cognitive- Baron Cohen

Question 1

Sally Anne Test

Answer 1

autistic children have delayed development of a theory of mind

Question 2

Theory if Mind

Answer 2

Level of development certain species reach where they are able to understand that other creatures have their own independent minds

Allows people to:
Lie
Have empathy
Guess the thoughts and motivation of others.

Question 3

Previous Study

Answer 3

A study was conducted in 1997 however there were many issues.

Question 4

Issue 1

Answer 4

Original: There was a choice of only two words for each set of eyes (forced choice). The answer could be a 50/50 guess.

Revised: Four words were added in the revised test.

Question 5

Issue 2

Answer 5

Original: Parents of children with AS/HFA scored at the same level. The test did not differentiate widely enough as scores covered a very narrow band.

Revised: Had 40 (reduced to 36) not 25.

Question 6

Issue 3

Answer 6

Original: Ceiling effects (too many at the top end of the score range) were observed with too many people scoring too highly.

Revised: Having 36 items and 4 words aimed to remove
the ceiling effect.

Question 7

Issue 4

Answer 7

Original: Some tests were too easy causing ceiling effects

Revised: Fewer easy items

Question 8

Issue 5

Answer 8

Original: Some items were guessed by checking gaze direction (e.g. noticing).

Revised: These items did not assess mental states so were excluded.

Question 9

Issue 6

Answer 9

Original: Had more female faces than male.

Revised: Equal numbers

Question 10

Issue 7

Answer 10

Original: The semantic word and foil (the other word) were semantic opposites, such as sympathetic and unsympathetic. Could make it too easy and lead to lead to ceiling effects.

Revised: The three foils were not semantic opposites, instead have similar emotional valence. This increases the level of difficulty and ceiling effects should be removed.

Question 11

Issue 8

Answer 11

Original: The words may not have been understood by all participants.

Revised: Added a glossary.

Question 12

Aims (three)

Answer 12

1. To test a group of autistic adults to see if the revised version ‘works’.
2. To see if there is an inverse correlation between the eyes test and the AQ for a sample of normal adults.
3. To see if females have superiority on the eyes test.

Question 13

Predictions (five)

Answer 13

1. The AS/HFA (autistics) will score lower on the eyes test than other groups.
2. The AS/HFA (autistics) will score higher on the AQ test than other groups.
3. ‘Normal’ females will score higher than males on the eyes test.
4. ‘Normal’ males will score higher than females on the AQ test.
5. Scores on the AQ and eyes test will be inversely correlated.

Question 14

Eyes Test Design

Answer 14

36 black and white photos of male and female eyes taken from magazines – all the same size

Each photo had four words to describe the mental state of the person

Participants presented with photo and four words and asked ‘Which word best describes what the person is feeling or thinking?’

One answer is correct, the others are incorrect
The number of correct answers is added and given an overall score.

Question 15

Criteria for Eyes Test

Answer 15

2 authors created the questions
5 out 8 judges agreed on the target
No more than 2 judges chose the same foil

Initially there were 40 questions
4 were dropped after testing

Question 16

AQ Test Design

Answer 16

50 statements

Participants choose ‘definitely agree’, ‘slightly agree’, ‘slightly disagree’, ‘definitely disagree’.

No mid choice so participants are forced to agree or disagree

The AQ test is both reliable and valid
These tests are both psychometric tests

Question 17

Sample

Answer 17

Group 1: 15 male adults with AS/HFA recruited from an autistic society magazine advertisement. Their IQs had a mean score of 115.

Group 2: 122 ‘normal’ adults (the control group) selected from community classes or public libraries in Cambridge and Exeter. There was a mixture of occupations and educational levels.

Group 3: ‘Normal’ adult students (Cambridge undergrads); 103 (53 male and 50 female) with a much higher than average IQ.

Group 4: IQ matched controls; 14 ‘normal’ adults (randomly selected from the population) IQ matched with group 1 (mean of 116)

Question 18

Apparatus

Answer 18

The AQ

The ‘eyes test’

A quiet room in Cambridge/Exeter

Question 19

Method & Design

Answer 19

Method: Natural experiment; questionnaire

Design: Groups 1 & 4 were matched (IQs) but each group was independent.

Question 20

Procedure

Answer 20

All four groups were given the eyes test to complete in a quiet room.

Participants in groups 1,3 and 4 were given the AQ

Question 21

Results

Answer 21

1. AS/HFA < normals (Eyes Test)
   Supported ☺
2. AS/HFA > normals (AQ)
   Supported ☺
3. Women > Men (Eyes Test)
   Supported-ish  p=0.07
4. Women < Men (AQ)
   Supported ☺
5. AQ ↑ Eyes Test ↓
   Supported ☺

Question 22

Discussion

Answer 22

AQ (≈social) & eyes task correlated

IQ (=non-social) & eyes task NOT correlated

autistic people are not unintelligent
there are different kinds of intelligence

social difficulties are not correlated to IQ

Question 23

Strengths

Answer 23

Experimental validity

Measures an autistic trait, not a normal one
Question criteria
High control over extraneous variables

Reliable, replicable
Pencil and paper test

Question 24

Weaknesses

Answer 24

~Ecological validity
Static pictures, eyes only
Strange task