Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39377964›Full record

SynthesisNeuropsychology review2025

Reliability of Theory of Mind Tasks in Schizophrenia, ASD, and Nonclinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Reliability Generalization Meta-analysis.

Harry Kam Hung Tsui, Ting Yat Wong, Chak Fai Ma, Ting Eva Wong, Janet Hsiao, Sherry Kit Wa Chan

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Neuropsychology review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Harry Kam Hung TsuiDepartment of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Ting Yat WongDepartment of Psychology, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4356-1978
Chak Fai MaDepartment of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Ting Eva WongDepartment of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Janet HsiaoDivision of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2271-8710
Sherry Kit Wa ChanDepartment of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. kwsherry@hku.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2712-5826

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Though theory of mind (ToM) is an important area of study for different disciplines, however, the psychometric evaluations of ToM tasks have yielded inconsistent results across studies and populations, raising the concerns about the accuracy, consistency, and generalizability of these tasks. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the psychometric reliability of 27 distinct ToM tasks across 90 studies involving 2771 schizophrenia (SZ), 690 autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 15,599 nonclinical populations (NC). Findings revealed that while all ToM tasks exhibited satisfactory internal consistency in ASD and SZ, about half of them were not satisfactory in NC, including the commonly used Reading the Mind in the Eye Test and Hinting Task. Other than that, Reading the Mind in the Eye Test showed acceptable reliability across populations, whereas Hinting Task had poor test-retest reliability. Notably, only Faux Pas Test and Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition had satisfactory reliability across populations albeit limited numbers of studies. However, only ten studies examined the psychometric properties of ToM tasks in ASD adults, warranting additional evaluations. The study offered practical implications for selecting ToM tasks in research and clinical settings, and underscored the importance of having a robust psychometric reliability in ToM tasks across populations.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderNeuropsychological TestsSchizophreniaTheory of MindHumansPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsAutism spectrum disordersMentalisingMeta-analysisPsychometric reliabilitySchizophreniaSystematic reviewTheory of mind

Identifiers

PMID39377964
PMCPMC12602658

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.