Baron-Cohen Autism Study (2001)

• Study notes produced from the information provided

Baron-Cohen et al. 2001

• The Autistic Spectrum Quotient test (AQ) identifies individuals with more autistic traits when they score highly.
• Baron-Cohen suggests autism results from a lack of theory of mind, which is the ability to understand another's viewpoint.
• The "reading the mind in the eyes" tasks require similar cognitive processes to theory of mind.
• Those with HFA/AS correctly identified significantly fewer emotions in testing.
• The original test was revised to address practical issues, such as the forced-choice format, the simplicity of emotions used, and the imbalance of male/female eyes.
• This study tests whether AS and HFA patients are impaired in the mind in the eyes and seeks to find whether there is an association between test performance and autistic traits.
• It considers sex differences, expecting boys to score higher on AQ and normal females to score higher on the mind in eyes test.
• A lab experiment and pilot study were employed, utilizing the same photographs for all participants to ensure high standardization and minimize artificiality.
• Participants were placed in groups according to their characteristics.
• The study uses an independent groups design: AS/HFA, adult comparison group, student comparison group, and IQ matched group.
• Score on the reading of the mind in the eyes test and AQ score serve as dependent variables.
• Group sizes and average ages varied across the groups, with IQ measured for the AS/HFA and matched IQ groups.
• Volunteers were recruited through autism society magazines and adult education classes, from universities and public libraries.
• Participants were tested on the revised "reading the mind in the eyes" task, with the AS/HFA group also asked to judge the sex of the eyes as a control.
• The procedure included a practice item, followed by 36 sets of eyes with 4 choices each.
• Consent was gathered, and participants were aware of the nature of the test, with names kept anonymous.
• Results showed that Group 1 (AS/HFA) correctly identified significantly fewer emotions compared to other groups.
• Group 1 scored significantly higher on the AQ task compared to the student comparison and IQ matched comparison groups.
• A significant negative correlation was observed between AQ and Eye test scores but no correlation between IQ and Eye test scores was found.
• AS/HFA-deficit in cognitive processes that help to identify emotions = lack of theory of mind.
• Current study replicated findings that AS/HFA adults score significantly higher on the AQ test than the general population.
• Sex differences were apparent (males have higher AQ score, but needs further research, as not significant).
• The revised test is a more sensitive measure.

Strengths of the study

• Strengths include its standardized lab experiment, confounding variables controlled, meaning high internal validity and replicable.
• The validity of the test was improved since the 1997 version, with fewer ceiling effects in normal participants.

Weaknesses of the study

• Random allocation to groups was not possible, introducing a confounding variable.
• Ecological validity of the task is still low, using only eyes compared to the whole face which lacks mundane realism.
• The experimental group is small (15), posing issues with representativeness and generalizability.

Issues and debates

• Programmes could be conducted to help people with AS/HFA in developing their skills of interpreting emotions.
• The eyes test could be improved to help diagnose individuals who may have underlying autistic disorders.
• The AS/HFA group performed significantly worse on the RET than the 'normal' group, suggesting that the ability to identify mental states is an individual skill that is developed.
• Environment had been standardised (supports individual explanation).
• Sophisticated words would not be appropriate for children.
• So, the 'Anne and Sally' test was developed to understand the theory of mind of children.

Andrade 2010

• The study explores whether doodling while engaging in a primary task (listening to a mock telephone call) affects attention and memory.
• Participants were randomly assigned to either a doodling group or a control group.
• Doodling involves shading shapes on a piece of paper during the telephone call, while the control group simply listened.
• The dependent variables measured were the number of names and places reported by the participants after.
• Doodlers shaded an average of 36.3 shapes, whilst non-doodlers did not spontaneously doodle.
• Doodling helped concentration on a primary task as doodling participants performed better than participants who only listened to the primary task.
• Doodling improves memory by encouraging deeper information processing.
• Daydreaming could have been measured either through a self-report or by using brain scans to identify reduced activation of the cortex.
• Strengths include the standardized lab experiment, controlled EVs, and the operationalization of the task.
• Limitations include the risk of participant variables confounding the results, lacks a small amount of ecological validity and the fact all participants are members of a recruitment panel.
• Participants did not give informed consent fully for the recall task, but were debriefed and apologized to.
• When listening to a lecture, doodling might be advantageous, but deliberately drawing something may be counterproductive.
• Doodling may be a practical, non-pharmacological strategy to help manage symptoms of ADHD.
• As doodling affected recall, this shows a situational effect on information processing, however, people do not doodle in the same way.

Pozzulo et al. 2012

• This study investigates the role of social and cognitive factors in children's identification accuracy in lineups in comparison to adults and assesses whether children are less accurate and more prone to false positives than adults
• Children were aged between 4 and 7, while adults were between 17 and 30.
• The study manipulated age, target type (cartoon or human faces), and lineup type (target-present or target-absent) to examine their effects on identification accuracy.
• Participants watched video clips of everyday activities performed by either Caucasian university students or cartoon characters Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go
• The procedure included instructions, watching video clips, a filler task, and lineup presentation
• Lineup presentations used a simultaneous procedure with six photos displayed on a laptop screen.
• Children had a lower average correct identification rate for human faces compared to adults.
• There was not a significant difference in accuracy for recognizing cartoon faces between children and adults.

Conclusions

• Both children and adults identified cartoon faces more accurately than unfamiliar human faces.
• The lineups themselves consisted of six photos displayed on a laptop screen. In target-present lineups, one photo showed the actual target while five showed carefully selected foils.
• Children's higher rates of false positives in target-absent lineups may be due to social pressures rather than cognitive deficits.
• Limited age range and generalisability, potentially affecting the ability to generalize the results.
• Simplied stimuli: lacks mundane realism given the video clips and photos.
• In the laboratory, a child friendly environment was created to help improve relaxation.
• Researchers explicitly informed the children that they could withdraw from the study at any time without facing any negative consequences.
• The study advocates for a cautious approach to children's testimony, especially in target-absent lineups..
• Children's cognitive abilities are still developing, which may make them more susceptible to suggestion and less able to accurately recall and recognize faces.
• The study emphasizes that environmental factors, particularly social influences, play a significant role in shaping children's identification abilities (nurture).