Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Faux Pas Detection and Intentional Action in Asperger Syndrome. A Replication on a French Sample

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated mindreading abilities in a group of adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) by using the faux pas task, an advanced test of theory of mind (Baron-Cohen et al. (1999). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 407–418). The faux pas is a particular case of a non-intentional action reflecting an involuntary socially inappropriate behavior. Here, individuals with AS over-detected faux pas stories, failed to provide correct justifications of the speaker’s behavior and were unaware of the mistaken belief and of the resulting emotional impact, whereas they appeared to be responsive to social rule violations. We hypothesized that because of an impaired theory-of-mind, individuals with AS may develop compensatory cognitive strategies based on overlearned abstract knowledge about normative rules.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abell, F., Happe, F., & Frith, U. (2000). Do triangles play tricks? Attribution of mental states to animated shapes in normal and abnormal development. Cognitive Development, 15, 1–16. doi:10.1016/S0885-2014(00)00014-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, F., & Steadman, A. (2004). Intentional action in ordinary language: Core concept or pragmatic understanding? Analysis, 64, 173–181. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8284.2004.00480.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatry Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). DSM-IV-TR (Text Revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatry Association.

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1989). The autistic child’s theory of mind: A case of specific developmental delay. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 30, 285–297. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1989.tb00241.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness. An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a theory of mind? Cognition, 21, 37–46. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., O’Riordan, M., Stone, V., Jones, R., & Plaisted, K. (1999). Recognition of faux pas by normally developing children and children with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 407–418. doi:10.1023/A:1023035012436.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauminger, N., & Kasari, C. (1999). Brief report: Theory of mind in high-functioning children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 81–86. doi:10.1023/A:1025974701090.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauminger, N., & Kasari, C. (2000). Loneliness and friendship in high-functioning children with autism. Child Development, 71, 447–456. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00156.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bentall, R., & Kinderman, P. (1998). Psychological processes and delusional beliefs: Implications for the treatment of paranoid states. In S. Lewis, N. Tarrier & T. Wykes (Eds.), Outcome and innovation in psychological treatment of schizophrenia. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackshaw, A. J., Hare, D. J., & Hatton, C. (2001). Theory of mind, causal attribution and paranoia in Asperger Syndrome. Autism, 5, 147–163. doi:10.1177/1362361301005002005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowler, D. M. (1992). “Theory of mind” in Asperger’s Syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 33, 877–893. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1992.tb01962.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colby, A., & Kohlberg, L. (1987). The measurement of moral judgment (Vol. 1–2). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, C. (1996). Brain mechanisms for having a “theory of mind”. Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 10, 9–15. doi:10.1177/026988119601000103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, C. D., & Corcoran, R. (1996). Exploring ‘theory of mind’ in people with schizophrenia. Psychological Medicine, 26, 521–530.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frith, U., Happé, F., & Siddons, F. (1994). Autism and theory of mind in everyday life. Social Development, 2, 108–124. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.1994.tb00031.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillberg, C., Gillberg, C., Råstam, M., & Wentz, E. (2001). The Asperger Syndrome (and high-functioning autism) diagnostic interview (ASDI): A preliminary study of a new structured clinical interview. Autism, 5(1), 57–66. doi:10.1177/1362361301005001006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, C. M., Boucher, J., Riggs, K. J., & Grayson, A. (2005). Moral understanding in children with autism. Autism, 9, 317–331. doi:10.1177/1362361305055418.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, C., Stone, V., Erzinclioglu, S., Martin, L., Baron-Cohen, S., & Hodges, J. R. (2002). Theory of mind in patients with frontal variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease: Theoretical and practical implications. Brain, 125, 752–764. doi:10.1093/brain/awf079.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, S. L., Svanström Röjvall, A., Rastam, M., Gillberg, C., Gillberg, C., & Anckarsäter, H. (2005). Psychiatric telephone interview with parents for screening of childhood autism-tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other comorbidities (A-TAC): Preliminary reliability and validity. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 262–267. doi:10.1192/bjp.187.3.262.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Happè, F. (1994). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding of story characters’ thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped and normal children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 129–154. doi:10.1007/BF02172093.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Happé, F., Ehlers, S., Fletcher, P., Frith, U., Johansson, M., Gillberg, C., et al. (1996). “ Theory of mind “ in the brain. Evidence from a PET scan study of Asperger Syndrome. Neuroreport, 8, 197–201.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jolliffe, T., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1999). The strange stories test: A replication with high-functioning adults with autism or Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 395–406. doi:10.1023/A:1023082928366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karniol, R. (1978). Children’s use of intention cues in evaluating behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 76–85. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.85.1.76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knobe, J. (2003). Intentional action in folk psychology: An experimental investigation. Philosophical Psychology, 16, 309–324. doi:10.1080/09515080307771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knobe, J. (2004). Intention, intentional action and moral considerations. Analysis, 64, 181–187. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8284.2004.00481.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knobe, J. (2005). Theory of mind and moral cognition: Exploring the connections. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 357–359. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2005.06.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knobe, J., & Mendlow, G. (2004). The good, the bad and the blameworthy: Understanding the role of evaluative reasoning in folk psychology. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 24, 252–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M. (1987). Pretense and representation: The origins of “theory of mind”. Psychological Review, 94, 412–426. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.94.4.412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M. (1991). The theory of mind impairment in autism: Evidence for a modular mechanism of development? In A. Whiten (Ed.), The emergence of mindreading (pp. 63–78). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M., Knobe, J., & Cohen, A. (2006). Acting intentionally and the side-effect effect: ‘Theory of mind’ and moral judgment. Psychological Science, 17, 421–427. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01722.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M., & Roth, D. (1993). What eutism teach us about metarepresentation. In S. Baron-cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg & D. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from autism (pp. 83–111). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994). Autism diagnostic interview-revised: A recise version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659–685. doi:10.1007/BF02172145.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malle, B. F. (1999). How people explain behavior: A new theoretical framework. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 23–48. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0301_2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malle, B. F. (2007). F.EX: A coding scheme for folk explanations of behavior. Technical reports of the Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences, Eugene, Oregon. Available at http://hebb.uoregon.edu/02-04tech.pdf.

  • Malle, B. F., Knobe, J., & Nelson, S. (2007). Actor-observer asymmetries in explanations of behavior: New answers to an old question. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 491–514. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.4.491.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., & McEvoy, R. E. (1994). A longitudinal study of executive function and theory of mind development in autism. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 415–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., Rogers, S. J., & Pennington, B. F. (1991). Asperger’s Syndrome: Evidence of an empirical distinction from high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 32, 1107–1122. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1991.tb00352.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shamay-Tsoory, S. G., Tomer, R., Yaniv, S., & Aharon-Peretz, J. (2002). Empathy deficits in Asperger Syndrome: A cognitive profile. Neurocase, 8, 245–252.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, V. E., Baron-Cohen, S., & Knight, R. T. (1998). Frontal lobe contributions to theory of mind. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10, 640–656. doi:10.1162/089892998562942.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, L., Sigman, M., & Ruskin, E. (2001). Links between social understanding and social behavior in verbally able children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 119–130. doi:10.1023/A:1010705912731.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (1999). Echelle clinique de mémoire de Wechsler-révisé: Manuel. Paris: Centre de Psychologie Appliquée.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1997). The autistic spectrum. Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organisation. (2004). International statistical classification and related health problems: Tenth revision, Geneva.

  • Young, L., Cushman, F., Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., & Hauser, M. (2006). Does emotion mediate the effect of an action’s moral status on its intentional status? Neuropsychological evidence. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 6, 291–304. doi:10.1163/156853706776931312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, L., Cushman, F., Hauser, M., & Saxe, R. (2007). The neural basis of the interaction between theory of mind and moral judgment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 104, 8235–8240. doi:10.1073/pnas.0701408104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yuill, N., & Perner, J. (1988). Intentionality and knowledge in childrens’ judgments of actors responsibility and recipients emotional reaction. Developmental Psychology, 24, 358–365. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.24.3.358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dick Carter, Emmanuel Dupoux, Pierre Jacob, Joshua Knobe and two anonymous reviewers for very helpful comments on an earlier draft of the article. The authors are also grateful the Autism Research Centre for providing test materials. This work was made possible by the Fondation Orange and the Fondation FondaMental.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Jean Nicod, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29 rue d’Ulm, 75005, Paris, France

    Tiziana Zalla

  2. Laboratoire EA 2027, Equipe de recherche en psychologie clinique, Université Paris VIII, Paris, France

    Anca-Maria Sav

  3. Hôpital Chenevier-Mondor & INSERM, U841, Creteil, France

    Astrid Stopin, Sabrina Ahade & Marion Leboyer

Authors
  1. Tiziana Zalla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anca-Maria Sav
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Astrid Stopin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sabrina Ahade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marion Leboyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tiziana Zalla.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zalla, T., Sav, AM., Stopin, A. et al. Faux Pas Detection and Intentional Action in Asperger Syndrome. A Replication on a French Sample. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 373–382 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0634-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0634-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation