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An examination of perseverative errors and cognitive flexibility in autism.

ABSTRACT: Perseveration is a well-replicated finding in autism. The aim of this study was to examine how the context of the task influences performance with respect to this phenomenon. We randomly assigned 137 children aged 6-12 with and without autism to complete a modified card-sorting task under one of two conditions: Children were either told the sorting rules on each trial (Explicit), or were given feedback to formulate the rules themselves (Implicit). While performance was enhanced on the Explicit condition for participants without autism, the participants with autism were disadvantaged by this manipulation. In contrast, there were few differences in performance between groups on the Implicit condition. Exploratory analyses were used to examine this unexpected result; increased autism symptomology was associated with poorer performance.

SUBMITTER: Landry O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7806145 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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An examination of perseverative errors and cognitive flexibility in autism.

Landry Oriane O Mitchell Peter P

PloS one 20210113 1

Perseveration is a well-replicated finding in autism. The aim of this study was to examine how the context of the task influences performance with respect to this phenomenon. We randomly assigned 137 children aged 6-12 with and without autism to complete a modified card-sorting task under one of two conditions: Children were either told the sorting rules on each trial (Explicit), or were given feedback to formulate the rules themselves (Implicit). While performance was enhanced on the Explicit c ...[more]

PMID: 33439864

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