ERIC Number: EJ1184795
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jul
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: N/A
Problem-Solving Styles in Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Development of Higher Cognitive Functions
Constable, Paul A.; Ring, Melanie; Gaigg, Sebastian B.; Bowler, Dermot M.
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v22 n5 p597-608 Jul 2018
The Vygotsky Blocks Test assesses problem-solving styles within a theoretical framework for the development of higher mental processes devised by Vygotsky. Because both the theory and the associated test situate cognitive development within the child's social and linguistic context, they address conceptual issues around the developmental relation between language and thought that are pertinent to development in autism. Our aim was to document the performance of adults with autism spectrum disorder on the Vygotsky Blocks Test, and our results showed that they made more errors than the typically developing participants and that these errors correlated with performance IQ. The autism spectrum disorder group also required more cues than the typically developing group to discern the conceptual structure of the blocks, a pattern that correlated with Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule--Communication and Imagination/Creativity sub-scales. When asked to categorize the blocks in new ways, the autism spectrum disorder participants developed fewer principles on which to base new categorizations, which in contrast to the typically developing group correlated with verbal IQ and with the Imagination/Creativity sub-scale of the ADOS. These results are in line with a number of existing findings in the autism spectrum disorder literature and confirm that conceptualization in autism spectrum disorder seems to rely more on non-verbal and less on imaginative processes than in typically developing individuals. The findings represent first steps to the possibility of outlining a testable account of psychological development in autism spectrum disorder that integrates verbal, non-verbal and social factors into the transition from elementary to higher level processes.
Descriptors: Problem Solving, Cognitive Ability, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Correlation, Classification, Intelligence Quotient, Cognitive Processes, Language Impairments, Diagnostic Tests, Observation, Error Patterns, Adults, Cues, Interpersonal Communication, Imagination, Verbal Ability, Nonverbal Ability, Social Influences, Creative Thinking, Intelligence Tests, Foreign Countries, Participant Characteristics, Statistical Analysis, Concept Formation
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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
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (London)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A