Social perception in children with intellectual disabilities: the interpretation of benign and hostile intentions

Abstract

A key aspect of social perception is the interpretation of others' intentions. Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have difficulty interpreting benign intentions when a negative event occurs. From a cognitive processing perspective, interpreting benign intentions can be challenging because it requires integration of conflicting information, as the social cues accompanying the negative event convey non-hostile intentions. The present study examined how children with ID process conflicting social information in a more diverse set of situational circumstances than was investigated previously, including situations involving hostile intentions. We hypothesised that when conflicting information in a social situation consists of mixed social cues that convey insincere benign intentions (a type of hostile intentions), children with ID would have difficulty arriving at an accurate interpretation, just as they do when a negative event is accompanied by cues that convey benign intentions. We also hypothesised that when a negative event is accompanied by cues that convey benign intentions, the presence of a highly salient negative event would pose added interpretation difficulty for these children. Methods Participants (58 children with ID and 189 children without ID in grades 2-6) viewed 13 videotaped vignettes. In each vignette, social cues that accompanied a negative event provided information about the intentions of the character that caused the event. After presenting each vignette, we asked the child questions designed to assess aspects of social perception, including his/her interpretation of intentions. Vignettes represented three types of situations that pose conflicting information: (1) a conflict between a negative event and social cues, which conveyed benign intentions (five items); (2) the presence of conflicting social cues that conveyed insincere benign intentions (four items); and (3) additional items designed to examine the effect of the salience of negative event and cues on accurate interpretation of benign intentions (four items). Teachers completed rating scales of social behaviour, enabling us to examine whether the ability to interpret intentions when conflicting information is present is related to children's social behaviour. Results Children with ID had lower interpretation accuracy than children without ID for all three social situations that presented conflicting information. Children with ID appeared to have particular difficulty interpreting benign intentions when a negative event (but not the social cue) was made salient. For children with ID, interpretation accuracy and teacher-rated social behaviour were related. Conclusions Results demonstrated that the presence of conflicting information poses cognitive processing challenges in a variety of social situations, making it difficult for children with ID to arrive at accurate interpretations. Children with ID were less likely than children without ID to interpret intentions accurately, not just when the social cues conveyed benign inte...

From Causes of Aggression to Interventions

“…Some studies have compared children with intellectual disabilities and typically developing children (Leffert & Siperstien, 1996;Leffert, Siperstein, & Widaman, 2010;Van Nieuwenhuijzen, Orobio de Castro, Wijnroks, Vermeer, & Matthys, 2004;Van Nieuwenhuijzen, Scheepmaker, Smit, & Porton, 2011) showing, perhaps not surprisingly, that children with intellectual disabilities have greater difficulty with tasks involved in a range of SIP stages. Leffert, et al (2010) also found that children with intellectual disabilities made less accurate attributions of intent than their typically developing peers. Leffert, et al (2010) also found that children with intellectual disabilities made less accurate attributions of intent than their typically developing peers.…”

Family-peer linkages for children with intellectual disability and children with learning disabilities

“…For example, children with intellectual disability display ineffective and isolating social play behaviors as early as pre-school (Guralnick, 1999). Later, elementary school-age children with intellectual disability make critical errors in understanding and responding to peer problem situations (Leffert, Siperstein, & Widaman, 2010). Research on children with learning disabilities also has identified a wide array of social skills deficits that impede social problem solving and effective engagement with peers (Wiener, 2004).…”

Peer relationships: Differences considering intellectual abilities and age

“…ЗJо: неDри-хваLљиво: Dонашања 9еца и мла9и са ИО су чешће не:о LиDична 9еца жрLве вршњачко: насиља, о9Jацивања и злосLављања (Guralnick, 1999;Guralnick, 2001;Guralnick et al, 2006) и немо:ућносLи уDосLављања рециDрочних DријаLељсLава . ПроJлемаLични оJлици Dонашања 9еце са ИО мо:у JиLи о9раз личних каракLерисLика која се DриDисује њиховим ко:ни-Lивним о:раничењима и 9ефициLу социјалних вешLина (Einfeld et al, 2011;Fenning et al, 2011;Leffert et al, 2010). МеђуLим, може се DреLDосLавиLи и 9а су Dонашање и квалиLеL о9носа са вршњаци-ма у 9аLом конLексLу Dосле9ица о9носа околине, о9носно усDе-шносLи или неусDешносLи у инLеракцији са вршњацима (Guralnick et al, 2006).…”