Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to further research findings relating theory of mind (ToM)
deficits in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Breaking ToM into separate
components of cognitive and affective ToM, this study aimed at deciphering which components
were more difficult for adolescents with ASD. Previous research has shown pragmatic
impairments in ASD are usually explained by an impaired ToM. Therefore, this study further
assessed whether verbal or non-verbal stimuli were more difficult for adolescents with ASD. IQ
and reading comprehension were assessed using the KBIT-2 and WRAT4 and showed no
significant differences between groups leading to the assumption that both groups were similar in
regard to IQ and reading comprehension. It was hypothesized that adolescents with ASD would
score lower on affective ToM components than cognitive ToM or physical causality and when
using non-verbal stimuli. After interpreting the data, there were no significant differences
between groups, ASD versus non-impaired, in regard to verbal ToM tasks. However, significant
differences were found between groups in the non-verbal physical causality condition.
