Executive functions in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Executive dysfunction is a characteristic impairment of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However whether such deficits are related to autism per se, or to associated intellectual disability is unclear. This paper examines executive functions in a group of children with ASD (N = 54, all IQ?70) in relation to a typically developing control group individually matched on the basis of age, gender, IQ and vocabulary. Significant impairments in the inhibition of prepotent responses (Stroop, Junior Hayling Test) and planning (Tower of London) were reported for children with ASD, with preserved performance for mental flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task) and generativity (Verbal Fluency). Atypical age-related patterns of performance were reported on tasks tapping response inhibition and self-monitoring for children with ASD compared to controls. The disparity between these and previous research findings are discussed. A multidimensional notion of executive functions is proposed, with difficulties in planning, the inhibition of prepotent responses and self-monitoring reflecting characteristic features of ASD that are independent of IQ and verbal ability, and relatively stable across the childhood years.     

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Studies in Philosophy and Education -     

Book reviews

Islam: a challenge for Christianity (Concilium 1994/3). Hans Kung & Jurgen Moltmann (Eds), 1994. London, Concilium; Maryknoll, SCM Press; London, Orbis Books. 163 pp., pb. £8.95, ISBN 0–334–030269.

Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims and Jews in the age of discovery. Bernard Lewis, 1995. New York, Oxford University Press. 101 pp., hb., $16.95, ISBN 0–19–509026–8.

Beyond Faith and Infidelity: the Sufi poetry and teachings of Mahmud Shabistari. L. Lewisohn, 1995. Richmond, Surrey, Curzon Press. 344 pp. pb. £14.99, 0–7007–0343–8.

The Prophet's Pulpit: Islamic preaching in contemporary Egypt. [Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies, 20]. Patrick Gaffney, 1994. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press. 367 pp., hb. £40.00, ISBN 0–520–08471–3, pb. £15.95, ISBN 0–520–08472–1.

Sufi and Scholar on the Desert Edge: Muhammad b. CA1i al‐Sanūsi and his Brotherhood. K. S. Vikor, 1995. London, Hurst & Co. 310 pp. hb. £37.50, ISBN 1 85065 218 X.

Children of Islam. Marie Parker‐Jenkins, 1995. Stoke‐on‐Trent, Trentham Books Ltd. 162 pp., £12.95, ISBN 1–85856 034 9.     

The Effects of Feature Identity in Operant Serial Feature-Negative Discriminations

The effects of feature identity in an operant serial feature-negative discrimination (F1 T1−, T1+) were examined in two experiments with rats. In Experiment 1, rats were trained with two operant serial feature-negative discriminations in which different operants were reinforced during two auditory target cues (T1 and T2). The features (F1 and F2) were two neutral cues (visual or auditory stimuli), two motivationally significant cues (flavored sucrose solutions, also used as the operant reinforcers), or one neutral and one motivationally significant cue. Experiment 1 showed that discrimination acquisition, transfer performance, and feature–target interval testing were facilitated with a flavored sucrose feature. Experiment 2 showed that flavored sucrose-alone presentations, more than flavored sucrose trained in a pseudodiscrimination (F1 T1+, T1+), shared several similarities with a standard flavored sucrose feature. The results suggest flavored sucrose rapidly acquires inhibitory properties, which facilitates operant serial feature-negative discrimination performance.     

Lack of sex differences with the Baldwin illusion

Responses of college students (16 men and 16 women) to the Baldwin illusion showed a significant effect for size of square but not for sex. Findings are consistent with those reported previously by Porac, Coren, Girgus, and Verde for adults and for the oldest group of children tested by Pressey and Wilson.     

Petitioning: Dress Congruence Versus Belief Congruence1

“Hip” and “straight” Es asked 240 passersby, who were also classified as “hip” or “straight”, to sign a petition. Each E received more signatures from S s of like dress only when the petition was neutral. There were no significant differences between the E s or S s for the two politically stronger petitions. It is proposed that dress congruence will override belief congruence only when the beliefs involved are of little significance to the S.     

Absence of binocular interaction between spatial and color attributes of visual stimuli

The hypothesis that induction of the McCollough effect (spatially selective color aftereffects) entails adaptation of monocularly driven detectors tuned to both spatial and color attributes of the visual stimulus was examined in four experiments. The McCollough effect could not be generated by displaying contour information to one eye and color information to the other eye during inspection, even in the absence of binocular rivalry. Nor was it possible to induce depth-specific color aftereffects following an inspection period during which random-dot stereograms were viewed, with crossed and uncrossed disparity seen in different colored light. Masking and aftereffect in the perception of stereoscopic depth were also nonselective to color; in both cases, perceptual distortion was controlled by stereospatial variables but not by the color relationship between the inspection and test stimuli. The results suggest that binocularly driven spatial detectors in human vision are insensitive to wavelength.