Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder

Although autism spectrum disorder is defined by reciprocal social-communication impairments, several studies have found no evidence for altered social cognition test performance. This study examined explicit (i.e. prompted) and implicit (i.e. spontaneous) variants of social cognition testing in auti...

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Main Authors: Callenmark, B., Kjellin, L., Rönnqvist, L., Bolte, Sven
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/63368
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author Callenmark, B.
Kjellin, L.
Rönnqvist, L.
Bolte, Sven
author_facet Callenmark, B.
Kjellin, L.
Rönnqvist, L.
Bolte, Sven
author_sort Callenmark, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Although autism spectrum disorder is defined by reciprocal social-communication impairments, several studies have found no evidence for altered social cognition test performance. This study examined explicit (i.e. prompted) and implicit (i.e. spontaneous) variants of social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder. A sample of 19 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and 19 carefully matched typically developing controls completed the Dewey Story Test. 'Explicit' (multiple-choice answering format) and 'implicit' (free interview) measures of social cognition were obtained. Autism spectrum disorder participants did not differ from controls regarding explicit social cognition performance. However, the autism spectrum disorder group performed more poorly than controls on implicit social cognition performance in terms of spontaneous perspective taking and social awareness. Findings suggest that social cognition alterations in autism spectrum disorder are primarily implicit in nature and that an apparent absence of social cognition difficulties on certain tests using rather explicit testing formats does not necessarily mean social cognition typicality in autism spectrum disorder.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-633682023-02-22T06:24:17Z Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder Callenmark, B. Kjellin, L. Rönnqvist, L. Bolte, Sven Although autism spectrum disorder is defined by reciprocal social-communication impairments, several studies have found no evidence for altered social cognition test performance. This study examined explicit (i.e. prompted) and implicit (i.e. spontaneous) variants of social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder. A sample of 19 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and 19 carefully matched typically developing controls completed the Dewey Story Test. 'Explicit' (multiple-choice answering format) and 'implicit' (free interview) measures of social cognition were obtained. Autism spectrum disorder participants did not differ from controls regarding explicit social cognition performance. However, the autism spectrum disorder group performed more poorly than controls on implicit social cognition performance in terms of spontaneous perspective taking and social awareness. Findings suggest that social cognition alterations in autism spectrum disorder are primarily implicit in nature and that an apparent absence of social cognition difficulties on certain tests using rather explicit testing formats does not necessarily mean social cognition typicality in autism spectrum disorder. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/63368 10.1177/1362361313492393 unknown
spellingShingle Callenmark, B.
Kjellin, L.
Rönnqvist, L.
Bolte, Sven
Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
title Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
title_full Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
title_fullStr Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
title_full_unstemmed Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
title_short Explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
title_sort explicit versus implicit social cognition testing in autism spectrum disorder
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/63368