Assessing False-Belief Understanding in Children with Autism Using a Computer Application: A Pilot Study

• Published in: Journal of psycholinguistic research Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 1085 - 1099
• Main Authors: Carlsson, Emilia, Miniscalco, Carmela, Gillberg, Christopher, Åsberg Johnels, Jakob
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Auditory Perception; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic children; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Beliefs; CAI; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Cognitive Processes; Cognitive Psychology; Comparative Analysis; Comprehension; Computer assisted instruction; Computer Oriented Programs; False belief; Female; Handheld Devices; Humans; Language Development; Language Usage; Learning transfer; Male; Narratives; Oto-rino-laryngologi; Otorhinolaryngology; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Pilot Projects; Psychiatry; Psycholinguistics; Psychology; Psykiatri; Task Analysis; Task Performance and Analysis; Theory of mind; Autism spectrum disorders; Computer application; School-age children; Theory of mind; False-belief understanding
• ISSN: 0090-6905; 1573-6555; 1573-6555
• DOI: 10.1007/s10936-018-9579-2

We have developed a False-Belief (FB) understanding task for use on a computer tablet, trying to assess FB understanding in a less social way. It is based on classical FB protocols, and additionally includes a manipulation of language in an attempt to explore the facilitating effect of linguistic support during FB processing. Specifically, the FB task was presented in three auditory conditions: narrative, silent, and interference. The task was assumed to shed new light on the FB difficulties often observed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sixty-eight children with ASD (M = 7.5 years) and an age matched comparison group with 98 typically developing (TD) children were assessed with the FB task. The children with ASD did not perform above chance level in any condition, and significant differences in success rates were found between the groups in two conditions (silent and narrative), with TD children performing better. We discuss implications, limitations, and further developments.