Preliminary examination of a measure of metacognitive perspective-taking: The Interpersonal Block Assembly Task

People with schizophrenia experience deficits in perspective-taking and metacognition, both of which are related to social impairment in the disorder. Current measurement paradigms vary in their ability to capture the nuanced interconnection of metacognitive and perspective-taking processes during dyadic interactions. This study aimed to introduce the Interpersonal Block Assembly Task (IBAT) as a measure of metacognitive perspective-taking and to provide preliminary evidence of reliability and validity in a sample of people with schizophrenia.

Thirty-nine people with schizophrenia and 35 healthy people (without a psychiatric diagnosis) participated in this study. Participants were administered the IBAT as well as other measures of social cognition, neurocognition, and symptoms. Indices of internal consistency and interrater reliability were calculated, and convergent validity was assessed using correlational analyses. Analysis of covariance was used to test whether the IBAT could differentiate participant groups.

The IBAT total score displayed adequate internal consistency and interrater reliability, and evidenced expected associations with social cognition, neurocognition, and negative symptoms. The IBAT also differentiated patient groups such that those with schizophrenia performed significantly worse.

This pilot study suggests potential utility of the IBAT and provides preliminary evidence of reliability and validity of this unique measure of metacognitive perspective-taking for people with schizophrenia. With further research, the IBAT may be a valuable contribution to the field of psychiatric rehabilitation, especially considering increased emphasis on social-cognitive and metacognitive intervention approaches. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).