Abstract
This study explored whether adults and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate difficulties making metacognitive judgments, specifically judgments of learning. Across two experiments, the study examined whether individuals with ASD could accurately judge whether they had learnt a piece of information (in this case word pairs). In Experiment 1, adults with ASD demonstrated typical accuracy on a standard ‘cue-alone’ judgment of learning (JOL) task, compared to age- and IQ-matched neurotypical adults. Additionally, in Experiment 2, adolescents with ASD demonstrated typical accuracy on both a standard ‘cue-alone’ JOL task, and a ‘cue-target’ JOL task. These results suggest that JOL accuracy is unimpaired in ASD. These results have important implications for both theories of metacognition in ASD and educational practise.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder diagnosed on the basis of social-communication deficits, and fixated interests and repetitive behaviours (American Psychiatric Association 2013)
This study explored whether adults and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate difficulties making metacognitive judgments, judgments of learning
Experiment 2 In Experiment 2, we sought to test the hypothesis that participants with ASD in Experiment 1 showed high judgment of learning (JOL) accuracy by employing atypical ‘‘non-metacognitive’’ strategies
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder diagnosed on the basis of social-communication deficits, and fixated interests and repetitive behaviours (American Psychiatric Association 2013). There is reasonably consistent evidence that individuals with ASD manifest high rates of alexithymia, the inability to accurately identify and describe one’s own emotions (Hill et al 2004; Silani et al 2008), and show diminished performance in ‘‘self-versions’’ of classic mindreading tasks, in which they are required to explain their own behaviour in terms of underlying mental states (e.g., Williams and Happe 2009). To study for an exam successfully, an individual needs to accurately monitor what information they already know and what they still need to learn. In this way, they can modify their learning/study behaviour and spend more time studying appropriate information.
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