Baron Cohen et al (eyes test )

Question 1

what is theory of mind

Answer 1

the ability to imagine oneself and other peoples mental states and respond appropriately

Question 2

What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach

Answer 2

1)The way we process information is similar to the way computers process information
input
processing
output

2)Similarities and differences between people can be understood in terms of individual patterns of cognition
for example men struggle with mind reading compared to females

Question 3

what is the psychology being investigated
from the study by by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 3

ASD - autism spectrum disorder
HFA. - high functioning autism
AS - Asperger syndrome

a person with ASD does not fully develop cognitive processes linked to social interaction.

Question 4

what is cognitive empathy

Answer 4

imaging another persons thoughts and feelings

Question 5

what is affective empathy

Answer 5

this is responding appropriately to another persons thoughts and feelings

Question 6

what is a lack of ToM called

Answer 6

mindblindness

Question 7

what are autism spectrum disorders

Answer 7

disorders that share similar symptoms but vary in severity

Question 8

what do people with ASD struggle with

Answer 8

• social sensitivity, they lack a ToM
• socialization , they have narrow interests
• communication, verbal and nonverbal

Question 9

why did baron et al revise the original eyes test

Answer 9

1) the questions were forced choice with only two options

2) it had more female faces than male faces

3) the response options were semantic opposites e.g happy or sad (so the task was too easy)

4) participants might not have understood the words in the task

5) the emotion in some of the photos could be solved by checking the direction in which the eyes were gazing

Question 10

how did Baron solve the issues with the original test

Answer 10

• he increased the response options to 4 lowering the performance by chance to 25%
• equal number of male and female facial stimuli
• they used foils of similar emotional valence as target words
• including a glossary of target words where participants could refer for the meanings of the words
• deleting all those items

Question 11

what is the aim of the study by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 11

to test whether a group of adults with AS/HFA would be impaired in the revised version of the eyes test compared to the normal controls

Question 12

what are the 5 hypothesis from the study by by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 12

1) the AS/HFA group will score significantly low in the revised eyes test but remain unimpaired in the gender recognition control task

2) females in group 2 and 3 will score significantly higher than males in the eyes test.

3) males in group 3 will score significantly higher than females in the AQ test.

4) scores in the eyes test and the AQ test will be negatively correlated

5) the AS/HFA group will score significantly higher in the AQ test compared to normal controls

Question 13

list five characteristics of the sample in group 1(AS/HFA group)

Answer 13

• they all had autism or asperger syndrome
• they were all males , it was an androcentric sample
• their mean age was 29.7 years
• it was self-selecting sampling - they were recruited from adverts in the national autistic society magazine (asm)
• they were all given the WAIS-A
• they had a mean of 115 IQ points
• they had all been diagnosed in specialist centres using DSM-iv

Question 14

list 5 characteristics of the sample in group 2 (normal adults)

Answer 14

• it had 123 individuals
• they were drawn from adult community and education classes in Exeter and the public library users in cambridge
• they had a broad mix of educational level
• they had a broad mix of day time occupations from unemployment , to clerical workers , to professionals

Question 15

list 5 characteristics of the sample in group 3 (normal students)

Answer 15

• it had 103 students from cambridge university
• 53 males and 50 females
  -they were assumed to have a high iq
• they had a mean age of 20.8 years
• they were recruited through opportunity sampling
  -71 studied sciences and 32 other subjects

Question 16

list 5 characteristics of the sample in group 4 (IQ method group)-

Answer 16

• they were randomly selected from the general population
• they were IQ matched with group 1witha mean of 116 IQ points
• they had a mean age of 28 years

Question 17

what type of experiment is the study from Baron Cohen et al

Answer 17

it is a quasi-experiment
it is a natural experiment because the iv is naturally occurring

Question 18

what is the experimental design in the study by Baron…

Answer 18

independent measures because separate subjects were used in the AS/HFA group and the 3 control groups

Question 19

what is the iv in the study by Baron…

Answer 19

whether subjects were autistic or normal

Question 20

what is the dv in the study by Baron..

Answer 20

scores in the eyes test
scores in the Aq test

Question 21

give 3 controls/standardization used in the study by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 21

all facial stimuli was black and white to mask facial features that would distract the participant

• a glossary of adjectives was provided to minimize comprehension issues that subjects would have
• the AS/HFA group were given the gender recognition task as a control task

Question 22

from the study by by Baron Cohen et al explain the new criteria that was applied for group 2 and 3

Answer 22

at least 50% of the subjects had to select the target word

no more than 25% would select a foil

items 1 , 2 , 12 and 40 did not meet this criteria and were dropped leaving only 36 faces

Question 23

Describe how target words and foils were generated in the study by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 23

Target words and their foils were generated by the first two authors (baron cohen and sally wheelwright)

The words were the piloted on a group of 8 judges - 4 male , 4 female

a criteria was used to arrive at the target word; at least 5 of the judges had to agree that the target word was the most suitable description of the image.Not more than 2 judges could pick a foil.

Words that did not meet this criteria were re-piloted

Question 24

How were items that did not meet the criteria in the study by Baron Cohen et al re-piloted?

Answer 24

New target words were generated and re-piloted with successive groups of judges until the criteria was met for all the 36 items

Question 25

explain the procedure during testing from the study by by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 25

subjects in all the 4 groups were tested individually in a quiet room in either cambridge or exter

participants in the AS/HFA group were told to judge the gender of each person in each photo as a control task

normal adults were found to be at a ceiling
in the gender recognition task and were asked not to required to take it to save time

participants in group 1,3 and 4 completed the Aq

subjects were asked to read through the glossary and indicate any word meanings they were unsure of.
they were asked to check the meanings and refer back to the glossary at any point during the testing.

Question 26

from the study by by Baron Cohen et al state two results with data for group 1 - the AS/HFA group

Answer 26

they had a mean correct score of
21.9 - eyes test
34.4 - Aq test

Question 27

from the study by by Baron Cohen et al state two results with data for group 2 -
adult comparison group

Answer 27

they had a mean correct score of
26.2 - eyes test

Question 28

from the study by by Baron Cohen et al state two results with data for group 3 - student comparison group

Answer 28

they had a mean correct score of
28.0 - eyes test
18.3 - Aq test

Question 29

state two results with data for group 4 -
the IQ matched group by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 29

they had a mean correct score of
30.9 - eyes test
18.9 - Aq test

Question 30

state 4 results without data from the study
by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 30

• there was a strong negative correlation between scores in the eyes test and the aq test
• no participant in any of the conditions checked the glossary for more than two definitions during the test
• participants in the AS/HFA group scored significantly higher than the students in the comparison group
• there was sex differences between males and females in the eyes test although the difference was not statistically significant.

Question 31

why is the study by Baron Cohen et al from the cognitive approach

Answer 31

the study is investigating a cognition between the AS/HFA group and normal controls. This is consistent with the assumption that to understand behaviour (social sensitivity) we have to investigate patterns of cognition

Question 32

identify 3 strengths from the study by Baron Cohen at al

Answer 32

1) High internal validity ,
because it is a lab study it employs strict controls over extraneous variables thus making it high

2)Quantitative data
3)Reliability

Question 33

What are the weaknesses in the study by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 33

Low generalisability
Low ecological validity
Ethics

Question 34

give an application to everyday life from the study by Baron Cohen et al

Answer 34

the eyes test can be used in hospitals to help with diagnosis of high functioning autism in adults

Question 35

What are the conclusions from the study by Baron Cohen

Answer 35

People diagnosed with AS/HFA lack a theory of mind, so they find it difficult show empathy/difficult to understand the emotions of others (2 marks)

The Revised ‘Eyes Test’ overcame the problems of the original version making it a valid test of social intelligence (in adults)