Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Quantifying Social Motivation in Mice Using Operant Conditioning
Published on: August 8, 2015
Characterizing social motivation deficits in treatment-resistant schizophrenia: Evidence from social incentive
Simon S Y Lui1,2, Jasmine W S Chan3, Jason L F Chan1
1Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Aim:
The Treatment-Response-and-Resistance-in-Psychosis (TRRIP) criteria recognizes negative symptoms as defining features for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Social motivation refers to the desire to pursue social reward (and to avoid social punishment). Impaired social motivation is related to negative symptoms but has seldom been studied in TRS patients. We aimed to characterize social motivation processing in TRS patients and examine the impacts of negative symptoms on social motivation processing.
Methods:
We recruited 60 TRS patients, 60 remitted schizophrenia patients and 60 controls. In the Social Incentive Delay (SID) task, participants had to hit the targets within the response window to seek positive/neutral/negative social outcomes in emoji formats; and they also rated their emotions during the anticipation and receipt of social outcomes. Generalized-estimation-equation (GEE) models examined the impacts of TRS/remitted schizophrenia, negative symptoms, and the interaction between clinical-group-status and cue-valence on the SID performance, that is, hit-or-not, anticipatory pleasure, and consummatory pleasure.
Results:
The interaction between TRS status and social reward/punishment significantly predicted anticipatory pleasure, implicating that TRS patients' anticipatory pleasure was less subject to social reward/punishment compared to controls. Moreover, the interaction between TRS and social reward significantly predicted consummatory pleasure, implicating that TRS patients' consummatory pleasure was less subject to social reward compared to controls. Negative symptoms significantly predicted the SID accuracy in clinical participants, supporting its relationship with social motivation processing.
Conclusion:
TRS patients have altered social motivation processing, affecting anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. Social motivation deficit may be an intervention target for negative symptoms and social functioning impairments in TRS patients.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Autism Spectrum Disorder
These core symptoms manifest differently among individuals, ranging from mild to severe. The disorder's complexity extends beyond its clinical presentation, encompassing a diverse range of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural influences.
01:18Incentive Theory: Pull Theory of Motivation
The theory differentiates between intrinsic and...
01:22Personality Disorders: Paranoid and Schizoid
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is...
01:20Personality Disorders: Schizotypal and Histrionic
Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Eccentric Behavior and Social Withdrawal
Schizotypal personality disorder is marked by odd or eccentric...
01:29Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
01:27Secondary Motives: Power Motivation and Achievement Motivation
Power motivation is characterized by the desire to influence, control, or have an impact on others. It is shaped by an individual's experiences, social environment, and cultural context. People with high power motivation are...