Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test: Relationship with Neurocognition and Facial Emotion Recognition in Non-Clinical Youths

OBJECTIVE: The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) is a common measure of the Theory of Mind. Previous studies found a correlation between RMET performance and neurocognition, especially reasoning by analogy; however, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. Additionally, neurocognition was shown to play a significant role in facial emotion recognition. This study is planned to examine the nature of relationship between neurocognition and RMET performance, as well as the mediating role of facial emotion recognition. METHODS: One hundred fifty non-clinical youths performed the RMET. Reasoning by analogy was tested by Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) and facial emotion recognition was assessed by the Korean Facial Expressions of Emotion (KOFEE) test. The percentile bootstrap method was used to calculate the parameters of the mediating effects of facial emotion recognition on the relationship between SPM and RMET scores. RESULTS: SPM scores and KOFEE scores were both statistically significant predictors of RMET scores. KOFEE scores were found to partially mediate the impact of SPM scores on RMET scores. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that facial emotion recognition partially mediated the relationship between reasoning by analogy and social cognition. This study highlights the need for further research for individuals with serious mental illnesses.