The self-reference effect on memory is not diminished in autism: Three studies of incidental and explicit self-referential recognition memory in autistic and neurotypical adults and adolescents.

Abstract

Three experiments investigated the extent to which (a) individuals with autism show a self-reference effect (i.e., better memory for self-relevant information), and (b) the size of the self-reference effect is associated with autism traits. Participants studied trait adjectives in relation to their own name (selfreferent) or a celebrity's name (other-referent) under explicit and incidental/implicit encoding conditions. Explicit encoding involved judging whether the adjectives applied to self or other (denoted by proper names). Implicit encoding involved judging whether the adjectives were presented to the right or left of one's own or a celebrity's name. Recognition memory for the adjectives was tested using a yes/no procedure. Experiment 1 (individual differences; N ϭ 257 neurotypical adults) employed the Autismspectrum Quotient as a measure of autistic traits. Experiments 2 (n ϭ 60) and 3 (n ϭ 52) involved case-control designs with closely matched groups of autistic and neurotypical adults and children/ adolescents, respectively. Autistic traits were measured using the Autism-spectrum Quotient and Social Responsiveness Scale, respectively. In all experiments, a significant self-reference effect was observed in both explicit and implicit encoding conditions. Most importantly, however, there was (a) no significant relation between size of the self-reference effect and number of autistic traits (Experiments 1, 2, and 3), and (b) no significant difference in the size of the self-reference effect between autistic and neurotypical participants (Experiments 2 and 3). In these respects, Bayesian analyses consistently suggested that the data supported the null hypothesis. These results challenge the notion that subjective or objective self-awareness are impaired in autism.

Perspective influences eye movements during real-life conversation: Mentalising about self versus others in autism

“…This is also consistent with previous studies, in which the topic of conversation modulated the social attention in both groups, with harder topics reducing the reciprocal interaction/engagement with the social partner (Nadig et al, 2010). Perhaps in this study selfrelevant information was processed more easily and efficiently than information about others, especially unfamiliar others (see Lind et al, 2019). It may be that social attention is facilitated by the reduction in cognitive load associated with processing self-relevant versus other-relevant information.…”

“…Thus, we reasoned that discussions about the self and a familiar other might yield more typical patterns of eye gaze among autistic participants than discussions about an unfamiliar other, because self-relevant information is easier to process and structures cognition better than information relevant to others (especially unfamiliar others), among both TD people ( Kuiper & Rogers, 1979 ; Sui & Humphreys, 2015 ; Symons & Johnson, 1997 ) and autistic people (e.g. Grainger et al, 2014 ; Lind et al, 2019 ; Williams et al, 2018 ).…”

Perspective influences eye movements during real-life conversation: Mentalising about self vs. others in autism

“…Arguably, these patterns reflect the differential costs of processing information/mentalising about oneself vs. an unfamiliar other. Because self-relevant information is processed more easily and efficiently than information about others, especially unfamiliar others (see Lind et al, 2019), it may be that social attention is facilitated by the reduction in cognitive load associated with processing self-relevant vs. other-relevant information. This idea is in keeping with findings that there is an increased cognitive load associated with representing the mental states of others when those mental states differ from one's own compared to representing others mental states that are the same as one's own (Apperly, Back, Samson, & France, 2008;Schneider, Lam, Bayliss, & Dux, 2012).…”

“…Savitsky, Keysar, Epley, Carter, & Swanson, 2011), and that the quality of social interaction is enhanced between pairs of friends vs. strangers (Pollman & Krahmer, 2017). Thus, we reasoned that discussions about the self and a familiar other might yield more typical patterns of eye gaze among autistic participants than discussions about an unfamiliar other, because selfrelevant information is easier to process and structures cognition better than information relevant to others (especially unfamiliar others), among both TD people (Kuiper, & Rogers, 1979;Sui, & Humphreys, 2015;Symons, & Johnson, 1997) and autistic people (e.g., Lind, Williams, Nicholson, Grainger, & Carruthers, 2019;Williams, Nicholson, & Grainger, 2018;Grainger, Williams, & Lind, 2014).…”

Autobiographical Memory and Social Identity in Autism: Preliminary Results of Social Positioning and Cognitive Intervention

“…However, recent data are more nuanced. In three experiments, individuals with autism exhibited a self-reference effect similar to that of a comparison group (Lind et al, 2019 ). Self-reference effect refers to the memory advantage for encoding self-relevant information.…”