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An Integrated Account of Social Cognition in ASD: Bringing Together Situated Cognition and Theory Theory A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences by Tracy P. Van Wagner Master of Arts in Philosophy, Georgia State University, 2011 Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, North Georgia University, 2006 July 2017 i Committee Peter Langland-Hassan, Ph.D (Chair) Anthony Chemero, Ph.D Heidi Maibom, Ph.D Heidi Kloos, Ph.D (External) ii Abstract Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. I argue that an account of social cognition that combines elements from situated cognition and theory theory can best account for the range and variety of social abilities and disabilities in ASD. Situated cognition places emphasis on the contribution of the perceptions and bodies of individuals to social interactions. Theory theory focuses upon the development of a theory of mind and the mental processes that guide social understanding and interaction. Proponents of situated cognition argue that properly embedding within a social environment is an important element for the development of social rapport. Coordinating social rhythms with others, such as walking rhythms and postural sway rhythms, are important for the development of social rapport. Individuals with ASD, due to movement atypicalities, do not embed fully within social environments. These difficulties with embedding within social environments may lead to social isolation. Due to attentional, learning, and movement atypicalities and to not fully embedding within social environments, individuals with ASD develop a less robust theory of mind. Theory of mind is a hierarchical model that consists of many integrated models of social situations. Early social development delays will cause a cycle of delays in social development. The development of a theory of mind involves observing and participating within social environments and using these observations and experiences to construct models of social situations. These models are used to guide attention and behavior in new social situations. Individuals on the spectrum observe less social stimuli and participate less within social environments. Furthermore, learning atypicalities likely interfere with the development of social iii models and with grouping similar social models together in order to develop a more robust understanding of different types of social situations. A different and insufficient theory of mind and movement atypicalities will cause individuals on the spectrum to insufficiently embed within social environments, which will cause individuals with ASD to be socially isolated, and thus miss out on the social experiences necessary for social development. Social cognition is best understood as a complex process involving the perceptions, actions, and theory of mind of the individual participating within the social interaction, the perceptions, actions, and theory of mind of others participating within the social interaction, the body of the individual, the bodies of others, and the overall social environment created by the dynamic interplay of these elements. An individual on the spectrum may have atypicalities in some or all of these elements involved in social cognition. The atypicalities possessed by the individual on the spectrum will work together and feed into one another in order to cause the unique set of social atypicalities experienced by the individual on the spectrum. Interventions, thus, should thus focus upon addressing the individual atypicalities of individuals with ASD and upon teaching typically-developed individuals to create social environments that are more inclusive of individuals with ASD. iv Copyright ©2017 Tracy Pamela Van Wagner All rights reserved. v Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank my dissertation chair, Peter Langland-Hassan. He has shown enthusiasm and support for my research interests and my work since before he became my dissertation chair. Peter’s encouragement and support gave me the confidence to pursue my research interests, all of which have converged together for this dissertation. I always felt comfortable with proposing new ideas for my research and he has always encouraged and helped me to pursue these new ideas, which has made working on this project exciting and made the project itself more interesting than it otherwise would have been. Second, I would like to thank my committee members, Anthony Chemero, Heidi Maibom, and Heidi Kloos for their interest and support of this project. I was fortunate to have committee members who were enthusiastic about this project and who each had unique perspectives on social cognition and ASD. They each provided me with helpful insights, resources, and constructive criticism from each of their perspectives. The dialogue that occurred throughout this project among the committee importantly shaped and strengthened this dissertation. Third, I would like to thank the Department of Philosophy for providing me with the opportunity to continue my studies and for creating an atmosphere that encouraged students to pursue a variety of research interests. I would also like to thank the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology for maintaining a cooperative relationship. Contact with students and faculty in the psychology department provided deeply important insights for this project. Fourth, I would like to thank my parents, Debbie and Bob Van Wagner. Throughout my life, my parents encouraged and supported my interests and hobbies. They provided me with the vi emotional and financial support that allowed me to successfully earn my Masters degree and move on to my Ph.D. They also helped me with this dissertation by listening to me and asking questions about my research and they also provided important insights for my project as parents of a child on the autism spectrum. Fifth, I would like to thank my husband, Howard Liang. He knew when we met that I would be very busy and constantly under stress as I pursued a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. He supported and encouraged me throughout these long years of my studies. He took care of all of my needs and always understood when an evening together or a weekend had to be sacrificed for my work. Finally, I would like to thank my friends Tammi Kim, Lisa Riggins, and Heather Kask. Their tireless support got me through all of the rough patches. I would not have a Master’s degree or a Ph.D if not for my support system of friends and family, including my extended family and my in-laws. When I lost faith in myself, their faith in me kept me going until I regained my faith in myself. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..1 II. Autism Spectrum Disorder……………………………………………………………..6 III. Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………………..9 Chapter 2: Social and Nonsocial Atypicalities Present in ASD…………………………………13 I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………13 II. Social Atypicalities…………………………………………………………………...14 III. Theory of Mind………………………………………………………………………15 IV. Executive Functioning……………………………………………………………….20 V. Learning………………………………………………………………………………23 Va. Introduction………………………………………………………………….23 Vb. Reinforcement Learning…………………………………………………….23 Vc. Categorization……………………………………………………………….27 Vd. Conclusions about Learning in ASD………………………………………..33 VI. Central Coherence…………………………………………………………………...34 VII. Attention…………………………………………………………………………….36 VIIa. Salience…………………………………………………………………….36 VIIb. Gaze Following……………………………………………………………40 VIIc. Biological Motion………………………………………………………….41 VIId. Disengagement of Attention……………………………………………….43 VIII. Movement………………………………………………………………………….44 IX. First-Person Accounts………………………………………………………………..46 IXa. Movement Atypicalities…………………………………………………….48 IXb. Sensory Atypicalities……………………………………………………….50 IXc. Social Experiences………………………………………………………….53 IXd. Different Ways of Thinking………………………………………………...53 IXe. Individuals on the Spectrum Understand Each Other………………………55 viii X. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………55 Chapter 3: Situated Cognition and Its Approach to ASD………………………………………..58 I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………58 II. Introduction to Situated Cognition……………………………………………………58 III. Movement and Movement Perception in Social Cognition………………………….62 IIIa. Introduction…………………………………………………………………62 IIIb. Mimicry……………………………………………………………………..64 IIIc. Interactional Synchrony…………………………………………………….66 IIId. Movement and Movement Perception in ASD……………………………..67 IV. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...71 Chapter 4: Cognitivism and Its Approach to ASD………………………………………………73 I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………73 II. Scientific Theory Theory……………………………………………………………..76 III. Theory of Mind in ASD……………………………………………………………...85 IV. Interaction with Other Reported Differences in ASD……………………………….88 IVa. Attention……………………………………………………………………89 IVb. Executive Functioning and Learning……………………………………….94 IVc. Weak Central Coherence………………………………………………….100 V. Explains Research Results, Social Behaviors, and Experiences…………………….102 Va. Delayed Social Development………………………………………………102 Vb. Social Development………………………………………………………..104 Vc. Theory of Mind Tasks……………………………………………………...105 Vd. Social Orientation………………………………………………………….108 Ve. Social Interactions………………………………………………………….109 Vf. Mixed Social

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