title: Is Social Categorization the Missing Link Between Weak Central Coherence and Mental State Inference Abilities in Autism? Preliminary Evidence from a General Population Sample.
abstract: We explore the relationship between the 'theory of mind' (ToM) and 'central coherence' difficulties of autism. We introduce covariation between hierarchically-embedded categories and social information--at the local level, the global level, or at both levels simultaneously--within a category confusion task. We then ask participants to infer the mental state of novel category members, and measure participants' autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). Results reveal a positive relationship between AQ and the degree of local/global social categorization, which in turn predicts the pattern of mental state inferences. These results provide preliminary evidence for a causal relationship between central coherence and ToM abilities. Implications with regard to ToM processes, social categorization, intervention, and the development of a unified account of autism are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia. Daniel.Skorich@anu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Skorich
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Adrienne R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: May
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Louisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Talipski
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Marnie H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Anita J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Dolstra
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Tahlia B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Gash
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Beth H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Gunningham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D056345:Theory of Mind; D013850:Thinking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism; Categorization; Self-categorization; Social categorization; Theory of mind; Weak central coherence