Abstract
Abstract
Objective
Social cognition and executive deficits are frequent in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Yet, there is a paucity of standardized domain-specific psychometric tools for the assessment of complex decision-making, social cognition (i.e., Theory of Mind), and empathy. To this aim, this study intended at providing normative data in an Italian population sample for the Iowa Gambling Task, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index.
Method
The Iowa Gambling Task, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index were administered to 462 healthy Italian participants aged between 18 and 91 years, considering demographic factors. A confirmatory factor analysis was run to test for unidimensionality. Normative values were derived by means of the Equivalent Scores method.
Results
Education predicted all tests’ scores, age influenced scores at the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, gender predicted empathic abilities only. The three tests did not underpin a unidimensional structure.
Conclusions
The present work provides demographically adjusted Italian normative data for a set of tests assessing real-life decision-making, emotion recognition and empathy, filling a gap within II-level, domain-specific, neuropsychological testing. For the first time, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index is proposed as an adjuvant neuropsychological tool, while the standardization of the Iowa Gambling Task offers a new scoring system for advantageous/disadvantageous choices.
Funder
IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Fondi di Ateneo per la Ricerca
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health,Clinical Psychology,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology,General Medicine