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Recognition Memory, Self-Other Source Memory, and Theory-of-Mind in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

This study investigated semantic and episodic memory in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), using a task which assessed recognition and self-other source memory. Children with ASD showed undiminished recognition memory but significantly diminished source memory, relative to age- and verbal ability-matched comparison children. Both children with and without ASD showed an “enactment effect”, demonstrating significantly better recognition and source memory for self-performed actions than other-person-performed actions. Within the comparison group, theory-of-mind (ToM) task performance was significantly correlated with source memory, specifically for other-person-performed actions (after statistically controlling for verbal ability). Within the ASD group, ToM task performance was not significantly correlated with source memory (after controlling for verbal ability). Possible explanations for these relations between source memory and ToM are considered.

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Notes

  1. A number of participants (23 with ASD, 6 comparison) gave perseverative responses to the recognition or source components of the memory test (i.e., provided the same response to more than 90% of questions). The mean (SD) verbal mental age (VMA), chronological age (CA), and verbal IQ (VIQ) of the participants with ASD who gave perseverative responses was 5.91 (1.45), 10.27 (3.38), and 66.96 (18.19), respectively. The mean (SD) VMA, CA and verbal IQ of the comparison participants who gave perseverative responses was 4.48 (1.45), 7.03 (5.53), and 83.83 (33.13), respectively. Because the performance of these individuals would not have been a fair reflection of their item or source memory ability (but rather their executive difficulties), these individuals were excluded from the sample.

  2. Following the suggestion of Dr Chris Jarrold, who reviewed this paper, we also tried an alternative method of determining false-alarm-rates. Specifically, half of the distractors were arbitrarily assigned to be “self-distractors” and half to be “other-distractors”, and then separate false-alarm-rates were calculated. The data were re-analysed using these “self” and “other” false alarm rates, but the pattern of results did not differ from those presented in the main body of the paper.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the following schools for their participation in this research: Bensham Manor, Brent Knoll, Hillingdon Manor, Kilmorie, Linden Bridge, Southmead, Pendragon, St. Winifred’s, The Park, and West Wimbledon. We are extremely grateful to Dr David Williams for his helpful suggestions during the preparation and revision of this manuscript. Finally, we wish to thank Dr Chris Jarrold and the other anonymous reviewers of this article for their insightful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, City University, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK

    Sophie E. Lind & Dermot M. Bowler

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  1. Sophie E. Lind
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  2. Dermot M. Bowler
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Correspondence to Sophie E. Lind.

Additional information

This research was supported by a City University PhD Studentship awarded to the first author. This manuscript was prepared during an Autism Speaks Postdoctoral fellowship awarded to the first author by Autism Speaks.

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Lind, S.E., Bowler, D.M. Recognition Memory, Self-Other Source Memory, and Theory-of-Mind in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 1231–1239 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0735-2

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