Cognitive approach: Baron-Cohen et al. (eyes test)

Psychology AS · The core studies. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Theory of mind is the ability to work out what another person is thinking or feeling. Baron-Cohen et al. believed that adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) find this difficult. An earlier Eyes Test (1997) had problems: it had few items and only two answer choices, so many typical adults scored close to the maximum.

The 2001 study tested a revised Eyes Test. Each of 36 items shows a photograph of the eye region of a face with four words. The participant chooses the word that best describes the mental state. Participants also completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a questionnaire about autistic traits.

Adults with AS or HFA scored lower on the Eyes Test and higher on the AQ than the other groups.

Rules to remember

Groups: 15 men with AS or HFA; 122 typical adults from the general population; 103 university students; 14 adults matched for IQ with the AS/HFA group.
Revised test: 36 items, four choices each, a glossary of the words, and equal numbers of male and female faces.
Mean Eyes Test scores (out of 36): AS/HFA 21.9; general population 26.2; students 28.0; IQ-matched 30.9.
Mean AQ scores: AS/HFA 34.4; students 18.3; IQ-matched 18.9.
Eyes Test and AQ scores were negatively correlated: more autistic traits went with lower Eyes Test scores.
Control task: the AS/HFA group could judge the sex of each person from the eyes, so the problem was with mental states, not with seeing eyes.
Weaknesses: still photographs of eyes are unlike real social life, and the AS/HFA group was small and all male.

Common mistake

Students mix up the two scores. The AS/HFA group scored lower on the Eyes Test but higher on the AQ, which is why the two measures are negatively correlated.

Worked example

A person guesses every answer. What score would be expected by chance on the original test (25 items, two choices) and on the revised test (36 items, four choices)? What does this show?

Original test: chance of a correct guess = 1 ÷ 2, so expected score = 25 × 0.5 = 12.5, which is 50% of the marks.
Revised test: chance of a correct guess = 1 ÷ 4, so expected score = 36 × 0.25 = 9, which is 25% of the marks.
On the revised test there is a wider range of scores above the chance level, so real differences between people show more clearly.

Answer: 12.5 out of 25 on the original test and 9 out of 36 on the revised test. The revised test is less affected by guessing, so it is a more sensitive measure.

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