Baron Cohen Study

What were the aims of this study?

• to find out if there were gender differences in theory of mind

• to find out if aggressive behaviors were more prevalent among those on the spectrum

• to find out if individuals on the autistic spectrum had deficits with theory of mind

• to test if those on the spectrum can effectively detect sarcasm

The independent variable was the type of person. [Autistic, Neurotypical, Tourettes].

• True

• False

Which task was presented to participants?

• The Eyes Task

• The Strange Stories

• Basic Emotion Recognition Task

• Gender Recognition Task

The Autism/AS made significantly more errors on the strange stories task compared with the other groups.

• True

• False

Identify one weakness of the study.

• Generalisability

• Validity

• Reliability

• Ethics

Why did Baron-Cohen include additional tasks?

• For funsies :D

• To confuse participants.

• As a control measure.

• To determine which task was effective.

What is the theory of mind?

• the ability to form individual opinion and thoughts

• the ability to recognize sarcasm

• the ability to communicate effectively

• the ability to understand mental states and the mental states of others

What previous study determined that individuals with autism have a common deficit?

• Wang (2000)

• Baron-Cohen (1990)

• Harper-Jones (1967)

• The ToM Experiment (1966)

The method & design was the Quasi experiment.

• True

• False

Which group scored highest in the AQ test?

• Experimental group

• Adult comparison of general population

• Cambridge students

• IQ matched group