Why do adults with autism spectrum disorder have problems with social interactions.
Baron cohen aim
To investigate if high functioning adults with autism or Asperger’s syndrome would be impaired on a theory of mind test called reading the mind in the eyes task,
they were also interested if females would be better than males
Baron cohen sample
Group 1- 4 autistic, 12 Aspergers. 13 males and 3 females- advert self selected.
Group 2- 50 normal age matched adults 25F 25M- random sample
Group 3- 10 tourette adult, 8 male 2 female- opportunity sample
Baron Cohen research method
Quasi experiment- matched participant design
IV-the type of person: autistic, normal, tourette, aspergers was naturally occurring
DV- score out of 25 on the eyes task
Baron-Cohen apparatus
Black and white photographs of eye region of faces and asking them to make a forced choice between two mental slate words
Baron-Cohen procedure
Eyes task and strange stories task wee represented in a random order and were tested individually in a quiet room in clinic or own home or university lab. Each picture of 25 was shown for 3 seconds and the experiment included words like interested and disinterested, desire for you or desire for someone else
Baron cohen conclusion
-Adults with autism and Aspergers do possess an impaired theory of mind
-Autistic and aspergers who held uni degrees had normal intelligence
