Self-referential memory in autism spectrum disorder and typical development: Exploring the ownership effect

Grisdale, Emma; Lind, Sophie E.; Eacott, Madeline J.; Williams, David M.

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2014.08.023

Cited by 46 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Of particular relevance to early development, self‐processing issues may be an important element of autism. Studies of children (Gillespie‐Smith, Ballantyne, Branigan, Turk, & Cunningham, ; Henderson et al., ) and adults (Grisdale, Lind, Eacott, & Williams, ; Lombardo, Barnes, Wheelwright, & Baron‐Cohen, ; Toichi et al., ) with autism suggest there may be unusual SRE patterns, which may be symptomatic of disruptions in the SMS (see Lind & Bowler, ). Interestingly, brain imaging studies suggest that adolescents with and without autism show divergent patterns of neural activation when engaged in self‐processing (Pfeifer et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development

2019

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This article tests the hypothesis that self‐development plays a role in the offset of childhood amnesia; assessing the importance of both the capacity to anchor a memory to the self‐concept, and the strength of the self‐concept as an anchor. This research demonstrates for the first time that the volume of 3‐ to 6‐year old's specific autobiographical memories is predicted by both the volume of their self‐knowledge, and their capacity for self‐source monitoring within self‐referencing paradigms (N = 186). Moreover, there is a bidirectional relation between self and memory, such that autobiographical memory mediates the link between self‐source monitoring and self‐knowledge. These predictive relations suggest that the self‐memory system is active in early childhood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development

2019

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“…Moreover, Henderson et al found that the extent of this diminution was associated significantly with the severity of ASD features (more ASD traits = smaller SRE). Likewise, Grisdale, Lind, Eacott, and Williams [, Experiment 2] found that the ownership effect was significantly diminished in adults with ASD, relative to that observed in age‐, IQ‐, and sex‐matched comparison participants. Moreover, Grisdale et al (Exp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Self‐Reference Effect on Perception: Undiminished in Adults with Autism and No Relation to Autism Traits

2017

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Memory for (and perception of) information about the self is superior to memory for (and perception of) other kinds of information. This self‐reference effect (SRE) in memory appears diminished in ASD and related to the number of ASD traits manifested by neurotypical individuals (fewer traits = larger SRE). Here, we report the first experiments exploring the relation between ASD and the SRE in perception. Using a “Shapes” Task (Sui et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38, 1105, 2012), participants learned to associate three different shapes (triangle, circle, square) with three different labels representing self, a familiar other, or an unfamiliar other (e.g., “you”, “mother”, “stranger”). Participants then completed trials during which they were presented with one shape and one label for 100 ms, and made judgments about whether the shape and label was a match. In Experiment 1, neurotypical participants (n = 124) showed the expected SRE, detecting self‐related matches more reliably and quickly than matches involving familiar or unfamiliar other. Most important, number of ASD traits was unrelated to the size of the SRE for either accuracy or RT. Bayesian association analyses strongly supported the null hypothesis. In Experiment 2, there were no differences between 22 adults with ASD and 21 matched comparison adults in performance on the Shapes Task. Despite showing large and significant theory of mind impairments, participants with ASD showed the typical SRE and there were no associations with ASD traits in either group. In every case, Bayesian analyses favored the null hypothesis. These findings challenge theories about self‐representation in ASD, as discussed in the article. Autism Res 2018, 11: 331–341. © 2017 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay SummaryNeurotypical people tend to find it easier to perceive and remember information that relates to themselves than information that relates to others. Research suggests that people with ASD show a diminished (or absent) self‐bias in memory and that severity of ASD predicts the extent of this diminution (more severe ASD = smaller self‐bias in memory). However, the current research suggests strongly that people with ASD do show a self‐bias in their perception. This research informs our understanding of psychological functioning in ASD and challenges theories regarding self‐awareness in this disorder.

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“…There was a significant negative association between self‐advantage score and both measures of ASD trait severity (SCQ r = −.507, p = .016; ASDS scores r = −.608, p = .003). This suggests that the more autistic traits participants showed, the lower the self‐advantage, a pattern that replicates previous work (Grisdale et al ., ) but initially seems at odds with the heightened self‐advantage of participants in the ASD group in this study. Examination of memory for self‐owned and other‐owned items within the ASD group provides an explanation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Indeed, the ASD group actually showed a higher SRE relative to the comparison groups. Although this is contrary to previous studies in which SRE has been lower in ASD compared to controls (Grisdale et al ., ; Henderson et al ., ), it is consistent with the abundance of ASD research suggesting that individuals with autism pay less attention to other people than neurotypical comparison groups (Hobson, ; Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, ; Werner, Dawson, Osterling, & Dinno, ). If there is egocentricity and reduced interest in others, and by extension, others’ belongings, then this should increase SREs by exacerbating the difference between attention paid to self‐ and other‐referent stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The I in autism: Severity and social functioning in autism are related to self‐processing

Gillespie‐Smith

Ballantyne

Branigan³

et al. 2017

British J of Dev Psycho

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It is well established that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show impaired understanding of others and deficits within social functioning. However, it is still unknown whether self-processing is related to these impairments and to what extent self impacts social functioning and communication. Using an ownership paradigm, we show that children with ASD and chronological-and verbal-age-matched typically developing (TD) children do show the self-referential effect in memory. In addition, the self-bias was dependent on symptom severity and socio-communicative ability. Children with milder ASD symptoms were more likely to have a high self-bias, consistent with a low attention to others relative to self. In contrast, severe ASD symptoms were associated with reduced self-bias, consistent with an 'absent-self' hypothesis. These findings indicate that deficits in self-processing may be related to impairments in social cognition for those on the lower end of the autism spectrum.

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Self-referential memory in autism spectrum disorder and typical development: Exploring the ownership effect

Cited by 46 publications

References 37 publications

The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development

The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development

The Self‐Reference Effect on Perception: Undiminished in Adults with Autism and No Relation to Autism Traits

The I in autism: Severity and social functioning in autism are related to self‐processing

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