and type of school. The results were discussed based on the literature and relevant empirical studies.(AU)

A tomada de perspectiva social: uma análise qualitativa com estudantes paraibanos / Social perspective taking: a qualitative analysis with students from João Pessoa, capital city of Paraiba State, Brazil

Este estudo teve o objetivo avaliar a capacidade de tomada de perspectiva de estudantes (crianças, adolescentes e adultos) matriculados nas redes pública e privada de ensino da cidade de João Pessoa e verificar a influência das variáveis idade, tipo de escola e gênero sobre esta capacidade. O enfoque teórico adotado foi a teoria de Robert Selman sobre a tomada de perspectiva social. Participaram 149 estudantes com idades variando entre 5 e 26 anos, homens e mulheres; estes responderam um questionário com o dilema de Olga e o dilema dos Sem-terra e dados sócio-demográficos. As respostas sobre os dilemas foram categorizadas conforme os níveis de tomada de perspectiva social propostos por Selman. A análise das freqüências de respostas dadas ao dilema de Olga revelou diferenças significativas em relação à variável idade; não foram encontradas diferenças quanto às variáveis tipo de escola e sexo. Já a análise das freqüências de respostas dadas ao dilema dos sem terra revelou diferenças significativas quanto à idade e o tipo de escola. Os resultados foram discutidos com base na literatura e em estudos empíricos pertinentes.

This study aims to evaluate the perspective taking ability of students (children, teenagers and adults) enrolled in public and private schools in the city of João Pessoa to verify the influence of the age, school type and gender variables on this skill. The theoretical approach adopted is Robert Selman's theory on social perspective taking. 149 students participated, from ages 5 to 26 years old, both male and female. The Olga dilemma, Landless dilemma questionnaire and also a socio-demographic data survey were conducted. The answers on the dilemmas were categorized according to the levels of decision- on social perspective taking proposed by Selman. The analysis of the response frequency to Olga's dilemma revealed significant differences in the age variable; no differences were found in the school type and gender variables. However, the analysis of the frequency responses to the plight of the Landless dilemma revealed significant differences in age and type of school. The results were discussed based on the literature and relevant empirical studies.

Aggressive and Prosocial? Examining Latent Profiles of Behavior, Social Status, Machiavellianism, and Empathy.

The present study tests whether aggression and prosocial behavior can coexist as part of a socially functional and adaptive profile among early adolescents. Using a person-centered approach, the study examined early adolescents' likelihood of being classified into profiles involving aggressive and prosocial behavior, social status (popular, liked, cool), machiavellianism, and both affective and cognitive components of empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking, respectively). Participants were 1170 early adolescents (10-12 years of age; 52% male) from four schools in metropolitan Santiago, Chile. Through latent profile analysis, three profiles emerged (normative-low aggressive, high prosocial-low aggressive, and high aggressive-high popular status). Both empathic concern and perspective taking were higher in the high prosocial-low aggressive profile, whereas the high aggressive-high popular status profile had the lowest scores on both empathy components as well as machiavellianism. No profile emerged where aggressive and prosocial behaviors were found to co-exist, or to be significantly above the mean. The results underscore that aggressive behavior is highly contextual and likely culturally specific, and that the study of behavioral profiles should consider social status as well as socio-emotional adjustment indicators. These complex associations should be taken into consideration when planning prevention and intervention efforts to reduce aggression or school bullying and to promote positive peer relationships.

The fight against prejudice in older adults: perspective taking effectiveness / Combatiendo el prejuicio en personas mayores: efectividad de la toma de perspectiva

Inhibition of prejudice appears to be more problematic for older adults, hence the need to develop programs to reduce intergroup bias at later stages in life. Perspective taking was analyzed in this study, as one of various cognitive strategies that have been shown to reduce such bias. Data on a sample of 63 Spanish participants with a mean age of 64.1 years was gathered after an intervention based on mental imagery, aimed at reducing explicit prejudice. A wide array of variables was measured (personality traits, values, empathy, and attribution) which may moderate effectiveness in perspective taking. Despite no main effect was found, effects due to interaction of perspective taking found in OLS regression analysis revealed that perspective taking based intervention was effective for some older adults, particularly those who had low scores on agreeableness, empathy, and universalism, and high scores on conformity. The conclusions suggest that perspective taking might be successfully applied to some profiles of older people albeit it is not as strong and transferable strategy as it used to be thought.

La inhibición del prejuicio resulta más problemática en personas mayores, de lo que se deriva la necesidad de desarrollar programas que reduzcan el sesgo intergrupal en los estadios avanzados de la vida. En el presente estudio se analizó la toma de perspectiva como una de las estrategias capaces de reducir este tipo de sesgo. Se recogieron datos en una muestra de 63 participantes españoles con una edad media de 64.1 años, en la que se implementó una intervención basada en imaginería mental, dirigida a la reducción del prejuicio. Asimismo, se midieron diversas variables que podían modular la efectividad de la toma de perspectiva (personalidad, valores, empatía y atribución). Aunque no se encontró ningún efecto principal, los debidos a la interacción de la toma de perspectiva y los moduladores, hallados en el análisis de regresión por mínimos cuadrados ordinarios, revelaron que la intervención basada en la inducción de toma de perspectiva fue efectiva en determinadas personas mayores, particularmente en aquellas que puntuaron bajo en amabilidad, empatía y universalismo, y alto en conformismo. En las conclusiones se sugiere que la toma de perspectiva podría ser aplicada con éxito en determinados perfiles de adultos mayores, aunque no se trata de una estrategia tan potente y transferible como se pensaba.

Análisis preliminar de un protocolo para la evaluación de marcos deícticos / Preliminary Analysis of an Assessment of Deictic Frames Protocol

El propósito de esta investigación es explorar diferencias en la ejecución de tareas deícticas presentadas en el protocolo de McHugh, Barnes-Holmes y Barnes-Holmes (2004a), en relación con variaciones procedimentales que consistieron en exponer a unos participantes al protocolo en un formato de entrevista y a otros en una versión computarizada. La muestra estuvo conformada por 63 participantes entre 9 y 12 años, que fueron pareados por género, edad y nivel educativo, asignados a alguna de las condiciones de aplicación. Se calculó el número de errores cometido por cada participante y grupo de edad en cada marco deíctico y nivel de complejidad relacional, al igual que se estimó el efecto intersujetos mediante un ANOVA de dos vías con edad y versión (cara-a-cara y computador) como variables independientes y tipo de ensayo como variable dependiente. El efecto de la edad fue significativo para el caso de las relaciones invertidas ahora-antes y el de versión para las relaciones simples yo-tú y aquí-allá. En todos los grupos de edad se halló una tendencia a cometer mayor cantidad de errores en la versión computarizada en todos los tipos de ensayo. Los hallazgos se discuten en términos de confiabilidad del procedimiento y validez ecológica de las estrategias no automatizadas para la evaluación de relaciones de estímulo derivadas.

The aim of this study was to explore differences in the performance of deictic tasks presented in the protocol of McHugh, Barnes-Holmes y Barnes-Holmes (2004a) related to procedural variations that consisted of a group of participants exposed to the protocol in a face-to-face interview format, in contrast with another group exposed to the protocol in a computerized version. 63 participants (9 to 12 years old) were paired by gender, age and grade and were assigned to one of the conditions. The number of errors was calculated for each participant and age group in each of the deictic frames and levels of relational complexity and inter-subjects effects were estimated using a two-way ANOVA with age and version (face-to-face and computer) as the independent variables and trial type as the dependent variable. The effect of age was significant for reversed NOW-THEN relations and the effect of version for simple I-YOU and HERE-THERE relations. A trend to produce more errors across all trial types in the computerized version was identified. Findings are discussed in terms of procedural reliability and ecological validity of non automated strategies for the assessment of derived stimulus relations.

Relaciones deíciicas simples, toma de perspectiva y competencia socall / Simple dectic reelations, perspective-taking and social competence

En la Teoría de Marcos Relacionales (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001) se ha planteado que la toma de perspectiva se puede entender como un repertorio de respuestas relacionales deícticas personales, espaciales y temporales, derivadas y aplicables arbitrariamente. Bajo esta óptica, en esta investigación se evaluó el impacto de múltiples ejemplares de reforzamiento por responder relacional en función de claves contextuales en el establecimiento de relaciones deícticas simples y el impacto de este entrenamiento en puntajes de ToM y competencia social. Se implementó un diseño de línea de base múltiple con cuatro participantes (41 a 58 meses), residentes en una fundación de protección y restitución de derechos. Los participantes requirieron entrenamiento en relaciones personales y/o temporales, siendo éstas últimas las más difíciles de aprender a partir de contingencias de reforzamiento. No se identificó una clara relación entre cambios en el repertorio de relaciones deícticas simples y los puntajes en tareas de teoría de la mente y competencia social. Se discuten las implicaciones teóricas y metodológicas de estos hallazgos.

Relational Frame Theory (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Roche, 2001) states that perspective-taking can be understood as a repertoire of personal, spatial and temporal deictic relations that are derived and arbitrarily applicable. Under this rubric, this research evaluated the impact of multiple reinforcement exemplars for relational responding according to contextual cues in establishing simple deictic relations and the impact of this training on ToM and social competence scores. A multiple baseline design was implemented with four participants (41 to 58 months old) raised in an institutional setting. Participants required training in personal and/or temporal relations, the latter being harder to learn after being exposed to reinforcement contingencies. No clear relationships among changes in the deictic relations repertoire and ToM and social competence scores were identified. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed.

Funcionamiento cognitivo de niños entre 4 y 6 años para la resolución de conflictos interpersonales / Cognitive Functioning of Children Aged 4 to 6 in Interpersonal Conflict Resolution

Esta investigación se centra en el estudio de aspectos del funcionamiento cognitivo de los niños en el dominio del conocimiento social, partiendo del uso de Situaciones de Resolución de Problemas (SRP). Se busca indagar la forma en la cual los niños resuelvan conflictos interpersonales y utilicen la toma de perspectiva como habilidad social. El objetivo general del proyecto es describir los funcionamientos cognitivos de 20 niñas y niños entre cuatro y seis años de edad, para la resolución de conflictos interpersonales, a través de los desempeños obtenidos en una tarea, que simula tres escenarios con situaciones de disputa entre varios personajes. Los resultados demuestran que los niños en edad escolar son capaces de incorporar habilidades sociales desde edades tempranas. Este hecho sustenta la idea de que el desarrollo cognitivo, especialmente en el dominio social, no requiere de un funcionamiento general, sino que presenta variabilidad en periodos cortos de tiempo respecto a la resolución de conflictos interpersonales, e incluso en micro momentos dentro de la misma tarea.

This article focuses on children cognitive Functioning in the social domain of knowledge. It is based on the use of problem solving tasks (PST), using a social skills perspective, to investigate the way in which children solve interpersonal conflicts. The project's overall objective is to describe the cognitive functioning of 20 children between four and sixth years of age, for interpersonal conflicts solving, through the performances obtained in a task that simulates three scenarios where there are disputes between various characters. The results show that school-age children are able to incorporate social skills from an early age and support the idea that cognitive development, especially in the social domain, does not require an overall functioning, but show variability in short periods of time compared to solving interpersonal conflicts, and even within the same task's micro moments.

Evaluación y entrenamiento de la toma de perspectiva: una propuesta analítica funcional / Assessment and training of perspective taking: a functional analytical proposal

La toma de perspectiva difícilmente se desarrolla en los niños antes de los cuatro años de edad, según las investigaciones. Los protocolos usados hasta ahora están basados en situaciones hipotéticas con un alto nivel de abstracción y presentan un número limitado de ejemplos. Por esto, se desarrolló un protocolo para el entrenamiento de toma de perspectiva con base en situaciones reales, múltiples ejemplares y entrega de retroalimentación, manteniendo como constante las relaciones deícticas (YO-TÚ, AQUÍ-ALLÍ y AHORA-ENTONCES, simples e inversas). Bajo un diseño intrasujeto ABA, el protocolo fue efectivo para desarrollar las habilidades de toma de perspectiva en una niña de 3 años y 7 meses de edad, que no las presentaba al momento de la medición inicial. También, se analizan los datos correspondientes al número de sesiones requeridas para cada uno de los marcos y su complejidad a la luz de las investigaciones previas.

According to previous research, perspective-taking can't be easily developed before ages of four years old. Nevertheless, that studies used protocols based on hypothetical situations with a high level of abstraction and, additionally, with a limited number of examples. For this reason, a training protocol for perspective taking, based on real situations was developed. The protocol used a multiple exemplar training, and feedback was provided when was needed. Deictic frames was keeped as a constant (I-YOU, HERE-THERE and NOW-THEN, simple and reversed). An intrasubject ABA design was used in this research. It was obtained that the protocol was effective to develop the abilities of perspective taking in a girl of 3 years and 7 months old. She didn't show the abilities at the first measurement. Also the data of the number of sessions required for training each frame, and their complexity are analyzed under the light of previous research.

Toma de perspectiva y teoría de la mente: aspectos conceptuales y empíricos. Una propuesta complementaria y pragmática

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Abstract: The present work completes an exhaustive revisión of the delimitation of the ability of perspective taking from different points of view. First, perspective taking is defined as the ability of an individual to interpret his/hers emotional and mental states and those of others. Additionally, the term has also been used in medical settings to refer to a tactic intended to stop certain limiting feeling and/or thoughts and instead move feelings and thoughts towards a different direction. At the same time, perspective taking is considered to be at the heart of psychological phenomena such as empathy, that is, the capacity to distinguish what individuals know about themselves in a certain situation (how someone thinks, feels and behaves), self-awareness, interpersonal relations, and various social skills deficits. Second, this ability is conceptualized as a metacognition and it is assumed that the object of study is the theory of the mind. Third, from a developmental perspective, data have shown that children four to five years old, without any psychological disabilities, have the ability to take somebody else's perspective. We reviewed different studies regarding the development of the abilities to express and interpret emotions as precursors to perspective taking. Subsequently, we revised and analyzed the tests or strategies most commonly used to evaluate the ability of perspective taking. Typically, the capacity of an individual to have "a theory of the mind" is determined through tests of false beliefs (such as the classic test of Sally-Anne, the "Smarties" test, "M&M's", and the "Maxi's" Test). Múltiple variations of the tests of false beliefs have been conducted with flashcards or photographs, with characters in oral stories, and through the use of games. Additionally, over the last few years the focus of this body of research has evolved towards the elaboration and validation instruments to measure empathy. Among them are the tests of Empathy Quotient (EQ), the Friendship Questionnaire (FQ), and reading the "mind" in the eyes. It is important to note that these efforts have been focused mostly on individuals with Asperger" s Syndrome or those with higher verbal capabilities. From this latter perspective, we propose empirical evidence that points out to differences in the ability of perspective taking between children with or without autism. This is also shown in the results of previous studies, in which different levels of perspective taking skills were seen between children diagnosed with autism, and those diagnosed with Down Syndrome. It is important to note that this was not true when their verbal skills were not considered as a variable. Likewise, other studies showed that children with autism were not the only ones that failed the theory of the mind tests, but that these tests were also failed by those children with deficits in language and cognitive skills. In this article, we present the results of a study that replicates previous findings which show that typical developing children per-form better in perspective taking tests, followed by children diag-nosed with Down Syndrome, and subsequently by children with autism. It was also noted that the typical developing children showed the highest level of verbal discrimination, followed by the children diagnosed with Down Syndrome, and finally the children diagnosed with autism. One important finding in this study is that all children benefited from the use of contextual prompts, which improved the number of correct responses across all the theory of the mind tests. Additionally, the data varied depending on the type of tests utilized to measure perspective taking skills. In this article, we have also reviewed the different explanations for the origins and development of perspective taking, among which the theory of the mind prevails. The ability to take some-one else's perspective is explained by the development or matura-tion of an innate and specialized module of representations and knowledge, and the formation of conceptual structures of a higher order or meta-representations. Additionally, the ability to ignore perceptual information, salient or not, and to combine simultaneously various contexts are considered prerequisites. In other words, perspective taking speaks to the relationship between psychological constructs such as perception and knowledge. Additionally, it has been hypothesized that shared, joint, or independent attention can be a prerequisite for conversation, and may be the basis of a theory of the mind. In any case, the origins of the development of such a theory have been especially ubiquitous in terms of the executive function and possible relations with cerebral lesions or alterations. However, some authors consider that the process of central coherence may be relatively independent of a theory of the mind. The research of Baron-Cohen et al. has concentrated on identifying existing neurological deficits or organic changes such as bilateral lesions or the role of testosterone on the quality of social interactions and the restrictive social interests of individuals with autism. A similar interest exists in researching the difference in perspective taking and empathy abilities exhibited by members of the opposite sex. Continuing with the neurological foundations of the empathy is of full present time the discoveries regarding «mirror neurons¼ and this recent study with monkeys proposes a specific cerebral area for the formation of the meta-representation. These neurons discharge both when the individual performs an action and when the individual observes another person performing the same action. Finally, even in the light of all the above, other sources point toward the social root of perspective taking skills. Additionally, as indicated by the research of Howlin, Baron-Cohen & Hadwin, it is considered perspective taking includes five different levels: a) simple visual perspective taking, b) the knowl-edge that different individuals can have separately the same thoughts, and c) understanding that "seeing leads to learning," followed by d) the ability to predict actions based on valid beliefs, and finally e) the ability to predict false beliefs. In the light of all of the above, once the radical conclusions of these investigations are viewed critically, the theory of the mind is viewed as a disputable theory of the delimitation of the cause and development of such skills. In addition, to the perspective taking tests themselves, the pre-requisite skills of perspective taking need to be extensively ana-lyzed. In fact, it has been shown that, in order to have an adequate performance on these tests of false beliefs, individuals should be able: 1. to remember and adequately retell their own past desires, thoughts, and past actions; 2. to retain an object in their mind, perceive a second object, and form a relationship between the two, as in a "symbolic function"; 3. to demonstrate the ability to pretend; and 4. to identify the role of age and verbal abilities in children as pre-requisites for an accurate performance on tests of false beliefs, and interpretations of the world. Lastly, we propose a pragmatic and complementary analysis the Theory of Mind based in the functional-contextual analysis of behavior. First, it is considered that perspective taking requires or is closely related to other social behaviors (such as taking turns when talking, initiating verbal responses in interpersonal relations, and the capacity for empathy). In the same manner, theory of mind requires an adequate level of simple and complex conditional discriminations, and these should be analyzed in terms of stimulus control and equivalence relations. In other words, this ability to infer thoughts, feeling, and emotions of others exists if the following prerequisites are present: 1. the processes of the classical conditioning of the emotions, 2. a generalized imitation, and 3. the development of functional classes. Without these experiences or the capability to be affected by them, children (i.e. children with generalized autism) do not develop language adequately. Second, perspective taking implies that an observer's previous experiences and observations with certain events determine his/ her reaction to responses emitted by others in similar circumstances. Finally, from a contextual perspective, it is considered that a speaker's relational frames play a role in this process (for the discriminations I/you, here/there, now/later). These relational properties are abstracted through multiple exemplars or multiple learning opportunities to speak from one's own perspective in relation to others.