|
A non-verbal test for knowledge
attribution. Tristan Nokes and Phil Reed University College London, UK Non-verbal tests for theory of mind (ToM) capacity have been criticised for failing to control for competing explanations of the data, and for their excessive complexity. For those interested in autism, whatever their theoretical orientation, a methodologically rigorous and highly simplified test for ToM capacity might provide a useful investigative tool. A non-verbal test for knowledge attribution (KA) was developed using a training-transfer design. On training trials, one of two puppets looked through one of two windows into a toy castle in which a target coloured stick had been placed. The puppets then selected sticks from a box, the 'looker' the target colour, the 'non-looker' an incorrect colour. Subjects were then asked: 'What colour is in the castle?' On transfer, one window was open, the other closed, and both puppets took up viewing positions at the windows. The trial concluded as under training. In a study examining age differences, older three year-olds, four year-olds and five year-olds trained and transferred successfully; younger three year-olds did not. Non-verbal performance correlated with performance on a following verbal task, and reflected the age of onset of verbal competence reported in the literature. Keywords: autism, theory of mind, discrimination learning, nonverbal test, children |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|