Role of theory of mind in emotional awareness and alexithymia: Implications for conceptualization and measurement

Consciousness and Cognition
R D LaneCynthia M Stonnington

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine whether alexithymia, which is characterized by difficulty in recognizing and describing emotions, is associated with impairments in the ability to mentally represent emotional states. We studied 89 outpatients including 29 conversion disorder patients, 30 functional somatic syndrome [e.g. fibromyalgia] patients and 30 medical controls. Groups did not differ on affective or cognitive Theory of Mind (ToM) measures, the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) or the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) after adjusting for Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) variables. Across all patients, LEAS but not TAS-20 correlated positively with affective and cognitive ToM measures after adjusting for PANAS scores. Impairments in ToM functioning influence LEAS performance but not TAS-20 scores. These findings support the distinction between a milder "anomia" form of alexithymia associated with impaired emotion naming and a more severe "agnosia" form associated with impaired mental representation of emotion.

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Citations

Sep 14, 2015·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Ryan Smith, Richard D Lane
Feb 2, 2018·Journal of Personality Assessment·Ryan SmithRichard D Lane
Jun 6, 2019·The Journal of Genetic Psychology·Luciano RomanoCaterina Fiorilli
Jun 7, 2019·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Punit ShahLois Player
Jun 8, 2019·PloS One·Zeynep Emine Okur GüneyPeter Henningsen
Nov 3, 2017·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Sophie BetkaHugo Critchley
Aug 9, 2019·Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine·Abel ThambySantosh K Chaturvedi
Aug 25, 2020·The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease·Magdalena AugustinVolker Busch
Apr 8, 2017·Scientific Reports·Korina WinterPhilipp Kanske
Apr 27, 2017·Journal of Neural Transmission·Kristína CzekóováMartin Bareš
Dec 31, 2020·Journal of Clinical Medicine·Eva Mª Arroyo-AnllóRoger Gil
Apr 20, 2021·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Martin JániTomáš Kašpárek
Jun 8, 2021·Psychological Research·Cristina ScarpazzaSebastiano Massaro
Jun 11, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Lorna S Jakobson, Sarah N Rigby
Aug 28, 2021·Journal of Intelligence·Richard D Lane, Ryan Smith

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