%0 Journal Article
%T The Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice (SAT-MC): A Psychometric and Equivalence Study of an Alternate Form
%A Jason K. Johannesen
%A Jessica B. Lurie
%A Joanna M. Fiszdon
%A Morris D. Bell
%J ISRN Psychiatry
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/830825
%X The Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice (SAT-MC) uses a 64-second video of geometric shapes set in motion to portray themes of social relatedness and intentions. Considered a test of ¡°Theory of Mind,¡± the SAT-MC assesses implicit social attribution formation while reducing verbal and basic cognitive demands required of other common measures. We present a comparability analysis of the SAT-MC and the new SAT-MC-II, an alternate form created for repeat testing, in a university sample ( ). Score distributions and patterns of association with external validation measures were nearly identical between the two forms, with convergent and discriminant validity supported by association with affect recognition ability and lack of association with basic visual reasoning. Internal consistency of the SAT-MC-II was superior (alpha = .81) to the SAT-MC (alpha = .56). Results support the use of SAT-MC and new SAT-MC-II as equivalent test forms. Demonstrating relatively higher association to social cognitive than basic cognitive abilities, the SAT-MC may provide enhanced sensitivity as an outcome measure of social cognitive intervention trials. 1. Introduction Human social behavior involves a complex interchange between self-perception, knowledge of social expectations, interpretation of subtle social cues, and inferences about the mental state of others. The study of social information processing, broadly termed social cognition [1], has increasingly become a priority area in psychiatric research and assessment. The profound effects of social impairment in schizophrenia may in part be explained by difficulties interpreting the emotions and actions of others and regulating one¡¯s own behavior in response to a dynamic social world. There is now considerable evidence to suggest that laboratory-based assessment of social cognition improves prediction of real world functional outcomes beyond what is captured by standard neuropsychological assessment [2¨C5]. Growing appreciation for the complexity of social behavior has guided the development of assessment methods to target discrete domains of social information processing, of which emotion processing, social perception, social knowledge, theory of mind (ToM), and attributional bias are the most widely studied in schizophrenia [1]. Despite general consensus regarding this categorization of social cognitive domains, determination of functional associations distinctly related to social information processing may be obscured by a generalized neurocognitive deficit common to this population [6¨C8]. Generalized deficit may
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.psychiatry/2013/830825/