Perseverating certain traits during evaluation?

Post Reply New Topic

In order for my question to make sense, I need to explain the thing that made me think of it:

I remember reading about an experiment once in which a two groups of caucasian females and two groups of African American males were all given the same cognitive test. The 1st group of caucasian females and African American males were told the test was an academic test. The 2nd group of caucasian women were told the test measured social skills, and the 2nd group of African American men were told the test measured strategy. In both cases, the second groups outperformed their first group counterparts on the same test, indicating that the individuals unknowingly perseverated the traits they had been conditioned to think were true about themselves when asked to demonstrate them.

This leads to my question: Wouldn't this phenomenon occur when one of us gets tested for ASD? I want to know because I was tested for ASD recently and the results came out positive. However, because I was aware that I was being tested for autistic traits, and I had already believed that I was autistic, then this phenomenon would suggest that I perseverated on those characteristics. Were I told it was an IQ test (since I believe I am smart), wouldn't I have performed better and thus the results be negative? Are adult evaluations designed with this in mind? How do I know I didn't subconsciously "fake" it?

You can subconsciously fake anything if you desire. Just like some people can pass a polygraph, even though they're being deceptive without any dings.

I was going to write something huge before, but my phone decided to be an as*hole and I lost everything, haha.

It's all rationalizations, really. Put your mind to the thought that this is who you are, and that's who you'll become. Even if it isn't true, you could still fool yourself.

The brain is a fickle thing.

I thought I was an Aspie for a period of time before getting ny diagnosis, is it a possibility that some of the more acute characteristics displayed themselves during my evaluation? Was it because I was truly seeking an answer for myself?

I'm pretty sure my doctor saw through my BS and diagnosed me appropriately. Haha.

But yes, to answer your Q.

Just curious, who was present at your assessment?

A most interesting question.

I thought about it myself after my evaluation, and even remembered thinking while it was happening that this is going to be interpreted as a sign of autism, this won't be significant for the diagnosis etc. I wondered, after the tests were concluded, that had I possessed a different mindset during the whole thing, I could have arrived at a different conclusion. However, it dawned on me that the reason that the test came out positive was, evidently, the fact that I am on the spectrum, nevermind my attitude towards the test.

So, while on an intellectual level, we may answer "yes" to your question - your approach the test could have made an impact on it's results, and this is truly a provocative thing to think about when it comes to scientific research - let's also keep in mind that if you believed before you had ASD and the tests confirmed it, there's no reason to nullify that conclusion simply based on the possibility of a different outcome had you adopted a different attitude (like thinking of it as a mere IQ evaluation).