Theory of mind predicts severity level in autism

Hoogenhout, Michelle; Malcolm‐Smith, Susan

doi:10.1177/1362361316636758

Cited by 50 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This group also showed significantly less mastery of daily living skills and poorer adaptive skills than the "Higher ToM abilities" profile, which showed less widespread impairment. Our results corroborate previous findings that have linked the prevalence of ToM in ASD to the degree of autistic symptoms (Lerner et al, 2011;Hoogenhout and Malcolm-Smith, 2017) or to pragmatic and social competence (Tager-Flusberg, 2001;Mazza et al, 2017;Baixauli et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…A critical target in ASD research is to identify homogenous subgroups to better understand neurodevelopmental patterns and design meaningful intervention strategies. In the past decade, several studies have used the methodological resource of cluster analysis to empirically derive ASD subtypes that share common cognitive and behavioral characteristics (Baeza-Velasco et al, 2014;Campbell et al, 2014;Hoogenhout and Malcolm-Smith, 2017). Following this approach, the first aim of the present study was to identify profiles of children with ASD without ID, based on measures of explicit and applied ToM knowledge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Theory of Mind Profiles in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Adaptive/Social Skills and Pragmatic Competence

et al. 2020

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Theory of Mind (ToM) is one of the most relevant concepts in the field of social cognition, particularly in the case of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Literature showing that individuals with ASD display deficits in ToM is extensive and robust. However, some related issues deserve more research: the heterogeneous profile of ToM abilities in children with ASD and the association between different levels of ToM development and social, pragmatic, and adaptive behaviors in everyday life. The first objective of this study was to identify profiles of children with ASD without intellectual disability (ID), based on explicit and applied ToM knowledge, and compare these profiles with a group of children with typical development (TD). A second objective was to determine differences in symptom severity, adaptive/social behavior, and pragmatic abilities between the profiles identified. Fifty-two children with a clinical diagnosis of ASD without ID and 37 children with TD performed neuropsychological ToM tasks and two vocabulary and memory tests. In addition, all of their mothers completed different questionnaires about applied ToM abilities, severity of ASD symptoms, adaptive/social skills, and pragmatic competence. Two subgroups were identified in the cluster analysis carried out with explicit and applied ToM indicators. The "Lower ToM abilities" profile obtained significantly lower scores than the "Higher ToM abilities" profile on all the ToM measures. Furthermore, the analysis of covariance, controlling for vocabulary and working memory (ANCOVAs), showed statistically significant differences in applied ToM abilities between the two groups of children with ASD without ID and the group with TD. However, only the group with "Higher ToM abilities" achieved similar performance to the TD group on the verbal task of explicit ToM knowledge. Finally, the "Lower ToM abilities" cluster obtained significantly higher scores on autism symptoms (social and communication domains) and lower scores on adaptive behavior and pragmatic skills than the cluster with "Higher ToM abilities." Taken together, these findings have implications for understanding the heterogeneity in ToM skills in children with ASD without ID, and their differential impact on social, communicative, and adaptive behaviors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theory of Mind Profiles in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Adaptive/Social Skills and Pragmatic Competence

et al. 2020

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“…Both the increased salience of lower level stimuli, particularly those that align with circumscribed interests (CI), and the decreased salience of non-systematic, social stimuli that may impact social motivation (SM), could help explain why people with ASD often have difficulties using ToM, which necessitates gestalt processing through complex modalities (for instance nonverbal body language coupled with explicit vocal communication), and socially directed attention ( Frith and Frith, 2006 ). As ToM deficits have been shown to persist throughout development ( Schneider et al, 2013 ) and correspond heavily to ASD symptom severity ( Hoogenhout and Malcolm-Smith, 2017 ), it is an important mechanism for understanding ASD symptomology and trajectory. As research indicates that current ToM interventions demonstrate poor transfer into real life settings ( Marraffa and Araba, 2016 ), finding ways in which ToM may be intrinsically rewarding to those with ASD, such as through anthropomorphism, could be a vital tool for researchers and community stakeholders alike.…”

Section: Autism Spectrum Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing More Than Human: Autism and Anthropomorphic Theory of Mind

Atherton

Cross

2018

Front. Psychol.

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Theory of mind (ToM) is defined as the process of taking another’s perspective. Anthropomorphism can be seen as the extension of ToM to non-human entities. This review examines the literature concerning ToM and anthropomorphism in relation to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specifically addressing the questions of how and why those on the spectrum both show an increased interest for anthropomorphism and may even show improved ToM abilities when judging the mental states of anthropomorphic characters. This review highlights that while individuals with ASD traditionally show deficits on a wide range of ToM tests, such as recognizing facial emotions, such ToM deficits may be ameliorated if the stimuli presented is cartoon or animal-like rather than in human form. Individuals with ASD show a greater interest in anthropomorphic characters and process the features of these characters using methods typically reserved for human stimuli. Personal accounts of individuals with ASD also suggest they may identify more closely with animals than other humans. It is shown how the social motivations hypothesized to underlie the anthropomorphizing of non-human targets may lead those on the spectrum to seek social connections and therefore gain ToM experience and expertise amongst unlikely sources.

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“…Current evidence suggests that ToM deficits are detectable in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Uekermann et al, 2010) autism, (Hoogenhout & Malcolm-Smith, 2017) schizophrenia spectrum disorders, (Fernandes, Cajao, Lopes, Jeronimo, & Barahona-Correa, 2018) frontal lobe and right hemisphere lesions, (Baldo, Kacinik, Moncrief, Beghin, & Dronkers, 2016) personality disorders, (Bilotta et al, 2018;Németh et al, 2018) multiple sclerosis, (Isernia et al, 2019) and dementias, (Moreau, Rauzy, Viallet, & Champagne-Lavau, 2016) and thus detrimentally affect everyday social life. In the context of these disorders, there is ongoing discussion as to whether ToM abilities are a specific, independent capability, or whether they represent a nonspecific skill, that is, based on a combination of different abilities such as executive functions or memory skills (Mary et al, 2016;Sommer, Döhnel, Schuwerk, & Hajak, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impaired empathy but no theory of mind deficits in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

et al. 2019

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Objective The cognitive capacity to change perspective is referred to as theory of mind (ToM). ToM deficits are detectable in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Since executive abilities are closely associated with ToM skills, we suspected that due to a common neuropsychological basis, ToM deficits exist in treatment‐naïve adults with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods Performance of treatment‐naïve adults with ADHD (N = 30) in tasks assessing executive functions (Trail Making Test, Stroop color–word test, and Test Battery for Attentional Performance), empathy skills (Cambridge Behaviour Scale), and ToM (Movie for Assessment of Social Cognition) was compared with that of a healthy control group (N = 30) matched according to basic demographic variables. Results Compared to healthy controls, treatment‐naïve adults with ADHD showed deficits in various executive functions and the ability to empathize (all p < .05). However, no performance differences were found with regard to ToM (all n.s.). Conclusions Since studies in juveniles with ADHD often show impaired ToM performance, it is conceivable that ToM deficits may become attenuated due to neuronal development in adolescence. Furthermore, our findings imply that ToM impairments, even when present in adult ADHD, appear to be independent of executive deficits and might be explained by comorbid disorders.

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Theory of mind predicts severity level in autism

Cited by 50 publications

References 48 publications

Theory of Mind Profiles in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Adaptive/Social Skills and Pragmatic Competence

Theory of Mind Profiles in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Adaptive/Social Skills and Pragmatic Competence

Seeing More Than Human: Autism and Anthropomorphic Theory of Mind

Impaired empathy but no theory of mind deficits in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

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