Social cognition and empathy in adults with obsessive compulsive disorder: A meta-analysis

Examining the Effects of a Brief, Fully Self-Guided Mindfulness Ecological Momentary Intervention on Empathy and Theory-of-Mind for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

The utility of brief mindfulness ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) to improve empathy and theory-of-mind has been underinvestigated, particularly in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

OBJECTIVE

In this randomized controlled trial, we aimed to examine the efficacy of a 14-day, fully self-guided, mindfulness EMI on the empathy and theory-of-mind domains for GAD.

METHODS

Adults (aged ≥18 y) diagnosed with GAD were randomized to a mindfulness EMI (68/110, 61.8%) or self-monitoring app (42/110, 38.2%) arm. They completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index self-report empathy measure and theory-of-mind test (Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task) at prerandomization, postintervention, and 1-month follow-up (1MFU) time points. Hierarchical linear modeling was conducted with the intent-to-treat principle to determine prerandomization to postintervention (pre-post intervention) and prerandomization to 1MFU (pre-1MFU) changes, comparing the mindfulness EMI to self-monitoring.

RESULTS

Observed effects were generally stronger from pre-1MFU than from pre-post intervention time points. From pre-post intervention time points, the mindfulness EMI was more efficacious than the self-monitoring app on fantasy (the ability to imagine being in others' shoes; between-intervention effect size: Cohen d=0.26, P=.007; within-intervention effect size: Cohen d=0.22, P=.02 for the mindfulness EMI and Cohen d=-0.16, P=.10 for the self-monitoring app). From pre-1MFU time points, the mindfulness EMI, but not the self-monitoring app, improved theory-of-mind (a window into others' thoughts and intentions through abstract, propositional knowledge about their mental states, encompassing the ability to decipher social cues) and the fantasy, personal distress (stress when witnessing others' negative experiences), and perspective-taking (understanding others' perspective) empathy domains. The effect sizes were small to moderate (Cohen d=0.15-0.36; P<.001 to P=.01) for significant between-intervention effects from pre-1MFU time points. Furthermore, the within-intervention effect sizes for these significant outcomes were stronger for the mindfulness EMI (Cohen d=0.30-0.43; P<.001 to P=.03) than the self-monitoring app (Cohen d=-0.12 to 0.21; P=.001 to P>.99) from pre-1MFU time points. No between-intervention and within-intervention effects on empathic concern (feeling affection, compassion, and care when observing others in distress, primarily attending to their emotional well-being) were observed from pre-post intervention and pre-1MFU time points.

CONCLUSIONS

The brief mindfulness EMI improved specific domains of empathy (eg, fantasy, personal distress, and perspective-taking) and theory-of-mind with small to moderate effect sizes in persons with GAD. Higher-intensity, self-guided or coach-facilitated, multicomponent mindfulness EMIs targeting the optimization of social relationships are likely necessary to improve the empathic concern domain in this population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04846777; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04846777.

The effect of psilocybin on empathy and prosocial behavior: a proposed mechanism for enduring antidepressant effects

Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic shown to have enduring antidepressant effects. Currently, the mechanism for its enduring effects is not well understood. Empathy and prosocial behavior may be important for understanding the therapeutic benefit of psilocybin. In this article we review the effect of psilocybin on empathy and prosocial behavior. Moreover, we propose that psilocybin may induce a positive feedback loop involving empathy and prosocial behavior which helps explain the observed, enduring antidepressant effects.

Understanding how personality traits, experiences, and attitudes shape negative bias toward AI-generated artworks

The study primarily aimed to understand whether individual factors could predict how people perceive and evaluate artworks that are perceived to be produced by AI. Additionally, the study attempted to investigate and confirm the existence of a negative bias toward AI-generated artworks and to reveal possible individual factors predicting such negative bias. A total of 201 participants completed a survey, rating images on liking, perceived positive emotion, and believed human or AI origin. The findings of the study showed that some individual characteristics as creative personal identity and openness to experience personality influence how people perceive the presented artworks in function of their believed source. Participants were unable to consistently distinguish between human and AI-created images. Furthermore, despite generally preferring the AI-generated artworks over human-made ones, the participants displayed a negative bias against AI-generated artworks when subjective perception of source attribution was considered, thus rating as less preferable the artworks perceived more as AI-generated, independently on their true source. Our findings hold potential value for comprehending the acceptability of products generated by AI technology.

The anticipatory and consummatory interpersonal pleasure scale: Applicability to Chinese OCD patients

As a transdiagnostic symptom, social anhedonia has gained increasing attention. Evidence suggests that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients demonstrate social anhedonia. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) in an undergraduate sample and Chinese OCD patients. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between clinical symptoms and ACIPS scores. This study involved 3,306 undergraduate students and 293 patients with OCD. Internal consistency and convergent validity of ACIPS were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to determine the best-fitting of potential factor models, and multi-group CFA was used to examine measurement invariance across genders and samples. Additionally, hierarchical linear regression was conducted in order to investigate the relationship between clinical symptoms and ACIPS scores in patients suffering from OCD. ACIPS showed acceptable internal consistency in undergraduate and OCD samples (Cronbach's α = 0.93 and 0.89, respectively). In both samples, the four-factor structure had the best fit index. Scalar invariance was established across undergraduate and OCD samples, while residual invariance was established across genders. In both samples, the ACIPS was significantly correlated with the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. Depression and the severity of obsessive thoughts significantly and negatively correlated with the ACIPS score in OCD patients (p < 0.05). In conclusion, ACIPS is a reliable, effective, simple, and convenient tool for the assessment of social anhedonia. Depression and obsessive thoughts contribute to social anhedonia in OCD patients.