Theory of Mind or Social Information Processing Training: Which Is the Better Way to Foster Social Adjustment?

Abstract

Theory of Mind (ToM) and Social information processing (SIP) are key sets of social cognition skills to develop good competences in social interactions and adjustment. In children with intellectual disabilities (IDs), socio-emotional competences are deficient and impaired their social inclusion. While it is known that some ToM or SIP trainings could be effective in population with IDs, no study investigated the transfer effects between ToM and SIP and the differentiated effect of ToM and SIP trainings on social adjustment. To address these goals, 45 elementary school children with IDs were recruited. They were randomly allocated to either one of the two experimental groups (ToM or SIP group) or to the control group. Each child and his or her parents completed measures at pre- and post-test to assess cognitive abilities, ToM and SIP skills and social adjustment. Results demonstrated a transfer effect varying depending on the nature of the understanding of mental states (affective or cognitive ToM) and of social situations (positive or negative) eliciting SIP. Findings give psychoeducational guidelines for interventions that aimed at fostering socio-emotional competences in children with IDs.