ERIC Number: EJ771872
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-8017
EISSN: N/A
Contribution of Social and Information-Processing Factors to Eye-Gaze Avoidance in Fragile X Syndrome
Murphy, Melissa M.; Abbeduto, Leonard; Schroeder, Susan; Serlin, Ronald
American Journal on Mental Retardation, v112 n5 p349-360 Sep 2007
The influence of social and information-processing demands on eye-gaze avoidance in individuals with fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, or typical development were examined by manipulating those demands in a structured-language task. Participants with fragile X syndrome exhibited more gaze avoidance than did those in the comparison groups, but no group differences in avoidance were found between a social and nonsocial condition. Task difficulty affected gaze avoidance in the nonsocial but not in the social condition. In the nonsocial condition, the effect of task difficulty was less pronounced for the fragile X syndrome than comparison groups. Findings suggest that multimodal task demands rather than eye contact per se contribute to gaze avoidance in persons with fragile X syndrome.
Descriptors: Down Syndrome, Nonverbal Communication, Mental Retardation, Task Analysis, Comparative Analysis, Social Environment, Difficulty Level
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. P.O. Box 1897, Lawrence, KS 66044-1897. Tel: 785-843-1235; Fax: 785-843-1274; e-mail: AJMR@allenpress.com; Web site: http://aaidd.allenpress.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A