Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test Study

The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test Revised Version: A Study with Normal Adults, and Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High-functioning Autism

• Initial Test (1997): Developed a test of adult mentalizing. Succeeded in distinguishing adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) from controls, but had psychometric issues.

• Revised Version: Corrected the limitations of the initial test, using 36 photographs and 4 response options per trial. This improved the test's ability to detect subtle individual differences in social sensitivity.

• Revised Test Participants: A group of adults with AS or HFA (N=15) and a large number of normal controls (N=239).

• Results of Revised Test: Clinical sample (AS or HFA) scored significantly lower than the control groups on the mental state judgements of the test.

• Social Cognitive Tests: The test assesses the ability to attribute mental states and predict others' behaviors.

• Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ): A self-reported measure of autistic traits in adults with normal intelligence. Showed an inverse correlation with performance on the Revised Eyes Test.

• Sex Differences: Women performed slightly better than men in the original test. This trend was not statistically significant in this study, but approached significance.

• Technical Improvements:

  • Increased the number of test items(photographs) from 25 to 36 making it a more sensitive measure of social intelligence.
  • Increased the number of response options from 2 to 4 per trial decreasing the chance of scoring above chance performance, thus revealing individual differences.
  • Limited items to complex mental states, making the task more challenging to reveal subtle individual differences.
  • Ensured an equal number of male and female faces to avoid bias.
  • Created more difficulty by making the foil words semantically related to the target word.
  • Included a glossary of mental state terms to address potential word comprehension issues.

• Additional Study Aims:

  • Test replicability of the deficit in adults with AS or HFA found in the initial version.
  • Determine an inverse correlation between performance in the test and the AQ.
  • Verify the sex difference in the original test.

• Test Groups: Adults with AS/HFA, general population controls, students, and IQ-matched controls.

• Method: Groups were individually tested on the Revised Eyes Test using computer and paper-based formats.

• Results summary:

  • statistically significant main effect of group in the Eyes Test, with the clinical group performing less well than others.
  • The presence of a trend toward a sex difference, with females scoring slightly higher than males.
  • An inverse correlation was found between the AQ and the Eyes Test, confirming that the test is related to the autistic spectrum.