Managing complexity: impact of organization and processing style on nonverbal memory in autism spectrum disorders.
The contributions of cognitive style and organization to processing and recalling a complex novel stimulus were examined by comparing the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) test performance of children, adolescents, and adults with ASD to clinical controls (CC) and non-impaired controls (NC) using the Developmental Scoring System. The ROCF task involves a complex structure with strong organizational or integrative processing demands. The individuals with ASD relied on a predominantly part-oriented strategy to cope with the complexity of the task and did not make the typical developmental shift to a configurational approach. Both processing style and organization (whether pieces of information were perceived as connected to one another in a meaningful way) contributed to structural recall in the ASD group.
Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. katherine.tsatsanis@yale.edu
Katherine D
KD
Tsatsanis
Ilse L J
IL
Noens
Cornelia L
CL
Illmann
David L
DL
Pauls
Fred R
FR
Volkmar
Robert T
RT
Schultz
Ami
A
Klin
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D011581:Psychological Tests