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Understanding Baron-Cohen's Eyes Test

Apr 28, 2025

Lecture Notes: Baron-Cohen's Eyes Test

Introduction

  • Focus on the Baron-Cohen Eyes Test from the cognitive approach.
  • Test used to identify emotion from only the eyes with four categories to choose from.
  • Test is designed to measure social intelligence and theory of mind.

Background

  • Autism and Theory of Mind:
    • Autism: Disorder characterized by low empathy; struggle with perceiving others' emotions.
    • Theory of Mind: Ability to understand others' emotions and perspectives.
    • Baron-Cohen developed the test to measure theory of mind in adults with autism.

Original 1997 Eyes Test

  • Aimed to test adults with autism.
  • Issues with the original test:
    • Only 25 sets of eyes with two options (too easy, high scores for everyone).
    • Options were often opposites (e.g., sympathetic vs. unsympathetic).
    • Ceiling effect due to ease of the test.
    • More female than male eyes.
    • Some participants may not understand the word meanings.

Revised 2001 Eyes Test

  • Improvements made to overcome original test issues:
    • Increased to 36 sets of eyes with four options.
    • Options no longer opposites.
    • Complex emotions used instead of basic ones.
    • Even number of male and female eyes.
    • Glossery provided for word meanings.

Study Aim and Design

  • Aim: Test revised Eyes Test on autistic adults; compare results with non-autistic adults.
  • Secondary aims: Test if non-autistic females score higher than males; examine correlation with AQ test.
  • Design: Quasi-experiment; self-report study; independent measures and matched pairs for certain groups.

Sample and Procedure

  • Group 1: AS/HFA, 15 adult males, average IQ 115.
  • Group 2: Adult controls, 122 participants from public libraries.
  • Group 3: Student controls, 103 undergraduates from Cambridge.
  • Group 4: IQ-matched controls, 14 adults, average IQ 116.
  • All took the Eyes Test, groups 1, 3, and 4 also took the AQ test.

Tools Used

  • Eyes Test: 36 eyes sets with 4 options, max score of 36.
  • AQ Test: Measures autistic tendencies with 50 statements, scored out of 50.

Results

  • AS/HFA group scored lowest in Eyes Test (21/36).
  • Normal females scored higher than males.
  • Negative correlation between Eyes Test and AQ Test scores.

Conclusions

  • Revised test effectively measures theory of mind in autistic vs. non-autistic participants.
  • Females better at judging emotions; males more likely to have autistic tendencies.
  • Inverse correlation between Eyes and AQ Tests.

Evaluation

  • Strengths: High reliability and validity due to improvements; large sample; diagnostic potential for autism.
  • Weaknesses: Potential for socially desirable responses; ecological validity issues; small sample of autistic participants.

Applications

  • Eyes and AQ tests can be diagnostic tools for early autism detection.

Additional Notes

  • For further study materials and updates, contact provided WhatsApp or email from the presentation.

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