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Verbal Peaks and Visual Valleys in Theory of Mind Ability in Williams Syndrome

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Abstract

Research on theory of mind (TOM) has provided a major contribution to the understanding of developmental disorders characterized by atypical social behaviour. Yet, there is still little consensus relative to TOM abilities in Williams syndrome (WS). This study used visual and verbal tasks to investigate attribution of intentions in individuals with WS relative to mental age-matched typically developing individuals. Results showed that individuals with WS perform as accurately as controls on the verbal but not on the visual task. Such modality differences did not affect WS group’s performance on a control condition not requiring TOM neither were found for the control group. These results suggest the existence of a verbal peak and a visual valley in TOM ability in WS.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the participants, their parents and the Regional Williams Syndrome Associations. Andreia Santos was supported by a grant from the FCT-MCTES (Portugal, SFRH/BD/18820/2004) to conduct this study. We would also like to Jacqueline Nadel for allowing us to use some of the comic-strips included in the visual task.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mediterranean Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences, CNRS, 31, Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402, Marseille Cedex 20, France

    Andreia Santos & Christine Deruelle

Authors
  1. Andreia Santos
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  2. Christine Deruelle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreia Santos.

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix 1. Attribution of Intention

  • The baby is crying.

  • His mum goes to the kitchen.

  • She heats up some milk.

  • Andwhat happens then?

  1. 1.

    She drinks a cup of milk

  2. 2.

    She prepares a feeding-bottle*

  3. 3.

    She washes the dishes

Appendix 2. Physical causality

  • Jenny puts her books in her schoolbag.

  • She forgets to close it.

  • She runs to get to school on time.

  • Andwhat happens then?

  1. 1.

    The books fall out of the bag*

  2. 2.

    Jenny arrives late to school

  3. 3.

    The books get damaged

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Santos, A., Deruelle, C. Verbal Peaks and Visual Valleys in Theory of Mind Ability in Williams Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 651–659 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0669-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0669-0

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