- Relies on other cognitive functions, such as working memory and the ability to inhibit reality-oriented responses
- Successes and failures aren't always easy to interpret 

University of Rochester

If Mind Blindness theory is true, ASD children should not be able to or should show impaired ability to determine the mental states of others. 

To test this, the false belief task of the Sally-Ann task was devised by Wimmer and Perner (1983). In this task, Sally puts a marble in a basket while Ann is watching. Sally leaves, Ann moves the marble to a box while Sally is not looking. Sally returns, and the question is posed where Sally will search for her marble. If a child understands Sally's beliefs and point of view, they will answer basket, as that is where she last saw it. If a child doesn't understand Sally's point of view, they will answer box, because that is where the marble currently is. 

- Sally-Ann Task Results
- Potential Problems with the False Belief Task


ASD and the False Belief Task: Sally-Ann Task

Frith, U. (2001). Mind blindness and the brain in autism. Neuron, 32(6), 969–979. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(01)00552-9

Mind Blindness and the Brain in Autism: Journal Literature Review

By age 4, neurotypical children will understand Sally did not see Ann move the marble and still believes it to be in the basket, so they will believe Sally will search for it in the basket where she left it. Children of the same age with ASD will say the box, as this is where the marble is, not taking into account Sally’s frame of view. This trend seems to hold, with ASD children taking far longer in their cognitive development to answer “basket” and understand that Sally is not aware the marble was moved. 

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