Technical Manual For The ToMI SR Adult 11-11-2022

Technical Manual for the
Theory of Mind
Inventory
Self Report: Adult
(ToMI-SR-Adult)
Tiffany L. Hutchins, Patricia A. Prelock, & Laura Lewis
Theory of Mind Inventory, LLC © 2019
For Individual Use Only

Do not resell, copy, or share downloads
Do not remove copyright
For the right to obtain additional copies, purchase at
theoryofmindinventory.com
ToMI-SR-Adult [revised 11/11/22]
Tiffany Hutchins, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders
University of Vermont
Patricia A. Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Professor and Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Laura Foran Lewis, Ph.D., R.N.

Assistant Professor of Nursing
TECHNICAL MANUAL FOR THE

THEORY OF MIND INVENTORY:
SELF REPORT-ADULT (ToMI-SR-Adult)
Table of Contents
THE THEORY of MIND INVENTORY: Self Report – Adult (ToMI: SR-Adult) ................1
Rationale ............................................................................................................................1
Development ...................................................................................................................... 4
Content ...............................................................................................................................5
Overview and Uses ...........................................................................................................11
ADMINISTRATION, SCORING, & TYPES OF SCORES ................................................... 12
Administration .................................................................................................................12
Scoring ..............................................................................................................................13
Types of Scores .................................................................................................................14
TECHNICAL INFORMATION.................................................................................................15
Standardization Samples .................................................................................................15
Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation ...........................................................................18
The ToMI: SR-Adult as a Norm-Referenced Measure ................................................22
The ToMI: SR-Adult as a Criterion-Referenced Measure ..........................................23
Clinical Uses of the ToMI: SR-Adult .............................................................................24
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................46
APPENDICES: .............................................................................................................................51
Appendix A .......................................................................................................................51
Appendix B .......................................................................................................................52
THE THEORY OF MIND INVENTORY-SR-ADULT
(ToMI-SR-Adult)
Rationale
Research in theory of mind (ToM) has been extremely active over the last 50 years and a
wide variety of ToM tests have been developed. The earliest ToM assessments were direct
assessments of social cognition in the form of tests with ostensibly correct and incorrect answers.
Although these measures found much use in the laboratory and clinic, one prominent drawback
was the observation of ceiling effects, especially when mentalizing was relatively good (e.g.,
Slaughter & Repacholi, 2003). This led to the development of several ‘advanced’ ToM tests
(e.g., Baron-Cohen, Wheelright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001; Devine & Hughes, 2013; Happé,
1994; Kaland et al., 2002; Muris et al., 1999; White, Hill, Happé, Frith, 2009). For example, the
Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) was offered as an advanced
measure mind-reading that was sensitive to the implicit, non-linguistic aspects of ToM. The test
consists of a series of photographs of the eye-region of the face and respondents are asked to
choose one of four words that best describe what the person is thinking or feeling (e.g., terrified,
arrogant, upset, annoyed). Another well-known advanced measure is Happé’s (1994) Strange
Stories which consist of a series of short vignettes accompanied by illustrations. Respondents are
read a short story (e.g., about white lies, jokes, misunderstandings) and are asked questions
designed to assess their comprehension of the social scenario.
The development of these (and other) advanced ToM tests represent innovation in
assessment of social cognition but these tests are associated with their own set of limitations.
Chief among these, the explicit nature of laboratory-type ToM tasks is quite unlike the ways that
real life social dilemmas are presented (e.g., Hutchins, Prelock, & Bonazinga, 2012; Hutchins et
al., 2016). In fact, the notion that task performance can exceed social cognitive functioning when
1
it is applied in everyday life has been the topic of considerable concern (Astington, 2003; Davies
& Stone, 2003; Klin, Schultz, & Cohen, 2000). This raises important issues about the social
validity of ToM assessment and recently, there has been renewed interest in the utility of self-
report measures to complement existing measuring psychosocial characteristics in adults
representing a wide range of clinical conditions.
A unique aspect of the ToMI-SR-Adult is that items were designed to characterize how
autistic individuals experience perspective-taking opportunities, rather than relying on test
performance or what is observable to other informants. In validation studies of an earlier, parent-
informant version of the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI; Hutchins, Bonazinga, Prelock &
Taylor, 2008; Hutchins et al., 2012), typically developing (TD) samples evidenced ceiling effects
in late childhood but autistic individuals who were older and those with relatively good
mentalizing skills did not approach the ceiling. Subsequently, a similar pattern (i.e., no ceiling
effects) was observed for highly verbal autistic adolescents (Lerner, Hutchins, & Prelock, 2011)
suggesting that this tool might be appropriate for detecting even the most subtle theory of mind
challenges in older samples. More recently, the criterion-related validity of the Theory of Mind
Inventory-2nd Edition (ToMI-2) was evaluated as a self-report tool for autistic adults (Crehan,
Altoff, Riehl, Prelock, & Hutchins, 2019). They found that Advanced Subscale scores on the
ToMI-2 were positively correlated with self-reported social responsiveness and negatively
correlated with self-reported depressive symptoms. In addition, higher Advanced Subscale scores
were associated with more typical visual scan patterns in response to social stimuli: all of these
are theoretically-, empirically-, and clinically-relevant links that provide strong support for the
development and evaluation of a self-report for autistic adults as an indicator of advanced social
cognition.
2
Although self-report is being presently used to assess a variety of characteristics in ASD
(e.g., anxiety, depression, systemizing, internalizing), self-assessment of social cognition remains
a woefully understudied topic.
Still, research in this area is critical as more adults are seeking diagnostic evaluations,
resulting in a need for tools that are accessible in situations when parent-report cannot (or
will not) be available. Moreover, targeted and sensitive measurement of one’s own theory
of mind strengths and challenges would enable service providers to not only adapt social
skills supports and monitor treatment progress in an ecologically valid way, but may also
provide the ‘buy in’ from clients crucial to intervention success” (Crehan et al., 2019).
Of course, assessing one’s own ability to perspective-take is a potentially confounding
concept. “If you have less developed theory of mind, would you not rate yourself higher on a
theory of mind measure, as you would have limited insight in this area?” (Crehan et al., 2019). In
fact, persons with ASD evidence higher rates of alexithymia (i.e., an inability to describe one’s
own feelings), may experience difficulty with self-introspection, and are limited in their ability to
read the minds of others (i.e., which are all constructs that the ToMI-SR-Adult is intended to
asses). Nonetheless, self-insight into psychosocial functioning is also well documented
(Dritschel, Wisely, Goddard, Robinson, & Howlin, 2010; Schriber, Robins, & Solomon, 2014)
and those data are consistent with the preliminary psychometric data presented later in this
manual. Indeed, contemporary researchers and practitioners are now challenging the traditional
notion that autistic individuals lack awareness of their own social-cognitive difficulties. “By
recognizing self-report as a valid viewpoint, researchers and clinicians are gaining insight into
how people experience autism, rather than relying only on others’ accounts and observations”
(Yuhas, 2018, p. 2). Said another way, for some autistic persons ASD may contribute to
difficulties in self-insight, but autism does not preclude insight, awareness, and the ability to
self-report. The growing awareness of the validity and utility of understanding one’s own
experience with autism has led to shifts in research and practice. In the last decade “the question
3
has shifted from whether scientists should ask people with autism about themselves to how”
(Yuhas, 2018, p. 7). It appears that research is finally catching up with the impressions of so
many professionals working with people with ASD: people with autism are often the best judges
of their own experience (Yuhas, 2018).
In closing, we have argued that adults with social learning challenges can possess high
degrees of social awareness and are uniquely situated to report on their own ToM challenges.
Self-report also helps move us toward assessment of ToM that is socially valid, client-centered,
and relevant and meaningful in everyday life. Moreover, capitalizing on the insights gleaned
through self-report can help us begin a conversation with our clients about their perceived
strengths and challenges, their specific priorities for intervention, and their preferred treatment
strategies and supports.
Development
Our primary goal was to develop a content valid index of ToM that would be sensitive to
variation in a wide range of advanced ToM understandings: those that have traditionally been
neglected in formal assessments of social cognition and which represent the subtlest and
difficult-to-detect domains, especially among those with high cognitive and language abilities.
To this end, the original pilot version of the ToMI-SR-Adult was expansive. It consisted of 122
items designed to tap a wide range of advanced social cognitive understandings, the content of
which was guided by the immense theoretical and empirical research base in ToM in both TD
adolescents and adults and those with ASD. In addition, we included multiple items with slightly
different wording (e.g., episodic memory, affective empathy) so we could assess the best way to
ask the question. This resulted in some redundancy in the original pilot version of the measure.
To address this procedural need with our respondents, our instructions included language that
explained the reason for any redundancies in item content. In addition, the original pilot version
4
of the ToMI-SR-Adult offered respondents the opportunity to comment on any of the items and
many did so vis-à-vis the content, clarity, and relevance of items.
From the initial pool of 122 items, 60 were retained in the present version of the ToMI-
SR-Adult. These items were chosen on the basis of their psychometric properties and their ability
to tap the broadest content relevant to the construct of advanced ToM. Over a six-month period
during which data were being collected, test developers met to review the statistical properties of
each item as well as any comments from respondents so as to identify good and poor (or less
good) performing items. The 60 items ultimately retained were those that 1) demonstrated the
greatest mean difference between ASD and TD groups (as reported below, all were significantly
different at p < .001 with large effect sizes), 2) appeared to be clear, meaningful, and face valid
indicators on the basis of Cronbach’s alpha and respondents’ qualitative comments and, 3) best
contributed to the content coverage of the expansive construct that is advanced ToM as judged
by the expert developers.
Following the identification of the final 60 items, exploratory principle components
analysis was conducted to examine the dimensionality of the measure. No factors (subscales)
were identified using either Varimax or oblique rotation suggesting that the items tapped a
unitary construct (presumably advanced theory of mind).
Content
The 60 items comprising the ToMI-SR-Adult and the constructs they are intended to
assess are presented in Table 1. Each item takes the form of a statement (e.g., “If I had a friend
who was sad about something, I would feel sad myself”) and is accompanied by a 20-unit
continuum anchored by ‘definitely not’, ‘probably not’, ‘undecided’, ‘probably’, and ‘definitely.’
The respondent is asked to read a statement and draw a hash mark at the appropriate point along
the continuum. The continuum and hash mark response arrangement was favored over a more
5
traditional Likert-type scale for its ability to be sensitive to values between anchors and therefore
enhance precision. In addition, previous versions of the parent-informant version of the ToMI
employed this response arrangement and so it should be familiar to professionals. Still, the
response arrangement is not expected to be familiar to the adults who will be self-reporting and
confusion about how to respond can occur. For this reason, the instructions include examples to
make clear what is considered correct and incorrect forms of responding.
A formal analysis was conducted to determine the reading level of the ToMI-SR-Adult.
According to the Flesch-Kincaid readability index (Kincaid, Braby, & Mears, 1988), the ToMI-
SR-Adult received a score of 82.5 (scores range from 0-100 with higher scores indicating easier
reading) which is equivalent to a reading level of grade 5 which should be easily understood by
the adult population for which this measure is intended. This said, we adopt a more conservative
estimate and formally recommend that respondents have a reading level no less than the 8th
grade.
6
Table 1: Items and intended constructs for the ToMI-SR-Adult
ITEM CONSTRUCT
1. If I had a friend who was sad about something, I would feel sad myself. Affective Empathy
2. I understand that it is possible to experience two conflicting emotions at the same time Mixed Emotions
(e.g., being sad that a sick pet died but being happy that it is no longer in pain).
3. I can accurately judge the passage of time (e.g., I am good at knowing when 5 minutes, 30 Time Perception
minutes, or 2 hours has gone by).
4. I have rich memories for my own past experiences (when recalling something, I remember where Episodic Memory
I was, when something happened, who else was there, what I was thinking or feeling).
5. I understand the metaphor in the following sentence: “After many years of working at the jail, the Nonliteral Language: Metaphor
prison guard had become a hard rock that could not be moved”.
6. If I heard a waitress say to a coworker “Hey, the ham sandwich left me a big tip!”, I would Nonliteral Language: Metonymy
understand that the waitress was referring to a customer who had ordered a ham sandwich.
7. If I drove up to my friend’s house in a big car and my friend said “I didn’t know you were a bus Nonliteral Language: Metaphor
driver”, I would understand that my friend was commenting on the size of the car.
8. When I look at this image, I immediately see what looks like a person. Social Perception
9. A ‘double bluff’ is a type of deception where someone tries to deceive another person by actually Double Bluff
telling the truth. I understand what double bluff is and why people use it.
10. I understand why people often cling to mistaken beliefs despite overwhelming evidence to the Motivated Reasoning
contrary.
11. I understand that people can hold two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas or values at the same Hypocrisy
time (e.g., believing in fuel efficient cars but wanting a large fuel inefficient car).
12. I understand that people in a community share common notions that are considered obvious and Social Common Sense
known to all (e.g., people in our culture tend to assume that all children like sugary treats).
13. I understand how people make snap judgments about others based on very little information Stereotypical Thinking
(e.g., Justin knows Bradley is wealthy so Justin assumes Bradley is ‘out of touch’ and unable to
understand regular people).
14. I understand that when it comes to getting along with others, honesty is not always the best White Lie Appreciation
policy.
15. I understand how people use facial expressions to hide how they really feel (e.g., people can Display Rules
7
smile when they are sad and laugh when they feel embarrassed).
16. I can tell the difference between when a friend is teasing in a nice way and when a bully is Complex Social Judgment
making fun of someone in a mean way.
17. I can tell the difference between lies and jokes. Lies v. Jokes
18. Sometimes people do things deliberately and sometimes they make mistakes or do things by Intentionality
accident. I can tell when people do things on purpose or by accident.
19. People do certain things when they are not interested in talking to us (e.g., they might look away Complex Social Judgment
for a long time or start fidgeting). I can recognize when a listener is not interested in what I am
saying.
20. People do certain things when they are disgusted (e.g., they might squint their eyes, crinkle Emotion Recognition: Disgust
their nose, of slowly shake their head). I can recognize when others are disgusted.
21. I can put myself in other people’s shoes and understand how they feel. Empathy (cognitive and affective)
22. When I hear jokes like “What is black, white, and read all over? It’s a newspaper!” or “The duck Humor: Play on Words
said to the bartender, ‘put it on my bill’”, I immediately understand the humor in this play on words.
23. I am good at getting the jokes that other people tell. Humor Appreciation
24. I speak differently to young children compared to adults (e.g., I use simpler language when Audience Adaptation
speaking to youngsters).
25. People do certain things when they are sad (e.g., they might look downward, have a frown, or Emotion Recognition: Sad
talk in a soft voice). I can recognize when others are sad.
26. People do certain things when they are scared (e.g., they might raise their eyebrows, lean Emotion Recognition: Scared
backwards, or talk in a high-pitched voice). I can recognize when others are scared.
27. People do certain things when they are surprised (e.g., they might open their eyes very wide or Emotion Recognition: Surprise
open their mouths really wide). I can recognize when others are surprised.
28. I understand the kinds of situations that would make someone feel embarrassed. Situation-based Emotion:
Embarrassed
29. I can accurately identify and reflect on my own emotions (that is, I know what I am feeling and Introspection: Emotion
why I am feeling it).
30. I can predict my own emotions to better plan for the future (e.g., if going on a long car ride, I Future Thinking
know that I might get bored so I might bring something to do in the car).
31. I understand the kinds of situations that would make someone feel proud Situation-based Emotion: Pride
32. I can predict people’s emotions based on the situation they are in. Situation-based Emotion
33. I am good at planning for the future. Future Thinking
34. I can predict how my words and actions will be interpreted by others Social Awareness
8
35. I can read other people’s body language to tell how they feel (e.g., feeling happy, sad, mad, or Social Perception: Body Language
scared).
36. I have good eye contact when I am talking to people. Eye contact
37. I understand how people can move their bodies to mislead others (e.g., someone who ‘walks tall’ Display Rules
to hide a lack of confidence).
38. I can read the tone of other people’s voices to tell how they feel (e.g., I can tell when others are Social Perception: Voices
excited, angry, or bored).
39. I can read people to tell if they like me or not. Social Perception: Affinity
40. I understand the kinds of situations that would make someone feel jealous. Situation-based Emotion: Jealousy
41. I can tell when others are being insincere. Lie detection
42. I can not only remember but also re-experience or relive an earlier experience (e.g., when Episodic Memory
thinking of a birthday party, I can re-experience the sights, smells, or sounds).
43. I feel sad or bad when I think about others who experience misfortune. Sympathy
44. I understand the kinds of situations that would make a person feel two different emotions at the Emotion Blends
same time (e.g., being mad and sad at the same time or being happy and excited at the same time).
45. I understand verbal irony. For example, if it were raining and someone said “Looks like a really Nonliteral Language: Verbal Irony
nice day outside”, I would understand that they didn’t actually think it was a nice day.
46. I understand my own actions (that is, I know what I am doing and why I am doing it). Introspection: Action
47. I understand my own desires (that is, I know what I want and why I want it). Introspection: Desire
48. I understand my own plans and goals for the future (that is, I know what I will do and why I will Introspection: Planning
do it).
49. If I were watching a movie with a friend, I could predict what my friend was thinking and Cognitive Empathy
feeling in response to the movie.
50. I am good at explaining my feelings. Emotional Intelligence
51. I can imagine myself in the future and see what I am doing, thinking, and feeling. Future Thinking
52. When I look at people’s faces, I tend to look at their eyes because the eyes give me good Social Perception: Reading Eyes
information about what someone is thinking or feeling.
53. I am good at picking up on other people’s moods without having to think about it. Social Perception: Mood
54. I am good at predicting events in terms of whether they are likely or unlikely to actually occur. Prognostication
55. I understand the metaphors people use (e.g., “That man is a lion” or calling a puddle of oil a Non-literal Language: Metaphor
“dead rainbow”).
9
56. I am socially aware (that is, I am aware of and understand the social features of the situation I Social Awareness
am in).
57. I can shift a topic of conversation with skill. Expressive Pragmatics:

Conversation
58. When I recount stories, I talk about people’s thoughts and feelings to explain their actions. Expressive Pragmatics: Narrative
Construction
59. I understand proverbs even if they are unfamiliar to me (e.g., “Envy is destroyed by true Nonliteral Language: Proverbs
friendship”).
60. I am good at beginning and ending conversations. Expressive Pragmatics:
Conversation
10
Overview and Uses
The ToMI-SR-Adult is intended as a measure of advanced ToM. Because it is an
informant measure, it does not suffer from test-practice effects and may be useful as a pre- and
post-test assessment. It may also be used as a criterion for matching in research, in the context of
intervention studies to assess the effects of a social skills intervention, or as a tool for the
development of individualized treatment and progress monitoring.
Because deficits in ToM represent a universal characteristic of ASD, an important use of
the ToMI-SR-Adult is to aid in the screening and identification of ASD and data for the
measure’s sensitivity and specificity are offered in the Reliability and Validity sections of this
manual. The ToMI-SR-Adult may be particularly useful in the screening and identification of
ASD among adults who present with the most advanced cognitive and language skills and who
may not be identified using other measures. Indeed, it has long been recognized that individuals
previously diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and ‘high functioning’ autism often perform at
ceiling levels on tests – even advanced tests - of ToM performance even though demonstrable
ToM deficits are revealed in day-to-day functioning. This led several researchers to conclude that
‘high functioning’ individuals with ASD may develop compensatory strategies to ‘hack’ through
explicitly stated ToM problems using a nonmentalistic strategy (e.g., Happé, 1995) thus posing a
serious challenge to the validity of measures of direct performance when administered to those
populations.
It is important to note that the ToMI-SR-Adult may be used as part of a larger assessment
battery in the identification of psychiatric and developmental disorders, other than ASD, that can
be associated with impairments in theory of mind. Support for the presence of ToM impairment
has been offered for conditions such as sensory loss (i.e., deaf and hard of hearing and blindness;
Peterson, Peterson, & Webb, 2000; Stanzione & Schick, 2014), attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (Buhler, Bachmann, Goyert, Heinzel-Gutenbrunner, & Kamp-Becker, 2011; Buitelaar,
Van der wees, Swaab-Barnveveld, & Jan Van der gaag, 1999; Perner, Kain, & Barchfeld, 2002;
Uekermann, et al., 2010), fetal alcohol syndrome (GreenBaum, Stevens, Nash, Korean, & Rovet,
2009), fragile X syndrome (Cornish, Burack, Rahman, Russo, & Grant, 2005; Grant, Apperly, &
Oliver, 2007), specific language impairment (SLI; Nilsson & de Lopez, 2016), learning disability
(Ashcroft, Jervis, & Roberts, 1999), dyslexia (Egilsdottir, 2015), intellectual disability
(Abbeduto, Short-Meyerson, Benson, & Dolish, 2004), schizophrenia (Hans, Auerbach, Styr, &
11
Marcus, 2004), traumatic brain injury (Channon & Crawford, 2010; Martin-Rodriquez & Leon-
Carrion, 2010; McDonald, 2013), and Parkinson’s disease (Freedman & Stuss, 2011). To the
degree that there are broad commonalities in ToM impairments across clinical conditions (and in
light of the fact that it is intended as a broadband assessment of social cognition), the ToMI-SR-
Adult is not appropriate as a tool for differential diagnosis. On the other hand, some research
suggests the presence of syndrome-specific ToM deficiencies and proficiencies (e.g., Buhler et
al., 2011; Cornish et al., 2005; Perner et al., 2002). Because the ToMI-SR-Adult taps a wide
range of ToM understandings, there is a potential for its use for differential diagnosis in the
future as more information accrues to inform the questions as to whether there are unique ToM
profiles associated with specific clinical populations. The ToMI-SR-Adult is designed to tap a
wide range of ToM competencies; thus, it may be particularly helpful for identifying areas of
strength and weakness in an individual’s social-cognitive profile and developmentally
appropriate targets for treatment.
ADMINISTRATION, SCORING, & TYPES OF SCORES
Administration
The ToMI-SR-Adult is intended for adults with good language and reading ability
(minimum 8th grade level) who are at risk for social learning challenges. It was developed on
adults (18 years +) who were either native English-speaking or who were bilingual but fluent in
English. The ToMI-SR-Adult should not be administered to persons who are not fluent English
speakers.
The ToMI-SR-Adult can be completed via a paper or pencil version of the test or can be
administered electronically (via email from a subscription at theoryofmindinventory.com). In
either case, general instructions include the following. The ToMI-SR-Adult should be completed
in a quiet, well-lit, and comfortable environment. Respondents may be informed that this test is
used to assess their ideas about their own thoughts and reasoning. Respondents should then be
asked to read the instructions in their entirety and to pay close attention to the examples of
correct and incorrect response strategies. Our experience suggests that respondents sometimes
circle an anchor or place an ‘X’ at some point along the continuum; however, this will introduce
error and complicate scoring and interpretation. For this reason, it is important for respondents to
carefully read the instructions and to understand the importance of making a single hash mark
that intersects the continuum at the point that best reflects their attitude. Test administrators
12
should avoid answering questions about the content of the test. In our experience, questions
rarely arise but when they do, variability in administrators’ responses has the potential to
introduce error. For this reason, we recommend that respondents be directed to “interpret the
question the best you can and try to give your most general answer using everything you know
about yourself”. The ToMI-SR-Adult should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
Hand Scoring for Paper Version. Each of the 60 items comprising the ToMI-SR-Adult
for the paper/pencil version of the test is scored using the ruler that appears on the final page of
the measure. The 20-centimeter ruler yields possible scores for each item that range from 0 – 20
with higher values reflecting greater degrees of confidence that a target child possesses a
particular ToM understanding. An example of correct responding (i.e., drawing a vertical
hashmark that intersects the continuum) is given below. Whether the hashmark is slanted or
perpendicular to the continuum is irrelevant and in both cases the item is scored by measuring
the precise point of intersection as shown below.
Definitely Probably Undecided Probably Definitely

Not Not
Ruler measurement = 16.2
To enhance precision, rounding to full integers is discouraged and each item should be
scored to one decimal place (e.g., a score of 16.2 is preferable to a rounded score of 16). Hand
scoring using the ruler takes approximately five minutes.
Online Administration and Report Generation. ToMI-SR-Adult users have the option
to send an invitation to a client who can complete the measure entirely online. To access this
feature, users visit www.theoryofmindinventory.com, link to the dashboard, and click on the
option that reads “Send an Assessment”. Users are then taken to a webpage where they enter
their name and email as well as the client’s email and a “Unique Client Identifier”. This web-
based administration feature is also entirely HIPAA compliant. At no time are personal
identifiers (e.g., electronic identifiers such as email address and urls) linked to administration,
scoring, or report generation. Only the unique client identifier that the user enters into the
“Unique Client Identifier” field will be linked to the record. In other words, all ToMI-SR-
13
Adult records are as HIPAA compliant as you make them! Once these fields are complete (and
assuming all emails are valid), the user clicks on “Send” and the caregiver is sent an invitation
(that notes the name of the person who sent the invitation) to complete an electronic version of
the ToMI-SR-Adult. The electronic version of the ToMI-SR-Adult is identical in content, page
layout, and hashmark method of responding. If the caregiver accepts the invitation, s/he is taken
to a website where s/he indicates the gender and age of the child (again, this is HIPAA compliant
and caregivers can only enter age in number of years and months which is all that is necessary to
generate ToMI-2 norms that make use of 6-month intervals). The caregiver is also informed that
the results of the assessment will be sent directly (and only) to “the referring professional”. The
professional who generates the invitation is informed when the ToMI-SR-Adult is completed by
the client at which point the ToMI-SR-Adult is automatically scored and the full report is
delivered to the referring professional. If a client has not completed the ToMI-SR-Adult
following an invitation to do so, users can visit the dashboard, click on the “resend email to
client” icon [ ] that appears in the line for that client, and resend the invitation. If a client email
has changed or was initially entered incorrectly, users can also click on the “link to assessment”
icon [ ] to go directly to the web page for that assessment. Users can then forward this link (or
cut and paste the URL into a browser) in order to send the link to the client’s correct email
address. Finally, if the clinician simply prefers to recoup the measure, s/he has the option of
clicking the “trashcan” icon [ ]. By doing so, the assessment that had been sent to that client
will no longer be available and the professional will regain that assessment for subsequent use
(i.e., users will see the number of assessments that appear on the dashboard under “ToMI
Subscriptions” increase by one).
Types of Scores
Raw scores. The ToMI-SR-Adult yields raw scores and percentile ranks. Raw scores are
typically regarded as useful insofar as they can be converted to derived scores (McCauley,
2001); however, raw scores may also be useful for developing qualitative impressions of intra-
cognitive differences related to ToM for any given individual. To this end, a Raw Score
Summary Sheet is provided in Appendix A to assist clinicians and their clients in the
identification of social cognitive strength and challenge areas and the prioritization of treatment
targets.
14
Percentile ranks. Percentile ranks are a type of ordinal-level norm-referenced score.
Percentile ranks are popular, relatively easy to interpret, and reflect the percent of individuals in
the normative sample whose scores fall at or below a given score (McCauley, 2001). In the
development of percentiles, it is important to note that the nature of the percentile ranks is
ultimately determined by the nature of the underlying distribution of scores. There is
heterogeneity in item performance even among items designed to tap the most advanced,
complex aspects of social cognition. For this reason, we expect variability in skewness across
items: some items will be positively skewed (especially for the ASD sample), some will be more
negatively skewed (especially for the TD sample) and some will have more normal distributions.
To the degree that distributions are skewed, scores will evidence uneven compression at the high
or low range. This means that “very small shifts in raw scores can sometimes produce large
shifts in percentile scores” (Fenson et al., 2007, p. 33). For example, a 2-point difference around
the modal score of a distribution will translate into a relatively large change in percentile rank
while a 2-point difference in the range of extreme scores will translate into a very small change
in percentile rank. In a related vein, it is sometimes true that raw data correspond to a range of
percentile rankings (e.g., a raw score of 9.4 may correspond to a range between the 1st and the 7th
percentiles). When these situations occur, a conservative approach may be to use the larger value
and assume higher ToM competence. Another approach is to interpolate a single value by simply
determining the midpoint of the range (e.g., 4th percentile as it is half way between the 1st and the
7th percentile). For the sake of accuracy, we suggest that the range and the midpoint of percentile
ranks be reported when they occur; however, there may be clinical or research purposes that
preclude this approach and this must be left to users to determine.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Standardization Sample
An international sample of 300 self-identified fluent English speakers (111 with known
or suspected ASD and 189 without ASD) completed the ToMI-SR-Adult online. The online
version of the measure was identical to the paper version of the measure in content and format.
Only participants who reported that they were fluent speakers of English were permitted to
advance to the questions comprising the ToMI-SR-Adult measure. From the total sample (n =
300), 80 cases were systematically removed to create ASD and TD groups matched on sex
assigned at birth and socioeconomic status (assessed via reports of gross annual combined
15
household income). This is important as both female gender (particularly with regard to the
advanced social cognitive abilities of TD samples; Baron-Cohen, 2009; Bosacki, 2000; Devine &
Hughes, 2013) and higher SES (Cutting & Dunn, 1999; Hughes et al., 2005; Pears & Moses,
2003) are positively associated with theory of mind development.
ASD Sample. The ASD group was 111 adults (56 males ages 18 – 72, M = 31.68, SD =
13.50; 55 female ages 18 – 72, M = 34.84, SD = 13.90) from nine countries/regions (see Table
2). Because gender identity is related to the development of self-concept and is theoretically
linked to theory of mind development, the breakdown of cases in which sex at birth and gender
identification diverged in ASD and TD groups is also provided in Table 3. Analyses conducted
on female sex were subsequently conducted. No difference was observed in total ToMI-SR-
Adult scores between those who were female sex at birth and identified as female in adulthood
and those who were female sex at birth and identified as male (or unsure/questioning or agender)
in adulthood (p = .31). To be included in the ASD group, respondents had to report that they had
a formal diagnosis or suspicion of autism. A breakdown of how respondents in the ASD group
evaluated themselves in this regard is presented in Table 4. A one-way ANOVA was conducted
to explore whether the composite ToMI-SR-Adult score varied by the four methods of
evaluation. Results revealed no significant differences (omnibus and post-hoc comparisons were
equal to or exceeded p > .26).
Although specific and reliable estimates are notoriously difficult to obtain, the prevalence
of complex clinical comorbidity is well-documented with individuals with ASD often meeting
criteria for at least one additional psychiatric disorder and (e.g., Mosner et al., 2019; Rosen,
Mazefsky, Vasa, & Lerner, 2018). For these reasons, we expected to find high rates of
psychiatric comorbidity in our sample and we did not attempt to match the TD group on this
basis. Rather, our goal was to describe the major classes of co-occurring conditions in our
sample and to explore whether such conditions were associated with differences in the ToMI-
SR-Adult scores. Conditions were reported representing five categories (ADHD, speech-
language disorder, intellectual disability, developmental delay, hearing impairment) of known or
suspected concomitant disorders. These data are presented in Table 5. A series of one-way
ANOVAs comparing those with and without each co-occurring condition revealed no significant
differences (all comparisons p > .33).
16
As noted previously, ASD and TD groups were distribution matched on SES (p = .39).
For the ASD group, SES (“combined annual household income before taxes”) ranged from $0.00
- $750,000.00 (M = $66,449.00; SD = $74,210.00). Education ranged from ‘some high school’ to
‘post graduate degree’ (M years of education completed = 17.70; SD = 1.98 which is equivalent
to the level of bachelor’s degree). Data for urban, rural, and suburban living are presented in
Table 6.
TD Sample. The TD group was 109 adults (54 males ages 21 – 85, M = 46.37, SD =
18.55; 55 females ages 18 – 78, M = 33.09, SD = 14.14) from five countries/regions (see Table
2). As noted previously, ASD and TD groups were distribution matched on SES (p = .39). For
the TD group, SES (“combined annual household income before taxes”) ranged from $0.00 -
$320,000.00 (M = $96,548.50; SD = 37,222.00). Education ranged from ‘some high school’ to
‘post graduate degree’ (M years of education completed = 19.21; SD = 1.99). Finally, data for
urban, rural, and suburban living by group are presented in Table 6.
Table 2: ASD and TD sample demographic characteristics (frequency and percent):

Country/region of residence
ASD Sample; N = 111 TD Sample; N = 109
Country/Region of Frequency % Frequency %

Residence
Arab Countries 0 0 1 .9
Asia/Pacific Islands 1 .9 1 .9
Australia, New 11 9.9 2 1.8
Zealand, New Guinea
Canada 4 3.6 0 0
Caribbean 0 0 1 .9
Europe (not UK) 11 9.9 0 0
Middle East 1 .9 0 0
Nordic or 2 1.8 0 0
Scandinavian
Countries
South America 1 .9 0 0
United Kingdom 12 10.8 6 5.5
United States 68 61.3 98 89.9
Breakdown by region: Breakdown by region:
Midwest: 11 (9.9%) Midwest: 8 (7.3%)
Northeast: 28 (25.2%) Northeast: 78 (71.6%)
Northwest: 11 (9.9%) Northwest: 5 (4.6%)
Southeast: 8 (7.2%) Southeast: 3 (2.8%)
Southwest: 10 (9%) Southwest: 4 (3.7%)
Table 3: Convergence and divergence of sex at birth and gender identity in adulthood in ASD
and TD groups
ASD; N = 111 TD Sample; N = 109

Gender Identity/Sex at Birth Frequency % Frequency %
Male sex at birth and female gender identity, 3/56 5.4 0/54 0
unsure/questioning, or agender in adulthood
17
Male sex at birth and male gender identity in 53/56 94.6 54/54 100
adulthood
Female sex at birth and male gender identity, 20/55 36.4 2/55 3.6
unsure/questioning, or agender in adulthood
Female sex at birth and female gender identity in 35/55 63.6 53/55 96.3
adulthood
Table 4: ASD reported evaluation method for presence of ASD
ASD; N = 111
How Evaluated Frequency %
I am self-diagnosed 15 13.5
I have received a formal diagnosis 63 56.8
General practitioner or mental health professional believes I have ASD but 22 19.8
I have not been formally assessed
Suspect I may be autistic but would not characterize myself as ‘self- 11 9.9
diagnosed’ at this time
Table 5: ASD and TD sample reported (known or suspected) clinical conditions
ASD Sample; N = 111 TD Sample; N = 109
Concomitant Conditions Frequency % Frequency %

(known or suspected)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity 32 28.8 6 5.5
Disorder (ADHD)
Speech Language Disorder 24 21.6 5 4.6
Intellectual Disability 50 45.0 12 11.0
Developmental Delay 25 22.5 0 0
Hearing Impairment 13 11.7 12 11.0
Other problem 47 42.3 17 15.6
Table 6: ASD and TD sample demographic characteristics: Urban/rural/suburban living
ASD; N = 111 TD; N = 109
Urban/Rural Living Frequency % Frequency %

Urban 22 33.3 46 42.2
Rural 37 19.8 25 22.9
Suburban 52 46.8 38 34.9
Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation
The data reported here represent our initial attempt to develop a reliable and construct
valid measure of advanced social cognition for adults at risk of poor theory of mind
development. As such, only preliminary analyses based on the data available from the
standardization sample are reported here. Given the encouraging results described below for
reliability, validity, and accuracy of classification, further examinations of reliability and validity
are justified and are currently underway.
Reliability. Reliability refers to the characteristics of dependability of measurement and
is seen as a necessary, but not sufficient criterion for validity (McCauley, 2001). Reliability of
18
the ToMI was examined by first looking at the measure’s internal consistency—a measure of
homogeneity of content. When internal consistency is high, this is generally taken as evidence
that the items on a measure tap a unitary construct (in this case, ToM). Cronbach’s alpha was
conducted on the combined (ASD and TD) group resulting in a value of .98. Alpha was not
improved by removing any items, suggesting that all were contributing to the assessment of a
unitary construct. When the groups were examined separately, the ASD group evidenced an
alpha of .97 and the TD group evidenced an alpha of .95, again indicating a high degree of
internal consistency or homogeneity of content. No other forms of reliability were assessed in the
initial phase of development but are needed to more fully evaluate the utility of the measure.
Specifically, test-retest reliability should be conducted to ensure the temporal stability of
responses.
Validity. Construct validity refers to the extent to which a measure actually measures
what it intends to measure. No measure actually possesses validity. Rather, we ask whether a test
is valid for a particular purpose and use. Validity is also not all or none: it is a relative and
contextual judgment based on the accumulation of evidence and it is the most fundamental
considering in the development and evaluation of tests and measures. Below, we describe our
initial impressions of the construct validity of the ToMI-SR-Adult which, at present, includes a
discussion of content validity, contrasting-groups validity, and accuracy of classification.
Additional tests of convergent and criterion-related validity are currently underway.
Content validity. Typically, the first step in establishing validity is logical and
theoretical as opposed to statistical (McCauley, 2001). Content validity refers to the degree to
which items on a measure adequately tap the construct of interest while avoiding irrelevant
content (McCauley, 2001). The content validity of the ToMI-SR-Adult was carefully considered
during the item development phase and in the item-revision of the original 122-item version of
the adult form (described earlier in this manual). The developers of the ToMI-SR-Adult who
collaborated on item development and revision were all experts in ASD, theory of mind, and the
assessment of social cognition in ASD.
Contrasting-groups validity. The psychometric properties of the ToMI-SR-Adult for
validity employed a contrasting-groups method of construct validation. Specifically, we reasoned
that a construct valid measure of advanced ToM competence should distinguish ASD and TD
groups. A total of 61 independent samples t-tests were conducted to examine group differences
19
at the composite and all item-level scores. Results for all comparisons resulted in significant
between-group differences for all 61 comparisons at p < .001. Moreover, effect size estimates
using Cohen’s d ranged from 0.60 to 1.86 (mean = 1.11; median = 1.06) which are medium to
very large.
In addition, we expected a construct valid measure of advanced social cognition to be
sensitive to a female advantage in social cognition that has been documented in TD samples in
several (but not all) late-developing domains relevant to the construct of theory of mind. In line
with this expectation, a significant difference was found for the composite score for the TD
sample such that females (M = 17.75; SD = 1.45) obtained higher scores than did males (M =
16.41: SD = 2.00), t (107) = 3.99, p < .01. No female advantage was observed for the ASD
sample with females (M = 11.93; SD = 3.35) and males (M = 11.72; SD = 3.42) obtaining similar
scores, p = .71.
Accuracy of Classification. The data sets described above were used to calculate
sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive validity, negative predictive validity, and overall
accuracy. The data used in these analyses were drawn from the samples described above.
Sensitivity. Sensitivity refers to the correct detection rate or the ability of a test to give a
positive result when the person being assessed truly does have the disorder (McCauley, 2001).
Our data reveal that 92.72% of females with known or suspected ASD were captured by the
ToMI-SR-Adult when composite scores fell below a cut score of 16.50 when compared to a TD
normative sample. Similarly, 82.14% of males with known or suspected ASD were captured by
the ToMI-SR Adult when composite scores fell below a cut score of 15.00 when compared to a
TD normative sample.
Specificity. Specificity refers to correct rejection rate or the ability of a test to give a
negative result when the person being assessed truly does not have the disorder (McCauley,
2001). Analyses for specificity revealed that 81.81% of TD females were correctly rejected by
the ToMI when composite scores were greater than or equal to a cut score of 16.50 and 79.63%
of TD males were correctly rejected using a cut-score of 15.00. It is important to keep in mind,
however, that this analysis was performed to explore accuracy for classifying persons already
identified as TD or having a diagnosis (or suspected diagnosis) of ASD. As stated previously, the
ToMI-SR-Adult is not intended as a tool for differential diagnosis and persons who are at risk for
20
poor ToM development may obtain scores that fall below the specified cut scores due to
conditions other than ASD.
Positive and negative predictive validity. Positive predictive validity is the probability
that the condition is present when the test is positive. Positive predictive validity was 83.61% for
females and 80.70% for males. Negative predictive validity is the probability that the condition is
not present when the test is negative. Negative predictive validity was 91.84% for females and
81.13% for males.
Overall accuracy. The overall accuracy of the ToMI-SR-Adult for identification of ASD
using a cut score of 16.50 for females (equivalent to approximately the 18th percentile for TD
females) and 15.00 for males (equivalent to the 21st percentile for TD males) was 87.27% and
80.90%, respectively. The Rows by Column contingency table for sensitivity, specificity,
positive predictive validity, negative predictive validity, and overall accuracy are represented in
Tables 7 and 8 below for females and males respectively.
Table 7: Rows by Column contingency table for accuracy of classification for females.
Diagnosis (or suspected Sensitivity = 92.72%

Females diagnosis) Specificity = 81.81%
Positive predictive validity = 83.61%
of ASD Negative predictive validity = 91.84%
Overall accuracy: = 87.27%
Yes No
ToMI-SR-Adult
cut score = 16.5 Yes 51 10
No 4 45
Table 8: Rows by Column contingency table for accuracy of classification for males.
Sensitivity = 82.14%
Diagnosis (or suspected Specificity = 79.63%
Males diagnosis) Positive predictive validity = 80.70%
Negative predictive validity = 81.13%
of ASD Overall accuracy: = 80.90%
Yes No
ToMI-SR-Adult
cut score = 15.0 Yes 46 11
No 10 43
21
Receiver Operating Characteristics
We also examined receiver operating characteristics and area under the curve
(ROC/AUC) to explore the ToMI-SR-Adult’s effectiveness for detecting autism. The ROC/AUC
curve “is a measure of the overall performance of a diagnostic test and is interpreted as the
average value of sensitivity of all possible values of specificity” (Park, Goo, & Jo, 2004, p. 13).
The ROC/AUC curve and associated statistics are presented in Figure 1 below. The ToMI-SR-
Adult achieved a value of 0.95 for females and 0.89 for males. The ToMI-SR-Adult achieved an
overall value of 0.92 which is considered excellent (Compton, Fuchs, Fuchs, & Bryant, 2006).
Figure 1: ROC curve for females (blue) and males (red).
The ToMI-SR-Adult as a Norm-Referenced Measure
The ToMI-SR-Adult can be used as a norm-referenced measure and a description of the
types of normative scores available was presented in the Scoring section of this manual. For
those who wish to apply descriptive labels to a normative score, a figure identifying our
preferred labels for characterizing normative scores in different ranges is presented in the
Appendix B.
ToMI-SR-Adult Descriptive Statistics for Content
Composite and item descriptive statistics by group (TD, ASD) and sex. Notably,
many autistic individuals identify as agender, transgender, or a gender different from sex
assigned at birth. For the purposes of this analysis, sex assigned at birth was used for group
analysis rather than gender identity. Box and whisker plots for the composite score and each
22
item depicting the median, quartiles, and statistical outliers are presented in Appendix C for the
following groups: ASD females, ASD males, TD females, TD males. The thick line in the
middle is the median. The top and bottom box lines show the first and third quartiles. The
whiskers show the maximum and minimum values, with the exceptions of outliers (circles)
and extremes (asterisks). Outliers are at least 1.5 box lengths from the median and extremes are
at least three box lengths from the median.
Composite and item norms by group (TD, ASD) and sex. The norms tables for the
composite and items scores are presented in the accompanying Norms Tables document. As
noted above, due to skew in the data (and skew varies by item), many items will evidence
uneven distributions of percentiles across raw score intervals (e.g., a score of 16 and a score of
19 can both be associated with the 95th percentile).
The ToMI-SR-Adult as a Criterion-Referenced Measure
Of course, norm-referenced measures may be expressed and employed as criterion-
referenced measures. Conversely, all criterion-referenced measures are ultimately rooted in some
index of normative performance on the test (McCauley, 2001). That is, cut-scores (often initially
determined arbitrarily) are typically adjusted to maximize their ability to make correct decisions.
For example, a cut-score of 90% on a driver’s license exam is likely to be adjusted downward
when it results in too few good drivers passing the test. Similarly, a cut-score of 50% will be
adjusted upwards when it results in oodles of reckless drivers lawfully obtaining their driving
privileges. Our recommendations for cut-scores for identifying individuals at risk for poor
advanced ToM were developed using the standardization sample and follow from the sensitivity
and specificity analyses (described above) for identifying the score associated with the highest
rate of accuracy for classification.
One good way to find a good cut score is to examine score distributions visually. Below
are histograms comparing ASD and TD groups are presented separately for males and females
(see Figures 2 and 3). Based on the visual inspection of score distributions and the accuracy of
classification data we determined that the best cut score (resulting in the maximum number of
correct decisions) was a composite score of 15 for males and 16.5 for females.
23
Figure 2: Histograms representing total composite ToMI-SR-Adult scores for females.
Figure 2: Histograms representing total composite ToMI-SR-Adult scores for males.
Clinical Uses of the ToMI-SR-Adult
A primary goal of the ToMI-SR-Adult is to aid in the identification of social cognitive
challenges among adults with good language, intellectual, and reading abilities. Another goal
involves using the measure to begin a conversation with clients about their perceived theory of
mind strengths and challenges, their subjective experiences with a variety of advanced social
cognitive domains, and their priorities for intervention. Recall, the Raw Score Summary Sheet
(Appendix A) can facilitate this effort. After hand scoring (see final page of the ToMI-SR-Adult
24
for instructions), we recommend completing the Raw Score Summary Sheet by marking the
location of the raw score for each item. Once plotted, relative strength and challenges areas - and
their relation to scores for the typically developing sample - are easy to visualize. Recall also,
that in the development of this measure, we asked respondents to not only quantitatively rate
their abilities but to provide optional comments on each item. Comments were used to further
refine survey content but they also revealed several noteworthy observations. First, as noted in
this manual’s introduction, self-report for one’s own ability to perspective-take is a potentially
confounding concept. Yet, in line with their quantitative group data, the majority of respondents
who provided comment revealed that they perceived substantive problems and they were able to
describe the quality of their experiences. Second, wide variability was observed in the specific
areas were deemed strengths or weaknesses (e.g., some reported strength in one item, where
another reported challenges). Third, when autistic adults agreed that they experienced problems
in a particular area, reports of their qualitative experiences indicated both similarities and
differences across respondents. In short then, it appears that the autistic adults comprising this
sample were highly aware of, and had much insight into, their own theory of mind challenges.
That said, there is no contradiction in noting that we also believe that there are some individuals
who will lack sufficient awareness of their challenges: this lack of awareness itself is expected to
manifest as part of the autism spectrum. When this is the case, the ToMI-SR-Adult will not be a
valid assessment as it relies on the accuracy of respondent’s subjective appraisals. What the
present data suggest is that in our sample of autistic adults with good language and intellectual
abilities, self-insight involving theory of mind was impressive.
Many of the aforementioned respondents’ comments are provided below (see Table 9).
Responses are written verbatim except in cases where a few words were changed to improve
clarity. We also corrected spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. A range of comments were
chosen for inclusion here. Our priority for inclusion was that the comments contributed to a more
comprehensive portrait vis-à-vis the variably in the subjective experiences of our respondents.
25
Table 9: A representative sample of qualitative responses from autistic adults.
ITEM CONSTRUCT EXAMPLES
1. If I had a friend who was sad Affective “I wouldn’t know how to feel. I would also struggle to predict how I would feel.”
about something, I would feel sad Empathy “I would probably feel lost or overwhelmed if it is a complex real life problem but I could empathize if I had been in this situation before.”
myself.
2. I understand that it is possible Mixed “I know this to be true as a concept but have a really hard time believing it.”
to experience two conflicting Emotions “I imagine it's very hard to feel that way. I usually don't experience antagonistic feelings.”
emotions at the same time “I'm older so that it has taken many years to learn this.”
(e.g., being sad that a sick pet “I can feel several emotions at once, but I have a very difficult time pinpointing which emotions they are and being able to separate them or regulate them.”
died but being happy that it is “I have Alexithymia.”
no longer in pain). “Boy, did this hit home…at my Mom's funeral I was happy she wasn't suffering any more. My family took it as I was happy she died. I wasn't. I was happy for her
suffering ending.”
3. I can accurately judge the Time “I don't notice time when I'm hyper focused, and I'm hyper focused more often than not.”
passage of time (e.g., I am good Perception “I ALWAYS have my smartphone with me showing the time. No smartphone: I have ASD Meltdown.”
at knowing when 5 minutes, 30 “Depends on the situation. It is not a myth that the perception of the passage of time is radically impacted by massive numbers of variables, such as the degree of
minutes, or 2 hours has gone by). cognitive engagement, enjoyment of the task, how frequently one is checking time, etc.”
“It depends on what is going on. Think about the saying ‘Time flies when you are having fun.’ Stress can also make time seem to pass more slowly - kind of like a
mental form of gravity.”
“If I have some external cues I am better at telling time. For example, I am better at telling if 30 minutes have gone by when I am at work than when I am at
home.”
“Unless I'm deeply immersed in a creative activity (such as coding macros in a genetic spreadsheet).”
4. I have rich memories for my Episodic “Always have, even as a young child. They are almost always remembered as images.”
own past experiences (when Memory “I remember time and place much more vividly than what happened or who was there.”
recalling something, I remember “My memories seem more organized around ideas than around events! I might have snippets of such ‘richness’ with experiences but that is rare... However, I'm
where I was, when something good at understanding complex systems linked by a mix of logic and emotion and (sensory stuff?).”
happened, who else was there, “I remember very intricate sensory details with my memories particularly visual and tactile details.”
what I was thinking or feeling). “I have detailed memory but chronology is problematic.”
“Family are often surprised that I have forgotten a lot of events but some things I can remember incredibly vividly.”
“I remember things I saw or heard, but not what I did.”
“I have next to no memory recall.”
“Some people say I have good memory over specific things but some things I don't remember.”
“I forget lots of details of many events. Certain events do stick in my mind though.”
“It is very mixed. Some memories, even extremely mundane ones, feel so real it's almost like I'm there. On the other hand, there are important people and places
from my past I cannot remember very well at all.”
“I have this at a very extreme level and it takes up ~80% of my day.”
“Total Aphantasia. Technically I don't have any memories. I just remember everything semantically.”
“In general, I have only a few memories which I can recollect well, most other things I forget or become a blur.”
26
5. I understand the metaphor in Nonliteral “Thought for a moment it meant he got fat, but that wouldn't really jive with ‘hard rock’”
the following sentence: “After Language: “I have to think it through first and even then my brain gets stuck thinking about actual hard rocks.”
many years of working at the jail, Metaphor “I understand it, it's just stupid.”
the prison guard had become a “He didn't want to quit? Felt no compassion? Uncompromising? No context and I have never heard that expression before. Doubt anyone I know would know the
hard rock that could not be answer without context.”
moved”.
6. If I heard a waitress say to a Nonliteral “I would be completely confused and would probably think that I heard her wrong.”
coworker “Hey, the ham Language: “Would be more surprising if the ham sandwich left a big tip, and the person would probably be more likely to mention it. The sentence could technically refer to
sandwich left me a big tip!”, I Metonymy the sandwich but sandwiches don't tip.”
would understand that the “I understand it reading it, but I'm not sure I would get it if I heard it out loud.”
waitress was referring to a “I first interpreted that as a client with a tendency to be a ham.”
customer who had ordered a ham “It wouldn't make sense at first, but I would eventually understand knowing logically that a ham sandwich can't leave a tip.”
sandwich. “I would also think it a bit funny; some of my humor can involve intentionally taking such things a little too literally, with a straight face.”
“Years of working in different environments are a teaching in these kind of metaphors. When I first read it, I thought the waitress must be saying that the person
was a ham sandwich, in that 'ham sandwich' was some kind of descriptor like 'ray of sunshine' that I had just never heard before.”
“It took me a little while to figure this one out”
“Remember, I am 71 and a writer, it has taken many years and experiences to interpret correctly.”
7. If I drove up to my friend’s Nonliteral “I would figure it out, but not immediately.”
house in a big car and my friend Language: “I might be quite caught off guard in the moment and unsure of what they meant.”
said “I didn’t know you were a Metaphor “I would be angry because I never wanted to work as a bus driver, as well as confused.”
bus driver”, I would understand “I might be confused thinking she meant I drove like one.”
that my friend was commenting
on the size of the car.
8. When I look at this image, I Social “It also looks like an airplane to me.”
immediately see what looks like a Perception “I didn't see the ‘person’ until I read the sentence under it.”
person. “This is so weird.”
“The whole top half seem disconnected the bottom.”
“It’s a stick figure made of dots leaning to the left.”
“Thought it was a constellation.”
“One of his arms are twice as big.”
“Although, my first thought was that this was an image of the constellation Orion, which is a constellation that looks like a person, rather than just ‘oh, those dots
are shaped like a human’”
“Yes but it feels abstract like it could use a ring of dots for a head. It looks like a stick figure and certain foreign language symbols.”
“I saw what appeared to be a spaceship or plane.”
“I did not immediately see a person, but once I saw one I can’t unsee it.”
9. A ‘double bluff’ is a type of Double Bluff “I don't really know why people use it.”
deception where someone tries to “I understand it conceptually, but I can't think of any real-life instance where I've seen such a thing happen.”
deceive another person by “I understand what it is but not why people use it... stop messing about and just tell the truth all. the. time.!!”
actually telling the truth. I “I take most things literally and at face value. I probably have fallen for this a million times.”
“Gimme an example please.”
27
understand what double bluff is “This is fairly confusing for me, but I can understand that this is a legitimate method of deceit.”
and why people use it. “What ????”
“I understand what a double bluff is but honestly I'm not sure why people try to deceive others.”
“I didn't even know that that was a thing. Seriously?!”
“Theoretically I get it, but in real life not so much.”
“I don't know if I don't UNDERSTAND it, or if I don't understand WHY people do it.”
“I have heard of the truth being more unbelievable than a lie so I understand the principle, but actually applying it or why someone would use it as a "bluff" is
beyond me.”
“If you're bad at lying then just try to tell the truth in a way where most people won’t believe it.”
“Bullsh*t through truth?”
“I hope I can cuss on this test, but what the fuck! This is so confusing. How can telling the truth be deceitful?”
“Someone would have to explain it to me several times if I was to understand.”
10. I understand why people often Motivated “Still working on that one.”
cling to mistaken beliefs despite Reasoning “I do understand this dynamic if the person does not understand the evidence (very common. For example evolution vs. creationism: if you understand evolution,
overwhelming evidence to the you believe in it). I do not understand this dynamic when I know the person understands the contrary evidence, can acknowledge its veracity, and then still insist
contrary. the opposite. I acknowledge that it happens, but no, I do not know why."
“I do understand this, but I don't like it. Because of my Autism, I have had to examine my own life so much it is a burden. Yet, other folks seem to find it easier not
to be honest with themselves.”
“People should be logical!”
“I believe that I theoretically understand it, but don't quite experience the underlying brain events or something! So it's theoretical. Being diagnosed with autism
and doing some research led me to think about this - perhaps allistic people sort of ‘compile’ emotions into their logic, more than some of us autistics do. By that, I
mean that strong emotions seem to me to bend the logic that (ostensibly) allistic people use. It's a model/theory, anyhow, and it is the best I can do to understand
this behavior, currently. Plus I very strongly hope this tendency doesn't destroy our species by allowing unchecked climate change to continue....but I'm the one
with the ‘deficits’???”
“I feel like I conceptually understand, but it makes me irritated, and I feel that I don't do that, even though we probably all do to some degree.”
“Humans not rational because of confirmation bias, selective perception, religion; many other factors.”
11. I understand that people can Hypocrisy “I outright disagree with this statement. In the example given with the car, I don't believe that this hypothetical person is holding two contradictory beliefs. He
hold two or more contradictory SAYS he believes in fuel efficient cars, but there is an EXPECTATION that that is what he is SUPPOSED to say, so of course he will say it. His true belief in this
beliefs, ideas or values at the example is the desire for power and comfort in his choice of car. Anything else he says is most likely for social capital aspect.”
same time (e.g., believing in “Nothing has to confirm with everything else. People are complicated.”
fuel efficient cars but wanting “Difference in beliefs and still wanting something that brings them joy.”
a large fuel inefficient car). “I can think of only a few exceptions to this that apply to me, but the example provided does not make sense to me.”
“It makes me so conflicted.”
“Like, I get it but also don't? I know it is true that this happens but I struggle to sit with it and really feel it because it seems like it shouldn't be a thing.”
“I understand that people are irrational.”
“Definitely - their 'need' for the fuel inefficient car over-rides their knowledge of the harm it causes.”
12. I understand that people in Social Common “Weird question.”
a community share common Sense “Less and less so as western society becomes more pluralistic, secular, and modern.”
notions that are considered “These are the 'unwritten rules'. There were a lot of these 'rules' that I never knew until I was 27 when someone explained it to me.”
obvious and known to all “Readings on socialization, sociology, and structuralism helped me in making this realization.”
28
(e.g., people in our culture tend “I understand that a community can be brain-washed into thinking [something]”
to assume that all children like “I don't like sugary treats.”
sugary treats). “I don't think that such notions are necessarily as ‘shared’ as many assume though.”
“I understand that (as I watch it happening), but I don't really like it or support it.”
“Restaurants always assume you want French fries (I hate French fries).”
13. I understand how people Stereotypical “These are blind conclusions, without actual thought/research to substantiate the decision.”
make snap judgments about Thinking “I understand that associations are powerful and I've certainly witnessed people doing it, but I don't totally grasp it. I understand people having suspicions based on
others based on very little limited information, but a lot of people are extremely confident in their snap judgments, and I don't understand the thought process that leads to this.”
information (e.g., Justin knows “I do this, but I think it is because I am searching for clues so intently, I miss the obvious ones, but catch the subtle ones.”
Bradley is wealthy so Justin “I hate that people do this. They always assume wrong things about me.”
assumes Bradley is ‘out of touch’ “Most well-adjusted people 'should' be able to make a better assessment of Bradley.”
and unable to understand regular “Because you told me I understand it, but I often forget that fact because that's not how I am.”
people). “It makes it easy, with less time invested.”
“Perhaps I might make a snap judgement about people who do that, that they are shallow! oops...”
14. I understand that when it White Lie “People deserve to know, and I hate it when people practice this policy about me.”
comes to getting along with Appreciation “I have mixed feelings on this one. I generally feel that if you can't be honest with someone, there's an incompatibility issue. I'm not saying you should therefore be
others, honesty is not always the brutally honest, but maybe you should find other friends you can be true to. (It's more complicated with family, since you don't choose them like you choose your
best policy. friends.)”
“Weird.”
“I always feel bloated when I am not honest. It’s like I have to go to the bathroom really bad. It’s weird. I kind of feel like I am expected to understand this more
than I actually do. I guess it depends on your family and the people you are with.”
“I generally think it is best to be direct, honest, AND kind.”
“Theoretically I get it but I don't know how to apply it in real life.”
“This has moral implications, ya' know?”
“This is too complex for me to think through properly.”
“White lies are sometimes good for getting along with others.”
“I don't like lying very much but I've gotten used to gauging situations about it.”
“I totally understand this, but it's incredibly frustrating to me and I purposefully seek out social circles where honesty is valued and it's safe to speak the truth.”
“Truth is mostly never well received.”
“So I have been told and taught, however, I can only give honesty as trying to lie would be obvious and pointless.”
“I lean towards omitting information that will cause trouble, which I don't precisely consider not honest.”
“I have a really hard time with this. Even though I know it is true, and practice it by telling white lies frequently, the concept makes me extremely anxious.”
“I resist saying giving a high score to this question because I don't want to believe it.”
15. I understand how people Display Rules “I understand why, but I don't understand how they manage to mask them. I have a hard time pretending to feel a way I certainly do not feel, even if I remain
use facial expressions to hide guarded of my emotions.”
how they really feel “Boy, I wish I could read them correctly.”
(e.g., people can smile when “I do now but it was not always the case.”
they are sad and laugh when “Only microexpressions are fully true.”
they feel embarrassed). “I’m simple, I smile or I don't, seems like it makes a lot of people guess what I feel even though it may not always be related.”
“To some extent. I definitely can't always tell.”
29
“I'm apparently quite good at autistic ‘camouflaging’ -- or at least, no one noticed that I was until I sought diagnosis. In other words, I have done a lot of this, but
for survival.”
“It's always been hard for me to manage my expressions, so the idea of being able to do it well enough to hide a feeling is fairly foreign.”
“I understand it, although I know/was told I am not good on hiding my real feelings/thoughts. People say my face changes instantly. I don't know how to fake it,
because it feels to me like my whole body and being is being poked/hurt/bothered.”
“It took many years but I finally get this.”
“I know people do this but I am bad at telling when they are.”
“Why would anyone do this? I've witnessed this but I never understood how or why people do this.”
16. I can tell the difference Complex Social “When I was younger, no. This is a skill I have picked up, I believe.”
between when a friend is teasing Judgment “I can tell with people I know well, but it's hard to tell with people I don't know well. Also, I think there's room for something to be a bit of both.”
in a nice way and when a bully is “They are all the same to me, but I have learned the difference. I hate them both.”
making fun of someone in a mean “Often I cannot do this well in real time. If I think about the interaction afterward, I can figure it out.”
way. “Often bullies use sarcasm and it goes over my head.”
“This has gotten easier for me, but I can have trouble occasionally.”
“People tease me and I take it literally.”
“It’s based on knowledge of that person and how that person interacts with me.”
17. I can tell the difference Lies v. Jokes “Most of the time I can I think. There are a couple of times I have missed the boat on this one.”
between lies and jokes. “In most cases yes but sometimes a lie can be told as a joke but you're not aware it's an actual lie....”
“If a joke is a lie. It's still a lie and lies are wrong.”
“Depends on the person.”
“It’s easy on paper.”
“I'm getting there.”
18. Sometimes people do things Intentionality “It can be very hard to tell when I can't actually see them. For example, sometimes coworkers do sloppy work when I'm not there, and I'm not sure if they were
deliberately and sometimes they struggling with it or if they just decided to put less effort in. Sometimes cars drive erratically, and I'm not sure if the driver had a lapse of judgment or if they're
make mistakes or do things by deliberately taking risks.”
accident. I can tell when people “How would I know if I knew this or not?”
do things on purpose or by “In my constant relationships, I can see patterns. If someone does something by ‘mistake,’ then it will not be repeated.”
accident. “This is hard for me, but it's doable.”
“I like to think I can and I might give someone the benefit of the doubt depending on past history or their demeanor.”
“I am poor at judging people’s intentions if their behavior triggers me or causes a traumatic reaction.”
“Depends on person, friend or stranger?”
“Probably only applies for the first part of this sentence and I'd say Probably Not on the second part.”
“I think that can sometimes be tricky to determine, but I'm good when it's obvious.”
“Not by making assumptions but by asking.”
“As I can't tell people are lying, I can't tell this either. It's really like a PARADOX to me, of trusting too much/not trusting people at all.”
“As in if someone trips on the sidewalk? Yes, I would be able to tell that is an accident.”
19. People do certain things when Complex Social “Sometimes, but I'm usually not too quick to pick up on this.”
they are not interested in talking Judgment “I can tell if someone isn't interested but I can't always tell if they are. I tend to err on the side of assuming people are less interested than they actually are.”
to us (e.g., they might look away “I just assume they are interested because I am, but I do notice the change in behavior or tone, so I usually ask them what they are feeling.”
for a long time or start fidgeting). “I can but if it's my sister or a close family I noticed it but really want to finish my sentences/story.”
30
I can recognize when a listener is “I have been working on this for more than a decade and have gotten better at it.”
not interested in what I am “Again, this is a thing that has gotten easier for me over time.”
saying. “I try to be aware of cues that a listener is not interested.”
“No one is interested in speaking to me, so I learned that soon.”
“I try to do my best but it's hard for me.”
“I might be overly sensitive to this.”
“I tend to feel they are not interested unless they are actively showing engagement. I tend to talk less than others partly as a result... Not sure how I learned to do
that; sort of low self-esteem can be involved for me... I know I err towards silence there but the opposite error feels worse to me.”
“I think I always assume people are uninterested as a sort of precautionary principle to avoid nattering.”
“I CAN, but I usually don't do what I expect myself to do, which is to shut-off and leave. I look, I see, those body sensations come to me like a radar beeping
‘something's not going right’, but I don't take any action.”
“Sometimes I recognize when I don't have a person's attention, but I will still finish my thoughts anyway.”
“I over-read this - results in extreme anxiety.”
20. People do certain things Emotion “I understand people's faces change, but I have a hard time differentiating between disgust or contempt, or even why they feel this way and refuse to explain it.”
when they are disgusted Recognition: “I can typically tell when someone is disgusted by something gross, like a bad smell. It's harder to tell when someone is disapproving of something more
(e.g., they might squint their Disgust conceptual (like a political view), since people often try to hide this feeling.”
eyes, crinkle their nose, of “Took a while to learn, but that is one emotion that is pretty obvious.”
slowly shake their head). I can “Probably not without words.”
recognize when others are “I understand people do those things but not always sure what it means.”
disgusted. “But where are my eyes?”
“Lots of people in the US are good at concealing disgust. I can rarely tell.”
“This is less common in people, or maybe I'm missing it?”
“Oddly, not very good at this at all.”
“The cringe face.”
“I'll notice slowly shaking their head but not the others.”
21. I can put myself in other Empathy “I lack empathy.”
people’s shoes and understand (cognitive and “There is no way to know this with certainty. But I certainly feel like I empathize with others, and I've been repeatedly told I'm understanding.”
how they feel. affective) “I have Alexithymia...”
“Once they show me the shoes!”
“I THINK I can understand how they feel, but I may be wrong.”
“In most cases no. Some people I can understand and empathize with without any effort at all. But everyone else I just don't "get." I cannot easily characterize the
difference the two kinds of people, so I'm not sure why it's easy for some but quite difficult for others.”
“Even if I try, it’s hard, and I usually guess wrong, unless I 've memorized the right reaction before. But it doesn't come natural. Much of my social knowledge is
memorization.”
“Unless we have nothing in common or much opposite experiences.”
“It depends how much information I have.”
“When I am not completely angry, upset, or overwhelmed and also if I care about them enough to focus on their feelings. If I’m not focusing on those feelings I
will miss it. I think of it as having theory of mind tunnel vision.”
“Generally one of my strengths.”
“If they tell me, I can but no one usually tells me.”
31
“That would be a bit presumptuous of me, wouldn't it?”

“It's difficult to know if you actually understand how someone feels but I do make guesses on how I think people do.”
“I am selectively blind to some emotions though. Understand - yes, but I can't always feel what they feel.”
“People definitely have differences! I am better at doing this with some people than others; people who I share certain things with, I'm better at it with. With
others, I work to figure it out, hypothesize, try to confirm it somehow... sort of mini-scientific experiments...”
“I have mirror-neurons for feelings. It's different here of empathy by its essence. Here it's something like knowing how it feels, and usually even feeling it on my
body if it's a matter of that, but not necessarily having moral emotive feelings.”
“I’m still learning.”
“Again, years of training.”
“Intellectually, if I think about everything that's happening, but I don't feel it.”
“Except for people with ideas, beliefs, or values that I don't share at all (such as not feeling what religious people feel towards their deity).”
22. When I hear jokes like “What Humor: Play on “Sometimes I may have to think a minute or two about it.”
is black, white, and read all over? Words “I get the humor. However, I'm not that great at noticing puns in the wild.”
It’s a newspaper!” or “The duck “The past participle of read is used so rarely that it's extremely difficult to recognize as part of a pun in print. Consider using a different example.”
said to the bartender, ‘put it on “I'm great at puns! I love them! Only a few that are hard to get and have someone explain to me (not these shown here, but other ones).”
my bill’”, I immediately “I understand it but do not feel the sensation to laugh.”
understand the humor in this play “I grew up in a household of puns, so this is easier for me than the average person.”
on words. “I get it but it's a terrible joke.”
“I literally just got that...I've never seen it written before.”
“I'm only just now getting the newspaper joke, and I've heard it my entire life. I also didn't understand the seven ate nine joke until I was an adult. And I'm really
bad at coming up with puns.”
“The duck flew over my head, searched for it seems like my language was lacking. But I think I’m pretty good with wordplays, might be that I’m good at
misunderstanding things though.”
“Sometimes I understand the joke, other times, not. It depends on the punchline and whether I can make sense of the abstract aspects of the joke.”
“If I have heard a particular type of joke before I can recall it and use it to determine context, but if I haven't heard a similar joke before it usually doesn't make
sense.”
“Read?”
“I realized that I am now finally JUST getting the newspaper joke!!”
“You know, I always thought it was "red" all over because of the amount of violence reported in the news. Woops.”
“Sometimes, depending on the joke, it takes me some seconds to fully get it. I usually "analyze" it somehow, put things together, re-see them and make sure I
understand it to reveal a laugh. Or I make a smile, but keep thinking to make sure I got it.”
“Depends on whether the joke is easily interpreted either written or verbal.”
“I never understood the first joke until now as I've never seen it written out!”
“Yes but I strongly object to puns on principle.”
23. I am good at getting the jokes Humor “I was a professional Comedian for over thirty years, I understand jokes, even if I don't think they are funny.”
that other people tell. Appreciation “They have to explain to me a lot, but then they say it’s not funny anymore. I don't know why explaining it would make it less funny?”
“Not usually or I just do not feel like laughing.”
“I can be slow occasionally, but other times I can see a joke from a mile away. It depends on the joke. I have a very surreal/abstract sense of humor.”
“Puns and stuff, not a lot of late night TV humor. Or most comedians, either.”
“I may not spot the things I don't notice though, sounds obvious right?”
32
“Not quite always but usually. Sometimes I don't like the type of humor though! Some "humor" is harmful to vulnerable people.”
“Generally yes, but when anxious, sometimes I take language at face value.”
“(although New Yorker cartoons are often impossible to figure out!)”
“It depends on the kind of joke. I am best with puns or plays on words (and I enjoy making these jokes) but I am worse with situational jokes, teasing, and pranks.”
“Most of the time, but some jokes confuse me.”
24. I speak differently to young Audience “I remember what it was like to be a child and I've done a lot of babysitting. Children understand better and have more complicated thoughts than most adults give
children compared to adults (e.g., Adaptation them credit for. I try to talk to them like they're inexperienced (but otherwise fully functional) adults. Kids generally really like me and open up to me because I
I use simpler language when don't talk down to them or underestimate their mental capacity.”
speaking to youngsters). “I do now. I didn’t always.”
“My [family] all have noticed that I talk to my grandchildren and my own children when they were young the same way I talk to adults.”
“Depends on the situation and the child - mostly I do not do this unless it's a baby not because I can't but because kids understand more than we think they do.”
“I can always do better at simplifying complex issues for my child.”
25. People do certain things when Emotion “Only if they cry...which for some reason, when others cry, I get really angry (anger is one of 3 emotions I can recognize…).”
they are sad (e.g., they might look Recognition: “I have seen it enough to catch it.”
downward, have a frown, or talk Sad “This is especially easy with my girlfriend.”
in a soft voice). I can recognize “Sometimes sad people act angry too so I try to be aware but anger makes them less sympathetic at first.”
when others are sad. “I might not be quite as good at recognizing subtle sadness compared with fear...”
“Maybe more faces look neutral to me than to others... Crying is obvious though.”
“But sometimes, sadness and tiredness get similar.”
26. People do certain things when Emotion “They step backward.”
they are scared (e.g., they might Recognition: “As most people try to conceal being "scared", many do none of those things, but are scared.”
raise their eyebrows, lean Scared “I get this more from a sense, like I can feel fear radiating from the person, than noticing the details though... (I know that sounds weird.)”
backwards, or talk in a high “I think fear is more likely to be hidden by people (particularly the men I know) so it is sometimes hard to recognize when it is expressed as irritability or
pitched voice). I can recognize aggression.”
when others are scared.
27. People do certain things when Emotion “It’s hard to tell if they are mad, happy, or surprised, or angry.”
they are surprised (e.g., they Recognition: “I don't show that emotion.”
might open their eyes very wide Surprise “Some people act surprised when they really aren't. Example: a surprise party for someone who already knew but have to act surprised.”
or open their mouths really wide). “I do that a lot!”
I can recognize when others are “I think faces change more with this emotion than with some others.”
surprised.
28. I understand the kinds of Situation-based “I have only learnt this through upsetting people when I don't recognize their sense of embarrassment.”
situations that would make Emotion: “Sometimes people are embarrassed by things I wouldn't find embarrassing, and sometimes I'm embarrassed by things other people don't find embarrassing.”
someone feel embarrassed. Embarrassed “This is very complicated for me because I have a complicated history with being ritually embarrassed and humiliated. I will often feel an uncomfortably
electrifying secondhand embarrassment for people, but they are not embarrassed at all, sometimes even proud. Other times, I rarely see what the big deal is aside
from a very minor embarrassment if any at all.”
“I think people get embarrassed in the weirdest circumstances, which wouldn't embarrass me.”
“I wish I was better at this.”
“I had to learn this one the hard way.”
“Most of the time, though what's embarrassing or not has changed a lot over the years.”
33
“Although I do know that not everyone is embarrassed by the same things.”

“I can't always know what expectations they have for themselves though, and failing to meet those can cause that...”
“Although, I think I default to assuming a lower tolerance for embarrassment for most people than is perhaps warranted.”
“For the most part yes, but I understand that it can also depend on what people value.”
29. I can accurately identify and Introspection: “I don't know what I'm feeling often.”
reflect on my own emotions (that Emotion “I understand what is going on in my head but I don't really feel anything”
is, I know what I am feeling and “This varies. I sometimes have to have time to do this.”
why I am feeling it). “I have Alexithymia...”
“Sometimes I can't figure out why I am feeling a certain way. I have to ask my therapist.”
“I just have trouble expressing myself with my voice/verbally.”
“Meditation helps with this.”
“I don't always know what I am feeling.”
“It has taken a LOT of therapy and practice to get to this point, without support this would be much harder.”
“Have always been valuing and developing this ability in myself, but it's tough. Failed many times, sometimes with catastrophic consequences.”
“With some things, things I've figured out, yes. This covers a lot of my life—I'm not young. However there are still deep bubbles of emotion that come up that I
can take minutes, hours, days or more to decode. It's like the meaning is in a different language than my everyday thinking.”
“I've gotten much better at this through my mid to late 20s.”
“I can identify what I am feeling, but have trouble reflecting and understanding why I am feeling a particular way.”
“Sometimes I know how it feels, but I don't know what it is. I could describe the feeling, the sensorial part, but not address a name or the origin. Or I can tell why it
happened, after what occurred, or someone said what, but I don't give me permission or don't know if it's okay or not. It's like lacking permission or approval of
someone else to feel the way I feel. (*By the way, this questionnaire is being a therapy so far. Thank you, dear researchers).”
“I have had forty plus years of therapy so I have been trained in this subject.”
“I usually feel neutral perhaps due to the varying degrees of alexithymia within ASD. I only perceive that I feel extreme emotions.”
“Takes me time and self-reflection, a learned skill.”
“I frequently know what emotion I am feeling but will not know the cause.”
“Rarely-I will know that I am feeling "off" because of a certain situation, but I will not have the exact words for the feeling.”
34
30. I can predict my own Future Thinking “Pretty much only with the example of bored.”
emotions to better plan for the “I struggle with this.”
future (e.g., if going on a long car “In your example yes, but it is not always so easy as that.”
ride, I know that I might get “I used to commute 10,000 miles from home to Hawaii and back, every ten days, then ten days at home. For two years, and every flight was like a surprise. I have
bored so I might bring something little executive planning skills.”
to do in the car). “A little bit but not as well as I should be able to.”
“This has become somewhat of a strength for me.”
“I spend a lot of time planning, but I don't know if it gets me anywhere.”
“Is boredom an emotion now?”
“For the most part of I do good at planning ahead as described above, but for emergency situations it can be harder to predict!”
“I think so.”
“In simple situations, yes. In more complex ones such as romance I make a lot of mistakes.”
“I tended to squash my emotions rather than help myself with them though; I spent decades camouflaging, and there was just too much -- I think I had to squash
them.”
“I learn by being uncomfortable and absolutely make changes for the future
sometimes I forget to do the planning part :)”
31. I understand the kinds of Situation-based “Sometimes people are proud of strange things that wouldn't make me proud (e.g., some people seem to be proud of truly bizarre things, like having a bad illness
situations that would make Emotion: Pride or causing emotional harm to others).”
someone feel proud. “Everyone has different things that make them feel that way.”
“Virtually never feel proud myself, so have trouble emphasizing here.”
“I think I experience this feeling less than some others, so I can't predict it quite as well as some feelings.”
32. I can predict people’s Situation-based “Some people’s emotions may not match the situation...”
emotions based on the situation Emotion “If I know the identity of the person, yes. If they are a stranger, no.”
they are in. “Everyone is different, but I'm generally good at this.”
“This question doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I get this stuff right maybe half the time. People are quite different from me. I think way too different to get it more than half.”
“I could try if I knew the situation.”
“I guess how they would feel based on how I would feel but I often feel differently about things to other people so guess wrong.”
“Depends on the person and how well I know them.”
“After I get to know the person. Trying to predict emotions from situation alone, without knowing a person's personality and beliefs is a bad idea.”
“I am frequently surprised, but I am generally good at it.”
“I do this too much”
33. I am good at planning for the Future Thinking “Not always...I have lots of ideas about the future...planning the steps are not always clear.”
future. “I am sixty-six and went bankrupt at 62...nuff said.”
“I can think way too far in the future that I forget to do things in the here and now that help me prepare for the future properly.”
“I’m good at the immediate future but not the long-term future.”
“Immediate future yes. Long term no.”
“Always think 6 steps ahead.”
“Is there a future? I can't deal with those kind of things, don't know how long it will take to fall asleep or how much sleep I need so ordering a laundry appointment
gets bothersome. Having to do stuff sometimes causes me to be unable to sleep.”
35
“My plans are usually good, I just don’t always execute them well.”
“Long-Term Goal of anything is much harder for me to plan on vs. getting ready to go to work in the morning or knowing about an exam upcoming in a week.”
“Roth IRA baby.”
“In some ways (physical) yes. Emotionally not so well, as I have squashed them too much!”
“Decent, I guess? If we're talking about short term future; less confident in my long term planning.”
“Paradox here. Seems to me like I'm too daydreaming, but won't do much for the practical, present: job and finances, diet and exercising, etc.”
“I have a decent idea of what tasks I may need to do, or how a situation may make me feel. I am not as great with planning around time, and I frequently will give
myself either too much time or not enough time for a task or event.”
“Too many unfinished tasks and not able to fully pursue self-actualization - affects my ability to plan.”
34. I can predict how my words Social “Not always, and mostly through learning and the angst of previous incidents of offending others.”
and actions will be interpreted by Awareness “It depends on how well I know the person.”
others “I am caught off guard all the time. As my wife says: ‘You never know where the attack is going to come from.’”
“If I know the person I am speaking to (or really know anything about them), yes. If it is a stranger, no.”
“You never know, but I'm developing this skill.”
“I try very hard to be careful with my words and actions but I am often surprised by reactions (especially in email correspondence because I believe quite often
people don't read carefully or completely).”
“I stress over it all the time.”
“Everyone interprets differently so I would not be able to predict how my word or actions will be interpreted.”
“I try to be very careful with my language when talking to colleagues, neighbors, etc”. “However, I am sure I mess up once in a while, by not saying the correct
thing during the heat of the moment.”
“You never know how much people will read into things you say. I understand how people will interpret most things I do or say, such as if I want to go to a
restaurant they will very likely read that as me being hungry.”
“Words are hard.”
“Need to get to know the person before I can tell.”
“I tend to think too much about how others might interpret my words in a harmful way and over-correct.”
“This is a key part of learning camouflaging, in my opinion.”
“In this current world where everyone takes offense over anything this is becoming difficult.”
“Another area where I overthink things.”
“I've been struggling a lot in here. People often end up getting my words and acts all wrong. I usually make a big effort choosing and picking words and
punctuation, written or spoken, but feels like I hurt people or am never good enough. On the other side, seems to me that people are totally careless and it just
doesn't matter. Feels to me like I have to overthink all my actions and will nonetheless be always wrong, and they never need to think before anything but no
matter what they do/say it is okay and valuable.”
“I have learned not to presume I can truly know the mind of others no matter how obvious the situation.”
“Frequently my honesty is taken as too harsh and I have trouble telling when I am being too harsh.”
“Sometimes I'm completely taken aback with someone's reaction (taking offense when none was given).”
35. I can read other people’s body Social “It helps to know the person to have an idea of what they are 'normally' like.”
language to tell how they feel Perception: “Unless it's really obvious (like cowering or skipping), I do better with faces than body language. But I wouldn't say I'm that good at reading faces, either.
(e.g., feeling happy, sad, mad, or Body Language Listening to someone's speech is the most effective way for me to assess someone's emotional state.”
scared). “Focus is key. I have to focus on it.”
“Sometimes I think people are angry at me but they are not.”
36
“As a child, no. Now, I am better.”

“I can do it but it's not always the first reaction.”
“It depends upon the person; I am better with more (data) about a specific person. There are some generalities, I can often tell with strangers -- lots of experience at
this point in life!”
“Really bad at this.”
“I studied body language and I hate to know it. As I mentioned before, I can tell someone is not very interested in a conversation, for example, but I won't end it
and leave. So I'll keep noticing and processing all that, I might even ask ("You're not very interested in being here now, are you?"), people will lie, I will "believe".
End of story is easy to predict.”
36. I have good eye contact Eye contact “Eye contact is a concerted effort that causes me angst and never feels more natural.”
when I am talking to people. “I'm not sure what it means to have "good" eye contact it. It feels aggressive to stare, but neglectful to look away. I mostly just look at people's overall faces
(especially mouths) when they're speaking; this also helps me understand what they're saying, since I can have trouble processing language if I don't watch the
speaker's mouth.”
“I know this is a weakness of mine in some situations.”
“I don't know, I don't think about it...”
“I tend to hold eye contact way to long, my wife says it makes me come across as intense.”
“I can put the effort in to do this.”
“With years of practice.”
“Depends on my meds, how well I know them, how much I trust them, what I want from them, and many other factors.”
“I make an effort to do so, and I think that I do it more naturally than others with autism.”
“When I am not triggered (i.e., in everyday life) yes, I can give eye contact. But due to my trauma history I often can’t look at someone in the eyes.”
“I look right past their ear so that while others think I am making eye contact I’m really not.”
“Depends—may find other stuff more important, only got 2 eyes.”
“Sometimes as a woman, I feel uncomfortable making eye contact with men I find threatening or hostile.”
“Sometimes I don't know when to break eye contact.”
“It depends on the person and how well I know them.”
“I can generally force myself to do this; it's sometimes fine and I want to have eye contact; other times it fries my brain and I sort of lose touch with my feelings—
but I keep doing it. As to whether it's "good" though? I have had little feedback on how it compares to allistics, recently at least.”
“I make eye contact quite a bit. Whether that’s a "good" thing is questionable.”
“For the most part yes, but I am shy when talking to people I do not know well.”
“Try to avoid eyes, but will look to the whole face or to the eyes area.”
“Eye contact is physically painful for me. I don’t like it because it’s distracting and hurts.”
“I have again trained myself to do this because it makes the crucial difference in jobs, social areas, etc.”
“I am good at making eye contact when people are speaking to me.”
“Self-taught and reinforced through years of work.”
“I can force myself to make eye contact, but it takes a lot of energy and I can't do it for too long.”
37. I understand how people can Display Rules “If it's done to mislead, it usually doesn't work. If someone is ‘walking tall’, and they really look the part, they probably are deep down with every fiber of their
move their bodies to mislead being ‘walking tall’.”
others (e.g., someone who “No I didn't know that.”
‘walks tall’ to hide a lack of “False body expressions.”
confidence). “This is another one that I've literally never thought about.”
37
“Theoretically? I don't think I pay much attention to this though...”

“I don't key in on this as much.”
“I really hadn't thought about the idea of deceptive body language much until reading this question. Ugh. Embarrassing.”
“Why would someone do this?”
38. I can read the tone of other Social “This may be difficult if the person does not match their tone to their feelings.”
people’s voices to tell how they Perception: “It's easier for me to understand tone than faces or body language.”
feel (e.g., I can tell when others Voices “Depends on who.”
are excited, angry, or bored). “Some people are good at pretending though, so I might not really know how they feel.”
“If it is very obvious.”
39. I can read people to tell if they Social “How would I verify these guesses? People very rarely announce whether or not they like someone.”
like me or not. Perception: “Chose probably because I can to a regular degree, but obviously people can hide how they feel or how they come across. I've interacted with people I didn't like
Affinity without making that obvious for example.”
“I seem to gravitate toward people with autism or other relational differences, so right now, I just don't know. I was formerly a special education teacher and para
educator.”
“No I get confused.”
“Not at all.”
“Some are more obvious than others.”
“I tend toward assuming neutrality though, so can't really know what I'm wrong about.”
“I tend to over-read their dislike/skepticism.”
“I think my anxious default is to assume people don't like me, which complicates things.”
“Sometimes they'll [say] they like me, but I won't believe it. Don't know if it's a matter of intuition or some hidden trigger their behavior might have triggered me.”
“If the feelings are 'subtle', then likely not.”
“I generally feel like they don't.”
“No idea. Cause or effect, or both, of social anxiety. I've been wrong so many times and have trouble coping.”
40. I understand the kinds of Situation-based “I don't get jealous.”
situations that would make Emotion: “Other people get jealous more easily than I do. I understand certain kinds of jealousy (like when your best friend suddenly wants to spend all their time with a
someone feel jealous. Jealousy new friend), but not other kinds (like meeting someone who's really nice and smart and has their life together).”
“I don't get jealousy, and that has led to some interesting memories.”
“Sometimes.”
“Another emotion that I feel less, I think, but have read about...”
“I understand jealousy for financial wealth, but not romantic jealousy. Never understood why a woman would want to confine me and isolate herself with me when
we are all free to love anyone or multiple people.”
41. I can tell when others are Lie detection “It depends on context, how the person is acting/talking, what the situation is, etc. People can be insincere in an obvious way definitely, but it's totally possible to
being insincere. be insincere without it being noticeable.”
“I don't tend to like people who are often insincere, so I might get less experience with them. I can tell that some people are likely lying from context and their
actions, but not necessarily by tone of voice, etc.”
It usually depends on the person. If I know them well, yes, but if I don't I might not unless they are blatantly insincere.”
“Paradox.”
“I can recognize certain body language indicative of lying, and words inconsistent with a person's usual nature.”
38
42. I can not only remember but Episodic “I can do this, but have trouble recognizing if this is a memory or something imaginary.”
also re-experience or relive an Memory “Aphantasia.”
earlier experience (e.g., when “If it was something that had an impact on my own life.”
thinking of a birthday party, I can “My friends and family think I have some kind of photographic memory for certain things. I don't.”
re-experience the sights, smells, “Traumatic memories are vivid and I re-experience those events. Non-traumatic experiences do not occur like that though.”
or sounds). “Goldfish memory.”
“It depends on the situation.”
“???”
“Mostly sights”
“It happens rarely.”
“Sometimes, but not very often. I find it interesting that sometimes if getting a massage for some of my many tight muscles, a whole earlier experience will come
back strongly like this!”
“I don't do this spontaneously; I need to really be consciously thinking about the experience.”
“Some experiences are easier than others. Tastes, sights, feelings of touch come back to me easily. Sounds and smells are trickier.”
“Generally not by choice (e.g., if it is the same temperature/weather outside a certain day, I might remember an exact time and place where the exact same
conditions are present.”
“Fear based incidents are easily evoked; more subtle experiences vary greatly.”
“I remember sights the best, but sounds and smells are not nearly as strong.”
43. I feel sad or bad when I think Sympathy “Too much at times.”
about others who experience “This is something that's developed in me more recently.”
misfortune. “It depends on who the others are.”
“I give a quick laugh first though.”
“Unless the misfortunate person is someone who deserved it.”
“I get numb to this so it doesn't always register.”
“Except if Donald Trump were to...”
“The more removed the experience is from me the less of a link between my feelings and the situation.”
“I only feel bad if I actually know the person.”
“I can feel really sad and cry deeply and truly by seeing someone on the streets or on TV. However, it's more usual than feeling sad or bad for a friend. Don't really
understand it.”
“It depends on who is sad.”
“I cry when I read stories of refugees, orphans, and heartbroken people. Not so much for drug addicts.”
44. I understand the kinds of Emotion Blends “I have Alexithymia...”
situations that would make a “Understand can feel two emotions at once but don't know all the situations.”
person feel two different “These emotions are not too different.”
“Happy and excited are kind of the same thing anyway.”
emotions at the same time (e.g.,
“My sense of my own feelings is rudimentary.”
being mad and sad at the same
time or being happy and excited
at the same time).
39
45. I understand verbal irony. For Nonliteral “That's not irony, that is sarcasm.”
example, if it were raining and Language: “To be fair, I might not pick up on this exact example (depending on their tone) because I like rainy days.”
someone said “Looks like a really Verbal Irony “But rainy days are the best...”
nice day outside”, I would “I understand. I HATE when people do it though...”
understand that they didn’t “I don't get sarcasm, and irony is really close to that.”
actually think it was a nice day. “I get it when you put it that way, but every time it actually happens to me spontaneously, I end up not getting it. For example, I was in a major metro area during a
massive protest once. I was leaving work, so I got a burrito from a Taqueria to eat on my way home. I passed through the protest area, which actually turned out to
be quite violent and there were a lot of police there. I was just standing there just sort of absorbing all that was happening and an old man tapped me on the
shoulder. I turned around and he looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘ya' know, those police officers really deserve that food more that you do. Show a little
respect.’ After a pause of my blank face staring back at him, he broke into a laugh and said he was just kidding. But honestly, with all the out-of-reality freakish
political views that people hold these days, I 100% took his comment at face value and just assumed he was so radically conservative that he was actually
advocating for civilians not eating because it might be an affront to the police who were before my very eyes beating my fellow citizens and firing explosives at
them. So yeah, I ‘understand’ verbal irony, but not in the moment.”
46. I understand my own actions Introspection: “Sometimes I do things that don't make a whole lot of sense later on but isn't that most people?”
(that is, I know what I am doing Action “I know what but not sure if there's always a reason.”
and why I am doing it). “Maybe 10% of the time my actions I have no reason as to why I did something.”
“Most of the time, yes. Once every few years it gets deeply complicated.”
“This depends upon the level or type of action... I do find myself tensing up and not knowing why. Some is stuff I'm just starting to understand now, like sensory
sensitivity-related muscle tension...”
“Mood swings, automatic/bad responses, meltdowns, freezings, sudden space needs...No, not always [do] I understand my own actions.”
“Still learning my motives.”
“Best to stay detached about even my own self-knowledge.”
“On rare occasions, I do something that didn't make logical sense but seemed like the smartest choice.”
“Often I act on autopilot and I don’t understand why I do some things.”
47. I understand my own desires Introspection: “When I want something, I know it and I know why. The problem is that I don't usually want for much, and so if someone asks me what I want to eat for dinner, I
(that is, I know what I want and Desire might not have an answer if I'm not that hungry.”
why I want it). “For conventional desires, yes I understand them with no difficulty or confusion. For more complex desires, I can tell you what, but not why.”
“Meditation helps with this.”
“I know what I want, but not why I want it.”
“I know my desires and why I have them. What I don't know is how and under which conditions some desire comes to dominate others.”
“It depends; I can know some things but if there are too many things to figure out, I can get overloaded. Like downsizing possessions—too many decisions, too
many things to feel and decide about.”
“Varies greatly.”
“I know what I want but not why or how to get there.”
48. I understand my own plans Introspection: “No long-term goals though.”
and goals for the future (that is, I Planning “I have always struggled with goals.”
know what I will do and why I “Professionally yes. For personal life I have a plan, but I understand very clearly that it's written on sand.”
will do it). “I usually don't know why I do something, but in hindsight I seem to subconsciously know my plans before I make the conscious connection to them.”
“I think a lot of my life, while just camouflaging, I was doing ‘normal’ things but for survival instead of for what some people call a "personal goal". Like, I was
operating lower on the Maslow Hierarchy?”
40
“I understand that I do things for dopamine reward.”

“Depends upon circumstances and whether actions are for self or others.”
“I occasionally have to remind myself why I am doing tasks, mostly when I feel depressed and unmotivated to do anything.”
49. If I were watching a movie Cognitive “Maybe if it's a comedy.” [an interest of this respondent]
with a friend, I could predict what Empathy “I always ask them what they are understanding from the movie. They have to explain the movie to me if it is complex.”
my friend was thinking and “It would usually depend on the friend, but this can be something I'm good at.”
feeling in response to the movie. “Probably busy thinking about the movie, maybe I'd be more curious about "friend" if I'd already seen the movie.”
“Depends on how good of a friend, but generally yes.”
“Depending on the friend & content of film.”
“I pay attention to friends and learn how to read their emotions, I think.”
50. I am good at explaining my Emotional “Depends on what feelings and who I'm talking to. It's hard specially if it's mental health related, if it's regular daily life related then it's easy.”
feelings. Intelligence “DEFINITELY NOT.”
“Depends on the day and how nervous I am.”
“I will often express these through art.”
“I'm a private person and don't normally explain my feelings except to my husband.”
“I am not very articulate.”
“Nope, no personal information will be mentioned at all.”
“Again, words are hard. Excitement is easier than sadness maybe.”
“I am good at this because of years of practice, lots of therapy. and extensive reading on the subject.”
“I'm not sure because I hate talking about my feelings so that makes it difficult to assess how good I am at explaining them.”
“Depending on to who & my relationship to them”
“If it's a feeling I've worked out, yes; if it is some old buried one, or one that just bubbled up, it can be sort of nonverbal...”
“If I understand them, I think I can put them adequately to words.”
“Probably yes, but it doesn't mean my explained feelings would be gotten/taken. Even when I don't know what or why, I know HOW it feels and can explain that.
But it just doesn't usually make sense to people. My feelings and perception never make sense to them.”
“Many years of therapy have made me adept at this skill.”
“Putting my feelings into words can sometimes be difficult, but usually I can do it.”
51. I can imagine myself in the Future Thinking “Aphantasia.”
future and see what I am doing, “I am able to imagine things just fine, but I literally don't know where I will be even a few years from now due to specific life and personal problems, so I cannot
thinking, and feeling. imagine it like "in X time I've done ABC and will feel like this and that" because I have no clear road and no certainty that I will be able to work towards maybe
achieving that goal.”
“Doing and thinking yes, feeling no.”
“I can see myself in the future, doing certain things I plan to do. But I don't know how I feel or what I am thinking in that future scenario.”
“It's hard for me to see the future, yet I am always thinking about what I MIGHT be doing.”
“I can imagine but CBT says not to.”
“Depends on the situation.”
“I cannot 'see' anything in my mind so I'm unsure.”
“No future for me :) Planning horizon for doing stuff is several months, for feelings - several days.”
“Life is never that easy.”
“I can imagine what I am doing and maybe thinking but usually not feeling.”
41
“I can, but don't often do this...”

“At my age the future including the future of others can be a very different life than planned.”
“I do not have a very good idea of what my future will be like.”
52. When I look at people’s faces, Social “I will study the face, but no the eyes. If someone is looking directly at me, my tendency is to look at their mouth or look away.”
I tend to look at their eyes Perception: “I often look at people’s mouths to help me listen better and then the entire face, not as much eyes.”
because the eyes give me good Reading Eyes “It depends on who the person is. Not all people give information with their eyes. Especially autistic people.”
information about what someone “I don't like staring at people's eyes. I prefer to look at their overall face (and mouth especially if they're speaking).”
is thinking or feeling. “If I look at faces I do focus on the eyes but not for the reason you have stated.”
“A lot of people are way over-the-top intense with the eye contact. For those people I will avoid entirely.”
“I started doing this during my 40's.”
“I will often look at their noses, or cheeks.”
“Not sure where I look.”
“Those darty little things! Heavens no!!! Ick! Seriously, it is not at all helpful, it's just weird little marbles in there. Now if I can look at what surrounds the eye I
might get some eye-dea. See, a funny spelling!”
“Whatever moves, such as the lips or hands.”
“I also look at their mouth.”
“More focused on general body language.”
“Also other facial expressions, scrunching of nose and forehead, etc.”
“Sometimes I look between their eyes or at their mouths instead.”
“I like looking on people's faces and into people's eyes, but I can rarely afford it - people tend to get uncomfortable.”
“I usually focus on the mouth and lips. Eye contact does very little in terms of giving me a clue how someone is feeling. I only make eye contact as a sign of
respect for people I know, but it doesn't aid in my emotional translating.”
“If I want info about what they are thinking or feeling, I focus a little more generally on them. I took some martial arts and worked on predicting behavior, feeling
intention... it is a feeling, not just from the eyes though...”
“I tend to focus on their eyes, but I'm not sure why.”
“I take an overall look but give better attention to the (other) body language (i.e., shoulders, voice, intonation, feet, hands).”
“Eyes and mouth equally.”
“I look at the eyes because that is where you are supposed to look to show you are listening.”
“I don't really see faces, so maybe I can focus on glasses.”
“Self-taught and reinforced.”
“I tend to look at people's noses/mouths when I am looking at their faces. In order to get information I frequently have to follow their mouth movements to
understand what they are saying.”
53. I am good at picking up on Social “Bad mood or excessively cheerful yes otherwise no.”
other people’s moods without Perception: “Again I am better at picking up the mood of a crowd or group than an individual.” “Probably because of doing Comedy Shows.”
having to think about it. Mood “Depends on how much I like or trust the other person.”
“Is it possible to not think?”
“Generally need to think about it.”
“I often pick up on or share others’ moods unintentionally and don't always notice it till I do some self-reflection.”
“Yes, but doesn't work with some people.”
“I usually have to think about it.”
42
“Sometimes this was a survival skill, growing up with a violent family member. It depends upon the type of mood.”
“Depends on the kind of mood in question.”
“I have to think about it.”
“Sometimes, if I know them well. Strangers, no.”
“Sometimes it feels like I am a sponge and whatever energy people are giving off I just absorb and can't get rid of. It's not a good thing when around negative
people. I wish I were more resilient in that respect.”
“I can notice a person's mood better if they tell me how they're feeling. If not, I have to take some time to analyze and process what they could be feeling.”
54. I am good at predicting events Prognostication “It's very dependent on the specific situation/context, but in general I do tend to see where something is leading towards, especially if it's negative. Positive events
in terms of whether they are (for me personally that is) tend to be less easily predictable for me, due to poor life experience.”
likely or unlikely to actually “This depends on the time frame, the type of event, and specificity of the prediction.”
occur. “Nope…is this question about psychic ability?”
“Only predicting the unlikely stuff.”
“With scientifically-learnable info, I'm probably good at predicting stuff. With people, maybe I’m average...”
“I'm extremely bad at this, especially when I am overcome with anxiety.”
“In general, yes, but when anxious I tend to imagine the worst-case-scenario.”
“I believe I am good at assessing risks in some situations.”
“In situations that trigger a lot of anxiety for me I will definitely overestimate a negative outcome. For example, if I have to get a vaccine I will greatly
overestimate the likelihood of me reacting violently against the nurse because I have a fear of needles.”
“Ability to predict contingent on how far away in time, how many data points there are, and whether I can process the data points.”
55. I understand the metaphors Non-literal “I understand the first statement but not the second.”
people use (e.g., “That man is a Language: “Some are more opaque than others.”
lion” or calling a puddle of oil a Metaphor “I don't know what a Metaphor is. I could look it up but then that would make my answer inaccurate which could lead to false data on your survey results...”
“dead rainbow”). “They have to explain to me what they mean when they say a ‘man is a lion’. Do they mean he is hairy? Do they mean he has a loud voice? Do they mean he has
brown skin/ hair?”
“It depends on if I've heard it before.”
“Yes, but occasionally it can take me a couple of seconds to do so.”
“Did not understand those metaphors at all.”
“Sometimes terms are used that I don't understand, but I generally get the main idea.”
"dead rainbow....?"
56. I am socially aware (that is, I Social “I feel more confused and aware of my angst than what is actually going on.”
am aware of and understand the Awareness “I would say I do it in software rather than in hardware, there. That is, I have to analyze the situation with reason and experience; it doesn't come to me
social features of a situation I am unconsciously like it does for some.”
“More so than I was before.”
in).
“I definitely don’t think I am socially unaware.”
“Much more than I used to be.”
“Not sure I want to be.”
“Neither social nor aware.”
“I would say I am MORE socially aware than I was 10 years ago!”
“I think I am, but it takes A LOT of effort so I have limited capacity to stay involved in social things.”
“I can tell what's going on most of the time, but sometimes I can't. Also I don't always bother to look into it carefully.”
43
“I tend to be socially oblivious.”

“It depends upon the group of people and whether I'm familiar with how they tend to interact. I am sort of an academic person...”
“Most part, yes, but when anxious I tend to focus more inward.”
“Maybe too much so = social anxiety.”
57. I can shift a topic of Expressive “I very, very rarely try to shift a topic of conversation.”
conversation with skill. Pragmatics: “I learned to do this because I worked on Cruise Ships, but the topics I shifted too were always things I would like to hear.”
Conversation “A skill I have learned, but a skill nonetheless.”
“Maintaining one topic is a challenge, let alone shifting to another.”
“I have issues shifting things.”
“I am NOT always good a remembering this skill in conversation, but I do make a BIG effort to remember!”
“I'm a little clumsy sometimes.”
“Hit or miss.”
“I try to circle back to the original thought.”
“Not incredible skill and the context matters.”
“I'm not patient enough to make the ‘transition’. Either I want to jump into the new topic quick or I can leave a "white bridge of silence" in between and get there.”
“Years of education and training.”
“It takes effort for me to shift topics, and I usually prefer when other people take the lead to shift topics. If a topic is changed by someone else, I can typically keep
up with the change, although I will still keep the previous topic in mind in case we get back to it.”
“I can shift topic of conversation fluidly with someone I know well but not so much with someone who is just an acquaintance (unless it seems we have a lot of
common interests).”
“Usually when I try, the conversation immediately returns to the original topic.”
58. When I recount stories, I talk Expressive “Yes but I can get confused.”
about people’s thoughts and Pragmatics: “I don't do that.”
feelings to explain their actions. Narrative “If I talk about people's thoughts it's usually my own or thoughts people have told me already.”
Construction “I don't tell that many stories... I tend to ask other people questions and get them to do that!”
“I don't like it. Seems like justifying? And if I do it to others, it's probably because sooner or later I'll have to justify ("explain") my actions. So whenever I see
myself doing it, I get angry on me.”
“Part of the technique of telling a successful story.”
“I do not often recount stories.”
“I don't recount stories unless it is telling someone about something that happened to me.”
59. I understand proverbs even if Nonliteral “I find proverbs to be too simple and logically unsound when extrapolated properly. I dissect them to quickly and tend to use only a few that I find worthy.”
they are unfamiliar to me (e.g., Language: “One as easy as the example above, definitely, but some proverbs are quite cryptic and may contain unknown cultural referents.”
“Envy is destroyed by true Proverbs “Only if they are familiar or explained to me.”
friendship”). “A particular strength of mine.”
“I don't understand that one.”
60. I am good at beginning and Expressive “Could get better at ending non-work conversations while at work.”
ending conversations. Pragmatics: “I like that you ended the survey with this question.”
Conversation “No, and I appreciate when others do.”
“Much better at ending them than starting them.”
“Can't start but if I do I won't quit...”
44
“Good at beginning, but not ending.”

“I am told I offer lots of information but rarely seek to ask questions to keep a conversation going with those who do not know me. Conversation is a tough skill
when you are on the spectrum.”
“For people I interact with a lot I observe how they tend to end conversations and then try to do that back to them when I end conversations.”
“Often end conversations awkwardly. No idea why.”
“I am bad at ending conversations because sometimes I feel like I always have to respond.”
“Knowing when to end a conversation is difficult.”
“Not so good at ending conversations.”
“I have learned to begin conversations but sometimes have trouble ending them, because I start worrying that I'll offend the person, and it interferes with my
talking well.”
“Good at beginning them, less so at ending.”
“Depends on who I am talking to, I understand the general conventions of initiating and ending conversations, but when I am shy or anxious they can be
awkward.”
“I usually don't want to start a conversation (if it's in person) and don't know how not to end it abruptly (especially if by the phone). I usually want to end a
conversation long before the other person. Texting is a way better, but still, I overthink on starts, endings, emoticons, punctuation.”
“I am especially bad at ending a conversation.”
“Usually but when I fail, I fail spectacularly.”
“Introvert.”
“I greatly dislike beginning conversations, especially with strangers. I either take too long to say goodbye to people or I end conversations too abruptly.”
“Answer depends on the topic of conversation (whether or not it is interesting to me).”
45
REFERENCES
Abbeduto, L., Short-Meyerson, K., Benson, G., & Dolish, J. (2004). Relationship between theory
of mind and language ability in children and adolescents with intellectual disability.
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 48(2), 150-159.
Ashcroft, A., Jervis, N., & Roberts, C. (1999). A theory of mind (TOM) and people with learning
disabilities: The effects of a training package. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual
Disabilities, 12(1), 58-68.
Astington, J. W. (2003). Sometimes necessary, never sufficient: False belief understanding and
social competence. In B. Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in
theory of mind: Implications for typical and atypical development (pp. 13-38). New
York: Psychology Press.
Baron-Cohen, S. (2009). The essential difference: Male and female brains and the truth about
autism. Basic Books.
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “Reading the
Mind in the Eyes” Test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with
Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. The Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42(2), 241-251.
Bosacki, S. L. (2000). Theory of mind and self-concept in preadolescents: Links with gender and
language. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(4), 709.
Buhler, E., Bachman, C., Goyert, H., Heinzel-Gutenbrunner, M., & Kamp-Becker, I. (2011).
Differential diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder by means of inhibitory control and theory of mind. Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 41, 1718-1726.
Buitelaar, J. K., Ven der wees, M., Swaab-barneveld, H., & Jan Van der gaag, R. (1999). Theory
of mind and emotion-recognition functioning in autistic spectrum disorders and
psychiatric control and normal children. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 39-58.
Channon, S., & Crawford, S. (2010). Mentalising and social problem-solving after brain injury.
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 20(5), 739-759.
Compton, D., Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L., & Bryant, J. (2006). Selecting at-risk readers in first grade
for early intervention. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(2), 394-409.
46
Cornish, K., Burack, J. A., Rahman, A., Munir, F., Russo, N., & Grant, C. (2005). Theory of
mind deficits in children with Fragile X Syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability
Research, 49(5), 372-378.
Crehan, E., Altoff, R., Riehl, H., Prelock, P., & Hutchins, T. (2019). Brief report: Me, reporting
on myself: Preliminary evaluation of the criterion-related validity of the Theory of Mind
Inventory-2 when completed by autistic young adults. Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04278-5
Cutting, A. L., & Dunn, J. (1999). Theory of mind, emotion understanding, language, and family
background: Individual differences and interrelations. Child Development, 70(4), 853-
865.
Davies, M., & Stone, T. (2003). Synthesis: Psychological understanding of social skills. In B
Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind: Implications
for typical and atypical development (pp. 305-352). New York: Psychology Press.
Devine, R. T., & Hughes, C. (2013). Silent films and strange stories: Theory of mind, gender,
and social experiences in middle childhood. Child development, 84(3), 989-1003.
Dritschel, B., Wisely, M., Goddard, L., Robinson, S., & Howlin, P. (2010). Judgements of self-
understanding in adolescents with Asperger syndrome. Autism, 14(5), 509-518.
Egilsdottir, S. (2015). The relationship between theory of mind, dyslexia, and social
communication skills. Unpublished Master’s Thesis.
Fenson, L., Marchman, V., Thal, D., Dale, P. Reznich, J. S., & Bates, E. (2007). MacArthur-
Bates Communicative Development Inventories: User’s guide and manual. Baltimore:
MD; Paul H. Brookes.
Freedman, M., & Stuss, D. T. (2011). Theory of mind in Parkinson’s disease. Journal of the
Neurological Sciences, 15, 225–227.
Grant, C. M., Apperly I., & Oliver, C. (2007). Is theory of mind understanding impaired in males
with Fragile X syndrome? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 17-28.
GreenBaum, R. L., Stevens, S. A., Nash, K., Korean, G., & Rovet, J. (2009). Social cognitive
and emotion processing abilities of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: A
comparison with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Alcoholism: Clinical and
Experimental Research, 33(10) 1656-1670.
47
Hans, S.L., Auerbach, J.G., Styr, B., & Marcus, J. (2004). Offspring of parents with
schizophrenia: Mental disorders during childhood and adolescence. Schizophrenia
Bulletin, 30(2), 303-315.
Happé, F. G. (1994). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding of story characters'
thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped, and normal children and
adults. Journal of autism and Developmental disorders, 24(2), 129-154.
Hughes, C., Jaffee, S. R., Happé, F., Taylor, A., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2005). Origins of
individual differences in theory of mind: From nature to nurture? Child
development, 76(2), 356-370.
Hutchins, T., Bonazinga, L., Prelock, P. A., & Taylor, R. S. (2008). Beyond false beliefs: The
development and psychometric evaluation of the Perceptions of Children's Theory of
Mind Measure - Experimental Version (PCToMM-E). Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 38 (1), 143-155.
Hutchins, T. L., Prelock, P. A., & Bonazinga, L. (2012). Psychometric evaluation of the Theory
of Mind Inventory: A study of typically developing children and children with autism
spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 42(3), 327-341.
Hutchins, T., Prelock, P. A., Morris, H., Benner, J., Lavigne, T., & Hoza, B. (2016). Explicit vs.
applied theory of mind competence: A comparison of typically developing males, males
with ASD, and males with ADHD. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 21, 94-108.
Kaland, N., Møller‐Nielsen, A., Callesen, K., Mortensen, E. L., Gottlieb, D., & Smith, L. (2002).
A new advanced'test of theory of mind: Evidence from children and adolescents with
Asperger syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(4), 517-528.
Kincaid, J. P., Braby, R., & Mears, J. E. (1988). Electronic authoring and delivery of technical
information. Journal of instructional development, 11(2), 8-13.
Klin, A., Schultz, R., & Cohen, D. J. (2000). Theory of mind in action: Developmental
perspectives on social neuroscience. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J.
Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental
neuroscience (pp. 357-390). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Lerner, M., Hutchins, T., & Prelock, P. (2011). Brief report: Preliminary evaluation of the
Theory of Mind Inventory and its relationship to measures of social skills. Journal of
Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 512-517.
48
Martin-Rodriquez, J., & Leon-Carrion, J. (2010). Theory of mind deficits in patients with
acquired brain injury: A quantitative review. Neuropsychologia, 48(5), 1181-1191.
McCauley, R. (2001). Assessment of language disorders in children. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
McDonald, S. (2013). Impairments in social cognition following severe traumatic brain injury.
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 19(3), 231-246.
Mosner, M., Kinard, J., Shah, J., McWeeny, S., Greene, R.,…& Dichter, G. (2019). Rates of co-
occurring psychiatric disorders in autism spectrum disorder using the Mini International
Neuropsychiatric Interview. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 3819-
3828.
Muris, P., Steerneman, P., Meesters, C., Merckelbach, H., Horselenberg, R., van den Hogen, T.,
& van Dongen, L. (1999). The TOM test: A new instrument for assessing theory of mind
in normal children and children with pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of
Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29(1), 67-80.
Nilsson, K., & de Lopez, K. (2016). Theory of mind in children with specific language
impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Development, 87(1), 143-153.
Park, S., Goo, J., & Jo, C. (2004). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) cureve: Practical
review for radiologists. Korean Journal of Radiology, 5(1), 11-18.
Pears, K. C., & Moses, L. J. (2003). Demographics, parenting, and theory of mind in preschool
children. Social Development, 12(1), 1-20.
Perner, J., Kain, W., & Barchfeld, P. (2002). Executive control and higher-order theory of mind
in children at risk for ADHD. Infant and Child Development, 11, 141-158.
Peterson, C., Peterson, J., & Webb, J. (2000). Factors influencing the development of theory of
mind in blind children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18, 431-447.
Rosen, R., Mazefsky, C., Vasa, R., & Lerner, M. (2018). Co-occurring psychiatric conditions in
autism spectrum disorder. International Review of Psychiatry, 30(1), 40-61.
Schriber, R., Robins, R., & Solomon, M. (2014). Personality and self-insight in individuals with
autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106(1), 112-
130.
Slaughter, V., & Repacholi, B. (2003). Introduction: Individual differences in theory of mind. In
B. Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind (pp. 1–12).
49
New York: Taylor & Francis Books.
Stanzione, C., & Schick, B. (2014). Environmental language factors in theory of mind
development: Evidence from children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing or who have specific
language impairment. Topics in Language Disorders, 34(4), 296-312.
Uekermann, J., Kraemer, M., Abdel-Hamid, M., Schimmerlmann, B. G., Heberbrand, J., Daum,
I., Wiltfang, J., & Kis, B. (2010). Social cognition in attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 34, 734-743.
Yuhas, D. (2018). Ask me first: What self-assessments can tell us about autism. Spectrum:
Autism Research News. Available at www.spectrumnews.org
White, S., Hill, E., Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2009). Revisiting the strange stories: Revealing
mentalizing impairments in autism. Child development, 80(4), 1097-1117.
50
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1. Affective Empathy
2. Mixed Emotions
3. Time Perception
4. Episodic Memory
5. Nonliteral Language: Metaphor
6. Nonliteral Language: Metonymy
8. Social Perception
9. Double Bluff
10. Motivated Reasoning
11. Hypocrisy
12. Social Common Sense
13. Stereotypical Thinking

14. White Lie Appreciation
15. Display Rules
Appendix A: Raw Score Summary Sheet
16. Complex Social Judgment

17. Lies v. Jokes
18. Intentionality
19. Complex Social Judgment
20. Emotion Recognition: Disgust
21. Empathy (cognitive and affective)
22. Humor: Play on Words
23. Humor Appreciation
24. Audience Adaptation
25. Emotion Recognition: Sad
26. Emotion Recognition: Scared
27. Emotion Recognition: Surprise
28. Situation-based Emotion: Embarrassed
29. Introspection: Emotion
30. Future Thinking
31. Situation-based Emotion: Pride
32. Situation-based Emotion
33. Future Thinking
34. Social Awareness
35. Social Perception: Body Language
36. Eye Contact
51
37. Display Rules
Raw Score Summary Sheet
38. Social Perception: Voices

39. Social Perception: Affinity
40. Situation-based Emotion: Jealousy
41. Lie Detection
42. Episodic Memory
43. Sympathy
44. Emotion Blends
45. Nonliteral Language: Verbal Irony
46. Introspection: Action
47. Introspection: Desire
48. Introspection: Planning
= Male
• = Mean
49. Cognitive Empathy

= Female
50. Emotional Intelligence

51. Future Thinking
52. Social Perception: Reading Eyes
53. Social Perception: Mood
54. Prognostication
highlighted

56. Social Awareness
range = +/- 1 SD
57. Expressive Pragmatics: Conversation

y-axis = Item Score
58. Expressive Pragmatics: Narrative

x-axis = ToM Construct
Construction
59. Nonliteral Language: Proverbs
60. Expressive Pragmatics: Conversation
Appendix B: area under the curve corresponding to different descriptive labels to characterize
ToMI-SR-Adult percentile scores. Note that scores below or around the 10th or 15th percentile are
usually considered to lie in the clinical range.
Percentile ranks
52

Technical Manual For The ToMI SR Adult 11-11-2022

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Technical Manual For The ToMI SR Adult 11-11-2022

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Technical Manual for the

Tiffany L. Hutchins, Patricia A. Prelock, & Laura Lewis

Theory of Mind Inventory, LLC © 2019

For Individual Use Only

Tiffany Hutchins, Ph.D.

Patricia A. Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Laura Foran Lewis, Ph.D., R.N.

TECHNICAL MANUAL FOR THE

Overview and Uses ...........................................................................................................11

ADMINISTRATION, SCORING, & TYPES OF SCORES ................................................... 12

Types of Scores .................................................................................................................14

THE THEORY OF MIND INVENTORY-SR-ADULT

designed to assess their comprehension of the social scenario.

report measures to complement existing measuring psychosocial characteristics in adults

representing a wide range of clinical conditions.

autistic individuals experience perspective-taking opportunities, rather than relying on test

performance or what is observable to other informants. In validation studies of an earlier, parent-

Although self-report is being presently used to assess a variety of characteristics in ASD

(e.g., anxiety, depression, systemizing, internalizing), self-assessment of social cognition remains

a woefully understudied topic.

Of course, assessing one’s own ability to perspective-take is a potentially confounding

asses). Nonetheless, self-insight into psychosocial functioning is also well documented

of their own experience (Yuhas, 2018).

strategies and supports.

many did so vis-à-vis the content, clarity, and relevance of items.

by the expert developers.

Following the identification of the final 60 items, exploratory principle components

unitary construct (presumably advanced theory of mind).

make clear what is considered correct and incorrect forms of responding.

Table 1: Items and intended constructs for the ToMI-SR-Adult

57. I can shift a topic of conversation with skill. Expressive Pragmatics:

Overview and Uses

The ToMI-SR-Adult is intended as a measure of advanced ToM. Because it is an

development of individualized treatment and progress monitoring.

Because deficits in ToM represent a universal characteristic of ASD, an important use of

disorder (Buhler, Bachmann, Goyert, Heinzel-Gutenbrunner, & Kamp-Becker, 2011; Buitelaar,

strength and weakness in an individual’s social-cognitive profile and developmentally

appropriate targets for treatment.

ADMINISTRATION, SCORING, & TYPES OF SCORES

administered electronically (via email from a subscription at theoryofmindinventory.com). In

particular ToM understanding. An example of correct responding (i.e., drawing a vertical

the precise point of intersection as shown below.

Definitely Probably Undecided Probably Definitely

Ruler measurement = 16.2

scoring using the ruler takes approximately five minutes.

Subscriptions” increase by one).

Percentile ranks. Percentile ranks are a type of ordinal-level norm-referenced score.

ultimately determined by the nature of the underlying distribution of scores. There is

preclude this approach and this must be left to users to determine.

2003) are positively associated with theory of mind development.

equal to or exceeded p > .26).

language disorder, intellectual disability, developmental delay, hearing impairment) of known or

differences (all comparisons p > .33).

- $750,000.00 (M = $66,449.00; SD = $74,210.00). Education ranged from ‘some high school’ to

$320,000.00 (M = $96,548.50; SD = 37,222.00). Education ranged from ‘some high school’ to

urban, rural, and suburban living by group are presented in Table 6.

Table 2: ASD and TD sample demographic characteristics (frequency and percent):

ASD Sample; N = 111 TD Sample; N = 109

Country/Region of Frequency % Frequency %

ASD; N = 111 TD Sample; N = 109

Table 5: ASD and TD sample reported (known or suspected) clinical conditions

ASD Sample; N = 111 TD Sample; N = 109