Baron Cohen 1997

Question 1

what area is this

Answer 1

individual differences area

Question 2

aim 1

Answer 2

investigate TOM in autistic adults and show why don’t have it cognitively

Question 3

TOM

Answer 3

theory of mind - ability to understand emotions different form your own. develops around 4-6 yrs old

Question 4

background

Answer 4

suggested core deficit of autism is lack of TOM.
The Sally Anne test puts development of TOM at 6yrs.

Question 5

Sally Anne test (background)

Answer 5

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

Question 6

method experiment

Answer 6

Quasi experiment
IV neurological, naturally occurring

Question 7

IVs

Answer 7

3 IVs
2 of these were control groups.

Question 8

design

Answer 8

matched pairs on age and intelligence, snap shot study

Question 9

Iv 1

Answer 9

P with autism/AS
normal intelligence
self selected from ad
13m 3f

Question 10

Iv 2

Answer 10

P ‘normal’ adults
25m 25f
random sample from Cambridge uni
age matched with IV 1

Question 11

Iv 3

Answer 11

P with Tourette’s TS
normal intelligence
8m 2f
age matched
self selected from London clinic oppotuinity sample

Question 12

ethics

Answer 12

to avoid stress when testing TOM, P with ASD were tested in their own homes or local clinics (natural environment)

Question 13

Procedure

Answer 13

A series of tasks were done in a random order in the indivduals home, clinic or research lab. P was tested individually.

Question 14

task 1 eyes

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

strange stories

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

Dv

Answer 16

scores on all 3 tasks

Question 17

Strange stories Example

Answer 17

Peter’s aunt visits with a new hat.
the hat is ugly.
Peter says he likes the hat.
Why does Peter say e likes the hat?
Example - white lie

Question 18

control task 1 eyes

Answer 18

gender recognition
shown the eyes tasks photos again but now has to state the gender of the eyes. Doesn’t involve mind reading but involve facial perception.

Question 19

Control task 2

Answer 19

basic emotion recognition
shown 6 full face photos and asked to state the emotion portrayed. done to show the eyes task was struggled with due to difficulties with basic emotional recognition skills.

Question 20

results

Answer 20

ASD group had worse TOM than any other group.
20.4/25 mean TS
20.3/25 mean normal
16.3/25 mean ASD
strange stories and eyes task similar results in ASD TOM being lower.
no real difference between control grps.

Question 21

Conclusion

Answer 21

People with ASD have very little TOM and struggle with ‘mind reading’ abilities even as adults. Strange stories validated the eyes task.