A developmental psychologist conducted a field experiment to evaluate the efficacy of two distinct social-cognitive interventions for primary school children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC).
Thirty children (aged 7–9 years), all with a clinical diagnosis of ASC, were recruited. Prior to the study, the psychologist assessed each child's social-cognitive ability using a standardized perspective-taking assessment score (ranging from 0 to 20) during a playground peer interaction.
The participants were randomly allocated to three groups, with 10 children in each group:
At the end of the 10 weeks, the psychologist reassessed all children using the same standardized perspective-taking tool. The post-intervention scores showed significant improvements in performance for both Group A and Group B, while the control group (Group C) showed no significant change.
Evaluate one of the active interventions for autism described in this study.
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Cognition and development with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 100 questions covering Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development, Baillargeon's early infant abilities, and Development of social cognition, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.