ERIC Number: EJ973727
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Aug
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: N/A
Goal-Directed and Goal-Less Imitation in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Wild, Kelly S.; Poliakoff, Ellen; Jerrison, Andrew; Gowen, Emma
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v42 n8 p1739-1749 Aug 2012
To investigate how people with Autism are affected by the presence of goals during imitation, we conducted a study to measure movement kinematics and eye movements during the imitation of goal-directed and goal-less hand movements. Our results showed that a control group imitated changes in movement kinematics and increased the level that they tracked the hand with their eyes, in the goal-less compared to goal-direction condition. In contrast, the ASD group exhibited more goal-directed eye movements, and failed to modulate the observed movement kinematics successfully in either condition. These results increase the evidence for impaired goal-less imitation in ASD, and suggest that there is a reliance on goal-directed strategies for imitation in ASD, even in the absence of visual goals.
Descriptors: Control Groups, Eye Movements, Autism, Imitation, Human Body, Goal Orientation, Motion, Comparative Analysis
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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