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Brief Report: Do Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Think They Know Their Own Minds?

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Abstract

How much do individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) think they know about their inner states? To find out, we asked 24 participants with ASD and 24 non-clinical participants to rate how well they knew about six topics of self knowledge; they also rated how well a comparison individual knew these things about them. Participants with ASD differed from the non-clinical participants in assigning about the same amount of knowledge to the comparison individual as to themselves. Non-clinical participants, in contrast, assigned relatively more knowledge to themselves. The findings are consistent with the possibility that individuals with ASD do not appreciate the value of having first-person privileged access to their own inner states.

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Acknowledgment

We thank the National Autistic Society for assistance in recruiting participants and all the participating schools and colleges. We thank Ulrich Teucher for developing the question protocol in connection with ESRC project, RES-000-23-0386 and Fenja Ziegler for assistance with supervision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Peter Mitchell & Kelly O’Keefe

Authors
  1. Peter Mitchell
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  2. Kelly O’Keefe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Mitchell.

Appendix

Appendix

Question Protocol

In this task please give ratings on a scale of 0–10 for the questions you are asked. 0 represents a low response and 10 represents a high response. Some of the questions will relate to yourself and some will relate to the person you described as being closest to you or being most helpful to you in your daily life.

  1. 1.

    Can you give the name of a programme you like watching on television?

    Out of 10, how much do you know about this programme?

    Out of 10, how much does <comparison individual> know about this programme?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 2.

    Can you give the name of a programme that <comparison individual> likes watching on television?

    Out of 10, how much does <comparison individual> know about this programme?

    Out of 10, how much do you know about this programme?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 3.

    Sometimes you may feel poorly or unwell. For example, you may have a headache or feel sick.

    Out of 10, how well do you know when you feel ill?

    When <comparison individual> is with you at the time, out of 10, how well does he/she know when you are feeling ill?

    How does <comparison individual> know when you feel ill?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 4.

    Sometimes you may feel tired. For example, when it is late at night or you have been working very hard.

    Out of 10, how well do you know when you feel tired?

    When <comparison individual> is with you at the time, out of 10, how well does he/she know when you are feeling tired?

    How does <comparison individual> know when you feel tired?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 5.

    Sometimes you may feel sad. For example, someone may have upset you or an event has made you unhappy.

    Out of 10, how well do you know when you feel sad?

    When <comparison individual> is with you at the time, out of 10, how well does he/she know when you are feeling sad?

    How does <comparison individual> know when you feel sad?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 6.

    Sometimes we may be asked what kind of person we are. We may answer, for example, that we are a friendly person, a kind person or a happy person.

    Out of 10, how well do you know what kind of person you are?

    When <comparison individual> is with you at the time, out of 10, how well does he/she know what kind of person you are?

    How does <comparison individual> know what kind of person you are?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 7.

    Sometimes you may daydream or think about things. For example, about things you would like to do or places you want to go.

    Out of 10, how well do you know when you are daydreaming?

    When <comparison individual> is with you at the time, out of 10, how well does he/she know when you are daydreaming?

    How does <comparison individual> know when you are daydreaming?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

  1. 8.

    Sometimes you may feel happy. For example, when you are doing something you enjoy.

    Out of 10, how well do you know when you feel happy?

    When <comparison individual> is with you at the time, out of 10, how well does he/she know when you are feeling happy?

    How does <comparison individual> know when you feel happy?

    Can you give any reasons why you gave a higher score for one than for the other or why you gave an equal score?

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Mitchell, P., O’Keefe, K. Brief Report: Do Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Think They Know Their Own Minds?. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1591–1597 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0530-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0530-x

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