BARON COHEN Flashcards
BACKGROUND
In 1997, Baron-Cohen et al. developed the original Read the Mind in the Eyes Test to
assess theory of mind in adults.
Participants had to choose the best word to describe what the person in the picture was
thinking or feeling.
The original test had only two options to choose from, more female faces than male
faces, and some basic emotions that were too easy to identify.
Some participants could simply guess the emotion by looking at the direction in which the
eyes were gazing.
This made the test too easy which led to ceiling effects – when everyone gets a high
score because the task is too easy.
The 2001 revised version was developed to address the shortcomings of the original test,
providing a more reliable and valid measure of social intelligence.
For each photograph, the most appropriate mental state term shall be selected out of four response
options. Correct responses are (A) insisting, (B) tentative, (C) serious, and (D) cautious.
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The revised test has four options and a more equal balance of male and female faces.
The revised test also uses more complex mental states and includes a glossary to help
with word comprehension.
PSYCH BEING INVESTIGATED
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A neurodevelopmental disorder that affects a
person’s social and communication skills. Austic individuals misunderstand eye
contact, facial expressions, body language, and gestures.
High-Functioning Autism (HFA): A type of autism, considered a milder form,
where individuals can still function well in society and cope with daily activities.
Asperger’s Syndrome (AS): A neurodevelopmental disorder on the autism
spectrum that affects a person’s social and communication skills, and is
characterized by difficulties with social interaction, understanding non-verbal cues,
and repetitive behaviors.
Theory of Mind: The ability to understand that others have their own mental states,
such as desires, emotions, and beliefs, and that these states can be different from
one’s own. This ability allows people to explain and predict the actions of others.
Social Sensitivity: The ability to interpret nonverbal cues, specifically those
conveyed through the eyes. The studies examine whether individuals with autism
have a difference in social sensitivity compared to neurotypical individuals.
Read the Mind in the Eyes Test (Revised): Participants were presented with 36
photographs of the eye-region of faces and asked to choose the best word from four
options that described what the person in the picture was thinking or feeling.
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Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ): This was a self-report questionnaire that
measured the degree to which individuals possess autistic traits. The test had 50
statements where participants had to agree or disagree. Higher scores suggest the
person has more autistic traits. Researchers expect an inverse correlation between
scores on the Eyes Test and the AQ
AIM
To test whether the revised version of the eyes test would work on a group of
autistic adults.
To see whether normal non-autistic females would score higher in the revised eyes
test than normal males.
To investigate if there would be an inverse (negative) correlation between
performance on the Revised Eye Test and scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient
(AQ) in a sample of normal adults
SAMPLE
The study used a combination of volunteer and opportunity sampling techniques.
Group 1 consisted of volunteers who responded to advertisements, while Groups 2 and 3
were recruited using opportunity sampling from community locations.
Group 4 was comprised of randomly selected individuals who matched the IQ of group 1.
Group 1: Adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or High-Functioning Autism (HFA)
15 male adults with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) or High-Functioning Autism (HFA).
They were recruited through advertisements in the UK National Autistic Society magazine
or similar support groups, and were diagnosed at specialist centers using established
criteria.
The participants had a mean IQ of 115 with a standard deviation of 16.1, which is within
the normal range. Their average age was 29.7 years.
Group 2: General Population Control Group
This group consisted of 122 adults from the general population.
They were recruited from adult community and education classes in Exeter and public
library users in Cambridge.
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They had a broad mix of occupations and educational backgrounds.
Data on age was available for 88 of these participants. The mean age was 46.5 years.
This group served as a control group to compare the performance of individuals with
autism with those without.
This group did not take the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test.
Group 3: Student Control Group
This group comprised 103 undergraduate students from Cambridge University.
There were 53 males and 50 females in this group.
The students were assumed to have a high IQ due to the stringent entrance requirements
of the university, and their IQ was not tested.
The mean age of this group was 20.8 years.
This group was a control group used to compare the experimental group with a group of
high IQ individuals.
Group 4: IQ-Matched Control Group
This group consisted of 14 randomly selected adults from the general population whose
IQ scores were matched with those of Group 1.
The mean IQ of this group was 116 with a standard deviation of 6.4, which was similar to
that of Group 1.
The mean age of this group was 28 years.
This group was included to control for the possible influence of intelligence on theory of
mind test performance.
This was a matched-pairs design group.
PROCEDURE
Independent variable
The independent variable (IV) was whether participants had Asperger Syndrome (AS) or
High-Functioning Autism (HFA) or were neurotypical.
This was a naturally occurring variable, meaning the researchers did not manipulate it,
but rather grouped participants based on their pre-existing condition.
The IV had four levels:
1. Adults with AS/HFA (Group 1)
2. Neurotypical adults from the general population (Group 2)
3. Undergraduate students (Group 3)
4. IQ-matched controls (Group 4)
Gender was also considered as an independent variable.
Dependent variable
It’s important to understand that while the study aimed to investigate theory of mind, it
didn’t measure theory of mind directly.
Instead, the researchers used the scores on the Revised Eye Test (RET) and Autism
Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test as indicators of a participant’s ability to understand the
mental states of others.
The RET score represented the number of correct mental state identifications out of 36.
Participants who scored highly on the Revised Eye Test demonstrated good social
sensitivity and a well-developed theory of mind.
The AQ test scores represented the degree of autistic traits with the higher scores
indicating more traits.
Procedure
1. Development of the Revised Eyes Test:
Two of the experimenters created the target words and foils.
The items were then piloted on eight judges.
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For a target word to be considered suitable, at least five out of the eight judges
had to agree that it was the most appropriate descriptor for the emotion shown in
the eyes.
Additionally, no more than two of the eight judges could pick the foil.
Items that did not meet these criteria were revised by creating new target words and
foils.
The revised items were then re-assessed by the judges until the item “passed” the
criteria.
This process ensured that the target words were the most appropriate descriptors for the
emotions being shown in the eyes and that the foil options were not easily confused with
the target.
2. Administration of Tests:
The procedure was designed to measure the ability to recognize and interpret
mental states based on cues from the eyes and to assess the level of autistic traits
in the participants.
The tests were administered by trained researchers in a standardized way.
The tests were administered individually in a quiet room at either Cambridge or Exeter
University.
There was no time limit for completing the tests.
Each participant completed a practice test before starting the main tests
Participants were given a glossary of terms and could ask for clarification. They were
allowed to use the glossary during the test.
3. Revised Eye Test:
Participants were presented with 36 sets of eyes.
Each set consisted of a black and white photo of the eye region of a face.
For each set of eyes, participants were given four words to choose from: one
target word (the correct answer) and three foil words (incorrect answers).
Participants were asked to choose the word that best described what the person in
the photograph was thinking or feeling.
The foil words were chosen to be similar in valence or intensity to the target word
but had different meanings.
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4. Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Test:
Participants in Groups 1, 3, and 4 completed the AQ test.
The AQ test is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure the degree to which an
individual possesses autistic traits.
The test consists of 50 statements that participants rate on a binary scale (agree or
disagree).
5. Gender Identification for Group 1:
Group 1 participants had to identify the gender of the person in the eye photographs, as a
control task.
If they could not do this easy task, the test results might be affected by vision, and not
theory of mind.
RESULTS
Aim 1: To test if the revised version of the Read the Mind in the Eyes Test would be
successful at differentiating participants with AS or HFA (High Functioning Autism)
from the general population.
The AS/HFA group scored significantly lower on the Eyes Test compared to the other
three groups.
The mean score for the AS/HFA group was 21.9 out of 36, while the control groups had
mean scores ranging from 26.2 to 30.97.
This supported the hypothesis that adults with autism have impaired theory of mind and
have difficulty identifying emotions from the eye region.
The AS/HFA group did not show any impairment in the gender identification task,
indicating that their lower performance on the Eyes Test was not due to problems with
basic visual perception.
Aim 2: To test if there is an inverse (negative) correlation between performance on
the revised Eyes Test and scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) in a
sample of normal adults.
The study found a significant negative correlation (-0.53) between scores on the Eyes
Test and the AQ test across all groups.
This means that participants who scored higher on the AQ test (indicating more autistic
traits) tended to score lower on the Eyes Test (indicating difficulty in reading emotions),
and vice versa.
Aim 3: To test if non-autistic females would score higher on the revised Eyes Test
than non-autistic males.
The study found that females scored higher than males on the Revised Eyes Test
within the normal adult groups (Groups 2 and 3).
For example, in the student group (Group 3) the mean score for females was 28.6
compared to 27.3 for males.
CONCLUSION
The revised eyes test (2001) replicated the findings of the original eyes test (1997).
Normal females are able to judge emotions better than normal males.
Males are more likely to develop autistic tendencies than females.
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The AQ Test and eyes test are inversely (negatively) correlated. These findings
support the idea that autistic traits are related to impaired theory of mind
GRAVE
Strengths Baron Cohen
Collection of quantitative data: Quantitative data (i.e. scores on tests) was collected in this study. This data is all numerical, allowing for statistical analysis comparisons can also be made (such as the comparison of group scores). It also means that the study’s results are objective, which makes them free from personal bias.
Reliability Controls are employed in the IQ test for extraneous variables (fixed choices and scoring) High inter-rater reliability as only uses quantitative data and closed questions : Comparison group and matched group best reduce participant differences: Standardized procedure- type of photos (black and white, same size) and time: Laboratory experiment (control confounding variables)
Validity High internal validity: Laboratory experiment: many confounding variables can be controlled (e.g. all the participants saw the same sets of eyes)-Valid AQ test: it inversely correlates with the Eye test scores- Valid Eye Test: not much ceiling effect compared to the previous study,-Pilot evaluations of target words & foils with researchers; Pilot testing of original 40 questions with controls
Ethics -All participants consented and were aware of the nature of the study. All data was anonymized so that it wasn’t possible to identify any individual from their scores (confidential).
Weaknesses Baron Cohen
Validity: Psychometric tests do not always test what they claim to test. For example, was the Eyes test measuring theory of mind or was It just measuring the participants’ capability of completing an Eyes test? How do we know for sure that theory of mind was tested alone? However, in the original paper, the researchers do attempt to justify the validity of the test.
Ecological validity and mundane realism: The stimuli were just static images of eyes. In real-life social situations, we interpret emotions of real people who are not stuck in one expression; the situation is much more different. This lowers the ecological validity of the study and creates an issue of mundane realism with regards to the task. Also, the lab setting for some participants also lacks ecological validity.
Generalisability Experimental sample (Group 1 - AS/HFA) was small and may not be representative of all AS/HFA diagnosed individuals-Group 1 also all male-Overall a large sample but from quite a specific area, results may not be representative of adults with HFA/AS who do not attend support groups or read the NAS magazine.
APP TO EVERYDAY LIFE
- People with suspected Autism could take the Revised Eyes Test to detect social sensitivity deficits. Support could then be offered to help them to detect mental states in others.
- The Revised Eyes Test could also be used in schools to target children who may benefit from interventions to improve theory of mind skills
NATURE VS NURTURE
INDIVIDUAL VS SITUATIONAL
Individual - autism is an individual difference between people that affects the ability to understand mental states from facial expressions
Situational - people with HFA/AS are better at recognising other people’s mental states in some situations more than others – for example, where there is less noise or fewer distractions or when they are given sufficient time.
ETHICS
Participants, especially those with AS/HFA, may have felt psychological distress by not
understanding the emotions in the eyes
Some participants, particularly in the autistic group, did not submit their AQ test
papers, which may suggest feelings of distress or shame associated with having their
autistic traits measured.
This may indicate that the process of testing for autistic characteristics might have caused
them some level of distress.
