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Thinking in Pictures in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show an important sensory sensitivity (Crane et al., 2009), superior attention to detail (Mottron et al., 2006) and enhanced mental imagery abilities (Soulières et al., 2011). Moreover, some authors hypothesized that the use of mental imagery and visual strategies could partly explain the atypical performances of individuals with ASD (Kunda & Goel, 2011). Furthermore, according to personal reports, individuals with ASD would possess a specific visual cognitive style (Grandin, 2009).
Objectives:
The aim of this study is to assess the presence of a visual cognitive style in autistic individuals and to better characterize its manifestations. We also want to verify whether this visual cognitive style is related to the sensory atypicalities present in ASD.
Methods:
Participants: 39 adults with ASD participated in this study (age range 18 to 62, mean = 33.5, SD = 10.6). 104 comparison participants (age range 18 to 69, mean = 37.0, SD = 12.7) were also included. The two groups are matched on age (p = .184), education levels (p = .089) and gender (73.1 % of women in the control group, 71.8 % in the ASD group, p = .878).
Protocol: We used an online questionnaire containing 66 items:
- Attention to detail: 6 items from the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001).
- Mental imagery: 6 items concerning the colors, level of details, duration, level of abstraction, movements and manipulation of mental images.
- Cognitive styles: Participants indicated whether they use images only, words only or both images and words in seven different situations: recollection, problem solving, anticipation, decision making, planning, comprehension and memorization. Two open questions were also asked, for example: “Describe what comes to your mind when you hear the name of a city you've already been to”.
- Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP; Brown & Dunn, 2002): 42 items including sensory sensitivity.
Results:
Attention to detail (p < .001), the use of mental images (versus words) (p = .005) and the sensory sensitivity (p < .001) are significantly more important in participants with ASD than in controls. Moreover, there are correlations between the use of images, sensory sensitivity (rs = .37, p = .020) and attention to detail (rs = .35, p = .028) only in participants with ASD. In addition, mental images appear to be more persistent in participants with ASD than in controls (p = .052). Finally, qualitative analyses indicate that, when describing their experiences, controls tend to use the lexical field of memories, whereas participants with ASD tend to use the lexical field of perception.
Conclusions:
Our results support the existence of a visual cognitive style in ASD individuals with the frequent and persistent use of mental images. This visual cognitive style is related to the sensory atypicalities present in individuals with ASD. These results question the impact of this particular cognitive style on the daily life of these individuals, especially in terms of learning and attention.