Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test: Investigation of Psychometric Properties and Test–Retest Reliability of the Persian Version

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Persian “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test were investigated, so were the predictions from the Empathizing–Systemizing theory of psychological sex differences. Adults aged 16–69 years old (N = 545, female = 51.7 %) completed the test online. The analysis of items showed them to be generally acceptable. Test–retest reliability, as measured by Intra-class correlation coefficient, was 0.735 with a 95 % CI of (0.514, 0.855). The percentage of agreement for each item in the test–retest was satisfactory and the mean difference between test–retest scores was −0.159 (SD = 3.42). However, the internal consistency of Persian version, calculated by Cronbach’s alpha (0.371), was poor. Females scored significantly higher than males but academic degree and field of study had no significant effect.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The number in the parenthesis is percentage of participants choosing the target in item 7 in each study.

References

  • Adams, R. B., Jr., Rule, N. O., Franklin, R. G., Jr., Wang, E., Stevenson, M. T., Yoshikawa, S., et al. (2010). Cross-cultural reading the mind in the eyes: An fMRI investigation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22(1), 97–108. doi:10.1162/jocn.2009.21187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed, F. S., & Stephen, M. L. (2011). Executive function mechanisms of theory of mind. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(5), 667–678. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1087-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Apperly, I. A., Riggs, K. J., Simpson, A., Chiavarino, C., & Samson, D. (2006). Psychological Science, 17, 841.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Auyeung, B., Baron-Cohen, S., Ashwin, E., Knickmeyer, R., Taylor, K., Hackett, G., et al. (2009). Fetal testosterone predicts sexually differentiated childhood behavior in girls and in boys. Psychological Science, 20(2), 144–148. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02279.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Empathizing, systemizing, and the extreme male brain theory of autism. Progress in Brain Research, 186, 167–175.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Jolliffe, T., Mortimore, C., & Robertson, M. (1997). Another advanced test of theory of mind: Evidence from very high functioning adults with autism or asperger syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 813–822.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Richler, J., Bisarya, D., Gurunathan, N., & Wheelwright, S. (2003). The systemizing quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 358, 361–374.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163–175.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001a). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 241–251.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001b). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Begeer, S., Malle, B. F., Nieuwland, M. S., & Keysar, B. (2010). Using Theory of Mind to represent and take part in social interactions: Comparing individuals with high-functioning autism and typically developing controls. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7, 104–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bender, L. C., Linnau, K. F., Meier, E. N., Anzai, Y., & Gunn, M. L. (2012). Interrater agreement in the evaluation of discrepant imaging findings with the Radpeer system. AJR: American Journal of Roentgenology, 199, 1320–1327.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Billington, J., Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2007). Cognitive style predicts entry into physical sciences and humanities: Questionnaire and performance tests of empathy and systemizing. Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 260–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1986). Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet, 1, 307–310.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, E., Baron-Cohen, S., Auyeung, B., Knickmeyer, R. F., Taylor, K. F., & Hackett, G. (2006). Fetal testosterone and empathy: Evidence from the empathy quotient (EQ) and the “reading the mind in the eyes” test. Social Neuroscience, 1(2), 135–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dehning, S., Gasperi, S., Tesfaye, M., Girma, E., Meyer, S., Krahl, W., et al. (2013). Empathy without borders? Cross-cultural heart and mind-reading in first-year medical students. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 23, 113–122.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Domes, G., Heinrichs, M., Michel, A., Berger, C., & Herpertz, S. C. (2007). Oxytocin improves “mind-reading” in humans. Biological Psychiatry, 61(6), 731–733.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Abascal, E. G., Cabello, R., Fernandez-Berrocal, P., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2013). Test-retest reliability of the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ test: A one-year follow-up study. Molecular Autism, 4, 33.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Focquaert, F., Steven, Megan S., Wolford, George L., Colden, Albina, Miller, L. S., & Gazzaniga, Michael S. (2007). Emphatizing and systemizing cognitive traits in the sciences and humanities. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 619–625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grove, R., Baillie, A., Allison, C., Baron-Cohen, S., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2014). The latent structure of cognitive and emotional empathy in individuals with autism, first-degree relatives and typical individuals. Molecular Autism, 5(1), 42. doi:10.1186/2040-2392-5-42.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guillemin, F., Bombardier, C., & Beaton, D. (1993). Cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures: Literature review and proposed guidelines. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 46(12), 1417–1432.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hallerback, M. U., Lugnegard, T., Hjarthag, F., & Gillberg, C. (2009). The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test: Test–retest reliability of a Swedish version. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 14, 127–143.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hampson, E., van Anders, S. M., & Mullin, L. I. (2006). A female advantage in the recognition of emotional facial expressions: Test of an evolutionary hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27(6), 401–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harkness, K. L., Alavi, N., Monroe, S. M., Slavich, G. M., Gotlib, I. H., & Bagby, R. M. (2010). Gender differences in life events prior to onset of major depressive disorder: The moderating effect of age. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(4), 791–803. doi:10.1037/a0020629.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, T. L., Bonazinga, L. A., 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, 143–155.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, T. L. (1939). The selection of upper and lower groups for the validation of test items. Journal of Educational Psychology, 30, 17–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidd, D. C., & Castano, E. (2013). Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind. Science, 342(6156), 377–380. doi:10.1126/science.1239918.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kret, M. E., & De, G. B. (2012). A review on sex differences in processing emotional signals. Neuropsychologia, 50(7), 1211–1221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kunihira, Y., Senju, A., Dairoku, H., Wakabayashi, A., & Hasegawa, T. (2006). ‘Autistic’ traits in non-autistic Japanese populations: Relationships with personality traits and cognitive ability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 553–566.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Chakrabarti, B., Ecker, C. F., Sadek, S. A., Wheelwright, S., et al. (2012). Individual differences in brain structure underpin empathizing–systemizing cognitive styles in male adults. Neuroimage, 61(4), 1347–1354.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lind, S. E., Bowler, D. M., & Raber, J. (2014). Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: Evidence for impairments in mental simulation? Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1411. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01411.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Linda, C., & Algina, J. (2006). Introduction to classical and modern test theory. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandal, M. K., & Palchoudhury, S. (1985). Responses to facial expression of emotion in depression. Psychological Reports, 56(2), 653–654.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manson, C., & Winterbottom, M. (2011). Examining the association between empathising, systemising, degree subject and gender. Educational Studies, 38, 73–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, M. F., & Morris, M. W. (2010). Culture, attribution and automaticity: A social cognitive neuroscience view. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(2–3), 292–306. doi:10.1093/scan/nsq034.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nejati, V., Zabihzadeh, A., Maleki, G., & Tehranchi, A. (2012). Mind reading and mindfulness deficits in patients with major depression disorder. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 32, 431–437.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nowicki, S., Jr., & Hartigan, M. (1988). Accuracy of facial affect recognition as a function of locus of control orientation and anticipated interpersonal interaction. The Journal of Social Psychology, 128(3), 363–372.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, R. (2010). Empathy development in medical education—A critical review. Medical teacher, 32(7), 593–600. doi:10.3109/01421590903544702.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, E., & Miller, S. F. (2012). The Eyes test as a measure of individual differences: How much of the variance reflects verbal IQ? Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 220. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00220.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. C., Slaughter, V. P., & Paynter, J. (2007). Social maturity and theory of mind in typically developing children and those on the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(12), 1243–1250.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfaltz, M. C., McAleese, S., Saladin, A., Meyer, A. H., Stoecklin, M., Opwis, K., et al. (2013). The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test: Test–retest reliability and preliminary psychometric properties of the German version. International Journal of Advances in Psychology (IJAP), 2, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Premack, D., Woodruff, G., & Kennel, K. (1978). Paper-marking test for chimpanzee: Simple control for social cues. Science, 202(4370), 903–905.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prevost, M., Carrier, M. E., Chowne, G., Zelkowitz, P., Joseph, L., & Gold, I. (2014). The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test: Validation of a French version and exploration of cultural variations in a multi-ethnic city. Cogn Neuropsychiatry, 19, 189–204.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rotter, N., & Rotter, G. (1988). Sex differences in the encoding and decoding of negative facial emotions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 12, 139–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samson, D. (2009). Reading other people’s mind: Insights from neuropsychology. Journal of Neuropsychology, 3(1), 3–16. doi:10.1348/174866408X377883.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sawada, R., Sato, W., Kochiyama, T., Uono, S., Kubota, Y., Yoshimura, S., et al. (2014). Sex differences in the rapid detection of emotional facial expressions. PloS one, 9(4), e94747. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094747.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shahaeian, A., Peterson, C. C., Slaughter, V., & Wellman, H. M. (2011). Culture and the sequence of steps in theory of mind development. Developmental Psychology, 47(5), 1239–1247. doi:10.1037/a0023899..

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vassallo, S., Cooper, S. L., & Douglas, J. M. (2009). Visual scanning in the recognition of facial affect: Is there an observer sex difference? Journal of Vision, 9(3), 11.1–11.10. doi:10.1167/9.3.11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vellante, M., Baron-Cohen, S., Melis, M., Marrone, M., Petretto, D. R., Masala, C., et al. (2013). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test: Systematic review of psychometric properties and a validation study in Italy. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 18, 326–354.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Voracek, M., & Dressler, S. G. (2006). Lack of correlation between digit ratio (2D:4D) and Baron-CohenΓÇÖs ΓÇ£Reading the Mind in the EyesΓÇ¥ test, empathy, systemising, and autism-spectrum quotients in a general population sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 1481–1491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, H. N., Jr., (1986). Images of the brain: Past as prologue. Society of Nuclear Medicine, 27(12), 1929–1937.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheelwright, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Goldenfeld, N., Delaney, J., Fine, D., Smith, R., et al. (2006). Predicting Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) from the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R) and Empathy Quotient (EQ). Brain Research, 1079, 47–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science, 330(6004), 686–688. doi:10.1126/science.1193147.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yildirim, E. A., Kasar, M., Guduk, M., Ates, E., Kucukparlak, I., & Ozalmete, E. O. (2011). Investigation of the reliability of the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes test” in a Turkish population. Turk Psikiyatri Dergisi, 22, 177–186.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zainudin, S., Ahmad, K., Ali, N. M., & Zainal, N. F. A. (2012). Determining course outcomes achievement through examination difficulty index measurement. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 59, 270–276.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was part of a medical doctorate dissertation which was fully supported by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. SBC was supported by the Autism Research Trust during the period of this work. This article is thoroughly the original work of authors without any financial interest or benefit.

Conflict of interest

It is strictly ascertained that there would be no matter of concern as a subject for conflict of interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evolution and Human Behaviour Group, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, No. 17, Toufigh 9 Lane, Shahid Sadeghi Blv., 91858-84714, Mashhad, Iran

    Behzad S. Khorashad

  2. Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge University, Douglas House, 18B Trumpington Rd., Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK

    Simon Baron-Cohen

  3. Evolution and Human Behaviour Group, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, No. 101, 4th Fl., Daneshju 19st, 9188977361, Mashhad, Iran

    Ghasem M. Roshan

  4. Evolution and Human Behaviour Group, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, No. 9, Motahari Shomali 41st, 9193974567, Mashhad, Iran

    Mojtaba Kazemian

  5. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Unit 1221, 100 Lincoln Rd., Miamibeach, FL, 33139, USA

    Ladan Khazai

  6. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Unit 4, No. 134, Asrar 1st, Daneshgah Av., Mashhad, Iran

    Zahra Aghili

  7. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Bu-Ali Sq., Amel Blvd., Mashhad, Iran

    Ali Talaei

  8. Department of Endocrinology, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Imam Reza Sq., Mashhad, Iran

    Mozhgan Afkhamizadeh

Authors
  1. Behzad S. Khorashad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Simon Baron-Cohen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ghasem M. Roshan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mojtaba Kazemian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ladan Khazai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zahra Aghili
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ali Talaei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Mozhgan Afkhamizadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simon Baron-Cohen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Khorashad, B.S., Baron-Cohen, S., Roshan, G.M. et al. The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test: Investigation of Psychometric Properties and Test–Retest Reliability of the Persian Version. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 2651–2666 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2427-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2427-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation