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Autism
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Intuitive Psychology and Physics among Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children

Lynne Binnie

University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Joanne Williams

University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, Jo.Williams{at}ed.ac.uk

Many studies have documented poor understanding of intuitive psychology among children with autism; however, few have investigated claims of superior understanding of intuitive physics said to be evident in this group. This study aimed to investigate the reported differential preference of intuitive psychology and intuitive physics among children with autism by employing three tasks each with a psychological and a physical condition. In order to gain a detailed developmental picture the study compared children with autism, an age matched comparison group, and typically developing preschoolers, 7-year-olds and 10-year-olds. Results demonstrated that children with autism preferred to employ physical causality when reasoning about novel physical and psychological events. Furthermore, their performance on a multiple- choice task confirmed their impairment in intuitive psychology whilst highlighting a superior ability to reason about physical phenomena in relation to all other comparison groups. The theoretical implications of this potential cognitive strength are discussed.

Key Words: autism • domain specificity • intuitive physics • intuitive psychology

Autism, Vol. 7, No. 2, 173-193 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1362361303007002005
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