| dc.description.abstract | Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness affecting approximately 0.4% of the
population. A core feature of schizophrenia is social dysfunction, however, the precise
nature of patients’ social deficits remain unknown. During face-to-face interaction we use
nonverbal cues to coordinate, regulate and manage conversation. Patients have difficulty
perceiving nonverbal cues in social cognitive tests, but it is unclear if this difficulty persists
in their social encounters. The aim of this thesis is to determine if patients’ social deficits
are manifest in the nonverbal behaviour of their social interactions, specifically
investigating; (1) interpersonal coordination between the head movements of interacting
partners and (2) the head and hand movements of patients and their partners in the context
of conversation role. The relationship between nonverbal behaviour and patients’
symptoms, social cognition, rapport and social outcomes will also be assessed.
Methods: The experimental study involved twenty patient (1 patient, 2 healthy participants)
and twenty control (3 healthy participants) three-way groups. Groups were motion captured
while discussing a moral dilemma. Healthy participants were unaware a patient was
present.
Results: (1) interpersonal coordination was reduced in patients’ three-way interactions (2)
patients displayed less head and hand movement, while their healthy participant partners
displayed more. Increased patients’ negative symptoms intensified this pattern and were
associated with reduced patient rapport. Patients spending more time actively involved in
their three-way interactions had poorer social outcomes. Patients’ performance on social
cognitive assessments showed no association with their nonverbal behaviour.
Interpretation: Patients’ three-way interactions display atypical patterns of nonverbal
behaviour. The presence of a patient changes the behaviour of the healthy participants they
are interacting with; even when they are unaware a patient is present. Patients’ symptoms
mediate the behaviour of patients and their partners, and influence patients’ rapport. | en_US |
