Zelazo P D, Burack J A, Benedetto E, Frye D
Dept of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1996 May;37(4):479-84. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01429.x.
The relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and rule use was explored in adults with Down's Syndrome (DS) and in non-handicapped pre-schoolers. Twelve low-functioning individuals with DS (mean mental age = 5.1 years, mean chronological age = 22.7) performed worse than 12 MA-matched non-handicapped children (mean MA = 5.1 years) on several standard ToM tasks and on a color-shape card-sorting task in which subjects were required to switch between two incompatible sets of rules. On the ToM tasks, people with DS tended to focus on a single state of affairs (e.g. the present situation). Likewise, on the card sort, these subjects tended to use a single set of rules on all trials. Performance in the two types of task was positively correlated when MA was partialed out. The results are inconsistent with the slaim that ToM reflects a domain-specific psychological function and the notion that deficits in ToM are unique to individuals with autism.
我们探究了唐氏综合征（DS）成人与非残障学龄前儿童的心理理论（ToM）与规则运用之间的关系。12名低功能唐氏综合征患者（平均心理年龄 = 5.1岁，平均实际年龄 = 22.7岁）在几项标准心理理论任务以及一项颜色形状卡片分类任务（要求受试者在两套不相容的规则之间切换）上的表现，比12名心理年龄匹配的非残障儿童（平均心理年龄 = 5.1岁）更差。在心理理论任务中，唐氏综合征患者倾向于关注单一的事态（例如当前情况）。同样，在卡片分类任务中，这些受试者在所有试验中都倾向于使用单一的一套规则。当排除心理年龄因素后，这两种任务的表现呈正相关。研究结果与“心理理论反映特定领域的心理功能”这一观点以及“心理理论缺陷是自闭症患者所独有的”这一观念不一致。
