Baron Cohen 1997 Flashcards
what area is this
individual differences area
aim 1
investigate TOM in autistic adults and show why don’t have it cognitively
TOM
theory of mind - ability to understand emotions different form your own. develops around 4-6 yrs old
background
suggested core deficit of autism is lack of TOM.
The Sally Anne test puts development of TOM at 6yrs.
Sally Anne test (background)
researcher has two dolls -sally + anne
Sally puts a marble in her box and goes away
Anne moves the marble to her basket.
Question asked to child who has observed this. Where will Sally look for her marble?
TOM in her box
no TOM in Anne’s basket
method experiment
Quasi experiment
IV neurological, naturally occurring
IVs
3 IVs
2 of these were control groups.
design
matched pairs on age and intelligence, snap shot study
Iv 1
P with autism/AS
normal intelligence
self selected from ad
13m 3f
Iv 2
P ‘normal’ adults
25m 25f
random sample from Cambridge uni
age matched with IV 1
Iv 3
P with Tourette’s TS
normal intelligence
8m 2f
age matched
self selected from London clinic oppotuinity sample
ethics
to avoid stress when testing TOM, P with ASD were tested in their own homes or local clinics (natural environment)
Procedure
A series of tasks were done in a random order in the indivduals home, clinic or research lab. P was tested individually.
task 1 eyes
the eyes task shows the P a series of 25 photos of just someones eyes both m+f in B&W for 3 secs and then asked to pick the mental state. Options given were in complete contrast to each other eg joyful or upset.
strange stories
group 1 + 3 ASD + TS were tested
demonstrates the validity of the eye recognition task
researcher will tell a story in which the character will lie and then ask the P to explain why.