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Jayo
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31 Dec 2013, 10:09 am

Based on Dr. Baron-Cohen's theory of people on the spectrum lacking central coherence i.e. clinical difficulty sorting out details into a "big picture" or cohesive whole when it comes to situations, I came across a site that gave a simple central coherence test, which IMO even neurotypicals would fail. It went like this:

Fill in the blank: "Hunting with a knife and ______"
My spontaneous response was "knife", but I consciously analyzed it based on simple context, and then thought "club" or "spear". Somehow, I can't help but think that "knife" would also spring to mind for many NTs simply because of the commonality of the pair, like bacon and eggs or ham and cheese or whatever. So I don't think this is necessarily the best test of "context blindness".

If there is a test for central coherence score, I suppose it would have to be based on spontaneous response if it is to emulate "the real world" - often one of the reasons we appear weird to others is we simply don't have the spontaneous capacity to react appropriately to situational context and have to analyze it further, making us appear "slow" or "spaced out".



JSBACHlover
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31 Dec 2013, 10:30 am

I don't get it at all. How does this relate to Central Coherence? I would answer in this way:

Hunting with a knife and ..... FORK? -- the pair makes sense but the sentence makes no sense. Who hunts with a knife? The question should be:

Hunting with a bow and .... ARROW.

So.......what is this test supposed to measure and why?



buffinator
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31 Dec 2013, 10:34 am

Jayo wrote:
Based on Dr. Baron-Cohen's theory of people on the spectrum lacking central coherence i.e. clinical difficulty sorting out details into a "big picture" or cohesive whole when it comes to situations, I came across a site that gave a simple central coherence test, which IMO even neurotypicals would fail. It went like this:

Fill in the blank: "Hunting with a knife and ______"
My spontaneous response was "knife", but I consciously analyzed it based on simple context, and then thought "club" or "spear". Somehow, I can't help but think that "knife" would also spring to mind for many NTs simply because of the commonality of the pair, like bacon and eggs or ham and cheese or whatever. So I don't think this is necessarily the best test of "context blindness".

If there is a test for central coherence score, I suppose it would have to be based on spontaneous response if it is to emulate "the real world" - often one of the reasons we appear weird to others is we simply don't have the spontaneous capacity to react appropriately to situational context and have to analyze it further, making us appear "slow" or "spaced out".


links or it didn't happen


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AshTrees
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31 Dec 2013, 10:35 am

I've read about this in Autism: A Very Short Introduction by Uta Frith.

My answer to "Going hunting with a knife and...."
was fork, because the word fork imediatly leapt into my head because I've heard the phrase "knife and fork" so often. I know that it doesn't make sense, but if I had to give my immediate answer it would be fork.

According to the book this shows Weak Central Context. The book stresses that Weak does not mean poor. Apparently it means that I have ignored the overall meaning of the sentence.
Apart from being dyslexic I'm overwise NT, (on this website to learn more about autism). I think I would have been expected to show a Strong Central Context and said "Net" or something.

Anouther example the book gives is "the sea tastes of salt and..."

What would you say for that?



JSBACHlover
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31 Dec 2013, 11:20 am

Immediate response: pepper.
Thoughtful response: crustaceans



Jensen
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31 Dec 2013, 11:57 am

... fish-poop!


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Jensen
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31 Dec 2013, 11:59 am

....fish-poop!


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Raziel
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31 Dec 2013, 12:27 pm

AshTrees wrote:
My answer to "Going hunting with a knife and...."
was fork, because the word fork imediatly leapt into my head because I've heard the phrase "knife and fork" so often. I know that it doesn't make sense, but if I had to give my immediate answer it would be fork.


My answer was "fork" too. 8O

AshTrees wrote:
Anouther example the book gives is "the sea tastes of salt and..."

What would you say for that?


salt and sugar :lol:


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Marybird
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31 Dec 2013, 12:50 pm

My response was fork also, but it does make sense. Then you are prepared to eat your catch. How's that for strong central context? :geek:



buffinator
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31 Dec 2013, 1:11 pm

knife and snare or knife and net. you have to catch the buggers before you eat them guyz!


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