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8/6/2019 Eyetracking correlates of preferential looking at faces showing emotion in autistic and avoidant adults
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 1
Eyetracking correlates of preferential looking at faces showing
emotion in autistic and avoidant adults.
07219123
Roehampton University
Standard Research Project
Module Code: PSY020X351Y
2010-2011
Supervised by: Dr. Lance Slade
Word Count: 3545
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 2
Abstract
It is known that autism and avoidant attachment result in a poorer performance in tasks
which require a theory of mind. Clear distinctions have not been made about the
differences between autistic and avoidant approaches to emotional stimuli. The present
research examined how autistic and avoidant adults receive and make use of emotional
stimuli. A mixed measures, correlational eyetracking study was conducted using 111 adult
participants to record where participants looked when presented with a still image of a face.
Participants were also asked to complete questionnaires which produced results which
indicated their levels of avoidance and autism. These were then correlated. It was found
that whilst both avoidant and autistic individual s yielded poorer scores than typical adults,
autistic individuals showed a reduction in preferential looking to the eyes whereas avoidant
individuals did not. This showed that avoidant individuals instinctively take in emotional
stimuli but avoid making use of it whilst autistic individuals do not absorb the information
initially and are therefore unable to make use of it.
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 3
It has been found in previous research that attachment orientation and autism
impact on the ability of individuals to experienc e and utilize emotional stimuli; but it has not
been determined yet whether it is an autistic abundance of theory of mind which prevents
emotional cues from being adhered to or whether it is an avoidance of emotional stimuli
which results in emotionally ignorant responses to this stimuli. Without making this
distinction between autism and avoidance, there is a possibility of misdiagnosing avoidant
individuals with autism or vice versa. From this distinction, it may also be possible to
develop new techniques and methods of treatment for avoidant or autistic individual s to aid
in emotional cognition and possibly enhance our understanding of both disorders.
Adult interactions are determined by attachments formed in early childhood
between children and their caregivers. The implications of these attachment styles are
identifiable in close relationships between adults (Hazan and Shaver 1987). These
implications are visible from the quality of attachment or attachment orientation (Rholes,
Simpson and Stevens 1998) and are related to the ways in which individuals control and
manage their own emotions as well as how they interact with the emotions of others. The
way in which these emotional situations are handled and interpreted by the individual
determines which of the two main categories of attachment they fall within; anxious or
avoidant (Bartholomew and Shaver 1998). Anxious attachment is linked to abandonment in
childhood whilst avoidant attachment is linked with issues arising from intimacy during
childhood as a result of which, avoidant individuals tend to withdraw or dismiss information
of emotional significance (Corden, Chilvers and Skuse 2008, Edelstein and Gillath 2008);
indicating that an avoidant attachment style is the result of a social deficit rather than a
cognitive deficit. Being avoidant or anxious has been found to have a significant effect on
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 4
social functioning (Bowlby 1980 ) and to have a strong correlation with poorer performance
in tasks that measure theory of mind. This is the ability to associate oneself with the mental
states of others and understand that others have mental states and representations that are
different to one s own; an understanding that others possess a mind which functions
independently from one s own. Studies have found evidence of this in pre-school children
(Repacholi and Trapolini 2004) but there has been little research conducted using adults.
Slade, Levy, Holmes & Bowles (To be submitted) found that high levels of avoidance
(assessed by Experience of Close Relationships (ECR) questionnaire, Brennan, Clark and
Shaver 1988) resulted in a poorer performance in tasks in which they were required to
identify people s mental s tates from images of their facial expressions ( Reading the Mind in
the Eyes task, Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, Plumb 2001).
Aside from attachment orientation, another prevalent explanation for an inability to
infer and comprehend emotion is autism. Much like the implications of avoidance, autism
can have a profound impact on social interactions and communication but is believed to
have a genetic basis of causation rather than environmental. Individuals with autism are not
believed to possess a theory of mind (Tager-Flusberg, and Sullivan 2000) therefore autistic
individuals also have difficulty in understanding the emotions of others (Hobson, Ouston
and Lee 1988). Emotions are most prolifically displayed and interpreted in the eyes and this
is the area of the face that cognitively typical adults use to make emotional inferences
(Keltner and Busswell 1996). It has been found in previous clinical research that autistic
individuals do not have a preference for looking at the eyes of others to infer emotion al
stimuli (Hobson, Ouston and Lee 1988, Klin, Jones, Schultz, Volkmar and Cohen 2002 ). In
contrast to avoidance, it is believed that these impairments in emotional processing are the
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 5
result of a cognitive deficit which manifests early during childhood but is not believed to be
the result of negative social interactions.
In previous research into emotional recognition in adults, clear distinctions were not
drawn as to whether these deficits were a result of an inability to detect emotional cues
(autism) or a reluctance to make use of them (avoidance). To address this benightedness, a
correlational study should be conducted to investigate whether impairments in emotional
recognition in adults are a result of an inability to detect emotional cues or an avoidance of
them. In order to test this accurately, a sample of 111 participants will be collected and an
eyetracker will be used to identify differences in visual scanning patterns of adults viewing
social stimuli and focus on preferential looking to the eyes as the predominant measure of
looking. In addition to eyetracking data, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task (Baron-
Cohen et al, 2001) and self-report questionnaires will be used to determine the attachment
orientation (ECR, Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1988 ), Empathy Quotient (EQ) (Baron-Cohen and
Wheelwright, 2004) and Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright,
Skinner, Martin and Clubley, 2001) of each participant. The aim of this study will be to
compare preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults to ascertain whether reduced
preferential looking to the eyes is the result of avoidance or autism. Based on findings from
previous research, it is predicted that individuals which produce high scores on the AQ will
show reduced preferential looking to the eyes and will yield lower scores on the Reading
the Mind in the Eyes task (Baron-Cohen et al, 2001) indicating a lack of emotional
detection. Those that produce low scores on the ECR will not show reduced preferential
looking to the eyes but will also yield lower scores on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes
task (Baron-Cohen et al, 2001) indicating an avoidance of emotional stimuli or a reluctance
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 6
to make use of it despite instinctively showing preferential looking to the eyes. Therefore
reduced preferential looking to the eyes should be found to be the result of autism rather
than avoidance.
Me thod
Participants
111 adult participants were collected from Roehampton University via SONA (university-
based online participant recruitment tool) and the surrounding area using an opportunity
sample. The mean age of the participants was 22.33, the standard deviation was 4.42 and
range was 25. There were 41 males and 70 females. Of these participants, 94 were
undergraduates. All participants participated in each part of the study. Participants received
a course credit to fulfil their first year research participation requirements. The responses of
6 participants were removed because either the eyetracker collected 40% of their data or
less or they had produced too many outliers in the ECR, EQ or AQ ques tionnaires.
Mat erials
An eyetracker (Tobii T-120) and the Tobi desktop software was used to map eye
movements of participants whilst viewing still images of social scenes and facial expressions.
A webcam and microphone were used to record visual and auditory responses of all
participants to ensure the correct responses were recorded. The responses of each
participant to the SRP faces images were recorded by the experimenter in a notepad to
ensure the integrity of the recorded data.
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 7
Five questionnaires were presented to each participant: Experiences in Close
Relationships (Brennan, Clark and Shaver 1998) (see Appendix 1), Empathy Quotient (Baron-
Cohen and Wheelwright 2004) (see Appendix 2), Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient (Baron-
Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin and Clubley, 2001) (see Appendix 3) , R eading th e mind
in th e eye s t est r ev ised ve rsion (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste and Plumb, 2001)
(see Appendix 4) and a demographic questionnaire (see Appendix 5).
Ethical Consid erations
Participants gave their informed consent to participate in the study and were
informed of their right to withdraw their data vi a the contact details provided in the debrief.
Participants were not harmed at any point during the study either physically or
psychologically and were provided with contact details for a welfare officer in the debrief.
Participants were allocated identification numbers and their questionnaires were kept in a
secure laboratory to ensure all collected data was kept anonymous.
Proc edur e
Between 1 and 3 participants arrived at the social and developmental laboratory at
Roehampton University at a time. They were told the experiment was interested in how
individuals identify social stimuli and signed consent forms. The experimenter accompanied
participants into the social and developmental laboratory before familiarising them with
seat adjustment measures, the eyetracker, the webcam and microphone. They were also
informed that the webcam and microphone would be recording auditory and visual
information throughout the experiment. The experimenter was unaware of the outcomes of
any of the questionnaires before commencement of the eyetracking study. Participants
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 8
were informed that the eyetracking task was comprised of two parts; a social scenes task
and a faces task. In the social scenes task, participants were told they would be presented
with a series of still images of social scenes and they were required to verbally communicate
what they could see in the image as if describing it to someone that could not see it. After
the social scenes task, participants were told they would be presented with a series of faces
with 5 words beneath it and they were required to verbally identify the w ord that they felt
best described the face. The experimenter recorded the participant s responses by hand.
The experimenter was positioned out of the participant s field of vision and that of the
webcam. Upon completion of the eyetracking tasks, participants were asked to complete
the 5 questionnaires (Experiences in Close Relationships (Brennan, Clark and Shaver 1998),
Empathy Quotient (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright 2004), Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient
(Baron-Cohen et al 2001), Reading the Mind in the Eyes task (Baron-Cohen, et al 2001)
and a demographic questionnaire). After completing the questionnaires, participants were
debriefed and thanked for their participation in the study.
D esign
The study used a correlational, mixed measures design. The dependant variable was
dwell time. Two mixed anovas were carried out, one comparing avoidance, gender and
region of face, the other compared autism, gender and region of face. The Experiences in
close relationships questionnaire was administered to measure levels of avoidance, the
empathy quotient questionnaire was administered to measure levels of empathy and
generate an EQ figure for each participant, the adult autism spectrum quotient was
administered to measure levels of autism and generate an AQ figure for each participant
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 9
and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task was conducted to measure each participant s
competency at reading emotion in social situations.
R esults
Descriptive statistics for study variables are presented in table 1.
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for Study Variables
Minimum Maximum Mean SD
Age 18 43 22.33 4.43
Face Dwell Time 0.26 7.86 2.66 1.05
Eye Dwell Time 0.08 2.26 0.73 0.42
Mouth Dwell Time 0.00 1.75 0.53 0.41
AQ 76 136 15.48 4.87
EQ 23 70 44.78 10.62
Avoidant
Attachment
1.17 5.22 3.17 0.94
Anxious
Attachment
1.33 6.94 3.44 1.02
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 10
Correlations between AQ, Avoidance, EQ and results from the Reading the Mind in the
Eyes task are shown in table 2.
Table 2 Correlation of Study Variables
AQ EQ Eyes
Task
Avoidant
AQ Correlation 1 -0.470 -0.214 0.305
Significance 0.000 0.026 0.001
EQ Correlation 1 0.171 -0.281
Significance 0.073 0.003
Eyes
Task
Correlation 1 -0.173
Significance 0.070
Avoidant Correlation 1
Significance
In order to ensure the maximum possible validity from the analysis, any erroneous data had
to be removed. The data collected from the eyetracker contained a report of the amount of
data collected for each participant as a percentage. Any participants that scored 40% or less
were excluded from the main analysis. This was achieved by means of a median split.
Two repeated measures mixed Anovas were carried out. The first had Avoidance
(high/low) and gender as the between subjects variables and Region of face
(mouthmean/eyemean) as the within subjects variable. The second had AQ (high/low) and
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 11
gender as the between subjects variables and Region of face (mouthmean/eyemean) as the
within subjects variable. The tables of means for these tests can be seen in tables 3 and 4
below (see Appendix 6 for anova outputs) .
Table 3 Table of Means for Avoidance
Gender Avoidance Region Mean
Male Low Eye 0.884
Mouth 0.612
High Eye 0.818
mouth 0.587
Female Low Eye 0.567
Mouth 0.404
High Eye 0.716
Mouth 0.543
There was a significant main effect of region: F(1, 105)=19.088, P0.05, Region x Avoidance: F(1,105)=0.026, P>0.05, Gender x
Avoidance: F(1,105)=2.013, P>0.05, Region x Gender x Avoidance: F(1,105)=0.070, P>0.05.
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 12
Table 4 Table of Means for Autism
Gender Autism Region Mean
Male Low Eye 0.924
Mouth 0.534
High Eye 0.773
Mouth 0.668
Female Low Eye 0.528
Mouth 0.384
High Eye 0.749
Mouth 0.554
There was a significant main effect of region: F(1, 104)=19.095, P0.05, Region x Autism: F(1,104)=1.494, P>0.05, Gender x Autism:
F(1,104)=2.380, P>0.05, Region x Gender x Autism: F(1,104)=3.102, P>0.05.
Below are graphs showing the preferential looking patterns between the mouth and eyes of
high and low autistic and high and low avoidant males and female s from the Reading the
Mind in the Eyes task.
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 14
Gr aph 3 Preferential looking patterns of low and high avoidant males
Gr aph 4 Preferential looking patterns of low and high avoidant females
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 16
As it has now been established that avoidant individuals do not show reduced
preferential looking to the eyes, the way in which this emotional s timuli is used needs to be
examined. As can be seen in table 2, there was a stronger negative correlation between
autism and EQ (-0.470) and the Eyes task (-0.214) than there was between avoidance and
EQ (-0.281) and the Eyes task (-0.173). This illustrates that autistic individuals produced a
poorer performance on tasks involving empathy and reading emotional stimuli from others
than avoidant individuals. The findings for autistic individuals compliment previous research
by Repacholi and Trapolini (2004) in that a reduction in preferential looking to the eyes will
result in a reduced comprehension of the emotions present in the situation which in turn
results in a reduced performance on tasks which require the interpretation of said stimuli.
The preferential looking of avoidant individuals and the negative correlations between
avoidance and EQ and avoidance and performance on the Eyes task is very significant. It
illustrates that whilst avoidant individuals do not show a reduced preferential looking to the
eyes to absorb emotional stimuli, they yield a poorer performance on tasks which require
the use of this stimuli. Preferential looking to the eyes would typically incur a stronger
performance on the Eyes task because more emotional information has been absorbed.
However, the poorer scores on the EQ and Eyes task suggest that whilst absorbing relevant
emotional stimuli, avoidant individuals do not make use of it; they avoid using emotional
stimuli as was found by Cordon et al (2008) . The findings of this study conclude that reduced
preferential looking to the eyes is the result of increased levels of autism rather than high
levels of avoidance. Thus these findings support the hypotheses presented.
The findings of this study can be used to introduce a new method of clearly
distinguishing avoidant individuals from autistic. The scores on tasks which test for theory of
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 17
mind such as the EQ and Eyes task, are comparable between autistic and avoidant
individuals so it would be very easy to misdiagnose an avoidant individual with autism and
vice versa. This method of testing i.e. using an eyetracker to monitor preferential looking,
would ensure that an appropriate and accurate diagnosis can be made about the levels of
avoidance or autism present in that individual.
Aside from the intended findings of the study, there were some other interesting
findings to arise from this research. There were some striking differences with regard to
gender. Males with a low AQ yielded a larger difference between p referential looking to the
eyes than the mouth whilst they showed a preference for the eyes. Males with a high AQ
spent less time looking to the eyes than low AQ males but longer looking to the mouth
which yielded similar overall dwell times for both high and low AQ males as can be seen in
Graph 1. However, high AQ females yielded a longer dwell time on the face overall and little
difference in the comparative levels of preferential looking to the eyes and mouth. In both
high and low AQ females, there was no reduction in preferential looking to the eyes, in fact
there was an increase in preferential looking to the eyes in high AQ females as can be seen
in Graph 2. So whilst males show a reduced preferential looking to the eyes and a relatively
comparable overall dwell time between high and low AQ, autistic females show an increase
in preferential looking to the eyes and a significantly longer dwell time over low AQ females.
This would indicate that autistic females are slower at processing emotional information
than autistic males (in comparison with non autistic males and females). These findings
support the theory that autism represents an extreme of the male pattern of emotional
cognitive function (impaired empathizing and enhanced systemising) suggesting t hat autism
is more prevalent in males than females (Baron-Cohen, Knickmeyer and Belmonte 2005). In
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 18
theory then, as males inherently display some autistic cognition patterns without being
above the threshold of being diagnosed with autism, it can be hypothesised that females
would find it more difficult to function closer to social norms cognitively than autistic males
which would provide some explanation as to why autistic females appear to process
emotional information slower than autistic males. However, this research was conducted
using neuroimaging techniques within a clinical environment and whilst this research did
provide conclusive evidence of a sexual bias in autism from a neurological perspective, it
does not provide much insight of a continuum of these neuronal actions and how they
would manifest themselves in non-clinical situations in terms of behaviour and social
interaction. These results were very similar in avoidant males and females as well. Whilst
males with high and low avoidance showed preferential looking to the eyes and very similar
dwell times on the face overall, high and low avoidant females both showed a preference
for looking to the eyes but females with high avoidance spent longer looking at the face
overall indicating that avoidant females are slower at processing information than avoidant
males (see Graph 3 and Graph 4). This proposes an area for future research. A study could
be conducted to investigate this difference between similarly autistic and avoidant males
and females and attempt to explore the reasoning behind this disparity. Another area for
future research in continuum with this study could be to conduct a similar study but over a
longer period with participants being tested at regular intervals. A longitudinal study would
potentially yield results that could indicate whether factors such as prolonged social
interaction or cognitive development have an effect on the ways in which autistic and
avoidant individuals accommodate their autism or avoidance. This could be run in parallel
with the aforementioned study to examine longitudinal changes between males and
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 19
females with autism and avoidant attachment. The findings of these studies could be used
to aid in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism and avoidant attachment.
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R efe r enc es
Baron-Cohen, S., Knickmeyer, R. C., & Belmonte, M. K. (2005). Sex Differences in the Brain:
Implications for Explaining Autism. Sci enc e, 310 , 819-823.
Bartholomew, K., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Methods of assessing adult attachment: Do they
converge? In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachm ent th eor y and clos e r e lationships
(pp. 46 76). New York: Guilford Press.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachm ent and loss: Vol. 3. Loss: Sadn ess and d e pr ession. New York: Basic
Books.
Corden, B., Chilvers, R., & Skuse, D. (2008). Avoidance of emotionally arousing stimuli predict s
social-perceptual impairment in Asperger s syndrome. Neurops y chologia , 46 , 137-147.
Edelstein, R. S., & Gillath, O. (2008). Avoiding interference: Adult attachment and emotion
processing biases. Personalit y and Social Ps y cholog y Bull e tin , 34 , 171-181.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal o f
Personalit y and Social Ps y cholog y, 52 , 511 524.
Hobson, R. P., Ouston, J., & Lee, A. (1988). Emotion recognition in autism: coordinating faces and
voices. Ps y chological Me dicin e, 18 , 911-923 .
Keltner, D., Buswell, B. N. (1996). Evidence for the Distinctness of Embarrassment, Shame, and
Guilt: A Study of Recalled Antecedents and Facial Expressions of Emotion. Cognition and
Emotion , 10 (2) , 155-171.
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App endix 1 Experiences in Close Relationships (Brennan, Clark and Shaver 1998)
Experience of Close Relationships ( ECR) ID No_____
Instructions:
The following statements concern how you feel in romantic relationships. We are interested in how yougenerally experience relationships, not just in what is happening in a current relationship. Respond to eachstatement by indicating how much you agree or disagree with it. Circle one of the numbers provided for eachitem, using the scale from 1 (disagree strongly) to 7 (agree strongly):
D isagree Neutral / Agree
Strongly Mixed Strongly
1. I prefer not to show a partner how I feel deep down. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. I worry about being abandoned. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I am very comfortable being close to romantic partners. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. I worry a lot about my relationships. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. Just when my partner starts to get close to me I find myself pulling away. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. I worry that romantic partners won t care about me as much as I care aboutthem.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. I get uncomfortable when a romantic partner wants to be very close. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. I worry a fair amount about losing my partner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 79. I don t feel comfortable opening up to romantic partners. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. I often wish that my partner s feelings for me were as strong as my feelings forhim/her.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. I want to get close to my partner, but I keep pulling back. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. I often want to merge completely with romantic partners, and this sometimesscares them away.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. I am nervous when partners get too close to me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. I worry about being alone. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. I feel comfortable sharing my private thoughts and feelings with my partner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. My desire to be very close sometimes scares people away. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. I try to avoid getting too close to my partner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18. I need a lot of reassurance that I am loved by my partner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. I find it relatively easy to get close to my partner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. Sometimes I feel that I force my partners to show more feeling, morecommitment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
21. I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on romantic partners. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
22. I do not often worry about being abandoned. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
23. I prefer not to be too close to romantic partners. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 23
24. If I can t get my partner to show interest in me, I get upset or angry. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
25. I tell my partner just about anything. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
26. I find that my partner(s) don t want to get as close to me as I would like. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
27. I usually discuss my problems and concerns with my partner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
28. When I m not involved in a relationship, I feel somewhat anxious and insecure. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
29. I feel comfortable depending on romantic partners. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
30. I get frustrated when my partner is not around as much as I would like. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
31. I don t mind asking romantic partners for comfort, advice, or help. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
32. I get frustrated if romantic partners are not available when I need them. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
33. It helps to turn to my romantic partners in times of need. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
34. When romantic partners disapprove of me, I feel really bad about myself. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
35. I turn to my partner for many things, including comfort and reassurance. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
36. I resent it when my partner spends time away from me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
App endix 2 - Empathy Quotient (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright 2004)
THE CAMBRIDGE BEHAVIOUR SCALE
Pl eas e f ill in this in f ormation and th en r ead th e instructions b e low.
ALL INFORMATION REMAINS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
How to fill out the questionnai r e
Below ar e a list o f stat ements. Pl eas e r ead each stat e ment ver y car ef ull y and rat e how strongl y y ou
agr ee or disagr ee with it b y circling y our answ er. Th er e ar e no right or wrong answ ers , or trick
qu estions.
IN ORDER FOR THE SCALE TO BE VALID, YOU MUST ANSWER EVERY QUESTION.
Exampl es
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 24
E1. I would be very upset if I couldn t listen to music everyday.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
E2. I prefer to speak to my friends on the phone ratherthan write letters to them.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
E3. I have no desire to travel to different parts of theworld.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
E4. I prefer to read than to dance. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
1. I can easily tell if someone else wants to enter a
conversation.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
2. I find it difficult to explain to others things that Iunderstand easily, when they don't understand it firsttime.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
3. I really enjoy caring for other people. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 25
4. I find it hard to know what to do in a social situation. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
5. People often tell me that I went too far in driving mypoint home in a discussion.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
6. It doesn't bother me too much if I am late meeting afriend.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
7. Friendships and relationships are just too difficult, so Itend not to bother with them.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
8. I often find it difficult to judge if something is rude orpolite.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
9. In a conversation, I tend to focus on my own thoughtsrather than on what my listener might be thinking.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
10. When I was a child, I enjoyed cutting up worms to seewhat would happen.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 26
11. I can pick up quickly if someone says one thing butmeans another.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
12. It is hard for me to see why some things upset peopleso much.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
13. I find it easy to put myself in somebody else's shoes. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
14. I am good at predicting how someone will feel. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
15. I am quick to spot when someone in a group is feelingawkward or uncomfortable.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
16. If I say something that someone else is offended by, Ithink that that's their problem, not mine.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
17. If anyone asked me if I liked their haircut, I wouldreply truthfully, even if I didn't like it.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 27
18. I can't always see why someone should have feltoffended by a remark.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
19. Seeing people cry doesn't really upset me. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
20. I am very blunt, which some people take to berudeness, even though this is unintentional.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
21. I don t tend to find social situations confusing. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
22. Other people tell me I am good at understanding howthey are feeling and what they are thinking.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
23. When I talk to people, I tend to talk about theirexperiences rather than my own.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
24. It upsets me to see an animal in pain. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 28
25. I am able to make decisions without being influencedby people's feelings.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
26. I can easily tell if someone else is interested or boredwith what I am saying.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
27. I get upset if I see people suffering on newsprogrammes.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
28. Friends usually talk to me about their problems asthey say that I am very understanding.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
29. I can sense if I am intruding, even if the other persondoesn't tell me.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
30. People sometimes tell me that I have gone too farwith teasing.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
31. Other people often say that I am insensitive, though Idon t always see why.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
32. If I see a stranger in a group, I think that it is up tothem to make an effort to join in.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 29
33. I usually stay emotionally detached when watching afilm.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
34. I can tune into how someone else feels rapidly andintuitively.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
35. I can easily work out what another person might wantto talk about.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
36. I can tell if someone is masking their true emotion. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
37. I don't consciously work out the rules of socialsituations.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
38. I am good at predicting what someone will do. strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
39. I tend to get emotionally involved with a friend'sproblems.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 30
40. I can usually appreciate the other person's viewpoint,even if I don't agree with it.
strongly
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
strongly
disagree
Thank you for filling this questionnaire in.
SBC/SJW Feb 1998
App endix 3 - Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin and
Clubley, 2001)
Pl eas e f ill in this in f ormation and th en r ead th e instructions b elow.
ALL INFORMATION REMAINS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
How to fill out the questionnai r e
Below ar e a list o f stat ements. Pl eas e r ead each stat e ment ver y car ef ull y and rat e how strongl y y ou
agr ee or disagr ee with it b y circling y our answ er. Th er e ar e no right or wrong answ ers , or trick
qu estions.
IN ORDER FOR THE SCALE TO BE VALID, YOU MUST ANSWER EVERY QUESTION.
1. I prefer to do things with others rather than onmy own.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 32
12. I tend to notice details that others do not. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
13. I would rather go to a library than a party. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
14. I find making up stories easy. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
15. I find myself drawn more strongly to peoplethan to things.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
16. I tend to have very strong interests which I getupset about if I can t pursue.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
17. I enjoy social chit-chat. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
18. When I talk, it isn t always easy for others to geta word in edgeways.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
19. I am fascinated by numbers. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
20. When I m reading a story, I find it difficult towork out the characters intentions.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
21. I don t particularly enjoy reading fiction. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 33
22. I find it hard to make new friends. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
23. I notice patterns in things all the time. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
24. I would rather go to the theatre than a museum. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
25. It does not upset me if my daily routine isdisturbed.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
26. I frequently find that I don t know how to keepa conversation going.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
27. I find it easy to read between the lines whensomeone is talking to me.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
28. I usually concentrate more on the wholepicture, rather than the small details.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
29. I am not very good at remembering phonenumbers.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
30. I don t usually notice small changes in a
situation, or a person s appearance.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
31. I know how to tell if someone listening to me isgetting bored.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 34
32. I find it easy to do more than one thing at once. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
33. When I talk on the phone, I m not sure when it smy turn to speak.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
34. I enjoy doing things spontaneously. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
35. I am often the last to understand the point of a joke.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
36. I find it easy to work out what someone isthinking or feeling just by looking at their face.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
37. If there is an interruption, I can switch back towhat I was doing very quickly.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
38. I am good at social chit-chat. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
39. People often tell me that I keep going on and onabout the same thing.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
40. When I was young, I used to enjoy playinggames involving pretending with other children.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
41. I like to collect information about categories of things (e.g. types of car, types of bird, types of train, types of plant, etc.).
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
42. I find it difficult to imagine what it would be like definitely slightly slightly definitely
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 35
to be someone else. agree agree disagree disagree
43. I like to plan any activities I participate incarefully.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
44. I enjoy social occasions. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
45. I find it difficult to work out people s intentions. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
46. New situations make me anxious. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
47. I enjoy meeting new people. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
48. I am a good diplomat. definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
49. I am not very good at remembering people sdate of birth.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
50. I find it very easy to play games with childrenthat involve pretending.
definitely
agree
slightly
agree
slightly
disagree
definitely
disagree
MRC-SBC/SJW Feb 1998
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 36
App endix 4 - R eading th e mind in th e eye s t est r ev ised ve rsion (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill,
Raste and Plumb, 2001)
ID______
The Eyes Test
Practice Item jealous panicked arrogant hateful
1. playful comforting irritated bored
2. terrified upset arrogant annoyed
3. joking flustered desire convinced
4. joking insisting amused relaxed
5. irritated sarcastic worried friendly
6. aghast fantasizing impatient alarmed
7. apologetic friendly uneasy dispirited
8. despondent relieved shy excited
9. annoyed hostile horrified preoccupied
10 cautious insisting bored aghast
11. terrified amused regretful flirtatious
12. indifferent embarrassed sceptical dispirited
13. decisive anticipating threatening shy
14. irritating disappointing depressed accusing
15. contemplative flustered encouraging amused
16. irritated thoughtful encouraging sympathetic
17. doubtful affectionate playful aghast
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 37
18. decisive amused aghast bored
19. arrogant grateful sarcastic tentative
20. dominant friendly guilty horrified
21. embarrassed fantasizing confused panicked
22. preoccupied grateful insisting imploring
23. contenting apologetic defiant curious
24. pensive irritated excited hostile
25. panicked incredulous despondent interested
26. alarmed shy hostile anxious
27. joking cautious arrogant reassuring
28. interested joking affectionate contented
29. impatient aghast irritated reflective
30. grateful flirtatious hostile disappointed
31. ashamed confident joking dispirited
32. serious ashamed bewildered alarmed
33. embarrassed guilty fantasizing concerned
34. aghast baffled distrustful terrified
35. puzzled nervous insisting contemplative
36. ashamed nervous suspicious indecisive
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 38
App endix 5 Demographic Questionnaire
F amily Backg r ound Questionnai r e
ID No_____
Y ourself:
Gender: M / F Age: _______ Is English your first language? Y / N
Ethnicity: ________________________________________________________________
Student: Yes/No Occupation: _________________________ Other: ___________
Degree Program: __________________________________________________________
Year: ____________________________________________________________________
F amily:
Age of mother when you were born: _________
Number of siblings (number of brothers and sisters that lived with you): _________
Date of Birth & Gender of Each: Sibling 1. Age: ___________ M / F Older/Younger
(Starting with the oldest) Sibling 2. Age: ___________ M / F Older/Younger Sibling
3. Age: ___________ M / F Older/Younger Sibling 4.
Age: ____________ M / F Older/Younger
Parental marital status: ______________________________________________________
Mother s occupation: _______________________________________________________
Mother s education (eg. Completed GCSE s, A Levels, College, University, Post-grad):
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Preferential looking in autistic and avoidant adults 39
_________________________________________________________________________
Father s occupation: ___________________________________________________
Father s education: _________________________________________________________