Lecture 7: Theory of Mind (ToM) in Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)

Flashcards covering Theory of Mind (ToM) in Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), including key studies and concepts discussed in the lecture.

What are the diagnostic traits of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs)?

Difficulties in socialisation, communication, and behaviour (special interests/intense focus).

What are some non-diagnostic traits associated with ASCs?

Atypical perception and unique cognitive & sensory abilities.

What is the particular relevance of Baron-Cohen et al.’s (1985, 1986) results?

This study isolated difficulties with ToM tasks to the autism group.

Why did a handful of children with ASD pass the ToM tasks in Baron-Cohen et al.’s study?

Related to language abilities, which vary greatly in ASD; samples in Baron-Cohen et al. (1985, 1986) were not well matched on Verbal IQ.

If the ability to form representations is independent of ToM abilities, what could you conclude from ToM tasks?

Failure on ToM tasks cannot be due to the more global ability to form mental representations.

What was the research question (RQ) in Leekam & Perner's (1991) False Photograph Task revisiting Zaitchik’s (1990) task?

To investigate if children understand that a picture, as a representation of a scene, can misrepresent it.

What did Senju et al. (2010) find regarding anticipatory looking in children with ASC compared to typically developing children?

Typically developing children correctly anticipated the action, children with ASC failed to show such action anticipation.

What did Senju et al. (2010) suggest regarding the conclusion of children with ASC?

Children with ASC have an impairment in false belief attribution, which is independent of their verbal ability.