Baron and Cohen (Eyes Test)

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

• to test whether a group of adults with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism would be impaired on the revised version of the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ task
• also wanted to test if there was an association between performance on the revised ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ task and measures of autistic traits, and to investigate if there were sex differences in those with autism on this task.

Question 2

Hypotheses

Answer 2

• 5
  1. autistic will score low in RTEITM test
  2. autistic will score high on the Autism Spectrum Quotient Test measure
  3. females in the normal group will score high in RTEITM test
  4. males in the normal grp will score high on the AQ than girls
  5. scores on the AQ and RTEITM test negatively correlated

Question 3

Theory of Mind

Answer 3

-is a cognitive ability enabling us to realize that others have different feelings, beliefs, knowledge and desires from our own.

Question 4

Issues with the previous test

Answer 4

• forced choice question with only two options and usually were opposites
• small no. of test(25) led to ceiling effect
• imbalance of male and female faces

Question 5

Group 1

Answer 5

• 15 adult males with AS/HFA
• IQ score of 115
• mean age of 29.7
• self-selecting through adverts in the Autistic Society magazine and support magazines and all had been diagnosed in specialist centers using DSM or ICD criteria.

Question 6

Group 2

Answer 6

• ‘normal’ adults
• adult comparison group
• selected from adult community and education classes in Exeter and public library users in Cambridge
• mean age of 46.5 yrs

Question 7

Group 3

Answer 7

• student comparison group
• Cambridge Uni
• mean age of 20.8
• students may not be representative because they are from a highly selective college

Question 8

Group 4

Answer 8

• IQ Matched group
• 14 IQ matched participants with those in grp 1
• mean age of 28
• IQ score of 116
• randomly selected from the general population

Question 9

Results

Answer 9

• negative correlation between the AQ and Eyes Task scores(-0.53)
• no correlation between the IQ and Revised Eyes Test score

Question 10

Conclusion

Answer 10

-The results suggest that the participants with AS or HFA have a deficit in a cognitive process that allows a person to identify emotions in other individuals