Individual Differences Area Flashcards
Define what is meant by “Theory of Mind”.
The ability to perceive mental state in other people.
In what way is Theory of Mind thought to apply to individuals who have autism?
People with autism are believed to have poor Theory of Mind and struggle to accurately perceive mental states in others.
Briefly outline the background to Baron-Cohen’s study.
Baron-Cohen wanted to test Theory of Mind as a way of explaining why people with autism behave in the way they do.
Describe the “Happé’s Strange Stories” task.
An advanced test for Theory of Mind used for older children. It asked children questions about the emotions and intentions of characters in unfamiliar stories.
How does Happé’s Strange Stories task contribute to how Baron-Cohen tested Theory of Mind.
It was used to validate the results from the Eyes Task. Participants were tested individually in a quiet room either in their own home, in the researchers’ clinic or the researchers’ laboratory at Cambridge University.
What was the research method used in Baron-Cohen’s study?
A quasi/natural experiment was used.
Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable in Baron-Cohen’s study.
Independent variable = adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome, ‘normal’ adults and adults with Tourette Syndrome.
Dependent variable = score on the Eyes Task.
What was the sampling technique used in Baron-Cohen’s study?
The participants in the autism group were recruited through an advert in the National Autistic magazine and through their GPs.
The ‘normal’ adults were chosen from the general population of Cambridge (excluding uni students).
The Tourette Syndrome group were recruited from a tertiary referral centre in London.
Describe the sample used in Baron-Cohen’s study.
The autism group consisted of 16 individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome, and all were of normal intelligence.
The ‘normal’ group consisted of 50 age-matched adults.
The Tourette Syndrome group consisted of 10 age-matched adults, all of normal intelligence.
Why was it necessary to use a group of participants with Tourette Syndrome in this research?
Tourette Syndrome exists in childhood and causes disruption to schooling and peer relations. It is also believed to be associated with the frontal lobes of the brain. So, if Theory of Mind is only an issue with autism the Tourette Syndrome group should do better on the Eyes Task than the autism group.
Describe the Eyes Task used in the procedure of Baron-Cohen’s study.
The Eyes Task involved showing each participant 25 black and white standardised photographs of eyes (both male and female) and asking them to make a choice between two descriptions (correct and foil) to best describe what the person in the photo was thinking or feeling.
Describe the Gender Recognition Task and why this was necessary.
The Gender Recognition Task involved identifying the gender of the eyes used in the Eyes Task. It controlled face perception, perceptual discrimination and social perception.
It was necessary because it was used as a control task to eliminate the possibility that the autism group simply had a visual problem that meant they couldn’t process the photographs.
Describe the Basic Emotion Recognition Task and why this was necessary.
The Basic Emotion Recognition Task involved judging photographs of whole faces displaying basic emotions (Ekman 1992). It was done to check whether difficulties on the Eyes Task were due to difficulties with basic emotional recognition.
Outline the results from the Eyes Task in Baron-Cohen’s study.
The autism group did significantly worse than the two control groups.
A = 16.3/25 N = 20.3/25 T = 20.4/25
Outline the results from the Strange Stories task in Baron-Cohen’s study.
The autism group struggled with Happé’s Strange Stories more than the Tourette Syndrome group, which did not make any errors.
