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The ‘Reading the Mind in the Voice’ Test-Revised: A Study of Complex Emotion Recognition in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions

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Abstract

This study reports a revised version of the ‘Reading the Mind in the Voice’ (RMV) task. The original task (Rutherford et al., (2002), Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32, 189–194) suffered from ceiling effects and limited sensitivity. To improve that, the task was shortened and two more foils were added to each of the remaining items. About 50 adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HFA) and 22 matched controls took the revised task. Results show the revised task has good reliability and validity, is harder, and more sensitive in distinguishing the AS/HFA group from controls. Verbal IQ was positively correlated with performance, and females performed worse than males in the AS/HFA group. Results are discussed with regard to multi modal empathizing deficits in autism spectrum conditions (ASC).

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Acknowledgments

OG was supported by the Corob Charitable Trust, the Cambridge Overseas Trust and the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR). SBC and JH were supported by the Shirley Foundation and the Medical Research Council (MRC). We are grateful to Autism West Midlands, Autism London, European Services for People with Autism (ESPA), The Interact Centre, and to Chris Ashwin, Sally Wheelwright, Yael Golan and Sarah Johnson.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Road, CB2 2AH, Cambridge, UK

    Ofer Golan, Simon Baron-Cohen & Jacqueline J. Hill

  2. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, L8S 42K, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    M. D. Rutherford

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  1. Ofer Golan
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  2. Simon Baron-Cohen
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  4. M. D. Rutherford
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Correspondence to Ofer Golan.

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Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., Hill, J.J. et al. The ‘Reading the Mind in the Voice’ Test-Revised: A Study of Complex Emotion Recognition in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1096–1106 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0252-5

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