Schizophrenia and Perspective-Taking: The Avatar Effect

Imagine you're playing a simple game where you see a row of discs from a certain angle. Now, picture an avatar seeing a different number of discs from another angle. This experiment was designed to see how people with schizophrenia handle this situation compared to healthy individuals. Sixty-five people with schizophrenia and sixty-five healthy folks played four versions of this game. The avatar could be themselves or someone else, and sometimes they were told whose view they were considering.

Healthy people found it tougher and slower to answer when the avatar's view was different (uncued other-avatar). But folks with schizophrenia didn't show this issue. When the avatar was them, they didn't naturally take the perspective. However, when cued to consider the other-avatar, they slowed down, and when considering their own avatar, they were both slower and less accurate. This shows that people with schizophrenia can adjust their perspective, but they need a nudge. Having the avatar as a stranger makes it harder for them. It's like they need to be reminded that perspectives exist before they can see things from another angle.

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