Baron-Cohen

Question 1

BACKGROUND

Answer 1

• Autism Disorder involves 3 difficulties:
• Social communication
  -Social interaction
  -Social imagination
  -Signs before age of 3
  -Diagnosed in males more frequently
  -Interested in whether any core deficit - common for people with autism - established through Sally Anne test
  THEORY OF MIND

Question 2

AIM

Answer 2

Whether adults with autism experience a deficit in Theory of Mind

Question 3

SAMPLE

Answer 3

• 16 adults
  -With autism or Aspergers Syndrome
  -Recruited via adverts
  -50 normal adults from Camebridge area
  -10 adults with Tourettes from London
  76 participants

Question 4

PROCEDURE

Answer 4

1. Participants:

Adults with autism/Asperger’s & neurotypical controls
2. Task:

Shown 36 photos of eyes only
Choose 1 of 4 words to describe the person’s emotion/thought
3. Extra tasks:

Gender recognition (from eyes)
IQ test (to control intelligence)
4. Tested:

Individually, same pictures/choices for all

Question 5

FINDINGS

Answer 5

Autistic group scored lower on the Eyes Test
Neurotypical group scored highest
Females did better than males (on average)
No link between IQ and Eyes Test score

Question 6

CONCLUSIONS

Answer 6

Adults with autism/Asperger’s have impaired Theory of Mind
The Eyes Test is a valid tool for measuring social understanding
Autism affects ability to read others’ emotions from subtle cues

Question 7

Theory of mind definition

Answer 7

The ability to understand that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and intentions that may be different from your own.

Question 8

Low ecological validity

Answer 8

Task (identifying emotions from still photos of eyes) is not like real-life social interaction
Real emotions involve tone, body language, movement

Question 9

Limited population validity

Answer 9

Participants were mostly high-functioning adults with autism/Asperger’s
Doesn’t represent all people on the spectrum, especially children or those with more severe autism

Question 10

concurrent validity

Answer 10

Eyes Test scores linked with other ToM measures, like the Happe’s Strange Stories test
But not a perfect match — ToM is complex

Question 11

internal reliability

Answer 11

Standardised procedure (same photos, same 4 options)
Controlled conditions and instructions

Question 12

external reliability

Answer 12

Test–retest reliability was acceptable (people scored similarly when tested again)
But interpretation of eyes could vary slightly between individuals

Question 13

Nature

Answer 13

Suggests autism affects biological cognitive processes (e.g., Theory of Mind)
Participants had lifelong traits, implying an innate difference

Question 14

Individual

Answer 14

Differences in Eyes Test scores were due to personal characteristics (i.e., autism/Asperger’s)
Same task, different responses

Question 15

Reductionist

Answer 15

Focuses on one aspect of social understanding (emotion recognition from eyes)
Doesn’t consider other social/environmental factors

Question 16

🧪 Psychology as a Science

Answer 16

Uses controlled conditions, standardised procedure, quantitative data
Can be replicated and tested

Question 17

🚻 Ethical Issues

Answer 17

Informed consent gained
No deception or distress
Protected from harm