The 'Reading the Mind in the eyes' test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning autism - Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y. and Plumb, I. (2001)
What do the eyes in the picture above say to you? Irritated? Bored? Playful? Comforting? Most people will quickly be able to pick an answer from the four options (and to agree with each other). Autistic people, however, do not have the same ability. Imagine a world where it is not obvious how someone is feeling when you look at them. Imagine the insensitive and embarrassing things you would say and do...
The original article can be read here and a much simpler summary is available here. Test your knowledge with this quizlet and this classtools arcade.
Also you can take the AQ (autism quotient) test for autism, which Baron-Cohen's participants did along with the Eyes Test. It can be found here - but beware - it SHOULD NOT BE USED for a diagnosis! Don't worry about your result! The AQ is also described by an autism sufferer here.
Also you can take the AQ (autism quotient) test for autism, which Baron-Cohen's participants did along with the Eyes Test. It can be found here - but beware - it SHOULD NOT BE USED for a diagnosis! Don't worry about your result! The AQ is also described by an autism sufferer here.
Introduction to autismAutism is a syndrome (it may have many different symptoms and it will look different in each individual), but it tends to be characterised by:
Autism also has a spectrum, where the severity of the condition can vary substantially. Click the picture below for more information. |
The 1997 TestBaron-Cohen had originally done the test in 1997, but felt that a 'revised version of the test was needed.
N.B. Do NOT get these two tests confused! The 1997 test is used by some other exam boards. If you find information on the internet make sure it is for the correct study! |
The 5 predictionsYou should know these...
< = "score less than" > = "score more than" AQ = autism spectrum quotient It is also important that you know whether the results matched the predictions or not... (they did, though prediction 3 did not reach statistical significance) |
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Another common question in exams is about the four groups of the sample. Make sure you can explain why each group was necessary in order to ensure that valid conclusions were drawn. See the table below. N.B. IQ tests are examples of psychometric tests. Psychometric tests are any tests which attempt to make a measurement of mental ability (so IQ tests, memory tests, some personality tests - anything that gives a score to particular aspects of the mind). It is a useful term to know, and one that the examiners like to use.
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Assingment 1 - Alternative study. Baron-Cohen using actors?1 Baron-Cohen et al (eyes test) used a natural experiment to test for advanced theory of mind in adults with either high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. One way to improve the ecological validity of this study would be by using actors rather than photographs of eyes.
(a) Describe different types of validity in psychology. [5] (b) Design an alternative study using actors rather than photographs and describe how it could be conducted. [10] (c) Evaluate this alternative way of studying advanced theory of mind in practical and methodological terms. [10] Submit your alternative study and evaluation through the form on the home page. Assignment 2 - Testing Concurrent ValidityAs you saw with Zimbardo's study, there are many different types of validity. One way of testing validity is to check the results for a new test against the results for a known and trusted test for the same thing. E.g. testing a new IQ test against the results of the standard IQ test.
If the new test gives similar results to the old test, then we can be more confident that it is a valid test - we can say that the new test has concurrent validity. Take the autism quotient test here, and compare it to your results on the eyes test. Are they similar? If you get a full class set of results for both test, you could plot a scattergram to check the correlation between the two tests. If they have a high correlation, we can say that the eyes test has good concurrent validity as a test for diagnosing autism. |
Big Issue - Quasi ExperimentsA quasi experiment is an experiment where the experimenters have no control over the independent variable. Often this is because the independent variable occurs naturally (quasi experiments are sometimes called natural experiments).
For example, Baron-Cohen has no control over who has autism in his study and who does not. The groupings of the IV have already occured naturally. Quasi experiments are common when studying mental illnesses, or the effects of certain changes in the environment.
Use the internet to research the study of Williams and Handford (1986). Produce a brief review which explains:
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RevisionEvaluation of the studyAnswer the following questions using clearly explained PEE points (about four points per essay is usually enough)
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ExtensionBaron-Cohen has suggested that a possible cause for autism could be an 'extreme male brain'. This is because he has found that males tend to be 'systemisers' who do less well on the eyes test than females (who tend to be 'empathisers'). Autistics do even less well on the eyes test, leading him to speculate that they have an 'extreme' version of the male systemising brain.
Watch him put forward this view in a lecture here. |