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Baron-Cohen Studies

Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 11.1.13

Baron-Cohen et al. Sally-Anne Study (1985) - Method

The Sally-Anne study examined children with autism and Down’s syndrome.

Participants

Participants

  • Three groups of children were studied:
    • Control group of children (average age of 4)
    • Children with Down’s syndrome (average age of 11)
    • Children with autism (average age of 12)
Method

Method

  • Two dolls were used in the experiment:
    • Sally had a basket.
    • Anne had a box.
  • The children were asked four questions about the dolls and the scenario created by the examiners.
Naming question

Naming question

  • The children were asked the names of the dolls.
  • This was to ensure the children understood which doll was which so no incorrect conclusions were drawn.
Belief question

Belief question

  • After the children were asked the dolls’ names, they were shown Sally hiding a marble in her basket and leaving the room.
  • Then Anne was shown taking the marble from the basket and putting it in her box.
Belief question cont.

Belief question cont.

  • Once Sally returned, the children being studied were asked the belief question:
    • “Where will Sally look for her marble?”
  • The correct answer was in her basket. This is where Sally had placed it and she had not seen Anne taking it because she was out of the room.
Reality question

Reality question

  • The children were then asked:
    • “Where is the marble really?”
  • The correct answer being in Anne’s box.
Memory question

Memory question

  • Finally, the children were asked:
    • “Where was the marble at the beginning?”
  • The correct answer being in Sally’s basket.
Retesting

Retesting

  • Each child was then tested again, with the marble originating in a different place.

Baron-Cohen et al. Sally-Anne Study (1985) - Results

The Sally-Anne study tested children’s understanding of false beliefs to explore differences in theory of mind between groups.

Results

Results

  • All the children (including those with Down’s syndrome and autism) got the correct answer on the:
    • Naming question.
    • Reality question.
    • Memory question.
Results of belief question

Results of belief question

  • The results were different for the belief question.
    • Children with Down’s syndrome got 86%
    • Control group of children got 85%
    • Children with autism got 20%
Conclusion

Conclusion

  • Baron-Cohen concluded that success on the false-belief task requires understanding another’s perspective.
  • The children with autism in this sample found it more difficult to attribute false beliefs, suggesting variation in social-cognitive understanding.
Evaluation

Evaluation

  • The study lacked ecological validity as dolls were used instead of real people.
    • It could be that children with autism do have a developed theory of mind in which they know that dolls do not actually have their own beliefs, as they are not living.
Evaluation cont.

Evaluation cont.

  • Some believed that if the experiment was acted out by people rather than dolls, the results may show children with autism can perform on those tasks.
  • However, a study carried out by Leslie and Frith (1988) found the same pattern of results when they carried out the experiment with humans.

Test yourself on Baron-Cohen Studies

  • Which study by Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) examined children with autism and Down’s syndrome?

  • In which year did Baron-Cohen et al. conduct the Sally-Anne study?

  • All the children (including those with Down’s syndrome and autism) got the correct answer on all questions except which?

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