Mentalizing in and out of awareness: A meta-analytic review of implicit and explicit mentalizing

• Published in: Clinical psychology review 2024-03, Vol.108, p.102395-102395, Article 102395
• Main Authors: Kivity, Yogev, Levy, Kenneth N., Johnson, Benjamin N., Rosenstein, Lia K., LeBreton, James M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Explicit constructs; Implicit constructs; Mentalizing; Meta-analysis; Unconscious constructs
• ISSN: 0272-7358; 1873-7811
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102395

Mentalizing, making sense of mental states, is hypothesized to have a central role in self-organization and social learning. Findings support this notion, but the extent of the association between mentalizing and various correlates has not been meta-analyzed. Furthermore, mentalizing presumably occurs with (explicit) and without (implicit) awareness but few studies have attempted to disentangle these aspects. We conducted a meta-analysis of implicit and explicit mentalizing in relation to the domains of attachment security, personality, affect, psychopathology, and functioning. We searched for studies of adult mentalizing in PsycINFO and in related reviews. Overall, 511 studies (N = 78,733) met criteria and were analyzed using multi-level meta-analysis. Implicit (r = 0.19–0.29) and explicit (r = 0.26–0.40) mentalizing were moderately correlated with psychopathology, functioning, personality, affect, and attachment security. The correlations of implicit mentalizing were stronger with more objectively measured correlates (b = 0.02, p