Social Cognition and Personality

Evidence exists showing Theory of Mind (ToM) impairments in psychoses; however the evidence within the psychoses spectra is inconclusive. Therefore this study aimed to explore ToM ability in schizotypal and hypomanic personalities within a non-clinical population. The results supported the notion of a phenotypal continuum where ToM impairment seemed to be evident even in non-clinical populations for hypomanic personality traits; however schizotypal traits were unaffected. The fact that personality traits were highly associated was discussed in terms of a symptom-specific rather than a diagnosis-specific approach. Particular aspects of ToM are suggested to be related to specific personality types and a symptom-specific intervention is proposed.