Study on emergence of difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder using longitudinal design

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H05398
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Educational psychology
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Sanefuji Wakako 九州大学, 人間環境学研究院, 准教授 (60551752)
• Research Collaborator: KAYANUMA Aya
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 社会的認知 / 自閉症 / 縦断研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present study focused on the development of social cognition and its individual differences in young children. This study included the children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as typically developing children, and aimed to catch the emergence of difficulties of children with ASD. One of the main findings was the identification of the factors related to understanding of other’s minds. Concretely, through multiple studies, the understanding of psychological causality which represents people acting in everyday activities where tracking the protagonists’ mental states predicts subsequent understanding of others’ false beliefs. Such development of children with ASD is often delayed; one of the factors which explain this delay should be the narrower functional visual field of individuals with ASD.

Free Research Field

発達心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究を通して、幼児期に急速に発達していく他者の心の理解を直接予測する要因の一つを特定できたことに学術的意義がある。また、他者の行動に対する社会的な反応や他者の行動を模倣学習する基準についても発達的な観点から明らかにした。これらの知見は、自閉症スペクトラム障害を持つ幼児を見出だし、また、他者の心の理解に向けた支援を構築していく上で一石を投じるものであることに社会的な意義がある。