The Strange Stories test

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the ability of 21 children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS) of normal intelligence to infer mental states in a story context using Happe's Strange Stories test. The participants in the AS group were compared with an age-matched control group (N=20) of normally developing children and adolescents on a test of social understanding. The test material comprised social communication such as Pretence, Joke, Lie, White Lie, Figure of Speech, Misunderstanding, Persuasion, Irony, Double Bluff and Contrary Emotions, Appearance/Reality and Forgetting. As compared to the controls, the participants in the AS group performed less well on these tasks, and answered fewer correct mental state inferences, but performed well on a physical state control task. This study supports the main finding of earlier studies, showing that even individuals with AS of normal intelligence have problems in using mental state terms context-appropriately when tested on the Strange Stories test.