Theory Of Mind Difficulties Research Articles

Detecting criminal intent in social interactions: The influence of autism and theory of mind.

Defense attorneys sometimes suggest that social-cognitive difficulties render autistic individuals vulnerable to involvement in crime, often arguing that theory of mind (ToM) difficulties that undermine inferences about others' intentions underpin this vulnerability. We examined autistic adults' ability to respond adaptively to criminal intent during interactions and whether difficulties were associated with poor ToM. Compared with nonautistic adults, autistic adults were expected to be less likely to respond adaptively to another's criminal intent and less likely to do so early in interactions, with poorer performance associated with ToM difficulties. We developed the Suspicious Activity Paradigm, in which autistic (n = 102) and nonautistic (n = 95) adults listened (as if participating in an interaction) to audio scenarios in which cues suggesting their impending involvement in a crime gradually emerged. At periodic intervals, they were required to indicate how they would react toward the other person's behavior, with response coding reflecting detection of, and adaptive responding to, suspicious activity. We observed similar patterns of suspicion and adaptive responses in autistic and nonautistic adults as the scenarios progressed. Regardless of diagnostic status, pronounced ToM difficulties and low verbal ability were independently associated with a lower likelihood of reporting suspicion and responding adaptively. Our results do not support the perspective that autistic adults are uniquely vulnerable to crime involvement due to an inability to recognize and respond adaptively to suspicious behavior. The potential for heightened criminal vulnerability was associated with significant ToM difficulties (and verbal ability) regardless of autism diagnostic status, although such difficulties were more prevalent in the autistic sample. The finding that pronounced ToM difficulties may heighten criminal vulnerability for both autistic and nonautistic individuals challenges the validity of a generalized "autism" legal defense based on assumed rather than measured ToM difficulties. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-neurotype communication from an autistic point of view: Insights on autistic Theory of Mind from a focus group study.

The conceptualisation of autism as a disorder where Theory of Mind (ToM) and pragmatics are fundamentally impaired has prompted a wealth of research on autistic deficits, most of which is characterised by two main assumptions: first, that autistic people would display said deficits, if present, with any conversation partner and in any situation; second, that neurotypical people do not present these deficits, regardless of the conversation partner. However, this is not necessarily reflected in autistic accounts of the way they experience social cognition and pragmatics. The present paper aims to investigate the autistic experience of communication with both autistic and neurotypical people, with a particular focus on their perception of the ability of autistic and neurotypical people to understand their communicative intentions. Participants, 23 adult Italian autistic people without intellectual disability or language disorders, were recruited online. Two virtual focus groups of 2 hours each were conducted, transcribed and analysed through thematic analysis with a descriptive phenomenological approach by two independent researchers. Six themes were developed from the analysis, the most relevant being Autistic-Autistic communication and Autistic ToM. The results, in line with the Double Empathy theory, suggest there seem to be important differences between neurotypical and autistic people's ToM. These appear to make it easier for autistic people to communicate with one another, as well as to create difficulties for neurotypical people to understand autistic people, not just the other way around. These results seem to confirm that challenges in cross-neurotype communication are better interpreted as mutual miscomprehension and reciprocal differences in ToM rather than deficits on the autistic part. This calls for a reframing of ToM and/or the need for autistic ToM as a construct, of which neurotypical people seem to be lacking. Moreover, these insights should be taken into account for speech and language therapy and clinical practice in general, advocating for a neurodiversity-informed view of co-constructed communication as well as for a broader societal change in which therapists can play a crucial role, through participatory approaches or raising awareness in their daily practice. What is already known on the subject Autism is conceived as characterised by social cognition and communication difficulties, often linked to Theory of Mind (ToM) deficits. However, recent research suggested variations in ToM abilities within the autistic population and proposed alternative theories like the Double Empathy theory. Nevertheless, only a few studies examined how autistic individuals perceive communication across neurotypes. What this study adds Autistic individuals seem to find it easier to communicate with other autistic people, and they identify specific characteristics of neurotypical communication that hinder successful communication. Moreover, neurotypical people are perceived as having difficulties in autistic ToM, which seems to emerge as a relevant and needed construct in light of the Double Empathy problem. What are the clinical implications of this work? These findings can inform speech and language therapy and clinical practice about the potential gains of raising awareness on the Double Empathy problem and the higher communication ease inside the autistic community, alongside individualised support. Participatory approaches and closer collaboration with the autistic community also seem to be crucial for therapists to help improve communication experiences for autistic individuals.

Navigating Social Waters: Understanding Theory-of-Mind Challenges in Patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Background: Temporal lobe epilepsy is a common neurological disease that affects many areas of patients' lives, including social competence. The aim of the study was to assess theory of mind in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and to investigate the demographic and clinical factors associated with this function. Methods: A total of 65 participants took part in the study, which included 44 patients with epilepsy and 21 demographically matched healthy individuals. The following neuropsychological tests were used to examine theory of mind: the Faux Pas Test, the Hinting Task, the Emotion Comprehension Test, and a cognitive function screen, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Results: Patients with epilepsy scored lower on all measures of the theory-of-mind tests. Moreover, in the clinical group, numerous moderate and strong correlations were found between the theory-of-mind tests and education, age at onset of epilepsy, lateralization of epileptic focus, cognitive status, and, to a lesser degree, number of anti-epileptic drugs, frequency of seizures, and age. In contrast, in the control group, significant correlations were found mostly between the theory-of-mind tests and sex, and, to a lesser degree, age. Education and cognitive functioning were not associated. Conclusions: Patients with epilepsy experience difficulties in theory of mind, which may have a negative impact on the quality of their social relationships. The level of theory-of-mind abilities correlates with particular clinical and demographic indicators. Recognizing these issues allows clinicians to implement tailored interventions, potentially improving patients' quality of life.

Patterns of executive functions and theory of mind in adults with a family history of alcohol use disorder: Combined group and single-case analyses.

Impairments in executive function and social cognition are highly prevalent in individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Some studies show that similar difficulties are displayed by individuals with a positive family history of AUD (FH+) compared with individuals with a negative family history (FH-). Yet, no studies have jointly investigated cognitive and affective theory of mind at the behavioral level. Moreover, some studies show preserved executive and socioemotional functioning in FH+ participants. One possible explanation for these divergent results is that FH+ individuals are cognitively heterogeneous. In this study, we examined the frequency and co-occurrence of difficulties in executive function and social cognition among FH+ individuals at the individual level. Sixty FH+ and 60 FH- participants matched on age, sex, and education level were included. They completed tasks assessing executive functions (Stroop, Trail Making Test) and affective and cognitive theory of mind (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). They also completed self-report questionnaires measuring impulsivity, alexithymia, and empathy. Single-case analyses assessed the proportion of FH+ participants with difficulties in executive function and/or theory of mind. FH+ individuals exhibited difficulties in response inhibition and made more errors during theory of mind processing, indicating an absence of mental state representation, compared with FH- individuals. In the FH+ sample, 53.33% had executive function and/or theory of mind difficulties. Those with lower theory of mind scores reported higher alexithymia and lower empathy on self-report measures. FH+ individuals display heterogeneous executive function and theory of mind abilities. Given that they mostly occur independently of one another, executive function and theory of mind difficulties may be distinct vulnerability markers in AUD.

Theory of Mind, Emotion Recognition and Social Cognition in Adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Healthy Controls

Background: People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) may experience adverse consequences due to difficulty understanding and interacting with others. Objectives: This study was conducted to compare the theory of mind, emotion recognition, and social cognition in teenagers with GAD and healthy controls. Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 60 patients with GAD and 60 sample of teenagers without GAD in Tehran, during 2022-2023. The GAD was diagnosed based on DSM-IV_TR criteria. The data collection tools included theory of mind scale (TOM), social cognition questionnaire and Ekman 60-Faces Test (EK-60F). One-way analysis of variance and post hoc test were performed to analyze the data using SPSS version 27 with a two-tailed 5% level of significance. Results: The results observed significant differences in the mean values of all variables in four groups of females with and without generalized anxiety disorder, and males with and without generalized anxiety disorder. Comparing the means of study groups, it can be observed that females have higher mean values for their study variables compared to males (P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicated that teenagers with generalized anxiety disorder were more prone to experiencing difficulties in theory of mind, emotional perception, and social cognition, particularly among females, compared to their counterparts without the disorder. During adolescence, it is vital to possess the skills of emotional management and the absence of anxiety to establish relationships, nurture meaningful friendships, and actively participate in social interactions.

How word meaning structure relates to executive functioning and theory of mind in children with developmental language disorder: A multiple case study.

Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have difficulties in executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). These difficulties might be explained by the theory that children's conceptual understanding changes over five stages of word meaning structure, from concrete and context-dependent to abstract and precise. We present a multiple case study examining how word meaning structure relates to EF and ToM in children with DLD. Participants were five children with DLD aged 9-12 and five typically developing children matched for age, gender, and nonverbal intelligence. Word meaning structure was assessed using new dynamic test. EF was assessed using the Zoo Map Task and Behavioral Rating Inventory for EF. ToM was assessed using the ToM test, Frith-Happé Animations, and Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire. Behavioral problems were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist. Anamnestic interviews with the parents were conducted to describe the case histories. For the children with DLD, lower scores in the word meaning structure task were observed compared to those observed for their matched peers, with no statistical test applied. Word meaning structure related positively to EF and ToM, but not to behavioral problems. Instances in which word meaning structure dissociates from EF and ToM are discussed in individual case descriptions. By linking language to conceptual development, variations in word meaning structure may explain some EF and ToM difficulties in children with DLD. The present study offers a basis for future research on the relationships among word meaning structure, EF, and ToM.

Impact of hypomanic personality traits on brain functional connectivity during a dynamic theory-of-mind task

Hypomanic personality traits are present in the general population and represent a risk factor for developing bipolar disorder. This personality style, notably its social component, is linked to difficulties in theory of mind (i.e., ability to infer mental states). Exploring the neural correlates of mental states’ inference in individuals with these personality traits can provide meaningful insights into the development of bipolar disorder. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the potential impact of hypomanic traits on brain activation and task-based connectivity strength during a dynamic theory of mind task in a nonclinical population. A total of 52 nonclinical participants were recruited, and hypomanic traits were assessed with the Hypomanic Personality Scale. The severity of hypomanic traits was positively associated with right middle and inferior frontal gyri activations (in high vs. low inference in nonemotional condition and emotion vs. no emotion in high inference, respectively). It was also associated with stronger connectivity between the salience network (i.e., bilateral putamen and pallidum) and bilateral superior temporal gyri (high inference in nonemotional condition), and between cerebellar and temporal areas (high inference in emotional condition). These changes may either reflect adaptations or differential processing, and further studies are therefore mandatory.

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Knowledge and Education Related to Theory of Mind: Survey-Based Research

Theory of mind (ToM) involves understanding others’ thoughts and feelings and is related to language abilities. Individuals with communication disorders are at risk of ToM difficulties; however, little is known about speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) knowledge, perceptions, and educational preparation related to ToM. SLPs ( N = 95) completed an online survey in which they described their understanding of ToM and answered questions about their educational preparation related to ToM. A thematic analysis of SLPs’ definitions of ToM revealed nine themes represented in participants’ responses including perspective-taking and interpersonal and intrapersonal cognitive and affective ToM. Most SLPs’ definitions included more than one code indicating a multifaceted understanding of ToM; however, most SLPs reported little formal education related to ToM. Although language ability plays a critical role in the development of ToM and SLPs are language specialists, these results suggest that SLPs receive little formal education on these topics. Clinical implications are discussed.

Theory of Mind and Executive Functions in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Healthy Aging.

Social cognition involves skills for maintaining harmonious personal and social relationships throughout life. Social cognition issues, including Theory of Mind (ToM), can significantly impact the well-being of older individuals and intensify with the onset of neurological conditions. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a state between healthy and pathological neurocognitive aging, where monitoring social functions is crucial. Despite numerous studies on ToM challenges in older adults and cognitive disorders, the underlying mechanisms remain debated. Uncertainty exists regarding whether ToM deficits are related to other cognitive functions, such as Executive Functions (EFs). Our study examined the correlation between EF and ToM performance in 32 MCI patients and 36 healthy elderly controls. The findings revealed a link between EF and ToM performance among healthy elderly individuals. Specifically, within the assessed EFs, the role of the working memory (WM) emerged. The study also highlighted distinctions between the MCI group and the healthy elderly group, showing that despite a general reduction in cognitive performance, the condition could impact these abilities in different ways. The study contributes to the literature, fostering comprehension of the mechanisms underlying ToM difficulties, while also paving the way for targeted interventions and enhanced clinical or preventative care.

Emotion dysregulation and social communication problems but not ToM properties may predict obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom severity

Objective Studies have shown that theory of mind, emotion regulation and pragmatic abilities are negatively affected in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We aimed to investigate theory of mind (ToM) abilities, social responsiveness, pragmatic language, and emotion regulation skills in children with OCD and to compare them to healthy controls. Methods This study was designed as a single-center, cross-sectional, case-control study. ToM abilities were evaluated via “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test” (RMET), “Faces Test”, “Faux-Pas Test”, “Comprehension Test” and “Unexpected Outcomes Test”. Social responsiveness, pragmatic language and emotion regulation were evaluated by Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Children’s Communication Checklist- Second Edition (CCC-2), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS). Within the study period, we enrolled 85 adolescents (42 with OCD and 43 controls). Results The OCD group performed significantly lower than healthy controls in the Faux Pass and Comprehension tests (p = 0.003 for both). We found a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of the goal, strategy, non-acceptance subscales of the DERS (p < 0.001, p = 0.006, p = 0.008, respectively) as well as the total DERS score (p < 0.001). CY-BOCS total scores correlated significantly and negatively with Comprehension, Faux Pas and Unexpected Outcomes tests, and positively with CCC total, SRS total and DERS total scores. In regression analysis the DERS, SRS and CCC tests emerged as significant predictors of CY-BOCS total score. Conclusion Addressing ToM, pragmatic, and ER difficulties when planning the treatment of young people with OCD may contribute to positive outcomes.

Autism and intention attribution test: a non-verbal evaluation with comic strips

BackgroundDespite autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and mentalization being two words often associated in the literature, the assessment of this ability in individuals with ASD in the clinical setting is still limited. Indeed, there are no standardized Theory of Mind (ToM) tests that are adaptable to different cognitive profiles, such as individuals with language poverty, and intellectual or memory impairments. This study proposes a non-verbal test (Intentions Attribution-Comic Strip Test; IA-CST) to evaluate the ability to infer the intentions of others, a basic component of ToM, in the clinical setting.MethodIn Study 1, the test was administered to 261 healthy individuals and we performed structural validation using Exploratory Graph Analysis. In Study 2, the final version of the test was administered to 32 individuals with ASD to assess the known group validity of the measure by comparing their scores with a sample of IQ-matched controls. Moreover, we performed logistic regression and ROC curve to preliminarily assess the diagnostic performance of the IA-CST.ResultsThe IA-CST resulted in a 3-dimension measure with good structural stability. Group comparison indicated that the ASD group shows significantly lower performance in intention attribution but not in inferring causal consequences. The test demonstrated known group validity and that, preliminarily, it is suitable for implementation within the clinical practice.ConclusionsThe results support the IA-CST as a valid non-verbal task for evaluating intentions attribution in the clinical setting. Difficulties in ToM are early and relevant in ASD, so assessing these aspects is valuable for structuring individualized and evidence-based interventions.

Reading the mind in the eyes and cognitive ability in schizophrenia- and autism spectrum disorders.

Schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by difficulties in theory of mind (ToM). We examined group differences in performance on a ToM-related test and associations with an estimated IQ. Participants [N = 1227, SZ (n = 563), ASD (n = 159), and controls (n = 505), 32.2% female] completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and assessments of cognitive ability. Associations between IQ and group on RMET were investigated with regression analyses. SZ (d = 0.73, p < 0.001) and ASD (d = 0.37, p < 0.001) performed significantly worse on the RMET than controls. SZ performed significantly worse than ASD (d = 0.32, p = 0.002). Adding IQ to the model, SZ (d = 0.60, p < 0.001) and ASD (d = 0.44, p < 0.001) continued to perform significantly worse than controls, but no longer differed from each other (d = 0.13, p = 0.30). Small significant negative correlations between symptom severity and RMET performance were found in SZ (PANSS positive: r = -0.10, negative: r = -0.11, both p < 0.05). A small non-significant negative correlation was found for Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule scores and RMET in ASD (r = -0.08, p = 0.34). SZ and ASD are characterized by impairments in RMET. IQ contributed significantly to RMET performance and accounted for group differences in RMET between SZ and ASD. This suggests that non-social cognitive ability needs to be included in comparative studies of the two disorders.

White and gray matter correlates of theory of mind in autism: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in theory of mind (ToM) and social communication. Studying structural and functional correlates of ToM in the brain and how autistic and nonautistic groups differ in terms of these correlates can help with diagnosis and understanding the biological mechanisms of ASD. In this study, we investigated white matter volume (WMV) and gray matter volume (GMV) differences between matching autistic and nonautistic samples, and how these structural features relate to age and ToM skills, indexed by the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RMIE) measure. The results showed widespread GMV and WMV differences between the two groups in regions crucial for social processes. The autistic group did not express the typically observed negative GMV and positive WMV correlations with age at the same level as the nonautistic group, pointing to abnormalities in developmental structural changes. In addition, we found differences between the two groups in how GMV relates to ToM, particularly in the left frontal regions, and how WMV relates to ToM, mostly in the cingulate and corpus callosum. Finally, GMV in the left insula, a region that is part of the salience network, was found to be crucial in distinguishing ToM performance between the two groups.

Development and validation of a task battery for verbal and non-verbal first- and second-order theory of mind

This paper presents a new toolkit for assessing Theory of Mind (ToM) via performance in first and second-order false belief (FB) tasks. The toolkit includes verbal and non-verbal versions of first and second-order FB tasks; the verbal version is currently available in Greek and German. Scenarios in the toolkit are balanced for factors that may influence performance, like the reason for the FB (deception, change-of-location, unexpected content). To validate our toolkit, we tested the performance of neurotypical adults in the non-verbal and verbal versions in two studies: Study 1 with 50 native speakers of German and Study 2 with 50 native speakers of Greek. The data from both studies yield similar results. Participants performed well in all conditions, showing slightly more difficulties in the second- than first-order FB conditions, and in the non-verbal than the verbal version of the task. This suggests that the task is at the high end of the sensitive range for neurotypical adults, and is expected to be well inside the sensitive range for children and populations that have difficulties in ToM. Factors like deception and type of outcome in the video-scenarios did not influence the behavior of neurotypical adults, suggesting that the task does not have any confounds related to these factors. The order of presentation of the verbal and non-verbal version has an influence on performance; participants beginning with the verbal version performed slightly better than participants beginning with the non-verbal version. This suggests that neurotypical adults used language to mediate ToM performance and learn from a language-mediated task when performing a non-verbal ToM task. To conclude, our results show that the scenarios in the toolkit are of comparable difficulty and can be combined freely to match demands in future research with neurotypical children and autistic individuals, as well as other populations that have been shown to have difficulties in ToM. Differences between baseline and critical conditions can be assumed to reflect ToM abilities, rather than language and task-based confounding factors.

Detecting dodgy behaviour: The role of autism, autistic traits and theory of mind.

Difficulties in reading others' minds make it difficult to anticipate their future behaviour. It has often been argued that such difficulties contribute to autistic individuals becoming enmeshed in criminal activity. However, supportive scientific evidence is virtually non-existent. We compared the ability of groups of autistic and non-autistic adults of similar intellectual ability to detect dodgy or suspicious behaviour across a wide range of scenarios. Although the autistic group performed more poorly than the non-autistic group on an established measure of mindreading, there were no group differences in the ability to detect dodginess. Nor did we find any evidence that detecting dodgy behaviour was associated with the degree of autistic traits reported by individual participants. However, when we combined the two groups, difficulty reading the minds of others was indeed associated with poorer detection of dodginess, thus highlighting a characteristic of individuals that may well increase the likelihood of becoming involved in crime or exploited for autistic and non-autistic individuals alike.

Measuring cognitive and affective Theory of Mind with the Italian Yoni task: normative data and short versions

Theory of Mind (ToM), a high-order human social cognition skill, is relevant for mental health and wellbeing and frequently impaired in many clinical conditions. To detect ToM difficulties, validated and standardized measures need to be adopted in clinical practice. The Yoni task provides a comprehensive evaluation of first-order, second-order, affective and cognitive mentalistic inferences. However, the Yoni task remains a time-demanding tool without normative data. To fill this gap, we explored the convergent and discriminant validity, the inter-item reliability and provided normative data of the Italian version of the Yoni task (98 items), and developed two short versions (48 and 36 items). For the validation, internal consistency and convergent/discriminant validity have been considered. Then, the effects of demographical variables on 98 item Yoni were explored, and normative data were provided. Our data demonstrated high reliability and a good convergent validity in all the Yoni versions. Then, two composite scores were proposed to obtain: 1) a global ToM level and 2) the balance between affective and cognitive ToM components, whose alteration represents a signature of several clinical conditions. The future standardization of the short versions of Yoni will allow a comprehensive and quick examination of ToM abilities, suitable for both research and clinical settings.

Theory of Mind and Alexithymia in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Young Adults

The aim of the current study was to examine theory of mind (ToM), the ability to infer the mental states of others, in young adults who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH), and to explore the influence of alexithymia, an inability to understand emotions of the self and others, on ToM performance in this group. Compared to participants with typical hearing, DHH participants displayed significantly lower affective ToM skills and greater alexithymia. After accounting for verbal intelligence quotient, hearing status and alexithymia significantly contributed to poorer ToM performance, accounting for over 14% of the variance. Having a parent who is deaf and being part of the Deaf community were associated with better emotion processing and appear to be important protective factors. Findings provide support that ToM difficulties may linger into young adulthood among DHH individuals and that alexithymia may be a contributing factor. Early intervention programs emphasizing emotional understanding, perspective-taking, and communication skills are warranted for DHH children as well as their caregivers.

Parallel age-related cognitive effects in autism: A cross-sectional replication study.

Findings on age‐related cognitive effects in autism in adulthood are inconsistent across studies. As these studies substantially differ in their methodology, replication studies are needed. In this replication study frequentist (i.e., null‐hypothesis significance testing), and Bayesian statistics were used to investigate the hypothesis that in autistic adults compared to non‐autistic adults mostly parallel, but also protective age‐related cognitive effects can be observed. Participants were 88 autistic adults, and 88 non‐autistic matched comparisons (age range: 30–89 years, mean age: 55 years). Cognitive measures were administered on the following six domains: verbal memory, visual memory, working memory, Theory of Mind (ToM), verbal fluency, and processing speed, and self‐reported cognitive failures. Non‐autistic adults outperformed autistic adults on ToM, verbal fluency, and verbal memory, but only the first two were confirmed with Bayesian replication analyses. Also, more cognitive failures were reported by autistic adults. No interactions between group and age were observed, suggesting a parallel age‐related effect on all cognitive domains. In sum, previously observed difficulties in ToM and verbal fluency were replicated which seem to persist at older age. Previously reported parallel age‐related cognitive patterns were replicated, yet no evidence for protective age‐related patterns was found.Lay summaryWe investigated whether our previous findings on cognitive aging in autism could be confirmed in a new study measuring the cognitive effects of age in autistic and non‐autistic adults. As expected, tasks that younger autistic adults had difficulties with (theory of mind, fluency) were also difficult for older autistic adults, and the effect of age itself was similar in autistic and non‐autistic adults. Unexpectedly, we observed no protective effects (less cognitive aging) in autism.

Further developing the Frith-Happé animations: A quicker, more objective, and web-based test of theory of mind for autistic and neurotypical adults.

The Frith-Happé Animations Test, depicting interactions between triangles, is widely used to measure theory of mind (ToM) ability in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This test began with recording, transcribing, and subjectively scoring participants' verbal descriptions, which consistently found ToM-specific difficulties in ASD. More recently in 2011, White et al. created a more objective version of this ToM test using multiple-choice questions. However, there has been surprisingly little uptake of this test, hence it is currently unclear if White et al.'s findings replicate. Further, the lack of an online version of the test may be hampering its use in large-scale studies and outside of research settings. Addressing these issues, we report the development of a web-based version of the Frith-Happé Animations Test for autistic and neurotypical adults. An online version of the test was developed in a large general population sample (study 1; N=285) and online data were compared with those collected in a lab-based setting (study 2; N=339). The new online test was then administered to adults with a clinical diagnosis of ASD and matched neurotypical controls (study 3; N=231). Results demonstrated that the test could successfully be administered online to autistic adults, who showed ToM difficulties compared to neurotypical adults, replicating White et al.'s findings. Overall, we have developed a quicker, more objective, and web-based version of the Frith-Happé Animations Test that will be useful for social cognition research within and beyond the field of autism, with potential utility for clinical settings. LAY SUMMARY: Many autistic people find it hard to understand what other people are thinking. There are many tests for this 'mentalising' ability, but they often take a long time to complete and cannot be used outside of research settings. In 2011, scientists used short silent animations of moving shapes to create a fast way to measure mentalising ability. We developed this into an online test to use in research and clinics to measure mentalising ability in autism.

School Readiness in Language-Minority Dual Language Learners in Japan: Language, Executive Function, and Theory of Mind

The present study investigated school readiness in Brazilian (Portuguese-Japanese dual language learner or DLL) 5-year-olds in Japan (1) by examining their language skills, executive function (EF), and theory of mind (ToM) in comparison to their monolingual peers and (2) by investigating the developmental relations between these three skills. DLLs scored lower than monolinguals in Japanese language skills, specifically in receptive vocabulary and the understanding of complement clauses in Japanese. DLLs and monolinguals performed similarly in EF, particularly in inhibitory control tasks measuring interference suppression and response inhibition. However, monolinguals outperformed DLLs in ToM tasks assessing false belief understanding. Finally, DLLs’ interference suppression and understanding of complement clauses were both positively related to their false belief understanding. In conclusion, DLLs had school readiness difficulties in Japanese language skills and ToM, but not in EF, compared to their Japanese monolingual peers. Furthermore, the positive relationship of language and EF skills with ToM development, which is commonly reported in monolingual children, extended to an understudied population of DLLs in this study.