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Do Individuals With Autism Process Categories Differently? The Effect of Typicality and Development
Author(s) -
Gastgeb Holly Zajac,
Strauss Mark S.,
Minshew Nancy J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00969.x
Subject(s) - autism , categorization , psychology , developmental psychology , developmental disorder , concept learning , cognitive psychology , philosophy , epistemology
This study examined the effect of exemplar typicality on reaction time and accuracy of categorization. High‐functioning children (age 9–12), adolescents (age 13–16), and adults with autism (age 17–48) and matched controls were tested in a category verification procedure. All groups showed improved processing throughout the lifespan for typical and somewhat typical category exemplars. However, individuals with autism responded more slowly than matched controls to atypical exemplars at all ages. The results are discussed in terms of potential differences in the type of processing that may be required for categorizing typical and atypical category exemplars. Parallels are also drawn to the results of previous studies on face processing in individuals with autism.