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Providing a taxonomy for social cognition: how to bridge the gap between expert opinion, empirical data, and
Willem S Eikelboom1, Esther van den Berg2, Miriam H Beauchamp2
1From the Vincent van Gogh Institute for Psychiatry, Centre of Excellence for Korsakoff and Alcohol-Related Cognitive Disorders, Venray, The Netherlands (Eikelboom, Kessels); Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (Eikelboom, Kessels); Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (van den Berg); Université de Montréal, Department of Psychology, Montréal, Que. (Beauchamp); Sainte-Justine Hospital Azrieli Research Center, Montréal, Que. (Beauchamp); University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne, Australia (Bray); Murdoch Children's Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia (Bray); University of Sydney, School of Psychology, Sydney, Australia (Kumfor); University of Sydney, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney, Australia (Kumfor); University of Edinburgh, Department of Psychology, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (MacPherson); University of New South Wales School of Psychology, Sydney, Australia (McDonald); University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology, Groningen, the Netherlands (Spikman); Tactus Addiction Care, Deventer, the Netherlands (Kessels); Klimmendaal Rehabilitation Centre, Arnhem, the Netherlands (Kessels) willemeikelboom@vigogroep.nl.
Abstract:
The terminology used to describe components of social cognition lacks clarity and specificity. Recent studies have tried to reach consensus on definitions of social cognition based on expert opinion. These efforts resulted in semantically well-defined terms and distinct concepts, but it remains unclear whether these terms also align with empirical data and existing theoretical models of social cognition. In this commentary, we examine whether the proposed definitions for social cognition are supported by clinical observations and the extant knowledge base on the underlying neural substrates of these skills. In addition, we consider how the proposed definitions align with existing theoretical models of social cognition. We argue that consensus should not be based solely on expert opinion. Therefore, we propose an updated biopsychosocial model of social cognition that integrates proposed expert definitions with a theoretical model of social cognition based on empirical data: the Hierarchical Interdependent Taxonomy of Social cognition (HITS) model. The HITS model guides future research, helps to address the poor construct validity that has been revealed for several tests of social cognition, and provides a framework for the assessment of social cognition.
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