ASD - Social Psychological Explanation

Question 1

1 What is E-S considered as?

Answer 1

a socio-cognitive theory of ASD - focusses on the impact cognitive biases can have on social interactions with others

Question 2

1 What does this theory propose?

Answer 2

An impaired ability to empathise with others has significant social impacts and reduces the opportunity of those with ASD to practise social interactions

Question 3

1 Why was this theory designed?

Answer 3

Explain wnat Baron-Cohen’s ToM explanation could not:
- Non social aspects of ASD
- Strengths of those with ASD
- Differences in diagnosis rates between sexes

Question 4

1 What is empathising?

Answer 4

Drive to recognise, identify and respond to other people’s emotional states

Question 5

1 What is systemising?

Answer 5

The drive to analyse and understand systems. Can be mechanical, numerical, collectable etc. - important in non-social contexts in attempting to predict how systems will behave and to understand the rukes/laws which govern them

Question 6

1 What does Baron-Cohen argue?

Answer 6

Females are better at empathising while males are better at sympathising

Question 7

1 What does this theory explain?
suggests?

Answer 7

symptoms in terms of empathising and systemising
suggests that those with ASD may have overdeveloped systemising skills

Question 8

1 Supporting research (male & female) for ES?

Answer 8

Lawson - females performed best at empathising tasks followed by males without ASD anf finally males with ASD. No difference between males with and without ASD regarding systemising - partial contradiction

Question 9

1 Supporting research (Japan) for ES?

Answer 9

Wakabayashi - those with ASD scored significantly lower for EQ and significantly higher for SQ

Question 10

1 Methodological issues for ES?

Answer 10

Buchen - Focus too heavily on high functioning autism in the research that is said to support the theory - Baron Cohen needs to conduct more research on more diverse samples to make theory more representative

Question 11

1 Comprehensive explanation for ES?

Answer 11

ASD is sometimes seen as an ‘extreme male brain’
Baron cohen - proposed reason for this bias - foetal testosterone is positively correlated with higher leels of systemising

Question 12

2 What are refrigerator parents?

Answer 12

• Emotionally cold and distant
• Overly intellectual and critical rather than emotional
• Provided physical care

Question 13

2 What did Bettelheim do?

Answer 13

Continue the work of Kanner by bringing the refrigerator mother theory into the public eye in a way that Kanner had never done

Question 14

2 What did Bettelheim compare?

Answer 14

Children with ASD to prisoners in concentration campls - deprivation suffered was similar to lack of emotional care

Question 15

2 What did Bettelheim argue?

Answer 15

ASD was a reaction to severe emotional neglect by mothers - cares for children physucally but not emotionally

Question 16

2 According to Bettelheim, what is the best way to tackle issue of refrigerator mother?

Answer 16

Remove children from their parents/family home and raise them in an environment where they coukd receive emotional care that they were being denied.

Question 17

2 Supporting research (privation) for RM?

Answer 17

Rutter - profound institutional privation can result in symptoms which are similar to autism. such characteristics were not found in a similarly studied sample of 52 children adopted in first 6 months of life

Question 18

2 Contradictory research (problems) for RM?

Answer 18

Rimland - identified problems:
- mejority of parents do not match RM description
- Parents that do match description dont have children with ASD
- Those with ASD do not have siblings who also have ASD

Question 19

2 Confusion of cause and effect of RM?

Answer 19

Cold, emotionally distant mothers is an effect rather than a cause of ASD - often stressful and overwheleming which can caause depression. could be a reason for emotional withdrawal