Memory awareness for faces in individuals with autism
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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Desirée A Wilkinson1, Catherine A Best, Nancy J Minshew
1Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 210 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. daw75@pitt.edu
Abstract:
Little is known regarding metacognition in individuals with autism. Specifically, it is unclear how individuals with autism think about their own mental states. The current study assessed memory awareness during a facial recognition task. High-functioning children (M = 13.1 years, n = 18) and adults (M = 27.5 years, n = 16) with autism matched with typically developing children (M = 14.3 years, n = 13) and adults (M = 26.9 years, n = 15) were tested. Children with autism demonstrated less accurate memory awareness for faces and less reliable differentiation between their confidence ratings compared to typically developing children. Subtle impairments in memory awareness for faces were also evident in adults with autism. Results indicate that broader metacognitive deficits may exist in individuals with autism, possibly contributing to other known impairments.
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