Self-referential memory in autism spectrum disorder and typical development: Exploring the ownership effect

Grisdale, Emma; Lind, Sophie E.; Eacott, Madeline J.; Williams, David M.

Abstract

Owned objects occupy a privileged cognitive processing status and are viewed almost as extensions of the self. It has been demonstrated that items over which a sense of ownership is felt will be better remembered than other items (an example of the “self-reference effect”). As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by an a typical self-concept, people with ASD may not demonstrate this “ownership effect”. Two experiments were conducted which replicate and extend Cunningham, Turk, MacDonald, and Macrae (2008). In Experiment 1, neurotypical adults completed a card sorting task and cards belonging to the ‘self’ were better remembered than cards belonging to another person. In Experiment 2, adults with ASD recalled self- and other owned items equally well. These results shed light both on the relation between sense of self and the ownership effect, and the nature of the self-concept in ASD.

Citation

Grisdale, E., Lind, S. E., Eacott, M. J., & Williams, D. M. (2014). Self-referential memory in autism spectrum disorder and typical development: Exploring the ownership effect. Consciousness and Cognition, 30, 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.08.023

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 31, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Oct 3, 2014
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Feb 3, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 3, 2016
• Journal: Consciousness and Cognition
• Print ISSN: 1053-8100
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Pages: 133-141
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.08.023
• Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Recognition memory, Ownership, Self-reference effect, Self-awareness.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1421276