Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T04:16:01.611Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Metacognition may be more impaired than mindreading in autism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2009

David M. Williams ,
Sophie E. Lind  and
Francesca Happé
David M. Williams
Affiliation:
Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, WC1N 1EH, United Kingdomd.williams@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Sophie E. Lind
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, City University, London, EC1V 0HB, United KingdomSophie.Lind.1@city.ac.uk
Francesca Happé
Affiliation:
Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. f.happe@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This commentary focuses on evidence from autism concerning the relation between metacognition and mindreading. We support Carruthers' rejection of models 1 (independent systems) and 3 (metacognition before mindreading), and provide evidence to strengthen his critique. However, we also present evidence from autism that we believe supports model 2 (one mechanism, two modes of access) over model 4 (mindreading is prior).

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 162 - 163
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Fisher, N., Happé, F. & Dunn, J. (2005) The relationship between vocabulary, grammar, and false belief task performance in children with autistic spectrum disorders and children with moderate learning difficulties. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 46:409–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hogrefe, G. J, Wimmer, H. & Perner, J. (1986) Ignorance versus false belief: A developmental lag in attribution of epistemic states. Child Development 57:567–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazak, S., Collis, G. & Lewis, V. (1997) Can young people with autism refer to knowledge states? Evidence from their understanding of “know” and “guess.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38:1001–1009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lind, S. E. (2008) Episodic memory, “theory of mind,” and temporally extended self-awareness in autism spectrum disorder. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, City University, London.Google Scholar
Lind, S. E. & Bowler, D. M. (2008) Episodic memory and autonoetic consciousness in autism spectrum disorders: The roles of self-awareness, representational abilities and temporal cognition. In: Memory in autism: Theory and evidence, ed. Boucher, J. M. & Bowler, D. M., pp. 166–87. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, S. E. & Bowler, D. M. (under revised review) Self-other source memory and its relation to theory-of-mind in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Google Scholar
McGeer, V. (2004) Autistic self-awareness. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 11(3):235–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichols, S. & Stich, S. (2003) Mindreading: An integrated account of pretence, self-awareness, and understanding other minds. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perner, J. (2000) Memory and theory of mind. In: The Oxford handbook of memory, ed. Tulving, E. & Craik, F. I. M., pp. 297–312. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Raffman, D. (1999) What autism may tell us about self-awareness: A commentary on Frith and Happé. Mind and Language 14(1):23–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, D. M. (2008) Conceptual and pre-conceptual awareness of self and other: Studies of autism and typical development. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of London.Google Scholar
Williams, D. M. & Happé, F. (in press a) Representing intentions in self and other: Studies of autism and typical development. Developmental Science.Google Scholar
Williams, D. M. & Happé, F. (in press b) “What did I say?” versus “What did I think?”: Attributing false beliefs to self amongst children with and without autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Google Scholar