Social functioning in schizotypy: How affect influences social behavior in daily life

Abstract

Objective Social deficits are already exhibited by people at risk for schizophrenia‐spectrum disorders. Technological advances have made passive detection of social deficits possible at granular levels. Method In this real‐world study, we tested if schizotypy status (high/low) predicted two types of social behavior: (1) being around other people; and (2) actively socializing with others. We also examined if schizotypy influences relationships between social behavior and affect using subjective and objective instruments. Results Our findings revealed that socializing with others was significantly decreased in the high schizotypy group. Positive affect increased in social situations and predicted later social behavior in those low, but not high, in schizotypy. Conclusion Decreased social behavior in schizotypy may be explained, in part, by these individuals being less incentivized than their peers to pursue social situations. Future studies should test this explanation in larger samples exhibiting elevated positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy traits.

Personalizing interventions using real-world interactions: Improving symptoms and social functioning in schizophrenia with tailored metacognitive therapy.

“…This is a common approach in EAR studies (Abel & Minor, 2021; Robbins et al, 2011, 2014) and allows participants to listen to and delete files that they do not want to share with our team. Consistent with other studies, approximately 1% of files were deleted in this trial (Minor et al, 2018, 2020; Robbins et al, 2014). Second, not providing recording times to participants likely minimizes social desirability biases and limits the impact of the EAR on participants’ behavior.…”

“…Pre–post intervention data showed strong evidence of feasibility: participants in both conditions wore the EAR over 70% of their waking hours (84% in Tailored MERIT), with little change between pre–post time points. These findings aligned with past EAR assessment studies (Manson & Robbins, 2017; Minor et al, 2020) and show that asking people to wear the EAR for extended periods is a viable strategy. Our group has also shown that having participants wear the EAR for 2 days yields enough data to select social interactions, as a recent study found that our strategy resulted in a mean of >6 recorded interactions per week in those with schizophrenia (Abel et al, 2021).…”

“…Regarding feasibility, we expected that subjects would wear the EAR for at least 70% of their waking hours. This is in line with previous EAR assessment studies (Manson & Robbins, 2017;Minor et al, 2020) and would provide approximately 1.5 hr of audio data each week from which to select social interactions. To measure acceptability of the EAR, we hypothesized that participants, particularly those in Tailored MERIT, would rate wearing the EAR as being low in burden and having minimal impact on behavior.…”

Expanding the positivity offset theory of anhedonia to the psychosis continuum

“…The primary function of a normative positivity offset is to motivate for exploratory behavior. Therefore, an interesting avenue for future research is to investigate whether the diminished positivity offset adds to explaining diminished goal-directed activity that has been found in ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies both in people with schizophrenia 2 – 4 , 27 and in people with elevated levels of psychosis proneness 28 , 29 .…”

Comparing two measures of schizotypy and their relationship with psychological distress in British university students

“…Alternatively, another suggestion would be that the two SPQ subscales could reflect criterion variables, that is social problems might be a consequence of schizotypy rather than a defining characteristic (e.g., Minor et al, 2020;Springfield & Pinkham, 2020). That is, is someone schizotypic because he or she does not have close friends;…”