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Doan T, Friedman O, Denison S. Calculated Feelings: How Children Use Probability to Infer Emotions. Open Mind (Camb) 2023; 7:879-893. [PMID: 37946853 PMCID: PMC10631798 DOI: 10.1162/opmi_a_00111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Developing the ability to accurately infer others' emotions is crucial for children's cognitive development. Here, we offer a new theoretical perspective on how children develop this ability. We first review recent work showing that with age, children increasingly use probability to infer emotions. We discuss how these findings do not fit with prominent accounts of how children understand emotions, namely the script account and the theory of mind account. We then outline a theory of how probability allows children to infer others' emotions. Specifically, we suggest that probability provides children with information about how much weight to put on alternative outcomes, allowing them to infer emotions by comparing outcomes to counterfactual alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany Doan
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo
| | - Ori Friedman
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo
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2
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Children’s understanding of counterfactual and temporal relief in others. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 223:105491. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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3
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Stuck between me: A psychodynamic view into career inaction. JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Zimmermann JT, Meuser S, Hinterwimmer S, Vogeley K. Preserved Perspective Taking in Free Indirect Discourse in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychol 2021; 12:675633. [PMID: 34305731 PMCID: PMC8292616 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.675633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Perspective taking has been proposed to be impaired in persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially when implicit processing is required. In narrative texts, language perception and interpretation is fundamentally guided by taking the perspective of a narrator. We studied perspective taking in the linguistic domain of so-called Free Indirect Discourse (FID), during which certain text segments have to be interpreted as the thoughts or utterances of a protagonist without explicitly being marked as thought or speech representations of that protagonist (as in direct or indirect discourse). Crucially, the correct interpretation of text segments as FID depends on the ability to detect which of the protagonists "stands out" against the others and is therefore identifiable as implicit thinker or speaker. This so-called "prominence" status of a protagonist is based on linguistic properties (e.g., grammatical function, referential expression), in other words, the perspective is "hidden" and has to be inferred from the text material. In order to test whether this implicit perspective taking ability that is required for the interpretation of FID is preserved in persons with ASD, we presented short texts with three sentences to adults with and without ASD. In the last sentence, the perspective was switched either to the more or the less prominent of two protagonists. Participants were asked to rate the texts regarding their naturalness. Both diagnostic groups rated sentences with FID anchored to the less prominent protagonist as less natural than sentences with FID anchored to the more prominent protagonist. Our results that the high-level perspective taking ability in written language that is required for the interpretation of FID is well preserved in persons with ASD supports the conclusion that language skills are highly elaborated in ASD so that even the challenging attribution of utterances to protagonists is possible if they are only implicitly given. We discuss the implications in the context of claims of impaired perspective taking in ASD as well as with regard to the underlying processing of FID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane T Zimmermann
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Sara Meuser
- Institute of Language and Literature I, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Stefan Hinterwimmer
- Institute of Language and Literature - Linguistics, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Kai Vogeley
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Cognitive Neuroscience (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, Juelich, Germany
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Alteration of Emotion Knowledge and Its Relationship with Emotion Regulation and Psychopathological Behavior in Children with Cerebral Palsy. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 51:1238-1248. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04605-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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6
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Pankert K, Pankert A, Lotter LD, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Konrad K. [Autism spectrum symptoms in children with congenital blindness]. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR KINDER-UND JUGENDPSYCHIATRIE UND PSYCHOTHERAPIE 2020; 48:289-302. [PMID: 32614279 DOI: 10.1024/1422-4917/a000738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum symptoms in children with congenital blindness Abstract. Objective: Previous studies reported increased rates of autistic symptoms in children with impaired visual abilities (IV). However, the application of existing screening questionnaires for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) proved problematic, as intact visual abilities are typically required. The current study examines the general applicability of three autism-screening questionnaires in children with congenital blindness. Methods: Autistic symptoms were assessed in 15 children with congenital blindness, 15 children with ASD (without IV), and 20 typically developing controls (aged from 8 to 14 years), using the Social Communication Questionnaire, the Marburg Rating Scale for Asperger's Syndrome, and the Social Responsiveness Scale. Results: Items assessing motor, mimic/gesture-related, or joint attention deficits were identified as highly prevalent in children with congenital blindness. These children scored, in general, higher on ASD-screening questionnaires than typically developing controls but lower than sighted children with ASD. Depending on the screening questionnaire used, between 23 % and 67 % of the sample with congenital blindness reached clinical cutoff scores for ASD. SRS total score was negatively correlated to cognitive empathy and verbal IQ in those children. Conclusions: Mothers of children with congenital blindness reported increased autistic symptoms in ASD-screening questionnaires. ASD and IV might share a broad range of symptoms. Future development and validation of screening instruments specifically adapted to the needs of persons with impaired visual abilities seem necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kilian Pankert
- Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen.,Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen
| | - Azarakhsh Pankert
- Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen.,Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen
| | - Leon David Lotter
- Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen
| | - Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann
- Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen
| | - Kerstin Konrad
- Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum der RWTH Aachen.,JARA-Brain Institut Molekulare Neurowissenschaften und Bildgebung (INM-11), Forschungszentrum Jülich
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Black J, Barzy M, Williams D, Ferguson H. Intact counterfactual emotion processing in autism spectrum disorder: Evidence from eye-tracking. Autism Res 2018; 12:422-444. [PMID: 30575292 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Counterfactual emotions, such as regret and relief, require an awareness of how things could have been different. We report a preregistered experiment that examines how adults with and without ASD process counterfactual emotions in real-time, based on research showing that the developmental trajectory of counterfactual thinking may be disrupted in people with ASD. Participants were eye-tracked as they read narratives in which a character made an explicit decision then subsequently experienced either a mildly negative or positive outcome. The final sentence in each story included an explicit remark about the character's mood that was either consistent or inconsistent with the character's expected feelings of regret or relief (e.g., "… she feels happy/annoyed about her decision."). Results showed that adults with ASD are unimpaired in processing emotions based on counterfactual reasoning, and in fact showed earlier sensitivity to inconsistencies within relief contexts compared to TD participants. This finding highlights a previously unknown strength in empathy and emotion processing in adults with ASD, which may have been masked in previous research that has typically relied on explicit, response-based measures to record emotional inferences, which are likely to be susceptible to demand characteristics and response biases. Therefore, this study highlights the value of employing implicit measures that provide insights on peoples' immediate responses to emotional content without disrupting ongoing processing. Autism Res 2019, 12: 422-444 © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Despite known difficulties with empathy and perspective-taking, we found that adults with autism are unimpaired at inferring complex emotions (regret and relief) in others. This finding extends existing evidence showing dysfunctional counterfactual thinking in children with autism. We highlight the value of using implicit measures to identify strengths and abilities in ASD that may be masked by explicit tasks that require participants to interact socially or report their own thoughts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo Black
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
| | - Mahsa Barzy
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
| | - David Williams
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
| | - Heather Ferguson
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
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Proneness to Self-Conscious Emotions in Adults With and Without Autism Traits. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47:3392-3404. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3260-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Rasga C, Quelhas AC, Byrne RMJ. How Children with Autism Reason about Other's Intentions: False-Belief and Counterfactual Inferences. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47:1806-1817. [PMID: 28342167 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3107-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
We examine false belief and counterfactual reasoning in children with autism with a new change-of-intentions task. Children listened to stories, for example, Anne is picking up toys and John hears her say she wants to find her ball. John goes away and the reason for Anne's action changes-Anne's mother tells her to tidy her bedroom. We asked, 'What will John believe is the reason that Anne is picking up toys?' which requires a false-belief inference, and 'If Anne's mother hadn't asked Anne to tidy her room, what would have been the reason she was picking up toys?' which requires a counterfactual inference. We tested children aged 6, 8 and 10 years. Children with autism made fewer correct inferences than typically developing children at 8 years, but by 10 years there was no difference. Children with autism made fewer correct false-belief than counterfactual inferences, just like typically developing children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Célia Rasga
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, nº34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Ana Cristina Quelhas
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, nº34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ruth M J Byrne
- Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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