Authors: Nils Kaland Lars Smith Erik Lykke Mortensen
Publish Date: 2006/08/22
Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 197-209
Abstract
In the present study the response times of 10 to 20yearold participants with Asperger syndrome AS N = 21 of normal intelligence and a control group of typically developing individuals N = 20 were recorded on a new ‘advanced’ test of theory of mind This test taps the ability to make mentalstate inferences versus physicalstate inferences in a story context The participants with AS were significantly slower than the controls on both tasks In addition the differences in response times between mental and physicalstate inference were significantly larger in the AS group than in the control group suggesting that the clinical group experienced more problems than the controls in making inferences about mental states than about physical statesCarol who is a very polite and friendly lady is invited to a coffee evening at Anne’s her sisterinlaw Around the coffee table there are several of Britt’s relatives they are talking pleasantly to each other Carol’s uncle George Strand is also present He is a general in the army and is himself a very polite person who expects that other people also behave like himOne day Carol is in town and she passes Uncle George while she is cycling along the High Street It is in the middle of rush hour and she has to concentrate on the large amount of traffic and the many pedestrians One day Carol is in town and she passes Uncle George while she is cycling along the High Street It is in the middle of rush hour She fixes her eyes intensely on the traffic and concentrates on the large amount of cars and the many pedestrians around her as she cycles by Uncle George while he is walking along the pavement only meters away from herAt the coffee evening Carol tells the other guests that she cycled to the town a few days ago and that it was a far from pleasant experience because of the busy traffic Her uncle who is sitting beside her at the table interrupts her and says while smiling “Carol is a very friendly lady The other day I met her while she was cycling in town she smiled at me and politely said hello”
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